Columnist Susan Snyder: Finding solace in headlines

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 | 8:11 a.m.

The following news items have nothing to do with Las Vegas, but they remind us that we aren't always the source of the most ridiculous news in the country:

A guy in Denver has gathered enough signatures to put a measure on the November ballot that would require the Denver City Council to reduce residents' stress.

How did he manage to get enough signatures? He likely garnered support from a few people like me, who would sign such a petition just to see it on the ballot.

I'd be the first in line with a pen if someone stood outside Albertson's next Saturday and asked for signatures to support a measure that would, say, require Clark County commissioners to wear Curious George T-shirts at all commission meetings.

But it's more likely the measure was propelled by low voter turnout in Denver in the city's 1999 mayoral election, which set the number of required signatures at 2,458, USA Today reported. That's a teeny number in a city of 560,000.

One Denver councilman reportedly called it "fantasy and frivolousness," which means it should have been proposed in Las Vegas, where the economy is based on those f-words. "What are we supposed to do, hand out incense sticks at Denver International Airport?" the enraged councilman added.

Incense sticks? Amateurs.

Come to Vegas, Mr. Councilman, and get a load of what we hand out to tourists.

Members of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony have taken a higher road than the city officials who seek to represent their Washoe-Shoshone ancestors.

Tribal council members have told the Associated Press they aren't interested in bickering over a large mural being affixed to Reno's new $40 million events center.

The 50-year-old artwork, taken from a casino that was razed in 1999, depicts an armed band of Indians hiding in some bluffs preparing to attack a covered wagon encampment below.

The tribal chairman shrugged it off as historically inaccurate and more Hollywood than fact. His people, he said, understand that the mural "was something done a long time ago."

Reno Mayor Bob Cashell applauded the position, saying the mural is, after all, "just fun and games."

Maybe it is historically accurate. Downtown Reno seems a perfect place for such a reminder of what we did "a long time ago."

And finally, a woman in Arizona has invented a seat belt for dogs.

Yes, wish I'd thought of it, too.

QuickStay (found at snapback.com) is a shock-absorbing leash that clips to a dog's harness and attaches to the vehicle's existing safety belt.

It "prevents your pet from moving around the car and possibly distracting the driver," which is always especially annoying when you're on the phone or trying to change CDs.

It "also prevents your pet from jumping from the bed of a truck," the website says. Of course, not putting your pet in the back of a pickup to suck exhaust fumes and bake in the sun would be a better idea.

But that doesn't come in two sizes and four colors.

Just don't "forget" you've buckled Fido in the back seat when you visit Starbucks.

I hear they actually charge people for that around here.