Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Downtown: Government complex?

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, June 1, 2000 | 8:38 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at deskin@lasvegassun.com.

As a longtime city taxpayer, I'm wearying of these pie-in-the-sky schemes designed to revitalize downtown Las Vegas.

Every time a new idea is proposed it costs the taxpayers money. My suggestion would be to forget about the tourists -- leave them to the fabulous attractions on the Strip. Make downtown Las Vegas a huge government center. We already have the Federal building, the Clark County courthouse and detention center with planned expansions, the Clark County government complex and related services, city hall, etc.

By courting all types of governmental facilities -- federal, state and city -- the area could become the hub of officialdom. A natural progression would be the need for office space to house lawyers and accountants and their ilk, plus living accommodations for workers, restaurants and other facilities.

The idea might have a negative effect on some of the casinos, but who ever decreed that city taxpayers were responsible for ensuring their success? I offer my idea without a consultant's fee or other remuneration.

A recent news story told of a miserable wretch who was on parole after serving time for child molestation. He has been charged with abduction and sexual assault of a young girl.

The story took me back to my high school days. There was a friendly old duffer who went by the title of "Judge." He had been a justice of the peace at one time. He always had several young children in his office, where the candy jar was full. Sometimes he would ask the girls to sit on his lap. One day one of the girls told her dad that Judge had fondled her. A short investigation revealed that he had done the same thing with others, frightening them into silence.

It became the talk of the town, but mostly in guarded tones by adults. Suddenly Judge disappeared from the scene. No one knew what happened to him, except possibly some irate parents who would only shrug their shoulders and say, "he decided to leave town." All I know is, Judge was never heard from again. Harsh frontier justice, perhaps. But it worked.

The biggest disappointment of the Binion trial, as far as this writer is concerned, was the immunity apparently given drug dealer Peter Sheridan. He testified that he sold a quantity of heroin to Binion the night before he died.

Sheridan is a drug dealer, for gosh sakes. Why isn't he in jail? One can't help wonder how many other high-scale customers he might have had. I would hope Metro police are keeping him under close surveillance these days.

Some of us seniors who are approaching "geezerhood" were bemoaning the fact that few young people know anything about World War II. As for World War I, forget it. And the Korean War has long been forgotten. As for Vietnam, no one wants to remember.

It is important that young people have knowledge of those times when thousands gave their lives to protect our nation.

The announcement of the opening of the Lowden Veterans Center and Museum, holding relics of America's military history, is good news. The museum is now open weekdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Weekend viewing must be arranged through appointment.

I would hope that teachers will be able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity for historical research through scheduled class visits. Veterans deserve a great deal of credit for this addition to our community. The effort was spearheaded by Ed Gobel and his wife, Caryl, along with Paul and Sue Lowden, who donated the building. The museum is at 3333 Cambridge St.

Las Vegas and Nevada took another hit recently when muckraker.org (Center for Investigative Reporting) posted some stories on the Internet questioning the quality of justice in Nevada.

Basically, their claim was that the judges receive large campaign funds from casinos, thus making it difficult to find a judge without casino ties. The ridiculously long-running eminent domain case of Harry Pappas and his mother, Carol, was cited as an example. It began in 1993. Five district judges have stepped down from the case -- four since February 1999, according to muckraker.org.

Harry Pappas' frustration with the justice system is easy to understand. The entire matter should be put to rest once and for all, if only a judge can be found to preside.

June 15 is the date for filing estimated income taxes for those required to do so. That makes one think about how ridiculous it is now to realize that this country was founded as a protest against taxation.