North Las Vegas Neighborhood News

HOUSING SYMPOSIUM PLANNED

Homeowners and homebuyers are invited to a panel hosted by real estate, lending, banking, title, legal and short sale specialists set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Road. Keller Williams real estate agent Gregory Smith will be on hand to answer underwater homeowners’ questions about equity, credit and the state of the local housing market. Admission is free. For more information, contact Smith at 702-410-2150. RSVP via email at smithgds@cox.net.

VIEW NEWSPAPERS STAFF TO MEET
WITH READERS AT ALIANTE LIBRARY

Representatives from View Neighborhood Newspapers have scheduled an informal meeting with readers to discuss local news coverage in the North Las Vegas area from 6 to 7:30 p.m. May 7 at the Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Road.

If you have questions or plan to attend, contact View editor Steve Blust at sblust@viewnews.com or 702-380-4553.

City officials set to appear
at homeowners meeting

The North Las Vegas Alliance of Homeowner Associations and Concerned Citizens plans to meet at 6 p.m. May 9 at the Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Road. Former Chief Justice Court Judge Natalie Tyrrell will be the featured speaker. North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Anita Wood plans to attend, as do Isaac Barron and Jared Hardy, North Las Vegas’ two remaining Ward 1 City Council candidates. For more information, contact Richard Cherchio at 702-325-6708 or richardcherchio@nlvalliance
.com.

NONPROFIT SEEKS HELP FOR THE BLIND

Blindconnect, a Nevada nonprofit that provides services to those with severe vision loss, plans a “dining in the dark” experience May 9 at the Texas Station Convention Center, 2101 Texas Star Lane. Attendees will eat while wearing sleep shades to see how those who are blind or visually impaired manage meals in public. Hints for dining success will be shared by the group’s blind leadership. Dinner will follow a silent auction and cash bar planned from
6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person. A table for eight is $350. Register by Thursday to assure a place. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Blindconnect at 702-631-9009 or visit www.blindconnect.org.

MEET COUNTY JUDGES EVENT SLATED
FOR AUG. 17

Veterans In Politics plans to host a Meet Your Clark County District Judges event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 17 at Canyon Springs High School, 350 E. Alexander Road.

The event is to educate voters in advance of the 2014 Clark County general election and aims to improve access to the county judicial system through a Shadow a Judge For a Day program for Canyon Springs High School students.

Students will look to share their judge-shadowing experiences before joining a moderated discussion set to include more than a dozen judges from Clark County’s civil, criminal and family justice departments.

For judge registration and event participation, contact Steve Sanson, president of Veterans In Politics International, at 702-283-8088 or visit veteransinpolitics.com.

For student registration in the Shadow a Judge for a Day program, contact Nancy West, magnet theme coordinator, at 702-799-1870.

GOODWILL OPENS FIRST
CLEARANCE CENTER LOCATION

Nonprofit Goodwill Industries International opened its first Southern Nevada clearance store location April 16 at 1280 W. Cheyenne Ave. The store is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily and accepts most secondhand furniture, appliances and thrift store clothing donations. All items sold benefit area job placement and training services. The clearance center does not accept discounts, special sales, coupons or vouchers. For more information, call 702-214-2008.

NORTH LAS VEGAS BUDGET PICTURE
STILL GLOOMY

North Las Vegas City Council members face an $18 million deficit headed into fiscal year 2014, little more than half the shortfall the city faced at this time last year.

City Council members shuttered the city jail, slashed public employee overtime pay and browned out public libraries and recreation centers in an effort to stem last year’s $33 million deficit. North Las Vegas Finance Director Al Zochowski credited those efforts at a special meeting April 9 at City Hall for this year’s 45 percent slimmer budget gap and blamed a lack of property tax revenue for much of the remaining deficit.

As much as 85 percent of that red ink is tied to city employee salaries and benefits, according to City Manager Tim Hacker. Both he and Mayor Shari Buck suggested that staffing for city services had already been cut to the bone, leaving millions in frozen employee pay raises last on the city budget chopping block.

VONS ACCEPTING EASTER SEALS DONATIONS

Each year, Vons dedicates April to its Support for People with Disabilities fundraising campaign to benefit Easter Seals, the Special Olympics and an array of organizations that help people with disabilities live fuller, more independent lives.

Through today, all Las Vegas Valley Vons stores will accept donations at the checkouts to benefit Easter Seals Nevada. Ninety cents of each dollar raised will directly support individuals served by the organization.

Vons has raised and donated more than $130 million to support organizations such as Easter Seals, the Special Olympics and a range of other organizations that assist people with special needs. Easter Seals Nevada is one of Nevada’s largest community disability agencies, serving more than 7,000 people with disabilities and their families each year. For more information about Easter Seals Nevada, visit eastersealsnevada.org. To find a Vons, visit vons.com.

DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SERVICES
SEEKS FOSTER HOMES

The Clark County Department of Family Services is seeking members of the public willing to become foster parents. The program involves individuals and families providing safe, stable and loving environments for children in need of temporary out-of-home care.

Information packets are available and include an overview of the program and the latest session schedule. For more information or to request a packet, call 702-455-0181.

TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SEEKS INPUT ON PROPOSED TRANSIT SERVICE CHANGES

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is seeking public input on proposed transit service changes scheduled to take effect starting July 7, pending community feedback.

Proposed changes to some routes include: increased frequencies, schedule and span of service adjustments in addition to modifications to the Boulder Highway Express, Henderson & Downtown Express, Route 212-Sunset Road and Route 402-Sunset/Boulder City. Also, boarding changes are proposed on the Sahara, Boulder Highway and Henderson & Downtown express routes. A full list of proposed changes is available at rtcsnv.com.

Public comments will be accepted through 5:30 p.m. May 13 and can be made by emailing diaza@rtcsnv.com, visiting rtcsnv.com or calling 702-676-1557.

NV ENERGY TAKING APPLICATIONS
FOR SOLARGENERATIONS PROGRAM

NV Energy’s SolarGenerations program is accepting applications for the next round of solar energy projects through 5 p.m. May 17.

Successful applicants will be eligible for rebates to help offset their installation costs for photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity.

Residential customers and small businesses are eligible. Participants must be NV Energy electric customers.

At the close of the application period, if any category is oversubscribed, participants will be chosen by a lottery conducted by a third party.

Rebates for the next round of projects range from $1.25 to $1.35 per watt for residential customers and small businesses and from $2.80 to $3.10 per watt for schools and public buildings. For program and allocation details, visit nvenergy.com/renewablesenvironment/renewablegenerations.

For more information, call 866-786-3823.

BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL TRIP TAKING REGISTRATION

Spots are available for this summer’s Nevada State Birthright Israel trip, a free trip to Israel for young Jewish adults sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas and Taglit-Birthright Israel Foundation.

Anyone between the ages of 18-26 who has never been to Israel on an organized peer education trip and hasn’t lived in Israel past age 12 is eligibile. For more information, contact Gil Kahn at gil@jewishlasvegas.com.

MASTER GARDENERS PLAN TOURS
OF DEMONSTRATION GARDENS

The Master Gardeners of Southern Nevada plan monthly tours of the Demonstration Gardens at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Lifelong Learning Center, 8050 Paradise Road. Tours are free and open to the public. Groups of five or more are requested to call program coordinator Ann Edmunds at 702-257-5587 at least two weeks in advance.

DONATIONS ACCEPTED TO AID NONPROFIT

Help homeless, pregnant and parenting teens by donating time, money or new or gently used items to assist clients of Southern Nevada Children First, 720 W. Cheyenne Ave., Suite 30.

Volunteers and donations are always needed to support the nonprofit.

For more information, visit childrenfirst-nv.org or call 702-487-5665.

MISS NEVADA PAGEANT COMING
TO TEXAS STATION IN june

The Miss Nevada Organization announced that it plans to host the 2013 Miss Nevada and Miss Nevada’s Outstanding Teen competitions at Texas Station, 2101 Texas Star Lane, June 14 and 15. Winners will represent Nevada at the Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen competitions. Tickets for the pageant are scheduled to go on sale in the spring.

For more information, visit missnevada.org.

KIWANIS CLUB WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

The Kiwanis Club of North Las Vegas, a chapter of the international service organization, is scheduled to meet at
6:15 p.m. each Tuesday at T.G.I. Friday’s in the Aliante Hotel + Casino, 7300 Aliante Parkway.

Club community projects have included canned food drives, car shows, kites in the park events and charity fundraisers.

The fourth meeting of the month is limited to members only.

For more information, visit nlvkiwanis.com or call 702-399-0332.

NORTH LAS VEGAS ROTARY CLUB TO MEET

The North Las Vegas Rotary Club of Las Vegas meets at 7:15 a.m. Fridays at the Painted Desert Golf Club, 5555 Painted Mirage Road.

The weekly breakfast meetings include guest speakers, networking, education workshops and service projects.

For more information, visit nlvrc.org/newsite or call Bob Lillis at 702-340-9735.