LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL

Monday, Nov. 19, 2007 | 7:05 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who has vowed to lead the fight against massive budget cuts envisioned by Gov. Jim Gibbons, last week was the guest of a group with political clout that far outweighs that of almost any Nevada politician.

The Brookings Institution, the oldest nonpartisan think tank in the country, held a rare trustees meeting outside of Washington, D.C., Thursday, hoping to draw attention to its work. (Brian Greenspun, editor of the Las Vegas Sun, is a Brookings trustee.)

The group is putting together a plan of action aimed at turning the focus of political discourse in this country.

Its core belief is that states of the Intermountain West - Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona - are leading the country demographically and economically. Congress, then, needs to shift its focus to these areas and learn from them as other parts of the country begin to experience similar mega-growth.

Goodman was a local guest, along with Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid and Frank Fahrenkopf, chairman and CEO of the American Gaming Association and former head of the National Republican Party.

The meeting was a closed-door affair. But the group plans to release its report, a "blueprint" for political directives, in the spring.

From the big picture to the minutiae of city government - but really no less important.

When the City Council meets Wednesday, the members will consider changing an ordinance that could shorten council meetings by devoting less time to items already approved by the city's Planning Commission.

The operative word here is "could."

Here's what's happening. To reduce the council's case load of special use permit hearings, Planning Commission decisions on SUPs, as they are called, would be final if the council approves the proposed procedural change this week.

That doesn't mean people with grievances wouldn't have a chance to be heard before the council. The new law includes a provision to allow appeals to the council if a request is put in writing within 10 days of the Planning Commission's vote.

SUPs deal with a variety of matters. During the last council meeting, two weeks ago, SUP requests came for a variety of developments, including billboards, child care facilities, taverns, liquor stores, gas stations and a 64-unit hotel. Of 163 items on the council agenda, about two dozen related to special use permits.

After meeting USA Today betting guru Danny Sheridan, Goodman said he has decided to change the way he bets on sports.

Sheridan told him he can't win by betting on favorites.

Asked if the converse - betting on the underdog - was the rationale for the city picking REI Neon as the potential developer of a downtown arena project, Goodman shook his head. Then he expressed real hope for a National Basketball Association franchise in Las Vegas, taking his cue from NBA Commissioner David Stern, who has gone on the record in the past week as saying he has nothing against Vegas sports books and that, in Goodman's words, "they help and keep the sport legal and legit."

"Those are giant steps for us," Goodman said.

He also noted that Gary Loveman, the CEO of Harrah's who recently purchased 2.4 percent of the Boston Celtics, is required to take only Celtics games off the betting board at Harrah's properties. That's similar to how the casinos deal with UNLV games.

Separately from REI Neon, Harrah's also announced it was going to build an arena suitable for an NBA or NHL team on its property.

"I believe whoever is going to put the first shovel in the ground is going to have a head start in making a deal with the NBA," the mayor said.