WEEK IN REVIEW: Reporters’ notebook

When Clark County officials at Tuesday's meeting asked for approval to transfer $35,000 to pay for an emergency call system - little more than a cellphone in a box - at a Laughlin park, Commissioner Steve Sisolak was incredulous.

"It just seems like an unbelievably large amount," he said.

County staff said the amount was just an estimate and promised to find the cheapest option when they actually move to build it.

Week in Review has already found one good choice.

We recommend the Vertu Boucheron 150, a "solid gold" cellphone meant to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Boucheron jewelry house in Paris, according to Engadget.com.

The designer told Engadget that it takes only 1,000 hours to cut into shape, 700 hours to hand polish and more than 500 hours to build - just in time for the park's summer season.

And it would come under the county's budget, too. It only costs $30,000.

LAWRENCE MOWER

If you've ever driven through Pahrump, you probably noticed the giant billboards advertising a few nearby brothels. But it's a different sign that some people think is hurting the image of the town.

The Nye County Commission is asking state transportation officials to change the wording of a sign on the highway through Pahrump that warns against hitchhiking in a "prison area."

According to an account in the Pahrump Valley Times, town and county officials object to the word "prison" being used for what is actually a federal detention facility for defendants awaiting trial in Las Vegas.

Apparently, some residents don't want Pahrump to be known as a prison town.

The newspaper said County Commissioner Joni Eastley joined the vote in favor of asking for the sign to be changed, but not before pointing out "we're running out of hairs to split."

HENRY BREAN

Monday's news of the death of Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-HAWAII, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, hit home with Bill Olds, another decorated soldier from the islands. Olds, a retired Army colonel who moved to Las Vegas in 1995, served three tours in the Vietnam War.

He was the first soldier Inouye honored with a Purple Heart medal.

"He was a brand new senator," recalled Olds, who was 25 when Inouye came to Trippler General Hospital on Oahu and pinned the Purple Heart on him.

Inouye knew Olds' father, Mark Norman Olds. They had served in the territory's Legislature together before Hawaii became a state in 1959.

"He was a true patriot," Olds said.

KEITH ROGERS

TWEET OF THE WEEK: @STetreaultDC (Review-Journal Washington correspondent Steve Tetreault, after Inouye's death) Asked Sen. Inouye once what his life would have been if family had not migrated to Hawaii. Said would've been Japanese WWII soldier and KIA.