Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008 | 2 a.m.
Clark County officials performed something of an Abbott and Costello routine at Tuesday’s county commission meeting.
The confusion wasn’t over who’s on first, though. It was over who owned a small park near Lynwood Street and Karen Avenue.
Why was there confusion?
Back in 1999 Nevada Power Company donated about a quarter of an acre next to its Lynwood substation to the county. County commissioners accepted the donation and turned it into a small park.
As the county’s parks department looked to save some money, it decided to get rid of the park. There are other parks nearby and Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, whose district includes the park, said it’s not used by anyone but drug dealers. The parks department anticipates saving $21,000 annually in maintenance costs.
But when county officials began looking into transferring the property back to Nevada Power, they found that the property had never been legally transferred to the county. Oops.
So, commissioners Tuesday formally gave back the land it never owned, a concept that perplexed some.
“It looks like we were giving some land away we didn’t own or we are taking back some land we didn’t give away. I’m just trying to understand this item,” Commissioner Tom Collins said.
County parks Director Leonard Cash answered: “Kind of, sort of.”
Are candidates for the county commission allowed to get free publicity via the county’s public television station?
No, but that prohibition doesn’t kick in until May, when candidates must formally file for office.
In the meantime, you’ll see Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown on Clark County Television Channel 4. Brown, who is running for Commissioner Chip Maxfield’s seat, is getting some face time on the county’s station thanks to his position as chairman of the Regional Flood Control District. The district broadcasts a half-hour show on the station once or twice a day except Sundays.
The current episode features Brown chatting about the flood district’s history. Betty Hollister, the district’s spokeswoman, said Brown often appears on the show.
It’s a sensitive issue. Former Commissioner Dario Herrera came under fire in 2000 during his unsuccessful run for Congress when he made a public service announcement on the county’s government access station to tout a new county prescription drug plan.
The county implemented a policy in early 2001 banning appearances by candidates who have filed for office.
But with filing still more than two months away, Brown is on safe ground for now. He said his appearances on the channel will cease when he formally files.
His opponent, Assemblywoman Valerie Weber, said she hadn’t seen Brown’s appearance but would be monitoring it.
“We have seen in the past that there have been individuals who have abused that,” she said.
What’s the latest development at Child Haven?
The county is opening a new family visitation center at the shelter for abused, neglected and abandoned children near Pecos and Bonanza roads.
The center will be child-friendly with private rooms and age-appropriate toys. The idea is to provide a neutral site for foster children to visit with their biological relatives. County family services staff will be on hand to coach parents on appropriate interactions.
“Frequent visitation is highly correlated with improved functioning and stability of children as well as facilitating the rate of reunification,” said Tom Morton, the county’s director of family services.
The visitation center was scheduled to open Saturday.
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