Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

ANSWERS: CLARK COUNTY:

Smut racks surface on Grand Central Parkway

It looks like the Clark County Government Center and the Las Vegas Premium Outlet mall across the street have finally arrived.

What do you mean?

They finally have smut racks, those dispensers of “newspapers” with “barely legal” and other ladies in various poses of near undress. On the sidewalks at the corner of South Grand Central Parkway and the entrance to the government center, which is right across the street from the mall, bright red smut racks have been positioned. The racks have been in place for the past couple of months.

Does this really have anything to do, then, with the mall or the government building?

Think of it this way: Bus stop, smut rack. Bus stop, smut rack.

In Las Vegas, it’s simply a matter of course that if you build a bus stop, a smut rack will follow.

The racks are free vending boxes full of brochures, which are mostly vehicles to advertise outcall services. Outcalls are businesses that provide “girls (or guys) direct to your room!” for a fee. They are supposed to just dance and are completely legal — unless they engage in prostitution and get nabbed by undercover vice cops. In Las Vegas, the racks are despised by casino operators on the Strip. Residents mostly ignore them, consider them eyesores, or use them. After all, if they didn’t drum up some business, you’d expect them to disappear. In any case, various entities have tried to get rid of them, but the courts have repeatedly said the racks are a protected expression of free speech.

So why are the racks suddenly appearing by the government building and the outlet mall?

The Regional Transportation Commission has constructed two sleek, new bus stops on the median between the mall and government center for a rapid transit bus line. Remember the adage: bus stop, smut rack.

•••

Speaking of the RTC, will its employees and other county, city and quasi-county workers have the option to use bikes to get from building to building downtown?

The commission board recently approved $53,000 to purchase 25 electric bikes — bikes that don’t have to be pedalled until the juice runs out — from JT’s Bicycle Co. in Henderson. The expense will be reimbursed by the Nevada Transportation Department’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.

The commission had sought bids, which were due Aug. 16, but received none. So by state statute, it picked someone to fulfill the contract without a bid.

JT’s Bicycle’s electric bikes are made by Giant. We found prices online ranging from $1,500 to more than $2,000 each.

Who gets to use them?

Commission spokeswoman Tracy Bower said the bikes will be used by employees of various government entities with offices downtown. The city has agreed to use the bikes as an alternative to city pool vehicles. The commission is also working on similar agreements with the Health District, the Water Authority and the county’s air quality and environmental management department.

Does this mean we’ll be seeing Oscar Goodman, Bombay Sapphire gin in one hand and a handlebar in the other, tooling down Fremont on his way to an RTC meeting at the county building soon? (In 2002, Goodman signed a $100,000 endorsement deal with Bombay Sapphire gin; half the money went to the city; the other half to the Meadows School, co-founded by his wife.)

Let’s hope not.

•••

The controversial Wayne Newton development proposal has a carwash and a tour that includes a visit to the grave site of his first Arabian horse, Aramus.

Where’d you see the details of the plans?

Wayne's World

A jet plane can be seen on the property of entertainer Wayne Newton Tuesday, August 31, 2010. Newton, who lives at Pecos and Sunset roads, may create an attraction at the property which could include a museum and a theater where he'll perform after people complete a tour. STEVE MARCUS / LAS VEGAS SUN Launch slideshow »

In a thick folder of documents filed with the county a week ago. The plans include an entry to his property from Tomiyasu Lane. Neighbors are worried the tourist development will be disruptive. The plans also include a mini airport-like building near his private jet. Tours would begin after people arrive at his museum/gift shop/theater complex north of Sunset. Visitors would then take shuttles across Sunset to Tomiyasu for the tour of his property, Casa de Shenandoah. The documents said the total number of trips to the park, the carwash and the shuttle trips in a day would be about 245. The plans say the theater will show a documentary film all day and “could be used by Wayne Newton at night for special shows.”

Is this going to pass county muster?

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said upcoming neighborhood then Paradise Township board meetings will consider the plans, after which the County Commission will take up the matter. If the county votes against tours of Newton’s property, he added, developers “tell me they are still going to build the theater and the other stuff” north of Sunset. That worries him more, because if people aren’t given tours of the property, he thinks they will get in their cars and drive around the property rubbernecking to get a view from the road. “That’s going to create more traffic than the shuttle tours,” he said.

Has he seen the plans?

Sisolak said he has been told by the chief investor, Texan Steven Kennedy, that they have “no idea” how many people the development could draw.

“But I don’t think this is being done for profit,” he added. “I think this is someone who really respects Newton and wants to create this to preserve Newton’s memory.”

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