LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL

Monday, Nov. 6, 2006 | 7:34 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is so determined to keep "smut peddlers" away from the Fremont Street Experience that he is willing to take the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Not only that, if the high court agrees to hear the case, Hizzoner wants to argue it.

"That would be a nice way to cap off my legal career," Goodman said.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected a 1997 city ordinance that prohibited the handing out of leaflets at the Fremont Street Experience.

In 1995 a section of Fremont Street was closed to traffic and transformed into a sort of pedestrian mall. Ownership was eventually transferred to the for-profit Fremont Street Experience LLC.

The city contended that because of the changes, the area was no longer considered a public forum, but the appeals court disagreed.

The objectionable leaflets the city wants to prohibit are the sexually explicit cards, commonly seen on the Las Vegas Strip, handed out indiscriminately to passers-by.

The city contends that such activity disrupts the comfortable environment sought for patrons.

A district judge in Las Vegas agreed with the city that the leaflet distribution was not constitutionally protected because it would disrupt the city's goal of revitalizing downtown businesses.

The appeals court, however, also turned down that argument, ruling the ordinance "regulates protected speech based on its content."

And that decision sets the stage for a potential showdown in the high court.

Las Vegas City Council recently voted to accept the offer of San Diego-based CityMark Development to develop a site at Las Vegas Boulevard and Clark Street.

Mayor Pro Tem and Ward 3 Councilman Gary Reese said he has more confidence in this proposal than several past development plans that never moved forward.

City officials have identified a grocery store as a critical element of downtown revitalization. In addition, city officials also would like the proposed eight-story, mixed-use development to include affordable housing.

The project's total cost is estimated at more than $68 million.

CityMark Development, a major player in downtown redevelopment efforts in San Diego, appears to be taking a similar role in Las Vegas.

The company also has the $167 million Juhl project, another mixed-use development, under construction downtown.

At Wednesday's City Council meeting, city officials proclaimed November as Native American Heritage Month.

Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly and Ward 6 Councilman Steven Ross presented proclamations to members of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.

There also was a performance by the Las Vegas Paiute Native Dance Troupe in the City Hall plaza prior to the council meeting.

American Indians were the valley's first residents. Today there are more than 30,000 American Indians living in the valley.

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