LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006 | 7:41 a.m.

What a difference a month makes.

At the Sept. 6 Las Vegas City Council meeting, Ward 1 Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian said she could not support zoning waivers to allow a massage establishment to open in her district.

"I represent a ward (in which) the residents are absolutely sick of the number of waivers that are given," she said. "I feel very strongly about this. I would hope that my motion would be respected and that you find another place."

Yet less than a month later Tarkanian asked the council to approve the waivers, which the five members present at Wednesday's meeting unanimously did.

The requests included waiving a requirement that the business be 400 feet from a school and another requiring it be 1,000 feet from an existing massage establishment.

Steve Cook, owner of the business, said he had already signed a lease and stood to lose $30,000 if the waivers weren't granted. Cook, whose company operates other massage establishments in the area, did not explain why he signed the lease before the waivers were granted.

At the September council meeting Tarkanian was persuaded by Ward 4 Councilman Larry Brown to push off the item for 30 days and investigate the proposal further. The property in question was in Brown's ward prior to the Aug. 6 redistricting.

Tarkanian said it was feedback from a staffer, who was sent to a similar establishment for a massage, that convinced her to change her stance.

While the massage might have soothed the staffer, Tarkanian's change of heart could have the opposite effect on the Ward 1 residents she spoke of in the September meeting.

Students from several high schools got an up-close look at the workings of city government when they shared the dais with city leaders at Wednesday's council meeting.

Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly invited the seven students, who participated in the Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit at the West Las Vegas Library on Sept. 29.

The students were introduced individually before the council meeting and sat alongside council members during the session.

Weekly said the visit was an opportunity for students to see city government in action but it was also a chance to recognize young people involved in positive activities, such as the leadership summit.

"I really think we focus too much attention on the bad kids and continue to overlook the good ones," Weekly said.

More than 130 area students attended the leadership summit, which covered a range of topics, including money management, leadership and social responsibility and goal setting.

The summit and the council were part of the city's recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month.