Mike Trask

Story Archive

Patrolling, protecting made personal: Homegrown Boulder City officer is wedded to his neighborhood beat; Tuesday, June 17, 2008; The police in Boulder City know the first names of the crossing guards and babysitters. The chief hands out his personal cell phone number to residents when he greets them at monthly meetings in a coffee shop.
Boulder City recall petitions fall short: Monday, June 16, 2008
World leaders relaxing in the desert?: Mag item touts retreat on Lake Las Vegas, but no one here has heard of it; Monday, June 16, 2008; The idea sounds noble, even if it doesn’t mesh perfectly with the decadence synonymous with Las Vegas.
Prospects for NLV’s downtown looking up: $1 billion in planned projects includes plaza, new city hall; Saturday, June 14, 2008; North Las Vegas is inching closer to refurbishing its oldest neighborhoods along Las Vegas Boulevard North, with the City Council expected to review a downtown master plan by the end of summer.
Amid Suburbia, an island of serenity: Without lawyers or a homeowners association, enclave’s residents struggle to keep booming Henderson at bay; Friday, June 13, 2008; This is a neighborhood without screwy rules about where you can park or what color you can paint your home.
Even in Vegas, chain restaurants hold charm: Yeah, there’s top-rated Tao, but we’ll take Olive Garden and In-N-Out, thank you; Monday, June 9, 2008; The likes of Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse dominate the magazine covers and gossip columns as rock stars of the cooking world.
Developers: With slump and all, just writing to say we’re OK: Massive project that would help remake NLV is still kicking; Friday, June 6, 2008; In a telling sign of the times, the developers of the biggest planned community in North Las Vegas has sent out a news release to announce they are still in business.
Boulder City recall petitions submitted: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Recall petitioners have enough signers, they say: Sunday, June 1, 2008; Petitioners in Boulder City have until Tuesday to file paperwork calling for the recall of City Council members Travis Chandler and Linda Strickland.
Plans burgeon for hot Henderson corner: Big shopping mall, second resort planned near Marnell project; Tuesday, May 27, 2008; There have been concerns about several Henderson developments struggling during the housing slump.
Bridge over troubled water: New Lake Las Vegas owner unfazed by foreclosures, lawsuit, lagging sales; Saturday, May 24, 2008; It’s a carefree life for the folks out at Lake Las Vegas — except for the developer who couldn’t pay the mortgage, the four-diamond hotel that just filed for bankruptcy court protection, and home foreclosure rates roughly the same as in the rest of the valley.
NLV apartment plan yanked after neighbors’ protest: Friday, May 23, 2008; Two scoops of ice cream and a little indignation brought a group of North Las Vegas neighbors the result they wanted.
Glorified jock posters or art, project pretty cool: Plus, it will join two ends of society; Thursday, May 22, 2008; When I was a kid I’d buy $6 posters at sporting goods stores and tack them to my bedroom wall. Today — if I were single — I might be tempted to put some UFC memorabilia on the wall. There are people out there, and a lot of them, who would like to do the same thing.
No neighbors, no neighborhood: First residents of Henderson development hope slump won’t dash their dreams; Wednesday, May 21, 2008; Gilles and Nicci Imbert moved from Paris, France, into the brand-new Inspirada community two months ago in search of something different.
Eastern import catching on: The younger generation embraces lacrosse, and the sport’s growing popularity has created a shortage of facilities in the valley and of adults to coach players and officiate at matches; Tuesday, May 20, 2008; The most impressive thing about last weekend’s Las Vegas Lacrosse League playoffs was not the players’ skill or the game’s speed. Instead, it’s that the games happened at all in a city where only a few years ago the sport was all but nonexistent.
Fire settles casino’s fate for good: With Alystra reduced to ashes, Henderson gets clean slate; Saturday, May 17, 2008; For years Henderson officials had wondered how to get rid of vacant Alystra Casino, a shuttered eyesore that recently had been attractive only to the homeless. They don’t have to wonder about that any longer.
Army reservist throws early hat in NLV City Council ring: Friday, May 16, 2008; Army reservist Angelo Carvalho just returned from a 15-month tour in Iraq. He took his family on vacation, rode his mountain bike around the neighborhood and enjoyed the simple things in life.
Plan: Remove toxins, build homes: Permits fully in place, cleanup to begin soon for 15,000-home community in Henderson; Tuesday, May 13, 2008; If all goes according to plan, a few years from now the first of an estimated 30,000 people will start moving into what once was a wastewater dump that required more than 500,000 tests, 18 years and $60 million to ensure its safety.
NLV’s annexation of industrial park expected to start within weeks: Monday, May 12, 2008; North Las Vegas is expected to annex its first section of the Apex Industrial Park in two weeks.
Community champion shows with pluck, little guy can win: North Las Vegas man fights for cheaper switch from gas lamps, likely saving homeowners groups thousands yearly; Wednesday, May 7, 2008; Richard Cherchio didn’t win last year when he ran for a seat on the North Las Vegas City Council.
But he hasn’t stopped fighting, becoming one of the city’s most recognizable activists.
The upside of anger: Neighbors meeting neighbors: Opposition to apartment projects serves as social cement; Tuesday, May 6, 2008; On the surface, there’s nothing special or unique about neighbors, with kids and dogs in tow, gathering in the sun. Yet within the ebb and flow of life in North Las Vegas, dozens of people getting together to eat ice cream sandwiches in the nation’s fastest-growing city took on significance.
Music company scraps plan for theater space in historic building: Red Mountain says it will look for another site in Boulder City; Monday, May 5, 2008; There will be no 536-seat theater at the former Los Angeles Water and Power Building in Boulder City.
Losing ground: North Las Vegas resident wants to reroute city’s plan to take his land via eminent domain; Thursday, May 1, 2008; It’s tough to feel sorry for James Bailey. In 1991 he purchased a small home in downtown North Las Vegas for $25,000. Now the city, needing to clear the way for a road project, is offering him $163,000 for his battered 1,042-square-foot house.
Neighbors aren’t sharing alarm over casino project: Monday, April 28, 2008; The fliers sounded alarming: “Urgent Neighborhood Action Alert!”
Parkway route cuts 22-mile path: Preservationists, residents lining up to weigh in on corridor; Sunday, April 27, 2008; A battle now taking shape in the northern reaches of the Las Vegas Valley has been more than 40 years in the making.
Through his church, a community thrives: Bret Johnson sees church's growth from living room to $15 million building; Thursday, April 24, 2008; The 40,000-square-foot church at Interstate 215 and St. Rose Parkway will be impressive. There will be a nursery, a coffee shop, a youth ministry and, of course, a large worship area with stained glass facing the mountains. But perhaps more impressive, is who will be inside.
Cruise line: Don’t give up the ship ... or the lake: Mead’s image problem, tourism decline threaten scenic tour business; Wednesday, April 23, 2008; Out at Lake Mead, where the water line keeps receding and signs beg people to double check that zebra mussels have been kicked off boats, one woman is simply trying to sell some cruises.
Legal interpretation raises bar for recall proponents in Boulder City: Monday, April 21, 2008; An interpretation of election law by Secretary of State Ross Miller could make it more difficult to recall two Boulder City Council members.
High-end project banks on resilience of rich: Lots on mountainside will offer a unique view — but spoil it from below, some say; Monday, April 21, 2008; The view from Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng’s 3 1/2 acre compound will eventually be jaw dropping, a sight line so expansive that the Red Rock Casino will be visible clear across the city, beyond the Strip buildings poking up like figurines.
Chic, urban … and deserted: Shell of Henderson condo project symbolizes bust; Thursday, April 17, 2008; A year after the $160 million Vantage Lofts was supposed to open to great fanfare, becoming a symbol of the changing Las Vegas architecture, it is a symbol of something else — a building market gone south.
Car allowances, travel, training: It all adds up: Boulder City councilwoman finds ways to cut $360,000; Monday, April 14, 2008; It was time-consuming work, but City Councilwoman Linda Strickland figures it ultimately could be worth about $9,000 an hour to Boulder City — if her colleagues go along with her proposed $360,000 in cuts in next year’s $24 million budget.
Old development deal, new anxiety in NLV: Making good on pact, council approves 320 units, considers 660 more; Wednesday, April 9, 2008; Twenty years ago, North Las Vegas officials were only too happy for anyone to build almost anything, anywhere, anytime in a city that was hardly a magnet for development.
More than a year, still no check: VA says glitch is fixed but homeless vet says he will continue to wait and see; Tuesday, April 8, 2008; James Ross, 61, is a homeless veteran, having served in the Marines in the late 1960s. On Feb. 5, 2007, he was granted veterans disability benefits because of heart problems and bad feet. In total, he’s owed $26,997 but hasn't seen a cent.
I'm in it for the kids: Monday, April 7, 2008; So the Las Vegas Wranglers need somebody new to fill the 98-inch waist of The Duke.
Hold on tight to your dream, Henderson: City postpones two big Water Street projects but insists downtown redevelopment is a go; Friday, April 4, 2008; Henderson city leaders’ dreams of revitalizing downtown will remain just that for a while longer, with the slumping housing and retail markets pushing back two major projects.
Ex-politico’s picture is in Newsweek, and he isn’t at all happy: Friday, April 4, 2008; The homeless man who ran for mayor of Boulder City last year appeared in Newsweek’s March 31 issue. And he’s not happy about the national publicity.
Attitude change a sign of NLV’s growth: Apartment complex that once caused excitement is now protested by neighbors; Monday, March 31, 2008; North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson voted in favor of the 1988 development agreement that will likely allow 320 apartments to be built at Centennial Parkway and Revere Street.
Planner: Vegas not so great now, but has potential: Green space, parks and transit can lift city’s standing, he says; Monday, March 31, 2008; Richard Florida has become one of the most quoted and respected urban planners in America. Now the University of Toronto professor has a new book and a new theory — one filled with ideas and rankings Las Vegas planners are less likely to want to repeat, but that offers a road map to a better future.
Industrial park may get jump-start from suburb: Annexation by North Las Vegas could bring Apex needed water; Friday, March 28, 2008; The concept behind Apex Industrial Park was simple and logical: Every region has power plants, landfill operations and other things that are necessary but that aren’t the kind of things you want as neighbors.
Acting police chief gets permanent post in North Las Vegas: Wednesday, March 26, 2008; North Las Vegas has tapped acting Police Chief Joseph Forti to become permanent chief.
It’s still a mystery: Who acted up at Vons?: Monday, March 24, 2008; Whispers about last week’s strange dustup at the Vons supermarket in Boulder City are continuing.
As justice’s wheels grind, frustration over failure-prone plumbing grows: Sunday, March 23, 2008; As many Southern Nevadans know, anyone who moved into a new home here in the past 10 years could have water pipes that are corroding and, in some cases, might explode. Reports of faulty Kitec fittings first surfaced at the McDonald Ranch residential development earlier this decade. The discovery raised concerns for homeowners across the Las Vegas Valley, but few could have foreseen the enormity of the problem as it stands today.
I might have hepatitis, I might have HIV: One of many dreading test results, man loses sleep, appetite; Thursday, March 20, 2008; For Rollie Gibbs, the worst part has been the wait. It was no surprise when the envelope with the return address of the Southern Nevada Health District showed up in his Las Vegas mailbox.
Boulder City recall effort gets down and dirty at Vons: Supermarket brouhaha reflects rising tensions over council members; Tuesday, March 18, 2008; Now, for the latest on the effort to recall two Boulder City Council members, we take you, not to City Hall, not to a community forum, but to Vons. That’s right, Vons.
Cab passenger in accident finds no one has to pay for her injuries: After hit-and-run, she learns Nevada law contains insurance loophole for taxis; Saturday, March 15, 2008; Kathy Graves just wanted a cab ride but instead is getting the runaround while learning the hard way that Nevada law does not require taxis to carry uninsured motorist insurance.
NLV residents, city council haunted by past deal: Friday, March 14, 2008; The North Las Vegas residents attending a neighborhood meeting Monday about 320 apartments proposed for Centennial Parkway and Revere Street wanted answers. But they didn’t like the ones they got from Pardee Homes representatives.
From Jack Ruby to Las Vegas: A gun's trajectory: Weapon that killed JFK’s killer has been a recluse, and something of a circus freak; Tuesday, March 11, 2008; The only moment of clarity for this snub-nosed .38-caliber Colt Cobra came on the Sunday morning when Jack Ruby used it to kill Lee Harvey Oswald. Since that day, the tiny silver gun with a black handle has led a tortured life.
Museums fancy gun, if donated: Dallas curator hoping buyer will put pistol in public view; Tuesday, March 11, 2008; The gun Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald would seem to belong in a museum, behind glass, never to be touched.
Boulder City council members in eye of storm: Pair subject of recall, anti-recall efforts; Monday, March 10, 2008; Directly in front of the Boulder Dam Credit Union, small-town politics were at work Friday.
Recall effort launched in Boulder City: Wednesday, March 5, 2008; This morning three Boulder City voters initiated a recall against two City Council members who were elected last year.