At first glance, a lion dance, the costumed ritual that brings good fortune at Chinese New Year, may seem rather simple. Yet, from the music to the steps, everything is carefully coordinated. Any absent-minded mistake could mean dooming a client to bad luck for an entire year. The “dancers” are really martial artists, superb athletes with stamina and agility.
For the second year in a row, UNLV has made the top 25 on the U.S. News and World Report list of schools with the highest percentage of accepted students who choose to enroll. The measure is known in education circles as “yield.”
Hundreds show up to first Culinary Union action on the Strip in a decade
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013
Several hundred people picketed in front of the Cosmopolitan Thursday, where workers say ownership has failed to come to the negotiating table prepared to discuss larger contract issues such as seniority and health care. The Culinary Union Local 226 organized the protest, the first time the union has picketed a Strip property in a decade, to spur Cosmopolitan owners Deutsche Bank to accelerate negotiations, union representatives said. Workers at the Cosmopolitan chose to unionize via a card check 18 months ago.
President Barack Obama put the U.S. Congress on notice Tuesday. This is the year for lawmakers to pass an immigration reform package, and if the old partisan quagmire over the issue returns, he will force their hand. Just before noon, the president addressed a crowd of several hundred at Del Sol High School, stating repeatedly that “now is the time” for reform.
Today the estimated 11 million immigrants who reside in the United States without legal status will watch closely as President Barack Obama follows on the heels of a bipartisan U.S. Senate proposal announced Monday with his own guidelines for approaching immigration reform.
Eight years after taking the position as the consul general of Mexico in Las Vegas, Mariano Lemus is moving back to Mexico. He’ll leave behind a legacy of community building and bolstering the consulte to better serve both Mexican nationals living in Southern Nevada and the community as a whole.
The spokesman for the Las Vegas fire department learned Friday morning that fire can strike even the most prepared. An exhaust fan in a second-floor bathroom started a fire about 7:20 a.m. at the Summerlin home of Tim Szymanski.
Ramps between the Airport Connector and the eastbound 215 Beltway will be closed overnight Sunday as construction crews work on a bridge expansion project.
Authorities say they confiscated hundreds of pieces of counterfeit sports merchandise from two downtown kiosks as part of a nationwide crackdown in advance of the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
A car involved in a three-vehicle accident on the Las Vegas Strip slammed into a bus stop near the Circus Circus casino Friday afternoon, Metro Police said. No pedestrians were injured, but the driver of one of the vehicles was transported to Valley Hospital Medical Center.
Majority leader lays out 2013 agenda, top priorities
Friday, Jan. 18, 2013
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he is hoping to build an immigration reform bill with bipartisan support but that some related issues are not up for debate in his view. Meeting Thursday morning at his Searchlight home, Reid outlined his top priorities for the U.S. Senate in 2013, including immigration reform, to reporters who cover the Southern Nevada Hispanic community. “There will be nothing done in my Senate (on immigration reform) without a pathway to citizenship,” he said.
While background checks are supported, ban on assault rifles deemed 'silly'
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013
As President Barack Obama laid out his plan for increased gun control in a Washington press conference just before 9 a.m., approximately 60,000 people were roaming the Sands Convention Center for the second day of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade, SHOT, show.
Nevada so far has been spared from a flu outbreak that hit much of the nation earlier than expected. But with temperatures dipping below 30 degrees, Clark County students returning to school last week and UNLV’s campus starting a new semester this week, local health officials are on the lookout for a spike. For the week of Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 9 of the 10 regions it monitors reported higher-than-normal outpatient visits for flu-like symptoms.
A man and woman wanted in connection with a Las Vegas murder investigation were arrested Tuesday in New Orleans and are awaiting extradition to Las Vegas, Metro Police reported.
The Nevada Department of Transportation will conduct a rolling closure of the sidewalk on the O’Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge, which bypasses the Hoover Dam, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 15 through 18.
In this case, perseverance was not a virtue. Jared Gonzalez-Borjorquez, who had been deported a month earlier, flew into McCarran International Airport and made his fifth attempt at entering the country illegally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials allege.
In two years, Comparza Morelense goes from birthday parties to prestigious invites
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013
In the past two years the Las Vegas dance troupe Comparza Morelense has quadrupled in size and gone from dancing at birthday parties and first communions to winning multiple parade trophies and performing in November at the Latin Grammys. Despite the rapid rise in the group’s popularity, no one expected the invite that arrived Dec. 20. In fact, some members of the group demanded to see proof the White House had indeed requested they participate in the parade at the 57th presidential inauguration.
The president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, Frank Fahrenkopf, is leaving his position at the end of June, the gaming industry lobbying group announced Monday.
How one Las Vegas family made it work with 11 adopted children and is now helping others
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012
It was a day full of adoptions in Judge Frank Sullivan’s courtroom. Thursday was one of a few days set aside toward the end of the year by the Clark County Family Court judge for signing off on adoptions. On this occasion, the jovial Sullivan wore ruby red robes and a Santa Claus hat, and every kid who walked through the doors to his courtroom received a lollipop. One family put an especially large dent in Sullivan’s candy bowl.
A suspect is dead and police are seeking three of his cohorts after an apparent home invasion Monday morning at a Las Vegas apartment complex. Metro Police responded about 10:10 a.m. Monday to La Ventana Apartment Homes, 2901 N. Rainbow Blvd., near West Cheyenne Avenue, after a 911 call from neighbors.
A fire early Monday in the northeast valley caused about $8,000 damage to a mobile home, but nobody was home when the blaze broke out, the Clark County Fire Department reported.
A three-year study into future water demands on Colorado River water is now completed. Now a variety of stakeholders will want to weigh in on the issue.
The UNLV School of Dental Medicine is one of 11 schools nationwide chosen to partner with the American Dental Education Association on a program to encourage minority students to enter dentistry.
Clark County weapons laws somewhat more restrictive than state's
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012
In the wake of the Friday shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., communities across the country are looking inward to assess what provisions they have in place to prevent firearms from ending up in the wrong hands. Nevada’s laws are fairly straightforward, with few restrictions other than those imposed by federal law. Clark County, the largest municipality in the state, has somewhat stricter regulations.
Decisions on eligibility run contrary to reform goals, critics argue
Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012
Armando Hernandez first felt a searing headache, then his legs began to swell. He lived with the pain for two days but finally relented and went to a hospital on day three. The Reno resident was 19 years old at the time. His kidneys were failing.
The Las Vegas Valley received a thorough soaking during the last 24 hours, but the slow and steady rain does not pose a danger of causing floods, and the precipitation should mostly be gone by midday, according to the National Weather Service.
First-of-its-kind study looks ahead 50 years at population growth, water shortages
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012
Future demands on the Colorado River water supply due to projected population growth far outweigh supply, according to a highly anticipated Department of the Interior study released Wednesday.
Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, had known of the Mario Savio Young Activist Award for some time but never knew someone he thought could win it until Howard Watts III came along.
A recent agreement for sharing the Colorado River between the United States and Mexico garnered the most attention for bringing a decades-old accord up to date with modern realities, but it also is being celebrated by Southern Nevada businesses for what it means for water levels at Lake Mead.
Restaurants around the valley represent a variety of South and Central American cuisines
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012
Look up Mexican restaurants in Las Vegas on Yelp.com, and more than 500 entries will come back. It is safe to say that most Las Vegas residents know where to find a carne asada taco or even a good chicken mole. Restaurants representing Mexico’s Latin American neighbors, though, are a little more elusive. Diners who stick to Mexican restaurants are missing out on arepas, pupusas, empanadas, soups and ceviches that can only be found by exploring Las Vegas offerings from the rest of Latin America.
Once exclusively for short films, the festival adds feature-length works for the first time
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012
In 2003 a total of 18 people attended the first Las Vegas Latin Short Film Festival, which launched with a trio of short films at the Charleston Heights Arts Center.
Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores was unopposed in the general election after winning her Democratic primary by a wide margin, but that does not mean the attorney took the summer off from politicking.
Q&A with Robert Blakey, former chief counsel of House Select Committee on Assassinations
Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012
Forty-nine years ago today, on Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza. The assassination and subsequent slaying of shooter Lee Harvey Oswald shocked the country.
Aldo Mencatto came to Las Vegas with $50 and a goal: Get his business back
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012
“I left Brazil with nothing. I had $50 and a visa for the United States,” Aldo Mencatto said. “I didn’t even know any English. I just knew I had to get my name back." Three years earlier, Mencatto was dressing celebrities and traveling with the country’s president.
Government lawyer who authored RICO anti-corruption law speaks at museum
Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012
On Nov. 15, 1950 — 62 years ago to the day — the Kefauver committee stopped in Las Vegas for one of its several hearings exploring organized crime in America.
Now that voters have rejected the Henderson Library District’s tax initiative, plans to shutter two of the district’s six branches have begun. The branch within the Sunset at Galleria mall will close Nov. 21, and the Malcolm Library in Anthem will close Nov. 30. Combined, the two branches circulate about 200,000 items a year.
The Hispanic electorate flexed its muscle Tuesday, as many political observers expected, solidifying its importance in future elections and bolstering its position in demanding results from elected officials.
Twice in the past 10 years, the Henderson Library District has asked voters for a revenue boost but each time came up short at the polls. On Tuesday, the district whiffed again.
Craig Romney, the youngest of Mitt Romney’s five sons, paid a visit to an east Las Vegas campaign office to thank volunteers and supporters and also encourage them to race through the finish line. Romney, along with Hector Barreto, former head of the Small Business Administration, and former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, urged supporters to continue to knock on doors, make phone calls and spur friends and neighbors to vote in the final 24 hours before the election will be decided.