LV whistle-blowers treated like rats

To the editor:

To all the politicians and former politicians and senior executives in gaming and their employees at the state Legislature: Now you know where go-along-to-get-along, shut-up-and-don't-blow-the-whistle leads.

Everybody is wondering why there was no whistle-blower among the nurses and other employees who worked at the clinic that put more than 40,000 people at risk for serious diseases. Let me ask you this: Can you point to a single whistle-blower who has been hailed as a hero and rewarded in this town? Where, exactly, is the guy who blew the whistle on hotels that had to close remodeled floors because of construction problems? I think he is now unemployable. Senior executives, meanwhile, keep collecting their six-figure salaries.

So now Las Vegas is being seen for what it is. A corrupt fantasy land with low standards, high school graduates who cannot read their diplomas, unsafe hotels that burn like Roman candles, and a place where you better not get sick and need a routine test because you might end up dead.

Good work, guys. Just a few more instances -- and there will be more, given the corruption in this town -- and you can watch those casino profits drop like a gambling addict's bank account.

News flash: Hard times are ahead for this economy, and the last place people want to visit for a vacation is one where "top-level" hotels are unsafe and going to a medical facility is as much of a crap shoot as visiting a casino.

Doug Nusbaum

LAS VEGAS

Deserved a choice

To the editor:

I am one of the patients of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada who had a colonoscopy after Jan. 11. I am very upset that the clinic was not closed prior to my visit.

Obviously, authorities were aware of the clinic's unsafe procedures before my visit, and yet it was allowed to remain open. I feel very violated not only by the clinic, but by those who knew they should have closed the doors to prevent the further spread of blood-borne diseases. I am furious that I was not at least given the opportunity to know before my colonoscopy what had been going on there. I would not have had the procedure done, nor do I believe anyone else would have had they been given the choice.

Does anyone have proof that the clinic's unsafe protocols were changed after Jan. 11? I, as well as many others seen in the past month, have gone through a living hell, having blood testing done to assure our family doctors that we were clean of these diseases before our experience with the clinic. We, too, are scared and feel like victims. Our lives and our families are turned upside down now, as well.

So where do I place my blame? On the clinic? On the state? On the Southern Nevada Health District? On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?

If a restaurant had bugs, it would be closed. Yet this clinic remained open for more than a month. Where was the consideration for patients?

Cathy Warriner

LAS VEGAS

Party houses

To the editor:

The city of Las Vegas is making a mistake in adopting an ordinance that will allow short-term house rentals (Thursday Review-Journal).

I live beside a "party house" in Henderson. Renters of this type don't come to Las Vegas to meditate. I've had to call police numerous times due to loud parties lasting into the early morning. Neighborhood children get to see hookers dropped off by taxis. The owner is not around to address things such as broken sprinkler pipes causing a flood in my yard.

Henderson's ordinance supposedly prohibits this nuisance, but the owner gives weekend renters fake 31-day rental agreements to get around it. Residents should not suffer so investors can profit while creating neighborhood blight.

Thomas Stelljes

HENDERSON

Not big on Big Oil

To the editor:

In response to your Feb. 29 editorial "Attacking 'Big Oil'":

Comparing the rising cost of an ice cream sundae to the rising cost of gasoline is just too funny. Maybe you should take another look at an Economics 101 textbook, or better still, start writing comic books instead of editorials.

The truth is that if the cost of an ice cream sundae continues to rise, I can make a decision to stop buying ice cream sundaes and tell my friends to stop buying ice cream sundaes. If this were to happen, demand would be reduced and the cost would come down.

I wish the same were true about gasoline, but I need gasoline. Maybe I should walk 20 miles to work, but that would not work over time. So, like most people who own an automobile, I have to purchase gasoline regardless of what price they choose to charge.

The same is true for all businesses that depend on gasoline to deliver their products. We currently have little choice, and because of this, the real cost is much higher to all of us than the price at the pump.

We should all attack "Big Oil" for being so greedy. The tax exemption, or "subsidy," or whatever you choose to call it should no longer be available to any company that is making record profits.

Ken Hamm

LAS VEGAS