Oscar can store the greasepaint for now

Dan Kulin

Monday, April 10, 2006 | 7:04 a.m.

Oscar Goodman's prospects of becoming a reality TV star are "dead in the water," the Las Vegas mayor said last week.

Talk of a Goodman-centered reality show peaked a little more than a year ago, with the mayor reportedly fielding pitches from five different producers at one time.

The plans hit a snag a year ago when the mayor said he would do a show only if he had final say over what would air. Goodman said he wanted the power to remove anything that could be embarrassing to the city. He apparently still had some producers interested.

But on Thursday, Goodman said the lack of any original ideas has left him unwilling to join the reality TV world - at least as a star.

The mayor said the proposals he saw "were all based on 'The Apprentice,' " a reference to the Donald Trump show.

"It's dead in the water at this point," Goodman said. "So far I've told everyone no."

However, Goodman's celebrity and reality TV experience got a boost Thursday when he was visited by representatives from the VH1 series "The Surreal Life."

No details about the meeting were released.

In the political world, Goodman said he will announce within two weeks whether he will run for higher office this year.

Goodman has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate or governor, but he has refused to say whether he will run for either.

Although the mayor said he has already made up his mind, he added that he could still be influenced by whether his son, who now lives on the East Coast, decides to move here.

Recent polls show the Democratic mayor would be a strong candidate in either race.

The Community College of Southern Nevada could receive land for a satellite campus, and northwest Las Vegas residents could get a new park thanks to two city efforts formally launched Wednesday.

The City Council approved an agreement with CCSN that gives the college 18 months to secure funding and the necessary permits for a proposed satellite campus near Durango Drive and U.S. 95.

The city leases the 60 acres from the Bureau of Land Management and will give up that lease under the agreement with CCSN.

In a separate vote, the council authorized city staff to ask the BLM for 100 acres near Washburn Road and Puli Drive, west of Hualapai Way.

Robin Yoakum, who oversees city lands for the Public Works Department, said both transactions are probably at least two years from being finalized.