City Hall - Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas officials seek public input on budget cuts: Nov. 6, 2009; By Dave Toplikar; What should Las Vegas' city government be doing in these tough economic times? And what options should the city take in January to cut the city's budget by $25 million for this fiscal year?

Decision expected on sports arena before two-year deadline: Nov. 5, 2009; By Dave Toplikar; The buzzer sounds in two years on a study looking into whether Las Vegas' downtown will get a new sports arena.

With revenues falling, city of Henderson likely to see layoffs: Nov. 5, 2009; By Erin Dostal; In Henderson, consolidated tax revenues continue to be lower than projected, and the city is likely to implement layoffs and program cuts early next year, a city spokesman said. Consolidated tax revenue — sales and other taxes allotted to Henderson by the state — for August were about 23 percent lower than those reported in August 2008. It was the largest month-over-month decrease on record.

For the record, commissioner offers passionate defense: Nov. 5, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; Former Councilman Larry Brown was always among the cooler characters on the Las Vegas City Council. In contrast to Mayor Oscar Goodman with his outbursts and lectures, Brown usually laid out the facts in measured tones.

Cordish projects include sports-anchored developments: Nov. 4, 2009; By Mark Whittington; The Baltimore-based Cordish Co. boasts that it's "one of the largest and most respected developers in the world."

City found at fault in tennis court defects case: Nov. 3, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; State-appointed arbitrators have found that Las Vegas managers “knew from the beginning” that their plans for the Darling Memorial Tennis Center were defective — long before the center’s cracked courts launched a costly, four-year legal dispute.

Jail filling up, suburb to try new approach: Oct. 31, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; In an effort to save money and reduce crowding in an often filled-up local jail, Henderson is set to establish an Alternative Sentencing Division at its next City Council meeting. The new division would be responsible for supervising misdemeanor probationers.

Goodman: 20,000-seat downtown arena could lure NBA team: Oct. 29, 2009; By Dave Toplikar; Las Vegas could be moving down the court a little faster on a 20,000-seat downtown sports arena. That's what Mayor Oscar Goodman said today on his plans to have the City Council next week look at an exclusive contract with The Cordish Companies to start planning it out.

City may cut license fee to spur arts area nightlife: Oct. 25, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; Three years ago, Las Vegas created a new business designation — the “urban lounge,” a kind of cross between a bar and a nightclub tailored to the downtown arts crowd. But no such lounges have opened, even though at least four have been approved by the City Council.

Pet sterilization. Not mandatory, yet: Oct. 21, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; Last year more than 55,000 stray animals landed at local shelters. Experts say those numbers, if unchecked, will continue to rise in this economy, as home foreclosures prompt some owners to abandon pets and the downturn spurs unlicensed animal breeders to chase quick profits. The Las Vegas City Council will today introduce what would be the toughest spay-and-neuter ordinance in the region.

Council support for mayor’s pet project might be slipping: Oct. 18, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; Mayor Oscar Goodman has faced down his share of threats to his plans for a new city hall.

Nevada city, county leaders meet in Henderson for summit: Oct. 15, 2009; By Jeremy Twitchell; Leaders of cities and counties throughout Nevada gathered in Henderson Wednesday afternoon to discuss how they can respond to Nevada’s changing political and financial landscape.

Las Vegas city auditor on the lookout for fraud, waste: Oct. 13, 2009; By Sam Skolnik; As the recession has deepened and the city’s budget has tightened, Las Vegas officials have emphasized streamlining the bureaucracy, including launching new programs focused on cost savings. A compelling argument can be made that the city has for just over a decade had an office dedicated to improving efficiency: the Las Vegas city auditor’s office, headed by Radford Snelding.

Henderson City Council appoints Kirk as mayor pro-tem: Oct. 7, 2009; By Jeremy Twitchell; The City Council unanimously appointed Councilman Steve Kirk as mayor pro-tem. As mayor pro-tem, it will be Kirk’s duty to lead meetings in Mayor Andy Hafen’s absence. Kirk narrowly lost to Hafen in June’s mayoral race, with 49.9 percent of the vote to Hafen’s 50.1 percent.

Henderson gives group home final OK, neighbors miffed: Oct. 7, 2009; By Jeremy Twitchell; The operators of a group home that the city mistakenly licensed earlier this year in a rural Henderson neighborhood won approval from the City Council Tuesday night to continue operation, to the chagrin of neighbors and some Council members alike. The City Council approved a use permit for Sweet Home Belmont, located within the Serene Country Estates rural preservation neighborhood, by a 3-2 vote.

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