Change in schedule might help students

To the editor:

Amy Carr (Monday letter) made an assumption about the decision to change the starting date for school in Clark County because of the way a July 26 article was written.

If you read the article closely, you will notice that a survey was sent out to staff, parents and students -- presumably by school district administrators. But the article seems to focus on the student comments, so it's easy to see why someone might mistakenly think that nefarious students came up with this diabolical plot.

In Arizona, the first semester ends before Christmas break, just like every university in the United States that operates on a semester schedule. It provides closure and a natural break, so that students can enjoy their vacation with a sense of accomplishment and return to school with a fresh, new start. It also has an added bonus of moving up the second semester exams so that they don't fall right after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The article states that a majority of the staff who responded to the survey supported the idea, contrary to Ms. Carr's opinion that any teacher "will tell you that it's a bad idea." Why would you want to test students after two weeks of distractions? My opinion is that students do better before a holiday, rather than after.

If her thoughts about students not being focused because they are ready to get out on vacation are true, there is a big problem with the second-semester exams: They take place right before summer vacation.

The students who "are absent because they're out of town" can take the exams when they get back after their extended vacations -- just like Ms. Carr is advocating for. And there are many things throughout history that were in place for years but were changed for good reason.

Jeremy M. Christensen

Las Vegas

Walters deal

To the editor:

So Bill Walters will get to build an industrial park on land he already got practically free (Monday Review-Journal)? How long before he's suing because of height restrictions due to the airport?

Everyone who has ever had any involvement with this man -- airport officials and county commissioners included -- should be closely scrutinized before any deals are agreed to.

At the very least, this deal should be re-bid, as Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani suggested, and those who disagreed with her need their reasons looked at closely.

Val Campbell

Las Vegas

Eat the rich

To the editor:

Here's a little snippet of the news from February 2009:

"John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch, finally revealed the details of the firm's controversial bonuses from a $3.6 billion pool. The bonuses were awarded despite the fact that Merrill lost $25 billion in 2008 and posted greater than anticipated fourth quarter after-tax losses of $5 billion."

The Review-Journal's Tuesday editorial, "Eat the rich," indicates that those households making more than $250,000 per year are the ones who create the jobs in this country, and you argue that the Bush tax cuts should be made permanent for that reason.

I was just wondering: Can you please tell your readers how many jobs were created by those Merrill Lynch employees who were so incompetent that they caused their firm to lose $25 billion, and were therefore granted some $3.6 billion in bonuses? I'm sure that their incomes fall into the category of more than $250,000 per year.

Your editorial argues that these are the folks we average citizens must rely on to create jobs. Did they? Please let us know.

David Adams

Las Vegas

Harry helps

To the editor:

Glenn Cook's latest column in the Review-Journal makes me glad that Sharron Angle and the Review-Journal editorial board aren't making decisions for Nevadans who are struggling to stay in their homes. If it were up to them, I wouldn't have had my loan modified.

I spent weeks on the phone, writing letters and getting the runaround from my bank, and I simply couldn't get a straight answer from them. In fact, the only reason I ever got a phone call from them was when I stopped paying my loans in full to get their attention. Even then, it was only to ask why I had stopped paying, and not to answer my repeated requests to have my loan modified.

I went to Sen. Harry Reid's office, and his staff were very helpful. They were able to help me talk to the right people and secure a loan modification. This money helps me put gas in the car, food on the table, and take care of three ill family members who need my help.

This assistance from Sen. Reid's office isn't pork; it's serving your constituents.

Joyce Broussard

North Las Vegas

Art world

To the editor:

The Wall Street Journal's revelation on July 8 that Dave Hickey and Libby Lumpkin would be leaving Las Vegas reverberated through New York's art world. It was agreed that if Dave and Libby's efforts could have come to fruition, Las Vegas would have become a major U.S. fine arts center.

Libby Lumpkin's prodigious efforts to create a world-class contemporary art museum and Dave Hickey's incisive art commentary won kudos both here and abroad and attracted the best talent to the valley. It's unfortunate that their carefully conceived program to elevate the arts in Las Vegas had to become another casualty of the economic downturn.

While Las Vegas cannot expect to ever replicate another Hickey/Lumpkin team, as the economy recovers I hope some will step up and begin to build on the foundation they left for the city they so loved.

PHIL TRITT

LAS VEGAS