Television show vehicle for improving image

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1999 | 10:09 a.m.

If you are waiting for the bus in North Las Vegas today and it passes you by in a blur, you may not want to waste your time sprinting after it.

Chances are the runaway bus is carrying the staff of "Las Vegas Now!" the local television show that has just begun filming.

ATC/Vancom, which operates Citizen Area Transit, has donated a CAT bus to transport the television crew around the city, touching base at Cheyenne and Mojave high schools to tape segments for Saturday's show.

"Las Vegas Now!" will be returning to the airwaves Saturday for its new season of 13 half-hour shows, but at a new time and station.

Hosted by Chamber of Commerce Director Laura Coleman, the show may now be seen at 8:30 a.m. Saturdays on KVWB Channel 21, Cox cable Channel 12. Cox cable channel 4, the local public-access channel, will air reruns of the show throughout the week.

The show's creation stems from an effort to erase the negative image some have about the city by showcasing various businesses and local events, Coleman said.

Mayor Michael Montandon adds a weekly "State of the City Address."

"Every time we hear people say that they don't want to go to 'Northtown,' we just cringe," said Coleman, referring to the city's informal moniker that evokes in many people's minds homeless shelters, gangs, drugs and street crimes.

"Our goal is to enhance the image of the city and take down those barriers."

Funding for the show comes mainly from advertising although the city has pitched in almost $40,000 for the past two programs, she said. The first set of 13 shows ran from September 1998 through December, and the second from April through July.

Coleman has raised more than $74,000 from sponsors and corporations to pay for this new season. She estimates it will cost $14,000 to run the show for 13 weeks. The city has signed a yearlong contract with Channel 21.

"We plan on keeping the show really fast-paced but as interesting as possible," she said.

North Las Vegas officials are in the preliminary stages of looking into other broadcast options, perhaps on location in the council chambers.

Channel 4 is currently used by Clark County, Las Vegas and Boulder City to broadcast council, commission, and planning commission meetings along with event calendars and documentaries on local history and government agencies.

A new franchise agreement with Cox Communications gives Henderson and North Las Vegas the right to share a new cable channel as of Jan. 1, Cox Vice President Steve Schorr said.

Michele Richardson, assistant to the North Las Vegas city manager, said broadcast options are being discussed little by little, and that some research has been conducted.

"Right now, we're looking into the feasibility (of broadcasting meetings), but we haven't examined internally what our program options are," she said. "We are continuing to research what is available to us."