Joe Schoenmann

Reporter/Clark County

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County budget cuts expected, but how much?: Furloughs, buyouts and a hiring freeze aren’t likely to be enough to fill county’s budget gap; Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009; County budget crunchers delivered a prediction Tuesday that might spur department chiefs to look harder for ways to save money. The county’s eye-opener was a projected budget deficit of $129 million next fiscal year, which begins July 1. With the average county employee earning about $90,000 annually in salary and benefits, the county would have to lay off about 1,400 of its 12,000 employees to reach $129 million.
'Stripper-mobile' with live dancers raises safety, decency concerns: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009; Even the men who hand out “nude girls direct to your room” cards stopped their hawking long enough to do some gawking at the “stripper-mobile” as it rolled down the Strip on Monday night. It’s akin to a small U-Haul truck but with Plexiglas surrounding the brightly lit cargo area instead of walls. In the middle is a gleaming stripper pole. Swinging around the pole is a scantily clad young woman. Two of her fellow strippers are in the back of the truck too, awaiting their turns.
Commissioner grills officials on bid process: Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009; The wrangling over bids for county contracts continues to be an issue for county commissioners — and provided one of them with a “Perry Mason” moment during last week’s meeting.
County considers suing over travel Web site room taxes: Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009; As other parts of the country win tens of millions of dollars in court judgments against online tourism companies, Clark County commissioners are talking about following suit. At issue is the amount of hotel room taxes paid by online travel sites.
Competition for county work worth a look?: Commissioners say maybe, but they raise several questions; Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009; The “runaway” costs of unionized employees have municipalities across the nation considering “managed competition,” which forces public employee unions to compete for their public jobs.
Pay increase is only for some under DA: As court reinstates raises of most-senior prosecutors, it takes away pay hikes for their lowest-paid colleagues; Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009; Clark County’s highest paid prosecutors are getting the raises they fought for this year, but their less experienced colleagues are paying the price.
Likely cost of state mandate on marking sewer lines: $700,000: Two high-tech trucks that would find sewer laterals carry that price tag; Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009; Laterals have to be located and marked due to a law passed by the 2009 Legislature. A lateral is the pipe that extends from the sewer main in the middle of the street to a home or business. Homes in other states have exploded when those sewer laterals were accidentally breached and the gas was sparked.
Budget cuts could thin the ranks of foster parents: State budget squeeze spurs county to propose lower stipends for families; Friday, Oct. 30, 2009; Having taken in some 200 foster children over the past 11 years, Jeanmarie Schirling knows the rewards of providing a safe home and some measure of joy to children who have known so little happiness.
Sabra Smith-Newby, Clark County Director Of Administrative Services: The county's chief in-house lobbyist on the state's brutal legislative session; Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009; A soft-spoken Clark County employee was in the middle of the no-holds-barred brawl between Clark County and the state Legislature this year, when the state was trying to take the county’s money and the county was trying to keep it.
Employees get OK to switch unions — and 3% raises: Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009; With no comment, Clark County commissioners approved what amounts to about 3 percent raises for 16 employees of the Clark County Fire Department last week.
Commissioners keep park for disabled off funding list: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009; An effort to build a park for people with disabilities was set back this week when county officials decided not to put it on a federal funding list despite Sen. John Ensign’s all but guaranteeing he would secure millions more to get the park completed.
Low bidder loses out to county workforce: One commissioner calls decision ‘ridiculous,’ says process undermines concept of free enterprise; Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009; In what one Clark County commissioner called a classic example of the sometimes ridiculous way government operates, the county solicited and opened bids for a project only to decide Tuesday to do the work in-house at a higher cost. The county has about 40,000 manholes, which the county calls “access structures” because “manhole” is politically incorrect.
Spies of the valley: Real-life 007s — and Q Branches — who have retired to Las Vegas recount their missions; Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009; The old spies who live among us have their own organization and meet every couple of months at Nellis Air Force Base. One of the leaders of the group, retired Army Col. John Alexander, was the basis for the George Clooney character in “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” which hits theaters in early November. But each of the 40 or so active members of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers’ Las Vegas chapter could be turned into a film character. Sully De Fontaine, for example, is a former World War II OSS member who, as a teen, twice jumped behind enemy lines.
Judge delays action on 215 Beltway project: Monday, Oct. 19, 2009; A federal judge this morning ordered the Clark County Commission not to vote Tuesday on bids for a $100 million-plus highway project. Federal Court Judge Robert Jones scheduled a Nov. 2 hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction.
Paving bid conflict issue is back in court: Judge barred action by Commissioner Collins, who now wants same judge to delay a new vote; Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009; Word in the county building was that Commissioner Tom Collins’ lawsuit naming Clark County, Fisher Sand & Gravel and Las Vegas Paving as defendants was a bit of political grandstanding.
Oversight of Metro Police called into question: In wake of car wreck, commissioners wonder if their role is too limited; Friday, Oct. 16, 2009; As Metro this week memorialized the life of Officer Milburn Beitel III, who died after an on-duty crash, some county commissioners wondered whether it’s time for elected officials to exercise more oversight of the police department and have a greater say in policies governing its officers. For nearly 30 years what oversight there has been has come from Metro’s Fiscal Affairs Committee, which consists of two county commissioners, two Las Vegas City Council members, and one private citizen. But for as much money as the two entities contribute they appear to have little say, or choose to say little, about how the department is run.
Official: Lift ban on child care in casinos: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009; MGM Mirage lost a $5 million convention recently. No one blamed President Barack Obama’s remarks about frivolous travel for scaring off the desperately needed business. Rather, it appears county ordinances were to blame.
Tortoises creep into the public debate: County to stop rescuing them; federal agency moves for better protections; Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009; The county won’t be picking up your poor, your tired or your huddled masses of desert tortoises any longer. After Dec. 31 residents who have kept the threatened species as pets but want to be done with them will be on their own.
Public works on the cheap: In the recession, valley construction bucks are going further — while creating jobs and enhancing infrastructure.; Friday, Oct. 9, 2009; The collapsing construction industry is allowing local government to get public works projects done at fire-sale prices. Regional Flood Control Director Gale Fraser told local government officials Thursday that his engineers expect tax dollars spent on infrastructure to stretch 25 percent to 50 percent further than before the recession because of increased competition among construction firms. “We are getting 18 to 19 bidders for each project, where we used to get three or four,” he said. “With the engineers estimates we’re using today ... we can probably build $300 million worth of projects ... with $200 million.”
Removal of debris by Clark County spurs an angry response: Homeowner furious at county for seizing his tools, materials to rectify code violations; Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009; When Clark County hauled away tools, building materials, a boat and inoperable vehicles from Kirk Ingram’s cluttered front and back yards last week, his was an unusually large case, but an example of yet another ripple effect of the housing market crash. Property owners are “more concerned” these days about any additional devaluation inflicted upon them by their neighbors, according to Joe Boteilho, chief of the county’s Public Response Office.
Layoffs should hit ‘poorly run’ department, Collins says: Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009; Now that the push for budget cuts is coming to shove, layoffs look more likely for some permanent, full-time Clark County employees. Department heads have, in effect, punted the decision about who should be in line for pink slips to the county manager and county commissioners.
State money dries up for DNA testing of sex offenders: Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009; Elected officials were alarmed enough this week when they learned that each month 100 more sexual predators are registering in Clark County and filing their DNA.
Highway wreck, hundreds die; who responds? Animal Control: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009; A bad traffic accident along Interstate 15, about a mile north of Jean, claimed 257 lives this month. About 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 4, an eighteen-wheeler with 529 sheep aboard went off the highway, so the county’s animal control officers were called out to help at the scene.
Preservation progress, a little at a time: Before national monument designation, talks about a partnership under way; Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009; In mid-August, the Sun wrote about the National Parks Conservation Association joining the push to designate about 35,000 fossil-filled acres in the northern portion of the Las Vegas Valley as a national monument.
Law experts baffled by looming deal with paver: Two commissioners would have to sit out vote on contested contract; Friday, Sept. 18, 2009; The waiting game for two highway construction companies and hundreds of workers could be ending soon, as a controversial agreement finally has been filed in federal court.
Unpaid bills continue to dog UMC, vex officials: Hospital’s latest report covers those without SS numbers; Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; Patients who either have no Social Security numbers or refused to provide them to University Medical Center failed to pay $114.3 million in bills from the public hospital last year. Of that, said Kathy Silver, UMC’s CEO, the cost to taxpayers is about $33 million.
Ring in water rate hike with new year, through 2012: Water authority is set to OK increases intended to offset drop in revenue; Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; Clark County residents are about to get hit with yet another rate increase, and this one will recur each year through 2012.
Power couple ask constituents to drop in, say hi: Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009; For those who don’t pay attention to local politics — and let’s face it, many people don’t until their favorite nightclub’s license is taken away or they learn that feeding feral cats is a no-no — an interesting juxtaposition of political life and love interests has emerged on the small stage of Clark County politics.
Officials want club patrons off the pole: Regulations in the works would limit stripper poles’ use to hired go-go dancers; Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009; If county officials have their way, patrons of the Strip’s many nightclubs will no longer be allowed to get their kicks on the clubs’ stripper poles. County spokesmen confirmed an effort is under way to write up a regulation prohibiting the use of the poles by anyone other than the go-go dancers hired by the clubs.
County to hand off safety oversight of child care facilities to state: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009; In what many will see as payback for the Legislature’s raid on county tax revenue, Clark County gave the state notice this week that it would stop overseeing the safety of day care centers in one year, saving about $500,000 annually, according to the county.
215 Beltway project may be headed for deadlock: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009; Despite a contract that has been twice awarded and twice taken to court, the $100 million-plus widening of the Las Vegas Beltway now is at risk of being delayed by a year or more rather than just several more months.
Experts to advise, provide cover, on cuts: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; Pushed and pulled over budget cuts, Clark County commissioners last week turned to a tried and true way of creating some political cover for the hardest decisions — appointing a committee to make recommendations.
Windmills to sprout as energy producers: Federal, NV Energy rebates are helping homeowners with hefty installation cost; Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009; Cecil Huston, 69, will soon be one of the first homeowners in Southern Nevada to take advantage of federal tax and NV Energy rebates related to the installation of a 53-foot, energy-producing windmill.
Gun range opponents’ ammo: Environmental studies: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009; On Monday the president of the Nevada Environmental Coalition filed a 15-page document with the Interior Department arguing that the psychological effects and the safety hazard of what is eventually to become a 2,900-acre shooting park in the north valley were not adequately studied.
Tule Springs preservation prospects take off: Obama administration shows interest in fossil-rich area in northern valley; Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009; A massive swath of Las Vegas Valley teeming with ice age fossils could become a national monument operated by the National Park Service as soon as next year. The designation could come from President Barack Obama or through an act of Congress. Both routes appear wide open.
Dining while dangling above Strip proposed: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009; One side says it is David versus Goliath, a creative upstart that a multibillion-dollar corporation is trying to squash. But the little guy is armed with a crane and a dinner platform instead of a slingshot, and so far, he also has the support of local officials.
Paver learns its skeletons cost it a 215 Beltway job, not record: Former executive’s child porn conviction influenced no vote; Friday, Aug. 14, 2009; When Fisher Sand & Gravel faces off with Clark County in court this month, a judge will have to confront something not typically associated with road construction: child pornography.
Marathon struggle to pay tax bill ends: Unable to pay because of serious medical problems, man owed nearly $9,000; Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009; With a little help from his friends, and some complete strangers, Carlos Ramirez has paid in full his overdue property tax bill. He hadn’t paid his bill for years because of financial trouble that followed a host of medical problems — four brain aneurysms, discovered in 1996, and a stroke and heart attack suffered during surgery on the aneurysms.
Six Questions for Randy Swallow: Clark County TV host; Friday, Aug. 7, 2009; The county’s CCTV, Cox cable channel 4, doesn’t track ratings, so it’s hard to say how many people watch the county commissioner interviews, “County Critters” pet show and other programs.
Spending more to serve might have consequences: As recession drags on, officials differ over paying to assist more needy; Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009; Lost in the debate over county social service cuts is a question some officials say could affect local government’s financial health for years: Would increasing spending on homeless and other social services during the recession commit Clark County to setting aside a greater share of its budget for such services once the economy, and tax revenue, rebounds?
Little-known fund’s $100 million might save jobs, programs: Account could be tapped to avoid deeper cuts in social services; Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009; Service employees listened intently last week as number-crunchers said Clark County will begin the next fiscal year $115 million in the red — a deficit that could lead to job cuts among their union’s 9,500 county workers.
Union concessions split county commission, firefighters: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009; Commissioner Steve Sisolak took an unusual step during the Clark County Commission meeting Tuesday afternoon. Just before the commission was to go into closed session to discuss what Sisolak believes are “non-concessions” offered by the firefighter’s union, he asked to hold the meeting in public.
Plan suggests ways to raise productivity of the too-few park police: Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009; Parks are popular — especially on those days when it isn’t so hot outside that the air hurts. And they’re perhaps more popular during tough economic times, when cheap entertainment is all that some can afford.
Prive enlists lawyer with connections in fight for liquor license: Wednesday, July 29, 2009; As Prive nightclub seeks to regain its liquor license, it will rely on the formidable skills of attorney Jay Brown, who over three decades has earned a reputation as an influential advocate in local government circles.
Tracking workers' presence: In the name of efficiency, county expands its time clock system, leaving some employees disheartened by what they see as a show of mistrust; Tuesday, July 28, 2009; More Clark County hourly employees will punch a time clock to start and end their workdays as officials roll out a plan they say is primarily aimed at streamlining the county’s payroll system.
This fall several departments will start using the Kronos system, which requires employees to swipe ID badges through a timekeeping device. By June 2010 the county will have added 4,600 employees to the system.
Low bidder vows lawsuit over paving contract: Sunday, July 26, 2009; After last week’s tumultuous County Commission hearing during which attorneys for Fisher Sand & Gravel protested losing a highway widening contract to Las Vegas Paving, which bid higher, a Fisher attorney warned a lawsuit will be filed against the county.
Local, state officials square off in blame game on service cuts: Friday, July 24, 2009; Lawmakers finished their work in Carson City weeks ago, but a key debate from the 2009 Legislature continues.
Commission accused of pro-union bias: Lowest bidder not awarded contract because of past violations, Sisolak says; Thursday, July 23, 2009; Current and former members of the Clark County Commission said a Tuesday vote — taking a Beltway-widening contract away from the lowest bidder and giving it to Las Vegas Paving — might set a perilous precedent.
County creating panel to look at spending habits: Tuesday, July 21, 2009; Clark County is looking for volunteers to sit on a 15-member committee that County Commissioner Rory Reid is setting up to look at how the county spends money.
Blue collars may set fashion pace in race to take over Reid’s seat: Sunday, July 19, 2009; County Commission Chairman Rory Reid has not formally announced that he’s leaving the commission to run for governor, but people are lining up to replace him. Among those expressing interest in Reid’s seat are a police officer, former plumber and a former cement truck driver.