Desert Companion - January 2012

JANUARY 2012

Plus:

Revenge of the libera arts wimpsl !

THE

ANSWERS The complex simplicity of a Summerlin dining gem page 35

Hear that?

It's your brain being upgraded page 24

Can you see the Luxor beam from space? How much to tip a valet? What the heck does “battle-born” mean?

See Page 43

ISSUE

2012

MOTOR TREND

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Cardiac Patient St. Rose Dominican Hospitals

Expect only the highest level of care for your heart when you need it most.

Commercial airline pilot Cleve was flying through his exercise routine when he started feeling ill. He was taken to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals where he underwent emergency open heart surgery. Thanks to the compassionate, quality care he received at St. Rose, Cleve is now feeling as strong as ever and is back to the flying career he is deeply passionate about.

St. Rose offers comprehensive cardiovascular services with state-of-the-art diagnostic testing, including catheterization labs to repair blocked arteries, open heart and minimally-invasive heart surgery, and rehabilitation. These services are provided by a team of caring professionals all trained and credentialed to evaluate and treat cardiac diseases.

At St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, we offer the highest level of cardiac technology and care. When you expect the best in care, make sure you turn to St. Rose.

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Do you have a St. Rose doctor? Call 616-4508.

editor’s note

i

How to go native

Next Month in Desert Companion

We’ve got the goods with our Best of the City issue

2 | Desert

In December’s whirlwind of holiday parties, the weirdest thing kept happening, the kind of thing that trips your neck hairs and makes you think some sort of cosmic convergence is afoot. (Or maybe it was just the champagne cocktails that I was, unwisely, drinking from a goblet the size of a toaster oven.)

I kept meeting Las Vegas natives. My standard cry, all neighing and incredulous: “No way! You’re a native too?!

Awesome!” And then, all back-slappy and ruddy-cheeked from drink, we’d compare memories and preen ourselves, reveling in our native Las Vegan values, our rubbery sense of Western optimism. We’d joke about forming a gang. One of us would, anyway.

Because I wasn’t joking. I’m totally forming a gang of honorary Las Vegas natives — “honorary” being the key word here. By that I mean it’s a gang you can join without having to have been born and raised here. No arbitrary exclusivity, no cultishness or pride in pure coincidence. Rather, what really defines an honorary native Las Vegan is a fervent engagement with the community, whether that means volunteer work, support of local arts or commitment to a local cause. In short, anyone who’s a considered exception to the prior decade’s unfortunate archetype of an overweening house-flipper baron to whom Las Vegas is site or setting, not a home.

Sure, having a kind and engaged soul is great and all, but any honorary Las Vegas native must have a useful stock of information about the valley.

Companion | January 2012

That’s where we came up with The Answers Issue. Think of it as a (completely random) insta-wiki on life in Las Vegas, a (paper and ink) Matrixstyle learning module set for instant download into your cortex, a (gloriously haphazard) Swiss army knife that’ll answer both common and uncommon questions about Southern Nevada — and dispatch a few stubborn urban myths along the way. (At the very least, maybe it’ll stop people from yakking about how Bugsy Siegel founded Las Vegas.) With The Answers Issue, you’ll swagger into 2012, ready to fleck party conversations with some truly useful Vegas knowledge.

Speaking of swagger, this is the part where I get to kick the tires on the latest issue and point out what’s new for 2012. The first thing you’ll notice is how Art Director Chris Smith has freshened up our design with an eye toward both beauty and readability. We’ve also added some new departments, including a travel page that highlights both jaunts just down the road and more farflung excursions in the Southwest and beyond. We also welcome some voices that are new to the pages of Desert Companion but are mainstays on the media scene, such as Las Vegas Sun columnist J. Patrick Coolican, whose “Thought Leaders” (p. 54) story suggests that the MFA is the new MBA. Coolican talks at length with Carol Harter, Jim Murren and Glenn Schaeffer about their surprising liberal arts backgrounds — and how rigorous engagement with the arts was instrumental in their success in academia, business and elsewhere. Oth-

ers are taking roads less traveled to success, too; Heidi Kyser explores the high ed system’s push to get non-traditional students back in class on p. 30. It seems that the non-traditional student is more traditional than you might think — and it’s another hallmark of our valley’s unique character. Come join the gang. * * * * * After initially delisting Dr. Nicola Spirtos as a Top Doctor due to an FDA warning letter he received in 2009, Castle Connolly, the administrator of the Top Doctors survey, has reconsidered the information and reinstated him on its website and regional listings. Dr. Nicola Spirtos was originally named a Top Doctor and profiled in the August 2011 issue of Desert Companion.

Andrew Kiraly Editor

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contents desert companion magazine // desertcompanion.com

01.2012

DEPARTMENTS 11

All Things to All People

History in the making

20

Discomfort Zone Hang the DJ

By Andrew Kiraly

24

Health

Hear me, heal me

By Heidi Kyser

30

Education

Baby come back (to school)

By Heidi Kyser

35

Dining

58

Guide

From rock to theater to dance, your guide to culture

64

History lesson

Dressed down, dressed up

By Michael Green

Cover Story 43 Q?A!

Can you see the Luxor beam from space?

What’s going on at Area 51? Will the Harmon really be imploded? We have the answers!

FEATURE 54 Thought leaders Is the MFA the new MBA?

By J. Patrick Coolican

4 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

L u xo R C o u r t e s y o f M G M R e s o r t s i n t e r n at i o n a l ; S i n at r a c o u r t e s y o f t h e L a s V e g a s N e w s B u r e a u ; S t u d e n t a n d F o o d : C h r i s to p h e r S M i t h ; Ill u s t r at i o n : A a r o n mc k i n n e y

The complex simplicity of Parma

By Brock Radke

RECYCLING SOAP

SAVES LIVES 4 color process

Every day, thousands of hotels discard millions of pounds of soap and shampoo.

Every day, impoverished people around the world die from infection and disease because they have no soap. Studies have shown that simple hand washing substantially reduces the spread of these diseases.

Clean the World partners with many North American hotels, including Caesars

速

The will to do wonders速

Entertainment resorts in Las Vegas and across the country, to recycle and distribute these discarded soap products to impoverished countries worldwide and domestic homeless shelters.

Find out how you can help by visiting www.cleantheworld.org.

速 The will to do wonders速

She gives our water

a pop quiz, five times a week.

Yvetta Kennedy takes her water seriously.

After all, she’s one of the highly trained employees and private sector volunteers who meet weekly to assess our valley’s water.

Yvetta is on the front line, helping to ensure that our water supply meets or surpasses all federal drinking water standards.

To learn more about how our water is treated and tested for safety, contact the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Go to snwa.com, or call 258-3930.

p u blishe D B y nevada p u blic radio

Mission Statement

Desert Companion is the premier city magazine that celebrates the pursuits, passions and aspirations of Southern Nevadans. With award-winning lifestyle journalism and design, Desert Companion does more than inform and entertain. We spark dialogue, engage people and define the spirit of the Las Vegas Valley.

Editorial & Art

Andrew Kiraly Editor CHRISTOPHER SMITH Art Director

Advertising

CHRISTINE KIELY Corporate Support Manager laura alcaraz National Account Manager Sharon Clifton Senior Account Executive allen grant Senior Account Executive elizabeth guernsey Account Executive Markus Van’t Hul Senior Account Executive

Marketing

Catherine Kim Marketing Manager

Subscriptions

Chris Bitonti Subscription Manager

OnLine

Danielle Branton Web Administrator

Senior Staff

Florence M.E. Rogers President / General Manager Melanie Cannon Director of Development Cynthia M. Dobek Director of Business, Finance & Human Resources Phil Burger Director of Broadcast Operations

Contributing Writers

Jack Colton, J. Patrick Coolican, Anthony Curtis, Cybele, Kevin Eubanks, Alan Gegax, Gigi Generaux, Michael Green, Alexia Gyorody, John Hardin, Tony Illia, Jarret Keene, George Knapp, Heidi Kyser, Al Mancini, Dennis McBride, David McKee, Dennis Myers, Adrienne Packer, Brock Radke, James P. Reza, Norm Schilling, Steve Sebelius, Mark Sedenquist

Contributing Artists

Bill Hughes, Aaron McKinney, Hernan Valencia

To submit your organization’s event listings for the Desert Companion events guide, send complete information to guide@desertcompanion.com. Feedback and story ideas are always welcome, too.

Editorial: Andrew Kiraly, (702) 259-7856; andrew@desertcompanion.com Fax: (702) 258-5646 Advertising: Christine Kiely, (702) 259-7813; christine@desertcompanion.com

Subscriptions: Chris Bitonti, (702) 259-7810; subscriptions@desertcompanion.com

website: www.desertcompanion.com Desert Companion is published 12 times a year by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146. It is available by subscription at www.desertcompanion.com, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free of charge at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley.

All photographs, artwork and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact Chris Bitonti for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

ISSN 2157-8389 (print) ISSN 2157-8397 (online)

6 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

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Elizabeth FRETWELL, Chair City of Las Vegas Susan Brennan, vice chair Brennan Consulting Group, LLC REED RADOSEVICH, Treasurer Northern Trust Bank Florence M.E. Rogers, Secretary Nevada Public Radio

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Marilyn Gubler The Las Vegas Archive

Patrick N. Chapin, Esq., Director Emeritus

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Peter O’Neill R&R Partners William J. “Bill” Noonan, Director Emeritus Boyd Gaming Corporation MARK RICCiARDI, Esq., director emeritus Fisher & Phillips, LLP

Megan Jones Friends for Harry Reid edmÉe s. marcek College of Southern Nevada Susan K. Moore Lieutenant Governor’s Office JENNA MORTON Steve Parker UNLV Richard Plaster Signature Homes Chris Roman Entravision Kim Russell Smith Center for the Performing Arts CANDY SCHNEIDER Smith Center for the Performing Arts Stephanie Smith Bob Stoldal Sunbelt Communications Co. kate turner whiteley Kirvin Doak Communications Brent Wright Wright Engineers bob gerst Boyd Gaming Corporation

Mickey Roemer, Director Emeritus Roemer Gaming TIM WONG Arcata Associates

Follow us online: www.facebook.com/desertcompanion www.twitter.com/DesertCompanion

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Helping to make the DREAMS of at-­‐risk youth come true…

The “I Have a Dream”® Foundation, Las Vegas’ mission has been to help at-­‐risk children from low-­‐income communities become productive citizens by providing a long-­‐term program of tutoring, mentoring and enrichment with the assured opportunity for higher education for the past 16 years with great success. As our last students graduate from high school, we are excited to announce the launch of a new program, “I Have a Dream”® Foundation, Southern Nevada! To find out how you can support the success of at-­‐risk youth in Las Vegas, please visit us at www.ihaveadreamlasvegas.org.

Our Dreamers have an 85% high school graduation rate!

01.2012

NE W S PEOP L E

to all people

PO L ITI C S S H OP H U MOR

History

t P h oto C o u r t e s y o f T h e L a s V e g a s N e w s B u r e A u

Shoot to thrill

Community

The giving trees

The countless iconic photos of fun and frolic in the heat of Las The holidays aren’t Vegas live, ironically, in the cold — officially over until 65 degrees Celsius, to be exact. The that final ritual: Haulshivery climate of the backroom ing the desiccated photo vault of the Las Vegas News husk of what was Bureau is meant to slow the creep formerly your Christof natural decay that makes the mas tree curbside photos curl and turn yellow. for trash pickup, “You can’t stop the degradano doubt leaving tion of photos, but you can slow it behind a splintery down,” says Lisa Jacob, the Las Vetrail of pine needles gas News Bureau’s senior manager. to rival the typical “And these images are certainly forest floor. ¶ Time to worth preserving.” switch up the ritual If Jacob sounds more like a Veand recycle that bad gas preservationist than a Vegas boy instead. And promoter, there’s a reason. The tree recycling isn’t Las Vegas News Bureau is the the kind where you agency charged with seeding mejust sort of trust that dia outlets around the globe with it re-enters the circle In a promotional appearance, Frank scenes from Sin City. But over the of life. This recycling Sinatra helms the decades, it has become a de facto you can see and ticket booth for the museum too, boasting more than touch at your local film “Suddenly” at the El Portal Theater a million images in its archives. park and in your on Fremont Street And as it turns 65 this year, watch garden — as mulch. in 1954. for the bureau to share the wealth Mulch gets these with a number of public exhibits recycling people sions, sports, rock concerts,” he says. And there’s plucked from a collection so vast even they don’t know excited. ¶ “A lot of nothing like a good celeb encounter, either — though everything that’s in there. continued on pg. 12 sometimes the stars are enlisted in the cause When the bureau launched in the late ’40s, cameras as well. For example, in 1997, Bush drove to weren’t tucked away in every pocket and purse, and ceNewport Beach, where he, Rat Packer Joey lebrities gamely took staged photos in front of their faKeep up with Desert Bishop and celluloid sex kitten Mamie vorite hotel-casino. How has the bureau adapted in an Companion events, news Van Doren pored through 700 Vegas phoage of Flickr pools and stock image sites? In a decidedly and bonus features at tos to identify subjects. old-fashioned way: by getting the best shots. desertcompanion.com.

Any tips for amateur shutterbugs?

“What we do is a lot different than someone shoot“With photography, there’s always a little ing a concert photo on their iPhone from way up in the bit of luck involved,” Bush says. “But getbalcony,” Jacob says. “Our photos are the best.” ting media credentials and being placed in It helps to have a team of Vegas-loving veteran shootthe right position helps.” There’s another irony: ers. Lead photographer Darrin Bush, for instance, has The Las Vegas native’s understatement and modesty. been with the bureau for 23 years. The soft-spoken But he does allow himself one boast: “I’ve got the Bush favors covering the fun stuff. best job in Las Vegas.”— Andrew Kiraly “I love covering the exciting events — the implo-

HEAR MORE

Learn about the historic John S. Park neighborhood on “KNPR’s State of Nevada” at www.desertcompanion.com/hearmore DesertCompanion.com | 11

people may not know that when we recycle Christmas trees, it’s chipped into mulch that everyone can use,” says Jennifer Clifford, district manager of the Conservation District of Southern Nevada.

She co-chairs the group that’s lined up about 20 drop-off locations around the valley for recycling Christmas trees.

“I think if people understood the mulch connection, they’d be more inclined to recycle their trees.” Not that she’s falling down on the job. Since 2001, the program has turned more than 100,000 trees into mulch. ¶ “Mulch stays in town,” says Tara Pike, UNLV’s recycling czar and tree recycling committee member.

“It helps conserve water, it keeps evaporation down, keeps the soil moist and also breaks down compost and provides nutrients to soil and plants.” Hurray mulch! ¶ The program is taking trees through Jan. 15. For drop-off locations, visit www.cdsn.org — A.K.

ON THE TOWN See classic Vegas casinos and historic stage shows at the Las Vegas News Bureau’s “Vegas Spectacular: From the Stage to the Strip” through Jan. 22 at the West Charleston Library.

12 | Desert

News and information about downtown is the focus of Tony Hsieh’s new Downtown Project website.

media

Please install plug-in

t

Yet another Tony Hsieh downtown initiative: a web hub for stories about — and resources for — reviving the city core There’s a new, soft-launched website covering

the downtown Las Vegas business and cultural renaissance. Called the Downtown Project (www.downtownproject.com), it’s currently (and so far quietly) offering a little bit of everything — stories about First Friday artists and new start-up companies, a calendar of community cultural events, an archive of news articles about how the city’s heart is blossoming at a time when sprawl is receding and people are now, finally, considering downtown as the best, most viable area in which to live, work and eventually start a business.

Launched by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, it’s a separate company from Zappos. Downtown Project’s mission on its site: to foster “the most community-focused large city in the world … by inspiring and empowering people to follow their passions to create a vibrant, connected urban core.” The site even provides a helpful link to Edward Glaeser’s recently published and already influential book “Triumph of the City,” which, contrary to what eco-gurus and libertarians preach, argues that cities are the healthiest, greenest and wealthiest places to live. So, then, does the Downtown Project have an agenda?

“No, not all,” insists Zach Ware, Zappos project manager and the guy in charge of Downtown Project’s development side. “It’s definitely not a PR site; it’s not a media outlet. It’s an effort focused on creating community and cataloguing downtown development.”

Think of it, says Ware, as a network of people looking to inspire others who are interested in bringing — or finding inspiration for — their downtown ideas.

The site is still “a work in progress,” Ware says, but

Companion | January 2012

the company’s offline goal is crystal-clear. Whether fashioning a business plan or applying for permits or acquiring funding, the Downtown Project seems to be the place to find tips and get advice. Look for upcoming information on education initiatives (like charter schools), on the philosophy of urban planning, or on determining a cool place to live downtown that’s sustainable and cost-cutting in this age of rising energy and fuel costs.

The site’s main writer and editor — actually, she prefers the tag “storyteller” — is longtime Vegas journalist Kim Schaefer, who says her new job (as of this writing, she’s two weeks in) isn’t about examining inner Vegas through rose-colored glasses.

“It’s about capturing interesting perspectives on the city,” she explains. “And maybe giving artists and business owners, who perhaps don’t always get the support they deserve, some attention.”

So far, stories posted on the site cover everything from the debut of the new /usr/lib, a tech entrepreneur-centered library inside the Emergency Arts, to a profile of Ammy Miller, an artist who fashions “burses,” or purses using old books, selling them at First Friday and in local shops (including The Funk House).

“It’s a pleasure to make something like this happen,” says Schaefer. “I like to think we’re offering a way for us all to look back on what the downtown community has accomplished and to continue sharing thoughtful ideas.”

“Downtown Project wants to promote collaboration on the city’s future,” adds Ware. “We want to inspire people to do great things downtown.” — Jarret Keene

l a n d m a r k p h oto c o u r t e s y o f l a s v e g a s n e w s b u r e a u ; E a s t F r e m o n t s t r e e t: C h r i s to p h e r Sm i t h

continued from pg. 11

news

Help put an end to Sickle cell anemia Sunday, January 15, take a stand for the children who are affected by Sickle Cell Anemia, now and for generations to come.For a small donation, you’ll witness an exclusive, emotional performance by Celine Dion, enjoy a special after-party, and most importantly, be a part of a cause that will one day bring an end to the suffering of countless children.

Let them get back to what kids do ‌ Play.

For tickets visit PlayWithoutPain.org.

For information on the pre-show VIP dinner at Restaurant Guy Savoy and Celine Dion meet-and-greet, call 702.731.PLAY or email playwithoutpain@caesars.com

CV2-01

PROFILE

Got a question?

Sidle up to the bar for an answer from Matt McKenzie.

“ You’re like a shrink behind the bar that pours drinks.”

14 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

Matt McKenzie

Bartender, Giuseppe’s Bar & Grille “What should I do?” Matt McKenzie, head bartender at Giuseppe’s Bar & Grille on Durango, says that’s by far the most common question he hears. People ask him for help with their predicaments at work, with money, in relationships — yeah, especially that last one. “You’re like a shrink behind the bar that pours drinks,” he says.

“You’re a psychologist, a parent giving them advice, a friend for someone who doesn’t have one.”

So, what’s his typical answer?

“Mainly, I just listen, or try to talk sense into them.” McKenzie has learned this sage approach during 17 years tending bar everywhere from the Strip to Summerlin. At casino lounges and nightclubs, he says, he’d get more questions about where to find and do stuff.

At locals joints like Giuseppe’s, where he’s been since it opened in 2005, he fields more familiar queries: “Which one of us has bigger boobs? Which one of us would win in a fight?” Sports bar stuff, you know. McKenzie says one line of questioning has remained consistent across all neighborhoods and types of establishment where he’s worked: the hook-up. People look to bartenders for insider access to show tickets and table reservations (and yes, he admits, some illicit activities, too). At McKenzie’s counter, they’re barking up the right tree — for the legal stuff, that is. Regulars at Giuseppe’s describe him as being six degrees of separation from everyone who’s anyone in Las Vegas. “My friend Anthony is a casino manager for Encore,” he says. “I have a regular customer who works for Clear Channel… I worked at the House of Blues, so I have friends there…

I know one of the owners of the Light Group ...” McKenzie’s also got a gold mine of velvet ropeskipping contacts on his speeddial, he says, from years of being behind a bar. Regulars tip him in tickets to thank him for his service, and it works both ways. “We take care of them; they take care of us,” he says. The most memorable question? “If I wanted to leave town when I got off work. She said she’d pay for everything and we’d just go.” It was tempting, McKenzie says, but his answer let the attractive customer down easy: “Maybe another time.” — Heidi Kyser

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH

EXPLORE MORE WITH UNLV.

The UNLV Division of Educational Outreach can send you on journeys close to home and to the bottom of the world. > JOIN US FOR THE 2012 WINTER EdFest 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Saturday, January 7 at the UNLV Paradise Campus Learn more about us, our courses and programs through hands-on demonstrations and presentations. Winter EdFest will also feature refreshments and fun for the entire family!

UNLV SPRING 2012 CONTINUING EDUCATION CATALOG NOW AVAILABLE Our free catalog features courses and certificate programs to help those seeking new jobs and careers; or, you can learn something new—just for fun.

For more information, call 702-895-3394 or visit us online at continuingeducation.unlv.edu.

> CRUISE ANTARCTICA – DECEMBER 2012 We’ll visit the Antarctic Peninsula next December, during the Antarctic summer. The 11-day cruise will introduce participants to the Antarctic’s unique wildlife and landscapes. Weather permitting, we will ride in Zodiacs among the icebergs, walk on ice, snow and rock to visit penguins and explore on-land cultural sites. Register by Feb. 15 to receive the early bird discount.

SHOP

Shop or die If you take the temperature of our zeitgeist, the

thermometer doesn’t lie — zombie fever is red-hot and spreading like a, well, plague. From TV (“The Walking Dead”) to movies (“Survival of the Dead”) to novels (“World War Z”) to comics (“The Last Zombie”) to video games (“Dead Island”), it’s the Age of the Undead. And at least one store in town is hedging its bets regarding the likelihood of a flesh-eating apocalypse — or global financial collapse — by offer-

Sh i n y n e w t h i n g s

Message scent The test tubes and oil bottles that line the blending bar at Fragrance Factory are reminiscent of a science lab, but no science lab looks this warm and inviting — or smells as good.

Sarah Snajczuk recently opened The Fragrance Factory at The Village Lake Las Vegas, and she’s concocting one-ofa-kind, custom-engineered perfumes from grade-essential and U.S.-sourced fragrance oils.

What’s that mean? It means no longer are you restricted

to purchasing fragrances sold in strangely shaped, neon bottles endorsed by pint-size pop stars turned fragrance moguls. It means you can build your own unique scent for yourself, friends or clients.

“The fun part is when people

Fragrance Factory 45 Via Brianza #100, 576-0554, www.fragrancefactorylv.com

16 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

walk in and they put together thinks like lemon, violet and Egyptian musk,” says Snajczuk. “I would never have thought to put it together, but it worked so well together — and that’s the fun part, working with each person.”

Snajczuk’s shop has brought the art of aroma mixology to not just perfume, but also products such as handcrafted soy candles, sugar scrubs and, yes, even spa dog shampoo.

You, your home, your office and even your pooch can all smell alike if you so choose. That’s true customization. — Alexia Gyorody

M e e t yo u r m a k e r s

Have cake, drink it too After nearly a year in business, Pick Your Poison Bake Shop is fast becoming the Downtown corridor’s Saturday night hookup for cocktail carboloading. The bakery makes cupcakes infused with as much liquor as their names are kitsch. Flavors like Jägerbomb, Red “Wine” Velvet, and Margarita prevail, followed by soda-flavored cakes such as Cherry Dr. Pepper and Shirley Temple. Pick Your Poison’s beverage-infused offerings are rounded out by several more traditional tastes such as S’mores, Banana Cream Pie and (my personal favorite) Strawberry Shortcake. ¶ The bakery offers two purchasing options, $28 for 24 “shots,” bite-sized mini cupcakes (two flavors per two dozen), or $28 for 12 “Cocktails,” standard-sized cupcakes (two flavors per dozen). Currently, Pick Your Poison is online order and delivery only, but owners Robyn Holt and Taryn Mumpower hope to open a storefront downtown in the near future. Go to facebook.com/PYPbakeshop to make your suggestion for January’s “Poison of the Month.”

December’s winning flavors? Drunk’n Gingerbread and Spiked Eggnog Cupcake. (www.pickyourpoisonlv.com, 741-1382, pickyourpoisonlv@gmail. com) — Gigi Generaux

Z o mb i e a p o c a ly p s e s to r e a n d F r a g r a nc e fa c to r y : C h r i s to p h e r s m i t h

i

n e w a n d n o ta b l e

ing survival products while at the same time having some fun at doomsayers’ expense.

Sandwiched between a gold-coin shop and an artificial-turf supplier, the Zombie Apocalypse Store opened in November and draws folks from all walks of life — paranoid ex-Marines stockpiling food, hipsters looking for T-shirts, gun-lovers seeking 3D “bleeding” zombie targets to blow away at the range, and plain-old horror-film fans desiring, say, a framed poster of 1941 voodoo-comedy King of the Zombies.

“It was time for something like this,” explains the store’s owner Mike Monko. “Given the economy in Vegas and everyone thinking about survival, it just makes sense to be ready and have what you need. And if you plan and prepare for survival in terms of zombie attacks, then you can pretty much handle whatever’s thrown at you.”

Everything you need to render an undead adversary inert — or protect your home from invading investment bankers: Machetes and swords, AK-47-suitable bullets, stun guns, even Zom-Bomb exploding targets (for use in the desert only and please keep 50 yards away at all times, OK?) are at your fingertips. But fighting is one thing; securing decent grub and H2O is another. The beef jerky is tasty and comes in all flavors (teriyaki, habañero, etc.). The 200-serving survival buckets ( just add boiling water to each packet) have a two-decade shelf life. And the emergency drinking water pouches — simply toss one into a puddle, let it inflate, wait a few hours, then sip — will keep you from dying of thirst.

“Much of the survival products we offer aren’t zombie-specific,” adds Monko. “These are great for camping, natural disasters, shortages or just being down-on-your luck.” With any luck, I won’t have to eat this bucket I bought. — Jarret Keene Zombie Apocalypse Store, 3420 Spring Mountain Road, 1-866-784-7882, zombieapocalypsestore.com

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TRAVEL

D e s t i n at i o n k n o w n

Bluegrass, bazaars and the (actual!) London Bridge

t

The crisp, clear weather of the win-

Just down river of the Hoover Dam, Gold Strike Hot Springs is an adventuresome hike with a trek through a wash and a few climbs that can be scary for a beginner. The payoff, however, is worth it. A couple miles down the canyon from the trailhead, you’ll find a series of pools bubbling with warm, clear water, perfect for a winter retreat.

Bring a towel, your own drinking water, and keep an eye out for bighorn sheep — and occasional nudists.

— Alan Gegax

Short films, small town Boulder City’s Dam Short Film Festival

John Reischman and the Jaybirds perform at the Blythe Bluegrass Festival.

museum has photos illustrating the bridge’s relocation from England to the Sun Belt. Travel through Mohave Valley, then cross the river to Laughlin. Time permitting, take a short walk to the petroglyphs at Grapevine Canyon and enjoy a scenic drive along Christmas Tree Pass before heading home to Las Vegas.

(Cheat sheet: US-95 to Blythe, east along I-10 to Dome Rock Road to Quartzsite, north along Arizona Highway-95 to Parker Dam Road, north once more on AZ95 through Lake Havasu, Mohave Valley, Bullhead City, crossing the river at Laughlin. West on Nevada Highway 163 to Christmas Tree Road and return to Las Vegas on US-Hwy 95). — Mark Sedenquist Visit www.desertcompanion.com for an interactive map of this road trip.

If you’re looking for an excuse to jaunt down to our quiet, quirky cousin known as Boulder City, here are 120 of them: The 8th Annual Dam Short Film Festival Feb. 8-12. This year, this veritable quick-flick institution expects to screen more than 120 ADD-friendly films that don’t require a nap and a pee break to get through. Before you take your seat in the historic Boulder Theatre, though, why not squeeze in some other stops? For a nosh and tipple

before the show, we recommend Milo’s Cellar (538 Nevada Highway, 293-9540), the homey wine bar that serves a decent complement of soups and sandwiches. Whazzat? Too quaint?

Well, you can always get a taste of Boulder City’s grittier side at the Back Stop Sports Pub (533 Ave. B, 294-8445). Known for its convivial atmosphere, there’s little wonder: with no video poker to distract, the focus is on drinking. Isn’t that what bars are for? — Andrew Kiraly A scene from the short film, “Walter Was Here”

18 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

H ot s p r i n g s : Al a n G e g a x ; J o h n R e i s c h m a n a n d t h e j ay b i r d s c o u r t e s y o f w w w. j o h n r e i s c h m a n . c o m ; Wa lt e r Wa s H e r e c o u r t e s y o f t h e D a m s h o r t f i lm f e s t i va l

Getting warmer

tertime desert beckons road trippers all season long. Drive this 485-mile loop on the third weekend in January, and you can enjoy bluegrass music and a legendary RV encampment, in addition to all the glorious vistas and natural wonders.

From Las Vegas, take US-95 to Blythe, California for the town’s annual Bluegrass Festival (www.blythebluegrass.com) and an impressive lineup of nationally known performers. Stay over to enjoy the spontaneous jam sessions that often break out in the campgrounds at night. From Blythe, head east on I-10 to Dome Rock Road. Take this slightly more scenic route to Quartzsite, Arizona (www.ci.quartzsite.az.us). As you near Quartzsite, you’ll begin to see the winter denizens of the area — thousands of RVers who gather to enjoy Quartzsite’s legendary “Main Event.” This annual super-bazaar features scores of vendors hawking everything from gemstones and RVs to vintage clothes and tomato slicers. Tired of shopping and gawking? Go rock hounding or visit nearby Palm Canyon, a lush desert oasis.

From Quartzsite, travel north on Arizona Highway 95 through Parker and cross the river to Earp, California. Drive north through the area known as the Parker Strip — arguably the most scenic stretch of the river viewable from a car. Cross back to Arizona on Parker Dam, photogenic with its dramatic concrete columns and view of the river. Heading north, pass two state parks. Cattail Cove State Park hosts a geo-caching hunt in February.

At Lake Havasu, check out London Bridge. The little

HEAR MORE

discomfort zone

Listen to female DJs discuss their craft on “KNPR’s State of Nevada” at www.desertcompanion.com/hearmore

Make some noise

i

By Andrew Kiraly | Illustration Hernan valencia

I arrived at the classroom unmolested. When it was time to put on I’ve always harbored this fantasy of just blowing people away some party music, my trusting teacher, Mr. Cartier — who apparently with my music. Well, not my music, but my taste in music. It’s pretty thought I was a sane, innocent and well-adjusted fourth-grader who much been a lifelong preoccupation. There’s just one problem: my had not yet drunk from the black blood fountain of the taste in music. metal gods — dropped the vinyl on the record player In fourth grade, I smuggled in a Black Sabbath 45 to The discomfort: without so much as a glance at the label. I snickered to play during a class party, the 45 oh-so-cleverly concealed He loves to show myself, expecting Black Sabbath to trigger something in a “Dukes of Hazzard” promotional record sleeve. The off his (bad) taste in music. apocalyptic and bacchanalian — but age-appropriate — concealment was as much to reassure me as it was to fool The zone: to occur, like the walls suddenly bleeding finger paint my teacher. For all the transgressive gravity of bringing Can he complete a as female classmates whipped loose their pigtails and a slab of heavy metal tuneage to a grade school that had DJ set without being we all just started savagely eating Elmer’s glue. a smiling blue leopard for a mascot, I might as well have booed off the stage?

Instead, Mr. Cartier, upon hearing that first sludgy Sabbeen carrying a lunch box full of anthrax. I half-expected bath riff and that voice gargling, “I! AM! IRON! MAN!,” to be tackled at the door. “Stop that boy — he’s got somediscreetly plucked the record from the player and replaced it with Andy thing in his backpack. Oh my God — it’s ROCK ‘N’ ROLLLL!” (Imagine Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing.” It was my first big musical diss. the school secretary diving for me in a slow-motion action sequence.)

20 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

***** I’ve always had pretty awful taste in music.

I’m embarrassed to admit that my favorite band is Pig Destroyer. You don’t even have to hear them to know what they sound like.

Embedded in the name is the suggestion of brain-scrapingly loud and propulsive steel wool dosed with juvenile fascination with zombie cheerleaders. By comparison, Metallica sounds like light adult contemporary rock for people who own yachts, and Slayer sounds festive. Other really terrible bands I listen to make Philip Glass and John Zorn sound like they’re pandering.

I don’t want to be like this. Every once in a while, I’ll go on a big reform push like an obese person feverishly embracing a new diet. I’ll listen to lots and lots of jazz, the fiber of music. And a little classical, the itchy ruffled collar of music. I’ll smile and nod theatrically to Coltrane and purse my lips in thoughtful, constipated fashion to gusts of Berlioz. But I’ll soon go back to my old ways, bingeing on manic, dense, highcalorie musical genres with names like glitch, grindcore and drill ‘n’ bass, bleep hop, grimestep and skronk noir. It is probably no coincidence they all sound like exotic skin rashes. ***** My next shot at something that resembled deejaying wouldn’t come until junior high school. On a drive up to Mount Charleston for a weekend church youth group retreat, I had designs on shocking the Holy Spirit out of our unaccountably churchy youth group leader, Angie. She was piloting our parish van up the final ascent of Highway 157.

“How about a little music?” I said, innocently offering her an unmarked cassette.

She popped in the tape, and a stream of demonically babbling, hypersonic skatepunk began shooting from the speakers like spirits unleashed. It was my authority figure bunker-buster: a bootleg copy of Suicidal Tendencies.

“Oh! I love Suicidal Tendencies!” she said.

“But grab my copy from the glove box, would you? It sounds a lot better than this one.”

I could practically hear the subversive cred draining from my favorite band in deep, sucking glugs.

(And let’s skip any stories about my wildly dissonant Iron Maiden/The Smiths phase, during which posters of Iron Maiden’s undead mascot Eddie and pictures of a pouting Morrissey competing on my walls

made my teen bedroom look like it housed a sensitive necrophiliac of ambiguous sexual orientation.) ***** So when local promoter Brandy Provenzano asked me to DJ as part of an ongoing weekly contest she produces at downtown bar Artifice, I couldn’t resist. Okay, so I wouldn’t be headlining like real DJs usually do — that is, on top of some gleaming ziggurat spurting neon fountains of Red Bull. But I would have the ear of a crowd for a halfhour and, most importantly, I’d have an excuse to drink martinis on a weeknight. This event for people who think they can DJ is called “So You Think You Can DJ.” The goal: Perform a 30-minute DJ set without getting the air-horn treatment from the crowd. If you make it through your set, the judges score you, along with other rival DJs, and send you to the next round, which entails (hurray!) another Tuesday of drinking martinis.

The competition would be tough. All I had was my dinky little iPod Nano stocked with the musical equivalent of cat food — fit for human consumption only in desperate circumstances. I had hurriedly bundled what I thought would be songs least likely to turn the room into the final scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Others were taking this a bit more seriously. One hulking, leather-jacketed DJ contestant looked like a “Road Warrior” extra and hefted what looked like a bathroom scale from “Battlestar Galactica.”

Covered in dials and readouts, it was a full-on DJ machine, and could probably also bake bread and launch a satellite if it wanted to.

“And this button here controls the hyperflux alternating resonator,” he was pointing out to another contestant DJ, a local music writer who had a laptop in his shoulder bag, practically throbbing with gigabytes of music for every possible mood, vibe, whim and holiday.

My Nano went flaccid in my sweaty hand. ***** This is an age when anyone can be a DJ — and that’s quite all right with DJ Rex Dart, who hosts “So You Think You Can DJ.” “I love the idea that a professional club DJ has the same basic tech as the guy with an iPod at the bus stop on a corner,” he tells me.

Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone can be a good DJ. Being a good DJ is about more than flogging an audience with your own

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DesertCompanion.com | 21

discomfort zone self-aggrandizing playlist. It entails — and this is the truth I tragically realized too late this night — a bit of collective mind-reading and mass empathy.

It’s nearly my turn. After a woman dubbed DJ Filth successfully completes a set of what I dismiss as palatable guff, my second martini has convinced me that my playlist, by contrast, will neatly pry open the skulls of everyone in attendance and violently reboot their brains into a state of psychospiritual upgrade. Newly christened DJ Drood, I take the dais, and plug in my iPod filled with music that is suddenly edifying and important and special and right. ***** I start off with something light — you know, a song that sounds like a burping jukebox adrift in the Pacific. I follow with a tune that sounds like a Nintendo being ritually eaten by gremlins.

The crowd: insensate, unfazed.

My playlist then spits out a hard-angled rap jawbreaker that sounds like getting pistolwhipped by a pair of tire blocks.

The crowd: faces in their drinks, unimpressed. You fools! I think.

Then I play a rock song that tumbles out of the speakers in a swaggering platoon of mullets and bad tattoos.

Someone sarcastically pumps his fist. I make a mental note to punch him in the face.

Musically, that is, since he’s bigger than me.

Then I play a song that sounds like a cyborg giving painful birth to a mewling litter of Tetris blocks.

The crowd: waving their hands … angrily, as though trying to drive off mosquitoes. And WOONK! that sound — what is WOONK! that noise?

I confess that I didn’t even notice the sound of the airhorn at first — because its shrill, insistent bleat blended so nicely with my next song, which sounded like a donkey trying to ice skate with a piano strapped to his back.

To continued humiliating WOONK!s, I step off the stage, a failure once again. I am bowed, certainly, but not broken. I’ll be back.

But next time, I’ll bring different music — and a better attitude. And I won’t be tossing out tunes intended to terrify, shock, baffle or provoke, but something to … cheerfully share?

Brighten spirits? Soothe? Gently provoke?

It’s an idea. The possibilities swell when I remember there’s a crowd to engage. Bad taste loves a vacuum. Now I understand the phrase: Let’s make beautiful music together.

22 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

Splendor in the Glass

Enjoy the taste of 60 wineries and breweries, courtesy of Southern Wine & Spirits , live wine auction, silent auction and jazz quintet.

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HEAR MORE

What are the best early learning programs for kids? Find out on “KNPR’s State of Nevada” at www.desertcompanion/hearmore

health

Hear me, heal me An audio treatment system offers hope to children with learning disabilities. It’s music to the ears of some parents

i

By heidi kyser | Photography Christopher smith

In her sparsely furnished office at the back

of Brain Solutions, owner Kirsten Lopez flips open a laptop on her desk and turns the monitor to face me. A static image appears on a black background. It looks like some kind of puzzle, six blocks split into various colors and geometric shapes. The accompanying audio starts: Teacher: On your desks, you should have shapes and grids. We’re going to play a game now with shapes and colors. When we’re done, we will have formed a secret picture. Make sure you listen to my instructions.

Student A: Are we doing art?

Teacher: No, Freddie. Art class was yesterday.

Here we go. I’m only going to say the directions once, so don’t ask me to repeat them. Listen carefully. Everyone take the yellow triangle and put it on the yellow circle in the grid.

Student B: I don’t have a yellow triangle!

Teacher: Is that yours on the floor? Now, find the green square. It belongs on the red square.

Student B (whispering): Which square?

Student (C): I don’t know.

(In the background, a heater hums loudly. More students express their confusion, as the teacher keeps firing off instructions. I lose the thread of her voice as all the sounds swirl into an inaudible mess.)

Lopez stops the recording. This, she tells me, is what it’s like for the children she works with – children with anxiety, attention deficit disorder and other issues that interfere with their ability to learn. There

24 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

Can we heal our brains with the power of sound?

Proponents of the Tomatis Method say it’s an idea worth listening to.

are some 1 million of them in special ed classes in the U.S., and they find it very difficult to filter out background noise and focus on one thing, like a teacher’s voice. Everything blends into an unbearable din. Sensory overload may ensue. Some melt down, develop nervous tics, become sullen, can’t sleep. Parents can be held captive at home with children so irritated by stimuli they’re afraid to go out in public.

To help, Brain Solutions deploys a specific tool called the Tomatis (“toe-MAH-tis”) Method, which is part of a larger group of treatments

oiL cHanGE

the audiology community calls auditory integration therapy. The method was developed from the mid- to late-twentieth century by French otolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis, who devoted his life’s work – including 14 books and myriad inventions – to alternative approaches to hearing and listening problems. His and other auditory integration therapies are widely accepted in Europe; less so in the U.S., where there are approximately five dozen Tomatis practitioners and consultants, according to the organization’s website.

There’s no shortage of testimonials swearing to the Tomatis Method’s efficacy, and it seems to be gaining traction in Las Vegas, with Lopez’s now-bustling facility opening in 2010 and a few practitioner trainings offered here in 2011. But the mainstream health-care community advises parents considering auditory integration therapy for their children to seek more traditional, proven options first. Tomatis, they say, is still in its experimental phase.

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Take a deep breath Ironically, as I listen to Lopez tell me about the Tomatis method, I’m distracted by the rising voices of four boys being treated in the front office.

“The inability to modulate one’s voice is a sign there’s something going wrong in the brain,” she tells me.

The boys are talking and playing games under the watchful eye of Lopez’s assistant, Justin, in a room obviously furnished to make children feel at home. While being treated, subjects can do anything except eat, drink or read. That’s because treatments consists only of wearing a pair of special headphones hooked up to an iPod-like device (together called the Electronic Ear), listening to classical music and receiving subtle vibrations through the headphones.

According to the Tomatis company, the vibrations and music, which is altered to emphasize varying frequencies, exercise the tiny muscles of the inner ear and stimulate neuropathways in the brain. A basic treatment is 60 hours at certain intervals spread out over three months or so. At Brain Solutions, it costs $2,400.

“I didn’t do anything!” one boy shouts, from down the hall. “I. Am not. Talking. To you people!” another volleys, louder.

“OK… take a deep breath. Breathe,” Lopez says, as though psychically sending a message to Justin.

Behavioral issues don’t faze Lopez, whose day job is special education coordinator at Faith Lutheran Junior-Senior High School.

Before becoming a teacher, she worked at

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an in-patient neuropsychiatric ward for children.

She says she was inspired to go through the six days of training and subsequent online continuing education required to earn her level 2 Tomatis practitioner license because of an experience with a former student. About five years ago, she says, this girl’s parents came to her and said they wanted their daughter to go to Faith Lutheran, but her neuro-processing was too poor.

“She’d been seen by an audiologist before, and her auditory processing was in the second percentile,” Lopez recalls. “She did the Tomatis method, and, afterward, she was in the fiftieth percentile, which is average.

She successfully completed four years of high school and graduated.”

During our time together, Lopez works in at least half a dozen similar success stories, involving people (mainly children) with anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, expressive aphasia and other problems. The Web abounds with thrown-off-crutches type

However, skeptics of the Tomatis Method point out that there are few unbiased, data-based studies whose results have been published in scientific journals. testimonials from parents. Nailing down exactly how and why the Tomatis method works, however, doesn’t come so easy.

Lopez says that, in many cases, it has to do with the different ways our brains perceive sound. About 90 percent of healthy listening, she tells me, comes from sound waves in the air; the other 10 percent is conducted through the bones in our skull. When that ratio gets out of whack, it causes problems. Auditory equipment allows Lopez to test the ratio. Often, she says, kids having issues related to sensory overload are picking up too much sound through bone conduction.

So, how, exactly, does the Electronic Ear cure that – or do the other things the Tomatis

literature purports, such as stimulate reticular formation and improve motor responses?

“It is science that – I’m not even – it’s complicated,” Lopez says. “It’s the practicing of the timing and really that intensity. … It helps generate that 90-10 balance back.”

Sound science Yes, there is such a 90-10 ratio, says Anne Oyler, associate director of audiology for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. But an imbalance in that ratio shouldn’t cause problems.

“Sound all ends up in the same place, at the cochlea, although how it gets there may be different,” says Oyler. “It shouldn’t matter.”

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MY NAME! My name is Lauren Snow and I am a student at Southern Utah University.

SOUTHERN UTAH UNivERSiTy w w w. s u u . e d u C e d a r C i t y U ta h 26 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

She’s skeptical of the Tomatis Method, reflecting the association’s official stance. She notes that there are members of the association who practice it and other auditory integration therapies, but says there is very little solid data to support them.

“At this point, our position is that it should be a research subject, and people should know that they’re in a research study when they undergo the treatment,” Oyler says. “We’d love to see someone do a randomized, controlled trial, and that rigorous standards have been used to see whether it works or not.”

Tomatis’ website touts research and results, but the page devoted to learning disabilities and behavior problems shows only a 1999 study done by Tim Gilmore, which did not include a control group. (The page on psychological disorders contains more recent, randomized clinical trials, done overseas.)

Over the years, practitioners and proponents of the Tomatis Method have published numerous reports of success with clients. A recent example is the 2007 International Journal of Listening article by Deborah Ross-Swain of The Swain

Center in Santa Rosa, Calif. Ross-Swain, a former chief of speech pathology at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center, concluded, “The Tomatis Method of auditory stimulation can be effective as an intervening strategy for auditory processing disorders.”

In 2003, an American Speech-Language Hearing Association working group put out an overview of the available research on auditory integration therapies in the U.S. Members found their task challenging because, according to their summary, there were few unbiased, data-based studies that weren’t somehow limited scientifically, and whose results were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

They concluded, “There is limited evidence in the scientific literature to support the notion that auditory integration therapy improves the behavior of individuals who undergo this procedure.”

The working group said people are better off seeking treatment tailored to their specific disorders than trying a one-size-fits-all method, such as Tomatis. Oyler agrees. When

clients come to her, she says, she assesses them and plans specific treatments based on their individual diagnoses.

When people go to Brain Solutions, Lopez gives them several tests and has them fill out questionnaires and go through interviews. The main goal, though, is to determine whether they can benefit from the program, which follows the same pattern and progression for every client.

Lopez likens skeptics from the traditional medicine community to those who don’t believe in the power of acupuncture, despite its being practiced for centuries and embraced by millions.

She believes the greater medical community doesn’t value Alfred Tomatis’ science, which the company literature summarizes this way: “Ninety percent of the sensory messages that stimulate our brain, including movement and touch, involve the inner ear! The ear thus acts as a sensory integration system. The corrective action of the Tomatis Method acts simultaneously on the three core functions of the ear: balance, energy and hearing.”

Lopez also notes that Alfred Tomatis and others have long espoused the concept of

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education neuro-plasticity, or the ability to re-route pathways in the brain, while mainstream medicine is just now catching onto that.

“We do know more about the plasticity of the brain,” Oyler says. “Kids who have hearing loss – you can put something in their ear, and it can change that.”

Still, she says, experimental methods like Tomatis don’t reflect the way the medical

community approaches learning, the brain and how the process changes over the years.

‘Like a new boy’ Tell that to Christopher Choi, a Las Vegas physician who took his son, Austin Choi, for the 60-hour program at Brain Solutions.

For several years, Austin Choi had suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, anxiety and

Starting early is starting right on time.

Early childhood education programs support children and their families so children can achieve their full potential. All children deserve access to accredited early childhood services, including social, emotional, mental health and developmental services that ensure children have access to basic necessities.

The Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council supports programs like Head Start and Early Head Start, which promote school readiness for economically disadvantaged children by providing educational, health, nutritional, social and other services. The majority of zero to 5-yearolds enrolled in those programs receive two-thirds of their nutritional daily needs directly from the program.

To find a Head Start program near you, visit dhhs.nv.gov/HeadStart.htm.

Facebook.com/NevadaEarlyChildhood Twitter.com/nevadaecac

28 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

nevadaecac.com

mild ADD. He has a high IQ and a very welldeveloped left-brain, Christopher Choi says, but his right brain lagged. He had trouble focusing, sitting still, looking you in the eye, and he eventually developed a tic that was so severe his parents would have to pull him out of school for as much as two weeks at a time.

“There’s nothing bad about tics. They don’t cause physical problems or other issues for the child except the social stigma,” Christopher Choi says. “What happens with these kids is, they develop depression, because socially they’re outcasts. … They can become antisocial, even suicidal.”

Austin Choi is an eighth grader at Faith Lutheran, where counselors recommended Brain Solutions. By the time the Chois got there, they’d tried several different solutions, including a trip to a neurologist at Loma Linda Medical School in California and a smorgasbord of medications.

Until this point in our conversation, Christopher Choi reminds me of my own doctor stoically explaining the various problems I’ve seen him for over the years. But that changes when I ask Choi what happened to Austin at Brain Solutions. He pauses, then, in a more animated tone with a hint of disbelief, he says, “It was amazing. I have not seen anything like it.”

Austin Choi’s tics have vanished. He holds his father’s gaze while they talk. He can descend a staircase on his own. He can sit for an hour and focus on his homework. At first, his father says, he thought it was temporary, but it’s been four months and the improvement continues.

“He’s like a different child, a different boy,” Christopher Choi says. “He’s always done well in school, but this semester his scores were close to 100 percent.”

Christopher Choi concedes that it could be hormones. Around Austin’s age, children frequently grow out of developmental problems. Still, he unabashedly recommends the Tomatis Method: “The kid loved going there,” he says. “They were very attentive to each patient. … It was money well-spent.”

Lopez says she’s had some level of success with everyone she’s worked with in the last two years except one boy, but she also adds that the Tomatis Method is one tool among many.

“There’s no magic bullet,” she says.

“Anybody who comes to a place like this is really working to put as many pieces of the puzzle in place as they can to make sure their child is as resilient as he can be. Diet’s not the answer, meds aren’t the answer, but all these things together might work.”

HEAR MORE

CSN President Mike Richards discusses the future of community college on “KNPR’s State of Nevada” at www.desertcompanion/hearmore

education

o Baby, come back (to school)

g

Nevada’s higher ed system sets its sights on non-traditional students who dropped out when they were almost done By heidi kyser | Photography Bill Hughes

30 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

Giving up college within 30 credit hours of graduation might make some people feel like quitters, but to the Nevada System of Higher Education, the thousands of people in this situation represent a gold mine of potential for upping the education level of the state’s populace.

This fall, the Nevada System of Higher Education started a program enthusiastically dubbed “Don’t Wait, Graduate!” It’s designed specifically to lure non-traditional students, who’ve earned a majority of the credits they need to graduate, back to school to finish their associate’s or bachelor’s degrees.

It started in 2008 with a Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education grant program called Non-Traditional No More, designed to help public institutions of higher education recruit non-traditional students.

With funds remaining from that program, our higher ed system created a statewide public awareness and marketing campaign aimed at people who have completed at least 30 cred-

“Re-entry concierge” Valerie Conner helps non-traditional students get back in class.

its toward an associate’s degree or 90 credits toward a bachelor’s degree at one of the system’s seven institutions, but haven’t been enrolled for at least a year. That adds up to 8,300 people, according to state higher ed officials.

The campaign consists of emails, letters and postcards sent directly to those students, and public advertisements broadcast on radio, television and billboards. The message: Come back! We’ll find a way to work it out.

Where credit is due Why bother? To begin with, Nevada lags behind the nation in college graduation rates.

The nonprofit Complete College America estimates that, nationally, 38 percent of young adults age 25-34 have an associate’s degree or higher, while in Nevada only 28 percent do.

Nevada System of Higher Education data from 2010 showed that only 49.3 percent of firsttime, full-time, degree-seeking students were graduating within 150 percent of expected

time at universities. That rate drops to 13 percent at the state’s community colleges.

Jane Nichols, the system’s vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, says the system has taken its focus off improving this percentage, because it’s based on full-time, degree-seeking students, who don’t accurately represent the overall population. Instead, the Nevada higher ed system has shifted its focus to improving the total number of graduates.

Getting people who are near degree completion to re-enroll and finish up is a way to boost that number quickly. In business terms, this group represents low-hanging fruit. But it’s not just about massaging the statistics.

There’s also what Nichols, who oversees Don’t Wait, Graduate, calls “the moral reason.”

Putting a degree in someone’s hands greatly improves their chances of having a better life.

As of November 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8.8 percent of the labor force with a high school diploma was unemployed, compared to only 4.4 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The U.S. Department of Education reports that, as of 2009, the median annual income of full-time salaried workers age 25 to 34 was $25,000 for those with a high school diploma or equivalent, compared with $40,100 for those with a bachelor’s degree.

Prepare for re-entry OK, so a college education helps you get a job and make more money. But how does “Don’t Wait, Graduate” help you get the education?

Mainly by designating one person at each of the state higher ed system’s seven institutions as a “re-entry concierge.” These counselors act as one-stop shops for people who are interested in going back to school but need help getting started. The idea is to streamline the cumbersome process of gathering information on programs, applying for admission, securing financial aid, registering for classes and so on — which can be bad enough for high school students, who have parents and school counselors to help them, but downright terrifying for non-traditional students, who may have been away from campus for a while, or not even know how to use a computer.

“I try to figure out what’s going on with each student,” says Nancy Markee, director of the advising center at UNR and the school’s re-entry concierge. “I have access to their records, so when they contact me, I can go in and look and determine what their options are.”

Is it working? So far, so good, according to Markee and her equivalent at the College of Southern Nevada, Valerie Conner.

Of the 5,600 students fitting the profile at

DesertCompanion.com | 31

CSN, 83 contacted Conner in the first month after the campaign’s launch in mid-November.

Markee got a similar response — about 30 contacts out of 420 potential candidates. At press time, registration for spring hadn’t opened, but both counselors believed many of the students they’d spoken to would enroll when they could.

Nichols says the concierge concept is simple, but effective. It’s all about showing students someone cares about them. “Consider college athletes,” she says. “They do really well, because they have a lot of people paying attention to how they’re doing.”

Stay in from the start Estela Bensimon, co-director of the USC Center for Urban Education, says the true indicator of success won’t be an increase in the number of students who re-enroll, but a decrease in the number that drop out to begin with.

Bensimon, who studies higher education in the U.S. and consults with state systems in need of guidance (including the Nevada system), says she thinks it’s a great effort to reach out to non-traditional students and try to get them to re-enroll. She adds, “I also think, though, that it would be productive to learn why it is that students are leaving after having accumulated 90 credits. I think that points to a problem that needs to be resolved. Otherwise, students will continue to be lost at that milestone.”

Nichols says the Nevada System of Higher Education doesn’t have any data on why students are dropping out at such advanced stages of their education. So far, anecdotal evidence of “Don’t Wait, Graduate” indicates many of them do so for economic reasons or because of changes in their life situations.

“They took jobs and they couldn’t come back because of a financial situation, or they had kids and it was hard for them to balance family, work and school,” Conner says.

She adds that she will continue to carefully track the students recruited through Don’t Wait, Graduate and similar initiatives — not only to see how many of them complete their degrees, but also to find out why those who don’t, don’t.

From this point on, it will be up to the individual institutions to continue the effort and evaluate results. The grant funding for the program ran out at the end of December, although it provided each school with its own branding to continue marketing Don’t Wait, Graduate.

Nichols believes the effect will continue, even though the funding is gone. She says, “This has really changed our culture, to make us committed to hanging onto these students.”

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Companion | January 2012

Doing it with class How did these non-traditional students get back in the classroom? With commitment and flexibility Among higher ed students, there are recent high school graduates who complete their degree in four to five years — and then there’s everyone else. That last category — “non-traditional students,” they’re called — encompasses such a broad swath of Southern Nevada’s population, it’s impossible to prescribe a single approach for their re-entry to college. Plus, to the usual ways life can block a person’s plans, like getting married or having a baby, life in Las Vegas adds a whole poker deck of special needs. More folks work nights or require financial assistance, for instance.

How do you overcome these obstacles and finally get fitted for a mortarboard?

People who’ve done it (or are about to) swear that golden ring is within everyone’s reach – provided you ask yourself the right questions going in.

1. What do you want to be when you grow up? Nothing brings what you want to do with your life into sharper focus than doing something you hate. That was the case for Kenny Stoneman. After six loathsome years in the U.S. Navy, the former slacker who almost flunked out of high school couldn’t wait to start college.

Now 26, Stoneman’s plan is crystal clear. In 2013, after completing his bachelor’s of fine arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nev., he will move overseas to do his master’s. He wants to be a college poetry and writing professor in Ireland or the U.K. Stoneman believes such a welldefined vision is the first step toward successfully completing college. “Just sit down and ask yourself what you want and what’s realistic,” he says.

That’s not the only path. Thirty-twoyear-old Heidi Manlove didn’t find her calling until after she’d pecked away at college for several years. She took a couple classes right out of high school in Carson City, dropped out, worked, moved to Las Vegas, got disillusioned with casino work, moved back home, re-enrolled in Western Nevada College, took classes part-time, worked again — until she took her first class in anthropology. Then, she says, it was like the lights came on.

Madly in love with anthropology, Manlove quickly completed her associate’s degree and transferred to UNLV, where she snagged a master’s degree in the subject this past spring. She now teaches anthropology 101 at the College of Southern Nevada while looking for a full-time research position.

“Just start taking classes, even if you don’t know what you want to do,” Manlove advises. “Start slow; you don’t have to do it all at once.”

Sociology student Annette Miller took advantage of online schooling to kickstart her higher ed aspirations.

2. Which school is the best one for you?

When you’re ready to make a serious commitment to college, research programs in your chosen field, Manlove and Stoneman suggest. Get a feel for whether you’d like them by looking at course offerings, talking to graduates and reading faculty publications.

Your location may be limited by family or work, but there are options beyond the obvious large universities and community colleges. Look for smaller public schools such as Nevada State College and private nonprofits such as Touro University Nevada.

And don’t forget online schooling, says Annette Miller. A 39-year-old senior in sociology at UNLV, Miller’s husband is also a returning student — at Penn State University, via its distance education program.

A nn e t t e M i l l e r : C h r i s to p h e r Sm i t h

education

Inspiring children to achieve

Miller picked her school not only because of its academic program, but also to be close to family. She knew she’d need a support group to help her juggle finishing her degree, raising two teenagers and being a housewife.

since

3. Who will pay for it?

The biggest and most common concern non-traditional students have is how they’ll fund their studies.

“Scholarships, scholarships, scholarships,” creative writing student Stoneman says.

“There are craploads of them out there. Yes, everyone’s applying for them, but if you apply for 100, there’s a good chance you’re going to get something.”

He recommends using one of the many websites where you can search scholarships by your individual criteria, then applying to all for which you qualify. Miller adds that most schools have an adviser who can help you, like UNLV’s Division of Educational Outreach did for her.

“There’s a lot of funding out there for people like me who want to go back to school, particularly for their first degree,” she says. “Be patient with yourself. The application, figuring out how to finance it, gathering the documentation — you can get it done.”

4. Can you make it work?

UNLV sociology major Miller understands patience. Having left her studies at age 25 to raise her then-tiny children, she’s just now— 14 years later — finishing her bachelor’s degree. She expects to graduate next May, only one year after going back to school.

“For people who are working full-time, trying to raise a family, there are so many pieces to the puzzle. Find people in the right places to help you start piecing it together,” she says.

Stoneman also says that many schools are now flexible with those who have to work while going to school, offering evening and online classes, as well as independent studies, for up to a third of the credits in some degree programs.

Will it be easy? No, but it’s possible, he says.

“If you have to take away your movie night, do that. Aside from family, college is the most important thing you can do in life… You’ll just have to grin and bear it for a couple years.”

Anthropology teacher Manlove adds, “Don’t worry about how old you are, or how old you’ll be when you’re done with school.

Just keep your eyes on the prize.” — H.K.

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An International Center for An International Center for Creative Writers and Scholars Creative Writers and Scholars at the university of nevada, las vegas Spring Spring 20122012

at the university of nevada, las vegas

Reading “Emerging Writers Reading Series: Blake Butler” “Emerging Writers Blake Butler is the author of There Series: Blake is No Year, Ever, andButler” Scorch Atlas, Blake is the“Novel author of of the There whichButler was named is No Year, Ever, and Scorch Atlas, Year” by 3:AM Magazine and was which was “NovelBook of the a finalist fornamed the Believer Year” by 3:AM Magazine and was Award. Blake is also the editor aoffinalist for the Believer Book HTMLGIANT, “the internet Award.

Blake is also the literature magazine blogeditor of the of HTMLGIANT, “the internet future” as well as Lamination literature blog the Colony andmagazine No Colony.

Hisofwriting future” as wellinasThe Lamination has appeared Believer, Colony Noand Colony.

His writing Unsaid,and Fence, the New York has appeared in The Believer, Tyrant and has been short-listed Unsaid, Fence, and theNonrequired New York for The Best American Tyrant Reading.and has been short-listed for The Best American Nonrequired Wednesday, Feb 8, 7 p.m.

Reading.

Greenspun Auditorium Wednesday, Feb 8, 7 p.m.

Greenspun Auditorium

Panel “Female Novelists in the Panel Twenty-First Century” “Female Novelists in the Black Mountain Institute is Twenty-First pleased to present aCentury” conversation

Black about Mountain the femaleInstitute voice andisits pleased to present conversation evolution in fictionawith Mary about theauthor femaleof voice and its Gaitskill, the short-story evolution fiction with Mary collectionin and PEN/Faulkner Gaitskill, author of the short-story Award nomination Because They collection PEN/Faulkner Wanted To,and Sarah Shun-lien Bynam, Award nomination Because They National Book Award finalist and Wanted To, Sarah Shun-lien Bynam, winner of the Janet Heidinger National Book finalist Kafka Prize for Award Madeleine is and winner theCheryl Janet Heidinger Sleeping,ofand Strayed, Great Kafka Madeleine Lakes Prize Book for Award finalistisfor her Sleeping, and Cheryl Strayed, Great novel, Torch. Maile Chapman, Lakes finalist for first her authorBook of theAward much-heralded novel, Torch.

Maile Chapman, novel Your Presence is Requested at author theassistant much-heralded first Suvantoofand professor novel Your writing PresenceatisUNLV, Requested of creative willat Suvanto and professor moderate theassistant discussion. of creative writing at UNLV, will Thursday, Febdiscussion.

22, 7 p.m. moderate the UNLV Student Union Ballroom Thursday, Feb 22, 7 p.m.

UNLV Student Union Ballroom

Mixed Media Performance featuring Mixed Media BMI’s Gallagher Fellow, Performance featuring Kris Saknusssemm BMI’s Gallagher Fellow, Kris Saknussemm will be joined Kris Saknusssemm by tenor saxophonist, Eric Wyatt,

Kris Saknussemm will be joined among others for an original by tenor saxophonist, Eric mixed-media performanceWyatt, among others fornovel, an original from Kris’ latest Reverend mixed-media performance America. Kris is an Australianfrom Kris’novelist latest novel, Reverend American and media America.

Kris is an artist. Educated at AustralianDartmouth American novelist andUniversity media with an M.A. from the artist.

Educated at Dartmouth of Washington, Saknussemm withpublished an M.A. from University has threethe novels and of Washington, Saknussemm a short story collection.

His first has published three novels and a novel, Zanesville (Villard Books, adivision short story collection.

His first of Random House, 2005), novel, (Villard becameZanesville a modern scienceBooks, fictiona division of Random 2005), cult classic.

His workHouse, has appeared became a modern science fiction in such publications as The Boston cult classic.

His work has appeared Review, The Hudson Review, The in such publications as The Boston Antioch Review, New Letters, and Review, The Hudson Review, The Prairie Schooner.

A champion Antioch Review, New Letters, and of outsider art, Saknussemm’s Prairie champion writingSchooner. is knownAfor its bizarre of outsider art, Saknussemm’s imagery and fierce satire. writing is known for its bizarre Tuesday,and Marfierce 13, 7satire. p.m. imagery Greenspun Hall Auditorium Tuesday, Mar 13, 7 p.m.

Greenspun Hall Auditorium

Panel “Is Moderation Possible Panel in American Politics” “Is Moderation Possible Black Mountain Institute is in American pleased to presentPolitics” an open

Black Mountain Institute is discussion between commentators pleased to present an open Juan Williams, currently of Fox discussion between commentators News and lately of NPR, Norm Juan Williams, currently ofatFox Ornstein, resident scholar the News and Enterprise lately of NPR, Norm American Institute, Ornstein, resident scholar and Kathleen Parker, latelyat ofthe American Enterprise Institute, Spitzer/Parker fame on CNN about andpossibility Kathleen Parker, lately of in the of moderation Spitzer/Parker fame on CNN about American Politics today.

Williams the possibility of moderation has covered major political in American today. Williams campaignsPolitics from 1980-2000 and has covered major political such his television documentaries campaigns from and as Civil Rights and1980-2000 Press and Dying his television documentaries such for Healthcare have received critical as Civil Ornstein Rights andhas Press and Dying praise; published for Healthcare have received critical praise; Ornstein has published

The Permanent Campaign and its Future, co-authored The Broken The Permanent Campaign and its Branch: How Congress is Failing Future, co-authored The Broken American and How to Get it Back on Branch: How is Failing Track, and is aCongress weekly contributor American and How to Get it Back to Roll Call. Parker, winner of theon Track, and is a weekly contributor prestigious H. L. Mencken Writing to Roll Call.

Parker, winner of the Award in 1993 and the Pulitzer prestigious H. L. Mencken Writing Prize Winner for Commentary, Award in 1993 the nation’s Pulitzer Top was named oneand of the Prize Winner for in Commentary, Five Columnists both 2004 and was named one ofis the nation’s Top 2005; her column syndicated and Five Columnists in both 2004 and published in over 400 newspapers.

2005; her column syndicated and This event will be is moderated published over 400 newspapers.

by Patriciain Cunningham, the This event will beand moderated “Queen of Talk” host of the by Patricia Cunningham, the popular radio show, the Patricia “Queen of Talk” anddiscussing host of the Cunningham Show, popular show, the Patricia news andradio community issues in Cunningham Show, discussing Las Vegas. news and community issues in Thursday, Las Vegas. Mar 22, 7 p.m.

Stan Fulton Building— Thursday, Mar Gaming 22, 7 p.m.Institute International Stan Fulton Building— Ballroom International Gaming Institute Ballroom

Reading “Emerging Writers Reading Series: Lara Glenum” “Emerging Writers Lara Glenum, Fullbright Fellow Series: Lara Glenum” and NEA Translation Fellow,

Lara Fellow is theGlenum, author ofFullbright The Hounds of and NEA Translation Fellow, No and Maximum Gaga. Lara’s is the author of the Theboundaries Hounds of writing pushes No and Maximum Gaga.

Lara’s of gender politics and poetics writing pushes the boundaries through the use of the sublime of gender politics and and the grotesque.

Shepoetics is also the through the use of the co-editor (with Ariellesublime Greenberg) and the grotesque.

She is also the of the anthology Gurlesque, co-editor (with Arielle Greenberg) which promotes a reimagined of the anthology Gurlesque, feminist aesthetic, which blurs the which promotes a reimagined boundaries between femininity, feminist aesthetic, which blurs the burlesque, and the grotesque. boundaries between femininity, Wednesday, Aprthe 18,grotesque.

7 p. m. burlesque, and Greenspun Hall Auditorium Wednesday, Apr 18, 7 p. m.

Greenspun Hall Auditorium

all events are free, unticketed, and open to the public Presented with generous support from Nevada Public Radio, Las Vegas CityLife, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Caesars all events are free, unticketed, open to the public Foundation.

Call (702) 895-5542 for more information aboutand our events.

Presented with generous support from Nevada Public Radio, Las Vegas CityLife, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Caesars Foundation. Call (702) 895-5542 for more information about our events.

01.2012

News Reviews Interviews e at t h i s n o w !

O n t h e P l at e

35

The dish

Parma Pastavino & Deli

39

At First Bite

Fogo de Chao

39

On the Plate

January’s Dining Events

40

eat this now!

Our favorite recent dishes

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH

From Due Forni’s mozzarella bar: stracciatella, taggiasca olives, roasted red peppers, prosciutto San Daniele and cheese bread

DesertCompanion.com | 35

dining

TH e d i s h

More than meets the eye

i

Beneath the simplicity of Parma’s approach is a deep celebration of Italian culture and cuisine

By Brock Radke | Photography Christopher smith

It’s just off Summerlin Parkway, wedged

into a crowded little Trader Joe’s strip mall. Here sits the epitome of the neighborhood restaurant.

It’s called Parma. It’s small. Italian food. And it’s routinely packed with satisfied, comfortable people who live around here and come once a week. It might be just like every Italian joint in every suburban community in any town.

Or there might be more to it. There might be multiple layers of strategy conceived by

36 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

a veteran self-taught chef and restaurateur.

The room, though small, might offer varied experiences through the days, nights and weeks: sausage and peppers or cold cut sandwiches at lunch; a wine-and-dine lounge in the middle of the room; Neapolitan-style pizza from an almond wood-burning oven on Wednesday nights. The food, though familiar, could be the result of a lifetime spent cooking, traveling and experimenting. Some

of these dishes might be masquerading as “tonight’s specials” when they’re actually a gateway to something unique and exotic, a window into a chef ’s creativity. Sure, there’s baked lasagna, but there also has been ahi tuna Bolognese and halibut with a saffron and mascarpone cream sauce. Tuscan ravioli filled with artichoke and potato. Tender charred octopus salad, and rich sea urchin linguini. This place might be very special.

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Clockwise from left: Chef Marcus Sgrizzi, Parma’s eggplant Parmesan, and its signature charred octopus salad, simply seasoned with citrus and salt

Or it could be just dinner with some friends: wine, meatballs, linguine with clams. So which is it? Can a neighborhood Italian restaurant be all of the above?

Please please me “You can’t be a chef and think you’re gonna please everybody, but you’re not here to please yourself, either. I’ve learned a lot from trying to be that guy. I’ve learned that you can’t do that. What’s important is what people want and what’s going to bring them back.”

The man behind these wise words and behind Parma is Marcus Sgrizzi. Like his restaurant, this guy has layers. He’s known as Chef Marc, the guy bouncing back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room, greeting customers with generous descriptions of the dishes he’s excited about tonight. He’s a friendly guy, a tough guy, an East Coast guy, and he can talk fast sometimes. But beyond this kinetic persona, he’s a warm guy, and he cares deeply about food, tradition and the dining experience.

“If you could be a fly on the wall next to the guy eating your food and just stare at them, that’d be your fantasy as a chef,” Sgrizzi says. “That’s your biggest reward, that beautiful feeling you get from making people happy with food. If you’re in it for something other than that, you’re in the wrong business. You can never take that for granted.”

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DesertCompanion.com | 37

M ay w e r e c o m m e n d …

dining Truly local His grateful attitude, coupled with a decade of Vegas experience, is what makes Parma a near-perfect neighborhood restaurant, full of new and old and above all else, warmth. In a city where the quintessential dining experience is molded by tourists, true locals’ destinations truly resonate. And no one eats at Parma once.

“People come here knowing the chef’s name is on the door, and that chef is going to fix something for them. They might not know what it is or they might be thinking of something they’ve gotta have, and I’m here to do both,” Sgrizzi says, comparing a frenzied night in the kitchen to his other great love — boxing.

“When those tickets are coming, the fight is on. Who knows what’s gonna happen? You’ve gotta be ready for anything, at all times, and I love that. You can’t just throw anything on the plate, you have to come up with something great. You’ve gotta make them happy.”

Parma feels different from the other two restaurants Sgrizzi has opened in Vegas, Marc’s

World Cuisine in 2001 and Mezzo in 2007. Before landing here, he worked at his father’s restaurants and branched out on his own in upstate New York and South Florida. He’s also traveled extensively and worked around Italy, and visited his wife’s native Thailand, too, picking up ideas everywhere.

April will mark three years of business at Parma, the sharpened tip of his 40 years of culinary experience.

“It’s much more casual. I love the atmosphere here, the simplicity of it, the freshness of the food,” he says. “Just the name of the restaurant, Parma, to me is about going to Italy and learning so much there, which has a lot to do with less is more. In Italy, it’s all about ingredients and quality, but they don’t brag about it. They don’t put it on the signs. It’s just natural. And I’m happy to keep it simple.”

Parma Pastavino & Deli 7591 W. Washington Ave. #110, 702-233-6272

Charred octopus salad. This succulent starting dish is the perfect example of how Parma’s slightly exotic nightly specials can work their way into diners’ hearts and earn a spot on the regular menu. Resting gently on a bed of Asian-style julienned vegetables are impossibly tender chunks of this usually rubbery sea creature, simply seasoned with citrus and salt. This may be the only off-Strip Italian restaurant in town doing this dish this well.

Eggplant parmesan. Chef Marc has several signature dishes, but his family’s version of eggplant Parmesan has become a crowd-pleaser on the menu of each restaurant he has opened. The eggplant is sliced thin and sautéed until its texture is similar to a tomato, and it comes out with a perfectly crisp layer of cheese and marinara ready for fork breakthrough, like a crème brûlée crust.

The amazing part: There are no breadcrumbs in his recipe. — B.R.

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ON THE PLATE

January’s dining events you don’t want to miss Rock ‘n Roll Wine Tasting Fridays, 6-8 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll Wine’s weekly complimentary wine sampling features their signature brand of musically themed wine pairings and live entertainment. Live music performances at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Free. Hostile Grape at M Resort, 12300 Las Vegas Blvd. S. www.rnrwine.com

Surf & Turf

a t F IRST B ITE

Fogo de Chão’s “picanha,” or top sirloin, is a perfect blend of buttery texture and beefy taste.

Fogo de Chão

The Brazilian steakhouse piles on the protein without cutting corners

By Brock Radke | Photography Christopher smith I don’t want to like the Brazilian steakhouse restau-

rant concept. It’s not really a steakhouse at all, because the process at a steakhouse is to sit, drink, choose your favorite cut and pair it with a potato, and then get down to business.

The churrascaria — or at least the Americanized interpretation of it — is a non-stop, all-you-can-eat meatfest, and you don’t even have to fetch it yourself. Huge skewers of grilled animal parts are brought directly to your face, sliced tableside, and all you have to do is grab it with cute little silver tongs. It’s beyond excessive — even for Las Vegas.

Several of these meathouses have popped up around town in recent years, but the newest may be the best of the bunch. Fogo de Chão was born in Brazil and has expanded to several American cities, and though the concept isn’t any different — rapid-fire meat delivery that you can’t possibly keep up with — the service and quality is impressive.

The real reason I ended up enjoying this experience is that I realized why it isn’t a steakhouse: It’s a barbecue joint. That’s what “churrascaria” means in Portuguese.

When you go for barbecue, you want to eat too much of different kinds of meat, and Fogo de Chão is a great place to do that. The “picanha,” or garlicky top sirloin, is the best cut, the perfect blend of buttery texture and beefy taste (especially when you get a slice with fatty, charred crust on one side). The lamb chops are perfect.

The linguica sausage is nicely spiced, and even the beef ribs are tender and full of flavor. (Not so much with the pork ribs.) The side dishes of caramelized bananas and crispy polenta cakes are hard to stop eating, too. It’s hard to criticize what seems like a gimmicky restaurant concept when the food is this good.

Jan. 12, 7 p.m. Chef Rick Moonen and guest chef Stephanie Izard host this dinner to benefit Three Square and Share Our Strength.

Includes a cocktail reception featuring specialty cocktails and champagne served alongside a variety of passed canapés. Dinner will feature dishes inspired by Moonen’s “Fish Without a Doubt” and Izard’s newly released “Girl in the Kitchen,” and paired with beer, wine or a cocktail. VIP ticket includes an autographed copy of both cookbooks. $150, VIP $175.

Rick Moonen’s rm seafood inside Mandalay Place, 632-9300. www.rmseafood.com

Thirsty Third Thursday Pub Crawl Jan. 19, 7 p.m. This downtown pub crawl starts at Hennessey’s Tavern and then heads to the Gold Spike Bar, Hogs & Heifers, Mickie Finnz and the Las Vegas Country Saloon.

Attendees get six drinks and half-price food. Free live entertainment along the way. $20. 382-4421

Fogo de ChÃo 360 E. Flamingo Road, 431-4500

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Irish curry fries at Ri Ra Ri Ra is a big chain of Irish pubs, and the Vegas location has only been open for one St. Paddy’s Day, but it’s already set a new standard of quality for local Irish cuisine. All the greatest hits are on the menu, from house-brined corned beef and cabbage to lights-out fish and chips. One side dish has proven extremely addictive: hand-cut chips (French fries) and Irish curry sauce. At first, the thought of Irish curry seemed like a joke, but this is a serious snack, beating out other countries’ versions of fries and gravy. Ultimately savory, rich and flavorful sauce on perfect potato sticks. Tough to beat. — Brock Radke

Ri Ra inside Mandalay Place, 632-7771

Stracciatella at Due Forni Buy oNE ENtréE ANd gEt thE SEcoNd 20% off Please present coupon at time of order.

Management reserves all rights. One coupon per table. May not be combined with other coupons or special offers. Second entrée must be of equal or lesser value. Offer valid Sunday-Thursday only.

Not valid on Happy Hour menu items or alcoholic beverages. EXPIrES 02/29/2012

9510 S. Eastern Ave. Las Vegas, NV

702.432.3200

40 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

Due Forni’s slogan is “pizza and wine,” but this is a pizza place you can visit several times without ever eating pizza. Case in point: the mozzarella bar ($11.95). The mozzarella bar comes to your table as a choice of three different mozzarella cheeses and a side dish. The cheeses are made of imported bufala mozzarella, and all are excellent. The smoked-inhouse affumicata is smoky and delicious, but the stracciatella, a shredded mozzarella mixed with cream, is otherworldly. It’s rich and decadent, with just a hint of sourness that pairs incredibly well with salty flavors of the proffered taggiasca olives or prosciuttio san daniele. Other sides include basil pesto, marinated artichokes, roasted tomatoes and roasted red peppers. It’s accompanied by hot, freshly baked triangles of cheese bread that tie all of the flavors together. Split it as an appetizer, or eat the whole thing yourself, because this cheese stands alone. — John Hardin

Due Forni 3555 S. Town Center Drive #105, 586-6500

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH

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table 34

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the Answers Issue Q: What the heck is this?

A: It’s The Answers Issue.

Q: The Answers Issue?

A: Yes! It’s a rich, chunky stew of often-asked questions about life in Southern Nevada — from how to grow your own food in the desert to what's really going on at Area 51.

Q: What are you, a bunch of know-it-alls?

A: Actually, yes! We’re experts on every facet of life in Nevada. Yes, in some cases, completely self-appointed.

Q: Sounds fun. But why The Answers Issue?

A: Why not? Read on!

DesertCompanion.com | 43

History

Q: Why is Nevada called "the “Battle-Born State"?

Good To Know I think this old comic book of mine is worth a million dollars!

Where can I get it appraised?

Before you go rummaging through your attic for X-Men #1, take a deep breath and consider getting your fourcolor treasures signed and graded to ensure their value. (Grading involves evaluating the condition of and sealing the book in a protective cover.) This comic book geek must recommend Desert Wind Comics, which has been helping customers preserve and have their assets signed by comics creators for more than a decade. Forget stocks, bonds—all worthless. More people than ever are now investing in legitimate artworks.

And nothing screams “art” louder than Wolverine’s first appearance (The Incredible Hulk #181) signed by artist Herb Trimpe. desertwindcomics. com, 592-4792 — Jarret Keene

44 | Desert

A: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee didn’t negotiate peace at the Foley Federal Building. Little Round Top at Gettysburg looks nothing like Yucca Mountain. Abraham Lincoln never visited Nevada or participated in a Republican debate in Las Vegas.

But Nevada is called "the Battle-Born State" for its connections to the Civil War, and has taken considerable pride in that heritage.

Nevada became a territory and state because of the Civil War. None of that would have happened without the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859. The thousands of newcomers seeking riches in western Utah territory needed more government than the territorial officials in far-off Salt Lake City could or would provide.

Congress was divided, as the country was, over slavery and whether to allow it to expand to new territories. But with Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the secession of seven southern states, the obstacles to creating Nevada territory went away. The legislation passed on March 2, 1861, six weeks before the firing on Fort Sumter began four years of war.

In 1864, the war was grinding on. Lincoln and his fellow Republicans feared for his prospects for reelection. They also wanted more votes in Congress and the country to support their policies for restoring the Union, freeing the slaves through the Thirteenth Amendment, and determining what civil rights the freedpeople would enjoy. That February, Congress passed an Enabling Act to allow several territories to seek statehood. Only Nevada took the bait. The territory’s residents approved their constitution on Sept. 7. On October 31, Lincoln signed the statehood proclamation, in time for Nevada to vote for his reelection a week later. Created as a state during the Civil War, Nevada was truly “battle-born.” — Michael Green Dining

Q: Do I need to wear a suit and tie to dine in Las Vegas’ best restaurants?

A: No — but it can’t hurt. As a vacation town, Las Vegas may be one of the most casual dining cities in the country. After a day of golfing or lounging by the pool, a lot of people just don’t want to dress formally for dinner, and local restaurants understand that.

As far as I know, none of this town’s finest restaurants still require a tie as part of their dress code.

In fact, most of the town’s most expensive and most formal restaurants now officially list their dress code as “business casual.” That generally means decent slacks and a jacket or, at the very least, a nice collared shirt.

Nonetheless, I’ve seen people wander into Michelin-

Companion | January 2012

starred restaurants in jeans, a short-sleeve shirt and no jacket and be seated. On a few occasions, I’ve even seen people seated in exclusive restaurants wearing shorts.

But they tend to look like jerks. Come on, if you’re going to shell out several hundred to a thousand bucks on dinner for two, you should really dress to impress.

Also keep in mind that plenty of Las Vegas restaurants still keep loaner jackets on hand for customers who show up dressed inappropriately. And there’s nothing more embarrassing than being forced to wear someone else’s clothes during a nice meal. — Al Mancini How-to

Q: How much should I tip for valet parking?

A: For the last few years, I haven’t been able to get myself to pass less than $3 to the valet, regardless of what I’m driving. I’m not sure why. I’ve tried fiscal analysis (“Three dollars is 20 percent of $15... Did I just not-pay $15 to park and scarf a $20 lunch?”), I’ve tried comparison (“I tip four bucks for a car wash, and that seems like a lot more work ...”), I’ve tried emotional justification (“The parking garage was packed and it’s freezing/scorching/raining outside”). Nothing makes sense, except that once (before I started driving, I might add), we tipped a buck. Then it leaped to two bucks. Now it’s three. Inflation! Keep in mind that this is for basic car return service only; if you need a spot to magically appear in the face of a “Valet Full” sign, expect to pre-tip $10$20, depending on the location and event. If you want your new Aston-Martin (or old Mercedes-Benz) to be kept near the door, the same. And if you fancy yourself a generous, old Vegas kinda guy (or gal), $5 seems to be the standard return tariff. In fact, how much beyond $3 you tip is almost as much a factor of how you see your station in life as it is the service received. — James P. Reza The Strip

Q: Will the Harmon be imploded?

A: The valley’s newest parlor game is guessing when the Harmon Hotel will be imploded. The halfbuilt blue-glass tower is part of CityCenter — the $8.5-billion mega-everything-resort between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo. Owner MGM Resorts International once had high hopes for the Harmon, which was designed by celebrity architect Norman Foster. The building now stands empty with its façade being used as a makeshift billboard.

So what happened? Harmon’s troubles date back to 2008 when it was discovered that rebar, the supporting rods used in concrete, was improperly installed on 15 floors. A fix was doable, but costly. MGM decided to lop the building in half instead, cutting 207 planned residences of which less than half had sold. CityCenter

broke ground during the real estate boom but opened in a deep recession. Shrinking the Harmon from 47 down to 26 stories made sense. It also saved about $800 million in building costs. CityCenter opened in December 2009, while the Harmon languished in limbo.

A nasty, finger-pointing fight has since ensued between MGM and its contractor, Perini Building Company.

MGM claims the building is a lost cause. Perini says it can easily be repaired. Millions are still owed for work performed. Like all good spats, the disagreement is now in court. MGM wants to raze the Harmon, claiming it could topple over at any moment. But the county isn’t buying it. They want proof. As a result, an implosion seems unlikely — at least in the near term. The building, after all, is evidence. The legal fight would first have to find firm footing before demolition could occur. — Tony Illia HOW-TO

Q: I rarely gamble, but when I do, I want to have fun — not necessarily win a million bucks. What game offers the best entertainment value for the money?

A: What do you want most when you gamble?

That’s easy — you want to win. Sometimes it happens.

Usually it doesn’t. That’s the nature of this beast. So, for many, the primary goal is to get a good run (and some fun) for their money. The industry refers to that as “time on game.” The players call it “bang for the buck.”

How do you get bang for the buck in gambling? There are three components to consider: return on game, size of wager, and speed of play. Let’s look at each.

The game return is determined by the house edge. The lower the edge, the less the casino chops out of every bet. If the casino is taking less per play, your money lasts longer.

Size of wager is the amount of your average bet — and the importance of that is easy to see. If you want to bet a steady amount and you have $100 to play with, you figure to last longer betting $5 per hand than $25.

Speed of play is often the most important and certainly the most dynamic of the three considerations, because you can do a lot to control it.

You’re typically at a disadvantage when gambling, which means the slower you play, the less you’ll lose. In gambling, speed kills.

So where does this leave you? One thing’s for sure: slots, video keno, and even video poker are out. You can find low minimums and a low house edge when you play video poker with good pay schedules, but it’s still a machine, so the speed consideration eliminates it.

Roulette? Nah. The 5.26 percent edge is too high and the spins come faster than you think. Baccarat? Nope. The edge is just a little over 1 percent, but the minimums are usually too high.

Craps? Better, but you can do better yet. It’s blackjack, right? That’s the obvious answer, but there are also complications. Chief among them is the proliferation of the evil 6-5 game, on which natural blackjacks pay 6-5 rather than the traditional 3-2 (and on video blackjack games, naturals often pay only even money). If you play blackjack, make sure it’s a game with a 3-2 payoff (it will say so on the felt) and try to play at full tables. Playing with other people isn’t just more fun, it also slows down the game and that’s one of your goals. So blackjack is good, but it’s still not the bang-for-the-buck champ.

The best way to get action at the lowest cost is with a sports bet. The casino has a 4.5 percent edge on a typical bet-$11-to-win-$10 sports wager, which works out to an expected loss of 50¢. Divide that by the three hours it takes for a game to be played and you wind up with a 17¢-per-hour expected loss. You’ll pay 30 times that rate just to go to a movie. Want to bet $110? Mathematically, your expected loss is less than $5, and again, that’s for three hours of action.

Sports betting isn’t just the best bang-for-your-buck gambling play, it’s one of the greatest entertainment values in the world. But if you’re set on playing something else, remember the two important rules above: Tables are better than machines — and slow is better than fast. — Anthony Curtis Anthony Curtis is publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and columnist for Vegas Seven magazine.

Good To Know Where can I park downtown without feeding those damn parking meters or shelling out for paid parking?

Ever since they started placing the stink-eye sentinels at the mouth of the El Cortez garage entrance at irregular intervals, I’ve had to tweak my cheapskate parking habits. Main Street Station is usually a sure bet — plus you get a bonus buffet of voyeurism on the stroll beneath the Fremont Street Experience canopy.

After hours, the metered spaces fill up quickly, but the stretch of Carson Ave. east of 7th Street is usually fair game.

— Andrew Kiraly

DesertCompanion.com | 45

take possession of the waste as promised in the late 1990s.)

Still, some members of Congress have not given up on Yucca, and continue efforts to try to ship waste there from the more than 100 nuclear reactor sites around the country. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., this year introduced an amendment to block funds from being cut off from Yucca Mountain. (He later dropped that bill.)

Given that there are far more legislators in Washington D.C. who represent states and districts with nuclear waste piling up, and just five lawmakers from Nevada, this will be an ongoing battle until Congress changes the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to designate another solution. — Steve Sebelius Steve Sebelius is the political columnist for the Review-Journal.

Politics

Q: What is the great Northern/Southern Nevada divide?

Good To Know Okay, Mr. Restaurant Critic. Tell us once and for all: What’s your favorite restaurant?

I am asked this question every day, sometimes nonstop.

As soon as I disclose I’m a food writer, it’s on, and I feel bad about rolling my eyes every time, but I can’t help it. No correct answer lives longer than the time it takes to speak it, because there are simply too many great places to eat in Las Vegas. That’s why I do this! This second, I have to go with Sage at Aria.

But in two days, I’m going to dinner at Beijing Noodle No. 9 in Caesars, so that might take the prize.

— Brock Radke

46 | Desert

Politics

Q: Is Yucca Mountain really dead?

What are the chances they’ll put nuclear waste there in my kids’ lifetimes?

A: Yucca Mountain has been declared dead more times than Jason Voorhees, but like the “Friday the 13th” villain, it keeps coming back. That’s because the underlying law that authorized Yucca Mountain as a repository for high-level nuclear waste — the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 — has never been repealed

by Congress. Until it is, Yucca Mountain — which was designated as the national dump for nuclear waste by a 1987 amendment to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — remains officially sanctioned by the government.

However, in recent years, efforts have been made

by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to choke off funding for the dump. President Barack Obama declared the dump dead, and ordered work on studying it and preparing for nuclear waste shipments there to stop. Hearings slated to start on Yucca Mountain have been called off, and workers at the dump site have been laid off. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu has said the government is exploring a long-term strategy for dealing with waste, which can continue to be stored at nuclear reactor sites around the nation.

(A costly option: Energy companies that run nuclear power plants have sued the government for failing to

Companion | January 2012

A: Since Clark County began challenging Washoe’s population primacy in the 1940s, friction between the two ends of the state has been a regular feature of election campaigns and legislatures.

Washoe hung onto significant political power long after the population distribution justified it — and its legislators were pretty insufferable about it, which exacerbated the tension.

But north vs. south is mostly a thing of the past. The problems of Clark and Washoe counties now overlap more than they conflict. Growth, water, the unstable sales tax, gangs, drugs — these are urban maladies, not regional ones. What we are more likely to see in the future, if we have the sense to ignore those who promote north vs. south rivalry, is an urban/rural competition. The issue of Nevada’s low mining taxes and a variety of environmental disputes are examples that appeared in the last legislature and will be back.

Politicians love to pit people against each other, and over the years Nevada has seen them come and go — James Bilbray as a university regent and, in the legislature, Marvin Sedway and Dina Titus from the south and William Raggio from the north all loved to create rich lodes of regional rivalry and then mine it. We journalists have unfortunately been their willing tools. When the notorious “fair share” tax distribution battle between Titus and Raggio happened in 1991, the Reno Gazette Journal became a player in that battle instead of an observer (one of its services to readers was titled “Who to blame”).

But nowhere is it carved in stone that Nevadans

need to buy into this stuff. The answer to Nevada’s north vs. south problem is simple: Stop listening to people — whether politicians or journalists — who like to promote northern/southern cleavage for their own purposes. — Dennis Myers Dennis Myers is a veteran reporter and former Nevada chief deputy secretary of state.

How-to

Q: I wanna get in on this locavorism thing and grow my own food. Is there a desert-friendly but lowmaintenance plant I can try my green thumb on?

A: If you have room for a tree, try a pomegranate or a fig. Both do very well here and can even live in rock mulch, though they’d be happier and healthier with a cooler, organic (wood-chip) mulch. There are many different varieties available for both species, and you can order one to fit the size of space you have available.

Pomegranates are small trees, figs are medium-size or large. Local nurseries typically carry one or two varieties, but many more are available. Start your search online and ask your local nursery to order your selection for you.

Both species are quite drought-tolerant once they’ve been in the ground for a couple of years, but make sure and plan for their growth by giving them access to the water provided by more than just a few emitters. A small pomegranate will need at least four or five emitters spread out around its base (with at least one emitter on the root system when planted), but a larger tree will need access to more, numbering in the dozens. Emitters should be spread around and be positioned no more than 4 or 5 feet apart. Any little plants growing underneath or nearby help by adding their water to the tree’s resources.

In the years to come, you’ll be able to enjoy repeat bounties of delicious, healthy fruit, while minimizing impact on the environment. — Norm Schilling Norm Schilling is owner of the Schilling Horticultural Group and a certified arborist.

How-to

Q: I’m considering commuting to work by bike. What do I need to know?

A: In Las Vegas, it’s never been a better time to start biking to work. Community planners have come up with more bike lanes and bike-safe routes than ever.

First, go on Google Earth and map out a route. Get a bike-safe route map from the RTC. Look for low-traffic routes that have stop lights at major street crossings.

Then, on the weekend, try it out to get a feel for the timing. (You don’t want to make your boss mad the first

time by being late.) And, for the most part, obey traffic rules as if you were in a car.

About the bike: Buy as much bike as you can afford.

For commuting, you need a vehicle, not a toy. The bike needs to be functional and dependable. It’s dark and cold these mornings and evenings, so you’ll need some good layers to keep you warm. (A few years back I put together a chart with temps on one side and my various bike clothes on the other. Kind of geeky, huh? But I was always dressing too warm or too cool.) Good lights are a must when it’s dark. Also, in traffic, you’ll need a mirror.

You may experience a little sticker shock, but commuting will pay for itself in no time. At 50 cents a mile I easily save $1,000 a year. And the health benefits?

Invaluable. — Kevin Eubanks Kevin Eubanks is an engineer for Clark County who has logged 50,000 miles since he began riding his bicycle to work since 1989.

History

Q: Why isn’t there gambling in Boulder City?

A: Many people think there’s no gambling in Boulder City because the people who live there have a superior sense of morality. In truth, the absence of gambling in Boulder City is rooted in both Republican prudery and New Deal social engineering. When the Bureau of Reclamation decided to build Hoover Dam in Black Canyon, it needed a site for a workers’ camp over which it could maintain legal control. Earlier, the government established the Boulder Canyon Project Federal Reservation around the construction site by withdrawing land from public access, thereby creating a federal “island” in Southern Nevada.

Las Vegas expected it was going to house the dam’s workers, but Ray Lyman Wilbur, Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of Interior, was not impressed by that dirty, raucous little town where gambling, liquor — despite Prohibition — and prostitution flourished. Instead, the bureau decided to build an entirely new town closer to the dam site on the reservation, where federal law, rather than Nevada law, had jurisdiction. That way, the government could “protect” its workers and their families from gambling, liquor and prostitution by proscribing all three. So Boulder City was built and deliberately fashioned into a model of propriety in the middle of one of the country’s most hard-living states.

Even after the Hoover administration fell and Prohibition was repealed, the New Deal administration of Franklin Roosevelt didn’t change much. Gambling and prostitution remained illegal, although the Department of Interior issued a memo legalizing sale and consumption of 3 percent “near beer” and 4 percent wine. The ban on liquor was not lifted until 1969, and prostitution, at least outside City Hall, remains illegal.

Good To Know Am I a wuss for taking my cell phone on a hike?

Wuss? No. Jerk?

Maybe. You shouldn’t use your phone for chatting with grandma along the trail, but used properly, a cell phone can be your best piece of safety equipment. Metro’s Search and Rescue team receives calls from lost and injured hikers daily. Without enough signal to call, often you can still text. Even when you don’t have a signal, your phone can be used as a flashlight, signal mirror, and more. Just be sure to turn it off when you’re not using it. Searching for signal will drain your battery fast. And is your #roughingit Tweet really that important?

— Alan Gegax, Las Vegas Hiking & Outdoors Meetup Group

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Good To Know I love hummingbirds!

I have some occasionally in my yard, but how can I attract more?

Plant long-blooming plants they love. Two of their favorites, Red Yucca and Autumn Sage, are easy to grow here with long blooming seasons.

Red Yucca is a quite common and tough desert plant with flowers that bear hundreds of blossoms that open in slow sequence from spring to late summer. In front of a low window, the flowers rise up without blocking the view and draw hummers right to the window to feast.

Autumn Sage’s dozens to hundreds of blossoms attract hummers from spring through late fall, and can bloom for 9 or even 10 months.

— Norm Schilling, Schilling Horticulture Group

But throughout its history, there has been agitation to legalize gambling in town. Boulder City businessmen in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s jealously watched Las Vegas develop into a lucrative gambling destination. Four prominent Las Vegas lawyers and businessmen bought the Boulder Dam Hotel in 1946 intending to open a casino.

There was a failed effort to legalize gaming when Boulder City was incorporated in 1959. A Boulder City motel owner in the 1980s, overestimating his political influence in town, built a three-story addition to a small auto court and wired the entire top floor to accommodate gaming machines.

When Boulder City had the opportunity to annex Railroad Pass in 1985, they turned it down rather than invite gaming into the city limits. Today, 80 years after Boulder City was built, gambling is still illegal. It’s a defining characteristic of the town — and unlikely ever to be seriously challenged. — Dennis McBride Dennis McBride is a Boulder City native and curator of collections at the Nevada State Museum.

Lifestyle

Q: Why do I have to separate my recycling, if the collectors just throw it all into one big bin in the truck anyway?

A: Short answer? You don’t. According to spokesman Bob Coyle, Republic Services spent about $20 million upgrading its recycling facility so that it can handle — and separate — loads in which glass, paper and plastic are commingled. So, even if you don’t separate your stuff in order to let the guys driving the threecompartment trucks sort it into the appropriate bins, it gets separated at the facility anyway.

Long answer? Because of the trucks that collect recyclables. Bob Coyle, spokesman for Republic Services, says, “We still have some of the older threecompartment trucks, and we don’t always know which truck is going to be on a given route. So, in the threecompartment trucks, they separate, but in the singlecompartment trucks, they don’t.”

Now the real question: If they’re separating the stuff, why do we have to? Coyle says he hopes we won’t for too much longer. North Las Vegas already has single-stream recycling bins for customers, and he hopes Henderson and Las Vegas will follow suit soon. — Heidi Kyser History

Q: Did Bugsy Siegel really found Las Vegas?

A: If only this historical misconception would die as easily as Bugsy did that night in Beverly Hills. I think the popular belief that Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel founded Las Vegas comes from two misconceptions: first, that the Flamingo Hotel and Casino was the beginning of

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modern Las Vegas, and, second, from the belief that Bugsy built the place.

So, first thing. If by “modern Las Vegas” people mean the city’s identity as a destination resort with hotel-casinos, fancy restaurants and elaborate shows, that did not begin with the Flamingo. The first Las Vegas hotel-casino resort in the modern sense was the Meadows, built in 1931 several miles southeast of Fifth Street (Las Vegas Boulevard), near the intersection of Charleston Boulevard, Fremont Street and Boulder Highway. The Meadows was built by “Tony the Hat” Cornero, who later on built the Stardust — so maybe we can say Tony the Hat founded Las Vegas, not Bugsy Siegel. Ten years after the Meadows, California hotel man Tommy Hull built the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and Casino, the first resort on what became the Las Vegas Strip, and who was the first to envision Las Vegas as a destination resort. So maybe we can say it was Tommy Hull who founded Las Vegas, not Bugsy Siegel.

Second thing. Bugsy Siegel first visited Las Vegas in 1934 as an associate of mobster Meyer Lansky, but he hated the place. He hated the heat, he hated the desert, he hated the city’s scruffy appearance. He wound up owning a few points in the race and sports book at the El Cortez Hotel and Casino on Fremont Street, which hardly made him a presence in the town he’s wrongly credited with having founded. His association with the Flamingo Hotel and Casino came later when Meyer Lansky pressured him into representing Lansky’s and his syndicate’s interest in the developing resort on site in Las Vegas. Construction on the Flamingo was already under way, begun by Los Angeles publisher, nightclub owner and compulsive gambler William “Billy” Wilkerson. It was Wilkerson whose vision of Las Vegas as a destination resort inspired construction of the Flamingo with its radically modern design and layout.

When Wilkerson ran out of money before the hotel was finished, Lansky’s syndicate gave him the funds to complete it in return for a two-thirds interest in the finished resort.

Bugsy, who liked control, eventually muscled Wilkerson out of the project — allegedly threatening to kill him if he didn’t give it up. Siegel finished building the Flamingo and got it open — but his greed and vanity led to breathtaking cost overruns and overselling of shares. On June 20, 1947, just six months after the Flamingo opened, Siegel was shot to death in the living room of girlfriend Virginia Hill’s Beverly Hills home. No one then said that Bugsy Siegel had founded Las Vegas, and those today who say he did are wrong. — Dennis McBride Gambling

Q: Okay, tell us once and for all: Is Internet gambling legal or not?

A: That’s the million-dollar (or should we say several hundred billion-dollar) question, according to

Good To Know I only have time for outdoorsy stuff on the weekends, but I want to avoid the crowds.

Suggestions?

David Schwartz, director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research and Anthony Curtis, founder and publisher of www.LasVegasAdvisor.com. Unfortunately, for all those companies lining up to cash in, it hasn’t been answered definitively yet.

Stressing that he’s not an attorney, Schwartz says, “It is not legal to use a credit card to place a bet on Internet gambling. In many states, that act is illegal. In others it’s not; it depends on whether it’s regulated.” So, how about Nevada? Schwartz thinks it’s illegal here, because the companies that people place bets with aren’t regulated by Nevada. “If they’re not regulated, you can’t do it, and we don’t regulate them,” he says.

Curtis agrees that it’s technically illegal to place a bet online in Nevada. “Still,” he adds, “many Nevadans play online, and there has never been an indictment that I know of.”

Here’s the rub: Fundamentally, gambling is a state issue, but in order for online gaming to become legal, lawmakers would have to amend the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which is federal.

Where does that leave us? There’s some political will to change the federal law, Schwartz says, but “because we’ve already started campaigning for the 2012 presidential election, there’s a lot of partisanship around the issue.” — Heidi Kyser

How-to

Q: Where can I get a taste of Las Vegas nightlife without being bumped around by twentysomethings in tiny cocktail dresses?

A: I often get this question from people in their thirties, forties and beyond. They say, “We may have a few years on us, but we still love to party!” What they’re really saying is, “Where can we go, have a great time, and not be the only ones our age?”

On The Strip? I’d recommend Cathouse (Luxor), VooDoo Rooftop Lounge (Rio), Mix (Mandalay Bay), Tabú (MGM) and Ghostbar (Palms) as your best bets for nightclubs that are less packed or generally have shorter lines (and some amazing views of the city). A trip to Town Square’s Blue Martini is great for dancing and live music, while nearby Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar can provide a high-energy night out. Another tip: Pay attention to the weekday schedules of major nightclubs, as often this will give you the same experience, minus the crowds.

But does age really matter? The most important part of enjoying nightlife is your attitude. If you set out to enjoy yourself and to conquer whatever the night brings, more often than not, you’ll find fun anywhere you go and have an uncanny ability to make the absolute

If a destination is scenic and convenient, you can bet it‘s going to be crowded. To lose the crowds but keep the scenery, you have to lose a little convenience.

Luckily, Las Vegas is surrounded by multiple designated Wilderness Areas where visitation is limited, including Muddy Mountains, Arrow Canyon, La Madre Mountain, and many others. It might take you an extra half-hour to get out there, but the payoffs are great, and you can find some things you’ll never find in Las Vegas: peace and quiet.

— Alan Gegax

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Good To Know What’s one piece of Vegasspecific driving advice I probably haven’t heard before?

Las Vegas drivers punch the accelerator when a yellow caution light is activated.

Longtime Las Vegas residents understand it is foolish to take off when their light turns green, knowing without a doubt one or two vehicles will run the red light and barrel through the intersection. My advice: Pause.

— Adrienne Packer, traffic columnist for the Review-Journal

best of any situation. Alternatively, if you go into a place complaining about the music, the crowd, the prices, and the strange look that the “twentysomething snob” at the door gave you when you walked in — your night is doomed. Leave your boring friends at home, let loose, have a couple of drinks, stay positive, and be spontaneous. The rest will fall into place. — Jack Colton Jack Colton is a publisher of Las Vegas nightlife planning guides.

plate (still available today; fees go to support historic preservation) to the creation of the world’s largest birthday cake to the burying of a centennial time capsule at the historic Fifth Street School. (That will be opened in 2105.)

Ironically enough, no special notice was given to the anniversary of the city’s incorporation in 2011, during the closing month’s of Goodman’s term. The mayor even said at the time he wasn’t even going to toast the date, which in and of itself is rare. — Steve Sebelius

History

The Strip

Q: Why did we celebrate the Las Vegas centennial in 2005, when the city wasn’t incorporated until 1911?

Q: Can the Luxor beam really be seen from outer space, as hotel management claims?

A: Three words: Mayor Oscar Goodman.

The happiest mayor in the universe wanted a big community celebration, and he chose to do it in the year historians identify as the “founding” of Las Vegas.

Although the city itself would not incorporate until March 1911, most people trace the founding of modern Las Vegas to May 15, 1905, the day that 110 acres of land in what we now consider downtown Las Vegas were auctioned off.

Goodman set the tone for what he called the city’s 100th birthday with everything from a commemorative license

A: Why yes, it can, says UNLV Astronomy Professor Steve Lepp. The light shooting up from the tip of the hotel’s pyramid structure is, essentially, like a giant headlight shining into space, Lepp says, because it is focused into a beam.

“The lowest orbits in space are on the order of 100 miles,” he explains. “I can see the light from my house at 10 miles away, and it’s not even pointing at me.”

So, there. Lepp says if an astronaut were looking out the window of his space vessel, and it passed into the Luxor’s beam, it would suddenly become much brighter.

“This is much the same as if a car following you hits a bump and, suddenly, as the beam of the headlights point at you, it becomes much brighter,” he says.

Why trust Lepp? If his Ph.D. in atomic and molecular theory isn’t convincing enough, he also researches phenomena involving the absorption and emission of light by atoms and molecules. — Heidi Kyser Politics

Q: Why do we elect judges instead of appointing them as they do in the federal court system?

A: Over the years, efforts have been made to appoint judges rather than elect them. The primary reason is the unseemliness of judges having to ask for campaign contributions from the lawyers who appear before them in court, creating the inevitable appearance of a conflict of interest. However, voters have stubbornly refused to give up the right to vote for judges, even if most voters have little way to determine who’s qualified for the post or not.

Most recently, in 2007 and 2009, the state Legislature passed a plan favored by former state Sen. Bill Raggio. It would have amended the state constitution to allow for the appointment of judges, who would then

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stand for retention at a subsequent election, after a written review of their performance. If they received 55 percent of the vote or better, they’d stay on the bench for another term. If not, they would be ousted and another judge would be appointed. But voters rejected that measure in November 2010, 58 percent to 42 percent.

The only judges who are appointed in Nevada are those who fill the unexpired term of a judge who dies in office or resigns. Those judges typically stand for election in their own right at the next even-year election.

And the only real way voters have to determine who is a good judge or not is the Review-Journal’s Judging the Judges survey, which asks lawyers to anonymously rate the judges they have appeared in front of in court. That survey is conducted in conjunction with the Nevada State Bar Association every other year. — Steve Sebelius Health

Q: So, is smoking allowed now in restaurants or not?

A: No, smoking is not allowed in Nevada

restaurants. But confusion reigns on the issue, given a long and tortured history of laws about where a person can and cannot light up.

In 2006, after years of defeats at the state Legislature, a coalition of anti-smoking groups put a ballot question before voters. The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act banned indoor smoking almost everywhere it was allowed, with several key exceptions, including casino floors and bars that did not serve food (bars that do serve food would essentially be classified as restaurants). The measure passed 54 percent to 46 percent. Lawsuits ensued, but courts upheld most of the law. (A criminal penalty for smoking in prohibited areas was struck down.)

After the measure passed, smoking in restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores and many foodserving bars stopped, although some bars ignored patrons who continued to smoke, and even provided them makeshift ashtrays. Other bars spent money creating physical barriers between a food-serving restaurant side and a liquor-serving side where smoking could presumably continue.

Then this year, a hard-fought measure passed the Legislature that loosened the restrictions, but only with respect to bars. Assembly Bill 571 — supported by Nevada’s tavern owners — allows smoking in adultsonly bars, even if food is served there. Thus, smoking will continue in places such as PT’s Pubs, but it will remain banned in family restaurants open to people of all ages. — Steve Sebelius

The Strip

Q: Why does Las Vegas Boulevard verge northeast, just past Caesars Palace?

A: Blame it on the railroad men — including William Andrews Clark, from whom the valley takes its name. Those robber barons snapped up the critical real estate and literally set a pattern for the future.

They owned the land that became downtown Las Vegas, so when they auctioned it off, that was the beginning of what would become a rather skewed street grid. “If you look at downtown, you’ll notice that the plat (or layout) is at an angle to the Strip, beginning roughly at the point where Main Street, Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Louis Avenue converge, just north of the Stratosphere,” explains College of Southern Nevada history professor Michael Green.

“Because of the terrain of the Las Vegas Valley, it was easiest to run the railroad line from southwest to northeast, through what became downtown,” and thence southward through the mountain pass at Sloan, and on into California. — David McKee urban legend

Q: Is it true that Moe Dalitz was rubbed out by rival mobsters?

A: This urban myth seems to owe its currency to a semi-fictionalized depiction of Las Vegas, War of the Godfathers, by William F. Roemer Jr. It preposterously depicts Morris B. Dalitz (1899-1989) as the victim of a “late 1986” phantom shootout in front of the in-progress Mirage (which didn’t break ground until 1987), catching three slugs from triggerman Joe Ferriola. In some versions of the legend, Dalitz miraculously survives another three years, only to be poisoned by a Sunrise Hospital orderly.

Ferriola actually died in March 1989, five months before his alleged target. If somebody wanted to be rid of Dalitz, they could have spared themselves the trouble. Al Balboni’s chapter on Dalitz in The Maverick Spirit: Building the New Nevada reports that the former bootlegger was dogged by cancer from 1987 onward. When he eventually passed away, a Sept. 1, 1989 Las Vegas Sun obituary blamed the old mobster’s death on “congestive heart disease, chronic hypertension and kidney failure.” It furthermore noted that Dalitz had been under nurses’ care since for the past year, as his various illnesses worsened, and had spent his last three weeks confined to bed. Dalitz biographer Michael Newton, author of Mr. Mob: The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz, dismisses War of the Godfathers as “a tale loosely rooted in history, filled with events that never occurred.” — David McKee

Good To Know Is it true that Sonny Liston is buried in Las Vegas?

Charles “Sonny” Liston’s final resting place is the former Paradise Memorial Gardens (now Davis Memorial Park) at 6200 S. Eastern Ave., beneath a McCarran International Airport flight path. The troubled Liston (1932-1970), it seems, cannot find peace even in death. The plaque marking his grave bears the simple epitaph, “A Man.” Although Liston’s body was discovered by wife Geraldine on Jan. 5, 1971, a police investigation estimated his demise to have occurred on Dec. 30, 1970, based on evidence found at the scene. Following an inconclusive autopsy, the actual cause of Liston’s death remains the subject of controversy and speculation.

— David McKee

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Good To Know I want a crash course in Las Vegas history.

What are the top books I should read?

For general history, Geoff Schumacher’s “Sun, Sin, and Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas” is a fine read. A more scholarly account?

Eugene Moehring’s “Resort City in the Sunbelt” is unmatched. John L. Smith, “Sharks in the Desert,” combines biography with casino histories, so you’ll understand the mob, corporations and everything in between. “The Peoples of Las Vegas: One City, Many Faces,” edited by Jerry L. Simich and Thomas C. Wright, is a collection of essays on ethnic groups, and does a lot to explain what a rich pastiche Las Vegas really is. The website www.1st100.com is a way to read online what wound up in “The First 100,” the Review-Journal’s three-part series for the millennium on 100 shapers of Las Vegas, edited by A.D. Hopkins and the late K.J. Evans.

— Michael Green

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Urban legend

Casinos

Q: Is it true that your personal data, including your home address and credit card number can be stolen off your hotel key card?

Q: What’s going to happen to Fontainebleau?

A: No. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, this is “an urban legend” that has been caroming around cyberspace ever since Oct. 6, 2003. Eight years ago, a Pasadena police detective attending a cop conference hit the email panic button, firing off an errant missive that is now taken as gospel truth. “Someone there happened to say that they heard it was possible to put this information on this key card,” according to the AHLA. The Pasadena flatfoot put two and two together, and got five.

“The one incident referred to appears to be several years old, and with today’s newer technology, it would appear that no hotels engage in the practice of storing personal information on key cards,” a City of Pasadena spokeswoman subsequently backpedaled. Hilton Hotels Corp. executive Kathy Shephard added, “Our key cards are encrypted with minimal information — the guest’s name, room number and arrival and departure dates … in such a way that they can’t be read by ordinary card readers.”

If — and only if — the front-desk machine that codes your key card is linked to the registration computer, any information on your credit card could be transferred to the key, according to insurance consultant Jake Stroup, and even he concedes that embedding financial data onto a key card would be legally perilous for hotels. Industry professionals maintain that payment information isn’t resident upon key cards (but it’s a very different story in Europe). Transactions such as room-service orders are routed to a central property-management server, where your credit card data is stored.

With the rise of in-room checkout and similar automated procedures, it’s a waste of bandwidth to imprint more than the most rudimentary data onto key cards. It’s doubly pointless since room locks aren’t wired into a mainframe — imagine the cost!

— but are what Hilton describes as “stand-alone, battery-powered devices.” A 2006 survey should have definitively settled the issue, when Computerworld staffers tested 52 different hotel cards on a standard-issue, swipe-card reader and found most “completely unreadable.” Even those that could be deciphered didn’t contain “personally identifiable” data. The Computerworld study was verified by MagTek, which manufactures card readers. It independently tested another 48 hotelroom cards. None yielded any information that would be of use to an identity thief. — David McKee

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A: Last spring, a local gambling publication floated the rumor that Fontainebleau owner Carl Icahn was going to sell the structural steel within the unfinished, derelict megaresort, provided that the buyer also pay to dismantle the huge building. (Icahn had purchased it out of bankruptcy for $156.2 million.) “That is total nonsense,” says Icahn spokeswoman Susan Gordon.

“There is no truth to that.” A promised follow-up call from Icahn headquarters never materialized. In the meantime, Icahn’s been clearing out the warehouse, scattering Fontainebleau furnishing to the four winds.

They’ve turned up at the Tropicana, the Plaza and even out in Primm, at Buffalo Bill’s and Primm Valley Resort.

Icahn’s modus operandi is to buy assets on the cheap, in search of high-yield turnarounds. It’s what he did at the Stratosphere and a defunct motel that became Arizona Charlie’s East. Spending the $1.2 billion or more it will take to finish Fontainebleau would be highly out of character for him. Icahn Enterprises’ Aug. 5, 2010 official statement — “Our real estate segment intends to secure the former Fontainebleau property until market conditions improve” — points to an eventual resale of the hulk. Even if he charged a bargain-basement $6.5 million per acre for the 24.5 Las Vegas Strip acres upon which Fontainebleau looms, Icahn would still turn a profit … and finishing “big blue” would become somebody else’s problem. — David McKee The Strip

Q: What does it mean when something is in “unincorporated Clark County,” and why can’t we incorporate it already?

A: Our image of gangsters tends to be of no-neck toughs with nicknames like “Icepick” and “The Ant.” Not necessarily. We can thank — and curse — some of Las Vegas’s early casino operators for Southern Nevada’s weird geography.

In 1940, California hotelman Thomas Hull visited Las Vegas. Chamber of Commerce officials suggested that he build a property around Maryland Parkway and Charleston Boulevard, but Hull preferred a spot on Highway 91 to Los Angeles. That made business sense — drivers would welcome the convenience — but Hull had another reason: If he put his El Rancho Vegas beyond the city limits, he would pay no municipal taxes and fees, relying instead on the cheaper county government for services.

Other builders followed suit. By 1949, the Hotel Last Frontier, Flamingo, and Thunderbird had joined the El Rancho Vegas. The Strip was growing, and suburban development wouldn’t be far behind. With the city of Las Vegas, led by Mayor Ernie Cragin, voicing interest

in annexing the area, Lt. Gov. Cliff Jones, a Thunderbird co-owner, helped persuade the 1949 legislature to pass a law barring a city from swallowing an unincorporated township without the county commission’s approval.

Flamingo executive Gus Greenbaum and other Strip investors, mob-connected and otherwise, asked the Clark County Commission to create a township. They did so, on December 8, 1950: Paradise City. Paradise and later Winchester and Spring Valley became large unincorporated townships (Paradise was the nation’s largest such community by 2000).

With the Strip and its revenue stream in Paradise and Winchester, many Nevadans consider the Clark County Commission the state’s most important and powerful government entity. Those who lament the good old days before corporations might stop and consider: Whatever power those corporations have locally is due in part to the business and political acumen of some mobsters. If they don’t like it, they can change it: A city can annex an unincorporated township only by a vote of the county commission and town board, the planning commission’s recommendation, or a vote of the township’s residents. — Michael Green

urban legend

Q: What’s really going on at Area 51?

A: The world’s best known “secret” base is still our government’s foremost facility for the testing and development of spy plane technology. The same base that nurtured such amazing craft as the U-2, SR-71, A-15, and Stealth fighter (F-117) is currently developing a new generation of flying machines even more amazing than Good To Know their predecessors. Sources familiar with the work under way at Groom Lake say the emphasis today is on UAVs Remember (unmanned aerial vehicles) of various shapes and sizes. One old-school arcades? I cutting edge project is the development of a pilotless fighter miss arcades. plane. Another project said to have been tested at Area 51 Not Chuck E. Cheese, But is a version of a space plane, a hypersonic craft capable of arcades. traveling to any place on Earth within a few hours. Reports Sometimes from inside the base suggest that miniaturized UAVs have the thought of also been tested at Groom Lake, including spy craft no immersing one’s larger than a flying insect. family into a Chuck E. Cheese for an The real question is: Where do they keep the flying afternoon is too saucers? If they ever had anything resembling a flying daunting. Thank God, saucer out there, the prototypes are long gone. The simple then, for smaller, reason for that is that too many people have focused their family-owned Gemini gaze on Groom because of the saucer stories. Tens of Arcade Palace (4180 S. Sandhill thousands of people have traveled to the desert because of Road #B-4, geminithe UFO tales — including every major media organization arcade-palace.com, in the world — to see whatever it is that is flying around 586-3686), which out there. Among those who have been out there to ask specializes in games questions are Congressional investigators with high-level like Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, security clearances.

DrumMania V6 Contrary to the propaganda now being pushed by the Blazing, and DJ Max CIA, stories about UFOs at Groom lake are not the result Technika 2. Learning of misidentifications of exotic but explainable flying to develop kids’ machines. Simply put, a U-2 does not look like a flying coordination while entertaining them saucer. An SR-71 does not hover over dry lake beds. An seems to be the goal A-12 is not shaped like a disc. The tales about flying saucers here, and there’s did not originate with misguided observers outside the even air hockey, base, but rather with the employees who worked inside. a pool table and More than two dozen people who worked at Area 51 over free foosball for a blink- and bleep-free the years have told me bits and pieces of their stories, change of pace. about seeing saucer-like vehicles being taken apart, stored —Jarret Keene in hangars, hidden under tarps, and test flown under heavy security.

If, as some suggest, there was a devious plan to leak the flying saucer story through someone like Bob Lazar, merely as a ruse, to distract attention away from something else that was being tested at Groom, the plan was a miserable failure because it put Area 51 on the map and made it a household name all over the world — drawing far BONUS more scrutiny than anyone could ever have Q: Where can I find more imagined. — George Knapp answers to burning questions George Knapp is a Peabody Awardabout life in Southern Nevada? winning investigative reporter for KLASA: There are plenty more TV Channel 8 who has reported numerous answers by those in the know at www.desertcompanion.com! stories about Area 51.

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{

T ho u ght l e ad e rs Jim Murren, Carol Harter and Glenn Schaeffer have a secret to success.

MBAs and specialized smarts?

No, liberal arts backgrounds and vigorous minds

}

By J. Patrick Coolican Illustration by Aaron Mckinney

never took a journalism class. (The easy response among my critics: “Obviously.”)

I say that proudly, though, and occasionally have gotten myself into trouble questioning why my colleagues would spend money on a journalism degree. I jokingly ask, What do they teach you? Lesson one: Go talk to people about what happened. Lesson two: Write it down. Lesson three: Get better at it.

My own undergraduate course of study sounds a little ridiculous when I explain it. It was called the Program of Liberal Studies, or “Great Books.” We started with Homer and went from there, covering many of the important works by dead thinkers and poets. We struggled through abstruse philosophy and learned how to argue effectively. We learned the techniques that turn mere words into poetry. We watched scientific errors of the ancient natural philosophers evolve into the modern scientific method. We read, we thought, we talked and we wrote. In short, we learned how to learn.

I can hardly think of a better preparation for a journalist.

On any given day, I might have to develop a modicum of expertise on a legal issue, macroeconomic policy, education reform measure or environmental disaster. Read about it, talk to people affected and to the experts, and then write clearly, quickly and accurately. Always be ethical — and skeptical — and don’t be afraid to call out the truth when you find it.

To the extent I can do the job, I give major props to my old professors, who gave me the rich raw materials, which in turn were mined out of Plato, Shakespeare and David Hume, among many others.

I’m not the only one who thinks this intellectual challenge is the best preparation for any career.

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“I’m a huge proponent of a liberal arts education,” says Jim Murren, the CEO of MGM Resorts International. He was an art history major at Trinity College in Connecticut.

I’ll get to his defense of the liberal arts in a moment, but let me explain why it matters.

Art attack The classical liberal arts, broadly defined as a mix of literature and the arts, philosophy and history, foreign languages, math and science, are in a bad way. They are dismissed by certain lefty academic fads, by technocratic armies of economic development specialists, and now by a new wave of anti-college activists including tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel. The liberal arts, it seems, have few defenders. Especially in Nevada.

The debate over higher education funding last year was a depressing exercise, with one side arguing against higher ed altogether, and the other arguing that we must train our young people how to count to 21 so they can get jobs. I’m exaggerating, but only slightly.

Christopher Hudgins, the dean of the UNLV College of Liberal Arts, has the southern drawl of a great storyteller and, somewhat incongruously, is a leading scholar of the playwright Harold Pinter. He’s at the forefront of the fight on behalf of the liberal arts.

Why the attack on his college?

“On the surface, (liberal arts) don’t seem to be pragmatic,” he says. “It doesn’t seem to immediately solve the problem of economic diversity and a job path for students. But that’s very, very shortsighted. If we produce job-oriented students only, we’re dead in the water.”

What he means is that graduates who are educated — those who can think critically, clearly and creatively — will anticipate, adapt to and hopefully even exploit economic change. Students who are merely trained in a narrow skill? They could get left behind if their skill becomes extinct when the economy changes. Which is always.

Gray matter areas As a thought experiment, let’s dismiss the airier benefits of a liberal arts education — all the stuff about an examined life being the only kind worth living, about enlightened citizenship or our obligation to

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pursue the good, the true and the beautiful.

Instead, let’s just focus on who is better off in the business world: Jim Murren with his art history degree from Trinity, or someone who skates through a mediocre undergraduate business program with a degree in marketing or management?

Here’s Glenn Schaeffer, former Mandalay Resort Group president and a graduate of the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop, with an answer: “The notion that you can be credentialed, that an MBA would credential you as a business leader? It can’t be credentialed.” The title of business leader is earned, he says. And to get there, certain attributes are essential — the very attributes transmitted by the liberal arts.

Murren says the rigorous research and writing of his undergraduate days gave him a leg-up when he became a Wall Street

Schaeffer's close reading of difficult literature and criticism developed habits of mind that helped him understand companies, markets and his industry. analyst because he was already well versed in what’s known as the “Mosaic Principle” — taking bits of information from disparate sources, separating the credible from the less so, and creating an intelligible narrative about a company or industry.

“I enjoyed the information-gathering process,” he says. “Trinity helped me form a foundation which was enhanced on Wall Street.” Now he thirsts for information and people who know how to gather it and use it. “Information — the value of it, the speed you can get it, the way you use it — will determine success.” By this he means understanding customer preferences, global supply chains, price elasticity, interest rate complexities and other factors.

Schaeffer tells me that with his close reading of difficult literature and criticism,

he developed the habits of mind that helped him understand companies, markets and his industry.

Murren says the liberal arts broadened his perspective. In Italy during a study abroad program, Murren learned that the rest of the world views things differently than we do — a valuable skill in a business that is increasingly international, with customers, employees and emerging markets around the globe.

Murren also says access to this wide diversity of thought nurtured creativity, an absolutely essential trait for entrepreneurs and Strip marketers trying to lure customers. He looks for creativity among his senior management, he says.

Schaeffer says creativity is at a premium among potential executives.

“One thing you’re in short supply of is imagination,” says Schaeffer, who recently co-wrote a memoir of his years in Iowa, “We Wanted to Be Writers: Life, Love, and Literature at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.”

“What makes businesses grow are new ideas and people who have an appreciation for and experience in generating ideas. People asking, ‘What’s next?’”

Intelligent designs If you think about it, many of the world’s great thinkers were creative, intellectual entrepreneurs. Although there’s a constant dialogue with the past and the assimilation of new arguments and data, intellectual breakthroughs have often been anything but incremental.

Think of Copernicus, who completely reframed how we view the world, in the face of massive resistance from a hardened consensus that the sun orbited the Earth.

Indeed, if we in Nevada want revolutionary business people, we should have our students study the history of science. The great ones were risky revolutionaries, as Thomas Kuhn points out in “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.”

Fine, you say. But how does someone studying art history or philosophy or biology learn how to create a budget or manage people?

Carol Harter is currently executive director of the Black Mountain Institute and president emerita of UNLV after

entering academia as a literature scholar.

As she notes, she was running a half billiondollar operation when she was president.

“It’s a big city. You’re building buildings.

You’re feeding people. It’s a hugely diverse business you’re running.” With her strong foundation, she could learn the skills it took to manage a large organization. “You can learn technical things,” she says. “But not the fundamentals that come through a broad-based liberal education.”

Finally, I think we’re all a little tired of the business ethics scandal du jour, embodied in the recent housing crash, when dishonesty, graft and greed nearly exploded our economy.

Murren says the liberal arts at Trinity inculcated character traits he would not have developed elsewhere, beginning with the honor code. “It’s one of the first things you do, the code of conduct, and there’s a no tolerance policy. There could be no tolerance for cheating and cutting corners.”

Small classes and intense relationships with professors created strong bonds and trust between professors and students, between young and old. That tutelage “contributed to a strong sense of moral and ethical behavior,” Murren says.

Let’s not pretend the liberal arts will turn us into angels, but in my own experience, I used to wait tables and believed free food and drink were part of my salary. It was rationalized theft. By the time I graduated from college, I had stopped doing it.

Maybe it was Kant’s categorical imperative whispering in my ear.

I’ll argue with you all day long that a talented philosophy graduate will be far superior in the long run in any field to someone who has pursued what amounts to four years of vocational training.

But forgive me if I leave the pragmatic and lure you with the hope of immortality, the kind that Homer gave Achilles. For the most part, we won’t be remembered for our riches or our armies.

We’ll be remembered for our art and architecture, our scientific advances and our moral progress.

What kind of education will deliver on those hopes?

J. Patrick Coolican is a Las Vegas Sun and Las Vegas Weekly columnist. He has, in fact, read Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason in its entirety.

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DesertCompanion.com | 57

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A r t M u s i c T h e at e r D a n c e FAMI LY

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Okay, so the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet has a pretty plain name, but that’s only because Vibrational String Lords of Eargasmic Mind Pleasure was taken. But don’t be fooled — these guys rip on everything from modern interpretations of classical compositions to rock standards to regional flavors such as bluegrass. The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet performs 8 p.m. Jan. 7 at UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall. Tickets: $35-$75.

Info: www.unlvtickets.com

Photographer and UNLV alumnus Michael Plyler has spent decades with the Mayan people of Guatemala — and he’s also spent a lot of film capturing their changing lives as the world changes around them.

“Maya – A Thirty Year Retrospective” is on exhibit Jan. 13-April 2 at UNLV’s Barrick Museum. Info: barrickmuseum.unlv.edu

Eva Longoria is a big supporter of the performing arts, so Nevada Ballet Theatre is going to hoist her on their shoulders and parade her around as rose petals and glitter rain down. She’s their Woman of the Year, and you can help them honor her support at their annual Black & White Ball fundraiser Jan. 28 at Aria in CityCenter.

Info: www.nevadaballet.org

58 D e s e r t C o m pa n i o n J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2

A hearty pre-congratulations to everyone born in 2012: It’s the year of the dragon. That means you’ll be a strong, charismatic leader respected by your peers. On the downside, it also means you might develop an obsession with hoarding gold and an irrational fear of knights. Celebrate the Chinese New Year downtown 6 p.m. Jan. 24-28 at the “Dragon in the Desert” festival, featuring not only arts, crafts and performances, but a little extra help from the Fremont Street Experience, which will feature an eyepopping virtual dragon dance. Free.

Info: www.vegasexperience.com

Former mobster Salvatore “Ubatz” Polisi testified against John Gotti, helping bring to justice a mob mastermind and striking a major blow against organized crime. He’ll host a screening of a documentary about his life, “UBATZ,” and answer questions along with film director David Murphy and ex-mobster Henry Hill. Be prepared to—DUCK! You know, just in case. This free event happens 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Clark County Library.

Want your event in the Guide? Submit your event with a brief description to guide@desertcompanion.com.

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Art first friday Jan. 6, Feb. 3, 6 p.m.-midnight. Downtown’s monthly arts and culture event features art exhibits, open galleries, live music, food and drink, performances and more.

Free. www.firstfridaylasvegas.com

Rumor de Lobos Grandes: Endi Poskovic Selected Prints Through Jan. 9. Endi Poskovic’s prints are like posters from bygone eras that seem at once familiar and remote, ordinary yet magical. That’s because those eras exist largely in Poskovic’s mind. Taking influences as diverse as movie posters, Japanese woodcuts and Eastern European propaganda posters, Poskovic’s pieces explore cultural identity, alienation and social history. But above all, they’re a pleasure to look at. Free. Historic Fifth Street School. www.artslasvegas.org

Tales from Fremont Street Through Jan. 15. View original art, conceptual drawings and scripts from the locally produced noir comic book anthology “Tales from Fremont Street.” Viewers get a glimpse behind the process that goes into creating illustrated fiction.

Free. Marjorie Barrick Museum. www.barrickmuseum.unlv.edu

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To The Neon Gods They Made Through Jan. 20. Photographs by Michael Monson and Tony Flanagan of stalled and abandoned construction projects in Las Vegas, from the Strip to the suburbs.

Through HDR imaging, the artists breathe life back into these promises of progress, at the same time illuminating the tragic realities of these fallen “saviors.”

Winchester Cultural Center Gallery

Vegas Spectacular: From the Stage to the Strip Through Jan. 22. A photographic retrospective from the Las Vegas News Bureau that explores the relationship between the spectacle of the stage show and the mid-century marquees of the city, with photos drawn from the archives of the 65-year-old Las Vegas News Bureau.

Free. West Charleston Library

Bryan Christiansen: Trophy Hunter Through Jan. 22. Christiansen transforms discarded household furniture into works of art and challenges conventional notions about life, the rituals of the hunting tradition, home and the innocence of childhood. He uses discarded items found in neglected areas and transforms them into assemblages that stand in for the trophies, antler mounts and pelts so often

Desert Companion on Tour Have coffee and conversation with Desert Companion Editor Andrew Kiraly and a special guest from the current issue.

January 2012

Visit us online for more information at www.desertcompanion.com

d e s e r t c o m pa n i o n . c o m 59

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prized by hunters. $5-$19, free for members, Origen Museum at Springs Preserve

Mama’s Fabric Through Jan. 28. This comprehensive exhibition by John Broussard centers on Beatrice Dixon, a mother, community organizer, seamstress and a believer in the American Dream. Broussard is honoring Dixon by bringing more than 30 diverse Americans together to tell about their family’s journey through America. Free. West Las Vegas Arts Center Gallery

Bitch Betta Have My Money Through Jan. 28. Artist Bekah Just showcases a series of self-portraits inspired by mid-century sleaze and pulp fiction novel covers that she hopes will demonstrate the development of her personality and character, while also reflecting the impact of American popular culture. Her extensive knowledge of hip-hop culture is represented in the texts and titles of the portraits. Free. Kleven Contemporary Gallery, 520 E. Fremont St., inside the Emergency Arts building.

Through Jan. 29. SPACE will allow you to touch a lunar sample, step onto the “Moon Scale,” take a spin in the centrifuge and create your own mission to Mars. $5-$19, free for members. Origen Museum at Springs Preserve

Maya - A Thirty Year Retrospective Jan. 13-April 2. Michael Plyler, a UNLV alumnus (class of 1977), presents a 30-year retrospective of his photographs of the Maya of Guatemala. This photographic exhibit explores the changing lives of contemporary Mayan Indians, with black and white images that record the beauty and resolute strength of Mayan culture. Reception Jan. 26, 5:30 p.m.

UNLV’s Barrick Museum

Dance Ethnic Express International Folk Dancing Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. Have an evening of international fun learning Armenian, Bulgarian, Israeli, Arabic, Macedonian, Russian, Greek, Turkish, Chinese and Serbian folk dances and more. No need to bring a partner. $4. Charleston Heights Arts Center. www.ethnicexpresslasvegas.org

SPACE: A Journey to our Future

shoes. $5 or $4 for members. Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., 2296383. www.artslasvegas.org

TRANSIT(ION) Trilogy: Emigration Transformation Jan. 21, 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Jan. 22, 3 p.m. This dance presentation explores the epic journey of European Jews as they migrated from Europe in the 1800s to America, telling their story through letters, poems, newspapers and novels. The Jan. 21 performances are $12-$18, and take place at UNLV’s Ham Fine Arts Building’s Studio One. The Jan. 22 performance is $12 and takes place at Congregation Ner Tamid, 55 N. Valle Verde Drive. www.balletmink.com

Family & Festivals Bet on the Farm Farmers Market at the Springs Preserve Thursdays through January, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.

Come browse in-season offerings, regionally and locally grown produce including fruits, vegetables, herbs, fresh eggs, honey, agretti, pistachios, dates, locally roasted coffee and many more items. Purchases are cash only.

Free entry. Springs Preserve

Scottish Country

Golden West Winds

Fridays, 6:30 p.m. Scottish country dancing celebrates the beautiful ballroom dance styles of Scotland and can be lively and joyful or gentle and graceful. From the first chord to the final bow or curtsey, participants enjoy driving reels, jaunty jigs, snappy strathspeys or lilting airs. Dancers should wear comfortable clothes and soft

Pipe dreams You know the Golden West Winds quintet is good — because they’re endorsed by the United States Air Force. Well, pretty close, anyway.

See, Golden West Winds is the resident woodwind quintet of the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, Travis Air Force Base in California. Little wonder they’ve become experts on the woodwind genre, renowned for their command of diverse styles. In their Jan. 21 concert, they’ll cover everything from classical works by Giuseppe Cambini to contemporary material by Astor Piazolla. They perform for free 2 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Clark County Library. — Andrew Kiraly

60 D e s e r t C o m pa n i o n J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2

Wings over the Springs Through January, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Meet and greet hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, ravens and more, and witness free-flight demonstrations at the Springs Preserve’s Wings over the Springs live bird of prey show. This exciting demonstration will expose you to the beauty of these amazing creatures and enhance your understanding of the role these majestic birds of prey play in sustaining our environment. $5-$19 or free for members. Springs Preserve

Annual Heritage Street Holidays Through Jan. 16. Step back into holidays past on Heritage Street, where the historic homes will be in oldtime trim. Each house is complete with holiday presents under the tree and a holiday dinner on the table. All decorations and themes are authentic to the era of the house, from the early 20th century lace decor to the mass-produced ornaments of the ’60s. $1-$2. Clark County Museum, 1830 S. Boulder Highway

Las Vegas Circus Spectacular 2012 Jan. 5-8, various times. This brand-new show features favorites like elephants and aerialists and blends in exciting new twists, like BMX riders. The Las Vegas Circus Spectacular is sure to have adults and children alike cheering in their seats. $12-$45. Orleans Arena, www.orleansarena.com

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Disney on Ice “Pixar’s Toy Story 3” Jan. 12-15, various times. Round up the little ones and spend a couple hours with the cast of Disney & Pixar’s Toy Story 3. Disney on Ice presents this performance that features memorable moments from Toy Story and Toy Story 2. $10-$50. UNLV’s Thomas & Mack center, www.unlvtickets.com

Chinese New Year: Dragon in the Desert Jan. 24-28, 6 p.m. nightly. This five-day festival will feature many of the traditional and symbolic elements needed to wish good fortune in addition to a cultural stage and vendor village for guests. Red and gold decor, orange trees and red lanterns will transform Fremont Street Experience into the ultimate Chinese New Year experience. Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Mayor Andy Hafen will be at the opening ceremony on Jan. 24 to kick off the festivities. Free. Fremont Street Experience, www.cnyinthedesert.com

Lectures, Readings and Panels Mob Month Tuesdays Each Tuesday in January, 7 p.m. Dive into the realm of organized crime with exmobsters, law enforcement, authors, historians, and the witnesses who survived the Mob’s expansive rise to power in 20th century America. Hear from mob wives, former and current FBI representatives, Las Vegas Mob Museum personnel and members of the IRS Criminal Investigations Las Vegas unit and many more. All seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. Free. Main Theater at the Clark County Library

U.S. Student Achievement from a Global Perspective Jan. 17, 5:30 p.m. What do we know about U.S. students’ academic achievement compared to students in other countries? Expert Tom Loveless will present the latest evidence on U.S. performance on international tests and examine long term trends. In addition, the performance of Nevada and Las Vegas students will be reviewed in the context of national and international assessments.

Free. Greenspun Hall Auditorium

The Economics of Cybersecurity: A National Dilemma Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m. Allan A. Friedman, fellow, Governance Studies & Research Director, Center for Technology Innovation will explore and explain the complexities of cybersecurity. Exploring the economics of cybersecurity offers a set of tools to understand dangerous incentives, and the sometimes intricate policy challenges

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d e s e r t c o m pa n i o n . c o m 61

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that arise in dealing with digital risk. Free.

Greenspun Hall Auditorium

Music DJ Mia Mortetti and Caitlin Moe Jan. 1, 12 a.m. This dynamic talented duo has quite the hefty resume with thanks to their innovative technique combining DJ sounds with stunning vocals and a violin.

They were named Paper Magazine’s DJ of the Year, have played the runways of New York Fashion Week, Chelsea Clinton’s Wedding, Chopard’s 150th Anniversary Party, Perez Hilton’s “One Night in Austin” and opened for Janet Jackson at the Louvre. Free. The Chandelier Bar at The Cosmopolitan.

Europa Galante with Fabio Biondi Jan. 26, 8 p.m. Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante’s repertoire ranges from the operas of Handel and the oratorios of Scarlatti to the great instrumental works of the 18th century. Also features Metropolitan Opera star mezzo-soprano Vivica Geneaux. $35-$75. UNLV’s Artemus Ham Concert Hall

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Eric Johnson

Jan. 7, 8 p.m The renowned quartet performs an array of songs spanning eras and musical genres, from Bach to rock to regional sounds such as bluegrass. $35$75. UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall

Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m. Johnson’s Grammy award-winning guitar skills will be front and center in an intimate set. With nine albums to date, Johnson has established a unique sound and continues to evolve. $25-$28. House of Blues

Las Vegas Philharmonic Youth Concert Series Jan. 10-12. Las Vegas Philharmonic will perform its annual Youth Concert Series for 4th and 5th graders in Las Vegas. Winners of the Philharmonic’s Young Artists’ Concerto Competition will perform with the orchestra during the Youth Concert Series. UNLV Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, www.lvphil.com

UNLV Jazz Concert Series: Jazz Combos Jan. 11, 7 p.m. This series, co-sponsored

by UNLV’s Department of Jazz Studies, highlights the best student musicians from UNLV’s Jazz Studies Program. Each month will feature different ensembles performing various styles of jazz, from mainstream to contemporary, to vocals or big band. Free.

Main Theater at the Clark County Library

Las Vegas Wind Quintet Concert Jan. 14, 2 p.m. The Las Vegas Wind Quintet, led by clarinetist Dave Hawley, presents a selection of classical songs arranged for a wind quintet. Hawley, a former member of The Lawrence Welk Orchestra, is joined

by Bonnie Buhler-Tanouye on flute, Dave Beasley on horn, Matt Guschl on oboe and Sam Pisciotta on bassoon. $5. Charleston Heights Arts Center

Golden West Winds: Woodwind Quintets Through the Ages Jan. 21, 2 p.m. The Golden West Winds offers glimpse into this musical genre’s development over two centuries. Selections for the concert include original quintet composi-

62 D e s e r t C o m pa n i o n J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2

tions from the classical works of Giuseppe Cambini, the romantic works of August Klughardt, and the contemporary works of Astor Piazzolla and Robert Muczynski. The concert closes with patriotic selections.

Free. Clark County Library main theater

Laura Taylor Band in Concert Jan. 28, 2 p.m. Songstress, pianist and songwriter Laura Taylor performs a concert. $10-$15. Charleston Heights Arts Center

Itzhak Perlman Feb. 11, 8 p.m. The renowned violin virtuoso performs selections from classical standards to more modern fare. $45-$85.

UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall

Theater Sylvia Jan. 13-29. Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after 22 years of child-raising in the suburbs. When Greg brings home a dog he found in the park bearing only the name “Sylvia” on her name tag, the dog becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife in this romantic comedy. $21-$24. Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive, www.lvlt.org

Red Jan. 19-22, 8 p.m. UNLV theater professor Clarence Gilyard presents this one-act play, which is a dialogue between Mark Rothko and his assistant as the painter works on his famed series for the Four Seasons restaurant. John Logan’s Tony award-winning play explores the process of creation and the temptations of commercialism. Free. UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum

The Seagull Jan. 27-Feb. 5. When famed actress Arkadina arrives with her young lover,

the writer Trigorin, at her country estate in turn-of-the-century Russia, romantic entanglements, artistic conflicts and jealousies threaten to tear her family apart. First produced at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898, this Chekhov classic is renowned for its comedy and cruelty, plunging into the funny and frightening lives of people who suffer for their passions. $10-$30. UNLV’s Judy Bayley Theatre

Showgirl Follies: Life in Feathers and Rhinestones Jan. 27-28, Feb. 4-5. This celebration of the iconic Las Vegas showgirl features authentic showgirls, sumptuous costumes, stand-up comedy, and stirring singing.

Contemporary music and choreography help modernize the show. $15-$18. Jan. 27-28, 7 p.m. in Sun City Anthem’s Freedom Hall; Feb. 4, 7 p.m. and Feb. 5, 3 p.m. in the Starbright Theater in Summerlin.

Wizard of Oz Jan. 27-Feb. 4. Follow Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tinman, Cowardly Lion and Toto as they travel down the yellow brick road to

the magical land of Oz, where they hope to find intellect, courage, a heart and, of course, a way home to Kansas. Broadway Bound & Studio One’s Summerlin Dance Academy presents this American classic. $10-$12. Summerlin Library Theater, www. broadwayboundlv.com

Fundraisers Diamonds Are Forever Gala Jan. 14, 6 p.m. This annual event honors Don and Dee Snyder, with proceeds going to the Las Vegas Philharmonic and its educational programs. The evening includes cocktails, silent and live auctions, dinner and a Saks Fifth Avenue fashion presentation. $500-$10,000.

Four Seasons Hotel, 258-5438 x 221. www.lvphil.com

Black & White Ball Jan. 28. Nevada Ballet Theatre will honor Eva Longoria as its Woman of the Year at their annual fundraiser. Longoria will accept the award among other local celebrities, dignitaries, VIPs and arts supporters. $600-$25,000. ARIA Resort & Casino. www.nevadaballet.com

Venue Guide The Cosmopolitan 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 6987000, www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

Historic Fifth Street School 401 S. Fourth St., 229-6469

The Orleans Showroom Inside The Orleans 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., www.orleanscasino.com

CENTERpiece Gallery In CityCenter 3720 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 736-8790, www.centerpiece.com

House of Blues Inside Mandalay Bay 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., www.hob.com

Reed Whipple Cultural Center 821 Las Vegas Blvd. N., 229-1012

Insurgo’s Bastard Theater 900 E. Karen Ave. D114, www.insurgotheater.org

The Springs Preserve 333 S. Valley View Blvd., 822-7700, www.springspreserve.org

Charleston Heights Arts Center 800 S. Brush St., 229-6383 Clark County Government Center 500 Grand Central Parkway, 455-8239 College of Southern Nevada BackStage Theater, Nicholas J. Horn Theater, Recital Hall, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas, 651-5483, www.csn.edu

Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Centennial Hills, Clark County, Enterprise, Rainbow, Sahara West, Summerlin, Sunrise, West Charleston and Whitney libraries, 734-READ, www.lvccld.org MGM Grand Garden Arena In the MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S., www.mgmgrand.com

UNLV Artemus Ham Hall, Judy Bayley Theater, Beam Music Center Recital Hall, Barrick Museum Auditorium, Black Box Theater, Greenspun Hall Auditorium, Paul Harris Theater, Student Union Theatre.

4505 S. Maryland Parkway, 895-2787, www.unlv.edu Winchester Cultural Center 3130 S. McLeod Dr. 455-7340

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history lesson

w

Dressed down, dressed up

When the Flamingo opened, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was so determined to be classy that he required the staff to wear tuxedoes. One day, or so the story went in “The Green Felt Jungle,” he found a man clad in a tuxedo relaxing on a chaise lounge. Siegel kicked the chair and yelled, “What the hell are you doing? Get back to work, you bum, before I boot your ass.” The man said, “But … I’m a guest!” A decade later, when the Tropicana opened, J. Kell Houssels, Jr., later its owner, recalled how its gourmet restaurant Perino’s required a coat and tie of guests. It didn’t work because “Las Vegas was supposed to be more casual than that,” he said.

64 | Desert

Companion | January 2012

Not on New Year’s Eve, 1948-1949, at the Flamingo, more than a year after Siegel’s involuntary departure from the scene. Not only was everybody dressed up for the occasion, but they had much to celebrate.

Earlier in the year, the Thunderbird had joined the Flamingo, El Rancho Vegas and Hotel Last Frontier on the Strip with hidden investors named Meyer and Jake Lansky. Las Vegas’s population had tripled in a decade, and the postwar boom was on. By this time, their auld acquaintance Bugsy was largely forgotten: Gus Greenbaum, Moe Sedway, Davie Berman, Icepick Willie Alderman and Ben Goffstein, among others, had turned the Flamingo into a highly profitable operation.

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service dinners for 250. The Stan Fulton Building is also home to a hip yet comfortable lounge-style bar available for after-work get togethers. Conveniently located at the edge of the UNLV campus on the corner of Flamingo Road and Swenson, five minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, the Stan Fulton Building is an ideal setting for your special event. Let Executive Chef John Gremo and his talented culinary team deliver an unforgettable dining experience, whether

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For over 30 years, we’ve been helping people define the most important spaces inside and around their homes.

For over 30 years, we’ve been helping people define the most important spaces inside and around their homes. a complimentary designdefine consultation andimportant see what spaces California Closets can dotheir for you.

For Call over us 30today years,for we’ve been helping people the most inside and around homes.

Call us today for a complimentary design consultation and see what California Closets can do for you.

For over 30 years, we’ve been helping people define the most important spaces inside and around their homes.

Call us today for a complimentary design consultation and see what California Closets can do for you.

Call us today for a complimentary design consultation and see what California Closets can do for you.

LAS VEGAS | 7350 Dean Martin at Warm Springs | 702.891.0000 | CaliforniaClosets.com/Las-Vegas LAS VEGAS | 7350 Dean Martin at Warm Springs | 702.891.0000 | CaliforniaClosets.com/Las-Vegas LAS VEGAS | 7350 Dean Martin at Warm Springs | 702.891.0000 | CaliforniaClosets.com/Las-Vegas