WEEK IN REVIEW: Reporters’ Notebook

Carlo Poliak has been running for political office since the mid-1970s.

The 71-year-old Las Vegas sanitation worker has tried - and failed, and failed, and failed - so many times he can't keep count.

So, of course, he's running again this year, this time as a Republican seeking a U.S. Senate seat in Nevada.

He's also using a new truth-in-advertising strategy, adopting a foreign-language ballot nickname that sums up his lack of appeal to voters.

He's running as Carlo "Nakusha" Poliak, which translates into Carlo "Unwanted" Poliak.

Nakusha, also spelled Nakusa, is a derogatory moniker in the Marathi language given to girls by parents in India who really wanted boys.

"I'm not accepted by the establishment, even my peers," Poliak said when asked why he chose the nickname. "I'm different. I'm unwanted."

LAURA MYERS

Plastic surgery isn't a topic that usually works its way into Clark County School Board meetings, but it did Thursday during a speech by former Nevada first lady Sandy Miller.

She and three other former state first ladies have vowed to campaign for a school bond issue that would increase taxes to renovate Clark County schools.

During her remarks, Miller mentioned the much-needed overhaul that was done at Rancho High School, which she attended years ago.

"There's some suggestion that it's a little like my face-lift, but I won't go there," she said.

TREVON MILLIARD

Five finalists for the presidency at Nevada State College were interviewed by a committee. Among them was Bart Patterson, the college's interim president, who was a longtime administrator with the state's higher education system. He is very familiar with the Board of Regents and the staff of the system.

One of the questions all the candidates were asked was a two-parter by Regent Cedric Crear: How do you view the relationship between a president and the Board of Regents, and what do you do for fun?

Patterson quipped, "The answer to the first question is not the same as the answer to the second."

Patterson won the committee's recommendation anyway.

RICHARD LAKE