Reporters’ Notebook

THE NORTH LAS VEGAS POLICE DEPARTMENT WRANGLED UP A HANDFUL OF RENEGADE SHEEP AND RETURNED THEM TO THEIR OWNER Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, it didn't develop into a bigger news story because the headline "Sheep on the Lam" pretty much writes itself.

SCOTT SPJUT

Better than burgers? Some 11 antelope died during a state mandated roundup in a fire-ravaged area of Elko County in January. What to do? The state wildlife director figured the meat could be served to lawmakers at an upcoming barbecue. Sounds ... gamey. The plan was nixed. If it hadn't been, we at Reporters' Notebook might have suggested side dishes of rabbit stew and pigeon pie. Shouldn't perfectly good roadkill be put to good use, too?

MARY HYNES

WESTERN SHOSHONE IAN ZABARTE SAID SERVING LAWMAKERS THE ANTELOPE, taken out of season and without a tag near tribal lands, would have been "outrageous."

"You know an Indian would have been put in jail," he said. "It's absolutely a dual standard, actually a three-way standard: one for officials, one for citizens and one for Indians."

Zabarte, however, wouldn't pass up the antelope if it landed on his plate. He prefers it to deer.

"It's the other white meat," he said.

KEITH ROGERS

CLOSING THE ENDOSCOPY CENTER OF SOUTHERN NEVADA'S MEDICAL OPERATIONS BUT ALLOWING THE DOCTORS that worked there to consult is like shutting down a brothel and leaving the bar open for discussion, quipped Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins at a recent meeting.

Collins smiled wide as he said it, drawing a few groans from the audience. He quickly added that aiding patients was a serious matter.

SCOTT WYLAND

OVERHEARD ON THE SCANNER: "She took his keys, money and wallet, and flattened his tires."

ALLERGY SUFFERERS CAN BE AN IRRITABLE LOT. A story detailing the mulberry pollen problem in the Las Vegas Valley drew comments from several advocates of all-out arborcide.

"Why doesn't someone do something about the trees?" one reader asked. "Let's get a referendum on the ballot to kill the damn things."

Another reader suggested some Old West-style vigilante justice. "I would like nothing more than to burn down every stinking mulberry tree in town," he wrote. "Death to the Mulberry!"

HENRY BREAN

A GROUP OF 17 BLUE STAR MOTHERS AND FRIENDS HAD A FEAST AT CAFFE ROMA ON SUNSET ROAD LAST WEEK FOR A SEND-OFF FOR ARMY SPC. NICK CARDUCCI, son of Candace and Sam Carducci, who is returning to duty in Afghanistan.

Chere Pedersen, president of Blue Star Mothers of Southern Nevada, a nonprofit group that supports U.S. military personnel, especially those serving in the nation's wars overseas, said at the end of the dinner that they were surprised by what she called "a random act of patriotism."

A couple in the restaurant who noticed the gathering, which included Gold Star mother Marina Vance, whose son, Spc. Ignacio "Nacho" Ramirez of Henderson, was killed two years ago in Iraq, picked up the $500 tab.

Caffe Roma owners Renato and Nina Di Antonio said the couple wanted to remain anonymous.

"They just wanted to contribute," Nina said. "It made them very happy, because these are the families of the military serving the country."

KEITH ROGERS

OFFICIALS HAVE LONG CLAIMED THAT THE HOOVER DAM BYPASS BRIDGE WAS MEANT TO EASE CONGESTION AND PROTECT THE DAM.

On Wednesday, a reporter learned there might be another motivation behind its construction. As a child, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said she would get car sick (she actually said "puke") when she would drive with her family over the winding roads that lead to the Hoover Dam.

Once complete, the bridge will provide a straight shot over the Colorado River.

FRANCIS McCABE

CHARLIE PALMER ALMOST DIDN'T GET UNANIMOUS APPROVAL at a recent City Council meeting for the boutique hotel/restaurant the famous chef plans to build in downtown Las Vegas' Union Park.

Mayor Oscar Goodman threatened to be the lone holdout -- for purely petty personal reasons.

It seems Goodman the Gourmand dined at Palmer's restaurant in Washington, D.C., during a recent trip, and the rub on his steak "was so good I'm still tasting it," the mayor said. "I'm salivating."

He beseeched Palmer for just a smidgen of said rub, eventually extracting a promise that he could have some. But it never arrived.

The council voted to approve a development agreement for Palmer's planned 400-suite hotel. In the end Goodman didn't make good on his threat. It passed, 7-0.

"I'll hand that over soon," Palmer said of the promised steak rub.

Of course, if he doesn't, Goodman's lost his leverage.

ALAN CHOATE