Flashpoint for Nov. 10, 2005

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005 | 8:01 a.m.

Jon Ralston hosts the news discussion program Face to Face with Jon Ralston on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the daily e-mail newsletter RalstonFlash.com. His column for the Las Vegas Sun appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or through e-mail at ralston@vegas.com.

No one else could have generated the interest in Oscar Goodman's "major" announcement downtown Tuesday evening. The mayor's little helpers did not deny he might announce a run for governor -- they even encouraged it to boost attendance. The announcement was substantive -- $100,000 from Bombay Sapphire will go to Larry Ruvo's Alzheimer's clinic think tank. But it was minor compared to what many hoped -- or feared. One wag suggested the think tank could be used to discern how to replace all those brain cells killed by consuming alcohol. Another pointed out: Ruvo has generated little media with his millions in donations; for a hundred grand that's not even his, Goodman reaped a bonanza.