Columnist Jeff German: Officials betting on bigger cut of funding

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 5:04 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

January 24 - 25, 2004

WITH THE Super Bowl one week away, everybody's talking about homeland security again.

The Super Bowl is the biggest betting weekend of the year on the Strip, so authorities naturally are a bit nervous given the notoriety Las Vegas received as a potential terrorist target over Christmas and New Year's.

Sheriff Bill Young says such New Year's Eve security precautions on the Strip as a no-fly zone, barricaded streets and random searches of partygoers aren't likely to occur this time -- unless American intelligence sources pick up word that al-Qaida is planning to send Las Vegas its regards.

Sure, the Strip will be overflowing with visitors next weekend, but unlike New Year's Eve there won't be one giant block party televised live to the nation. So these kinds of high-profile security measures won't be needed.

We also currently are under a lower, but still-heightened, yellow alert status, except at McCarran International Airport, which is in a zone somewhere between yellow and orange. I like to call it mango. But some security officials, I'm told, prefer to call it tequila sunrise.

Though their efforts on the whole will be more low-key for the Super Bowl, law enforcement authorities still plan to be extra vigilant next weekend.

That should keep the buzz alive in their never-ending push for more money from Tom Ridge's Homeland Security Department in Washington.

You might recall that in May Las Vegas was left off a Homeland Security Department list of 30 cities that shared $500 million in special urban area anti-terrorism funds, even though we were discussed as a possible target by a sleeper al-Qaida cell in Detroit. We were told that cities such as Memphis, Tampa and Sacramento, which made the list, faced greater terrorism threats than Las Vegas.

After much complaining by the sheriff and by Jerry Bussell, Nevada's homeland security chief, Ridge's office adjusted its funding formula for 2004.

It put Las Vegas on its new and expanded list of 50 cities deserving anti-terrorism funds. We now rank 25th and are getting $10.5 million of the $725 million handed out this year in Washington. Memphis slipped to 32 on the list, Tampa 35 and Sacramento 41.

Call it progress, but not very impressive progress considering Las Vegas was on Ridge's mind during the holidays. Ridge publicly mentioned the city in the same breath as New York and Washington as places that were told to beef up security.

An additional two-dozen FBI agents were sent to town to pore over hotel guest lists, radiation monitors were set up to detect dirty bombs, and military helicopters were dispatched to hover over the New Year's Eve celebration.

All the while intelligence sources were speculating in the national media about possible terrorist plots against Las Vegas.

After New Year's went off without a hitch, Ridge even felt compelled to telephone Young to congratulate him for keeping the Strip safe during the festivities.

There's been quite a fuss lately over a city that less than a year ago wasn't even on the radar screen of the bureaucrats doling out the anti-terrorism funds. It should be a big enough fuss for Strip oddsmakers to make Las Vegas a heavy favorite to move up again on next year's funding list.

Young and Bussell insist we should be among the 10 cities most deserving of anti-terrorism money. "From what we experienced over the holidays, I'd say we're in the top 10," Young says. Adds Bussell: "The potential for terrorism became a reality for Las Vegas during the holidays. We definitely should be in the Top 10."

In the No. 10 spot this year is Jersey City, which is receiving $17.1 million from the Homeland Security Department. No. 5 San Francisco is getting $26.5 million, and New York, which is at the top of the list, is picking up $47 million.

So there's a lot more funding for Las Vegas to rightfully seek in the future.

It would be nice if we had no reason to make Ridge's list at all. But as long as we keep hearing the words al-Qaida and Las Vegas together, we might as well keep moving up the list.