Who ya’ gonna call?

By Damon Hodge

Thursday, June 19, 2008 | midnight

Name:

Gary Peck

Title:

Executive director

Group:

American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada

Area(s) of impact:

Civil, human and constitutional rights

Victories:

Successfully defended free speech on the Strip and the Fremont Street Experience; pressured the Las Vegas City Council to dump a provision that criminalized any homeless person sleeping near feces.

Name:

Allen Lichtenstein

Title:

General counsel

Group:

American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada

Area(s) of impact:

Civil, human and constitutional rights

Victories:

Couching Peck’s verbosity in easy-to-understand legal terms.

Name:

Linda Lera Randle-El

Title:

Founder and director

Group:

Straight from the Streets

Area(s) of impact:

Combating homelessness

Victories:

She feeds people, clothes them and helps them access social services.

Name:

Gail Sacco

Title:

Homeless advocate

Group:

Has worked with Food Not Bombs

Area(s) of impact:

Combating hunger

Victories:

Bringing the plight of the homeless into clear view politically. As a result of her homeless feedings at city parks, the council passed an ordinance in 2006 making it illegal to share food with indigents in any city park.

Name:

Jane Feldman

Title:

Energy chair

Group:

Sierra Club—Toiyabe Chapter (Nevada, Eastern California)

Area(s) of impact:

Preserving the environment and wildlife.

Victories:

Forcing concessions from the Federal Highway Administration and the Nevada Department of Transportation on the widening of U.S. 95 near Decatur (pollution monitoring and air filtration systems at nearby schools; funds to reduce school bus diesel emissions, etc.)