1. law, govt and politics
2. government

Democrat candidate
would pick up where
Reid leaves off
Is this the most effective
new antipoverty program
in America?
PAGE 2
PAGE 4
Volume 17, Issue 7
Will Jeb Bush revolutionize
U.S. politics with this
one ‘weird’ trick?
lasvegastribune.com
PAGE 13
April 22-28, 2015
Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce Member
Commissioners Give Hope to Senior Citizens
By Rolando Larraz
Las Vegas Tribune
Last week at the County Commission meeting emotions were
running high during discussions on
item 53 regarding whether or not
to elect someone to lead the office
of the Clark County Guardian that
is presently vacated.
For many in Clark County, the
word ‘Guardian’ is a bad word that
brings horrible memories back to
them or to their families.
For a long time the office of the
Guardian was under the control of
the Public Administrator who ran
that office with an iron fist, stealing all he could, abusing those senior citizens under his care, and
enriching himself at the expense of
his victims.
Shafer’s right-hand person was
arrested on robbery charges, and
after her arraignment, Shafer’s
daughter Danica supposedly posted
a statement online detailing her
father’s alleged crimes. She stated,
“The large volume of material has
caused me to investigate the business practices of my father, and
what I discovered makes me
ashamed to be born. [sic] Shafer has
My Point
of View
By Rolando Larraz
This week I have taken to opening some eyes to stuff I see in several places that I don’t like. This is
the week that many may call “my
bitching mood week.”
All dressed up and nowhere to
go... that is how I feel every day on
my way to work: taking Decatur
there is construction going on, taking Charleston Boulevard there is
construction; on Oakey Boulevard
there is construction all year
around; Maryland Parkway also has
traffic occasioned by more construction than even on Las Vegas
Blvd.; and in the heart of downtown, there is yet more construction, making it almost impossible
for residents to drive in our city.
It seems like all the constructions have to take place at the same
time instead of finishing one area
before starting another one, with the
exception of Oakey Blvd., which is
in construction mode all year
around, perhaps to impress the residents and to make them believe
how good the tax money works,
regardless of how inconvenient it
is to drive around our city.
Has anyone been at the local
Secretary of State’s office lately? I
would like to think that the ugly
appearance of the reception area
was inherited from the previous
administration and is not that way
because of lack of respect for the
citizens of Nevada under the new
Republican administration.
It is very depressing to see a government office that is supposed to
serve the residents, the voters, the
constituents — or whatever name
anyone would like to give those
who go there to drop off the money
that is demanded of them by Governor Sandoval, who promised he
was not going to raise taxes or take
more money from the people — and
yet those very residents find fees
doubled for Nevada business licenses and being forced upon all
businesses, big or small; upon anyone that dares to open shop in our
state.
The least the new Secretary of
State can do for those who are
forced to pay an unfair fee is to
clean up the waiting area, put new
carpet in or at least shampoo the old
carpet and put some trim around the
floor because the place, the way it
looks now, is a shame for any government entity.
Another thing that bothers me,
and many others that have commented on it to me is the beggars in
(See My Point of View, Page 2)
Chief Judge David Barker
found numerous methods of removing money from seniors, which includes: changing wills, rewriting
trusts, delaying court dates until the
seniors die, and redoing private estates so family properties would go
to us instead of the relatives. Father
has told me he is entitled to it all.
I’ve heard him tell Mom the stress
of his job is fair compensation.
While growing up our house always
had something new, a fine watch,
jewelry for Mom, expensive vacations, and we never had to worry
about where our next surprise
would come from. I’ve talked with
20 families and they have revealed
the unpleasant truths, which have
haunted me for 10 years,” Danica
Shafer wrote.
During the last County meeting
it came to light that unless the person has no family member that
could take care of him or her, there
was no need for the person to become a ward of a public guardian
— but up to now that has not been
the pattern.
For years Las Vegas Tribune has
brought up the case of Anna Marie
Gaule who, under Jared Shafer, had
all her properties taken away and
had her only son thrown out on the
street with the help of city officials
who kept citing her son with different reasons for their doing so. A
Family Court judge even had the
audacity to bar her son from visiting his own mother. One day Anna
Marie Gaule’s son came home and
was attacked by two individuals
inside the house; after struggling
with them, at the end he shot both
individuals and later discovered
they worked for Shafer.
As a matter of disclosure for the
record, Anna Marie Gaule’s son
was represented in court by the late
attorney John Fadgen, who back
then was part owner and publisher
of the Las Vegas Tribune.
There is no doubt that this is the
first time the issue of the Public Administrator and the Public Guardian has taken this great amount of
time during the County Commission meeting, and it gives a ray of
hope to many of those whose fami-
lies have been victims of the Public Guardian or suffered under the
manipulation of the Public
Administrator’s Office by Jared
Shafer.
Chief Judge David Barker has
given real hope to those who for
years have been fighting the injustices and the criminal behavior of
those close to Jared Shafer, proving that he has the public’s best interest at heart.
Many of those who have suffered under Jared Shafer would like
to see justice done by hearing the
news that Shafer is being arrested
and held without bail so that he cannot leave the country and evade a
trial that may keep him behind bars
for a long time. He definitely has
the financial means to make his escape, and his best friend, Danny
Ashtrom. has property outside the
country.
That workers’ compensation makes
people crazy is no mere coincidence
State’s so-called ‘grand bargain’ frustrates employees, employers, taxpayers
Part One of a Two Part Series
By Steven Miller
Nevada Journal
“...very plausible schemes, with
very pleasing commencements,
have often shameful and lamentable
conclusions.” — Edmund Burke
Nevada’s workers’ compensation system is Kafkaesque.
Literally.
In one way, it’s simply because
workers’ comp systems virtually
everywhere — despite their asserted necessity — trigger feelings
of senselessness, disorientation and
helpless alienation, resembling
those so famously evoked by Franz
Kafka’s tales.
But it goes deeper: Kafka —
highly intelligent and exceptionally
sensitive — was himself drenched
in the workers’ comp milieu, spend(See Worker’s Comp, Page 7)
Marco-mentum! Is Rubio rising?
What Rubio wants to see is enough of a boost from his presidential campaign announcement
to put him consistently with Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the GOP top tier.
By Peter Grier
Christian Science Monitor
Marco Rubio’s campaign is premised on the idea that he’s the candidate best suited to bridge the divide between conservatives and the
GOP establishment — if he can stay
in the race long enough to make that
case against better-funded opponents like Jeb Bush.
Is Marco Rubio rising in national
polls, following his official announcement last week that he’s running for president?
He is, in one at least — a CNN/
ORC survey out Monday that’s got
Senator Rubio’s supporters abuzz.
The CNN numbers have Rubio
tied for third place in the Republican nomination field with Sen. Ted
Cruz of Texas, at 11 percent. That’s
a big jump for the Floridian, who
drew only 6 percent support in
CNN/ORC’s last poll, in February.
Rubio does even better on a subsidiary measure in the survey. He’s
tied for first with Jeb Bush when
respondents answered the question,
“Who best represents the future of
the Republican Party?” Marco and
Presidential candidate Florida Senator Marco Rubio
Jeb get 18 percent apiece on that Rubio totals only 8.3 percent. That
query. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is ties him for fifth, with Senator Cruz.
And fifth is not the goal here,
third in the “future” race, at 10 percent. “The poll suggests Rubio’s remember. Running fifth in the
campaign rollout has helped raise GOP nomination race won’t even
his profile in the party, boosting him qualify you for a Fox News analyst
into the top five in the overall race contract after you lose.
What Rubio wants to see is
for the GOP nomination,” writes
CNN polling director Jennifer enough of a boost from his campaign announcement to put him
Agiesta.
Well, maybe. But this is just one consistently with Mr. Bush and
survey. In the RealClearPolitics Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the
rolling average of major polls, top tier, leaving Cruz, Senator Paul,
et al, behind.
That’s because to this point,
Rubio is a bit of an underperformer.
Young, articulate, charismatic, he
represents a distinct contrast to
GOP nominees of the recent past.
But he lags far behind Bush, the
consensus establishment pick. He
doesn’t capture the imagination of
any faction within the party, as Cruz
does with right-leaning Tea
Partyers.
Young, charismatic candidates
can break out early. At this point in
the 2008 election cycle, then-Sen.
Barack Obama had already reached
25 percent in the polls in a crowded
Democratic field, points out Nate
Cohn of “The Upshot.”
Yes, we’re just at the beginning
of the race. But it gets late early in
presidential politics, to paraphrase
Yogi Berra. Rubio’s like a top draft
pick who needs to pick up his game
if he’s truly going to become an allstar, Mr. Cohn writes.
“No one would be stunned if he
ultimately did so, but maybe it’s no
longer the likeliest course,” muses
“The Upshot” writer.
FROM THE DESK OF GORDON MARTINES
The bigger the lie the more people will believe it
By Gordon Martines
Jade Helm 15. Allegedly, as I
always say, so as to not offend anyone, Jade Helm 15 is supposedly an
exercise to help train our armed
forces in dealing with an urban enemy on a large scale. After listening to the spokesperson of the military explain the purpose, the objec-
tive, and the necessity for the local
leaders, in the small and large municipalities in five southern states,
to cooperate and help facilitate this
exercise with the military, I can
immediately feel chills run up and
down my back, along with a growing fear and anxiety that we are all
being lied to repeatedly.
History has always been my interest, especially when it fits into a
script of “Common Scheme and
Design” that has lies, omissions,
deceptions, distortions, and outand-out fabrications, in order to fit
into a criminal agenda.
This Jade Helm 15 has pretty
much all of the above and more. It’s
the ‘more’ that troubles me. Take
for instance 9/11. Allegedly, there
was an actual exercise in progress,
sanctioned by the Military, that involved planes being crashed into
strategic targets by phony terrorists
— all fake of course; coincidently,
it was at the same time that the al(See From the Desk, Page 8)
Page 2 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
Democrat candidate would pick up where Reid leaves off
By Thomas Mitchell
Former Attorney General
Catherine Cortez Masto is imminently qualified to step right into the
shoes of Sen. Harry Reid. This past
week she became the first Democrat to announce her candidacy for
Reid’s seat and he immediately endorsed her.
For example, in March 2010,
Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons sent
Cortez Masto a letter directing her
to file suit challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare. She fired
back a letter refusing to do so.
She wrote: “The Attorney General is the State’s chief legal officer.
Like you I have a responsibility to
represent the State’s interests. As
such, I must be satisfied in my own
TRIBUNE
VOL. 17, NO. 7
FOUNDER
Rolando Larraz
PUBLISHER
AND
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Rolando Larraz
GENERAL MANAGER
Perly Viasmensky
MANAGING EDITOR
Maramis Choufani
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Don Snook
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Colleen Lloyd
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
Kenneth A. Wegner
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David A. Rifkin, Executive Vice President
Quote of the Week:
“This country, with its institutions,
belongs to the people who inhabit it.
Whenever they shall grow weary of
the existing government, they can
exercise their constitutional right of
amending it, or exercise their
revolutionary right to overthrow it.”
—Abraham Lincoln
Please Note:
Catherine Cortez Masto, a former
for the U.S. Senate in 2016.
professional judgment that the case
has merit and should be filed.”
Not exactly.
The Nevada Constitution says:
“The Secretary of State, State Trea-
Nevada attorney general, will run
(Continued from Page 1)
front of the grocery stores, a.k.a. supermarkets, restaurants, fast food
places, and even gas stations.
Once one passes through the
front door of the establishments
those beggars jump all over asking
for change or dollars — and one
even had the audacity to ask me for
$5.00! Can you imagine that? (And
I am not imitating Senator Cruz
with all the imagining he likes to
do.)
One of those men once asked me
if I have any change to spare; I told
him, yes, I do, and the guy then
asked me to give him the change
but I told him “no”; that if I give
him my change I would not have
any more change and he told me to
go to hell.
I have not been in a doctor’s office for a few months now, but one
thing that really bothers me is how
loose those appointment-setters are
with the time. They set me up for
one at 9:00 in the morning — I always get there ten minutes early
because I hate being late or have to
wait for anyone — and twenty minutes after my appointment time they
called my name, making me believe
that I would be in and out because
the doctors nowadays are not allowed to spend more than twenty
minutes with each patient; but soon
I learned that I was wrong.
They pulled me out of the lobby
when they called my name but they
set me into a little closet full of ugly
pictures of all kinds of diseases and
kept me there for another half an
hour because “the doc had an emergency”; they never told me what the
emergency was, but when finally
the doctor came into “my closet
with the ugly pictures,” he looked
fresh out of the shower.
Once I told the doctor he must
really be a good doctor and he asked
me why I said that, so I told him
“either you are the best doctor in
the place or you are the only doctor
working there, but perhaps I am the
most unlucky person on earth because every time I go to your office
you are on an emergency and I have
to wait.” He did not like that!
Another thing that drives me
crazy is when I call any of the utility companies and after twenty min-
utes of punching buttons finally an
almost human being comes on and
tries to help and after several minutes of asking all kinds of questions
that they have on the screen of their
computers they tell me that I am in
the wrong department, but no problem — they are going to transfer
me to the right department.
Then I ask if I am going to have
to start punching numbers again,
but they assure me that it will not
be necessary so I assume (we all
know what happens when one assumes) that those two operators will
talk and the first one will explain
all the details to the second one, but
i was so very w-r-o-n-g! The new
operator started asking me all the
same questions in the same order
almost like the two of them are
reading the same script.
My blood pleasure is getting
higher and higher by the minute and
I have the audacity to interrupt and
ask the final two questions: didn’t
the other operator explain all this
to you? Didn’t the other person tell
you my problem and gave you all
my credentials before getting off the
line? “No,” she tells me. “I did not
know that you were talking to another representative; I just answered
the telephone. How can I direct
your call?”
“Look,” I said. “I already explained my situation to the other
operator — why is it that you
people have a morbid pleasure of
making us, the customer, suffer all
this drama even after spending all
this time punching numbers, punching here and punching there, even
talking to the wrong department....”
After my final question came the
ultimate CLICK and they disconnected the call because all those
operators in any utility company are
very sensitive, and if you ask a
question they don’t like, they give
you the final CLICK without even
saying goodbye.
My name is Rolando Larraz, and
as always, I approved this column.
Rolando Larraz is Editor in
Chief of the Las Vegas Tribune. His
column appears weekly in this
newspaper. To contact Rolando
Larraz,
email
him
at:
[email protected] or
at 702-868-NEWS (6397)
surer, State Controller, Attorney
General, and Superintendent of
public instruction shall perform
such other duties as may be prescribed by law.”
My Point of View
Nevada Revised Statute 228 prescribes: “Whenever the Governor
directs or when, in the opinion of
the Attorney General, to protect and
secure the interest of the State it is
necessary that a suit be commenced
or defended in any federal or state
court, the Attorney General shall
commence the action or make the
defense.”
The governor directed.
She refused.
Another section of NRS 228
reads: “If the Attorney General neglects or refuses to perform any of
the duties required of him or her by
law, the Attorney General is guilty
of a misdemeanor or is subject to
removal from office.”
Instead, attorney Mark
The
Hutchison, now the lieutenant governor, was hired pro bono to represent Nevada in the Obamacare litigation. He is touted as a potential
Republican candidate for Reid’s
seat.
An attorney general who refuses
to follow the law is qualified to succeed Reid, who has been known to
flout a law or two over the years.
Then there was the criminal indictment by Cortez Masto against
then-state Treasurer and later-Lt.
Gov. Brian Krolicki over alleged
mismanagement of a college savings program. No funds were missing but the AG claimed Krolicki
was not following state budgeting
rules.
(See Cortez Masto, Page 7)
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CITY BEAT
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 3
20 homes, 900 volunteers, 1 day
Rebuilding Together Southern
Nevada and volunteers provide no
cost home repairs to make homes
of local homeowners safer, more
accessible on Saturday, April 25,
National Rebuilding Day
For many Las Vegas Valley lowincome families and veterans, home
ownership is a daily struggle between affording vital everyday essentials and investing in necessary
home repairs. On April 25, 2015,
hundreds of volunteers and corporate sponsors will come together
with Rebuilding Together Southern
Nevada (RTSNV), for its 21st annual neighborhood rebuilding event
— National Rebuilding Day — to
rebuild, repair and renovate 20
homes owned by low-income families and veterans in southern Nevada. Renovations include critical
plumbing and roofing repairs, installation of safety grab bars, access
thresholds and more. RTSNV is the
local affiliate of the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve
affordable homeownership and stabilize communities.
WHAT: More than 900 volunteers and corporate sponsors will
repair and renovate 20 homes of
low-income homeowners throughout the Las Vegas valley in just one
day! The retail value of these home
repairs will easily top $250,000,
and man-hours will exceed 7,500
in Southern Nevada, alone.
WHEN: Saturday, April 25,
2015. Work begins at 8 a.m. Renovations will continue all day until
projects are complete. In many
cases, considerable pre-work has
been done to ensure completion that
day.
TWO EXAMPLE HOMES
LISTED HERE BELOW
Featured home #1: 6156 Vista
Verde, North Las Vegas 89146
Funded by Lowe’s; volunteers
provided by Southwest Gas
Homeowner, Marvetta King, is
disabled and widowed (her husband
was a veteran).
King has adopted and is raising
her three grandchildren, all with
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
The home make-over will include replacing windows, door,
roof, HVAC, insulation, flooring,
appliances, water heater and electrical.
Featured home #2: 5817 Santa
Catalina, Las Vegas 89107
Funded by Wells Fargo Healthy
Homes Grant; volunteers provided
by Cummins Rocky Mountain
Homeowner, Christina Slowik,
is a disabled veteran and mother of
five sons with two sons still in the
home, including one with autism.
Home repairs will include windows, doors, HVAC, insulation,
flooring, appliances and a water
heater.
About RTSNV
Rebuilding Together Southern
Nevada works to strengthen the
lives of our most vulnerable communities by providing low-income
homeowners with critical home repairs, accessibility modifications
and energy-efficient upgrades.
RTSNV is an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, a national organization with nearly 100,000 volunteers
who complete about 10,000 rebuild
projects each year. We believe that
everyone deserves to live in a safe
and healthy home. As we help to
stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods across the country, our lasting impact extends beyond each
home. Learn more and get involved
at www.rtsnv.org.
*****
2015 LVBNM The Power of
Women & Business
Is Coming
LVBNM will present its 8th
Annual “The Power of Women &
Business” mixer expo, with 50
business exhibits, live entertainment, door prizes and our Chefs
Corners — chefs serving up tasty
samples to all attendees Tuesday,
May 5, 2015 at the Suncoast Hotel
& Casino Grand Ballroom 6:00
p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
We invited all Clark County
gentlemen to come and support the
business women of Las Vegas! All
attendees will receive a goodie bag.
Plus $10,000.00 in raffle drawing
give away prizes from our expo
exhibitors.
This year LVBNM will honor 3
business women, who all have excel in growing their business.
Also at the expo this month
LVBNM Business Builder Workshop Series with guest speaker
Jerrie E. Merritt, Senior Vice President and Community Development
Manager for Bank of Nevada. Topic
of conversation “Money Talk —
The Real Key to Controlling and
Saving Your Money.”
LVBNM, Mega Mixer Expo is
designed to reach all of Clark
County and is a monthly event program. There is no pre-registration
requirement to attend. This event is
open to the public (ages 18 and
over). Free admission tickets can be
picked up at all Storage West Self
Storage (13 locations) and the
Suncoast Hotel & Casino Catering
Department.
Visit
our
web
site:
w w w. p j p r o d u c t i o n l i v e . c o m /
LVBNM.html
*****
Lip Smacking Foodie Tours
Founded by local restaurant industry professionals, this unique culinary walking tour company
doesn’t believe finding a great meal
should be left to Lady Luck. Instead, its knowledgeable guides
lead visitors and locals alike di-
rectly to an array of Vegas’ most
exciting signature dishes, all in one
fun outing — without waiting in
lines or scrounging for reservations.
At each stop, tour-goers will be
treated as VIPs as they indulge in
appetizers, entrees or desserts,
which together will comprise a
complete meal. The tours include
some of the city’s splashiest restaurants, as well as hidden culinary
gems, both on and off The Strip.
Visitors who book a tour at the
beginning of their stay will gain a
better overview of the city, as well
as useful dining insights, which will
serve them well during the rest of
their trip. Even locals, who take outof-town friends on the tour, are sure
to gain new knowledge about the
city they call home. With Mother’s
Day just around the corner, a tour
is sure to make for an unforgettable
family experience.
At the end of each tour, guests
will not only leave satisfied with
good eats, but full of valuable tips
and recommendations for future
adventures on their own. Let Lip
Smacking Foodie Tours take the
crapshoot out of eating well in this
competitive city full of hundreds of
restaurants. Put your appetite in the
hands of their expert guides, who
will definitely leave your lips
smacking.
DETAILS:
—Visit four or five of Las Vegas’ most highly acclaimed restaurants in one outing.
—Immediate seating and service
like a VIP.
—Each stop is designed for the
ultimate in fun, taste, and interaction.
—A personal guide accompanies each group of food adventurers.
“Afternoon Culinary
Adventures”
Price: $125
When: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 2:30-5 p.m.
Description: A 2.5-hour excursion featuring 4 stops — a rollicking jaunt past iconic fountains,
glitzy venues and people-packed
promenades to the real attraction —
delectable dishes you won’t want
to miss. Their guides have taken the
gamble out of dining by hand-picking the most Lip Smacking dishes
to satisfy a wide range of palates.
“Savors Of The Strip”
Price: $199
When: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6-9 p.m.
Description: This glamorous 3hour evening extravaganza is a
show in and of itself as you get
whisked inside the exclusive doors
of Las Vegas’ most acclaimed restaurants to sample their most adventurous and memorable fare. For
foodies, it’s a prime time to meet
new friends and a sure-bet way to
hit all of Vegas’ culinary high points
in one fell swoop.
“Private & Custom Tours’’
Price/Duration: Please contact
them.
Description: Let them tailor a
specialized tour to your specific dietary needs or favorite culinary obsession. Ideal for company teambuilding events, birthday or anniversary celebrations, or even a
warm-up to a bachelor/bachelorette
party. Choose whatever tickles your
particular fancy. They do the
groundwork to please your palate.
To book your tour, you may stop
by in person at 452 E. Silverado
Ranch Blvd. #264 Las Vegas, NV
89183. For more information call
888-681-4388; or go online at
[email protected].
No matter what Lip Smacking
Foodie Tour you choose, BON
APPETIT!
*****
City of Las Vegas
Cultural Arts May 2015
Calendar Of Events
Rainbow Company Youth
Theatre presents
“Mr. Popper’s Penguins”
(all ages)
May 1-2 at 7 p.m. and May 2-3
at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5.
Charleston Heights Arts Center,
800 S. Brush St., 702-229-6383.
This classic of American humor,
featuring the adventures of house
painter Mr. Popper and his brood
of high-stepping penguins, has delighted children and adults alike for
generations.
Summer 2015
Class Registration at Charleston
Heights Arts Center
(all ages)
Registration May 1-June 10 for
a seven-week session of classes
June 10-Aug 1, 2015.
Charleston Heights Arts Center,
800 S. Brush St., 702-229-6383.
Fine arts courses offered for
youth, teens and adults include visual arts, drawing, ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop, and private lessons in
piano, voice or dance by appointment. For more information, call
702-229-6383. To register online,
visit http://www.artslasvegas.org/
classes/chac.htm
Ethnic Express international
Folk Dancing
(ages 8+)
Wednesdays, May 6, 13, 20,
27*, 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. (*held May
27 at 7 p.m.)
Cost: $4 per person per week at
the door.
Charleston Heights Arts Center,
800 S. Brush St., 702-229-6383.
Have an evening of fun learning
international dance styles, including Arabic, Armenian, Bulgarian,
Chinese,
Greek,
Israeli,
Macedonian, Russian, Serbian and
Turkish folk dances. No need to
bring a partner. For more information, call 702-732-4871 or go online
to www.ethnicexpresslasvegas.org.
Scottish Country Dancing
(ages 13+)
Fridays, May 8, 15, 29; 6:30 to
8:45 p.m. (not held May 1 or 22)
Cost: $5 per person at the door;
$4 for members of Southern Nevada Old Time Contra Dancers.
Charleston Heights Arts Center,
800 S. Brush St., 702-229-6383.
Scottish country dancing celebrates the beautiful ballroom
dance styles of Scotland. Dances
can be joyfully energetic or graceful. From the first chord to the final
bow or curtsey, participants will be
inspired by the driving reels, jigs,
strathspeys or lilting airs. Dancers
should wear comfortable clothes
and soft shoes. Dances are presented by the Southern Nevada Old
Time Contra Dancers, a nonprofit
volunteer organization.
For more information, call 702656-9513 or go online to
www.lasvegascountrydance.org.
Mother’s Day Dance with
Walt Boenig Big Band
(adults)
Saturday, May 9, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $10 in advance; $15
event day.
Charleston Heights Arts Center,
800 S. Brush St., 702-229-6383.
Everyone is invited to the annual
Mother’s Day Dance. The Walt
Boenig Big Band has been swinging in Las Vegas since 1981. Boenig
grew up in Beeville, Texas, where
he began his career as a professional
trombonist performing with such
road bands as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Harry James Orchestra and
Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Reserved
seating available with the purchase
of 8 or more tickets. To purchase
tickets or for more information,
visit www.artslasvegas.org/events/
dances.htm or call 702-229-6383.
Exhibitions
“Rock Stars” Exhibition
Through May 5, 7 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. Monday-Thursday; closed
Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
Free and open to the public.
Las Vegas City Hall Grand Gallery, 495 S. Main St., first floor,
702-229-1012.
These stone sculptures were created by artists who have studied
stone carving techniques at
Gainsburg Studio with artist Sharon
Gainsburg. For more information
about this exhibit, call 702-2291012.
The Harvey Fuqua Music
Awards Exhibit
Presented by The Las Vegas
Music Association and The Helen
Toland Foundation
Through May 9, 9:30 a.m. to
6:30 p.m., Wednesday-Friday; 9:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Free and open to the public.
West Las Vegas Arts Center
Community Gallery, 947 W. Lake
Mead Blvd., 702-229-4800.
Harvey Fuqua, legendary music
producer and composer, was the
brother-in-law of Motown Records
creator Berry Gordy Jr. The exhibit
will showcase some of the many
BMI awards presented to Fuqua and
also several of the other music trophies he received throughout the
50+ years he produced and wrote
music. Fuqua created the vocal
groups the Moon Glows and New
Birth and brought Ashford and
Simpson, Cholly Atkins and
Marvin Gaye to Motown, along
with several others. The awards will
show documentation of a few of the
million- and platinum-selling
records produced, written and performed by Fuqua. For more information, call 702-229-4800 or visit
www.artslasvegas.org.
Page 4 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
Is this the most effective new
antipoverty program in America?
Home visiting programs, which bring professionals into the homes of low-income
families to help address the causes of poverty, are gaining bipartisan support.
By Jessica Mendoza
Christian Science Monitor
A new federal antipoverty initiative may be showing the first signs
of real progress.
The Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting
(MIECHV) program brings professionals into the homes of low-income, high-risk families to help
them raise their children in physically, socially, and emotionally
healthy environments. The program
funds voluntary, evidence-based
home visiting initiatives across the
United States, with models hailed
as both cost-effective and backed
by data.
While it’s early yet, MIECHVfunded organizations around the
nation have already been showing
the first returns on investment, leading Congress to give bipartisan support to a bill that extends the program for another two years.
“This bill addresses an issue that
isn’t addressed enough in Congress
— the importance of using evidence to figure out what works to
reduce poverty in America,” Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany, a Republican and one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement. “This program is designed to improve outcomes for children and families —
especially those children who face
the greatest risk of abuse and neglect.”
Though on the decline, poverty
remains a critical issue in the United
States, where it affected about 45
million people in 2013, according
to the US Census Bureau. That
same year, more than half of all
schoolchildren in the US qualified
for free or reduced-price lunches,
making low-income students a majority for the first time, according
to a report by the Southern Education Foundation.
Home visiting programs are an
answer to that problem. They consist of visits from professionals —
social workers, parent educators, or
registered nurses — who provide
health check-ups, parenting advice,
and guidance to low-income households with a pregnant mother or
young children. The visits are voluntary, but parents are encouraged
to spend about an hour with each
visit, which can occur anywhere
between weekly and monthly, de-
A sign painted on top of a mural says ‘We accept food stamps,’ on Aug. 19, 2013 in Harvey, Ill. A bipartisansupported federal initiative to fund home visiting programs, which brings professionals into the homes of
low-income families, promises to help alleviate poverty across the country.
pending on the child’s age and the experience. Experts agree that in- workforce, reduced odds of delinnature of the program.
vesting in children’s early develop- quency, crime, and disease, and savPrograms have so far shown ment yields returns in the form of a ings in taxpayer dollars.
signs of success.
more productive and educated
As of 2011, all but four U.S.
When single mother Luisa
Cintron signed up for Child First, a
MIECHV-funded group in Connecticut, she was at her wits’ end,
The Huffington Post reported. Her
4-year-old son, Maliek, struggled
with delayed speech and eczema.
Ms. Cintron juggled the boy’s problems with raising a second child,
paying bills, and working shifts at
a Mexican fast-food restaurant.
Child First sent a mental health
clinician to work with Cintron for
18 months, helping her find a stable
job and housing, giving her
parenting advice, and connecting
Maliek to a special education program at the University of Connecticut. Today, Cintron told the news
site that not only are her bills getting paid, but she’s become a better
parent, as well.
“My patience was extremely
low, dealing with the kids, and we
worked on that,” she said. “I’m just
this brand new person ... I understand them.”
Several studies over the last two
decades have supported Cintron’s
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states had state- or community-run
home visiting programs — and the
best of those showed marked improvement for both the families involved and their communities, The
Pew Charitable Trust reported.
The problem is that documentation of what causes some initiatives
to succeed and others to fail have
been inconsistent. By extending
MIECHV, Congress and other advocates of home visiting intend to
improve the quality of the programs, to create a system that gives
states flexibility over their own programs while ensuring a nationwide
standard for cost-effectiveness and
overall efficiency.
“For any home visiting program
to succeed, it needs to be in a context where accurate information on
program participants and services
is collected and shared with staff
and home visitors have access to
adequate training,” Dr. Deborah
Daro, a senior researcher at the University of Chicago, told the
Brookings Institution.
“States may not continue to
make investments in its service infrastructure without a reliable and
consistent funding stream,” she
added. “The federal funding allows
states to plan.”
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 5
Attorney General Laxalt marks his 100th day in office
Special to the Las Vegas Tribune
Nevada Attorney General Adam
Paul Laxalt detailed his main priorities in the Office of the Attorney
General during his first 100 days on
the job. sSince being sworn in on
January 5, AG Laxalt has launched
several major initiatives in service
of Nevada.
“Working together, we have hit
the ground running and focused on
a back-to-basics agenda to create a
safer, stronger and freer Nevada,”
said Laxalt. “I am proud of the work
we have done thus far, and look forward to our continued efforts towards protecting the most vulnerable in Nevada, providin sg needed
legal assistance to our heroes in
uniform and fighting back against
overreach from the federal government.”
In addition to maintaining the
core functions of the office, AG
Laxalt has undertaken the following initiatives in his first 100 days:
Promoted statewide public
safety by organizing a law enforcement summit — Within the
first 30 days in office, AG Laxalt’s
first major initiative as attorney
general was to host a law enforcement summit which brought together sheriffs, chiefs and district
attorneys from Nevada’s 17 counties. At the summit, law enforcement collaborated on key issues affecting Nevada’s communities, including violent crime, domestic
violence, illegal drugs, child abuse
and human trafficking, among others. The event was widely attended
by more than 100 law enforcement
partners.
Stood with our heroes in uniform — In February, AG Laxalt announced the formation of an advisory committee to assist with the
creation of the Office of Military
Legal Assistance (OMLA). The
committee, which includes various
stakeholders in the pro bono legal
and military communities, has met
regularly since its inception. The
OMLA will be the nation’s first attorney general-led public-private
partnership giving military personnel free access to needed civil legal
services that they would otherwise
be unable to obtain at their respective military installations. This program is set to officially launch this
summer.
Fought back against federal
overreach — AG Laxalt pursued
an aggressive agenda within the
courts to protect the laws and rights
of Nevadans. In January, he joined
a majority of other states in a
multistate effort to combat federal
overreach by challenging the
president’s unilateral effort to
change federal immigration law.
AG Laxalt then testified before the
House Judiciary Committee addressing the lawsuit and the importance of following the rule of law.
Additionally, AG Laxalt filed an
amicus brief in state court supporting Elko County’s arguments
against environmental groups attempting to limit what constitutes
a public road under Nevada law.
Finally, AG Laxalt joined a
multistate letter to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms urging the agency to drop its
ban on commonly used rifle ammunition.
Redoubled consumer protection efforts — In addition to proactive actions to protect the state
and Nevadans, AG Laxalt directed
his Bureau of Consumer Protection
to join several lawsuits. Those actions included Nevada’s participation in a multistate objection to
RadioShack’s sale of customers’
personal information, and a
multistate letter to oil companies
regarding the sale of dangerous synthetic drugs in convenience stores.
The office has also made notable
criminal and consumer fraud convictions,
including:
eight
Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt
Face the Tribune Guest
Thomas Mitchell to appear on ‘Face
The Tribune’ Monday, April 27
On Monday, April 27 Las Vegas journalist Thomas Mitchell
will appear on Face The Tribune
radio show with Rolando Larraz
and Ed Uehling. Thomas
Mitchell is a former newspaper
editor who now writes conservative/libertarian columns for
weekly papers in central Nevada
and in the Las Vegas Tribune as
well in the Southern area of the
state.
Mitchell’s reputation as an
editor with larger daily newspaTHOMAS MITCHELL
pers is impeccable; he is respected by journalists as well as public officials, and his opinion is
well credited.
Face The Tribune, now in its sixth year, airs every day, Monday
through Friday, on radiotribune.com from noon to one; it’s hosted by
the Las Vegas Tribune’s founder, Rolando Larraz, and is co-hosted
by local activist and former State Senate candidate, Ed Uehling.
Tune into radiotribune.com and enjoy some of the best talk found
on today’s talk show radio, shows such as Gordon Martines’ Open
Mic, and Nevada Speaks, with Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman.
sentencings related to fraud, ten
sentencings for Medicaid and
healthcare fraud, eight scam-related
investigations and multiple warnings regarding pervasive consumer
scams. Most recently, AG Laxalt
appeared on ABC’s Good Morning
America to warn consumers about
smartphone resale scams.
Other noteworthy matters
handled by AG Laxalt include: protecting Nevada’s open government
by investigating open meeting law
complaints, appealing a judicial
order for the retrial of an inmate
responsible for the murder of an
FBI agent, assisting Elko County by
reviewing a Nevada Supreme Court
criminal decision of an alleged illegal detention and allocating the
resources to draft and file legal
briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court,
and working with the Nevada legislature to ensure the passage of the
Office of the Attorney General’s
budget and appropriate law enforcement bills.
AG Laxalt and his office remain
committed to serving Nevadans and
protecting their rights.
Page 6 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
In Nevada and Nation,
It’s National Park Week
Nevada Assembly Republicans Derek Armstrong, left, and Paul
Anderson present an alternative tax plan in a committee hearing at the
Legislative Building in Carson City Tuesday.
Where is the ‘none of
the above’ option?
By Thomas Mitchell
Do you ever get the feeling that
the tax quiz in Carson City is multiple choice, but without a “none of
the above” option?
First Gov. Brian Sandoval trotted out a bunch of ex-governors to
tout his $1.3 billion in tax hikes,
mostly to fund failed public education spending programs. Treasurer
Dan Schwartz tossed out his brief
outline for a budget that would still
spend more without tax hikes. Controller Ron Knecht rolled out his
more detailed plan to spend almost
as much as Sandoval, but without
tax hikes. Now, Assembly Bill 464,
presented by Majority Leader Paul
Anderson and Taxation Chairman
Derek Armstrong, both Republicans, proposes raising the modified
business tax on payrolls instead of
Sandoval’s gross receipts tax.
Is there no one in Carson City
who can just say, no? Spend what
the Economic Forum said you’ll
have to spend under the current
taxes?
Sometimes people get blindered
by the lack of choices being presented and think they have to take
one of them.
At least AB464 has the advantage of being based on a known tax
source and the estimates for the
amount it will raise are more trust-
worthy than the estimates for
Sandoval’s untried, untested gross
receipts tax in the form of business
license fees — contained in Senate
Bill 252.
The Nevada Registered Agent
Association commissioned a study
of Sandoval’s proposal and estimated that it overstates its revenue
projections by approximately $42
million in FY 2016 and by about
$65 million for FY 2017. How will
that hole be filled? With tax hikes?
Forgotten in the scramble to tax
more of our money for their spending is the fact the Economic Forum
forecast $6.33 billion in revenue for
the general fund for the next two
years. That is up from a forecast of
$5.8 billion in revenue two years
ago — a 9 percent increase.
Nevada’s population grew by
2.5 percent from 2011 to 2013. Nationally, inflation has increased
since 2012 by 3.4 percent. Thus, 9
percent is enough to cover both
population growth and inflation.
It would also be helpful to note
that the 2012 forecast was a bit of a
lowball and the actual two-year revenue is closer to $6.27 billion.
What’re the odds the same thing
will happen with this forecast?
How much more of the state’s
gross domestic product and net income does government need?
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Great Basin National Park in Nevada is home to some of the world’s oldest trees — bristlecone pines worn
smooth by centuries of wind, sand, and ice.
By Troy Wilde
Nevada News Service
A national campaign is underway this week to encourage people in Nevada and around the U.S. to visit
and enjoy the more than four-hundred national parks.
Nichole Andler, chief of interpretation at Great Basin National Park, says National Park Week is encouraging Americans to discover and rediscover national
parks.
She says a recently launched online search tool,
findyourpark.com, is meant to reach younger people.
“Find Your Park in particular is our public awareness campaign that invites the next generation of parks
visitors, and supporters and advocates to find their
park,” says Andler.
Findyourpark.com allows users to input a zip code
or park name to search for national parks. Andler says
it’s also part of a growing promotional campaign in
advance of the National Park Service’ centennial celebration next year.
As part of the effort to connect with younger Americans, Andler says findyourpark.com also has a social
media element that allows people to share their stories.
“What we want you to do is to engage with us,” she
says. “Tell us how you found your park, and share your
park experiences.”
Andler says the website is also helpful for people
who may be new to an area, to learn more about the
national parks within that region.
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Worker’s Comp
(Continued from Page 1)
ing each workday, himself, as a
functionary at the Worker’s Accident Insurance Institute in Prague,
Bohemia.
Then, after 2 p.m., he would go
home and write his evocative tales.
“Out of his experience of paternal tyranny and decadent bureaucracy,” said novelist John Updike
in a forward to a collection of
Kafka’s stories, “he projected nightmares that proved prophetic.”
“A sense that Kafka epitomized,” said Updike, was “a sensation of anxiety and shame whose
center cannot be located and therefore cannot be placated; a sense of
an infinite difficulty within things,
impeding every step.”
That, in fact, is a pretty accurate
description of many experiences of
Nevada’s injured workers — once
they’ve found themselves subject to
work comp’s tender mercies.
“They make you feel like a
criminal, workers’ comp does,” a
career firefighter told Nevada Journal. “They make you feel like
you’re less than” other employees.
That firefighter’s knee had gone
out during a mandatory training exercise — which the fire department
later canceled for other firefighters.
Then the county’s workers’ comp
operation denied him the surgery
his doctor recommended.
To him, it didn’t make sense —
at least not according to the socalled “grand bargain” industrial
insurance scheme that Nevada, like
virtually every other state in the
union, has ostensibly adopted.
How he was being treated
seemed totally arbitrary, he said.
Other firefighters — those within
the department’s “clique” — had no
such problem. Surgery for them was
routinely approved, even when “everybody knew” their injuries had
really happened at home or at a
sideline business or at a party on
the road.
“It makes you feel like you’re a
leper,” he said, describing what
seemed to him clear discrimination,
aimed at forcing him to retire. “I
mean — I can’t get the same coverage that this other person got?”
This fireman’s journey into the
work-comp adjudication process
with Clark County’s hired thirdparty work-comp administrator
(TPA) at the time, Sierra Nevada
Administrators, is amply documented by medical and legal
records he turned over to Nevada
Journal.
Those records reveal how mysteriously arbitrary — and thus liti-
gation-inducing — the actual administration of Nevada work comp
can be.
When this firefighter — who
asked not to be identified publicly
by name, and whom we’ll call “M”
for the moment — went to UMC in
mid-July 2012, he explained that
two weeks earlier, when climbing
through a mock window in a
firefighter training exercise, he had
“twisted [his] left knee and felt it
come out of [the] socket.”
Now, he reported to the examining physician, it wasn’t working
properly. Instead, it “locked up.”
The physician’s diagnosis, stated
multiple times on the UMC claim
forms, was: “internal derangement,
left knee.”
The county TPA’s automatic response to the claim, however, was
to say that M’s request for benefits
“is denied at this time pending
medical investigation,” and that “an
orthopedic consultation for your left
knee” will be scheduled with a doctor with whom the TPA had arranged an appointment, Kirk T.
Mendez, of Bone & Joint Specialists.
Mendez, after examining x-rays
of the knee, reported back to Clark
County’s work-comp adjuster that
the x-rays did not show “any new
anatomical derangement” and that
the osteoarthritic degeneration seen
in the knee was “not a direct cause
of his reported injury.”
The Mendez statement, however, immediately raises questions.
Since “derangement” of the knee
had been identified by the first examining physician in mid-July, the
exact meaning of Mendez’s term,
“any new anatomical derangement,” is unclear. Does “new” here
mean in the three weeks since the
UMC mid-July examination, or is
it challenging the original diagnosis altogether?
Similarly, if the osteoarthritic
degeneration seen in the knee was
not a direct cause of M’s injury,
does that not lend weight to the
hypothesis that the injury resulted
naturally enough in the context of
a fireman’s training exercise to be
covered by workers’ compensation?
Yet another report oddity occurs
in the entry under the heading
“Chief Complaint.” In an instance
of the inattention to detail frequently seen in work-comp doctor
reports, it immediately contradicts
itself, stating: “The Chief Complaint is: Right knee pain. Mr. [M]
is being seen with a chief complaint
of left knee pain.”
While M “would be a candidate
(Continued from Page 2)
A judge dismissed the charges
completely and Cortez Masto did
not appeal.
While the case was pending an
invitation to a fundraiser for a
Democratic opponent of Krolicki
for lieutenant governor listed a
sponsor of the event as Paul Masto,
husband of the attorney general.
She denied any wrongdoing and the
event was canceled.
Nevada State Republican Party
Chairman Chris Comfort said at the
time, “Catherine Cortez Masto and
her friends are so arrogant that they
change a few words on an invite and
pretend this is no longer about
Catherine Cortez Masto. The event
is hosted by Catherine’s husband
and Catherine’s top donors, and it
underscores her personal and partisan crusade to destroy Brian
Krolicki.”
Partisanship — another qualification to succeed Reid.
Krolicki also is said to be considering seeking the Republican
nomination for Reid’s seat. He was
contemplating running against Reid
in 2010 before he was indicted.
In announcing her candidacy
Cortez Masto also announced her
resignation as executive vice chancellor of the Nevada System of
Higher Education, a job to which
she was appointed only three
months ago after being term limited as attorney general.
She was appointed without benefit of a national search to a job that
had been vacant for five years and
was to be paid a salary of $215,000,
far more than her pay as an elected
official, even though she had no experience in higher education.
While serving as executive vice
chancellor, Cortez Masto testified
before a legislative panel against a
bill that would allow concealed
carry permit holders to carry their
weapons on college campuses. She
testified that guns on campus would
have a chilling effect on academic
freedom.
Another qualification to succeed
Reid, who claims to support the
Second Amendment, though he
votes consistently to curb those
rights.
Even though the Nevada Constitution prohibits the state donating or loaning money to any company, Cortez Masto opined otherwise when the governor and lawmakers wanted to dole out money
to various companies through a socalled Catalyst Fund.
On three occasions state officials
asked the voters to amend the Constitution to make subsidies to companies legal. It was defeated all
three times.
Cortez Masto opined: “The Nevada Constitution does not prohibit
the State from disbursing Catalyst
Fund money to regional development authorities...”
Some lawyers might call that
money laundering. That’s how Reid
doles out favors to his cronies, too.
Las Vegas City Councilman Bob
Beers is the only announced Republican candidate for the seat.
Cortez Mastro
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 7
for total knee arthroplasty,” said
Mendez, “this would not be due to
any workers compensation injury.”
Citing the report, Sierra Nevada
Administrators notified M that his
claim was denied.
Approximately a week later, M
requested a hearing before a state
work-comp hearing officer, insisting, “I feel that this injury is a direct result of my job, and [I] was
injured while in the course of training in my job.”
At the hearing some 10 weeks
later, the attorney representing
Clark County and its TPA not only
cited the Mendez opinion but argued at length a highly significant
proposition: that, under Nevada
law, a “work-related injury” does
not, in itself, warrant the award of
workers’ comp medical benefits:
In attempting to prove his case,
the claimant has the burden of going beyond speculation and conjecture. That means that the claimant
must establish the work connection
of his injuries, the causal relationship between the work-related injury and her [sic] disability,the extent of disability, and all the facets
of the claim by the preponderance
of the evidence. To prevail, a claimant must present and prove more
evidence than an amount which
would make his case and his
opponent’s evenly balanced. Maxwell v. SIIS, 109 Nev.327, 849 P.
2d 267 (1993).
...the employee is unable to
show a causal connection between
his pain and the workplace conditions. The claimant’s work environment did not cause his knee to lock
up, nor did it make his workplace
conditions “any different from or
any more dangerous than those a
member of the general public could
expect to confront in a non-work
setting.” (Abel v. Mike Russell’s
Standard Service, 924 S.W. 2d
502,504 Mo. 1996). (Emphasis
added.)
Next week: The Craziness of
Workman’s Comp in Nevada Continues; “M” Sees Another Doctor,
and Yet Another
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Page 8 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
From The Desk
(Continued from Page 1)
leged attack on the Twin Towers
actually took place. This allegedly
is one of the reasons nobody noticed
the airliners off course and heading
into restricted air space; very convenient I would say.
Jade Helm 15 has that same
look, feel and taste of deception.
Watching
the
military’s
spokesperson’s body language, demeanor, nervousness and speech
disorders, I would, without hesitation, suggest that he was lying
through his teeth, and that we are
all in for a rough ride with this supposed Jade Helm 15 exercise to help
our military.
I have had a little experience in
this type of deception recognition,
what with me being a cop for over
39 years and having well over three
thousand official interviews (interrogations) with potential or possible
criminals. I can almost smell a lie
when I hear one now, and this military guy is lying very badly. This is
something that can’t be brought out
in court, and is labelled “JDLR”
(Just doesn’t look right) in the law
enforcement community. With this
Jade Helm 15 thing, I am getting a
little anxious and a little fearful, and
that is exactly what the government
wants you all to feel, so that they
can more easily control you and
offer you false safety and security.
One of the problems that all of
us have in getting good information
is that of knowing, “Who do we
believe?” The mainstream news
media is loaded with many versions
of a Brian Williams. When mainstream media says something, what
are they trying to sell you and what
is really the truth? What is their
motive? Always follow the ‘money’
to the source.
Trust your own eyes and ears
and your own logical reasoningbelief system. Read between the
lines and keep an open mind. Ask
questions, and do your own independent research. And, after all of
that is done, come to a logical, reasonable, fact-based conclusion.
Trust nobody 100 percent, but seek
like-minded individuals that are
truth-seekers.
Examine closely the last 10 major crises that this country has endured and you will see “holes” in
the official stories. Example: The
Official 9/11 report doesn’t even
mention Building No. 7 falling
down, or Building No. 5, with the
bomb crater in the center of the
complex, or the molten steel from
the girders dripping liquid metal out
the side of the buildings. All this
happening from airplane fuel!
In the end, you are going to have
to ask yourself the hard question:
What are you going to do, if and
when your government, now with
the use of the military and police,
comes knocking at your door and
demands your compliance, your
trust, your property and your very
existence, to be honorably placed
in their hands? “We are from the
government and we are here to help
you.” If you buy that vomit, God
Help You.
If you look closely enough —
examine things— to see that several of our inalienable rights are
being ignored, you will find that we
have done all of this to ourselves.
We have done something to ourselves that no other country could
have done to us. We have destroyed
our privacy, our due process rights,
and have even given the government power over raising our own
children — not to mention the destruction of our marriage laws,
which will eventually erode the
family unit completely.
There is still hope though. A
magnificent document was created,
called the Constitution of the
United States of America, along
with The Bill of Rights. It was created to prevent the overthrow of our
country by anyone. All it needs is
for the people to stand up and support and defend this Supreme Law
of the Land, and we can once again
be great and lead the world by example.
Remember, Keep your Faith,
Keep your Gun, and they can Keep
the Change.
IN GOD WE TRUST
Gordon Martines is a former
LVMPD detective who has served
in many capacities over his 39-year
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Gordon Martines was a career police officer with 39 years of on-thejob Law Enforcement experience. Past cases involving Kevin Daley,
Trayvon Cole and a variety of other covered-up criminal cases, and a
billion dollars worth of missing taxpayer money, are discussed in depth
and at length on the show.
Martines spent four years as police officer with the Hermosa Beach
Police Department before moving here and resuming his police career in
Las Vegas as a Detective in the Robbery/Homicide Bureau, retiring from
the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department after 36 years of police
service.
The amount of corruption and cover-ups by executive Police Administrative officers witnessed by Martines inside the department led to his
decision to contest the good ol’ boy’s club and run for Clark County Sheriff three times against what he knew were almost insurmountable odds.
“Open Mic” carries the voice the LVMPD does not want you to hear,
yet it is always there, every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 a.m. on
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*****
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Face the Tribune is heard every Monday through Friday at 12 noon,
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For the last five years “Face The Tribune” has been the premier show
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part of the Las Vegas community for over 18 years and is the only independent newspaper in Clark County.
“Face The Tribune” was established as a voice for the people of Las
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The show’s host, Rolando Larraz, has been a journalist in Clark County
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For stories and information not available anywhere else in Las Vegas,
tune into “Face The Tribune” Monday through Friday at 12:00 noon.
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Tune in and listen to those who will tell you
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career in law enforcement. He was
a candidate for sheriff in 2002,
2006, 2010 and 2014, with the intention of bringing integrity and accountability back to the department,
and filed a federal lawsuit against
LVMPD in 2011. Martines has appeared on “Face The Tribune” radio show several times and is currently the host of “Open Mic” on
Tuesdays and Thursday at 11:00
a.m. He contributes his opinions
and ideas to the Las Vegas Tribune
to keep the public informed and
help improve policing in Las Vegas.
Face the
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EDITORIALS
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 9
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. — Thomas Jefferson
Our Point of View
Less talk, more action
needed at the Guardian
It is not too often that we like to give credit to the daily
newspaper, but we believe in giving credit where credit is
due and this time the Las Vegas Review-Journal deserves
that credit for the article they very recently ran about the
Public Guardian.
Granted, Las Vegas Tribune has been writing about that
subject for the past seventeen years to no avail because up
to now everyone has been afraid of the Shafer Clan and
no one would follow and support our efforts to expose the
criminal activities taking place inside the Public — and
the Guardian — Administration, which for years was all
the same.
The April 10 Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial, “The
Public Administrator Must Be Held Accountable,” has
generated quite a bit of feedback.
This was not the first shocking story the Las Vegas Tribune newspaper has written about Public Administrator
Jared Shafer, who was first appointed to office in 1978
and is retiring at the end of this year. In 1998, the Las
Vegas Tribune reported the alleged abuse and mistreatment of Anna Marie Gaule, a wealthy Alzheimer’s patient
in Shafer’s charge who twice suffered blackened eyes and
other signs of physical abuse, besides being disposed by
Shafer of all her properties listed in a Trust Account.
In 1983, law enforcement officials criticized Shafer for
not being aware that an employee in his office was stealing checks from the estates of dead people.
In 1987 a man sued Shafer for taking control of his
mother’s $1.2 million estate. Shafer’s attorney, Herb
Waldman, a man allegedly related to Shafer, responded to
the son’s charge saying, “This is not the first time someone becomes ill and a relative comes along and ends up
with everything in their names.”
Shafer was also criticized in 1987 for giving all of his
department’s real estate liquidation sales to the real estate
firm of then-City Councilman Al Levy — a close friend.
However, we have been of the opinion that no matter
how many articles are written or how many television segments are aired if these elected officials at the County
Commission don’t do anything, nothing will get solved,
because it is our humble opinion that Jared Shafer runs
the show as he used to run the court trials in Family Court
as some of us at Las Vegas Tribune have witnessed.
They can send all Public Administrators and Guardians
to prison, but as long as Jared Shafer is out there running
the show, the corruption at the office he used to head will
still be, since he is still the Public Administrator and the
Guardian because, thus far. everyone bows to him.
We just need to go to the Internet and see that not only
the Las Vegas Tribune and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, but also channels 3, 8, and 13 have reported and written stories about the Public Administrator and the appointed Guardians that at one time were run by the same
individual.
A point made is that the Clark County Guardian went
to prison for perhaps following orders — but to play it
safe, we’ll say for taking “advice” from Shafer; and last
Tuesday. a substitute Guardian at the County Commission meeting was called to testify and she did not even
know how many employees are now under the jurisdiction of the Guardian until someone from the audience told
her that there are twenty-two employees in that office.
Let’s make it very clear: newly appointed Chief Judge
of the Eighth Judicial District Court, David Barker, may
have all the best intentions in the world to fix this Public
Administrator/Guardian problem, but as long as there are
people out there protecting Jared Shafer, nothing will ever
change.
One thing the good Chief Judge can take into consideration is that most of those same County Commissioners
that were so interested in listening to “what is going on
with those elder citizens” have between eight to twelve
years in those very same seats and nothing has improved.
Judge Barker may have been the Chief Judge for four
months but he has been in the Clark County Court system
for over a quarter of a century and he has to be well aware
of the drastic situation and corrupted reputation of those
Family Court judges, staff, and office personnel; perhaps
that should be one of his priorities: to clean house at the
Family Court Division.
We have written about the Anna Marie Gaule story and
too many others, but not one has ended successfully because no one has the guts to confront the bully former
Public Administrator who is still running the show in that
office.
Former Justice of The Peace Daniel Ashtrom replaced
Shafer at the helm of the Public Administrator’s Office,
but nothing changed, and when the Las Vegas Tribune exposed Ashtrom for being a puppet of Shafer, he moved to
Mexico.
Let local governments opt
out of collective bargaining
By Thomas Mitchell
“We should not be talking about
While it seems most of the legisraising taxes so long as government
lation coursing through the halls of
employees make more than the taxthe Legislature in Carson City seeks
payers who fund their salaries.”
to tap deeper into taxpayers’ wallets,
Nelson continued. “Government
one might actually reduce the cost
spending would fall by approxiof local government by allowing lomately $300 per resident if Nevada
cal counties, cities and school boards
makes collective bargaining optional
to end collective bargaining with
for local government employees and
public employee unions.
if they implement those changes.
Assembly Bill 280, sponsored by
Limiting collective bargaining has
Assemblyman Erven Nelson, a Las
worked well for Wisconsin. The state
Vegas Republican, authorizes local
closed its budget deficit and realized
governments to choose not to negoenough savings to cut taxes as well.”
THOMAS MITCHELL
tiate with an employee union and
Nye County Commissioner Dan
ends the requirement for binding arbitration that has Schinhofen also testified in favor of the bill, saying
proven so costly to many local governments and school his county has 400 public employee union members
districts.
whose salaries and benefits have become unsustainNelson testified recently about his bill, saying it able. “In the past 10 years, the county’s assessed valuwill allow elected officials to regain control over the ation has declined by nearly $600 million and the opcost of government by allowing them to set the rate of portunity to generate revenue from other sources have
salaries and benefits during public meetings in front been either insignificant or not available to us,”
of the taxpayers, instead of in secret negotiations. He Schinhofen said. Today total employee compensation
noted this is how the state government works, because consumes 80 percent of the county budget.
it does not allow its employees to unionize.
He said AB280 would allow the county to regain
If a local government does agree to collective bar- control of its spending on services for its 48,000 resigaining, AB280 would not allow any pay or benefit dents.
increases after a contract expires and before a new
Former Storey County Commissioner Greg “Bum”
agreement is finalized.
Hess argued that in small counties with volatile revNelson pointed out that during the recent recession enue streams the governing body needs flexibility to
a number of government employees lost their jobs and set public employee pay rather than be bound by a
services to taxpayers were cut because unions would collective bargaining contract.
not agree to reductions in pay and benefits. He added
“This bill, as you know, would not outlaw collecunion requirements that layoffs be based on seniority tive bargaining; it would merely empower each local
instead of merit often resulted in better and lower paid government body to choose for itself whether or not
employees being laid off.
to engage in the collective-bargaining process,” testi“By providing another alternative to the governing fied Nevada Policy Research Institute President Andy
body, jobs can be saved and services to the public can Matthews. “This is important because it would give
(See Mitchell, Page 11)
be retained,” Nelson testified.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
The miseries, difficulties, and
planned pitfalls of everyday life
By Maramis
one has to admit that some of those
One sometimes wonders where
stories are more than enough food for
one can go to escape the miseries,
thought.
difficulties, and/or the planned pitAs I’ve mentioned before, not
falls of life perpetrated by those who
everyone is, wants to be, or can be, a
set themselves out to be “in charge”
world-changer, a country-changer, a
of us.
system-changer, or even a thoughtIt can be quite enough to discover
changer of some person they might
one no longer has a job, or maybe
meet in their ordinary day. If all those
even a home, or has just lost a loved
stories behind the stories were perone, or learns one has an incurable
fectly clear and easy to see, underillness or disease, but then to have
stand and believe, they might evento face those people all around us
tually become an actual part of our
MARAMIS CHOUFANI
who are “only following orders” that
history, replacing some of the lies —
invariably make our lives miserable — those who or, shall we more generously say, the misrepresentanever answer our questions with honest and useful tions that are passing for truth — that are in our hisinformation — either because they’re told not to give tory books or our school classrooms, or discussed at
out that information or because they don’t know the the water cooler.
I certainly do not have the definitive word on anyanswers and don’t want to have to admit it; those who
deliberately lie to us, and, based on those lies, cause thing, not even on myself; no matter how I may see
us to make certain decisions — sometimes creating myself, how others experience me is a very real aspect
life-changing (and not for the better) situations; those of the truth that I am — and I cannot discount anyone’s
who don’t have a kind word for us because they “don’t personal experience. Yet apparently many have no
have time,” “don’t have to answer” our questions, or trouble discounting the person in front of them, as their
because their job description apparently calls for only customer, patient, coworker or friend. And many who
those who can get rid of callers, patients, customers are doing the “discounting” now, from behind the shield
or the like in the quickest way possible so they can of their own arrogance or the possible safety of the
then go on to deal with even more people that they government’s protective armor, may soon find themalso won’t help. And of course, there are those who selves on the other side of that shield, hoping that their
just perpetuate “the way it’s always been” because previous connections or “better-than-thou-ness” will
keep them safe. If we entertain even some of the stoit’s too much of a bother to take a stand.
And that might be just the “soft” side of those ries that surfaced about the many who were no longer
protected by that shield and had to face life as an “orplanned pitfalls of life.
I am not a conspiracy theorist, as those who spend dinary” and “unprotected” person, persona non grata,
lots of time tracking down the stories behind the sto- we would be more than shocked if we were formerly
ries of the whys and wherefores of the events in which of the opinion that such an entity was really there to
any aspect of our government — from any local level help us in whatever way it could.
(See Maramis, Page 13)
up to and beyond the White House — is involved, but
VIEW POINTS
Page 10 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
Editors note: The views expressed are entirely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Las Vegas Tribune.
Dickman Tax Restraint Initiative
would close Tax-Hike Loophole
a necessary check on the
By Chuck Muth
insatiable appetite of libIt’s a law of human naerals in both parties who
ture. If you give students a
insist they know how to
week to complete a term
spend your money better
paper, they will take the
than you do.
full week to complete the
It would also close the
term paper. If you give
loophole sneaky legislathose same students a
tors have found whereby
month, they’ll take the full
they can circumvent the
month.
existing tax restraint law
Same goes for politiby voting to place tax
cians spending your
hikes on the ballot withmoney. If you give them a
CHUCK MUTH
out going through the
dollar, they’ll spend the
full dollar. Give them five dollars, they’ll trouble and expense of gathering the reqspend the full five dollars. Give them $7.3 uisite number of signatures otherwise rebillion and they’ll spend the full $7.3 bil- quired by citizens to put an issue on the
lion.
ballot.
To borrow a phrase, it’s the spending,
The Dickman Tax Restraint Initiative
stupid. And the only way to keep the politi- would make it far more difficult to put tax
cians from spending more of your money hikes on the ballot and far more expensive
is to stop giving them more of your money to mislead... er, lobby the electorate to pass
in the first place.
them. It does not diminish the average
Fortunately, back in the 1990’s Nevada voter’s power to defeat tax hikes sponsored
voters approved a tax restraint law that re- by deep-pocketed special interests; it enquires legislators in Carson City to get hances it.
a 2/3 super-majority vote to raise taxes and
Lastly, an argument has been made that
take more of your money. Unfortunately, it’s one thing to handcuff the Legislature
liberals have a found a loophole in the law. with the 2/3 super-majority requirement,
Knowing how difficult it now is to pass but that a majority of the electorate should
a tax hike in the Legislature, they’ve be- be sufficient to exercise the will of the
gun to shift tax hikes to the ballot box, people. But that argument argues against
where 50.1 percent of voters can vote to itself.
raise taxes on the other 49.9 percent of us.
If a majority of voters vote to require a
To close this loophole, conservative As- 2/3 super-majority of voters to approve tax
semblywoman Jill Dickman (R-Washoe) hikes on the ballot, THAT’S the will of the
has introduced Assembly Joint Resolution people. So let it be written; so let it be done.
8 which would “amend the Nevada Con*****
stitution to require that an initiative petiAs the caucus turns
tion which creates, generates or increases
I gotta say, after being screwed royally
any public revenue be approved by the af- by what’s passing for “leadership” in the
firmative vote of not less than two-thirds Republican Assembly Caucus before the
of the voters voting on the question.”
start of the session, conservatives have done
(See Chuck Muth, Page 12)
The Dickman Tax Restraint Initiative is
30 Years Earlier: What I Wish
I Knew About Leadership
By Doug Dickerson
minated in sad endings.
A fool thinks himself to
As I’ve grown older the
be wise, but a wise man
more I understand and
knows himself to be a fool.
care about building
— William Shakespeare
healthy relationships.
One of the benefits of
I’ve grown to appreciate
aging (not that I am old) is
connecting with likeattaining a certain amount
minded people and buildof wisdom that can be garing more bridges between
nered from it. Being able to
them and others.
look back over a certain
Titles don’t
span of time and reflect on
mean a lot
where you’ve come and
What I thought was
lessons learned can be inimportant in my twenties
strumental in how you look
DOUG DICKERSON
was acquiring a title- that
to the future. Sharing those life lessons to a somehow that validated my leadership.
new generation of leaders can be invalu- With that was the idea that my position
able.
commanded respect, admiration, and apThe late George Burns once said, “You proval. I was wrong. In hindsight after 30
can’t help getting older, but you don’t have years I understand that a position without
to get old.” That’s a great philosophy. But respect, trust, and integrity are meaningthe aging process ultimately takes a toll on less. I’d stop chasing titles and positions
all of us.
and focus more on serving others.
What are some of the signs that you are
Forgiveness is a virtue
getting older? Here are a few I came across
Taking up the mantle of leadership is
that are my favorites: You know you’re risky business. With all of the joys and regetting older when... everything hurts and wards associated with it, also come disapwhat doesn’t hurt doesn’t work; the gleam pointments and frustrations. In my twenin your eyes is from the sun hitting your ties when I was wronged it was hard not to
bifocals; when you feel like the morning take it personal and not hold a grudge. What
after and you haven’t been anywhere; your I wish I had known back then was that my
children begin to look middle aged; your unforgiveness was not hurting the person
favorite part of the newspaper is “20 Years who offended me, it was hurting me inAgo Today”; you sit in a rocking chair and stead. Life is too short to hold grudges and
can’t get it going; and finally, your knees be mad. Forgive and move on. And remembuckle and your belt won’t.
ber, you will need to be forgiven at some
I’ve been reflecting lately on the things point.
about leadership I wish I knew back in my
It’s not about me
twenties that I now know. If I had underThe narcissism of my twenties has given
stood them better it would have saved me a way to the “selfie” narcissism we see in
lot of grief and heartache along the way. today’s culture. Back in my twenties, of
Here are a few things about leadership I course, there were no cell phones, internet,
wish I had known.
Facebook, etc. But the leadership principle
I don’t always have to be right
remains. What I wish I knew then that I
I know many in their twenties who think know now is that the ultimate act of my
they know it all. I was one of them way too leadership is not what I do for myself but
often. With the passing of time I have in what I do for others. My leadership is
learned how much I don’t know. What I not meant to be self-serving but rather what
wish I knew back then was that my formal I can do to add value to the lives of those
education was only the beginning. The real around me.
educational experience began after graduOne thing is certain — life in leaderation — it’s called the real world. I wish I ship is a continual learning process. Wherknew in my twenties just how little I knew, ever you are on your journey, never stop
and that I didn’t always have to be right.
growing.
Building bridges is more
What lessons have you learned?
practical than burning them
Doug Dickerson is a syndicated columI wish I knew in my twenties the depth nist. He writes a weekly column for this
and breadth of how important relationships newspaper. To contact Doug Dickerson,
are in leadership. Sadly at times, it was a email
him
at
ddickerson@
“my way or the highway” attitude that cul- lasvegastribune.com.
You can run, but you can’t hide!
By Mace Yampolsky
Taser policies.”
San Bernardino depuThe Thursday, April 9th
ties beat the crap out of a
afternoon incident began
fleeing suspect, after they
when deputies tried to
tased him and he is on the
serve a search warrant in an
ground. The sheriff in San
identity-theft investigation,
Bernardino, California
according to the San Bersays he’s looking into a
nardino County Sheriff’s
videotaped incident in
Department. Pusok fled
which deputies are seen
from deputies in a car, then
kicking and hitting a man
on foot, deputies said. He
who had led them on a
later stole a horse, accordchase. His attorney says it
ing to authorities, before
MACE YAMPOLSKY
is worse than Rodney
being arrested in steep, rugKing.
ged terrain by officers who had been
They have their own version of Miranda dropped in by helicopter.
Rights. You have the right to be tased, even
A deputy was injured when the horse
if you do not pose a threat. You have the Pusok had been riding kicked him, the
right to be kicked and pummeled, even Sheriff’s Department said. Two others were
though you are on the ground. You have treated for dehydration. (I’ll bet Mr. Pusok
the right to go to the hospital after we get would love to only have those injuries!) The
through with you (assuming that you are incident comes amid heightened scrutiny
still alive!).
of police use of force after the 2014 deaths
In video captured by cameras aboard a of Eric Garner in New York and Michael
helicopter for KNBC, deputies gather Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the rearound the man after he falls from the horse cent shooting of Walter Scott in South
he was riding, using a stun gun on him and Carolina.
then repeatedly kicking and hitting him.
This is becoming a far too common ocKNBC reported that the man — identified currence. Thank God for cameras or there
by authorities as Francis Pusok — appeared would be no public outcry and no public
to be kicked 17 times, punched 37 times scrutiny and no one would believe that cops
and hit with a baton four times. Pusok was would do this. Two college students are
later hospitalized, KNBC reported, citing working on an app to report police brutalauthorities. At least they didn’t kill him!
ity. SWAT will give witnesses of police
“The video surrounding this arrest is brutality the ability to live-stream video
disturbing and I have ordered an internal from their Smartphones to SWAT’s secure
investigation be conducted immediately,” server. Once a video is on the servers, the
Sheriff John McMahon said in a statement. team at SWAT can forward a copy to auThe ACLU of Southern California issued a thorities, protecting witness recordings
statement Friday saying that it was “deeply from possible destruction or seizure durtroubled” by the images.
ing the incident. (“But your honor — I don’t
“While we applaud Sheriff John know how it disappeared!”)
McMahon’s prompt decision to investigate
The live-streaming function is step one
the disturbing actions of his deputies, we of the SWAT process. In addition to recordbelieve more is needed,” the organization ing secure video, a SWAT user will be able
said. “Too often the department has failed to file a police report in seconds. The app
to address questions, including those raised will generate a form, send the report to a
(See Mace, Page 12)
by the ACLU SoCal, about use of force and
BEHIND THE MIKE
Twins Again
By Michael A. Aun
lenge of females just begins
Thirty-seven years ago
to hit its prime about the
Christine and I were
time they hit puberty.
blessed with a set of twin
Life will never be the
sons that entered our lives.
same for Viv and ChristoBIG SURPRIZE!
pher. Until now, they’ve
Now we’ve learned that
enjoyed the lifestyle of Dour third son, Christopher
I-N-K’s (double income no
and his wife, Viviana, are
kids). Your world is about
about to also have twin
to change dear son of mine.
sons. Are you ready for
I’m already ordering a
this? They’re expected to
tee shirt for my daughterarrive on July 31st. This is
in-law “YOU DON’T
exactly 37 years to the day
SCARE ME I HAVE TWIN
MICHAEL A. AUN
after their uncle’s Cory and Jason were born. SONS!” For my son, I’ll just pass on my
Christopher’s nickname, which his own tee shirt “REAL MEN MAKE
brothers christened him with at birth, is TWINS!”
“Gutt,” a moniker that surmised his first
For myself, my new tee shirt would say
impression at birth. I’ve nicknamed his wife “PROUD FATHER OF TWIN SONS AND
Viviana “Bones” because she’s nothing but GRANDFATHER OF TWIN SONS.” That’s
skin and bones. With doubles in the oven... a bit wordy, so I’ll probably need to abbrewell, not so much.
viate it to “BALLBOY FOREVER.”
We recently attended a “Reveal Party”
The name countdown has already beat her parent’s home where all the family gun. I pray that Bones and Gutt will avoid
members present voted on the probability the Hank and Frank or Harry and Larry
of the twins’ sex. Originally, I cast my bal- monikers. That’s taking cute to a ridiculous
lot for twin sons because I’m already level.
blessed with two granddaughters.
For the moment Bones is showing the
After watching Viv’s brother’s son, Nico baby bump. She can nickname it with
(age 3) rampage through the house, I im- something cutesy like Bert and Ernie or
mediately changed my vote to the more Cashew and Peanut or Zig and Zag or
docile female gender, two girls. Troubled Cheech and Chong or Knucklehead and
by my quick retreat, I cast a final vote for Chucklehead or Butch and Sundance. To
one of each. I should have stayed with my simply things, she could go with the
original choice.
Munchkins or the Tumbleweeds or the
Twins are not exactly a rarity. One in Twinkies or the Little Buddies.
every 30 births produces twins, about 3.3
This whole Baby A and Baby B thing
percent of all births. Interestingly, over the lacks originality. I’d rather you go with Ace
past 30 years, the birth rate for twins rose and Deuce or Apple and Banana. You might
about 76 percent. Why the increase?
as well have some fun with the odd-ball
One reason might be that many women monikers until the business of naming them
are waiting until they are older to have chil- permanently kicks in.
dren, sometimes producing more than one
If the boys arrive on the 31st of July (as
egg at a time, meaning more than one baby. prognosticated by her medical professionRegardless of the probability or the rea- als) we could then have “twin birthday
sons, twins will change the way you con- party” for both the new boys and their
duct your life. Initially, the rarity produces uncles, Jason and Cory. Combining the celshock and awe. Then the reality of it all sets ebrations would make for a spectacular
in and the real work begins.
event.
Fortunately for Bones and Gutt, both sets
We’re celebrating this event and plan to
are grandparents are close by and can lend have as much fun as possible, because the
a helping hand. The arrival of another set real work is about to begin. Let’s just pray
of twin sons in our family is living proof that they are blessed with healthy and happy
that God does have a sense of humor.
baby boys.
Say what you wish, boys are different.
*****
When born, they’re a bigger handful than
Michael Aun is a syndicated columnist
girls, even on girl’s worst day. The good and writes a weekly column for this newsnews is that as they grow older, the mainte- paper. To contact Michael Aun, email him
nance for boys lessens and the ongoing chal- at [email protected].
COMMENTARIES
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 11
Editors note: The views expressed are entirely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Las Vegas Tribune.
Our Police and Social Control
By Norman Jahn
In a Democracy, methods used
for societal control (law and order)
result from oversight by the citizens
in our communities. Citizens are ultimately responsible for the performance of our police. Do community leaders (school officials, casino
moguls, politicians, business executives) actually know about what our
police are being taught or are citizens indifferent about how we hire
and train our police? Instead of having apathy until an ‘incident’ occurs, will new scrutiny of police
training improve policing and public trust?
‘Post-Ferguson’ reports suggest
overall government was bad in
Ferguson, MO. What was ever done
about it? A police incident was the
‘spark’ that ignited the flames, but
maybe the police are the ones who
should have been protesting — carrying signs that read, “Hands Up —
No Leadership.” Why? Because
Officer Wilson was probably doing
exactly what he was TAUGHT to
do and who could have predicted
the lying witnesses? If we want our
police to be ‘one’ with the community and the community to be ‘one’
with their police we have to
understand what has brought us
NORMAN JAHN
to this point.
In the near future, legitimate
leaders, community activists, and
even a few ‘radicals’ may be consulted about what to teach and also
reach a consensus about what to
expect from our police. Citizen involvement and ownership may be
a new model of police training.
How will this help? Will it result in
more informed citizens and reduce
the outcry after an incident such as
the one in Baltimore?
Six Baltimore officers are under
investigation after a suspect
(Freddie Gray) died of a severed
spine a week after his arrest. His
(Continued from Page 9)
citizens a much stronger voice in
how local fiscal affairs are conducted. If the residents of Elko or
Reno or Las Vegas think that their
local government employees ought
to be able to negotiate under collective bargaining laws, then they
can vote to elect officials who will
implement that policy. Residents
who feel otherwise can vote for candidates who pledge to do the opposite.”
Of course, a number of public
employee union representatives testified against the bill, saying it
would make it more difficult for
local governments to recruit quality employees. They also said
unions have been willing to reopen
contracts and negotiate pay reductions.
What is being proposed for the
cities, counties and school boards
currently works for the state, which
is able to hire suitable employees
at a pay scale with which both employer and employee agree.
We fully support and call for
passage of AB280 to allow local
governments to take control of their
budgets for the benefit of taxpayers and not be forced to cede control of budgets to out-of-state arbitrators who don’t have to live with
the result of their decisions.
Thomas Mitchell is a former
newspaper editor who now writes
conservative/libertarian columns
for weekly papers in Nevada.
Mitchell
crime (as far as we know right now)
was to have ‘eye contact’ with the
police and then fleeing on foot.
Gray was Black. The Mayor, Police Commissioner, and State Attorney in Baltimore are also all Black.
Two of them are female. I don’t
know the racial composition of the
officers involved, but that shouldn’t
matter — should it? The bottom line
is whether police caused the death,
whether the force and tactics used
were reasonable. Baltimore officials should get the facts from their
investigation and then act — if necessary.
But what if a guy like Reverend
Al Sharpton had been in charge of
Baltimore PD academy? What answers would he be giving right
now? Would he be held to account
for what the police were taught and
whether it matches up with their
conduct in the field? Will trust be
improved when citizens are confident that incidents will be carefully
scrutinized?
Hard-charging cops like the
word ‘proactive.’ It means going
out to look for opportunities to perform their jobs! For administrators,
it should mean having foresight and
preventing problems before they
occur. The Las Vegas Sun published
a report this week, which can be
found at http://lasvegassun.com/
news/2015/apr/20/eyes-turn-metrowake-shootings/. Are claims in the
article that Metro has now become
a ‘role model’ (for agencies struggling with accusations of racial
bias) an example of Metro administrators being proactive or were
they forced to act? Being forced to
act is not LEADERSHIP!
I recently read a thought-provoking column entitled, Police
Warriors or Community Guardians
by Seth Stoughton in the Washington Monthly. This law school professor in South Carolina was a police officer for five years and he
proposes that deadly police encounters can be prevented without sacrificing safety but this will require
changes in the very mindset of POLICE TRAINING. Below are some
excerpts:
...(Killings by police) are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms
of a systemic problem: a police culture that trains and encourages officers to adopt a “warrior
mindset.” As a former officer, I’ve
been immersed in that culture. As a
scholar who studies policing, I’ve
seen how the warrior mindset,
though adopted with the very best
of intentions, has led to unnecessary
violence and undermined police/
community relations. In short, modern policing has developed a “warrior” problem... Unfortunately, the
concept has mutated far beyond its
original, limited meaning. Instead
of applying to only the most dangerous and daunting situations, the
warrior mindset now instructs officers on how to approach every
aspect of their job. From their earliest days in the academy, wouldbe officers are told that their primary objective is to go home at the
end of every shift. But, they are
taught, they live in an intensely hostile world — one that is, quite liter-
ally, gunning for them.
Officers learn to both verbally
and physically control the space
they operate in. They learn that it
is essential to set the proper tone
for an encounter, and the tone that
best preserves officer safety is
widely thought to be one of “unquestioned command.” Even acting
friendly, officers are told, can make
them a target.. failure to comply is
confirmation that the individual is
an enemy for the warrior to vanquish, physically if necessary... The
result is avoidable violence.
...Another model — the Guardian — may offer some solutions. So
what’s the difference? Put simply,
the guardian mindset prioritizes
service over crime-fighting... it
emphasizes communication over
command, cooperation over compliance, and legitimacy over authority.
If we are going to reconsider
what we TEACH our police then
consider Stoughton’s practical suggestions for training Guardian Officers instead of Police Warriors,
which included the following:
Non-enforcement Contacts
Officers should be required to
initiate non-enforcement contacts
with community members... and
teach officers communications
skills that they will use countless
times over the course of their careers.
De-escalation Training
...talking to people, managing
conflict without violence, is a learnable skill that all officers would
(See Norm Jahn, Page 12)
[email protected]
Page 12 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
Chuck Muth
(Continued from Page 10)
their best to accept the reality of
their situation and have been publicly cooperative and generally
muted about how Speaker-of-theWeak John Hambrick and Speakerin-Reality Paul Anderson have
managed (or mismanaged, as the
case may be) the session so far.
But you can only push, pull,
bully and threaten people so far
before they reach the breaking
point.
Freshman Assemblywoman
Victoria Seaman (R-Clark) reached
that point this week.
The long and short of it is this:
Seaman had a bill that she put a lot
of time and effort into. Judiciary
Chairman Ira Hansen (R-Washoe)
killed it by not even bringing it up
for a committee vote before the
deadline last Friday.
An exchange of angry words
then occurred in his office during
which Hansen said to Seaman
something to the effect of “If you
were a man I’d punch you in the
face.”
Sexist!
I mean, if Hansen would punch
drama-queen Assemblyman Chris
“Let’s Make a Deal” Edwards in the
face, why should he treat Ms. Seaman differently just because she’s
a woman, right? Whatever happened to gender equality?
But I digress.
In any event, Seaman privately
took her beef with Hansen to the
entire caucus on Tuesday, reading
a prepared statement detailing what
Hansen did and said.
Caucus leaders then assured her
they were going to handle the situation and put out a public statement
condemning Hansen’s use of threatening language and his general bullying behavior.
But as is par for this lame course,
the statement put out late Thursday
night was nothing more than Grade
A political pabulum that not only
didn’t yank up Hansen by the
britches, but actually left open
whether it was Hansen or Seaman
herself who perpetrated the inappropriate behavior!
In fact, I’m told Seaman wasn’t
even given the courtesy of seeing
the release before the caucus leaders leaked it to Jon Ralston (D-UI),
Nevada’s #2 liberal blogger-witha-taxpayer-subsidized-TV-show.
Realizing that playing nice in the
sandbox and working through
“proper” channels didn’t get her
doodley-squat, Seaman then issued
her own response to the caucus
leaders’ response to Hansen’s behavior.
“Frankly, nothing short of a public apology from Chairman Hansen
for using such threatening and inappropriate language is acceptable,” Seaman wrote. “And under
the circumstances I ask our caucus
leaders to right this wrong by finding a way to bring my bill to the
floor of the Assembly for consideration.”
Something tells me the toothpaste is now out of the tube and all
the governor’s horses and all the
governor’s men ain’t gonna be able
to put it back in.
*****
Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public
policy grassroots advocacy organization. He may be reached by email
at [email protected].
(Continued from Page 11)
benefit from having.
Integrated, Scenario-Based
Training
De-escalation is an effective tool
in tense situations; but, like unarmed combat, it requires practice
in a dynamic, high-pressure environment.
Informed Training
When an officer is seriously injured or killed, police trainers
across the country engage in an indepth analysis in order to learn
from the incident so it never happens again. We should demand the
same approach when civilians are
seriously injured or killed.
Tactical Restraint
When violence is avoidable and
when avoiding it doesn’t sacrifice
the police mission, officers should
be required to use tactical restraint even when that means
holding their position or tempo-
rarily withdrawing.
The article concludes,
“Earning public trust will take
years, if not decades, and it will require deep changes to police training, culture, and accountability
mechanisms. But we can, we must,
start now. We should start by rejecting the concept of the Police Warrior and adopting instead the
Guardian Officer”
Isn’t it time to ask where Metro
stands developing GUARDIANS
rather than warriors?
*****
Norm Jahn is a former LVMPD
lieutenant, who has also served as
a police chief in Shawano, Wisconsin, and has nearly 25 years of police experience. Jahn now contributes his opinions and ideas to help
improve policing in general, and in
Las Vegas in particular, through his
weekly column in the Las Vegas
Tribune.
(Continued from Page 10)
nearby department with proper jurisdiction, and provide users with a
summary of their local rights. “We
want to make sure that people understand completely their protections, constitutionally and legally,
when they’re interacting with the
police,” Gruenbaum said.
At present, the app is still being
developed, but the founders have a
long-term vision in place. As app
users document incidents over time,
the team at SWAT plans to compile
the relevant data into a format that
can be made available to local governments. Will this have a deterrent
effect. One can only hope.
*****
Mace J. Yampolsky is a Board
Certified Criminal Law Specialist,
625 South Sixth St., Las Vegas, NV
89101; He can be reached at:
Phone 702-385-9777 or fax 702385-300. His website is located at:
www.macelaw.com.
Norm Jahn
Mace
POLITICAL ANALYSIS
Will Jeb Bush revolutionize U.S.
politics with this one ‘weird’ trick?
Jeb Bush appears set to turn over some key campaign
functions to the ‘Right to Rise’ super PAC. A bold
move, considering the candidate will not be legally
allowed to interact with the organization.
By Peter Grier
Christian Science Monitor
Is Jeb Bush about to revolutionize American presidential campaigns?
Sure sounds like that’s possible.
According to a big Associated Press
story out Tuesday, Mr. Bush is planning to turn over many core campaign functions to his “Right to
Rise” super political-action committee.
This organization, which can legally raise cash from deep-pocket
donors in unlimited amounts, would
handle many TV ads, direct-mail
appeals, and maybe even voter datagathering and phone-bank outreach.
The campaign per se, subject to
individual donor caps of $2,700 for
primary and another $2,700 for general campaigns, would be a much
smaller entity. It would handle some
traditional functions but mostly focus on Bushian activity — planning
and operations for the candidate’s
actual appearances.
“The goal is for the campaign
to be a streamlined operation that
frees Bush to spend less time than
in past campaigns raising money,
and as much time as possible meeting voters,” writes AP’s Thomas
Beaumont.
Here’s why this is potentially so
big: Legally speaking, Bush will not
be allowed to coordinate with his
super PAC’s activities once he’s an
official candidate. He’ll be setting
it up, helping it raise initial funds,
staffing it with loyalists, and then
setting it free in the wild to roam
on its own.
It’s like Right to Rise will be a
friendly giant that will do everything in its power to help Bush in
his White House quest — but Bush
won’t be able to order the giant
around, or even really talk to it. Or
maybe a robot is a better analogy
— a robot that Bush has infused
with artificial intelligence based on
his own beliefs and then dispatched
from his underground Florida lab
to defeat his opponents while he
goes off to kiss babies in New
Hampshire.
The whole thing is “a bit like
political science fiction,” writes
Philip Bump of The Washington
Post’s political blog “The Fix.”
The description the Bush team
might prefer is “bridge partner,” not
“alien overlord.” The Right to Rise
super PAC will be an entity that the
rump Bush campaign can cooperate with, and react to and lead by
example, even if they can’t conspire
with it directly.
They’ll be helped in this by the
fact that GOP political strategist
Mike Murphy is likely to head
Right to Rise, according to the National Journal.
He’s a longtime friend and associate of Bush once thought to be
the obvious choice as Jeb 2016
campaign manager.
The huge advantage of this
structure is that it makes it much
easier for Bush to amass an enormous war chest. He’ll have to spend
much less time dialing for dollars.
All he needs is a billionaire or two
in his corner. (Anybody have the
Koch brothers’ number?)
This kind of operation could become de rigueur for US politics if
it works well for Bush. In that sense,
it’s similar to the Obama
campaign’s rejection of public financing in 2008. Barack Obama
showed that it was possible to raise
more cash outside the existing
framework than inside it. Mitt
Romney followed suit in 2012.
Not that everyone thinks Bush’s
move is a good idea, of course. The
phrase some on the left might use
to describe the possible new structure is “Frankenstein monster.”
“Isn’t it kind of weird, and potentially either dangerous (if the law
is complied with) or grossly illegal
(if it’s not) to locate not only the
financial but the operational control
of a presidential campaign in an organization that’s not supposed to
coordinate with the candidate?”
writes Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly’s “Political Animal”
blog.
(Continued from Page 9)
We know that the government
cannot please everyone. WE can’t
even please everyone. And heaven
only knows what the BIG SECRETS are that will yet make our
lives even more difficult or uncomfortable in certain ways. Apparently
when one is part of a big and powerful entity, such as the military or
some complex system ostensibly
set up for either helping those in
need or just operating according to
its raison d’etre, there are so many
rules and regulations that if one falls
on the far side of the hairline of a
rule, that simply means that one is
disqualified. Yes, I have been there.
And I’ll bet others have too.
When I was in the military,
working as a recruiter, I had an applicant who was a body-builder. He
looked perfectly fit, met all the criteria, and really wanted to join.
There was just one little problem:
he was five pounds over the acceptable weight because his muscles
weighed more than all the “allowable fat” that let other less-in-shape
applicants join. I felt he needed to
be an exception to the rule. I took
the time to put together a waiver
for him (kind of like an appeal) so
that the powers that be could easily
see why they should grant him that
exception. He scored high on the
entrance exam, had absolutely no
problems of any kind — with the
law or anything else — and was
eager and ready to go. I was told
that when he got to MEPS (where
they take their physical and actually enlist), the doctor there would
make the final determination.
Yes, you have already guessed:
they denied his waiver. That five
pounds (of muscle) was just too
much for them to bear. Better he
would have carried 30 pounds of
excess fat, as long as it didn’t go
over their sacred carved-in-stone
weight limit. Chalk up one very fit
could-have-been soldier, and for no
reason that could possibly have
made any sense to either me or him.
Where can we possibly go to
avoid some of the miseries, difficulties, and/or planned pitfalls that
we might experience in this country in our everyday life? Pick a
place. Go there. Then realize that
every country will likely have its
own set of miseries and difficulties
to be experienced; and unless we’ve
done our homework really well, and
picked a planned pitfalls-free country (do any exist?), we might better
deal with the “monsters” we know
than the “monsters” we don’t know.
Just don’t believe that that
means we have to settle for letting
“monsters” overrun us. We ought
always strive to make any changes
for the better that we can, even if
we don’t succeed the first ten times
we try.
A better world is possible, and
surely we can contribute to that by
striving for a better piece of that
world right here in our very own
Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.
It’s always worth a try.
Maramis Choufani is the Managing Editor of the Las Vegas Tribune. She writes a weekly column
in this newspaper. To contact
Maramis,
email
her
at
[email protected].
Maramis
MAIL RECEIVING AND FORWARDING
Mail Receiving/Forwarding
We will collect mail sent to you under any name you
want, at our commercial Las Vegas address. Mail will be
forwarded to you by regular mail, Fed Ex, or scanned
and emailed per your directions. This service for
returning clients is $45.00 per month.
License Hanging: Your professional license can be
held at Our Office, using our commercial address, for
$10.00 per month.
Call 310-706-1755
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 13
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 14 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
Interviews along the Red Carpet with singer/newspaper columnist Marin Wade, left, and model Edy Williams.
Academy Award Red Carpet Interviews:
Marin Wade and Edy Williams
By Sandy Zimmerman
Las Vegas Tribune
Photos of Marin Wade and Edy
Williams by Sandy Zimmerman,
other photos by Academy of
Motion Picture Sciences
Each year the thrilling Academy
Award’s ceremony brings some of
the most talented men and women
in their fields.
Just as the nominated films represent the best works of today, the
celebrities who walk the red carpet
are as talented and as diverse as the
films.
I have met many of the Hollywood TV and film celebrities as
well as our own Las Vegas stars of
the shows along the red carpets.
Known for her vocals, multi-talented Marin Wade performed in
many Las Vegas shows — “Vegas,
The Show,” “Fantasy,” “Dancing
Queen” and “Eye Candy“ — and
surprised everyone as she became
a columnist for the Las Vegas
Weekly.
Marin now writes “Confessions
of a Las Vegas Showgirl,” a behind-
the-scenes look at the lives of
showgirls.
Marin explains, “Every week I
write a new confession all about
embarrassing and uncensored stories that happen in the life of a modern day Las Vegas showgirl.
“I finished my first ‘Confessions
of a Showgirl’ video. We discussed
all of our off-show activities.
“There are so many stories about
showgirls, it is amazing.” Visit
www.confessionsofashowgirl.com.
Edy Williams walked the red
carpet and stopped for my interview. The moment she was handed
the microphone, Edy didn’t wait for
me and started talking.
“It’s the Academy Awards again,
I’m Edy Williams. I usually bring
a puppy, or a Saint Bernard or Great
Dane, this time I just brought me. I
hope you like that.
“You can see my feature spread
in Playboy Magazine.
“I’m for Eddie Redmayne in the
‘Theory of Everything,’ his acting
was brilliant, touching to the heart.
Keeping my fingers crossed that he
Classic photo of Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher on one of the
early Academy Awards Red Carpets.
Early Academy Awards Poster
will win.
“True life stories that you can
read the book to know the whole
story.
“Last year I was at the Beverly
Hilton Hotel at this time, the year
before at the Music Center downtown Los Angeles.”
Edy interviewed herself so I relaxed until the next celebrity arrived!
VARIETY
Variety — The Children’s Charity participates by raising funds at
the Academy Awards. Variety —
The Children’s Charity is an enthusiastic group of business leaders
who donate their time, resources
and energy to positively impact the
lives of children in their own communities and around the world.
For information about Variety —
The Children’s Charity events during the year, contact Variety of
Southern Nevada, at 3401 Sirius
Ave., Suite 1, Las Vegas. Tel: (702)383-8466;
Email:
[email protected] Website:
http://onalv.org/
Award
winning
Sandy
Zimmerman is a syndicated columnist featuring Show and Dining reviews, travel, health, luxury and
more. Sandy is talk show host of the
Las Vegas Today Show programs
and Discover the Ultimate Vacation
travel specials. If you want to suggest topics for articles or to ask
questions about Sandy’s articles,
call 702-731-6491.
Scene from the Academy Award nominated film, 2015, “The Theory of Everything.”
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 15
Remedy’s 8th Anniversary Celebration Free Party!
This Week
in Las Vegas
By Mike Kermani
By Mike Kermani
Las Vegas Tribune
Henderson’s Favorite Locals’
Hangout Celebrates Its 8th Anniversary. It’s a red carpet affair as
Remedy’s Tavern celebrates its 8th
Anniversary on Saturday, May 16.
Beginning at 7 p.m., all of
Remedy’s friends and family can
walk the red carpet, pose for the
paparazzi and enjoy a fun-filled
evening. There is no cover for the
party, however all guests at
Remedy’s must be over 21 yearsold with valid ID. Remedy’s 8th
Anniversary Party is at the St. Rose
location only at 3265 St. Rose Parkway in Henderson.
The Parametrics, Las Vegas’
“boutique band of misfits,” will entertain celebration-goers with a variety of music from the ’80s, ’90s
and 2K. Guests are invited to wear
their best “red carpet” attire for the
swanky celebration, where they will
be treated to a buffet of food, starstudded drink specials and hourly
prize giveaways.
Along with unique and fun
themed parties throughout the year,
Remedy’s boasts a wide selection
of house-made cocktails and
handcrafted food. Remedy’s also
offers VIP Gaming Club, 24 hour
service from their friendly staff,
tasty lunch specials seven days a
week and much more.
*****
LITTLE RIVER BAND
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS
AT CANNERY
Legendary hit-makers the Little
River Band will be celebrating 40
years of continued chart-topping
music with a concert at The Cannery Casino & Hotel located at
2121 East Craig Road (Craig &
Losee), North Las Vegas, Nev. on
Saturday, on April 25, 2015 at 8:00
p.m.
Formed
originally
in
Melbourne, Australia in 1975, Little
River Band started enjoying their
success in their home country before becoming radio staples in the
United States with good
songwriting, powerful vocals, and
guitar harmonies. They immediately claimed their place as one of
the great vocal bands of the ‘70s
and ‘80s. As the first Australian
band to successfully conquer foreign markets from an Australian
base, the band’s total global record
sales have reached more than 30
million with 16 hit singles as well
a gold, platinum and multiplatinum
albums.
Little River Band’s Top 10 Hits
include: Cool Change, Reminiscing, Lonesome Loser, Lady, The
Night Owls, Man On Your Mind,
Help Is On The Way, Happy Anniversary, The Other Guy, Take It
Easy On Me, and It’s A Long Way
There.
Concert tickets can be purchased
at www.ticketmaster.com or by
calling the Cannery Casino & Hotel box office at (702) 507-5757.
*****
R&B BOBBY BROOKS
WILSON PERFORMS AT THE
SUNCOAST SHOWROOM
R&B and soul singer Bobby
Brooks Wilson will entertain the
audience at the Suncoast Showroom on May 1 and 3.
Wilson first made waves in the
entertainment community for his
remarkable impression of legendary Jackie Wilson — later to find
out that the man he emulated
onstage was actually his father.
Wilson got his start in a talent show
performing the James Ingram classic, “Just Once,” and became a
regular at karaoke bars. After an
impressive performance of the
Motown classic “My Girl,” Peter
Hernandez of Peter and the Love
Notes approached Wilson and invited him to perform with the
Hernandez family, including
Hernandez’s son, pop icon Bruno
Mars.
During a Hernandez family performance, 1960’s rocker Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders recognized Wilson’s talents and
likeness as similar to those of Jackie
Wilson, and later recommended
him to perform as Jackie Wilson in
an impersonator show in Las Vegas.
As his profile for impersonation
grew, more and more industry professionals recognized him as a dead
ringer for Jackie Wilson, down to
his signature laugh; a blood test
later confirmed they were father
and son.
Today, Wilson performs impressions besides Wilson, including
Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder and
Little Richard. His album “It’s
About Time” was released in 2012
and includes soulful covers of
Jackie Wilson’s “I Get the Sweetest Feeling” and Otis Redding’s
“I’ve been Loving You Too Long,”
among others.
Showtime each evening is 7:30
p.m. can be purchased at any Boyd
Gaming box office by calling 702284-7777, or by visiting
www.suncoastcasino.com.
*****
schedule to welcome its first attendees in August, with the anticipated
completion of the entire expansion
and renovation in January 2016.
Construction began in October
2014 and since then 88,000 cubic
yards of dirt have been excavated,
29,115 cubic yards of concrete
poured and 200 construction jobs
created. Forming the framework of
the expansion’s Phase I is 335 tons
of joists, 650 tons of trusses, 1,600
tons of structural steel and 548 tons
of decking.
With the Mandalay Bay Convention Center expansion,
Mandalay Bay can accommodate
growing tradeshows as well as attract new shows with over 900,000
square feet of contiguous exhibit
space. The added carpeted space
will allow for more corporate
groups and associations. The
project represents the continued
commitment Mandalay Bay is
making to the meetings and convention industry and to Las Vegas,
the No. 1 trade show destination.
“With business volume increasing, this change provides us with
more flexibility to host a wider variety of groups,” said Stephanie
Glanzer, vice president of Sales for
Mandalay Bay. “Whether hosting
a small corporate group, mid-size
association or large tradeshow, each
group will have their own dedicated
area within our convention center
along with a dedicated team to assist in every detail.”
For more information, visit the
MGM Resorts International Newsroom.
*****
MANDALAY BAY
CONVENTION CENTER
EXPANSION ON SCHEDULE
TO OPEN PHASE 1
IN AUGUST
Group business is booming and
so is construction on the Mandalay
Bay Convention Center expansion,
adding 350,000 square feet of exhibit space, more carpeted ballroom
space and 900 underground parking spaces for a total of more than
2 million square feet. The foundation has been laid and the underground garage, construction footings and columns all have been
completed.
The $66 million project is on
THE ‘IN ITS ENTIRETY’
CONCERT SERIES EXTENDED AT RED ROCK
RESORT WITH LED
ZEPPELIN’S IV ALBUM
See live performances of
music’s most iconic records “in
their entirety,” every second Friday
of the month at 7:30 p.m. Tickets
on sale — Friday, April 3, 2015 at
10 a.m.
Due to overwhelming demand,
The IN ITS ENTIRETY Concert
Series will continue at Rocks
Lounge inside Red Rock Resort
every second Friday, beginning Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. with a performance of Led Zeppelin’s
Grammy Award-winning album
Led Zeppelin IV. Released in 1971,
the album was certified 23-times
platinum in the United States and
featured the band’s signature single
“Stairway To Heaven.”
Featuring world-class musicians
and singers, including players that
have worked with and backed legendary artists including Celine
Dion and David Foster, The IN ITS
ENTIRETY Concert Series takes audiences back to a time when albums
were a complete and cohesive piece
of art, by performing the famous
records track to track, cover to
cover the way they were originally
meant to be appreciated.
The IN ITS ENTIRETY Concert
Series features a different album every second Friday of each month
and includes performances of:
IN ITS ENTIRETY — A tribute to the Led Zeppelin IV album,
Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m.
IN ITS ENTIRETY —
Journey’s Greatest Hits performed
by “Journey Unlimited — The Tribute”, Friday, June 12, 2015 at 7:30
p.m.
IN ITS ENTIRETY — The Best
of Paul McCartney — The Beatles
and Beyond
Celebrating Sir Paul’s 75th
birthday, this tribute includes classics from The Beatles, along with
“Wings Greatest hits” album performed by The Fab, Friday, July 10,
2015 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for The IN ITS ENTIRETY Concert Series are $15 plus
tax and applicable fees and go on
sale Friday, April 3 at 10 a.m. The
concert series features a different
album every second Friday of each
month. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and
guests under 21 must be accompanied by an adult.
Tickets can be purchased at any
Station Casinos Reward Center and
The Fiestas, by logging onto
www.sclv.com/concerts or through
Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or
www.ticketmaster.com.
Mike Kermani is an entertainment writer for the Las Vegas Tribune newspaper. He writes a
weekly column in this newspaper.
To contact Mike Kermani, email
mkermani@ lasvegas tribune.com
Page 16 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
Get down at Commonwealth’s
Kentucky Derby celebration
By Jerry Fink
Las Vegas Tribune
Grab your hat and run for the
roses! Commonwealth, located in
the heart of Fremont East Entertainment District in Downtown Las
Vegas, will host “Talk Derby To
Me,” a Kentucky Derby celebration
from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May
2.
In collaboration with the United
Way’s Young Philanthropists Society, Makers Mark, Veuve Cliquot
and Fletcher Jones Imports, Commonwealth will host an afternoon
of specialty cocktails, live music
and passed hors d’oeuvres. Guests
of Commonwealth’s Kentucky
Derby celebration will also receive
one complimentary sports book
ticket with a bet placed on a horse
chosen at random. Winnings may
be collected at the El Cortez Hotel
& Casino.
Tickets to Commonwealth’s
Kentucky Derby celebration are
available for purchase on the Commonwealth website and are priced
at $20 before the event and $25 at
the door. Proceeds from all ticket
sales will benefit the United Way
of Southern Nevada.
Located at 525 E. Fremont St.,
Commonwealth is open Wednesday through Friday from 6 p.m. to
close and 7 p.m. to close on Saturday and Sunday. More information
is
available
by
calling
702.798.7000,
at
www.CommonwealthLV.com, on
Facebook and on Twitter.
*****
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS
AT THE JEWEL BOX
IN LAS VEGAS
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS,
the internationally-acclaimed phenomenon that Vanity Fair called
“Dementedly Good Fun!” reveals
itself at The Jewel Box at 3275
South Industrial Road.
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS is
the Ancient Australian Art of Genital Origami, featuring an astounding series of penis installations.
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS, a
show which Time Out New York
called “Comedic Brilliance!” requires astonishing stamina, an unbelievable stretch factor and an
amazing level of testicular fortitude. The show leaves women and
men gasping with more than 40
heroic and hilarious installations,
including crowd pleasers, tourist
attractions and food products, such
as “The Pelican,” “The
Windsurfer,” “The Eiffel Tower,”
“The Loch Ness Monster” and their
signature creation, “The Hamburger.”
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS is
a non-sexual adult show.
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS
will be performed Wednesdays
through Mondays (dark Tuesdays)
at 8 p.m. at The Jewel Box, 3275
South Industrial Road. Located on
the corner of Industrial Road and
Desert Inn (behind Fashion Show
Mall, adjacent to Erotic Heritage
Museum)
ABOUT PUPPETRY
OF THE PENIS
A runaway hit at the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival, Puppetry of the
Penis set its sights on world domination, playing London’s West End,
the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Montreal’s Just for
Laughs Comedy Festival and
launching multiple companies in
the United States, with one playing
the John Houseman Theatre in New
York for two years, and another two
touring extensively, with sit-downs
in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS has
been experienced by more than one
million people, including celebrities Hugh Grant, Naomi Campbell,
Posh Spice, Bono and Elton John,
in more than 14 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Holland, Germany,
Ireland, Canada, New Zealand,
Belgium, Iceland, Spain, Italy,
Switzerland and Portugal, as well
as on popular television programs,
including “The Tonight Show With
Jay Leno.” The show has been
translated into three languages, had
a “how to” book published, been
played non-stop on HBO’s “Real
Sex” since 2002, and had DVD releases throughout the world.
PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS
was conceived by Simon Morley in
1996, as the title of a classy, highbrow art calendar, showcasing 12
of his favorite penis installations.
Years before, Simon’s youngest
brother had shown him his first
genital trick, ‘The Hamburger.’
Natural sibling rivalry with their
two other brothers resulted in the
evolution of a healthy repertoire of
genital gesticulations. It was on
New Year’s Eve in 1997, with a
garage full of calendars to sell and
burgeoning requests for live demonstrations that Simon finally decided to unleash his talent on the
world.
The natural choice of performing partner was David Friend,
whose reputation as the life of any
party was quickly growing. As a
young boy, Friend began his current career in the bath and developed his skills further when he discovered beer at university in Byron
Bay. After completing his degree in
computing, he returned to
Melbourne with his own highly-individual collection of hanging art.
Together, Simon and Friend became PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS.
Their debut season at the 1998
Melbourne International Comedy
Festival was a huge hit and they
soon embarked on a national tour,
circumnavigating Australia. This
took eight months, covered 20,000
kilometers and was captured in all
its glory in the documentary
“Tackle Happy.”
*****
CELEBRATE VEGAS’
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AT
FIRST FRIDAY, MAY 1
First Friday Las Vegas, one of
the largest arts and culture festivals
in the Western United States, is
known for bringing people together
and will take it a step further at the
May celebration by inviting groups
from all religions, cultures, races,
genders and sexual orientations to
come together for an evening of
mutual respect and understanding.
Presented by Best Buddies Nevada and sponsored by the Jewish
Federation, “One World Through
Art” celebrates the diversity in Las
Vegas on Friday, May 1.
First Friday has long exemplified the values of inclusion and
openness, as well as the unifying
power of artistic expression to
achieve true acceptance and understanding. Using arts of all forms —
visual arts, crafts, culinary, music,
dance, fashion, language, food —
First Friday provides guests the
only “passport” necessary as a citizen of the world to explore, discover and embody these values to
realize “One World through Art.”
First Friday already exists as a
microcosm of the widely diverse
backgrounds and cultures that make
Las Vegas such a remarkable place.
At “One World Through Art,” new
and interesting cultures will be welcomed to First Friday to enrich and
inspire guests, including Best Buddies Nevada, The Jewish Federation, Sikh community, Las Vegas
Metropolitan Police Department,
Anti-Defamation League, Muslim
community, Catholic Charities,
Ethiopian Coptic Christian Community and Baha’i International
Community. All groups will come
together for one collaborative art
installation that will reflect unity in
the Las Vegas community. All organizations will be on hand to answer questions and showcase various forms of art popular within their
culture.
As a presenting sponsor, Best
Buddies Nevada will greet guests
of First Friday on the shuttles to and
from the event and at the Welcome
Tent , where they will encourage
visitors to take part in an interactive art exhibit where all First Friday-goers mark their home on a
large map of the earth. Best Buddies is a global volunteer movement
that creates opportunities for oneto-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual
and developmental disabilities. Attendees are also encouraged to join
in the fun by dressing in theme celebrating their own heritage.
First Friday exists all over
downtown Las Vegas, and there is
a different feeling that pervades in
the area during the event. This sense
of wonder and creative energy has
expanded to the Fremont East area
both before and after each First Friday event with engaging arts, crafts,
bands, and food and drink specials
at Fremont East locations. First Friday — Fremont wants people in the
community to experience the First
Friday feeling of creativity and inspiration no matter where they are
downtown, and to both start and end
their night with a feeling that is
memorable.
“One World Through Art” is presented by Best Buddies and sponsored by the Jewish Federation.
First Friday Las Vegas would like
to thank additional event sponsors
including the Vegas.com, Segway,
Heather Bustamante Farmers Insurance and Epyk Entertainment.
HOURS OF OPERATION: 5
p.m.–11 p.m.
PA R K I N G / S H U T T L E S :
Shuttle service will run from 4:30
p.m.–11:30 p.m. Four Open Top
Sightseeing Shuttles will make a
constant loop around the entire
event route.
For limited Disabled parking for
the event, please call: 702-7366491.
*****
X BURLESQUE AT
FLAMINGO CELEBRATES
“LUCKY 13th”
ANNIVERSARY
The most provocative show on
the Las Vegas Strip, X Burlesque,
celebrates 13 years as the city’s
hottest topless revue with the addition of sexy new dance numbers at
Flamingo Las Vegas.
A high-energy, racy performance, X Burlesque features a variety of jaw-dropping performances
by a troupe of gorgeous dancers.
The sensual show will celebrate 13
years in Las Vegas Thursday, May
7 at Flamingo Las Vegas.
Several new dance numbers
have also been added to the show
in honor of the 13th anniversary,
including a seductive feather fan
number with Beyonce’s “Haunted,”
an over-the-top chair number to
Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’
“Uptown Funk” and a sexy fashion show of stunningly-beautiful
costumes dripping with diamonds
to Rhianna’s “Diamonds.” The
show has also added projection
mapping to the choreography, becoming the first topless revue in Las
Vegas to do so.
“In honor of our ‘lucky 13th’
anniversary in Las Vegas, we’ve
once again added sultry new dance
numbers,” said X Burlesque Creator and Producer, Angela Stabile.
“We strive to keep the show fresh
and exciting with dance numbers no
other shows have. We’re often imitated, but never duplicated.”
Created and produced by husband and wife team, Matt and Angela Stabile, X Burlesque is performed nightly at 10 p.m. inside the
X Showroom at Flamingo Las Vegas. Tickets can be purchased at the
Flamingo Box Office, by phone at
(702) 733-3333 or (800) 221-7299
or
by
visiting
www.flamingolasvegas.com.
Guests must be 18 years or older.
*****
BLACK & BROWN
COMEDY GET DOWN
Cedric ‘The Entertainer,’ Mike
Epps, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley,
George Lopez and Charlie Murphy
will come together for one historic
night of comedy for ‘The Black and
Brown Comedy Get Down’ at The
Colosseum at Caesars Palace on
Saturday, May 2 at 11 p.m. The onenight engagement is presented
jointly by AEG Live and Caesars
Palace.
Tickets may be purchased in person at The Colosseum at Caesars
Palace Box Office, by calling 866320-9763 or online by visiting
www.thecolosseum.com
or
www.axs.com. Orders are subject
to additional service charges and
fees. For groups of 10 or more, call
866-574-3851. Showtime is scheduled for 11 p.m. after the big fight.
Cedric ‘The Entertainer’ is an
actor and game show host, best
known for co-starring along with
Steve Harvey on The Steve Harvey
Show and starring as Eddie in the
Barbershop films.
Mike Epps got his big break as
‘Day-Day’ in Next Friday and Friday After Next . Epps has also appeared in Hangover and Welcome
Home , Roscoe Jenkins in addition
to voicing ‘Boog’ in Open Season
2 and ‘Sonny’ in Dr. Dolittle 2.
Eddie Griffin has appeared on
the big screen in Deuce Bigalow:
Male Gigolo, Scary Movie 3, John
Q, and Armageddon, to name a few.
Griffin performed on Russell
Simmons’ Def Jam Comedy , many
standup specials and starred in the
hit comedy series Malcolm and
Eddie, where he even wrote and
produced four episodes, one of
which featured his mentor, Richard
Pryor.
D.L. Hughley was a member of
The Original Kings of Comedy , a
correspondent for The Jay Leno
Show , host of D.L. Hughley Breaks
The News on CNN and the original host of BET’s ComicView . He
is the host of his own radio program
syndicated in many markets.
George Lopez is a multi-talented
entertainer whose career encompasses television, film, standup
comedy and late-night television.
For two seasons, Lopez hosted
Lopez Tonight , a late-night television talk show on TBS, as well as
television’s groundbreaking hit
sitcom George Lopez, which ran for
six seasons. Lopez has risen to become one of the premier comedic
talents in the entertainment industry and known for his extensive
charity work with various foundations.
Charlie Murphy spent the past
two decades solidifying his position
in Hollywood as a true acting, writing and producing talent. He’s appeared in feature films such as Lottery Ticket with Bow Wow, Ice
Cube and Mike Epps, Our Family
Wedding and The Perfect Holiday.
Charlie wrote Norbit , which
opened #1 at the box office, with
his brother Eddie Murphy. Charlie
was a cast member on Chappelle’s
Show and stars as ‘Vic’ in Adult
Swim’s new show Black Jesus.
*****
Jerry Fink is an entertainment
columnist for the Las Vegas Tribune
newspaper and writes a weekly column. To contact Jerry Fink, email
him at jfink@ lasvegastribune.com.
&
HEALTH LIFESTYLES
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 17
Interview with Dick Feeney, co-producer
of ‘MJ Live: Michael Jackson Tribute’
By Sandy Zimmerman
Las Vegas Tribune
Photos by Sandy Zimmerman
I interviewed Dick Feeney, CoProducer of MJ LIVE: Michael
Jackson Tribute, during the opening night party before the show at
the Stratosphere.
SZ: “Why did you decide to produce a show about Michael Jackson?”
Feeney discussed his show, “Nobody has produced an impersonator
show in Las Vegas on this level,
with a live band, full time, great
dancers, seven nights a week. There
are some smaller shows but this
show has a live band with full production values. Las Vegas is coming back with live bands again. It is
a lot of work as Michael is out there
the entire time.”
SZ: “Which songs did you
choose?”
Feeney explained, “There are 22
of Michael’s big hits in a little over
an hour. We are very careful not to
infringe on any rights. All of the
music and dances were recreated
and the style is close. The Michael
in the show does all his trademark
moves.”
SZ: “When the impressionist
Michael appears on the stage the
resemblance is uncanny.”
Feeney felt, “There is a suspension of belief by the audience. Once
the show begins and they hear the
music, this music has been with all
of us our whole lives. It is infectious.”
SZ: “You allow the audience to
Dick Feeney Co-Producer of MJ LIVE: Michael Jackson Tribute at the Stratosphere Hotel.
‘MJ LIVE: Michael Jackson Tribute’ show at the Stratosphere Hotel
Chef Manuel Navarro, McCall’s Heartland Grill
take photos of the show.”
Feeney agreed, “At any given
time, you will see 40-50 people
with their phones. Michael is such
a big phenomenon, we post on
Facebook and want the public to get
a taste of the show. If you never had
a chance to see Michael live, this is
the next closest thing and to really
feel the magic that happens.”
SZ: “Michael Jackson’s creativity and the genius of his work are
worth seeing.”
This show is truly the “look” and
“sounds” of Michael Jackson!
Take a trip back in time, whether
you enjoyed Michael Jackson’s music in your childhood or are just
becoming a fan.
The opening night party was
held in McCall’s Heartland Grill
inside the Stratosphere Hotel. Chef
Manuel Navarro prepared two different styles of hummus and a platter of Moroccan couscous. There
were selections of bread, marinated
vegetables, fruit and cheese.
For information, call 702-3807777. “MJ LIVE: Michael Jackson
Tribute” appears in the Stratosphere
Theater, at the Stratosphere Hotel,
the beginning of the strip, 2000 Las
Vegas Blvd South.
SUGGESTIONS: Do you have a
favorite comedian, singer, production show, magician, group, or entertainer appearing in Las Vegas?
Just let us know about your favorite and you may win free show tickets or other prizes. Send the name
of your favorite, reasons for your
choice, name, e-mail address, and
telephone number to: P. O. Box
#750211, Las Vegas, NV. 89136.
For information or any questions,
please call Sandy Zimmerman at
702-731-6491.
Cristo Zaferatos, Manager, McCall’s Heartland Grill
Page 18 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
What You
Need To
Know
By Dr Nina Radcliff
The Health Benefits
of Meditation
By Nina Radcliff, MD
There is a Zen statement: “If you don’t have half an hour to spare
every day to meditate, then meditate for an hour.” While many of us can
agree that we need to create breaks in our schedule to relax, the idea of
dedicating thirty to sixty minutes of our already overly busy day may
scare us away from even trying. The good news is that we do not have to
be a master yogi or spend hours meditating. Anyone can do it and benefits can be seen after just a few minutes.
What is meditation?
It is a mind-body practice that increases mental and physical relaxation. In doing so, it can enhance our overall well-being; creative thinking; perspective; and ability to cope with stressful situations.
Specifically, the goal is to refocus our attention away from everything
else. There is a saying that: “Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.”
Are there different types of meditation?
Yes. In fact, meditation has been described as “an umbrella term” for
the many ways to achieve a relaxed state of being, inner peace and balance. While there are many types, most share these elements: a quiet
location with minimal distractions; a comfortable position (e.g. sitting
with legs crossed, lying down, or within our home or garden or favorite
chair); concentrating in order to cut out all distractions (e.g. focusing on a
word, a key teaching or saying, an object, our breathing).
Can meditation help me decrease the stress I deal with?
Yes! We all know that when stress becomes chronic and is not properly managed, it can wreak havoc on our minds, body and spirit. We also
know that relaxation is the opposite of stress. As a result, meditation decreases the release of stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol) and changes
the frequency and amplitude of our brain waves. Meditation helps to provide perspective, calm — and aids against those storms of life on the
outside from coming inside. In doing so, it can have a number of health
benefits.
What are some of the health benefits of meditation?
While we need to understand that it may not replace many proven
treatment modalities, meditation can be used as part of a multi-faceted
approach for a number of ailments with compelling benefits.
—Decreased blood pressure. The American Heart Association has released a statement that meditation may be considered by clinicians as a
form of treatment for high blood pressure.
—Better sleep. When our minds are racing, it makes it difficult to drift
off to sleep and stay asleep. By quieting our thoughts we are more likely
to wake up feeling refreshed.
—Decreased depression and anxiety. Meditation has been shown to
change not only our brain waves, but also the way our brain cells make
connections, its actual structures (thickening some areas while making
others less dense), and even molecules that send signals.
—Dealing with chronic pain. While it is not clear how meditation decreases the suffering of people who experience chronic pain, studies have
shown some surprising results: relief can be achieved by beginners and
much quicker than expected.
—Improved immune function. When our bodies relax, our immune
system has the opportunity to prepare for battle against germs, foreign
invaders, and cancer.
When is a good time to meditate?
One of the beauties of mediation is that we can make it as formal or
informal as we like, and thereby adapt it to our needs. There are centers,
groups, and classes that are led by trained instructors to teach us advanced
techniques. And because meditation does not require equipment or formal training, it can be done on our own, at any time. So, whether we are
at work, sitting on an airplane or train, ready to go to sleep, or just feeling
anxious or stressed, all we need is a few minutes to achieve our inner
peace.
How can I meditate in just a few minutes?
If we are seated, sit up straight, plant our feet on the ground, close our
eyes, and repeat a mantra. A mantra can be a word or phrase that is religious or secular, such as “Om,” “I am at peace,” or “I love myself.” It
helps to tune into our breathing as well. Take a deep and slow breath in
from our nostrils and exhale gently either through our nostrils or mouth.
If we are on the go, slow down the pace and focus on each movement
of our legs or feet, forget about our destination, and repeat a mantra.
If we have a faith we follow, consider engaging in prayer, praise or a
spiritual precept, the most widely practiced example of meditation. It can
be saying or reading our own words or verses, or listening to sacred music.
Meditation is a rich moment or collection of moments in which we
escape the noise and demands of our world to focus fully on the wonder
of stillness and a knowing. There are healthy benefits in “being still” and
meditating that will have a positive effect on our body, our thoughts, our
feelings, and our behavior.
*****
Dr. Nina Radcliff is dedicated to her profession, her patients and her
community, at large. She is passionate about sharing truths for healthy,
balanced living as well as wise preventive health measures. She completed medical school and residency training at UCLA and has served on
the medical faculty at The University of Pennsylvania. She is a Board
Certified Anesthesiologist and a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists where she serves on committees for Young Physicians and
Communications. Author of more than 200 textbook chapters, research
articles, medical opinions and reviews; she is often called upon by media
to speak on medical, fitness, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle topics impacting our lives, today.
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 19
SOCIAL SECURITY AWARENESS
Three Common Money Mistakes to Avoid in Retirement
If you withdraw money too early, you
could shortchange yourself in retirement.
By Jacob Gold
Have you recently thought about
the details of how your nest egg
turns into income in retirement? If
not, it may be time to do so. There
is no magic wand to wave over your
savings to turn it into a steady income stream for life in retirement.
Although, wouldn’t that be nice?
A successful income withdrawal
strategy requires planning and coordination of how much to withdraw and when. Gloss over this process and a person could quickly
deplete their retirement reserves
and be left wondering how to finance their later years.
According to a 2015 Voya Retire Ready Index study conducted
by Voya Financial, many people are
afraid of running out of money in
retirement. Approximately 59 percent of workers surveyed were extremely or very worried about outliving their savings. Having a plan
to properly withdraw retirement
funds is a critical component to
making retirement dollars last.
Here are three common money
mistakes to avoid when withdrawing money in retirement, as well as
how to increase the chances your
hard-earned savings will last longer.
1. Withdrawing money too
early.
Early retirement: These two
words bring joy to many, but are
your savings ready to handle the
extra years of retirement? If you do
have the opportunity to retire early,
consider what it will cost to access
retirement funds early. On average,
retirement account distributions are
assessed a 30 percent mandatory
withholding — 20 percent as a prepayment for federal income taxes
and a 10 percent penalty for withdrawing funds before you turn 591/2. Ouch.
In addition, don’t forget that the
Social Security benefits retirees receive from the ages of 62 to 66 are
a fraction of what they would receive if they waited until full retirement age or later. Reconsider early
retirement or explore other ways to
At some point, Uncle Sam will demand that taxes be paid, and there is no avoiding that reality once a person
turns 70-1/2.
finance early retirement besides
dipping into retirement savings. Interestingly, a surprising number of
people do not retire early by choice.
The same Voya Financial study
found that 60 percent of retirees had
a very or somewhat unexpected retirement.
Whether by choice or necessity,
if early retirement is in the cards for
you, consider other funding options
such as tapping investments not intended for retirement, taking on a
part-time job or downsizing your
(See Money Mistakes, Page 20)
How You Can Help Stop Medicare Fraud
By David Sayen
Most doctors, pharmacists, and
other health care providers who
work with Medicare are honest.
Unfortunately, some aren’t.
One common form of Medicare
fraud is when Medicare is billed for
health care services or benefits that
you never received. Someone could
have gotten access to your Medicare number and submitted a false
claim. In some cases fraudsters pay
Medicare beneficiaries to use their
Medicare numbers. To prevent this
from taking place, never share your
Medicare number with anyone you
don’t know and trust.
Medicare fraud costs taxpayers
and people with Medicare lots of
money each year. So what can you
do to help stop it?
When you get health care services, write down the dates on your
calendar and save the receipts and
statements you get from your doctors and other providers to check for
mistakes. If you think you see an
error, or you were billed for services
you didn’t get, take these steps:
—If you are in the Original
Medicare program (where the federal government pays health care
claims for you), check your
monthly “Medicare Summary Notice” (MSN) to see if the applicable
services were billed correctly to
Medicare. The services and claims
should match, like checks on a bank
statement. If there are services, doctors, or suppliers that you don’t
know and can’t reconcile, there may
be a problem.
—If you’re in a Medicare Advantage private health plan, check
the statements you get from your
plan.
—If you’re unsure what services
were billed, call and ask the doctor
or other supplier for an itemized
statement. They should give this to
DAVID SAYEN
you within 30 days.
In any case, the sooner you see
and report errors in your health care
billing, the sooner we can help address and stop fraud.
How do you report suspected
fraud?
If you’ve contacted the health
care provider or supplier, and you
suspect that Medicare is being
charged for a service, device, or
other supplies that you didn’t receive, or if you don’t recognize the
doctor or other providers listed on
the claim, here’s what to do:
—Call the fraud hotline of the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-HHSTIPS (1-800-447-8477). TTY users
should call 1-800-377-4950.
—Alert Medicare’s customer
service team at 1-800-MEDICARE
(1-800-633-4227) that you have
concerns or questions about information appearing on your MSN.
Did you know that there’s a program that works with Medicare
beneficiaries around the country to
fight fraud? It’s called the Senior
Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program.
The SMP Program educates and
empowers people with Medicare
and their families to take an active
role in detecting and preventing
health care fraud and abuse. SMP
not only protects people with Medicare, it also helps preserve Medicare. There’s an SMP Program in
every state, the District of Columbia, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and
Puerto Rico.
You can contact your local SMP
Program to get personalized counseling, find out about community
events in your area, or volunteer.
For more information or to find
your local SMP Program, visit
smpresource.org, or call 1-877-8082468. You can also call 1-800MEDICARE.
Keep in mind that every tip
counts. Medicare takes all reports
of suspected fraud seriously.
When you report fraud, you may
not hear of an outcome right away.
It takes time to investigate and build
a case. Be assured that your information is helping us protect Medicare and you.
*****
David Sayen is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona,
California, Hawaii, Nevada, and
the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare
questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Page 20 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
When You Change Your Name, Tell These Organizations
How to tackle changes to your Social Security
benefits, driver’s license, credit cards and more.
surers and your doctors. Again, simply showing these various parties
your marriage certificate and updated driver’s license should be sufficient to get them to record the
change. It’s worth calling ahead to
see if you can get the information
updated online instead of in person.
The Takeaway
If hunting down the necessary
paperwork sounds too stressful,
consider investing in a so-called
“name change kit,” which generally
costs $20 to $30. These kits include
all the forms and documents you’ll
likely need, along with instruction
and labels for envelopes. Although
tackling the name-change process
on your own is totally possible,
these kinds of services can save you
the hassle of figuring out which
forms you need to fill out.
If you change your name after
getting married, it will be important
to spread the word. All it takes is a
little organization, time and energy.
Before you know it, you’ll be able
to turn your attention back to your
other half.
Tony Armstrong is a staff writer
at NerdWallet, a website devoted to
helping consumers make smart financial decisions.
A greener way to do business
If all the documents to change become too overwhelming, a name change
kit could help you accomplish the task and stay organized.
By Tony Armstrong
From raucous bachelor and
bachelorette parties to the subsequent — and perhaps more peaceful — honeymoon, tying the knot
can be an unforgettable milestone.
As much as you’ll want to simply enjoy the entire experience,
there are a handful of administrative tasks that will require your attention. One such chore, for those
altering their surnames, involves
notifying various organizations and
institutions that you’ve made that
change.
But don’t fret. This process is
relatively straightforward. You just
need to know what steps to take and
whom to tell. Aside from friends
and family, here are some of the
most important places that will
want to hear your news.
Keep an Eye Out for Your
Marriage Certificate
Obtaining your marriage certificate is a vital first step in initiating
the name-change process. You can
expect to receive this document in
the mail within a few weeks of getting married.
Remember, a marriage license is
the document that essentially gives
you the green light to get married;
the certificate legally documents
your union. You’ll need the certificate when going to places such as
your bank or credit union and state
agencies to have your new surname
recorded in their systems.
Social Security
Before you do anything, you’ll
need to update your Social Security information. Although you
can’t do this online, making the
change is free. You’ll need to fill
out the appropriate forms and provide a couple forms of ID, as well
as an official copy of your marriage
certificate. You can either drop
these off at the nearest Social Se-
curity office, or mail them in. You’ll
need to send original documents,
but the Social Security website says
these will be mailed back to you.
Failing to notify the Social Security Administration about your
new surname can delay tax refunds
and lower your future Social Security benefits, so this isn’t something
to put off.
Driver’s License
and Passport
Next, you’ll need to get your
state driver’s license updated. Depending on where you live, this may
cost you anywhere from $10 to $30.
You’ll also need to apply for a
new passport by filling out several
forms and sending them in by mail,
along with your current passport,
the original marriage certificate and
a color passport photo. When booking honeymoon trips abroad, keep
in mind that it can take the U.S.
State Department six weeks or more
to process your application. During
this time you won’t have a passport,
and it could limit your travel options.
Banks, Credit Unions and
Financial Services Providers
Be sure to notify your bank or
credit union as well as other financial services providers about your
name change, especially if you’ve
recently opened a new account,
taken out a loan or plan to take out
a loan in the near future. The easiest way to do this is to visit the nearest office with your marriage certificate and new driver’s license in
hand. While there, look into ordering new checks and getting an updated debit card. Don’t neglect contacting your credit card and charge
account providers about the change
as well.
Others Worth Informing
You’ll want to notify the U.S.
Postal Service, your employer, in-
Money Mistakes
(Continued from Page 19)
lifestyle. Also, try to speak with a financial planner or tax professional for
help in considering all of your financial options.
2. Withdrawing money too late.
At some point, Uncle Sam will demand that taxes be paid, and there is
no avoiding that reality once a person turns 70-1/2. Retirees with pretax
retirement accounts face a 50 percent tax if they wait too long to withdraw retirement income. There is a stiff tax penalty for not withdrawing
funds and it can be a big blow to your bottom line. Whether the cash flow
is needed or not, the required minimum distribution starting at age 70-1/
2 must be taken from pretax retirement accounts.
Ahead of time, develop a plan to begin withdrawing from pretax accounts to help avoid these tax penalties. You’ll probably want to consider
reallocating and judiciously reinvesting funds if they are not needed for
income.
3. Earning too much money in retirement.
There are strict rules when it comes to drawing on Social Security and
having a part-time job in retirement. Not knowing those rules could cost
you as much as half of your paycheck from an employer. The U.S. government considers full retirement age for many people to be 66.
If you are younger than full retirement age, there is a limit as to how
much money you can earn and still receive full Social Security benefits.
For 2015, that limit is $15,720. If a person is under the full retirement
age, for every $2 earned above that limit, the government will deduct $1
from the Social Security payment. Quite simply, this means that money is
lost and can never be regained.
A comfortable retirement is the reward you receive after a lifetime of
planning and hard work. Retirees shortchange themselves by making
money mistakes that could easily be avoided. Long before filing the retirement paperwork, make a plan for a thoughtful retirement income withdrawal strategy to help maximize your income in retirement.
*****
Jacob Gold is a Voya Retirement Coach, a third-generation financial
advisor and President of Jacob Gold & Associates Inc. He is the author
of the upcoming book, “Money Mindset: Formulating a Wealth Strategy
for the 21st Century” and “Financial Intelligence: Getting Back to Basics after an Economic Meltdown,” which was published in August 2009.
Gold is a certified financial planner practitioner and is Series 7, 24 and
66 securities registered.
By Amanda McWilliams
Social Security Assistant District Manager
in North Las Vegas
April 22 is Earth Day, a great time to recommit to
going green. More than one billion people will celebrate Earth Day this year. Saving energy, conserving
water, and using less gas are just a few ways to go
green (and save the earth).
At Social Security, we strive to have a positive impact on the environment and community. By visiting
www.socialsecurity.gov, you can handle much of your
Social Security business quickly and securely from
your home or office.
Whether you want to get an estimate of your future
retirement benefits, request a replacement Medicare
card, report a change of address, or take charge of your
retirement planning, our online services help meet your
Social Security needs while saving you time. The best
part is there’s no need for paper, printing, and postage.
Visiting www.socialsecurity.gov is also the cleanest
and greenest way to do business with Social Security.
Going online saves you a trip to our office and reduces emissions.
If the time comes, however, when you need to come
into one of our offices, we have locations across the
nation.
At Social Security, we have buildings that use highefficiency lighting, high-performance windows, solar
hot water heating systems, chilled water system improvements, and improved heating and air conditioning systems. Efficient solar lighting even illuminates
some of our parking lots. Simply put, we serve the earth
while serving you.
Do you need to make a call instead? If so, you can
reach us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213. All calls are confidential. Our helpful and knowledgeable staff is available to answer specific questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday through Friday. We provide information by
automated phone service 24 hours a day. And, if you
are deaf or hard of hearing, you can call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.
If you prefer to communicate by social media, we
can meet you there, too. At the bottom of
www.socialsecurity.gov, you’ll find icons to Twitter,
Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube, and Pinterest. If you
have a question, you may first want to see our Frequently
Asked
Questions
page
at
www.socialsecurity.gov/faq.
No matter how you choose to contact us, Social
Security is here to assist you.
Commit to go green! You can start by viewing a
complete list of our online services at
www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices.
EarthTalk is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss
and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to:
[email protected]. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/
subscribe; Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.
Dear EarthTalk: How can I
find Earth Day events near me or
are there other ways to show my
support for the green movement on
Earth Day? — Jessica Monteleone,
Bridgeport, CT
April 22, 2015 is the 45th annual
celebration of the first Earth Day
in 1970, when 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and
auditoriums to demonstrate for a
healthy, sustainable environment in
massive coast-to-coast rallies. Back
then, thousands of colleges and
universities organized protests
against the deterioration of the environment, while grassroots groups
that had been fighting against oil
spills, polluting factories and power
plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps,
pesticides, freeways, the loss of
wilderness, and the extinction of
wildlife realized they shared common values — and a unified environmental movement was born.
The spirit of that first Earth Day
lives on every year when April 22
rolls around, but nowadays hundreds of millions of people around
the world honor the planet and
pledge to do their part to protect it.
The non-profit Earth Day Network
(EDN), founded by the organizers
of the first Earth Day in 1970, helps
organize events and rallies around
the world by providing information
and resources and serving as a central clearinghouse for local listings.
EDN’s international network tops
22,000 organizations in 192 coun-
tries, while its U.S. program assists
more than 30,000 educators and
helps activists coordinate thousands
of community development and
environmental protection activities
throughout the year.
If you’re looking to participate
in an Earth Day event or rally near
you, EDN’s “Find an Earth Day
Event” database has you covered.
Browse by country, state/province
and city. And if you can’t find something near you, Earth Day Network
can provide the resources to start
your own. Even if it’s last minute,
it still counts.
Even if you can’t attend an event
in person, you can help the cause
by “pledging an act of green” —
committing to do something on behalf conservation and the environment (even simply reducing home
energy consumption) and posting
accordingly to the EDN website —
or by signing onto one or several
of the group’s petitions. The Climate Petition tells leaders to phase
out fossil fuels, while the “Support
Environmental Education” drive
calls on Congress to reinstate funding to schools for sustainability topics.
Another way to help spread
awareness on April 22 is posting
about your commitment to the environment via social media. Tell
your Facebook friends or Twitter
followers why protecting the planet
is so important to you and to all of
us. Start a Reddit discussion on
green initiatives in your town or
neighborhood. Post your favorite
nature images to your Pinterest
board or Flickr account.
Anyone near Washington DC
might want to head for the National
Mall on Saturday April 18 for the
Images of our own fragile blue marble of a planet from space helped the environmental movement gain
popular support around the time of the first Earth Day back in 1970.
April 22-28, 2015 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / Page 21
According to data collected by the American Public Transportation
Association, Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation
in 2013 — the highest number since the 1950s when many fewer of us
owned our own cars.
Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day ing for beefing up transit projects
Rally, a joint project of the Global coast-to-coast. Another factor is the
Poverty Project and Earth Day Net- economic recovery. “When more
work, which will feature live musi- people are employed, public transcal performances by My Morning portation ridership increases, since
Jacket, Train, Fall Out Boy, Mary nearly 60 percent of the trips taken
J. Blige, Usher and No Doubt, while on public transportation are for
Don Cheadle, Coldplay’s Chris work commutes,” says Melaniphy.
Martin, United Nations Secretary- “People in record numbers are deGeneral Ban Ki-moon and World manding more public transit serBank Group President Jim Yong vices and communities are benefitKim will address the crowd as well. ing with strong economic growth.”
If you can’t make it to the Mall in
Despite these gains, the U.S. still
person, Youtube is providing a free lags way behind other developed
livestream of the day’s festivities nations. In a recent issue of The
and should run the clips indefi- Atlantic, Ralph Buehler cites 2010
nitely.
statistics showing that, while
*****
Americans drive for 85 percent of
Dear EarthTalk: What’s behind their daily trips, Europeans opt for
the rise in public transit in the U.S. cars only 50-65 percent of the time.
in the last few years, and how does “Longer trip distances only partially
our transit use compare with that explain the difference,” reports
of other developed countries? — Buehler, adding that 30 percent of
Angie Whitby, New Bern, NC
daily trips are shorter than a mile
Transit ridership is indeed at its on both continents. “But of those
highest level in the U.S. in 57 years. under-one-mile trips, Americans
According to data collected by the drove almost 70 percent of the time,
American Public Transportation while Europeans made 70 percent
Association (APTA), Americans of their short trips by bicycle, foot
took 10.7 billion trips on public or public transportation.”
transportation in 2013 — the highThe U.S. ranked last in the Naest number since the 1950s when tional Geographic Society’s
many fewer of us owned our own Greendex survey of transit use
cars.
across 17 developed nations. Only
And this increase “isn’t just a five percent of Americans surveyed
one-year blip,” says APTA. Since reported using public transit on a
1995 — when Congress passed the daily basis and only seven percent
landmark ISTEA legislation and reported using it at least once a
other surface transportation bills week. Internationally, 25 percent of
that greatly increased funding for respondents reported daily public
public transit—U.S. ridership has transportation use, with 41 percent
risen 37.2 percent, topping both using it at least once a week. Acpopulation growth (up 20.3 percent) cording to Greendex, Canadians are
and vehicle miles traveled (up 22.7 more than twice as likely to report
percent). “There’s a fundamental weekly or more transit usage than
shift going on,” says APTA’s presi- Americans, while Germans are aldent Michael Melaniphy. “More most five times more likely to use
and more people are deciding that transit at least weekly. Russia
public transportation is a good op- topped the list with 52 percent of
tion.”
respondents using public transit
A number of factors are contrib- daily and 23 percent using it at least
uting to Americans’ embrace of once a week.
transit in recent years. For one, the
Given America’s suburban
flow of federal dollars to transpor- sprawl—and the car-based infratation alternatives since 1995 has structure that has built up to supmeant more options than ever are port it—it’s hard to believe the U.S.
available to those leaving their cars will ever catch up with other develbehind: Melaniphy reports that in oped countries in transit usage. But
the last two years, upwards of 70 that won’t stop millions of forwardpercent of transit tax initiatives have thinking Americans from trying.
passed, providing lots more fund*****
PLACES TO GO
Page 22 / LAS VEGAS TRIBUNE / April 22-28, 2015
QUICK GETAWAYS
Indulge in the Wines and Cuisine of Spain
By Sandy Zimmerman
Las Vegas Tribune
Photos by Sandy Zimmerman
The Jaleo, by José Andrés, is the
essence of Spain, your own Las Vegas escape to relax and indulge in
the finest wines and cuisine of
Spain.
I was invited to attend the
Bodegas Ontañón wine pairing dinner — a celebration of Spain’s wine
from the Rioja region.
The First Course was Cigalias
con alubias — Seared Norwegian
Lobster and vegetables on a bed of
parsley oil, sautéed Spanish white
beans, olive oil, garlic and the juice
from the head of the lobster. The
delicate, juicy pieces of lobster
went well with the Clarete, Viura
Tempranillo 2013 wine.
Jordi Paronella, Sommelier for
the Jaleo brand restaurants in Washington, DC, and Las Vegas, discussed their menu pairings of the
Spanish wine and cuisine.
The Cigalias (lobster) is popular on the Mediterranean coast.
They prepared this magnum for us.
“Clarete Wine is so elegant, we
want to respect the flavors of the
lobster and not take over the flavor.
We think of both.”
For the Second Course, we were
served Cocade Sardinas and
escalivada — Baked vegetables and
José’s sardines on a crispy pastry
paired with Vetiver Blanco, Viura
2012.
Jordi explained, “The roasted
vegetables were smoked on the
grill. When we take the smokiness
of the vegetables and match them
with the smokiness of the wine. It
stands out!”
The guests were ready for the
Third Course, Chuletas de cordero
con salsa Romero — Grilled baby
lamb chops with rosemary and
honey aioli sauces to tempt the palate. The lamb chops were so tender
and special, they were served with
the wineries’ special Bodegas
Ontañón’s Reserva Privada, Private
Reserve, Tempranillo, Graciano
1995- 20 year old Private Reserve
wine.
Jordi felt, “Private Reserve ‘95
with lamb is a favorite in the Rioja
region. The wine has smooth elegant flavors.”
The Fourth Course, Arroz de
Pichon — the famous Paella,
Spain’s traditional dish with rice,
Iberico sofrito and squab. It is interesting to include squab for a taste
change. The Paella has a full flavored mix with their reserve wineMitologia
Gran
Reserva,
Tempranillo, Graciano 2001, 14year-old wine.
Jordi commented, “This Grand
Reserve Tempranillo, Graciano
Wine comes direct from the our
winery and cannot be found at the
markets in Las Vegas. It has a
smoother, more acidity Riojastyle.”
The Fifth Course is the light,
fruity classic Spanish flan with
‘espuma’ of Catalan cream and oranges. The wine matched the flavors well — Marco Fabio, Moscatel
2012.
Jordi commented, “The
Moscotel has a floral and citrus
aroma.”
Jaleo, by José Andrés, satisfies
their guests with large portions and
the unforgettable tastes of Spain!
For information, call 702-6987950. Jaleo is inside the Cosmopoli-
FIRST COURSE — Seared Norwegian Lobster with Spanish beans
SECOND COURSE — José Andrés Sardines
THIRD COURSE — Grilled baby Lamb Chops with Rosemary sauce and honey alioli
tan of Las Vegas Hotel, 3708 Las
Vegas Boulevard South. Visit the
websites: www.jaleo.com and
www.ontanon.es.
Award
winning
Sandy
Zimmerman is a syndicated columnist featuring Show and Dining reviews, travel, health, luxury and
more. Sandy is talk show host of the
Las Vegas Today Show programs
and Discover the Ultimate Vacation
travel specials. If you want to suggest topics for articles or to ask
questions about Sandy’s articles,
call 702-731-6491.
The Rioja Wine Dinner featured Bodegas Ontañón Wines.
FOURTH COURSE — Paella, the traditional meal of Spain (unfortunately, no photo available)
FIFTH COURSE (shown above) — Flan, Spain’s traditional dessert. (Photo supplied by José Andrés)