Category: random

There is a little known character that helped shape Nevada’s history, which seems to have been lost in the Mob-land story of Las Vegas.  Nola Hahn established himself as a leading expert on designing gambling pits that could be hidden away by panels or other camouflaging contraptions in case of a bust.

This was during the days of the Volstead Act, prohibition, speakeasies and the Club Continental in Los Angeles was his crowning glory.  By 1938, Hahn ended his partnership in the club having bought the Trocadero from Billy Wilkerson, who was none other than the man who founded the Hollywood Reporter, the Flamingo Hotel and discovered actress Lana Turner.

Hahn’s timing for the purchase wasn’t very good as later that year Los Angeles Mayor Frank Shaw, whose administration is seen as one of the most corrupt in the city’s history, was recalled and Fletcher Bowron was voted in as his successor.  Bowron ran on the platform of a crackdown on vice, which was part of what he called the Los Angeles Urban Reform Revival.

Hahn kept the Trocadero for a couple of years, then sold it and headed for Las Vegas, where he opened the Colony Restaurant in 1942, preceding Bugsy Siegel, who didn’t seek legitimacy until 1946 with Wilkerson’s Flamingo. Originally, Siegel came to Southern Nevada in 1934, but he could imagine any potential for organized crime in the desert.

Within a few years Hahn became the guy to go to when it came to designing legal gambling clubs. Unfortunately, there’s little of anything about him after that, other than he committed suicide in 1957 at the age of 60.

2000

The Easterner in a praire schooner
Venturing overland America,
Living, luck and lonliness viewing
A field broken only by trees.

Winds creating waves in the grass,
Splashing against the waiting woods.
Seas upon a shoreline rock,
Venturing overland — America.

“There has to be something to it,” his mom said as she took a drag on her cigarette.

She sat silently waiting for Chad to reply, but he didn’t say a thing. He was too hurt.

This was not the first time this conversation had come up and from the looks of things, it probably wouldn’t be the last. Chad couldn’t figure out why his very own mother couldn’t see what was happening.

He figured that if anyone were intuitive enough to see that since all of his siblings were talking to the same counselor then there had to be some sort of brain washing going on.

Chad shook his head, “So you believe that shit, too?”

“Well, if all three of them claim the same thing,” his mother said.

“But that’s the point,” he responded, “their stories are all too pat. All the same…”

“It doesn’t matter,” she interrupted, “because it had to have happened!”

Chad sighed as he gave up, knowing it was hopeless.

His mother entrenched herself in the idea that he had molested Kurt, and his two sisters, April and Liz. And it was obvious Chad was going to be unable to change her position.

All this started after April’s operation to remove some tumors in her lower abdomen. When the doctors operated they discovered her hymen ruptured and somehow April came to point the finger at Chad.

It was a convenient accusation since their parents were in the middle of a nasty divorce and Chad had invited his old man to come live with him. He couldn’t stand seeing his dad living in his car in a parking lot.

Of course Chad had no way of knowing of the accusations against him, as he was busy with his own life. He had been out of the country when their mom took the kids and moved to Coos Bay, some one-hundred or more miles away.

By the time Chad heard the rumor he had molested any of his siblings, he was getting ready to get married. He had invited his brother to Brookings to spend the night before his fiancée Jenny, Kurt and he left on the long drive to Reno.

The two had been up late into the night drinking beer, when they decided to take a walk around the tiny town. It was a chilly January night and both of blew breath smoke into the darkness as they walked and talked.

“You know,” Kurt started, “I’ll never forgive you for molesting me.”

Stunned, Chad looked at him and asked, “What?!”

Kurt repeated himself, “I’ll never forgive you for molesting me.”

Chad didn’t know what to say, so he continued walking in silence. He tried desperately to think of anything to say, but nothing came to mind.

He was in shock, then Chad thought, “Perhaps it the beer talking.”

That was the beginning of the rumors and stories that he had misused his brother and sisters. Chad tried not to think of it, but every time he visited his mom, the subject either came up or one of his siblings would show up and make certain to ignore him.

Chad’s youngest sister Liz even went so far as to name him as the person the Coos County Sheriffs Department wanted for suspicion of child molestation. It was a Friday morning when they knocked on the front door of his mobile home.

When Chad answered, three officers rushed in and pushed him to the ground. As one hand cuffed him and another read to him his Miranda warning, another informed him that he was under arrest for child molestation on a warrant out of San Francisco.

When they rolled him over, the three realized they had the wrong man, who was unfortunate enough to have the same name as the bad guy they were looking for. It took nearly 48-hours to clear the mess up.

The three officers, thoroughly admonished by Judge Gillespie, apologized before heading back to California. In the meantime, the judge told Chad he ought to cut all ties with Liz, as painful as it might be.

Then a year before moving into a new home, Kurt and Chad stopped talking after a fist fight erupted in their mother’s home. The brother’s didn’t speak to each other even when their step-father died two-months later or as their mom lay dying in the hospital almost six-years afterwards.

It wasn’t until a late evening in November nearly seven-years since their fight that Kurt called the house looking for Chad. Intoxicated, he wanted to talk.

Again the subject of molestation came up; only this time Kurt wanted an apology from Chad.  However, he refused to say sorry for something he did not do.

Chad responded, “I don’t know the name of that shrink you kids were seeing, but if I ever find out…”

He was abruptly cut off, “Then let’s just forget about it, but I won’t forgive you.”

All Chad could do was shake his head and say, “Okay — fine, whatever.”

Eventually, he knew though he’d have to let all three of his siblings go.

“There is just no way I can continue to let them do this to me,” Chad told himself as he hung up the telephone.

A state judge in Carson City says he’ll rule quickly on whether a Nevada tax initiative pushed by the teachers union and other labor groups is legally sound. Either way, lawyers say the case is likely headed to the state Supreme Court.

The Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs argues that the Education Initiative is misleading, despite being rewritten once, and is therefore invalid. District Judge James Wilson earlier this year ruled the initial measure violated the state’s single subject rule for petitions. Organizers then rewrote it.

The margins tax proposal seeks to impose a 2 percent tax on businesses grossing more than $1 million. Backers say they’ve already gathered 55,000 to 60,000 signatures needed to send the measure to the 2012 Legislature but need a total of 72,000 signatures by November 13th.

And with early voting set to start next weekend, the voter registrar of Nevada’s second most populous county has been placed on temporary medical leave. Washoe County Registrar Dan Burk is off the job after undergoing intestinal surgery earlier this week.

Officials say he’s doing well and is expected to return to his job in about two weeks by the November 6th general election.

During Burk’s absence, his assistant, Luanne Cutler, will be filling in for him and says the registrar’s office is well prepared for the election. Early voting begins October 20th.

Lastly, environmental groups are applauding the federal government’s new plan setting aside 445 square miles of public land in the West for the development of large-scale solar power plants. The 17 new “solar energy zones” will be established in six states icluding Nevada.

The Interior Department will direct solar power development to land it has identified as having fewer wildlife and natural-resource obstacles and that is near power lines. The plan replaces the department’s previous first-come, first-served system of approving solar projects. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said the effort will help the U.S. stay competitive.

The other day my wife, Mary and I were discussing the professional painter we had out to the house to give us an estimate on slapping some new color on the exterior. And somehow I got tossed under the bus.

Mary told me that the person who recommended him said “He’s not the best painter in the world, but he’ll get the job done.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, it means he’ll not the best – but he’ll do a good job,” she responded.

“I don’t get that,” I shot back.

“Let me put it this way,” she returned, “You’re not the best radio announcer but you get the job done, right?

“Oh,” was all that I could say.

At first I wanted to be mad, then I wanted to pout, then I thought about it. Damn it, I hate it when she’s right.

Nevada’s top election official is urging voters to verify their registration status to make sure their eligibility to vote in the November 6th election.  Secretary of State Ross Miller says an investigation by his Elections Integrity Task Force found no widespread evidence that voter registration fraud in Nevada.

But Miller says there may be isolated incidents where paperwork was destroyed or not submitted for people who registered through a third-party group. While the deadline to register online or by mail has passed, voters have until October 16th to register or update their information in person at their county election office.

Miller adds that investigations into registration fraud allegations are ongoing, and anyone with evidence that their form was destroyed should contact his office.

Meanwhile, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is campaigning in Nevada for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Romney campaign says Martinez will appear at three events Saturday in the Las Vegas area, starting with a rally at Romney’s state campaign headquarters.

Martinez, the nation’s first Hispanic female governor, will greet voters at a campaign office in eastern Las Vegas and there will be an event in the suburban community of Henderson. The governor fluently speaks Spanish and could help Romney reach out to Hispanics, which account for 27 percent of Nevada’s population.

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Senator Dean Heller met for a second time as they battle for the seat now held by Heller. The Republican has expanded his lead over his democrat challenger, according to a new poll by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that shows Heller ahead 47 percent to 39 percent in the senate race. the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

The Berkley campaign dismisses the poll out of hand, claiming it’s flawed

Then there’s this — accusations of campaign untruths and distortions dominated a taped debate between Democratic state Senator Steven Horsford and Republican businessman Danny Tarkanian just 26 days before voters decide who’ll represent Nevada’s new 4th congressional district. Nearly each time the Vegas PBS camera turned to Tarkanian, he accused Horsford of misrepresenting his positions on issues including immigration, abortion, economic policies and Social Security.

Horsford, in return, accused Tarkanian of “not being very clear or honest.”

As this played out across the state’s airways, Tarkanian downplayed legal moves by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. which has begun seizing his Nevada assets. A federal judge in California signed a $17 million judgment in May against Tarkanian and his family, seeking repayment of a real estate loan Tarkanian and others guaranteed for a developer.

Lawyers for the FDIC argue that Tarkanian’s lawyers missed an Oct. 8 deadline to file an opposition to the seizure, resulting in a default. Tarkanian says his lawyer missed the deadline when his father died.

Speaking of Horsford, President Obama is endorsing him in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District race.  A Obama statement calls the state senate majority leader a “tireless and outspoken advocate for Nevada’s middle class families.”

Finally, Nevada’s foreclosure rate remains fifth in the nation after big drops in activity compared with last year. RealtyTrac reported Nevada’s September foreclosure rate is down 19% from August and down more than 75% from the same time last year. The drop reflects the national foreclosure picture for the month of September.

RealtyTrac reports the state also saw its lowest total number of foreclosure filings nationally since July 2007.

It began in the early morning hours, shortly after I got home from the radio station. My wife fixed me a large salad and an even bigger plate of ‘nitro’ chicken wings.

It took me about an hour to eat everything and wash it down with a couple of bottles of my favorite sports drink. By the time I’d finished – I was feeling uncomfortable.

And even though I had taken an antacid and even waited before laying down, by the time my head hit the pillow I was still feeling uncomfortable. It took me a couple of hours to finally fall asleep.

Hey, I did it to myself and I know better.

When I woke up, I was still feeling ‘sickly’ to my stomach, so after getting showered and dressed, I asked our room-mate Kay if she’d fix me an Alka-Seltzer. She said that it would be no problem.

Kay handed me a small plastic cup with the effervescing liquid in it and without a second thought, I slugged it down. Instantly, I knew something was off about what I’d jus’ taken.

That’s when it struck me: Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus. I take the stuff only when I’m sick and need a real good nights sleep, because it knocks me on my butt.

Arrgh and oh, no!  She had given me the wrong stuff.

Now to understand fully, I was already tired from a lack of sound sleep and now I was ‘medicined’ and still had a full night of work ahead of me. I knew I was in for a struggle.

The entire evening into the early morning hours was like living in a slow-motion bubble for me. I had to concentrate twice as hard on not making mistakes as I normally do. Further, I had to keep in mind much of the stuff I do simply by rote.

Once home, I went straight to bed and slept a good part of nine-hours.

Then the phone rang.  It was Kay, wanting to tell me she had jus’ learned from a co-worker about what’s printed on the box the Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus comes in :  WARNING: As may produce drowsiness, do not drive an automobile or use heavy equipment after taking.

I told her, “I’m going back to bed for a while to think on it.”

On my way to work, a guy in an old pickup was jus’ ahead of me on Pyramid. He had an Australian shepherd in the bed of the truck – two legs on the tool box and two legs on top of the cab’s roof.

While approaching the traffic light at Los Altos, I decided change lanes, anticipating he’d be slower than me going up the coming hill. Jus’ then a car blew through the yeild sign coming from the Walmart, forcing the truck’s driver to stomp hard on his brakes.

The sudden stop caught the shepherd by surprise, as it was tossed over the roof and hood of the truck.  The dog landed in the roadway and rolled a few times.

For a couple of seconds, I thought the dog was toast. But after the third or perhaps forth tumble, he scrambled to his feet.

Without missing a beat he raced back to the still moving truck and jumped in the vehicles bed. He immediately put his front legs on top of the roof and hind legs on the tool box.

As I passed by, the dog looked over at me. And though I know animals can’t speak, I swear I heard him in his thick Aussie brogue shout, “Pretty effing cool, huh?”

Nevada’s secretary of state has referred complaints against Americans for Prosperity to the attorney general’s office for prosecution of alleged violations of state campaign finance laws. Americans for Prosperity is an issue advocacy group founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

The Nevada Democratic Party filed a complaint with Secretary of State Ross Miller in August, arguing the group hadn’t registered or disclosed its finances. That complaint focused on mailers sent before the June primary targeting Democratic Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson in his state Senate race.

Three other complaints have since been filed against the group. Americans for Prosperity has called the most recent complaint frivolous.

Meanwhile, state education officials say Nevada is being awarded a $21 million federal grant over seven years to continue an education program designed to help low-income and disadvantaged students prepare for college. The Gaining Early Awareness and Education for Undergraduate Programs, also known as GEAR UP, helps provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools to make students better prepared for college.

Nevada officials say 4,000 Nevada students have benefited from $30 million in federal GEAR UP grants received over the past 11 years. They say the renewal of the grant will help another 5,000 students over the next seven years.

And finally, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell is recuperating after undergoing scheduled heart surgery on Tuesday. A family spokesman says the 74-year old Cashell is resting comfortably at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center after surgery to replace a heart valve. He’s expected  to remain hospitalized for several days, and then will recuperate at home.

Cashell is a former Nevada lieutenant governor and university regent. He was elected mayor in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 and 2010.

His current term expires in 2014.

Every couple of years we are given a civil project to complete by a certain deadline. It’s called voting.

We have to research our subjects, whether they are candidates or issues, and educate ourselves on the positions we find most important to ourselves, our families, neighborhoods, communities, towns, cities, counties, states and our country.  We have to do this work and cannot rely on others to do this for us.

After all, in the end, you and I will be the ones taking the final exam and not those who we might appoint to give us the answers we seek and need. Friends, family, co-workers, educators and not even the media is held accountable for our vote, whatever vote that might be.

So do your own homework. Find a place to start and work from there.

Look over all the issues, angles and variables towards your final decision and remember – the more you know the better equipped you are to hold politicians everywhere accountable to the citizens they represent and work for. The final grade comes as you stand in the voting booth and exercise your freedom.