Reporters’ Notebook

IN RESPONSE TO A REVIEW-JOURNAL STORY LAST WEEK about advertising by the Shady Lady Ranch, a brothel near Beatty, the husband of one of the sex workers called to defend his wife's honor. She wasn't portrayed in a classy way in the story, the man claimed.

"She is very classy," the husband said. "She's had her pictures in Penthouse, and she has made adult movies with (porn actor) Ron Jeremy."

PAUL HARASIM

AT 7 A.M. MONDAY, 15-YEAR-OLD BLAKE EMPEY was surprised to see Las Vegas' most recognizable politician roaming the corridors of the Clark County School District's newest high school, the Northwest Career & Technical Academy.

"That's the mayor, right?" Empey asked.

Indeed, it was Mayor Oscar Goodman.

"I wonder how many drinks he's had already?" Empey wondered.

ANTONIO PLANAS

A NEW LAS VEGAS CITY HALL REPORTER MET HIZZONER last week. And Goodman gave him the key to covering the beat:

Call him after 5 p.m., the mayor said, and he's likely to be drunk. And not even he's sure what he'll say then.

DAVID McGRATH SCHWARTZ

LAST MONTH THE BOARD OF REGENTS CONSIDERED TAKING AWAY Chancellor Jim Rogers' ability to fire university system presidents.

The measure ultimately failed, but Nevada State College President Fred Maryanski half-heartedly proposed that the Board of Regents also be prohibited from firing the presidents.

That would, of course, make it impossible for anyone to fire presidents.

"I liked the idea," he said last week. "It would have been good for eight of us."

LAWRENCE MOWER

OVERHEARD ON THE SCANNER: "It looks like a circus act out here."

AN AUSTRALIAN RADIO HOST RECENTLY SPENT A WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS trying to convince two listeners to get married. During his visit, Tim Ross, who is engaged, decided against ever getting married here.

He told the Queensland Courier-Mail, "I could never get married in Vegas. Although they have a Star Trek chapel here. The nerd in me says that as long as your missus doesn't look like an alien, I'd go to the Star Trek chapel."

CRYING DISCRIMINATION, A CALGARY MAN SQUEEZED his way onto what was supposed to be a nearly-all-woman radio show junket to Las Vegas.

Michael Morrison might have been doing Vegas with 40 female Canadians, but it was his encounter with a hooker on the Strip during a late-night walk that was his "personal highlight."

"While I was taking pictures of all the sights, a lady of a certain profession approached me," he wrote in The Calgary Herald. "Because I am from the Maritimes I've always appreciated a good conversation, but when our nice talk turned to 'business' I quickly declined. 'No thanks, ma'am, I got 40 women waiting for me back at the hotel.' I replied.

"'Honey, then why you out here taking all these pictures?' she exclaimed. 'Don't ch'you got lights up there in Canada?'

"'Yes?' I replied almost confused.

"'Then why aren't ch'you a the hotel with those women?'

"What can I say?" Morrison wrote. "She had a point."