Nor'Town: Politics in North Las Vegas, Nevada

Chad Christensen Decides to Run Anyway

This morning, Molly Ball was reporting that the Republican incumbent for Assembly District 13 wouldn't be running. (RJ) This prompted pundits from New Jersey to award Andrew Martin (D) their weekly "winner" moniker cuz that would give Martin an easier time of it. (NJPoltiker).

However, the Clark County Elections thingy is now reporting that Christensen has joined the race. Apparently he couldn't convince his heir apparent to run.

For a list of Nor'Town candidates, visit Nor'Town Election Central, which is under construction but still recommended by the management.

Now I'm confused. The RJ headline said that Christensen would support the candidate that filed today. Would that be Libertarian candidate Steffan Reed or Christensen?

Parkway Hearing Coming Up Tuesday!

There will be a hearing on the Sheep Mountain Parkway this Tuesday, May 20.

It lasts from 4pm to 7pm at the Aliante Library, but you don't have to be there the whole time. All you have to do is have a look at the stupid plan to plow over poppies and priceless fossils so that developers can throw up some cheap apartments and give Centennial Hills folks access to Casino Alley and the Shooting Park, and then sign a paper saying how stupid you think it is and that any politician who even thinks about supporting it will be voted out by a landslide. And then you can go home. 10 minutes tops.

So, write this down:

WHAT: Sheep Mountain Parkway Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday May 20, 4pm to 7pm.
WHERE: Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Way, North Las Vegas, NV

There's one the week after, too, over in Beer's Copening country:

WHAT: Sheep Mountain Parkway Meeting
WHEN: Thursday, May 29, 4pm to 7pm
WHERE: YMCA/Centennial Hills Community Center, 601 6601 North Buffalo, Las Vegas, NV

[UPDATE: Note the correction of the address for the Thursday meeting.]

Ned Thomas for Mayor

Well, one of the few reasons for attending Nor'Town Planning Commission meetin's is going away. Ned Thomas, who was replacing Angelo Carvalho while Carvalho was in Iraq, had his last meeting in chambers last night, that is, until he gets elected to City Council or the Mayor's chair.

It was a longish meeting, and the most controversial item waited until the bitter end.

The issue was whether to extend the use permit for a casino/hotel called Centennial Crossing in...wait for it...Casino Alley, over near the I-15, Woodbury Beltway intersection. Both the fire department and the Nevada National Guard have problems with the site.

The fire department sounded a lot like the redshirts who have been protesting the various tenement apartment projects around Nor'Town. They were concerned that given the fast growth of North Las Vegas, the fire department would not have the resources to protect the planned casino and environs.

Keep in mind that Centennial Crossing was approved by the City Council years ago. That means the fire department was originally on board back then, but now they have concluded that circumstances have changed enough for them to withdraw their support.

Too bad that argument didn't sit so well with the council when it supported the apartments at Revere and Centennial.

The Nevada National Guard is concerned about the possibility of Islamofacists peeking out of the windows of the Centennial Crossing and learning about the training exercises which take place over at the nearby training facility. They are also concerned about safety issues and traffic. Nobody wants to see a drunken whale run over by a tank during night training, do they?

However, it looks like flying bullets or tank shells won't be a problem since live ammo is not used on the site nearest the proposed hotel.

But is was Ned Thomas who for a few brief moments raised the commission up out of its usual near-sighted contemplation of construction minutiae and posed the issue in terms of vision. Does the city of North Las Vegas really want a such a concentration of casinos in one place? Does it really want to turn that area into a Casino Alley?

He also suggested that a referendum on the issue would show Nor'Towners are against the Casino swarm. I'm not so sure since it is difficult to predict what the miniscule percentage of voters who would turn out would actually vote for. But the mind boggles: what would Nor'Towners say if there were such a referendum? Are they for or agin Casino Alley?

Anyways, the commission, after a short, uncomfortable silence, simply ignored the remarks, abandoned any thought of planning ahead, and voted for the extension, with Ned Thomas casting the only lonely vote against.

If Nor'Towners want a say in Casino Alley, they had better keep a close eye on City Council and the Planning Commission. Cuz more Casinos are a-comin' up.

Either that, or vote Ned Thomas for Mayor.

Tuesday Events

So much to do this Tuesday!

• The NLV Alliance of Homeowners and Concerned Folk has its meeting tomorrow, May 13, 6pm, at the Aliante Library. Among lots of other important items on the agenda is a chance to hear from spokepeople from Boyd gaming as to what they plan for their little corner of casino alley. Also, the folks from Protectors of Tule Springs will show up, and updates on the tenement apartment projects around town.
• Nellis's discomfort with big guns at the shooting park is on the TeeVee: KLAS and KTVN. Tomorrow the issue will be discussed on Ralston's Pate to Pate.
• Last but not least: you can go to the NLV Parks and Recreation Meeting to see if the city will ever do anything with Keil Ranch, or if they'll pass on my recommendation to the City Council for naming the Craig Ranch park after Republican money man Shawn Lampman. Come'on guys! You can't ignore all my suggestions!
• In the news: it's unattractive. It's got safety issues. Now, Nor'Town's got it. It's Apex! (Sun)

Subsidizing Rich Folk's Megagun Fun

Nellis Air Force Base officials are a tad concerned about the plan to allow folks to shoot .50 caliber rifles at the proposed Clark County Shooting Park. (RJ,KLAS)

The officials are concerned that the guns may prove harmful to aircraft flying low near the base.

Not to worry, park defenders reply, the guns "make up a pricey pastime for well-to-do sports shooters who want to compete at high-end gun ranges."

Hmmm. How does it follow that rich folk are less likely than poor folk to take a pot shot at a plane, especially if rich folk are the only ones who can afford the guns?

Ah. Nothing like using our hard-earned tax dollars to subsidize the past-times of the well-to-do.

Did you know that Schwarzenegger helped ban the .50 calibers in his state? How weird is that?

Some think the .50 caliber makes a nifty terrorist weapon.

Anyways, what the Nellis complaint really tells us is that a number of issues are tied together as we northerners decide what we want in our community. Not only is the shooting range near Nellis, the range is quite close to all those fossil remains in the North Las Vegas Wash, it is right next to the planned parkway, and it's a stone's throw from the McCool model airplane park.

So, now we're into election season, you have a few things to talk about with your state assemblyperson, state senator, county commissioner, and congressional candidate, like where do they stand on:

• the shooting park?
• the north las vagas wash/tule springs Ice Age Park?
• the Sheep Mountain Parkway?
• the McCool airplane park?
• apartment buildings?
• Casino alley?

Now's the time to put all that activism to work, cuz you favorite politician is actually paying attention.

Here's a picture of the shooting park site taken on a (supervised) walk through the North Las Vegas Wash to look at fossils. That's the northern end of Decatur next to the water tanks.

Horsford Takes Up Herding Cats

Steven Horsford has been elected by his fellow Democratic state senators to lead the state senate Democratic caucus. He will take over for Dina Titus, who has decided to whup Jon Porter over in Congressional District 2. (RJ)

Whether he will be minority or majority leader of the state senate depends on the outcome of the November election. One contentious senate seat is just to the west of Nor'Town, where the well-financed wingnut Bob Beers is facing a challenge from Allison Copening.

I'm sure she wouldn't mind if Nor'Towners offered to volunteer for her campaign...

Horsford has district CL 4. Beers holds CL 6, for the time being, anyways.

Clark County Dems Meeting Today

Who doesn't enjoy watching the most dysfunctional Democratic Party organization on the planet?

WHAT: General Meeting, Clark County Democratic Central Committee
WHERE: Clark County Commission Chambers, 500 Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, NV
WHEN: Saturday, May 10, 11am, registration and general confusion: 10:30am

Obama Get Out the Vote Thing Today

It's almost as if Hillary didn't exist anymore...

WHO:  State Senator Steven Horsford, Obama volunteers

WHAT: Vote for Change Kickoff Event

WHERE: Doc Romeo Park, 7400 Peak Dr, Las Vegas, NV

WHEN: Saturday May 10, 10am

Berkley Will Sign Up Today

In case you want to be there, here's Berkley's schedule for signing up to run:

What: Congresswoman Shelley Berkley files for re-election
When:  9:30 a.m. Friday, May 9
Where: 1st Floor Pueblo Room, Clark County Government Center

Are You a Gold Belt Buckle?

Take a look over at the guest list for a fund raiser for Tom Collins, posted over on the Sun by Jon Ralston. (Sun)

Almost all of our Nor"Town elite will be there. You can be there, too, if you can pony up a $1,000 dollars to be a "Bronze Belt Buckle." Takes $5,000 to be a Goldy.

But that's only for you folks in Nor'Town developer Garry Goett's league, who'll be there when you won't.

The rest of us unwashed peons will just have to settle for humble Pardee Pie.

But, hey, we'll get to see who gave what, but not until about two weeks into early voting for the primary--because our state has the dumbest campaign finance laws in the nation.

How Could I Forget? [Corrected Version]

While I've been keeping track of candidate sign-ups, I left out Lawrence Weekly, who is running for Clark County Commission in District D.

My deepest and sincerest apologies to D districters.

Weekly is the fellow made the Sun for spending over $22,000 from his tax-payer funded office budget on various, um, projects for his constituents. It looks like he's still doing it, too, since the latest newsletter from his office shows him paying for the prom for some future voters.

He also made the news for taking campaign contributions from notorious Republican enabler and warmonger, Sheldon Adelson. (Sun)

Marilyn Kirkpatrick has picked up an opponent for Assembly District 1: a Sharon Gobel (R), who has switched parties since she unsucessfully ran for the state senate as a Democrat in 2002. (Sun,Sun,Sun). Kirkpatrick beat Gobel's father Ed Gobel in 2004 when she first ran for the Assembly 1 seat. (Sun,Sun)

Man, I need new glasses: Kirkpatrick's opponent is Linda West Myers, who has been an activist against airport noise and for rural preservation within cities. (Sun,Sun) Hey, at least she's worked with Ed Gobel on some of those projects. Myers lost to Kirkpatrick in 2006 (the date currently on her website, by the way). Myers had 35% of the vote to Kirkpatrick's 57%.

Nor'Town Council Meeting: Boozy Edition

• Judge Stephen Dahl handed out prizes to kids for their artwork which will eventually hang in his chambers. Council should have quit there while it was ahead.
• Booze was on the docket as Council voted unanimously to support allow a liquor license for a tavern up in Deer Springs Town Center.
• They also passed the new liquor ordinance. The lawyer-lobbyists crawled over each other to thank Council for making changes and grandfathering their projects, which is enough to make any citizen nervous. One last minute amendment would seem to require developers to place signs on their projects to the effect that a booze purveyor will be placed at the sight. Apparently the point would be to let citizens know that it's too late to do anything about the boozatoriums.
• It is interesting that a new gaming ordinance will increase gaming fees by about $400,000, and there was nary a peep from the lawyer-lobbyists. I guess that's just chump-change to the casinos, and a cheap price to pay to build Casino Alley. Maybe the State of Nevada should give it a shot to help fix the budget crisis. [UPDATE: Forgot to add: Eliason voted against, Buck abstained, Montandon, Smith, and Robinson voted in favor.]
• Manifest Destiny isn't dead as Council approved the annexation of Phase I of the Apex Industrial "Park."
• And there wasn't a redshirt in sight as Council approved a series of ordinances (2436,2437,2438) which increased the density of R1 and R2 zoning as part of the "Residential Design Incentive Program." Builders earn points by adding various sorts of amenities to their projects, like parks or commercial space, and if they accrue enough points, they can squeeze more buildings into smaller areas.

Candidate Updates

Yay! More candidate filings for Nor'Town seats!

Try to stay awake for this one: perennial Shelley Berkley punching bag and sign poster Kenneth Wegner has entered the race for Berkley's seat in Congressional District 1.

Anybody else notice the funny holes in his signs? They say "Win the War ______," and there's a hole.

What war? In Iraq? Wasn't that all won and everything a couple of years ago? I seem to remember a sign about that on a boat somewheres. Maybe the war on drugs? Poverty? Halitosis?

Guess that's what happens when you recycle your signs--you have to snip out the outdated bits.

Tom Collins has picked up an opponent for his Clark County Commission Seat. One Gary Hosea will be filling Shari Buck's shoes this time around.

John Lee (D), who was toying for a while with the idea of running for mayor of Nor"town, has signed up to run again for his state senate seat. He's got a challenger named Ron McGinnis (R).

Area Man Relieves Nor'Town of Gas

The Sun looks more and more like the "Daily Nor'Towner" as Mike Trask posts the second North Las Vegas-centered story in as many days. Today we learn how one of our neighbors has learned more about the gas company and its multifarious regulatory bodies than anyone would really care to know in an attempt to stop the local utilty from wasting a precious and costly resource. (Sun)

Signing Up for Election Day

The official period for signing up to run for political offices for the November election has begun, and you can keep track of who's signed in over at the Clark County election site.

Course, Nor'Towners are waiting for the real fun of the city council and mayor race in 2009 when we have that silly off-year election that dooms the election to apathy and oblivion.

For now, we will just have to get by with the other races.

So far, several sacrificial lambs have signed up to get their butts whupped by Shelley Berkley this fall for Nor'Town congressional district 1:

• Chris Dyer (R) He's apparently a national delegate to the Repukelican convention and a dedicated Ron Paul supporter. (RtF)
• Edward "Mr. Clean" Hamilton (R)
• Ray J. Kornfeld (R)
• Mike Powers (R)

Well, at least that'll give you Republicans something to do at the primary. Mayor Mike oughtta jump in, too, just to make it interestin'--and to waste his money.

Tom Collins (D) will be running again for his seat on the Clark County Commission in District B. On Wednesday, May 14th, you can have pie with him. Mmm...Pie. I am resisting the temptation to call it "Pardee pie". Drat. I am so weak.

Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D) has signed up to defend her seat for for Assembly District 1.

Morse Arberry (D) will be running again in Assembly District 7.

Ruben Kihuen (D) will be running again in Assembly District 11.

Kelvin Atkinson (D) will be defending his seat in Assembly District 17. Atkinson has a challenger, one David Isbell (R). I guess Alberto* Angelo Carvalho's still in Iraq?

Mo Denis (D) has a challenger for his seat in district 28, one  Augustin "Tino" Mendoza, who's lost a couple of races for the state senate. (RJ,RJ) My favorite picture of Mr. Denis shows him trying to give Governor Jim Gibbons a little religion, which doesn't seem to have taken.    

Confused and lost? Check out the district maps over at the Nevada Legislature site.

* My apologizes for the dumb mistake. If it counts for anything, I have gotten it right in the past.

Good News for Nor'Town

Ice Cream munching Nor'Towners adorn the front page of the Sun today as they celebrate their newfound sense of community and empowerment. (Sun)

Congratulations, folks. Keep up the good work.

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Don't forget: this Saturday, May 3rd, the I Scream Agin Apartments Community Ice Cream, community-building meetin' will be at Seastrand park, at Centennial, between El Dorado and Revere from 1pm - 4pm.

No, "I Scream Agin Apartments" isn't the official name.

Those of you near by various planned apartment projects will especially want to show up because lawyers will be there to help you sign the appropriate legal papers to help fight the projects.

Everybody else should show up to help turn Nor'Town into a real city with a real community.

Oh, and afterwards you can wander over to Tom Collins' BBQ to ask him why he wasn't at the Ice Cream thing--and how that "deep roots" community thing is working out.

So, why is Steven Horsford smiling so much about Dina Titus' run for Jon Porter's seat in Congress? (RJ) Perhaps because this means Titus will be leaving the state senate, which gives the rest of the Democrats there some room to move up.

Elsewhere in Horford news: he's offered space to help resurrect the "Native Son" bookstore. (Sun)

Hmm. You know, Nor"Town could use a couple of new bookstores, too. I mean the kind without naked people on the book covers and books full of descriptions of physically impossible comminglings.

The next meeting of the North Las Vegas Alliance of Home Owner Associations and Concerned Citizens and Lovers of Organizations with Really Long Names promises to be interesting. Representatives from Boyd Gaming will be there to tell us why we should stop worrying and learn to love Casino Alley.

One can only be impressed about how a little flyer can throw casino execs into panic mode. There's a lesson to be learned there, my friends.

That meeting will be at 6pm, Tuesday, May 13th and the Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Way, Nor'Town, NV.

Catchin' Up on Nor'Town News

• Another shooting in Nor'Town. (Sun)
• The meeting agin Casino Alley draws mostly casino lawyer-lobbyists to assure us that our neighbors love casinos. The mysterious mailer of the mysterious mailing remains mysterious. Also, don't forget the ice cream thing Saturday. (Sun)
• I-15 project will pretty much cut Nor'Town off from Sou'Town, assuming the budget crisis doesn't kill the project off in pre-or mid- demolition. (RJ)
• South Nor'Town getting tired of being picked on. (NV)
• Not everybody loves the idea of a new City Hall in the RV park. (NV)
• Planning Commissioner Harry Shull somehow has Cheyenne Avenue confused with San Diego. I've always had a really hard time trying to find off-Broadway absurdist theater or experimental jazz on Cheyenne--except maybe over at CSN. (NV)
• Local Congresswoman and State Senator busy doing taxpayers' work! (CN)
• Not everyone is thrilled about the North 5th Street project. (Sun)
• Missing Nor'Town girl may be found. (Sun,RJ)

Here Comes the Parkway!!

Now here's an idea worthy of Nor'Town. Bury rare bear poppies and 200,000 years of bones under a parkway so's you can build more apartments and casinos. (Sun).

According to the Sheep Mountain Parkway site, meetings will be taking place at the following places:

City of North Las Vegas
May 20, 2008
4-7 pm
Aliante Library
2400 W. Deer Springs Way
North Las Vegas, Nevada 89084

City of Las Vegas
May 29, 2008
4-7 pm
YMCA/Centennial Hills Community Center
6601 North Buffalo
Las Vegas, Nevada 89131

It's be great if all the redshirts could get out for those meetings.

It's interesting to note the Nor'Town politicians seem to be planning to let Las Vegas pols take the heat for the parkway: "North Las Vegas officials said the city does not have a formal opinion on the major route that would cut through the city’s northern tip. That city is following Las Vegas’ lead, said Qiong Lu, public works director." But we read later: "Of six possible preservation plans, the city [of Las Vegas] ]prefers the one that preserves the fewest acres — and, by extension, opens the most acreage to potential development."

Looks like Mayor Martini is running cover for Mayor Mike.

Nor'Town Talking Points

• Nor'Towners split over model airplanes while council wonders if eight taverns in a shopping mall is really enough. (VN)
• Ooo. Nor'Town gets it's very own armored vehicle. (VN) What a swell idea for a Nor'Towner school bus.
• Nor'Town gets its fourth murder for the year.(RJ)
• The Sun had an excellent story about how the Las Vegas City Council regularly caves in to demands by developers to weaken zoning rules. (Sun) Nor'Towners who keep tabs on our local city council will note how oddly familiar the whole process seems.
• It doesn't have to be that way. Other cities have taken stands for reasonable growth. (Sun)
• Remember all those scary endoscopy docs? They're headed for Nor'Town. (RJ)
• Rumors are circling that there will be an attempt to change Nor'Town gun laws. (GunNut)