Mike Trask

Story Archive

Henderson tries furloughs, more buyouts to fix budget: Some employees will be able to take 12 days off, unpaid; Tuesday, March 24, 2009; Henderson is taking more steps to dig itself out of a financial hole.
NLV races come as city arrives at a crossroads: Voters will select mayor, two council members, and determine gaming’s future; Saturday, March 21, 2009; Over the past decade North Las Vegas has sprouted from a gritty and sometimes maligned urban city into a middle-class suburb.
Will local races feel an Obama bump?: No one knows for sure how new voters will alter traditionally low-interest contests in Henderson, North Las Vegas; Thursday, March 19, 2009; Thanks in large part to voters’ excitement about Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy last year, a record number of residents in North Las Vegas and Henderson registered to vote in the November election.
Hearing delayed again on Station Casinos site: Boyd also has plan for area in North Las Vegas; Monday, March 16, 2009; Plans for casinos north of the Las Vegas Beltway in North Las Vegas continue to be stalled.
Henderson’s museum plan assumes rebound: Sunday, March 15, 2009; This hardly seems the time for Henderson to spend $61 million on, of all things, a space and science museum as the city chops tens of millions of dollars from its next two annual budgets.
News sources, here’s your crystal ball: No wonder nobody seems to have one -- they’re tough to find; Friday, March 13, 2009; Everyone is nervous. Everyone is scared. Everyone wants to see into the future. And nobody has a crystal ball.
Science museum vision to become clearer: Henderson council to appoint oversight board for $61 million project; Monday, March 9, 2009; Henderson will create a board of directors to oversee planning for a science museum that is being pitched as the centerpiece of a massive mixed use project.
Russell Banks, author, visiting professor at UNLV: Monday, March 9, 2009; Russell Banks may not be the most famous novelist in America. But many consider him among the best.
Small town making hay: Boulder City luring solar developers with open land, speedy approval process; Sunday, March 8, 2009; If you’re a solar energy company wanting to do business in Boulder City, there’s really only one person you need to see. You’ll find him in the City Hall basement, where he’s been holed up for 32 years.
Planning guru holds out some hope for Vegas: Build on entertainment, link with Calif., he says; Friday, March 6, 2009; A year ago urban planning guru Richard Florida told the Sun that Las Vegas has a bright future. “The thing that bodes best for Las Vegas is its location,” Florida said.
BC council rivals question hopeful’s job history: Wednesday, March 4, 2009; Boulder City Council candidate Joe Roche’s campaign finance statement is raising questions from opponents about his employment history.
Museum in Henderson a step closer to reality: Monday, March 2, 2009; The 15-year-old idea to build a science museum in Henderson has taken a baby step closer to reality.
Big NLV project down, not out: Building of 15,000-home development has stopped, but work is continuing behind the scenes; Friday, Feb. 27, 2009; Elkhorn Road, a sleepy two-lane street cutting alongside a grove of freshly built homes in North Las Vegas, is where the wave of housing development broke.
Home cookin’ — for dogs: Culinary school grads use their expertise to create a line of healthful food for Fido; Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009; Jillian Plaster met her husband-to-be, Ian Kester, over sizzling pans three years ago at a Las Vegas cooking school.
Plans limp along for mall meant to spur NLV renewal: City, developer still negotiating amid drought in financing; Monday, Feb. 23, 2009; For nearly a decade, North Las Vegas has been pursuing ambitious plans to give its aging downtown a makeover. To help execute the effort, the city’s Redevelopment Agency began plotting ways to draw fresh businesses and new excitement to the beleaguered 2-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard North. What would really help trigger interest in the area, city officials concluded, would be a large shopping center.
Henderson’s buyouts won’t stave off further cuts: Friday, Feb. 20, 2009; Henderson City Manager Mary Kay Peck offered the latest economic bad news during a City Council meeting Tuesday.
If candidate had a vote for every dollar, she’d sweep city: Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009; Henderson City Council candidate Kathleen Boutin, who has never run for office, has raised more than $150,000 and says she plans to raise $300,000 by the June 2 general election.
NLV’s budget cuts haven’t been enough: City must trim another $1.2 million this year, faces big shortfall in 2010; Monday, Feb. 16, 2009; The economic struggles facing municipalities were hammered home when the North Las Vegas City Council recently shaved $15 million off the current year’s budget.
NLV councilman says son earned campaign pay: Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009; North Las Vegas City Councilman William Robinson has paid his son -- a UNLV student and onetime baggage handler -- nearly $90,000 out of his campaign coffers over the past six years, according to campaign expense reports.
Invention has uplifting story: Like church pew, ‘TV Chair’ helps inventor’s disabled son stand; Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009; A bit of divine inspiration turned Ross Dauterive into an inventor. It took a few years. He had to overcome a heart attack and stroke along the way.
Kurt Leavitt, Rural Coordinator, Clark County Fire Department: Monday, Feb. 9, 2009; When the Mormon chapel in Logandale caught fire at 4 in the morning Wednesday, it was volunteer firefighters who got out of bed and showed up within 10 minutes to try to quell the blaze.
Upset-minded candidates face uphill climb: It’s hard to make up for large funding deficit; Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009; Heading into municipal elections, we’re reminded of civic-minded people in the community who are willing to serve in local government for what appear to be all the right, altruistic reasons.
Localities brace for state raid on revenue: Cities, counties fear Legislature will shift much of budget shortfall burden to them; Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009; In government halls across the Las Vegas Valley, the groaning you hear is depressed bureaucrats mourning the loss of sales tax revenue and trying to figure out how to pay the bills.
Ink bleeding into social fabric: Convention held here reflects society’s changing view of tattoos, from rebellious to unremarkable; Friday, Jan. 30, 2009; The tattoo guns buzz like dentists’ drills and the smell of vitamin D ointment adds a medicinal quality to the few hundred painted arms holding aluminum bottles of Bud Light.
Camping, Vegas style: Airstream trailers right at a Strip resort offer a hip, retro alternative to hotels; Monday, Jan. 26, 2009; The newest wrinkle in tourist accommodations on the Strip is an overnight trailer court.
At an asphalt campground alongside Circus Circus, Airstream has delivered 10 of its iconic, silver-bullet-shaped travel trailers for overnight rentals. Honey, pack up the kids, we’re going to Vegas and staying in a trailer!
Restoration outlook is dreary: Preservation of Kiel Ranch hasn’t gained much traction, but many hold tightly to hope; Friday, Jan. 23, 2009; The lonely pair of historic Kiel Ranch buildings — well, what remains of them — appear haggard, just off Interstate 15 in North Las Vegas, barred from human contact by a brick wall topped with steel bars.
At this diner, history noted with quiet reverence: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009; Waitress Iesha Hall stood motionless Tuesday morning as Barack Obama took the oath of office.
NLV mayor to state: Hands off our funding: He calls for optimism despite economic woes; Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009; At a time when North Las Vegas is trimming $15 million from its budget and a foreclosure crisis is tearing its way through town, Mayor Mike Montandon preached optimism in this week’s State of the City address.
In defense of the ‘boring’ Vegas ’burbs: They’re newsworthy despite Forbes rankings; Friday, Jan. 16, 2009; Forbes.com tells me I routinely write about two of the 10 most boring places in the country: Henderson and North Las Vegas.
Henderson may get boost for industrial sites: A bill in the U.S. Senate would allow city to prezone 500 acres; Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009; Efforts by Henderson to limit the use of 500 acres of federal land the city covets for business development could pan out with the passage of a Senate bill this week.
Money woes beset Boulder City, shortfall pegged at $1.8 million: Monday, Jan. 12, 2009; Boulder City isn’t immune to the financial woes hitting municipalities across the Las Vegas Valley.
It’s North Las Vegas’ turn in budget morass: Projects to go on hold, hiring freeze to be extended as city looks to trim $23 million; Monday, Jan. 12, 2009; A month after Henderson announced $28 million in budget cuts and a buyout program for its most experienced employees, the suburban city at the other end of the valley is taking steps to combat its own economic crisis.
Want a side of budget numbers with that?: State legislators, Henderson officials break bread over gloomy revenue forecast; Friday, Jan. 9, 2009; In a conference room on the second floor of Henderson City Hall, politicians responsible for getting us out of this budgetary mess met this week over turkey sandwiches.
Plays lack playhouse: The nonprofit community group Theatre in the Valley presses on, homeless; Friday, Jan. 9, 2009; It’s Monday and they need actors — any actors — to walk through the glass doors of the conference room with green walls.
Planned dog park meets howls: ‘It’s just too close,’ homeowner says, echoing others in Henderson community; Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009; Henderson wants to add a dog park and an off-road bicycle track to the 60-acre Arroyo Grande Sports Complex. And, yes, neighbors are complaining.
Henderson has a plan to enliven a major artery: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009; Henderson has formalized plans to redevelop an eight-mile stretch of Boulder Highway that’s lined with aging strip malls, fast-food restaurants and the occasional small casino.
Plans for U.S. 93 leave many wanting: Boulder City mayor says he will continue to press for 13-mile bypass; Monday, Jan. 5, 2009; The first shovel will be driven into the ground this week for improvements to U.S. 93 between Hoover Dam and sleepy Boulder City.
Residents say, Hikers? Not in our back yard: Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008; On the night when the Henderson City Council approved what is to be the city’s tallest buildings — the 30-story Park Heights towers — citizens showed up to discuss something much smaller: a 12-by-12-foot shelter, a sign, three benches and a trash can. That would be the Anthem East Trailhead, which Henderson plans to build in the spring in the Shadow Canyon Village neighborhood, a picture of suburbia with tasteful desert landscaping.
Library transfer is about people, too: Staffers, programs will change with branch’s management; Friday, Dec. 26, 2008; Green Valley Library did its best to nurture a sense of community.
Unlikely confidence: Developer sticking with Henderson tower plan: Monday, Dec. 22, 2008; The adage in the real estate and development business is location, location, location. But here may be a case of timing, timing, timing.
Improvised plow clears hilly Henderson: City workers use rented road grader to move snow off Anthem’s winding roads; Friday, Dec. 19, 2008; Ed Owens dragged himself out of bed for work at 6 a.m. Wednesday, ready for another day on the Henderson street maintenance crew.
Public sector imitates private on buyouts: Taking cue from businesses, Henderson and other U.S. cities are turning to the kinder cut to rein in payroll expenses; Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008; Earlier this month the Henderson City Council offered buyouts to certain city employees as a way to cut payroll costs in the long run.
Library in Henderson soon to be in its system, too: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008; The Green Valley Library will temporarily close beginning Dec. 23 in preparation for its transfer from the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District to the Henderson Library District.
Finding a tiny niche, taking a big risk: Friday, Dec. 12, 2008; In June, with the recession gaining momentum, Lance and Monica Hibbert did something counterintuitive. They started a small business.
His artwork just doesn’t last: Ice sculptures can be simple, exquisite, even useful, but artist notes they’re only decorations; Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008; Denny Wold, 45, loves the cold and that’s a good thing because he’s in the ice business. He spends eight hours a day in a 20-degree walk-in freezer. And that’s golf weather for Wold.
A new McStore, a winning formula: Friday, Dec. 5, 2008; How’s this for timing: McDonald’s is opening its largest Nevada store next week — a two-story version on the Strip — while we’re in the throes of the worst recession in decades.
Traveling works fine for him: Attention-seeking USC graduate’s goal is 50 jobs in 50 states; Friday, Dec. 5, 2008; Daniel Seddiqui couldn’t find a job after graduating from the University of Southern California, so he created his own job. As a press agent. For himself.
Proposal for project with Henderson’s tallest building progresses to council: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008; There’s some good news for a major development project in Henderson. The city Planning Commission has recommended approving Park Heights, a 40-acre project anchored by what would be the tallest building in the city. The “tallest” title now goes to Sunset Station, at 230 feet.
Las Vegas Marathon on a new course: Stewards of race will turn it over to group with formidable track record; Monday, Dec. 1, 2008; The financial gasping and wheezing that has accompanied the Las Vegas Marathon in recent years suggest a problem that Nevada runners and fans would rather not consider as they approach Sunday’s annual race. After all, the company that runs the marathon, Devine Racing, needed to sell the Los Angeles Marathon for an amount reported to be at least $10 million to dig out of a financial hole.
A campaign closer to home: HOA boards might not be glamorous, but they can exert great influence on daily life; Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008; Mark Klein has made a pair of decisions that illustrate life on the edge of the desert in the new West.