Leila Navidi

A light that will be gone in January is the cause of this backup of traffic Tuesday night on beltway.

By Mike Trask (contact)

Mon, Nov 17, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Inside Aliante Station, North Las Vegas’ newest casino, it was all smiles and free drinks during the grand opening celebration on Tuesday.

Outside it wasn’t so much fun, as cars backed up about a half-mile along the Las Vegas Beltway.

It was more of the same on Wednesday as valley residents flocked to North Las Vegas to get a peek at the brand-new casino.

It was good news for Station Casinos, which is opening the $662 million casino during the midst of an economic downturn. (Aliante Station is owned in a partnership with the Greenspun family, which owns the Las Vegas Sun.)

It was bad news for motorists just trying to make their way home or those trying to make a show time at the new movie theaters.

There was a lot of leaning on horns as drivers tried to make it into the parking garage. And out on the westbound Beltway, vehicles were lined down the right-hand shoulder.

Some of those problems will be solved quickly.

Bobby Shelton, a Clark County public works spokesman, said the full freeway is scheduled to open by the end of January, meaning there will be no more traffic signal causing the bottleneck outside Aliante Station.

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Some of the big plans to redevelop downtown Henderson remain in economic limbo, but that doesn’t mean the city is giving up trying to gentrify the 60-year-old Water Street District.

The city is going to help pay for improvements that businesses make to the outsides of their buildings.

Redevelopment manager Michelle Romero said the program could help improve the street’s appearance and create a sense of community pride.

It will be available to commercial building and storefront owners in the redevelopment area around City Hall. Grants will cover up to 50 percent of the cost of improvements up to $3,000, for such things as painting, construction, marquees, doors, windows, lighting and pavement.

These aren’t big-ticket items but they show Henderson is trying to keep the dream alive of turning Water Street into a trendy area. There were aggressive plans for this revitalization two years ago.

However, the efforts downtown have hit several snags during the economic slump. At least five major mixed-use and condominium projects aimed at modernizing the neighborhood are in limbo.

In 2002, the city began a larger facade program to help improve the appearance of Water Street. Many small businesses, including the Eldorado Casino, have used the program to spruce up exteriors.

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One neighborhood in Henderson plans to make noise at the City Council meeting Tuesday.

Residents of neighborhoods near Henderson International School on Sandy Ridge Avenue east of Eastern Avenue are protesting the school’s plan to build dorms to accommodate as many as 60 foreign students on campus.

The Planning Commission has recommended denying a special use permit for the dorms.

Neighbors are worried that high school students living at the school could disrupt the residential area.

School administrators say the students would adhere to a strict academic schedule and be forbidden to leave campus without supervision. The campus on Sandy Ridge serves about 220 students in grades five to 12. Another 600 younger students go to a pair of affiliated campuses elsewhere in the city.

Charges for tuition, room and board in the preparatory school would be at least $30,000, administrators say.