A sad day for tacky wester gifts. The first man to mount a jackalope has died.

As we all know the Monorail is coming to Las Vegas. However, you may not be familiar with the father of Las Vegas's existing monorails. Read his story here.

It's been almost two years since I've moved to the Vegas area. I just got my first library card. Yep. Been slow to take up many of the benefits of citizenship in my town, county, and state. I did vote in the last election, and paid my taxes (read: tithed money to the casinos). So I feel fine about using some of the fine services provided.

In this case, I'm talking about the Henderson Public Library (www.hdpl.org). HDPL is separate from the Clark Country Libraries (which I've also never been to). So don't go returning your books there instead. But if you live in Henderson, you're eligible for a card at both. The HDPL website is very nice with excellent search capabilities, calendar of events, web based reading (magazines, some reference items), and more. I like the ability to be place a hold on a book I've been looking for. I expect it to come in very handy.

I've heard that UNLV has a great library and it's open to the public. Sounds like a subject for a future report.

Do check out your nearest library, and please support funding for them in the next election. When it comes right down to it, a good education is all Democracy has to keep it from slipping into tyranny.

Everyone wants to know how the airports are handling the new security procedures. Well here's a direct report from Las Vegas' own fun and funky resident Penn Jillette. I wonder if he was recognized considering there are larger than life photos of him in advertisements posted all over McCarron.

From Reno, NV Richard posts pictures of a few other NYE fireworks celebrations.

Also from Reno, NV Travis Linn states a painfully obvious reality about our current role as world policeman.

Hope everyone had a safe and sane one. We spent ours just a few blocks from home where we enjoyed a great view of the whole strip and the fireworks from downtown to the Excalibur. Personally, I liked the 2002 fireworks better, but these were very good. Maybe next year I'll be able to afford a view from the Palm or Rio. Bet that was great!

Our view:

The Vegas One Top (and bottom) Five

As is fashionable at this time of year, I present my top 5 best and worst lists. Let me know if you think I've fogotten something or if I am just completely out of wack.

Top 5 events of 2002 in the Las Vegas area. (In no particular order...)

New Year's Eve 2001/2002 - What a way to start the year and end what was a very rough year. Tonight's show has a lot to live up to. Plus, it looks like we've found another 'Chamber of Commerce' type event to help draw the tourists in.

La Reve Groundbreaking - When Las Vegas looks for the next best thing, all eyes turn toward Steve Wynn. This year featured the start of another Wynn dream. La Reve, which is French for the Dream, promises to breath life into the mid-strip area. One request, please find a way to include a real IMAX theatre. The Luxor amusement ride turned theatre is just horrible.

Widening of I-15 - While the construction delays may have been the bane of your existance, the newly widened freeway with extra lanes from downtown to Primm will mean less congestion, fewer accidents, and faster travel for many years to come. This is especially important as Vegas will depend more and more on drivers coming from California over the next few years. Up Next... Mass Transportation.

Monorail Construction - Would you believe that all this construction has taken just a little more than a year. It's Las Vegas' next step on the road to playing in the big leaques of cities.

The Housing Market - The valley's continual strength in housing growth is always a good sign. It's probably the only thing propelling the local economy. Prices per square foot have now reached $100.00/square foot, which now makes it a question for some if buying or renting is their best choice. But compared to other nearby markets, the Vegas Valley is still a bargain. Next boom, commercial buildings.

NYNY Memorial - The Memorial and the MGM/Mirage company's excellent treatment of it, deserve honorable mention on this list.

Worst 5 events of 2002 in the Las Vegas area. (In no particular order...)

Yucca Mountain - Although the last hand has yet to be dealt in this game, most of the chips remain in out of state hands. Considering the fact that Nevada has no nuclear facilities of our own, we should be the last resort on a very long list of storage facilities. Instead, we've reached the point where one accident and all the fireworks spectaculars in the world won't help bring tourists to the 'glow zone'.

Medical Insurance - America's health system continues to fail nationwide. Nevada's problems have been echoed across the nation (Pennsylvania is the current target). If I was a Health Care Insurance provider, I would be on my best behavior right now for fear that a 'single payer' system would be implemented. Whether the current band-aid insurance system will work in the long term remains to be seen.

Job Market - While the housing market remains strong, the job market has not kept pace. Pay levels for entry positions are very low (unless you're a union member on the strip). The state universities have also received poor grades in turning out qualified job applicants. Something will need to change here before the local economy will truly recover.

Opening of so many nightclubs - Yawn. Seven. Yawn. Light. Yawn. How about some more big name entertainment.

Convention attendance - Although this remains largly out of the control of local forces, attendance has definately dropped. Comdex was so week this year, I doubt most residents even noticed it's passing. Still Mandalay Bay will soon be opening another pavillion and they claim to have it booked for most of the year. A good sign.

Some Sunday photoshop fun.



Some Sunday reading: Las Vegas then and now. Part of the 'Then and Now' series provides an interesting look at the history and current development of Las Vegas.

AP news reports The Guggenheim Las Vegas museum will close its doors Jan. 5, due to funding troubles at its parent museum in New York. I imagine that The Venetian will do what it can to make sure the dark days are as few as possible. With two completely separate exhibit halls, the ideal situation would be to have at least one open for tourists at all times. However, it's definately time for a new exhibit and a new promotion to bring in the locals. Any suggestions?

Welcome to Vegas One


As a recent transplant to the Las Vegas area I bring a unique viewpoint to the Vegas scene. I'm not bogged down by history, political ties (or aspirations), or favoritism in any particular direction. I don't live in the city, but near enough to it that I'm witness to its changes, excitement, and future prospects.

As we go on in time, I'll post more biographical information but for now, I want to focus on details that you can use as a resident of this fair town, or even a visitor.


Traffic


I grew up in Portland, Oregon. I left for beautiful sunny southern California just as Portland was finally turning into a real city with real city problems such as traffic, drug crime, and urban sprawl. Well, moving to the Vegas valley, I see the exact same problems cropping up.

Us transplants laugh at the traffic in Las Vegas. Eight cars at a stop light cause locals eyes to bug out. And forget about freeway driving. They'll just stick to the surface streets, thank you. This makes for some odd situations, such as entering the freeway at 10AM on a weekday and not having a single car in your rearview mirror. I thought they'd closed the freeway down for some reason.

On the otherhand, Vegas is one of the most prepared near-urban cities I've seen. There is a computerized traffic system that keeps things running smoothly. There is a small monorail system, and talks of expanding it (although not fast enough, IMHO). And there is an active group working to establish a MagLev train route between The city of lights and the city of angels.

So the Las Vegas valley is poised for excellence. I hope everyone here is committed to the work it will take to make a bright future a reality.