STORY OF LAS VEGAS.
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INTERIM PUBLISHER
MARIA BLONDEAUX maria.blondeaux@gmgvegas.com
EDITOR SHANNON MILLER
shannon.miller@gmgvegas.com
EDITORIAL
Senior Editor GEOFF CARTER (geo .carter@gmgvegas.com)
Managing Editor BROCK RADKE (brock.radke@gmgvegas.com)
Arts & Entertainment Editor AMBER SAMPSON (amber.sampson@gmgvegas.com)
Sta Writer GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ (gabriela.rodriguez@gmgvegas.com)
Sta Writer TYLER SCHNEIDER (tyler.schneider@gmgvegas.com)
Contributing Writers KYLE CHOUINARD, GRACE DA ROCHA,HILLARY DAVIS, KATIE ANN MCCARVER
Contributing Editors RAY BREWER, JUSTIN HAGER, CASE KEEFER, DAVE MONDT
O ce Coordinator NADINE GUY
CREATIVE
Las Vegas Weekly Art Director CORLENE BYRD (corlene.byrd@gmgvegas.com)
Marketing Art Director BROOKE LAUREN EVERSON
Marketing Graphic Designer CARYL LOU PAAYAS
Contributing Graphic Designers WESLEY GATBONTON, CHRISTINA TRIMIDAL
Photo Coordinator LAUREN VINTON
Photographers CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS, STEVE MARCUS, WADE VANDERVORT
Videography Intern RYAN CUNNINGHAM
DIGITAL
Publisher of Digital Media KATIE HORTON
Web Content Specialist CLAYT KEEFER
ADVERTISING & MARKETING
Associate Publisher ALEX HAASE
Senior Advertising Managers MIKE MALL, ADAIR MILNE, SUE SRAN
Account Executives LAUREN JOHNSON
Events Director SAMANTHA LAMB
Events Manager HANNAH ANTER
Events Coordinator APRIL MARTINEZ
Event Sales Coordinator MELINA TAYLOR
PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION
Vice President of Manufacturing MARIA BLONDEAUX
Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY
Production Manager BLUE UYEDA
Production Artist MARISSA MAHERAS
Senior Tra c Coordinator DENISE ARANCIBIA
Tra c Coordinator KIMBERLY CHANG
Fulfillment Operations Coordinator CASANDRA PIERCE
GREENSPUN MEDIA GROUP
CEO, Publisher & Editor BRIAN GREENSPUN
Chief Operating O cer ROBERT CAUTHORN
Director of Human Resources SHANNA CHAVEZ GRAY
Chief Financial O cer STEVE GRAY
LAS VEGAS WEEKLY
P.O. Box 94018
Las Vegas, NV 89193
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COVER ART Photograph by Christopher DeVargas ON
16 ENTERTAINING
Breaking down the basics of shopping for and cooking with seasonal ingredients.
Exploring Lake Mead—an engineering miracle, a floating respite and an economic driver for Las Vegas.
28 NEWS
Local health care providers fight a new wave of vaccine skepticism ahead of the next school year.
32 SPORTS
The A’s look forward to contending by the time they move to Las Vegas.
34 SCENE
Where to watch Fourth of July fireworks and celebrate Independence Day.
36 STRIP
Fleshed out with three magical acts and curated music, Shin Lim’s Limitless at Palazzo champions perseverance.
42 FOOD & DRINK
The family behind Pin Kaow modernizes traditional recipes with Blue Orchid Thai Kitchen.
The Driver Era brings a summer soundtrack to Brooklyn Bowl, the Playstation NBA Creator Cup dribbles in to Cox Pavilion and more this week.
Blue Orchid’s brioche loaf dessert. (Wade Vandervort/ Sta )
Guaranteed Prizes
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Mutiple times and locations Kids + Teens Get
Sign up for the Library District’s Summer Challenge program to enjoy reading whatever you like and participate in fun events to win great prizes!
For details on these events and to see many more, go to TheLibraryDistrict.org/SummerChallenge or scan this QR Code:
EVENTS FOR KIDS:
Adam London
Comedian & Magician
Ages 3 – 17
July
Mutiple times and locations
John Lewit
Kids’ Magician
Ages 5 – 11
July
Mutiple times and locations
Scan
Fyütch
Children’s Hip Hop Artists
Wednesday, July 30
Concert for ages 5 – 17
10:30 a.m. at Windmill Library
Teen Workshop for grades 6 – 12
4 p.m. at Whitney Library
Thursday, July 31
Concert for ages 5 – 17 10:30 a.m. - at Whitney Library
Prismatic Magic
Laser Light Shows
Ages 3 – 17
July 16 – 18
EVENTS FOR TEENS:
Clay Creations - UNR Extension - 4H
Teens learn to work with clay
Ages 12 – 17
Clark County Library
Tuesday, July 8 at 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 15 at 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 22 at 1:30 p.m.
Paint Pouring With Vibes DIY Studio
Teens learn to work with clay
Ages 12 – 17
Monday, July 7 at 1 p.m.
Clark County Library
Monday, July 28 at 12 p.m.
Windmill Library
Classical Guitar Workshop with Kyle Khembo
Ages 18+
July 18 – 21
Mutiple times and locations
Writing Workshop: Past Travels with Joylynn Ross Storytelling Workshop
Ages 18+
July
Mutiple times and locations
Beginner-Friendly Dance Class
Ages 18+
July
Mutiple times and locations
SUPERGUIDE
THURSDAY JULY 3 S U P
WORLD TABLE TENNIS U.S. SMASH Thru 7/13, times vary, Orleans Arena, ticketmaster.com
LAS VEGAS AVIATORS VS. OKLAHOMA CITY COMETS
6:05 p.m., Las Vegas Ballpark, ticketmaster.com
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
8 p.m., & 7/5, Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com
SETH
U I D E
MACFARLANE & HIS ORCHESTRA Thru 7/5, 9 p.m., Voltaire, voltairelv.com
KEVIN SAUNDERSON With Skye, Leiru, Neco & Mauribri, 10 p.m., Discopussy, tixr.com
HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN With Eric DLux, 10:30 p.m., Tao Nightclub, taogroup.com
WONKY WILLA
10 p.m., We All Scream, tixr.com
SPOTLIGHT EVENT
BOB MARLEY
HOPE ROAD
A groundbreaking revolution in entertainment has arrived at Mandalay Bay with Bob Marley Hope Road. This transformative journey into the music and message of iconic legend Bob Marley features both a live show at night and an interactive experience during the day. By night, The Show is a 75-minute, non-seated performance. Move through vivid settings inspired by Marley’s world. You’ll follow the cast from scene to scene, standing just feet from singers and dancers as a never-before-heard remix soundtrack drives the energy toward a powerful finale beneath a massive 3D spatial video wall. By day, The Experience invites you to explore the spaces at your own pace—mix a track at Tu Gong Studio, watch rare concert footage and more. hoperoad.com
DARK CHISME
Dark Chisme’s battering techno and industrialized darkwave sounds like something straight out of a Blade film—right before Wesley Snipes kicks your ass in a club. The Seattle-based duo, consisting of Chicago-raised DJ, vocalist and producer Christine Gutierrez and her BDSM-mask sporting sidekick Erik “E” Schneider (bass/ synths), has a distinct, cinematic quality. On “Move,” Gutierrez applies a cool and confident tone, compelling us to dance over a barrage of bass and chattering drum machines. But on “Beautiful Obsession Killer,” the energy trades o to E, who dials into his synthwave sensibilities with an intoxicating chorus. This goth duo is heating up, so better to catch them in their prime. 8 p.m., $12-$17, Swan Dive, eventbrite.com. -Amber Sampson
FRIDAY JULY 4
THE WEEKND With Playboi Carti, 7 p.m., & 7/5, Allegiant Stadium, ticketmaster.com
CRAIG MORGAN 9 p.m., Fremont Street Experience, vegasexperience.com
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS VS. SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC 7:30 p.m., Cashman Field, lasvegaslightsfc.com
DUSTIN LYNCH With Brandi Cyrus, 11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com
STAR-SPANGLED GLAMOUR 7 p.m., Legacy Club, circalasvegas.com
8 p.m., & 7/5, the Colosseum, ticketmaster.com
ODESZA With Phantoms, 10 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com
DOMBRESKY & SIDEPIECE 10:30 p.m., LIV Nightclub, livnightclub.com
NELLY 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com
SHIBA SAN 10 p.m., Discopussy, tixr.com
TY DOLLA $IGN 10:30 p.m., Drai’s Nightclub, draisgroup.com
TYGA 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, taogroup.com
KELLY CLARKSON
THE DRIVER ERA
Actor and singer-songwriter Ross Lynch has led many lives. He’s been the teenage heartthrob in Disney’s Teen Beach Movie. He’s been Sabrina Spellman’s love interest in Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Now he’s one-half of the Driver Era, an indie-pop duo including his brother, Rocky, who performed with him in the rock group R5. Through breezy cuts like “You Keep Me Up At Night” and “Malibu,” the Driver Era perfects its soundtrack to summer. And as a leading man, Lynch succeeds where many post-Disney stars fail, forging the grooviest chapter of his story yet. 7 p.m., $63-$108, Brooklyn Bowl, ticketmaster.com. –Amber Sampson
TIËSTO 11 a.m., Tao Beach Dayclub, taogroup.com
KYGO 11 a.m., Palm Tree Beach Club, taogroup.com
KASKADE Noon., Ayu Dayclub, zoukgrouplv.com
MARSHMELLO 11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com
LIL JON
10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, taogroup.com
METRO BOOMIN 10:30 p.m., LIV Nightclub, livnightclub.com
ILLENIUM 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com
EXCISION 10:30 p.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com
3BALLMTY 10 p.m., Daylight Beach Club, tixr.com
ALESSO 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup.com
2 CHAINZ
10:30 p.m., Drai’s Nightclub, draisgroup.com
THE CHAINSMOKERS 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com
MURPHY’S LAW 10 p.m., Discopussy, tixr.com
ANTHONY ATTALLA
With Robby Powell, 11:30 p.m., Club Ego, posh.vip
CHELSEA HANDLER
8 p.m., the Chelsea, ticketmaster.com
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE MUSICAL
8 p.m., & 7/8-7/12, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, supersummertheatre. org
RED WHITE & BREWS SPIRIT & BEER BASH
1 p.m., the Portal at Area15, eventbrite.com
BIG COUNTRY 7 p.m., House of Blues, ticketmaster.com
S U P E R G U I D E
SUPERGUIDE
wynnsocial.com
SCRIBBLE BY KIRBY
Thru 9/21, times vary, Clark County Library, thelibrarydistrict.org
EXHIBIT: THE OLD SCHOOL ART OF
ILLUSTRATION BY WALT STURROCK Thru 9/16, times vary, Summerlin Library, thelibrarydistrict.org
MONDAYS DARK 8 p.m., the Space, mondaysdark.com
Jewel Nightclub, TOMMY PEACOCK
thesanddollarlv.com
MIDNIGHT CABARET fatcatlv.com
ALONZO BODDEN
7/9, 8 p.m., Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, mgmgrand. mgmresorts.com
SUPERGUIDE
TUESDAY JULY 8
WEDNESDAY JULY 9
ROLLERCON NEON SUNSET WELCOME PARTY
7 p.m., Citrus Grand Pool Deck, downtowngrand.com
EXHIBIT: BEYOND THE TRAIL BY MEGAN
OETTINGER LITTLE
Thru 7/20, times vary, Centennial Hills Library, thelibrarydistrict.org
CARLOS MENCIA
10 p.m., & 7/9, Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, ticketmaster.com
BOB ZANY
7 p.m., Hennessy’s Tavern, deliriouscomedyclub.com
LUKE SHAY Noon, Drai’s Beachclub, draisgroup.com
ROB GUSON 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup.com
NAS WITH THE LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC
8 p.m., & 7/11-7/12, Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com
DJ DIESEL (SHAQUILLE O’NEAL)
10:30 p.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com
ESCOBAR
10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com
PLAYSTATION NBA CREATOR CUP
It’s hoops season. The NBA Summer League is back home in Las Vegas beginning July 10 and the PlayStation Creator Cup tips it all o at UNLV. Open to fans of all ages and streaming live on YouTube and the NBA app, the Creator Cup contest will feature a fusion of basketball personalities (former college stars and Harlem Globetrotters players, among others) with standout digital creators such as SypherPK, Cam Wilder, Kristopher London, D’Aydrian Harding, Carson Roney, Bree Green and Las Vegas local YPK Raye. “Bringing this energy to my hometown makes it even more meaningful, plus it’s a family-friendly event and a unique way for fans to connect with the creators they watch every day,” Raye said in a statement. 7 p.m., $20, Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com. –Brock Radke
80S NIGHT With Sidney Patrick, 7 p.m., Downtown Summerlin, summerlin.com
EATING FOR THE SEASON
Cool o your crew with the best summer produce and simple recipes
BY BROCK RADKE
Kerry Clasby is the founder of Intuitive Forager, a dynamic company that brings some of the country’s best produce into the kitchens of local residents who’ve perused her farmers markets and to skilled chefs at acclaimed restaurants like Sinatra at Wynn, Brezza at Resorts World and Martha Stewart’s Paris Las Vegas dining room The Bedford.
The farmers market recently moved into the former Greyhound station adjacent to the Plaza Hotel & Casino (200 S. Main St., Fridays 9 a.m.-2 p.m., free parking) where it continues to provide organic fruit, vegetables, herbs and much more from small, family farms.
But freshness is only the beginning. Understanding what’s in season and available right now— and why peak produce is what your body naturally craves—will maximize your own foraging experience.
“My market is really a showcase
for what the chefs are buying,” says Clasby, who also produces a monthly employees’ farmers market at Wynn. “Generally speaking, you want to eat for the season. I don’t know about you, but I crave tomatoes in summer, not so much in winter. Your body is craving the things that you need and right now, it’s hot, you’re sweating more, and you need to replace those electrolytes and natural minerals and vitamins that are all encapsulated in fruit.”
You may have the shopping part down, but sometimes the cooking part of the equation can be a little intimidating when working with sometimes unfamiliar seasonal product. The company’s website at intuitiveforagerblog.wordpress. com has some simple recipes to get you started, but Clasby has more to share about what we should be buying, preparing and eating this summer.
MELON
Rare finds like Sugarcube, Galia honeydew from Israel and orange and yellow watermelon are available at the Downtown market these days. Nothing cools better than these sweet fruits, and you don’t need to do much to create a perfect salad—just add feta and mint, or your favorite herbs with a citrus vinaigrette.
HEIRLOOM POTATOES
The potatoes we buy in the winter months have been in storage. We’re coming into the season now for heirlooms, fingerlings and baby marble potatoes. Take advantage of the beautiful colors with a red, white and blue potato salad.
MUSHROOMS
“[Chef] Nicole Brisson’s whole menu at Brezza is from our farms, all organic, even mushrooms,” Clasby says. “She’s very versatile.” Brisson is using seasonal mushrooms in a side dish with garlic, thyme and sherry to complement Brezza’s dry-aged steaks.
SHOPPING & RECIPES
Leafy green salads are an obvious summer choice, but you can do more with these special varieties like little gems, Treviso radicchio and other chicories. Try grilling romaine and dressing with olive oil, salt and lemon. If you’re a fan of wild arugula or spinach, toss them together with blueberries or strawberries and a bit of creamy cheese and crunchy walnuts or pecans.
CUCUMBERS
Juicy vegetables will help you cool o just as eciently as fruits. Throw together a great little cucumber salad with the Armenian serpentine, Persian and lemon cucumber varieties.
PASSION FRUIT
This is Clasby’s pick for a lovely summer fruit that most people don’t use at home. “It’s packed with vitamin C, great in a cocktail or just added to your water with high nutrients and the flavor is just wonderful. You can use it in cooking, too,” she says.
(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)
Exploring Lake Mead , a floating respite, an engineering miracle and an economic driver for Las Vegas
BY SHANNON MILLER
Driving down Boulder City Parkway from Las Vegas, a natural wonder comes into view. More than 72,000 acres of water shimmer in the middle of the desert.
Past the National Park Service fee station, it becomes obvious that Lake Mead is teeming with life—and recreation. Jet skis skip across the water, boats pull inner tubes, wakeboards and water skis, and on the shoreline, people lounge in between taking dips.
Life thrives in the most unlikely of places. And despite the culture that has taken hold on the surface, Lake Mead is not really a lake at all—at least not in any natural sense of the word.
Along with a series of other dams and reservoirs constructed along the Colorado River in the early 20th century, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead were created in 1931 during the Great Depression to regulate flooding, allow for large-scale irrigation and harness the power of the river to provide electricity to the nascent settlements in the Southwest.
More than 90 years later, the reservoir provides about 90% of the water supply in Southern Nevada, which has a rapidly growing population of about 2.4 million. And while much of the focus is on the lake shrinking— the famous “bathtub ring”—those who spend their days there say there’s plenty of water to play on.
“A lot of people don’t understand what’s out there. You live in a city, and you don’t realize what’s at the lake—the work, the fun, the play, the friendships,” says Chad Taylor, director of operations for hospitality for Lake Mead Mohave Adventures.
The company, a concessioner of the National Park Service that operates marinas at Callville Bay and Temple Bar in Lake Mead, offered to show me what’s in store for those who venture out.
After a 45-minute drive from Las Vegas, I pull up to the parking lot of Callville Bay Marina. It’s an unseasonal high of 99 degrees on this day in late May, so I’m thankful for the cheerful woman who spotted me.
“Need a lift?”
I hop in her golf cart. As she drives down the sloped parking lot to the shoreline, the lake and marina come into full view. I get out of the cart, and as I walk the long dock, I see boats tethered along the side, dumpsters, fuel pumps and a convenience store. It’s like a floating small town.
I meet the group I’m going out with—Taylor’s daughter Mckenna, her boyfriend Cole Leseberg and their friends Josie Kehoe and Owen Dupre.
Taylor has already ensured the Sunchaser tritoon, one of the many rentals Lake Mead Mohave Adventures offers, is in good working order and has all the necessary safety equipment—lifejackets, a fire extinguisher and first-aid kit. We make sure we have other essentials like water and sunscreen.
There’s a lengthy discussion about the wind forecasted for the afternoon and how we’ll handle it. Apparently, it’s not an ideal day to be on the water. But with the group’s experience level, they’re confident they can get us out and back safely.
Around 9:30 a.m., we untie the boat from the dock. Leseberg starts the engine and we back out of the slip. He takes it slow driving past the other slips and the tire enclosure that dampens wakes and waves.
“You’re going to want to meet the wake head on,” Mckenna tells Leseberg. Mckenna has been around boats since she was a kid. The 19-year-old Las Vegas resident comes out to the lake with this group often, at least once a month when the weather warms up.
“We’ll be out here year-round until it drops to 30 degrees. We play in the dirt in the winter and play in the water in the summer,” she says. We get past the marina and pick up speed. The wind blowing through our
hair and clothes makes this hot day a little more bearable. What’s more, there’s the promise of a refreshing plunge.
Dupre points out features that have changed since the last time he was out here. “That rock used to be underwater. ... That rock wasn’t there in 2017.”
Mckenna says there’s a silver lining to the low lake level: more sand beaches. Speaking of, we spot one and decide to make a stop.
“Con dence kills,” Mckenna warns Leseberg as he navigates shallow rocks. “Steering a boat is a suggestion. You don’t always get to decide where it goes.”
Through polarized glasses, Dupre sees the rocks clearly and gives some direction. After careful maneuvering, we hear the bow slide onto the sandy shore. Leseberg kills the engine, and swimming commences.
It’s refreshing in several ways—the 70-degree water being one. But more surprising is that this sand, shore and body of water are available mere miles away from a city in the middle of the desert. I feel like I’m at the beach, and yet I’m surrounded by mountains.
After a dip, some splashing and tossing a frisbee back and forth, we wash the sand o our feet and get back in the boat. What’s next on the itinerary? Nothing in particular.
“We hang out, grill, have camp res every night,” Mckenna says. “We’ve been out here dawn to nighttime before.”
The only thing we need to be wary of today seems to be the wind, forecasted to get up to 25 miles per hour in the afternoon.
“Lake Mead is choppy at ve miles per hour,” Mckenna explains. “Our environment is not meant to have a lake here, so we have desert wind patterns that are di erent from normal lakes.”
Leseberg starts the engine again and drives over to deeper water. We take turns jumping o
the boat, plummeting into the turquoise lake. A pair of ducks swims up, looking for food.
After we’ve su ciently cooled o , the wind starts to pick up—a sign it’s time to head back to the marina. Over the hum of the engine, we discuss some safety tips (see sidebar on page 24), boat etiquette (more on that later) and what’s the best time to get o the water.
Leseberg advises getting back to shore by 3 p.m., especially during busy times like summer or holidays, as tra c leaving the lake can be a headache.
“If you’re here past 3:30, you’re cooked,” he says.
Lake Mead isn’t just a recreational haven. It also supports a $358 million industry. According to National Park Service data, the national recreation area saw 5.8 million visitors in 2023 and supported more than 3,000 jobs in local gateway regions like Boulder City and Las Vegas.
The economic bene ts of recreation are undeniable. And that’s why o cials are sounding the alarm: recreation and the industry it supports are at risk under the Trump administration.
The administration’s budget plan for 2026 proposed a cut of more than $1 billion to the National Park Service. That’s after an estimated 13% reduction in sta due to the administration’s rings, pressured buyouts, deferred resignations and early retirements, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.
Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto held a press conference at the Wetlands Park, where tributaries eventually ow into Lake Mead, to “shine a light” on how these cuts could a ect the
National Recreation Area.
“The goal will be to make sure [people] have access to the water and be able to utilize their boats. ... But if you don’t have enough park service out there, you don’t have enough people that are helping to ensure everybody stays safe. It is going to be a safety issue, and that will be a challenge,” Cortez Masto told the Weekly
Alan O’Neill, who served for 34 years in the Department of Interior and 13 years as the Superintendent of Lake Mead, said the cuts indicate a “wholesale dismantling of our public land structures.”
“The administrative cuts and
policy changes not only a ect basic services to the public, but they also put in jeopardy the ability to protect the very resources the units were established to protect. If the budget policy changes are implemented, it may take decades to put things back in order, if ever.”
As Congress deliberates the budget, O’Neill says it’s more important than ever to work together to protect Lake Mead and national parks from the proposed “draconian cuts.”
“Citizens, regardless of political party, must defend the public lands from severe budget cuts,” he said. And our public waters, too.
(Christopher DeVargas/Sta )
Lake Mead Mohave Adventures’ Chad Taylor says boat life is accessible to anyone who really wants to get out there. You just need motivation and a little resourcefulness.
“You have to want to connect with your friends and family outside the city. If you have that, then the rest is just the steps you need to get there,” Taylor says. “You can hang out on the shore. But you want to have a boat to enjoy the lake. You can know somebody who has a boat, you can rent a boat, or you can buy a boat.”
The rst step he recommends is nding someone who has boated before or who likes to go to the lake, and doing some research.
Taking his advice, I found Ross Bowman, a boat owner from Las Vegas who frequents Lake Mead with his wife, two kids and his friends. He describes his boat as a
25-foot Chaparral, “the minivan of boats.” He bought it used for $26,000. It’s an investment that has paid dividends, he says.
“I’m a water enthusiast. I’m looking for any reason to either be in a pool or go to the lake. We go more than the average family because it’s a small vacation or getaway,” Bowman says. “I probably would have moved away a long time ago if Lake Mead wasn’t so close.”
On boating days, the family wakes up early to make lunches, pack their beach bags and make sure their boat is fueled up and their trailer in good working order. They’re out the door by 8 a.m. and on the water by 9—“the perfect window before the ill-experienced people are getting out there.”
Novice boaters sometimes don’t know how to back their boats into the water and can take a long time on the launch ramp. Sometimes launch ramps are limited to one lane. That’s the case this summer with Hemenway Harbor due to construction. So getting out early is the best way
to go, especially on busy weekends and holidays. Otherwise, you might spend half your day waiting in line to get your boat in the water.
Once you’re on the water, there’s the unspoken law of the lake to follow—boat etiquette. Bowman says it’s mostly intuitive common sense and good manners, like helping others and being willing to answer questions.
“Boat etiquette is respect for the other person’s time that they’re having—not ying into a beach ... and rocking the boats and causing wakes. Don’t be showing up with your loud speakers and party girls when it’s 10 o’clock and there’s kids on the beach,” he says.
For the most part, he says he sees good etiquette and people picking up after themselves, leaving beaches as pristine as they found them. An issue he more often runs into is people not bringing enough drinking water. He’s helped people before who appeared to be suffering from heatstroke, “usually alcohol-induced.”
When it comes to partaking in alcohol and other activities, boat drivers have an added layer of responsibility, he adds.
“[When] you’re the captain ... you can’t be indulging. You can’t go wakeboarding or tubing as much as the other people. If you go cli jumping and leave your boat to someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, you might have a hard time swimming back to your boat,” he says.
Once you have basic safety and etiquette down, you’re ready to start making memories. When Bowman talks about the skills his 10- and 12-year-old have learned at the lake—about wildlife, boating, water sports—he speaks as a proud father.
“I like watching the kids progress. They’re so capable and so natural at it. That’s just as much enjoyment as being out there myself,” he says.
(Courtesy/OpenStreetMap/openstreetmap.org/copyright)
Echo Bay launch ramp
South Cove launch ramp
Temple Bar launch ramp
Callville Bay launch ramp
Hemenway Harbor launch ramp
Willow Beach launch ramp
Cottonwood Cove launch ramp
Katherine Landing launch ramp
Chad Taylor, director of operations for hospitality for Lake Mead Mohave Adventures, says people need not be intimidated by the lake. But they do need to take some precautions.
“Be smart enough to know you need to have a little bit of fear.
Wear lifejackets. No alcohol at the lake. Come out with a group. Let someone more experienced drive the boat first,” he says. He recommends following these safety guidelines:
• Boating safety courses are not only highly recommended, they’re required by Nevada law for anyone born after 1982. BoatUS Foundation offers a free online course approved by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (boatus. org/nevada).
• Always check the weather forecast for any wind advisories, and heed the warnings.
• Make sure every person on board has a life jacket, and children have child-size jackets.
• Bring sunscreen, hats, long-sleeve shirts and water shoes—a must to protect your feet from the invasive quagga mussel that has “razor-sharp” shells.
• Check that you have a fully charged engine battery and fire extinguisher.
• Make sure the steering wheel, throttle controls and all lights are working properly.
• Check for fuel leaks from the tank, fuel lines and carburetor, and check the engine compartment for oil leaks.
• Check hose connections for leaks or cracks and make sure hose clamps are tight.
• Drain all water from the engine compartment and make sure the bilge plug is replaced and secure.
• Leave a detailed float plan with a reliable friend or relative, and let them know when you plan to be back from your trip.
Happy boating! –Shannon
Miller
IN THE NEWS
COMMUNITY REACTS TO LOMBARDO HOUSING VETOES
Among the 87 Nevada Legislature bills that met Gov. Joe Lombardo’s record-breaking veto pen last month was a batch that would have bolstered protections for renters, reformed state eviction procedures and prohibited landlords from tacking on last-minute fees.
On June 26, members of the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance teamed up with other regional housing advocates to push back. It’s not the first time the governor drew ire from housing justice advocates, as he vetoed similar bills in 2023.
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada leader Tyler Cavey suggested that Lombardo “sided with the profits of corporate landlords and the Realtors Association” over signing Assembly Bill 280, which would have limited rent increases to 5% for existing tenants who are over the age of 62 or receiving Social Security benefits.
In his veto message, Lombardo said the bill “imprecisely approaches” the issue of tenant protection, adding that the rent control provisions “are likely to undermine housing affordability over time.”
“The bill may inadvertently encourage preemptive rent hikes before the cap takes effect, making housing less attainable in the short term,” Lombardo wrote, noting that it could also “discourage investment in rental properties” in
the future.
Cavey also touched on Assembly Bill 283, which would have shifted the burden of legally filing for an eviction to landlords. Under current state law, tenants must first file an affidavit to contest an eviction. A related bill, Assembly Bill 201, sought to expand the process for sealing eviction records. Lombardo vetoed both, writing that they would strain “judicial discretion” over housing proceedings and “impose onerous obligations on property owners.”
“Even policies as simple as changing the order of how a summary eviction is filed is deemed too detrimental to the profits of landlords,” Cavey said in response. “We, as a society, deserve better.”
Battle Born Progress organizer Anwar Green encouraged renters to continue to advocate for reform after Lombardo “failed them for the second straight session.”
“As our state’s affordability crisis deepens and disastrous federal cuts loom, more tenants than ever in Nevada face the risk of hardship, instability and becoming unsheltered. As we brace for the eviction-to-unhoused pipeline to continue, we have to urge our federal representatives to expand and not cut essential HUD programs,” he said. –Tyler
Schneider
3,418,700
“Senate Republicans voted to raise costs on working families, rip health care from Nevadans who need it, and kill good-paying jobs across our state to ensure their billionaire friends save on their taxes.”
–U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., in response to Senate Republicans passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would pay for roughly $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, cause as many as 17 million Americans to lose health insurance and add an estimated $4 trillion to the national debt. As of press time, the legislation was headed to the House for a final vote, where GOP leaders said they would deliver it to Trump by a Fourth of July deadline.
That’s how many visitors Las Vegas had in May, which is down 6.5% compared to last year and the fifth straight month in 2025 that visitor volume has fallen behind 2024.
HOUSING
HOT SHOT
Michele Last, an original Crazy Girls cast member, stands near the show’s iconic bronze statue during an event held to welcome the piece to its new home at Circa Resort in Downtown Las Vegas on June 25. (Wade Vandervort/Staff)
FOR THE HEALTH OF THE HERD
Nevada health care professionals tackle new wave of vaccine skepticism ahead of next school year
BY TYLER SCHNEIDER
Most of us rst heard the term “herd immunity” during COVID, but the concept of immunizing the population to minimize the threat of a major outbreak is far from new.
For JP Vilai, Roseman University Pediatrics clerkship director and assistant professor, it’s paramount to curbing potential future public health issues associated with the reemergence of measles—a disease that was declared eliminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2000.
A quarter-century later, the U.S. is facing a new wave of measles that began when a pair of unvaccinated Texas adults were diagnosed in January. According to the CDC, it’s now spread to at least 1,227 individuals across 36 states as of June 24. Though Nevada has so far avoided joining that list, experts like Vilai cite concerns over the rising number of parents who have claimed religious and medical exemptions to opt out of state-mandated childhood immunizations.
According to a Kaiser Fam-
ily Foundation report that sourced CDC data, the number of Nevada kindergartners who received both doses of the required measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine dropped from 95.4% in the 2019-2020 academic year to 91.9% in 2023-2024. In that same span, the rate of students who claimed religious or medical exemptions increased from 4% to 7.1%. Nevada’s 2023-2024 nonmedical kindergarten exemption rate of 6.2% was the seventh highest in the nation. “The number of exemptions
(Photo illustration)
has de nitely gone up. I think that COVID kind of brought that on, partially. And a more centralized questioning of vaccines coming from government agencies makes it really di cult, too,” Vilai says.
According to a presentation given by Southern Nevada Health District representatives, the percentage of Clark County kindergartners who have received both doses of the MMR vaccine has decreased by roughly a percent annually since the 2022-2023 academic year—from 92.7% to 90.8% in 2024-2025.
According to the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Clark County’s total vaccination rate for all required vaccines fell from 92.8% in 2022-2023 to 91.4% in 2023-2024.
Ahead of next school year, the health district is doing its part to boost these numbers by hosting a series of clinics sponsored through the federally funded Vaccines for Children Program. At UNLV, another grant-funded program called Vax Facts Nevada is also working to help ll the gaps.
“Historically, Nevada has struggled with immunizations,” says Vax Facts Nevada representative and UNLV professor Brian Labus. “The goal of the project is to basically keep us from being on the bottom of the list when it comes to childhood immunization.”
Both Vilai and Labus say the rising exemption rates represent a new threat to this goal. Now that rates have exceeded 5% in Nevada, it’s more di cult to reach the 95% threshold required for the
“Most parents tend to think vaccines are going to protect their own child, but there’s more to it than that. You’re protecting other people who have a deficiency or chronic health issues and can’t get vaccines.”
– JP Vilai,
Roseman University Pediatrics Clerkship Director
MMR vaccine to reach herd immunity.
“Unfortunately, it’s not very di cult to get an exemption. It’s much easier now for people to go to certain providers, get a piece of paper signed and turn that into the school. Sometimes it’s not a pediatrician who’s doing that,” Vilai says.
He touches on a con uence of events that led to the current moment. It starts with the pandemic, which lifted anti-vax sentiments into the mainstream. That ame was fanned even further when prominent vaccine skeptics like U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started publicly promoting a now-retracted study that linked the MMR vaccine to autism, he says.
“There have been many, many, many studies that have come out after that to discredit that idea, but the damage was done. It’s kind of hard to sway public opinion when it’s already out there,” Vilai says.
Kennedy has continued to promote vaccine skepticism.
On June 9, he red all 17 members of the CDC’s advisory committee on immunization, later replacing them with members who are more sympathetic to his beliefs.
“A lot of it is about optics. If they are getting rid of the people who are experts in this eld and bringing in skeptics, that sends a message to people,” Vilai says. “If the government is endorsing vaccine skepticism, it makes it dicult for your average person to go along with the opposite.”
Some Nevada parents seem to have already bought in.
According to Nevada DHHS, the percentage of Nevada children who have received
all recommended immunizations by 35 months old fell from 73.3% in 2022 to 64% in 2023.
As Vilai, Labus, the health district and other groups in Southern Nevada work to atten that curve, Vilai notes that there’s “always going to be some subset of families who are dead set against vaccines.”
Instead of focusing on them, he says the key is to convince “the fence sitters.”
“They’re not necessarily against vaccines, but not necessarily totally convinced, either. Those are the ones that I really focus the most on to convince them that this is actually very important,” Vilai says.
But with all that’s happened since COVID—including a Trump administration that seems committed to scaling back public vaccination e orts that have become a common practice since Massachusetts vaccinated against smallpox in 1855—the road ahead may be di cult.
“It’s probably going to take a while, and I don’t know if we’ll ever really quite get back to the normalcy we saw before COVID,” Vilai says, adding that vaccination a ects not only the person who’s vaccinated, but public health as a whole.
Health district urges early immunizations ahead of new school year
The Southern Nevada Health District’s campaign to help vaccinate students is an annual summer tradition. By state law, kindergartners, seventh graders and 12th graders are required to progress through a series of seven vaccines for diseases like measles, chickenpox and hepatitis. (More information on required vaccinations is available at ccsd.net/parents/enrollment.)
Ahead of CCSD’s first day of school on August 11, the department is hosting ongoing clinics by appointment only at its main location on Decatur Boulevard and Public Health Centers in East Las Vegas, Henderson and Mesquite. An additional clinic for students 11-18 years old will be available at the Fremont Public Health Center in the two weeks leading up to the new school year.
Senior nurse with the health district Alondra Contreras-Araiza says it’s important for parents to remember to first submit their child’s previous immunization record to the district, adding that her team can help new Nevada residents transcribe existing out-of-state records.
Contreras-Araiza urges parents to schedule appointments as soon as possible and notes that students can also get their vaccines up to one year before they’re required—meaning a child can get their kindergarten shots after they turn four.
“Most parents tend to think vaccines are going to protect their own child, but there’s more to it than that. You’re protecting other people who have a de ciency or chronic health issues and can’t get vaccines. When you fall below a certain level, that puts everybody at risk,” Vilai says. “With vaccination rates kind of going down— not only in Nevada, but across the country—I think we have to be vigilant.” we
“Everyone wants their shot the week before school, but it’s honestly physically impossible to vaccinate the whole Valley if we all wait until the last min-
To schedule an appointment, visit snhd.info/bts or call 702-759-0850. –Tyler Schneider
VEGAS IN YOUR POCKET
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A’S PLUS
BY CASE KEEFER
Most Athletics fans remember dominant closer Rollie Fingers most for the three straight World Series titles he helped the franchise win from 1972 to 1974 near the start of his Hall of Fame career.
But that’s not where the now 79-year-old Henderson resident starts when he re ects on his journey. He goes all the way back to when the A’s called him up to Major League Baseball in the rst season after the team moved from Kansas City to Oakland.
“In ‘68 when I joined the A’s, we were a little shaky,” Fingers recently reminisced. “We played together for about three or four years and then it clicked. Baseball is a funny game. It can change in a hurry. You can be bad one year and then the next year if it works you can be in the playo s.”
The Athletics are hoping to repeat history and time their latest spike in success to coincide with their MLB-record fourth relocation in 2028.
That’s when the ballclub is slated to move into a planned $1.7 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip where the Tropicana previously stood for 67 years.
Franchise leaders and elected o cials held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site on June 23, even though preliminary construction began a month earlier.
There was a lot of talk about the A’s future at the event, and it didn’t only regard the antici-
pation of watching the plush 33,000-seat venue come to life. A’s owner John Fisher expressed just as much excitement about the team that will take the new eld.
The A’s have been one of the worst teams in baseball for the last three seasons and are on pace to nish near the bottom of the standings again this year, but Fisher vowed that’s going to ip in Las Vegas.
“We expect we’re going to have one of the most exciting teams in baseball,” he said. “We have the pieces to make that happen.”
The hope is that the A’s are currently mired in a period of growing pains not unlike the one Fingers described living through a half-century ago.
The outlook was bleak after the 2023 season when the A’s nished as one of the 30 worst teams in the modern era of baseball with a 50-112 record, but there have been reasons for optimism since.
Namely, there’s been hope in the A’s youth.
The team has the ninth-youngest roster in baseball this season with a bunch of up-and-coming players that will remain under team control and should be entering their primes together in Las Vegas.
“The A’s have put together one of the most talented young rosters in Major League Baseball as they begin to build toward 2028,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Players like Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler should help bring not only a baseball team but a
eye breaking out and contending they move to
by the time Las Vegas
winner to here in Las Vegas.”
The trio referenced by Manfred could conceivably be the top three hitters in the A’s lineup on Opening Day of the 2028 season.
The 23-year-old Wilson, a shortstop, is currently running away with this year’s American League Rookie of the Year award as one of the league’s surest hitters.
The 24-year-old Butler, a leado -hitting right elder, recently signed a seven-year, $65 million deal with the A’s. The 30-year-old Rooker, a designated hitter, has shown o one of MLB’s most powerful swings as somewhat of a late bloomer in the three years since he emerged after a minor-league stint with the Las Vegas Aviators.
Other former Aviators with star potential include a trio of recent rst-round draft picks— rst baseman Nick Kurtz, out elder Tyler Soderstrom and catcher Shea Langeliers.
Meanwhile, starting pitcher Jacob Lopez has come on as the A’s most reliable arm and, if anyone can channel Fingers, it’s closer Mason Miller, who had 15 straight scoreless appearances as a rookie in 2024.
Fingers is predicting big things for the A’s in Las Vegas, and he’s not alone.
“Our goal is to continue to build upon what we have,” Fisher said. “Building a team is like building anything else: Sometimes it takes more time than you want it to. It’s like building a stadium, but we think that we have the pieces to make ourselves successful.”
From left: Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler and Jacob Wilson. (AP Photo/Photo Illustration)
Where to watch fireworks and celebrate Independence Day in Las Vegas
BY BROCK RADKE
31ST ANNUAL SUMMERLIN
COUNCIL PATRIOTIC PARADE
Southern Nevada’s largest Fourth of July parade kicks off at 9 a.m. at the corner of Hillpointe Road and Hills Center Drive in The Trails village of Summerlin with 70 entries, including a 50-foot American Eagle, new Wicked and Moana-themed floats, the 40foot Grand Old Flag, veteran and military organizations, the Vegas Golden Knights and other sports team representation and performing groups. As always, the parade is free and open to the public with more info at summerlinpatriotic parade.com.
BOULDER CITY DAMBOREE
This annual local celebration starts with the Rotary Pancake Breakfast at Bicentennial Park in Boulder City at 7 a.m., followed by the annual flyover signifying the start of the parade at 9 a.m. on Colorado Street. Games, food and a beer wagon will be available at 10 a.m. at Broadbent Park, then the party moves to Veterans Memorial Park for music and more at 4 p.m. and fireworks at 9 p.m. Visit bcnv. org/806/damboree for more info.
HENDERSON FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION AT HERITAGE PARK
This free star-spangled celebration starts at 6 p.m. with live entertainment, a foam party frenzy, water blaster tag, cornhole, face painting and more, culminating with fireworks at 9 p.m. Visit cityof henderson.com.
RED, WHITE & BOOTS AT M RESORT
A 15-minute fireworks display choreographed to music at 9 p.m. is the centerpiece of the M Resort’s Fourth of July event, produced in partnership with the Henderson Chamber of Commerce and Findlay Honda of Henderson. A VIP viewing area is available at the pool ($10-$35) and guests can also enjoy the festivities from the new Patio poolside bar and restaurant. Lock it down at themresort.com.
RED, WHITE & BOOTS AT RIO
Yes, you are reading that right: Another off-Strip resort is holding a July 4 party with the same name. The Rio’s is a partnership with the Cowboy Lifestyle Network, a twoday event featuring pool parties, fireworks and country concerts. For full details, visit riolasvegas.com/ rio-events/4thofjuly.
RED, WHITE & BOOTS BASH AT PALMS
You’re not going to believe this, but the Red, White & Boots Bash at the Palms Pool gets the Independence Day spirit going early at 10 a.m. on July 3 with line dancing and live music from Beyond The Arrow and Thompson Square. It’s free and open to the public and you can reserve free GA tickets at palms.com.
FOURTH OF JULY VIEWING PARTY AT THE STRAT
The Strat will host a fireworks viewing party from the indoor and outdoor Observation Deck beginning at 5 p.m. ($55 adults, $35 children). More info is available at thestrat.com.
ROSE ROOFTOP & ATHENA INFINITY POOL FIREWORKS VIEWING PARTIES AT RESORTS WORLD
Tickets range from $45 to $150 for the varying amenities at these specialty Strip venues—think music vs. swimming. Explore the options at rwlasvegas.com.
FIREWORKS AT THE PLAZA
The Plaza will once again be the only Downtown Las Vegas fireworks show for the Fourth, launching from the South Tower at 9:15 p.m. The public can see it for free
FANTASTIC FOURTH
on Main Street, which will be closed to vehicle traffic from Carson Avenue to Ogden Avenue. Or check out the options for the rooftop pool deck and the 6 p.m. wing-eating contest at the Carousel Bar at plazahotelcasino.com.
FIREWORKS AT STATION CASINOS
Neighborhood favorite casino resorts Durango, Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch will light up the sky with Fireworks by Grucci shows starting at 9 p.m. Admission prices for venues with views vary, so plot your course at stationcasinosblog. com/fireworks.
FIREWORKS AT LAKE LAS VEGAS
The annual Lake Las Vegas show starts at 9 p.m., a free, family-friendly event in partnership with the City of Henderson. lakelas vegas.com is the place to get more details.
FIREWORKS AT CAESARS PALACE
The center-Strip spot will launch fireworks at 9 p.m. with prime viewing on the Las Vegas Boulevard sidewalk. That’s all you need to know, but you can also check out caesars.com/caesars-palace.
(Courtesy)
THE SOUND OF MAGIC
Shin Lim talks Hans Zimmer, his favorite Chinatown eats and enhancing his residency through music
BY AMBER SAMPSON
A good magic show peddles the illusion that anything is possible. A great one proves it.
For the past six years, America’s Got Talent champion Shin Lim has astounded audiences with some of the most dizzying displays of card magic ever seen in a live setting. His Limitless residency at the Mirage moved to the Palazzo Theater in 2024 and remains at the top of the to-do list for magic enthusiasts. Fully eshed out with a three-act structure depicting Lim’s life, Limitless champions perseverance.
But it wouldn’t be as grand without its music. Lim, a former pianist, uses scores throughout each act, heightening the drama and dexterity of his tricks. He spoke with the Weekly on how music and new mentalists have refreshed the show and more.
I’m impressed with the way you’ve choreographed your tricks to music. How integral is music to the early stages of perfecting a trick?
For creation, I have almost like a set list of music that I really like and that I really want to perform to. When I’m creating an act, I kind of have a feel for it, about whether it’s gonna match, whether it’s the right vibe. Then I match the trick to the song. Sometimes it does go the other way around though. Sometimes I would hear a song and that would inspire me to create something just for that song. That one’s a little bit harder because magic is linear in a sense of, there’s a beginning, middle and end to the storyline of each trick. It has to be sequential. … But it’s doable. I do it a lot.
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THE STRIP
You worked film scores into your AGT auditions, too. Who are your favorite composers?
Hans Zimmer, for sure. I’m his biggest fan. I grew up watching a lot of movies when I was younger. I was home-schooled, and my mom kind of instinctually saw that I was artistic, and she literally was like, “Hey, I’m gonna focus on your older and younger brother, teaching them, and I’m gonna let you do whatever you want.” So she let me just not even study, which was pretty great for my younger years. One of the things about movies that I really loved was the music in them, and one of the musicians in movies was Hans Zimmer, and I really admire his genius.
how I’m speaking or the magic itself. Recently, we’ve been having a big change of mentalists ... and then that actually changes the entire vibe of the show. You can actually feel the energy of the show completely changes from one type of thing, where there’s more comedy, to now with The Clairvoyants and more drama. I never expected that to happen. I thought the show was always going to be the same type of energy, but actually it changes with the mentalist. It’s very cool.
As an ex-musician, is it gratifying to still be able to connect music to your magic?
Of course, yes. People always say, “Oh, you must feel so bad that you’re not doing music anymore,” but I’m actually the music supervisor for the show. Every single piece of music in there, I either picked or I had a composer create the song just for it. I would tell them, hey, make it like this, or crescendo here, decrescendo here. I would say 50% of the show is original, and then the other half is Hans Zimmer, M83 … the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. There’s a ton. Does having a permanent residency give you the freedom to try out new material?
How has it been working with The Clairvoyants’ Thommy and Amélie? They’re very different from your eccentric buddy Colin Cloud. Yeah, they are. They’re so professional. They’re so talented. Their third act, the one where Amélie’s on the swing, and Thommy is able to take any object and she just knows the expiration date, how many pieces of gum that are inside, or tissue paper, that blows my mind. I know a lot of magic. I also know a lot of mentalism ... and the crew does, too. [But] every night, we’re just like, How do they do it? It’s actually quite refreshing to have that feeling, because as a magician you kind of know everything, so it can get ... not stale, but something similar to that. Will The Clairvoyants be permanent? Or will new acts join the show?
I think they’re gonna be here to stay. We’ve been having so many mentalists now rotate, and they’ve all been great. We’ve had Spidey, we’ve had Peter Antoniou, and then we’re gonna have Stuart MacLeod, who’s a great comedian and a host. We’re gonna pretty much nd our top three that we really like. And I know The Clairvoyants are already in there. I like to change the show up a lot. But once I nd the two or three that I really like, I’m gonna keep them in the long run.
Absolutely. Right after AGT, I did a North American tour and as fun as that was, it was pretty grueling. You don’t really get to see the cities that you go to. It’s mainly just bus, hotel and then theater. You’re spending all that time just rehearsing and teching. You don’t have a chance to even try something new, because if you do, the crew is gonna freak out. Whereas for the residency, because the crew is so familiar with the stage, everything’s all the same.
Almost every day I make a change, whether it’s
Has being based here allowed you to connect more with Vegas’ magic community? Yeah, it’s huge. I had no idea how big the magic community was in Vegas until I started living here. This is, like, magic mecca. And it’s great because magicians from LA and New York will always come and visit Vegas anyway. So, we always have friends just coming in and out. It’s pretty great. I really love this city. It’s really growing on me. When the pandemic died down, and I could actually go out and eat food at restaurants and stu , I was like, this place is pretty cool. I moved to Henderson in 2020, so in 2019 I was still doing the residency at the Mirage, but I was living in LA, so I would drive every weekend to Vegas.
SHIN LIM: LIMITLESS WednesdaySunday, 7:30 p.m. (& Saturday, 4:30 p.m.), $59-$261. Palazzo Theatre, ticketmaster.com.
What are your favorite restaurants, on and o the Strip?
I promise you, I am not paid by Venetian to say this, but I eat at the Venetian every day before the show [laughs]. They have such an array of restaurants, and I can compare it to the Mirage, because I used to do the same at the Mirage. OStrip, I still Postmates a lot … but I do like going to Chinatown. 888 Japanese BBQ is so good. For dessert, I like Mango Mango. It’s cool because they have a lot of Southeast Asian types of cuisine for mango desserts. And it’s nostalgic, because I grew up in Singapore for my early childhood, and some of the desserts they sell there, it’s what I ate when I was in Singapore.
I don’t think I’ve seen a magic show that inspired me as much as yours. Who inspires you?
My older brother. He’s the one who taught me my rst magic trick. He only knew one trick at that time, but I always looked up to him. He was the coolest guy in high school. He broke all the records in our swim team. I was also a swimmer on that swim team. I was not as good at all. (Laughs.) But I always looked up to him so much, and in high school, he had this kind of vigor ... he just had this drive. It would just shine out of him like anything was possible. I think that inspired me to learn from him and I got a lot out of it. It’s something that I’ve always just kept with me all throughout.
It’s almost like a mental game of pushing through. You’re almost hypnotizing your own brain to do something that you know might not even be possible. I noticed he did this before a big swim competition. They call it psyching themselves for the swim meet. Almost every day in your brain, you visualize yourself swimming really, really fast and beating your time. It’s almost like a daily practice where you kind of tell your brain. And I could see him doing that. I now do the same thing. I did it for AGT. I did it for Penn & Teller: Fool Us. I did it for the show when I was opening. I’m almost like, psyching myself and getting my brain ready for this type of pressure.
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Sincerely Yours releases its new EP before hitting the road for its Hot Boy Summer Tour
BY GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ
There’s beauty in sonic unraveling. Sincerely Yours, a band born from the ashes of past projects, understands this well.
SCREAMO HEART
Its new EP, Box of Matches and a Fear of Light, dropped on July 1, and it doesn’t just land; it detonates. There are six songs in 16 minutes, each bleeding into the next like one prolonged scream into the void. According to the band, their musical expression comes from a place of honest feeling and relies on individual vulnerability to amplify the project’s sound.
“I try to be as ambitious as possible,” says Donovan Mingarelli, the band’s frontman and lyrical architect. “My goal with all of it is, I want my music heard everywhere, like every corner of the Earth, if it’s possible.”
The local quartet, consisting of Mingarelli (vocals), Randy Navarro (guitar), Edwyn Morales-Martinez (bass)—who goes by the stage name Krueger—and Michael Burger (drums/vocals), formed out of a shared love for early 2000s/2010s metalcore and post-hardcore. Think Touché Amoré rage spiraling into Poison the Well theatricality.
Opener “Suns Out” begins deceptively gentle, a melodic guitar line and Mingarelli’s soft tenor, before
careening into “Guns Out,” which hits like a collapsing lung. Panic chords scream. Burger’s drums flail gloriously off the rails. It’s musical violence but orchestrated.
“Monster House” unleashes an atmospheric stomp of percussive fury, dense bass precision, melodic guitar interludes and a mix of abrasive screams and tuneful passages.
Burger, who leans into “crazier drum fills,” balances chaos with raw rhythm. Krueger samples sounds in his head, nodding to frequencies from his heroes and stitching them back together with his own warped precision.
The EP was recorded in just a week with producer Jonas Vece, who the band praises for his steady hand and keen ears. The result is a sharp, kinetic burst of screamo heart. Not polished but pure.
Following its 2024 debut, Acclimate to the Sounds of a Beating Heart, the band has been gigging as much as possible, jumping onto bills with local cohorts. Its next run, the 16-day Hot Boy Summer Tour, kicks off in July with Vegas duo Echoes of Amara.
If you’re lucky, you’ll catch the band mid-set bleeding, sweating, screaming—holding nothing back. Sincerely Yours, after all.
BY GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ
It’s been two years of silence from local quintet Lords of Death, and like any post-hardcore band worth the distortion pedal they rode in on, they took their sweet, feedback-laced time. But You Are Nowhere, recorded by local studio wizard Jonas Vece at Second Born Sound and released in May, stands less as a return and more of an ambush.
This four-track EP kicks off with all the essential components of any solid project from the aforementioned genre. You want chugging riffs? Melodic dissonance? Breakdown crescendos with the emotional nuance of a controlled demolition? They’ve packed it all in and called it “vacation metal.” But if this is a vacation, it’s the kind where you lose your passport in the middle of a pit and decide you never want to come home.
Chris Duggan’s vocals teeter between desperation and declaration, riding shotgun with dual guitars played by Jayson Kingdon and Matt Reininger that slice and shimmer like they’re sawing through drywall and memory. Eric Fodor’s basslines are intricate and unsettling, like a low-end conspiracy theory, and newly added Joe Randazzo’s drums? They’re not so much played but exorcised with thrashing precision.
The EP peaks on “Roman Scandal,” a standout track that features guest vocals from Piper Ferrari of Roman Candle. Ferrari’s scowl juxtaposes Duggan’s primal rasp with a haunting elegance, creating an expected harmony if you’re familiar with the two bands. Lords of Death have returned from the void sharper, louder and more demanding than ever. And if this is nowhere, we’re going to want to stay for a while.
The family behind Pin Kaow modernizes traditional recipes at Blue Orchid Thai Kitchen
A DYNASTY EVOLVES
BY GENEVIE DURANO
Twenty-five years after Kit and Joy Kittisoros opened Pin Kaow and brought their own authentic Thai cuisine to the Valley, the family is ready to redefine the cuisine for a new generation.
Blue Orchid Thai Kitchen, which opened on Las Vegas Boulevard near Cactus Avenue last month, isn’t just another family restaurant expansion—it’s a reimagining of Thai dining that marries traditional recipes with modern innovation.
Kevin Kittisoros, managing partner of Pin Kaow Restaurant Group and Kit and Joy’s son, is adding to his family’s legacy on both the business and creative sides. “My parents opened the original Pin Kaow location on Rainbow when I was five years old. I just remember sitting there all day as a kid, being enchanted by everything going on,” Kevin says. “It’s what I know, and I really want to make my parents proud and continue their legacy.”
grilled marinated steak with Thai herbs and cucumber salad served with sticky rice. The short rib crunchy steamed bun ($22) offers a creative take on traditional Chinese steamed buns with flash-fried shells.
If you’re noticing that some dishes aren’t strictly Thai, that’s by design. “I’m more of an Asian fusion kind of guy,” says Piamchuntar. “I like to blend cuisines together. Do Japanese, but do Japanese with a little bit of Thai influence. Do Korean with a little bit of Thai influence and vice versa.”
True to its next-gen approach, Blue Orchid’s social media bona fides are on full display. The tableside Tom Yum soup ($34-$42) arrives in a dramatic siphon setup, with aromatic herbs steeping before your eyes as the soup simmers before being poured into a bowl. It’s as much for the Gram as it is for the palate.
BLUE ORCHID THAI KITCHEN 10516 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 702268-7483, blueor chidthaikitch en.com. Daily, noon-10 p.m.
Blue Orchid’s interiors signal the restaurant’s fresh approach, with its modern garden aesthetic and Ramakien murals that tell ancient Thai stories. The 100-seat dining room is a mix of semi-private booths, banquettes and bar seating that transitions from casual lunch spot to intimate date-night destination.
The dishes from executive chef Steve Piamchuntar are meant to be shared, so a visit to Blue Orchid is best approached as a social occasion. This philosophy reflects the chef’s Thai family upbringing. “That’s how I was raised,” he says. “Everybody just orders a bunch of food and has fun with it.”
The small plates section lends itself perfectly to this approach. Start with the chicken lettuce wraps ($17), which come in taco-shaped wonton shells, and the Tiger Cry on a Stick ($26),
The rest of the menu strikes a balance between familiar Thai classics and more adventurous options. Sure, there’s pad Thai ($24-$30), but try the Dry Street Noodles ($22)—egg noodles, char siu pork and sweet soy chili vinegar—for something unexpected. Meanwhile, the beloved Khao Soi, presented with duck confit ($31), becomes a richer and more refined version of itself.
For dessert, you can order the familiar mango and sticky rice reimagined as arancini ($9), but don’t miss Breaking Bread ($14), a massive warm honey brioche loaf with buttered ube syrup, berries, taro chips and vanilla ice cream. It’s a dessert you won’t soon forget. Blue Orchid represents more than just a new restaurant; it carries with it the expectations of its familial predecessor while embracing what’s next. Kevin Kittisoros has big shoes to fill, but what he hopes for is simply to continue the culinary excellence his parents started. He’s got a solid start.
From bottom, Blue Orchid Thai Kitchen’s braised short rib Khao Soi, Tiger Cry on a Stick and brioche loaf.
(Wade Vandervort/ Staff)
ENJOY A STACK OF GRATITUDE
RED, WHITE AND BERRY PANCAKE SLAM®
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS & WADE VANDERVORT
NEVADA DESERT IDEAL FOR CO2 REMOVAL COMPANY
BY KATIE ANN MCCARVER VEGAS INC STAFF
Southern Nevada will be home to the first commercial facility of Clairity Technology, a Los Angeles-based company that conducts carbon dioxide removal.
The facility will not only isolate and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also generate over 1,000 liters of water per day, meaning it will generate potable water for local communities, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance said in a new release announcing the company’s move into the area.
Clairity was established by CEO and founder Glen Meyerowitz to address what he describes as a critical climate challenge.
Carbon dioxide removal involves capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently storing it to help combat climate change. Companies like Clairity accomplish this through a two-step process starting with “direct air capture,” when fans draw in ambient air, which then passes through non-hazardous chemical sorbents that capture and concentrate the CO2.
That is followed by mineralization, when the captured CO2 undergoes a conversion process that transforms it into inert rock material, effectively locking it away for over 1,000 years.
This approach essentially reverses CO2 emissions by pulling the greenhouse gas directly
from the air and ensuring it can’t return to the atmosphere.
“So, essentially, the problem is there’s too much CO2 in the atmosphere,” Meyerowitz said, which causes the heat waves and droughts that have become the trademark of climate change.
The most important response is to reduce new greenhouse gas emissions—moving to electrification, renewable sources of energy and so on, Meyerowitz said. But even with rapid decarbonization, he emphasized, there’s still too much legacy emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Collectively as a species, humans have emitted over 2 trillion tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution and continue to emit about 40 billion tons of CO2 every year, Meyerowitz said. According to NASA, human activities have raised the atmosphere’s CO2 content by 50% in less than 200 years.
Clairity was approved for state tax incentives by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic
Development (GOED) in October, officials said.
The water-generation portion of Clairity’s process is particularly beneficial for a location like Nevada, said Meyerowitz, adding that the company has already been in talks with the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
“Nevada, it’s a really great spot for us,” he said, pointing to the state’s efforts to bring in new companies and diversify its workforce, strong research institutions like UNLV and those in nearby Phoenix and access to clean forms of power.
“Another thing is our technology actually performs best in dry climates,” he added. “So that was certainly something that was an important factor for us from the beginning, as well.”
When companies like Clairity relocate to Southern Nevada, said Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance interim CEO Betsy Fretwell, it validates the region’s competitiveness as a center for climate solutions. She pointed to the area’s preexisting renown for water conservation in a very arid climate as an example.
“It shows other companies that they can come here and they can find a location and build their business, hire qualified people and really advance their business objectives here,” she said.
Becoming a hub for the climate innovation sector and building resilient, future-focused businesses that strengthen Las Vegas’ economy are key, Fretwell said. And Clairity works alongside other target industries of the LVGEA like health care, biotech, information technology and more.
Clairity brings $2.5 million in capital investment and more than a dozen high-quality science and engineering jobs that pay over $71,000 a year, Fretwell said. Chemists, material scientists and manufacturing engineers are good jobs to have in the community, she added.
Clairity Technology’s first commercial facility under construction. (Courtesy)
Meyerowitz
VEGAS INC NOTES
Vegas Theatre Company and Vegas City Opera have unveiled Third Street , a transformation of a former cinema complex into a creative campus built for performance, education and production. The project provides multiuse venues where new work and emerging talent can thrive. The reinvention converts a shuttered eight-screen movie theater into a creative ecosystem featuring six performance and production venues under one roof. Phase one of the project is already underway with $200,000 committed toward a $5 million campaign goal.
Cult Gaia , the Los Angeles-based brand known for its artful, sculptural designs, opened its newest retail destination at Wynn Las Vegas. From the shores of St. Tropez to the style capitals of New York and Miami, each Cult Gaia space is designed as an extension of the brand’s sculptural ethos. The Las Vegas store
JOB LISTING
Assistant Project Manager with Greystar Management Services, LLC located in Las Vegas, NV. Support the PM in overseeing the ontime completion of large and expansive new development projects by planning and coordinating all construction-related activities, managing project-related costs and budgets, and providing ongoing communication and progress reports to the equity partners, executives, and other key business leaders. Position requires the frequent travel to various construction sites in the Las Vegas, NV area. To Apply: e-mail resume to FTRecruiting@Greystar.com referencing job code 12007.74. EOE
JOB LISTING
Family Medicine Physicians (F/T) needed by Nevada Health Centers, Inc. in North Las Vegas, NV to serve a medically underserved population. Must have M.D. deg or foreign deg equiv; BC/BE in Family Medicine & a full & unrestricted NV medical license. If interested, send resume to Julie Clyde, at 3325 Research Way, 2nd fl, Carson City, NV 89706.
continues this tradition, bringing Cult Gaia’s signature fusion of art, architecture and fashion to one of the world’s most iconic luxury destinations.
The Composers Room Showlounge & Restaurant , an entertainment and dining venue located in Las Vegas’ Historic Commercial Center, now offers a setting for private and corporate events. With a variety of event spaces, full-service in-house catering, upscale cocktails, flexible pricing and a roster of Las Vegas headliners available for hire, the Composers Room accommodates gatherings ranging from intimate dinners to large-scale receptions.
Clark County Commissioners and University Medical Center officials opened a Crisis Stabilization Center in Southern Nevada, representing an important step in addressing behavioral health service gaps in the region. Located at
5409 E. Lake Mead Blvd. in North Las Vegas, the facility will provide 24/7 psychiatric crisis and detox services through a partnership between Clark County and University Medical Center
Living Grace Homes welcomed supporters, media and community leaders for a sneak preview of its newest residence, part of a major expansion that will triple the nonprofit’s capacity to serve pregnant women at risk of homelessness. Guests toured the current home and heard from executive director Kathleen Miller about the need to serve more women—including those over age 24 who have historically been ineligible for the program. Phase three will allow Living Grace Homes to serve up to 40 families, offering access to prenatal medical care, educational support, job readiness, legal advocacy, and parenting guidance.
JOB LISTING
Materials engineer
Materials Eng. Design, direct procedures for land changes, monitor & develop material solutions. Req BS. Send CV to Distinctive Exteriors, edgar@ vegasexteriors.com. Position in LV, NV. EOE.
JOB LISTING
DESIGN ENGINEERS: Henderson, NV & various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. Dsg, Engg, Client Rltns, PCT Estmtn/Bidd, Drftg/Prep Drwgs, Detalg, Retrfg Dsgns, Site Work. Work on Proj End-to-End, Mntr Budgts, Drftg Works Mntr & Vrfctn. Invlv in Secdry Steel Dsgn of Casino or Resrts, Detalg, & Site Inspctn. Prvd Bldn Panls & steel suprt. Mng cmplx Inter Facade Imprvmts. Load Anlys for Manfctrd Heavy Equpmt. Crt sprdshts for repetv anlys. Invlv in Cncrt Parkg Sturctrs, Timber/Wood Dsgn, & Fornsc Engg. Master’s in Sci, Tech, or Engg (any) is req’d. Salary: $83970.00/yr. Mail CV: Ficcadenti Waggoner and Castle Structural Engineers, Inc, 330 Commerce, Ste 200, Irvine, CA 92602