2018-02-22 - Las Vegas Weekly

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WEEK IN REVIEW WEEK AHEAD EVENTS TO FOLLOW AND NEWS YOU MISSED

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THINGS THAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK

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‘MY FRIEND IS DEAD BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT DOING THEIR JOB’ Students who survived last week’s mass shooting at a South Florida high school have been vocal in their displeasure about gun laws. Speaking to Florida’s Republican legislators in Tallahassee, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High 15-year-old Melissa Camilo said: “How many more tragedies are going to have to occur for us to make a difference, to make a change. How many more 15-year-olds, how many more teachers have to die?” In March, the teens will take their quest for more strict gun control laws to Washington, D.C. Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student at the school, is charged with killing 17 students. (Associated Press)

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L A S V E G A S W E E K LY

IN THIS ISSUE

12 20 CULTURE

59 62 65 66 70

Selling Lives: Combating underage sex trafficking in Las Vegas Health & Wellness: Read these tips before flying with your pets Las Vegas’ first winery, Celebrating David Bowie, and G.O.A.T. sports bar Food & Drink: Burgers and shakes at Black Tap, plus a new Mirage must News analysis: Trump’s attack on renewable energy and the EPA News: How the proposed budget could affect Nevada Sports: Las Vegan Devin Short living his rugby dreams VEGAS INC: Women of color starting businesses in record numbers

2 TRUMP SEEKS BAN ON BUMP STOCKS President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has signed a memo directing the Justice Department to propose regulations to “ban all devices” like the rapid-fire bump stocks involved in last year’s Las Vegas massacre. The announcement came days after the shooting deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

■ Bad ratings @CNN & @MSNBC got scammed when they covered the antiTrump Russia rally wall-to-wall. They probably knew it was Fake News but, because it was a rally against me, they pushed it hard anyway. Two really dishonest newscasters, but the public is wise! (Feb. 20)

THE WEEK IN TRUMP TWEETS

■ I have been much tougher on Russia than Obama, just look at the facts. Total Fake News! (Feb. 20) ■ Just watched a very insecure Oprah Winfrey, who at one point I knew very well, interview a panel of people on 60 Minutes. The questions were biased and slanted, the facts incorrect. Hope Oprah runs so she can be exposed and defeated just like all of the others! (Feb. 18) ■ If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America! (Feb. 18)

TWO LOCALS NOMINATED FOR JAMES BEARD AWARD The James Beard Awards are something like the Academy Awards of the restaurant world. But despite the elite service, food and beverage programs in all of our fancy fine-dining casino restaurants on the Strip, Las Vegas is consistently ignored by this prestigious culinary acknowledgment—and it’s even rarer for an off-Strip restaurant or chef to be recognized. This year, two locals have been nominated as semifinalists—Lotus of Siam for Outstanding Wine Program and Sheridan Su (left) for Best Chef: West. For Su, who operates two locations of Hainan chicken shop Flock & Fowl and the Fat Choy diner at the Eureka Casino, it was an unexpected honor. “Somebody somewhere must have said something really good about some guy in Vegas,” he posted on Instagram. –Brock Radke

3 FERGIE EXPLAINS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM RENDITION: ‘HONESTLY TRIED MY BEST’ Fergie’s rendition was received so poorly before last Sunday’s NBA All-Star game that many of the players and celebrities in attendance were captured laughing on video at Staples Center in LA and on the TNT broadcast.

“I’ve always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem, and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA,” the singer said in a statement.

COULD LAS VEGAS SUPPORT A WORLD-CLASS ZOO? Amid the excitement surrounding potential new stadiums, arenas and art museums, some locals want Las Vegas to get a different kind of venue.

During the past few years, members of the nonprofit Las Vegas Zoological Society have been quietly laying the groundwork for a world-class zoo. Their mission: “to inspire education and conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature.” Unlike zoos of the past, this one would have a focus on “animal care, science, education and conservation.”

A “motor safari ride” would ferry visitors around the planned 100-acre park, which would offer 16 exhibits featuring 900 animals from 300 species. The conceptual site plan shows exhibits grouped by region (Nevada, Africa, Asia), along with a botanical garden, children’s zoo, aviary, amphitheater and aquatic exhibit.

Conservation and education plans are no less ambitious. The Zoological Society would offer a college preparatory program for high school students; a kids’ Safari Camp; a public zoo library; workshops and classes; and a weekly TV show called Wild Zone. A conservation center would include fieldwork and research opportunities with a “long-term focus on animal well-being.”

So what’s the timeline? It’s too soon to say. Though the Zoological Society has a website (zoolasvegas.org) and a Facebook page, and is actively taking donations, with a proposed budget of about $250 million. The group declined an interview because the project is in such an early stage. –C. Moon Reed

4 MGM SAYS MANDALAY BAY BUSINESS RECOVERING AFTER OCT. 1 SHOOTING Mandalay Bay is beginning to emerge from the cloud of the Oct. 1 mass shooting, MGM Resorts International executives said Tuesday during the company’s fourth-quarter and end-of-year earnings call.

For the quarter, which began the day of the shooting and ended Dec. 31, Mandalay Bay net revenue was $185.6 million, down 6.7 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2016.

But things are starting to trend upward again, said Dan D’Arrigo, executive vice president and chief financial officer for parent company MGM Resorts. Despite the fourth-quarter results, Mandalay Bay’s annual revenue increased from $934.1 million in 2016 to $951.7 million last year.

5 NLV POLICE WRITE 232 TICKETS An operation to deter distracted driving in North Las Vegas last month led to 232 traffic tickets and 65 warnings, according to city police.

Officers made 225 traffic stops during the saturation patrols from Jan. 8 to Jan. 22, police said.

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another year, more shootings an overview of gun violence in the u.s.

By Weekly Staff

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Four months removed from the worst mass shooting in modern American history— which struck Las Vegas on Oct. 1—Parkland, Florida, is reeling after a former student opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. ¶ A day later, Clark County School District Police sent out alerts to parents outlining the training, drills and precautions occurring at local schools, and encouraging students to report suspicious activities. Capt. Ken Young noted that the School District was in the process of implementing “a system that will allow staff members to initiate hard lockdowns for the entire school from their classroom.” ¶ CNN reports that the Parkland, Florida, massacre in which 17 students and staff lost their lives, was the eighth school shooting of the year. The network’s parameters dictate the gunfire must go off on school grounds, because of violence such as domestic, gang affiliation and fights. ¶ This includes the late January shooting in a Benton, Kentucky, high school, where a teenage student opened fire, shooting 16 people, killing two students.

2018

17

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2017

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27

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4

59 Deadliest mass shooting in the U.S.

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Oct. 1, 2017 Feb. 14

Nov. 5, 2017

17 killed, 15 injured

27 killed, 20 injured

Nikolas Jacob Cruz, 19, is accused of shooting into classrooms and was taken into custody shortly after leaving the scene, having temporarily escaped by blending in with fleeing students.

Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, opened fire during Sunday service and died of a selfinflicted gunshot.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, FL

59 killed, 520+ injured

Route 91 Harvest country music festival, Las Vegas Stephen Paddock, 64, fired onto a crowd from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

First Baptist Church, Sutherland Spring, TX

2015

4 years of mass shootings

The definition of mass shooting has conflicting standards. According to the FBI, a mass shooting is when four or more victims have been slain in a single event at one location. Gun Violence Archive—an online database that uses media, authorities and “commercial sources”— defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people are wounded by gunfire. By the archive’s definition and current data, there were 33 incidents across the U.S. from Jan. 1 to Feb. 18, leaving 60 dead and another 139 wounded, including the shooters. Here’s a look at mass shootings from 2014 to 2018, and the number of individuals killed.

Mass-shooting event where 4-10 individuals were killed

16

4

5

4 4

10

Dec. 2, 2015

16 killed, 17+ injured

San Bernardino, CA Couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik fired into a gathering of county employees. They were later killed in a shootout with police.

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5-minute expert

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all gun-related incidences in 2018 so far 7, 4 0 1 g u n - r e l at e d i n c i d e n c e s 2 , 0 4 3 g u n - r e l at e d d e at h s

77

children (ages 0-11) killed or injured

395 teens killed or injured

2018 school-related shootings Depending on your news outlet of choice, 2018’s total number of school shootings varies based on the way a source defines a school shooting. There have been about 17 total incidences of firing a weapon on or near school property as of press time.

However, some occurrences were after hours, unintentional firings, suicide attempts or otherwise. Not all events have been what we think of as intentional school shootings.

Shootings during school hours Shootings during school’s off hours/unrelated incidences Shots during school hours/unknown reasons Unintentional gunfire during school hours Suicide attempt during school hours Stray bullets hitting schools

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4

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2016

4

5

4

4 4 4 4

5

4

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5

4 4

5

50

5

5

8

6

4

8

5

5

5

5

4

5

6

4

6

June 12, 2016

50 killed, 53 injured

Pulse Nightclub Orlando, FL Omar Mateen, 29, opened fire inside an LGBT nightclub. He was shot and killed by police.

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5

8

4

5

6

4

9

4

5

9

Oct. 1, 2015

10 killed, 7 injured

Umpqua Community College Roseburg, OR Student Chris Harper Mercer, 26, shot an assistant professor and students, then turned the gun on himself.

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4

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2014

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4

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4 4 4

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WHAT’S BEING DONE? Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, survivors called for gun regulation, launching the #neveragain movement and the “March for Our Lives” event in Washington, D.C., which will take place March 24 at 10 a.m. Celebrities such as George and Amal Clooney have committed to marching with students and have donated $500,000 to the cause. The rally hopes to inspire legislation that will help prevent gun violence in the future. President Donald Trump recently stated he is “open” to discussing tighter gun restrictions.

Sources: Gun Violence Archive; Washington Post; New York Times; CNN; snopes.com

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From far-flung nations to nearby towns, human trafficking materializes in every corner of the globe.

It casts a wide shadow that includes labor and sex trafficking. It spans all ages and crosses all borders, and Las Vegas is not exempt from its grasp. Now 18, Jasmine was sex trafficked when she was 13. Her story is not unique; it is not isolated; it happens on Las Vegas’ streets and in its hotels and homes when the sun sets and the neon lights flicker on.

By Camalot Todd Weekly staff

Editor’s note: Names and details that could reveal the subject’s identity were changed or removed from this story for safety reasons.

Jasmine’s gaze never faltered. Not when she described her uncle raping her, or the cages in the basement of a suburban Las Vegas house where he and her father kept the girls they trafficked.

She was 13 at the time and spent her childhood bouncing between her biological family and foster homes in California before moving to Las Vegas to live with her father.

Jasmine (an alias she chose) shared her story to highlight the fact that sex trafficking in the Valley lives beyond Boulder Highway. She was forced into the sex trade, and the illicit operation her family operated was hidden in a typical neighborhood.

The unique vulnerabilities of foster youths—their need for familial bonds, their transiency and frequent history of being abused and neglected—make them prime targets for traffickers.

Nationally, 86 percent of child sex trafficking victims were under the care of social services when they went missing, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

And most were not reported as runaways, said Elynne Greene, manager of Metro Police’s Victims Services and Human Trafficking section.

Last February, Greene participated in a panel discussion hosted by the McCain Institute for International Leadership, revealing data from a groundbreaking research project done in collaboration with Arizona State University.

“They found an unexpected degree of violence in sex trafficking cases, which mostly involved underage victims. ASU researchers and detectives from the Vice & Sex Trafficking Investigation Section found that one in five underage victims were brought to Las Vegas for the purpose of sex trafficking and that more than half of the child sex trafficking victims had not been reported missing. Traffickers used social media to recruit victims and then used websites like Backpage.com to traffic them,” read a description on the institute’s website.

When a family breaks down, children are more vulnerable to a trafficker’s lies and temptations, and biological and foster families become less likely to report them as missing.

“When they disappear, I imagine some foster parents are almost grateful that they get a break from the acting

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Nevada has both legal and illegal prostitution, but soliciting sex is illegal in Las Vegas’ jurisdiction.

out and behaviors that go along with adolescence and troubled kids that could have been in multiple foster care placements before they got there. So they’re not being reported missing,” Greene said.

HOW MANY VICTIMS ARE THERE?

The Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS) does not have complete data, but a representative said the department, in partnership with Metro, started keeping track last year.

They’re also monitoring the relationship between social services and underage trafficking, and training caseworkers to recognize the signs of sex trafficking, said Dan Kulin, public relations officer for Clark County.

Metro trained 400 social workers on the signs of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), and all children under DFS’s care are screened for risk factors or evidence of having been in the life.

“We don’t know what we don’t know,”

What is CSEC?

Children who are kidnapped, coerced, forced, under the age of 18 or manipulated into the sex trade for economic gain are considered part of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) population.

Trafficking vs. prostitution Trafficking involves unwilling or coerced participants; prostitution involves individuals who have entered the lifestyle by choice.

Nevada has both legal and illegal prostitution, but soliciting sex is illegal in Las Vegas’ jurisdiction.

Greene said. “Training DFS workers is a start—getting into the foster care system, getting into the school systems.”

DFS already has identified about 50 potential cases of commercial sex trafficking in the foster care system.

“We are continuing to work in collaboration with law enforcement, prosecutors and victim advocates to help create a coordinated response to all of these investigations and better serve these kids going forward,” said Paula Hammack, acting director of DFS.

HIGH-RISK FOSTER YOUTH

Jasmine’s story mirrors the lives of many foster youths—bouncing between foster care and family and from school to school; separated from siblings, enveloped in instability and the feeling of being thrown away.

“I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and then I moved to Oakland when I was about 1 year old to live with my mom,

my dad and my granny,” Jasmine said.

“When I turned 2, my mom left, and I had a little brother who was 6 months old.”

Jasmine’s father left when she was 4, and her grandmother died shortly after.

She and her brother entered California’s foster care system, where they stayed for more than a year before their father resurfaced in Las Vegas. They moved back in with him, but were taken away when he started using drugs and alcohol and became abusive.

“I was 10 or 11 when my dad finally started fighting for custody of me, but he couldn’t get my brother because he was already adopted. They couldn’t change that,” she said. “So, my dad got custody of me.”

The visits to her uncle’s house started off innocently—hanging out and playing cards. “It turned into me spending the night, and then it turned into my uncle raping me.”

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There were three or four other girls held She has cycled through foster in the house, she said, but they were forbidhomes and gotten into fights with den to talk to each other. They couldn’t share other kids—one led to her wearing an their names, ages or stories, and if they did, ankle monitor. they were punished with physical violence.

Last year, she was pregnant at Child “After that, it was abuse. It triggered me: Haven. Two months into her pregnancy, Well, if I don’t do what they say then they’re she miscarried. going to hurt me,” she said. “Men used to At the start of 2017, Jasmine found a cycle through the house all the time. They home at St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. used to play cards or go upstairs with us.”

The ranch helped her enroll in a new For many of the CSEC population, school and encouraged her to attend afsurvival depends on their abuser. These ter-school programs and therapy to help youths are unaware of social programs her understand her past. and services that could help improve their The ranch also helped arrange visits lives, Arash Ghafoori, CEO and executive with her siblings—her brother and a director of Nevada Partnership of Homehalf-sister discovered by her caseworker. less Youth (NPHY), said at the launch of “We have a whole lot of house parents a collaborative mentoring program called on the ranch that really do care, and POWER ON! they’re not just doing it for the money,” “There are so many hooks in these girls,” Jasmine said. “If you want a good home, Greene said. “Eventually, they align with St. Jude’s is where you should be.” that person, because that’s their survival.

Jasmine graduated from high school They’re dependent on that person for their last spring, despite it being the ninth food and water.” school she attended that year.

The girls don’t leave, sometimes out of “Your past doesn’t determine your fufear for their lives, sometimes out of love, ture,” Jasmine said. “I never had that one sometimes because they have nowhere else person there to say, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ to go. When they do leave, building a case I always had to go through it alone. against the trafficker becomes increas“I’m just getting my story out there. ingly difficult. Often the trafficker pleads It doesn’t have to be millions of girls. If guilty to a lesser crime, the girl I help just one girl be like, ‘If she doesn’t want to testify, or there’s can do it, I can too,’ I would love not enough evidence to prosthat.”

An average of ecute.

11.6 children a “It’s not one monster in month were identified Last fall, Jasmine was set the closet; it’s everywhere,” as victims of sex trafficking in 2016. up to live at a local nonprofit Greene said of the nature of for youth who turn 18 and the trafficking problem in Las age out of foster care. She later Vegas. “I see the survivors. I see moved to Sacramento, California, the incredible drive to survive and to live with her grandmother, and began create a life. That’s the light in the darkstudying psychology so she can counsel ness.” teens with substance abuse problems.

Her case against her father and uncle One man who solicited Jasmine for sex is ongoing—their trials are scheduled for hesitated and asked her age. Jasmine said March and May, respectively. he realized she was too young and dropped She’s nervous about seeing her father her off at Child Haven when she was 14. She in the courtroom. The other girls didn’t turned 18 in May as part of Clark County’s want to testify; she will be alone. foster care system.

“It’s been a couple years since I’ve “They only could find four of the people been face to face with my dad,” she said. who came and paid and had sex with me, “I have other people I’m doing this for and he wasn’t one of them,” Jasmine said. besides me, and I feel if I stand up, that’s “And I hope they don’t find him, because he one less pedophile on the street, one was the one who saved me from it. He didn’t less person trying to coerce your childo anything to me. If it wasn’t for him, I’d dren, one less person trying to traffic still be in the situation I was in.” your kid.”

DFS has several representatives on the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children’s Coalition, formed in May 2016.

That unit consists of a supervisor, two therapists and two forensic interviewers, housed within the Southern Nevada Children’s Advocacy Center. It builds a relationship with the youths whom DFS identifies, then helps connect them to the appropriate services they need, including health care, housing and education.

A YEAR LATER

A TURNING POINT

*Some cases involved multiple victims Source: Southern Nevada Human Trafficking Task Force

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A woman from Mexico responded to a Craigslist ad about a housekeeping job but was forced into sex labor when the suspects threatened deportation and her son’s life.

About a month later, she went to police. Officers conducted a SWAT raid at a two-room apartment near Twain Avenue and Swenson Street and found a makeshift brothel equipped with timers, condoms, hand sanitizers, towels and closets filled with lingerie.

Ernesto Pineda Solis and Jacqueline Lopez were arrested during that operation. They were sentenced to prison time.

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez Weekly staff

aw enforcement efforts against human trafficking have had to adjust through the years. As technology and syndicates have evolved, so has the way these criminals operate.

There has been a sharp increase in gang members—who exclusively dealt drugs, participated in robberies and battled for turf—who now exploit victims. “There is a lot of money in the illegal trafficking of both adults and children,” Metro Vice Lt. Raymond Spencer said.

Metro undercover officers are out every night at Las Vegas prostitution hubs—such as Las Vegas Boulevard; the Tropicana corridor west of the Strip; Boulder Highway; and lower Fremont Street—where problems are most prominent. But over the past two decades, the internet has broadened the issue.

Prostitution ads in newspapers and magazines of the past can now be found on “hundreds, if not thousands” of websites, Spencer said.

Although human trafficking is not exclusive to Las Vegas, the 24hour atmosphere and high volume of visitors can provide unique challenges. “You go out on the Strip, and one day you have 900,000 tourists and then a week later you have another 900,000 additional tourists,” Spencer said.

Metro centralized its vice and gang units this year, focusing 26 undercover officers on its vice investigations.

The partnership between units has helped investigators better collaborate in weekly meetings where intelligence is shared to target specific human trafficking suspects.

The vice unit is further broken down into two teams. One investigates cases involving adult victims, and one works in conjunction with the FBI to target underage victims.

“We see such a huge link with kids getting lured or befriended online with potential people that are going to traffic them,” Spencer said.

The befriending-to-trafficking relationship does not immediately manifest itself.

A friendship transforms to a relationship, and victims often fall in love with victimizers, who shower them with jewelry, clothes and makeup. They tell victims they love them, take them out—“things they’re not accustomed to,” Spencer said.

Then comes the dagger, when the girl is told, “You need to go out and help us and make money,” Spencer said.

Violence and blackmail or threats to the victim’s family can arise if a victim refuses, experts say.

“You’re taken aback by the level of violence that these pimps will use and how they will target underage kids to put them out in such a horrible situation,” Spencer said.

Locally, sex trafficking and the demographics of those involved don’t always follow a pattern, Spencer said.

+

IMPACT THESE INVESTIGATIONS HAVE ON POLICE Investigations into human trafficking are “extremely disheartening,” especially when they involve children, Spencer said. “When we go out every day, we’re looking to rescue [kids].”

Spencer, who led the vice squad for almost a year, said his unit receives letters from rescued victims at least once a week thanking them for saving their lives.

Nods like those are “extremely beneficial” to investigators, Spencer said.

Richard Loughry, a former Las Vegas Fire & Rescue captain, responded to an online ad for a prostitute he thought was 22.

He summoned the girl to a fire station and allegedly had sex with her. She was 15 at the time and told investigators she had been trafficked by a pimp nine days prior to the February encounter at the station.

Loughry was arrested in April after the girl went to a lawyer who contacted the FBI, which subsequently contacted Metro, according to the arrest report. Loughry was taken into custody while leaving a store with his wife. Officers found a phone he kept secret and used to communicate with several women he said he’d taken to the station for sex. “[He] had no idea one of these girls could have been a juvenile and would not have done what he did if he knew that,” an investigator wrote on the report.

As of December, Loughry remained under house arrest. He faces charges of statutory seduction, lewdness with a child over the age of 14, child abuse and neglect, and soliciting or engaging prostitution of a child, court records show.

Last summer, Elizabeth Odell-Quate went to Las Vegas authorities and accused her husband of sex trafficking her Downtown. She also said he would not let her talk to her teenage daughters.

She made a stunning allegation that brought the case national attention when she told police that Jason Quate killed their third daughter in Belleville, Illinois, in 2013 and hid her body in a dilapidated house in nearby Centerville. He later admitted to killing the 6-year-old girl.

Police also accused Jason Quate of child pornography and sexually assaulting at least one of his surviving daughters while they lived in Las Vegas. –Ricardo Torres-Cortez

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LV W c ov e r s t o r y

Countries experiencing political turmoil and neighboring nations become targets for human trafficking as instability causes holes in social safety nets and dangerous environments encourage people fleeing to take risks.

Last September, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI partnered with Clear Channel Outdoor to produce 10 billboards aimed at bringing awareness to human trafficking in Las Vegas. The billboards are in three languages: Spanish, English and Chinese, targeting ethnicities the organizations believe are most at risk.

RESOURCES FOR VICTIMS National n National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888 Text: BEFREE or 233733 help@humantrafficking hotline.org Local n NPHY Safe Place There are more than 100 Safe Places for youths in crisis across the Las Vegas Valley, including 83 Terrible Herbst and 20 Las Vegas fire stations.

Within 30 minutes of a youth arriving at an NPHY Safe Place, a NPHY mobile crisis responder will pick up the youth, address his or her situation and ensure his or her safety. n Metro’s Vice Unit 702-828-3455

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here were 2,794 minors recovered from human sex trafficking by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department from 1994 through 2016, according to the 2017 State of Youth Homelessness in Southern Nevada Research Brief from UNLV’s Greenspun College of Urban Affairs.

In 2016, Metro documented about 140 child sex trafficking victims—roughly a dozen per month. The majority (76 percent) were black.

Several studies tie the over-representation of young black girls in Child Protective Services to them being trafficked at a higher rate than other races. Last year, 11.2 percent of youths in Clark County were black, representing an outsized 31.6 percent of all in foster care.

Greene said Metro has not finalized numbers for 2017, but they are not going down.

Those most vulnerable are children 13 and younger who are female; have been abused; have been exposed to family instability and dislocation; live in poverty; have run away or are homeless. One in three teens on the street will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home, according to the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY).

On the local level, Lenore Jean-Baptiste, the POWER ON! project coordinator at NPHY, said that, based on Nevada having the highest rate of unsheltered homeless youths, she anticipates the number of teens lured into prostitution being much higher.

Youths fleeing abusive or volatile homes or foster care placements often end up homeless and are quickly lured into illicit activities.

The warning signs include a combination of the following: youths who have trouble

sleeping during the night because of their soliciting, youths who run away from Friday to Sunday without any clear explanation of their whereabouts, a tattoo that may be used as branding, promiscuous dressing or dressing in expensive clothing, a change in attitude and language, referring to a boyfriend as ‘daddy’ and dating older men. –Camalot Todd

Other warning signs Tattoos usually of a pimp’s name, dollar signs, the word b*tch, or daddy Looking malnourished or tired despite having short shifts or working part-time Cigarette burns, bruises on arms Blistered feet from walking in high heels for long hours Missing school or work Time in juvenile detention for shoplifting

lv w c ov e r s t o r y

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Identifying at-risk youths Emily Salisbury, an associate professor of Criminal Justice at UNLV, designed an identification and diversion program for commercially sexually exploited youths entering the juvenile justice system. “Oftentimes they come in on masked charges, things that don’t look like it’s going to be about trafficking, but these youths are,” Salisbury said. “Sometimes, girls would come in on theft charges or shoplifting or some kind of charge that certainly doesn’t appear to be initially what somebody would call prostitution, even though a girl underage can’t technically be a prostitute because she can’t consent.”

Paying attention

Fixing the SYSTEM

“People don’t realize how many kids are out there being exploited and being trafficked in a way that is so harmful to our community, and just by caring about the issue and being aware of it is putting people in the right direction,” Salisbury said.

Because of the nature of human trafficking, data on the local, national and international levels is incomplete at best. However, reliable data collection on those levels is crucial for developing and enforcing anti-human trafficking policies, according to the 2016 Trafficking in Person Report by the U.S. government.

More early intervention social services

Early intervention programs that help youth who may be at-risk and parents of youth who are at-risk. “More family services certainly are needed. We’re ground zero for almost every social issue, whether it’s mental health, foster care,” Salisbury said. “It’s unfortunate that Las Vegas hasn’t quite wrapped its arms around its own community in that sense.”

17

Become a mentor:

A multilayered approach

Vulnerable youths cross into multiple public and social services. Fostering collaboration between schools, nonprofits and the Department of Family Services, and placing those at risk in programs tailored to their needs, is essential.

POWER ON!, a collaborative project that launched in January, is looking for mentors for at-risk youth and victims. The program is a joint effort between NPHY; Big Brothers Big Sisters; the Embracing Project, a nonprofit dedicated to helping sex trafficking victims in the Valley; and the Gay and Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada. The program requires a one-year commitment. For those looking to get involved, a POWER ON! training session will be held February 28 from 5-7 p.m. at the NPHY drop-in center (4981 Shirley St.).

RSVP at poweron@nphy.org. –Camalot Todd

Columbus

170

Las Vegas 237

401 170

St. Louis 198

Washington, D.C. 401 Richmond 170

Sacramento 222 Atlanta 317

Orlando 285 Baton Rouge 176

Miami 271

Houston 158

There is no formal way to track human trafficking prosecutions at state and local levels, according to a 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report. Since 2013, the federal government has collected data on human trafficking on the state and local levels through the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, but not all states and jurisdictions participate. The most recent data from the participating jurisdictions—including 38 states and Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico—was released in 2015. Across all the jurisdictions, there were 387 reported human trafficking offenses that resulted in an arrest or a solved case for crime reporting purposes, an increase of 120 from 2014, mostly because of more participation by states and U.S. territories.

Highest # of reported cases

Lowest # of reported cases

Data not available

The National Human Trafficking Hotline released a survey ranking the most populous cities in terms of hotline calls by aggregating their data from 2007 to 2016. The report was released last fall.

Las Vegas ranked in the top 10 for both the total amount of calls made to the hotline and calls per capita.

Cities with highest number of calls per capita

Sources: humantraffickinghotline.org; Federal Bureau of Investigations; U.S. Department of State

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LV W H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S

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WHEN DOGS (CATS, KANGAROOS AND PIGS) FLY TIPS FOR BRINGING PETS ON PLANES

BY CAMALOT TODD | WEEKLY STAFF

very year, more than 2 million pets and other animals travel by plane in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. ¶ However, figuring out which airline suits your needs can be complicated. In addition to individual airline regulations, the USDA also monitors the transportation of certain pets, including dogs, cats, ferrets, rodents, hedgehogs, reptiles (turtles, frogs) and some birds, creating another layer of confusion. ¶ If you’re considering traveling with your furry companion, here are a few factors to consider long before heading to the airport.

It’s still important to touch base with your specific airline carrier to be sure you’re in compliance.

E

Prepping your pet before travel

1 Reserve a spot for your pet in advance and inquire about the time and location of drop-off and pick-up.

2 Try to schedule to avoid connections, heavy holiday traffic or weekend flights. See if you can get a nonstop flight to your pet’s destination.

3 Airlines generally require health certificates and clearance by vets, so it’s ideal to schedule a checkup about 10 days before the flight. Overseas travel, including to Hawaii, may include special health requirements such as a quarantine. Confirm with your airline about any specific additional medical clearance your pet may need.

Cargo v. Cabin

4 Be sure your pet is wearing a tag, but also buy a temporary tag showing your destination, address and phone number.

5 Bring a photo of your pet in case it gets lost.

6 Be sure your animal has time to adjust to its kennel, which should be large enough for him or her to sit or stand in.

Be sure the kennel door latches securely. No part of your pet can protrude from the kennel, so wire carriers are not allowed.

Soft-sided carriers are only allowed in the cabin.

Ideally, you should fly your pet in the cabin, but only pets small enough to fit under your seat are allowed there. Larger pets must fly in the cargo section. Be sure the animal has enough space in its carrier to move, and toys and blankets to keep comfortable during the flight.

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Travel-day preparation

1 Don’t feed your pet solid food six hours before the flight, but do take it for a walk and provide a moderate amount of water before and after the flight.

2 When you board, let a flight attendant and the pilot know your pet is in the cargo hold.

LV W H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S

What qualifies as an emotional support animal (ESA)?

The Air Carrier Access Act, a federal law, prevents airlines from discriminating against emotional support animals for passengers.

While there are no universal regulations regarding size or what type of pet can be considered an emotional support animal, airlines are imposing their own restrictions after several in-flight dramas,

including one that involved a pig defecating in an aisle.

Two ESAs recently turned away from flying were a hamster (named Pebbles) and a peacock (Dexter) who weren’t allowed to board flights despite being certified. However, a kangaroo, miniature horses and a 15-pound Sulcata Tortoise named Xena have made it into the sky.

Pet relief spots at McCarran International Airport Pet Carriers 101 Carriers must have a leak-proof, solid floor that is covered with a towel, litter or absorbent lining. Carriers should have grips or handles so airline employees don’t have to put their hands inside the carrier.

Inside the carrier, there should be two empty dishes—one for food and one for water—along with instructions on how to feed your pet with a signature certifying that your pet was offered food (not solid) and water within four hours of your flight’s departure.

On the outside of the carrier, write “Live Animal” with arrows directing the proper position of the carrier, in addition to your pet’s name and contact information.

McCarran International Airport has several locations outdoors and post-security where your pet can relieve itself after a long flight.

Indoor post-security locations can be found at Terminal 1, gates A, B, C and D, and at Terminal 3.

Outdoor locations can be found at Terminal 1 baggage claim, Terminal 1 ticketing and at Terminal 3.

If you need help to one of the locations, contact your airline, the Department of Aviation Passenger Services staff at the terminal (702-261-5211), or the ADA Section 504 coordinator (702-261-5157).

Not all birds can fly Not all birds qualify as pets.

Several species of birds are classified as poultry and must meet different requirements.

Chickens, doves, ducks, geese, grouse, guinea fowl, partridges, peafowl, pheasants, pigeons, quail, swans and turkeys don’t qualify as pet birds and must meet different requirements.

The difference between ESA and Service Animals Both fly free. ESAs require a certification, whereas a service animal requires a specific training program in addition to certification.

(Norma Jean Ortega/Courtesy) Photo Illustration

21

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23

Trust Us Everything you absolutely, positively must get out and do this week

THRU FEB. 25

24

SAT., 7 P.M.

Pahrump Hot Air Balloon Festival AT PETRACK PARK

Bob Ross Night at Best Painting Parties

There’s something magical about witnessing more than 30 hot air balloons lift off in unison.

Grab a camera and venture out to Pahrump for this threeday festival of colorful eye candy, which also features a nighttime “glowing” balloon show, a carnival, $10 tethered balloon rides and more. Free admission, $20 for carnival, pahrump tickets.com.

–Leslie Ventura

Paint some happy little trees at this Bob Rossthemed painting night. Best Painting Parties invites guests to “Paint a Mountain!,” for which they’ll learn how to paint in the style of everybody’s favorite art instructor. No talent or permed wig required. $35, 2016 W. Sunset Road, #100.

–C. Moon Reed

Make it a Double 24

saturday, 1 p.m.

TWIN BEER FESTIVALS February 24 is a good day to be a craft beer fan in Southern Nevada … and a tricky one, because it means choosing between two appealingsounding festivals running simultaneously.

Downtown, Atomic Liquors hosts the second-annual Beer Zombies Festival, co-presented

by Beer Zombies and Atomic City Brews. For $45, attendees can sample pours from more than 40 breweries—like Finback from Queens, New York; Oregon’s pFriem; Sweden’s Omnipollo; and Sour Cellars from Rancho Cucamonga, California—from 1 to 5 p.m. The ticket also grants access to the Day After Share event, during which participants can trade tastes from rare bottles beginning at noon at the same location.

Meanwhile on Saturday, across town at Henderson Pavilion, the Las Vegas Pizza and Beer Festival features, well, pizza and beer, two great tastes made for one another.

Buy a ticket (priced from $29$49) and you’ll get unlimited pours from 19 breweries including regional favorites Lagunitas, Alesmith, Mikkeller and Modern Times—along with all the slices you can put away from Rosati’s, Pop Up Pizza, Slice of Vegas and more from 1 to 4 p.m.

Who’s thirsty?

–Spencer Patterson

Be a Color Run hero on February 24.

L o o k in g f o r m o re ? T u r n t o C u lt u r e Pa g e 3 2 f o r o u r E V EN T l i s t i n g s .

2 . 2 2 .1 8

C U LT U R E W E E K LY

LAUGHS, RHYMES AND LIFE 27

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TUESDAY, 9 P.M.

FRIDAY, 9 P.M.

SNAILMATE AT STARBOARD TACK

FELIPE ESPARZA AT TREASURE ISLAND

Synth-punk and hip-hop aren’t words you normally see together, but it’s an apt descriptor for Kalen Lander and Ariel Monet’s DIY project, Snailmate.

Hailing from Phoenix— they lovingly refer to it as an “oppressive hellscape”—Lander and Monet have turned Snailmate into a well-oiled nerd-punk machine that rarely takes a day off from touring.

Catch them at Starboard Tack’s first hip-hop-only bill, with support from LA’s Coolzey and locals Hassan and Late for Dinner. 9 p.m., free. –Leslie Ventura

His standard greeting might seem confrontational (“What’s up, fool?”), but don’t worry: Felipe Esparza doesn’t want to fight. “I might be 6-foot-1, 270 pounds … but this is just for looks,” he said in a recent Comedy Central special. What the charming, easygoing Boyle Heights, LA, native does want to do is get laughs, and he does, handily. Esparza is a natural storyteller, with a dishingover-beers delivery and a gift for a well-timed aside.

(Regarding why he loves going to the drive-in: “You can sneak in [an extra] person, and Mexicans— we’re used to sneaking people in, anyway.”)

Esparza stays busy—the onetime Last Comic Standing winner has produced multiple standup specials, appears on NBC’s Superstore and hosts a weekly podcast called What’s Up Fool?

But when he’s onstage, it seems like he’s talking directly to you … and he’s got all the time in the world to hang out. $39$54. –Geoff Carter

Esparza brings the funny to TI. (Frankie Leal/Courtesy)

“I COULD NEVER HAVE A THREESOME. THIS IS NOT A THREESOME BODY. THIS IS A TURN-OFF-THE-LIGHTS BODY, A LEAVE-YOURSHIRT-ON BODY. THIS IS A TELL-NO-BODY.” –FELIPE ESPARZA

R A P, R U N A N D R E T R O 24

SATURDAY, 8 A.M.

THE COLOR RUN DOWNTOWN The “Happiest 5k on the Planet” is kicking it up a notch by designating this year’s race the “hero tour.” As always, runners (and walkers—this “race” is open to all) will be doused with packets of powdery rainbow colors as they jog through Downtown. The “hero” aspect includes two “super zones” that will offer “double the color” as well as a “unicorn hero medal” and themed Tshirt. The event begins with a pre-race dance and stretch party and ends with an afterparty at Hot N Juicy Crawfish.

Three Square is the charity partner, so bring canned goods for true hero status. $25-$38, 945 Fremont Street, thecolorrun.com. –C. Moon Reed

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SATURDAY, 9 P.M.

STEAMPUNK BALL AT MILLENNIUM FANDOM BAR You know the look. The corsets and gowns. The petticoats and top hats. The driving goggles and pocket watches. It’s all over Burning Man and well-represented during the Saturday of Comic-Con. Sure, steampunk is more than just Victorian Era-meets-Wild West regalia; it’s a whole sci-fi subgenre that blends fantasy and speculative fiction, represented by late Industrial Age aesthetic (local example: Rx Boiler Room at Mandalay Bay).

But it screams for cosplay gatherings— like the annual one at Millennium Fandom Bar, which will host a costume contest during its annual celebration of the retrofuture world. Free. –Mike Prevatt

25

SUNDAY, 7 P.M.

G-EAZY AT PARK THEATER Twenty-eight-year-old Oakland rapper and producer Gerald Earl Gillum has been making all the right moves for some time now.

His most memorable tracks have been collaborations like “Me, Myself & I” with Bebe Rexha, the current “Him & I” with girlfriend Halsey and September’s “No Limit” with ASAP Rocky and Cardi B, but after launching his biggest tour yet last week at the Smart Financial Centre southwest of Houston, G-Eazy is clearly ready for his own time in the spotlight. With the title track from new album The Beautiful & Damned featured in audio giant Beats’ Olympic Games commercials, he’s primed for global exposure. With Trippie Redd, Phora, Anthony Russo; $45-$82. –Brock Radke

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C U LT U R E C OV E R S T O R Y

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s the young Zinfandel blooms on your tongue, Ryan Duncan will tell you about the grape’s unpronounceable relative in Croatia, and that his beloved Sancerre’s minerality lands like lime licked off granite. From malolactic fermentation to diurnal shifts, his sommelier muscle will just keep twitching.

Until you ask about the first wine so delicious it made him close his eyes.

“Beringer Private Reserve, 1986. I didn’t know enough to know why it was so good, but I knew it was good,” he says, tasting the memory. “It was amazing.”

That’s been the widespread gut reaction to Clark County’s first winery. After launching quietly on December 8, Vegas Valley Winery sold out its January 20 grand opening, which featured a gorgeous model with a glass of red painted between her bare breasts. To any gasping wine snobs, this is how Las Vegas does a winery.

“Part of me likes that we’re in a warehouse, because I think when people first drive in they’re going, ‘Oh my God, how good can this be?’” Patty Peters says, laughing. She and co-owner/winemaker “Big” Mike Schoenbaechler considered turning a golf course into an idyllic venue, but that would have meant uprooting their winemaking school, Grape Expectations, which Peters opened with her late husband Charlie in 2007. The school is a staple in Henderson’s Booze District. Plus, romantic vineyards are California’s thing.

“The winery’s beautiful, but only from the inside,” says Big Mike, who helped build the tasting room. He and production specialist Chad Evans hand-applied Venetian

11

plaster walls and a layered cement floor you’d swear was wood. Evans made statement art out of old barrel staves and sleek paneling from bleached-out boards. The bar is polished stone the color of aged cork, against which the five initial releases can be picked out by color alone.

All were made with grapes from California. Big Mike explains that it will take years to cultivate vines like Pahrump’s wineries have. State law previously barred wineries from counties with populations over 100,000, but that changed in 2015, and the Grape Expectations team got started right then on licensing to plant the foundational flag in Las Vegas.

The first 1,000 cases of wine can be made with grapes from anywhere. After that, 25 percent of the fruit must be native. “[Lawmakers] didn’t want to just open the floodgates and let California roll in and put big wineries on the Strip, the money flowing right back to California. We want to build an industry from the ground up,” Big Mike says. “There have been existing wineries in the state for quite a while now, and they’ve proven that grapes can grow; they’ve proven they can make good wine from those grapes. So we just need to expand upon that.”

Duncan, who manages the tasting room, says Vegas Valley Winery is working with growers on three varietals in the Amargosa Valley, about 88 miles to the northwest.

The clay soil and big swing in temperature from day to night make it ideal. There are other promising areas in our arid state, Duncan says, pointing to the burgeoning wine scenes in Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. “I think it’s just really untapped.”

Big Mike has seen the lounge get busier and busier, as locals linger over cheese pizzas and charcuterie and take spontaneous tours of a rack house stacked to the ceiling with barrels.

“I really thought it would take a while to get it ramped up, to acknowledge that we’re even here,” he says. “It caught on like wildfire. … It tells me that there was a builtup demand.”

Two more reds will likely be released this year, a Barbera and Sangiovese; and a Tempranillo, Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend and Sauvignon Blanc are racked.

While some of the wines will continue to be made with the best grapes from other states (or countries), the “five-year plan” is

(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

2 . 2 2 .1 8 C U LT U R E C OV E R S T O R Y

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Winemaker “Big” Mike Schoenbaechler (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

Grapes: Paso Robles, CA ABV: 15.3% Aroma: black pepper, spice Flavor: dark berry, cherry compote, raisin, fig Finish: floral Duncan says: “This is just classic Paso Robles zin for me—it’s got high alcohol; it’s jammy; it’s got a lot of dried fruit notes.

But it’s really ripe fruit and a really nice balance of acid and tannin.”

Grapes: Paso Robles, CA ABV: 14.5% Aroma: purple and red flowers, lavender, peppercorn, Herbs de Provence Flavor: blackberry, plum, black olive Finish: dark chocolate Big Mike says: “A little bit bolder, darker. This is actually our most popular wine. It’s got good body and nice soft tannin—great balance.”

Grapes: Suisun Valley, CA ABV: 11.6% Aroma: orchard fruit, citrus blossoms, lemongrass Flavor: Golden Delicious apple, pear, grapefruit, lime zest Finish: zingy Big Mike says: “Since we were only gonna be able to start with one dry white wine, we wanted to have something that wasn’t too acidic or crisp, more of a crowd-pleaser.”

to unveil a purely Nevada line. Vegas Valley Winery has a great model in the Pahrump wine community, which has been very supportive of growing the industry.

Sales at the new winery have been strictly by-the-glass to conserve supply, but bottles will be ready in the next few months. Just don’t look for them in grocery stores. “We want to make a handcrafted product that’s small-volume and quality that we can pour our blood, sweat and tears into,” Big Mike says. “I can’t say it won’t ever happen, but it’s not what we’re striving for.”

That goes way back to the days when he and Charlie were making wine in a Tuff Shed in the Peters’ backyard. It’s where he fell in love with the process and the people—the camaraderie of wine. When Charlie died suddenly in 2012, none of his partners could imagine letting Grape Expectations die, too, so Big Mike and others stepped up to help Patty keep it going.

Standing behind the bar, she recalls her first date with Charlie, when he pulled into a McDonald’s only to whip a cheese board and chilled brut Champagne out of his trunk.

“I don’t know what happens to you after you die, but if he’s floating around he’s a happy little camper. He’d be tickled with this,” she says. “You know, I feel like I’ve got Charlie.” Not only in the bones of the operation, but in the charming wackiness of marketing chief and “Professor of Yeastology” K.J. Howe. In Evans’ dependable “brute strength.” In the way Duncan and fellow cop-turned-somm Chris Carroll can’t help nerding out. And especially in Big Mike’s focus. Without him, Peters says, the place would have folded.

She calls it a weird family. More like the perfect blend.

Grapes: Suisun Valley, CA ABV: 9.2% Aroma: honey, white flowers Flavor: peach, apricot, tropical notes Finish: mineral Duncan says: “It’s not offensively sweet, not a honey bomb, and it’s got great flavor.

With a spicy Thai dish, perfect.

Indian, too.”

Grapes: Suisun Valley, CA ABV: 11.1% Aroma: red flowers Flavor: ripe strawberry Finish: watermelon candy Duncan says: “Think summertime by your pool when it’s 110 and this wine, really, really cold.

Almost wine-slurpy cold. If the rosé were a little drier I’d probably drink it out of stock.”

Download Sizzle from the app store for an exclusive Rock & Reilly’s experience >

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Station to station Friend and collaborator Mike Garson celebrates David Bowie on tour

By Leslie Ventura hen Mike Garson joined David Bowie’s band for its first U.S. shows—on the famed Ziggy Stardust Tour in 1972—he had no idea who Bowie was. Today, Garson is credited as having been Bowie’s longest-touring band member.

Those flowing piano lines on “Lady Grinning Soul” and “Time” off Aladdin Sane and “We Are the Dead” on Diamond Dogs? That’s him. In total, Garson worked with Bowie on more than 15 albums and served in the lineup for the late icon’s final tour in 2003 and 2004. Today, he’s the one taking Bowie on the road, bringing the Starman’s songbook to life again through Celebrating David Bowie, a tour featuring Bowie associates like guitarists Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard, bassist Carmine Rojas and vocalists Bernard Fowler and Gaby Moreno.

W

You were a classically trained musician with a new wife and kid when you landed a gig touring with David Bowie—this eccentric guy who wore makeup and

You created “Symphonic Suite for Healing” with a brain surgeon to help hospital patients. Did that help prepare you for Bowie’s passing? Yes. I believe any music that’s coming from a good heart heals the public that likes that music, be it The Beatles or Justin Timberlake or Mozart or Chopin.

I specifically worked with a brain surgeon CELEBRATING and tested my music out on patients, and DAVID BOWIE they particularly liked certain ones, so February 27, that became a symphonic healing suite.

women’s clothing and called himself Ziggy Stardust.

What were your first thoughts? I was freaked out. I was intrigued. And I said to my wife, “Where am I?” These guys were dressed in the wildest costumes, and I’m in jeans thinking, “I’m on another planet.”

And then you had to dress up as well. That was their way to get back at me for being so normal. They dressed me up, put makeup on me and everything. And furthermore, they thought it was hilarious that I didn’t know any of the music or David Bowie.

8 p.m, $32.

Brooklyn Bowl, 702-862-2695.

The Ziggy Stardust Tour is the one where he famously broke up the band onstage, yet you continued to play with him. Why do you think that was? I have a gigantic love for the piano, and I learned how to play pop and fusion and jazz and classical. David was a chameleon and always changing styles, so he utilized anything that could serve his music.

It sounds like Celebrating David Bowie is a healing suite for Bowie fans, then.

That’s exactly right. People who like Bowie, that’s healing for them. What we’re doing for David, it’s so cathartic for myself and the band and the alumni. It’s very healing for the fans. I look out there, and they’re singing every word to every song loudly and either smiling or crying— nothing in between.

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Rocket science Sizzy Rocket returns home to share a bill with Shamir

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(Associated Press/Photo Illustration)

RADIO CRED

For those hoping to hear him bang out “Paranoid Android” this Sunday, well, his Smith Center appearance isn’t about him. For the first time in its 18 seasons, the frequently traveling From the Top will record an episode in Las Vegas, highlighting six teen and pre-teen musicians performing variPublic radio listeners and classical music aficionaous instruments (including voice). Two of those dos know Christopher O’Riley for his hosting duties musicians hail from Las Vegas: bassoonist Jordan on NPR’s From the Top—a showcase featuring young Farber, 16, of Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, musicians that garners almost a million who will perform Noël Gallon’s Récit et AlFrom the Top listeners a week—and his live performances February 25, legro, and guitarist Parsa Sabet, 18, of Sierra with the country’s greatest orchestras. And 2 p.m., $19-$79.

Vista High School, who will have a go at both alternative and indie rock fans might recSmith Center’s Francisco Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la AlhamReynolds Hall, ognize the pianist’s name due to his tinkly 702-749-2000. bra and Jorge Morel’s Danza in E Minor. reinterpretations of the music of The serious musical numbers (which might Radiohead, Elliott Smith and be accompanied by O’Riley himself) will be Nick Drake, all of whom complemented by off-the-cuff interviews, profiles have received full-album tributes and even skits featuring the young prodigies, creatby O’Riley that are mercifully free ing a lively mood ideal for introducing kids to some of the usual cover-act mimicry and of the greatest music ever made—performed by serve as portals to classical music their own peer group, no less.

–Mike Prevatt for Coachella Nation.

Pianist Christopher O’Riley will record his NPR show with young Vegas musicians

Sizzy Rocket has always wanted to be larger than life. That was her mentality when she chose her stage name—one reflecting her punkish, noholds-barred attitude.

Where Katy Perry once sang a watered-down, attention-grabbing song about kissing girls, Sizzy sings crassly about wanting to sleep with her best friends. She writes about awkward moments, vulnerability, drinking too much— themes that should resonate with those who came of age in Las Vegas. Before Sizzy was a New Yorker or a Los Angeleno, she was Sabrina Louise Bernstein, Las Vegan.

“Vegas has been superinfluential to me,” Sizzy, 25, says from her LA home. She opens up for another former Las Vegan, Shamir, at the Bunkhouse on February 23.

“We met in Vegas when I was home for Christmas.

That was my first turnt adult Vegas night—going out with Shamir.”

Sizzy graduated from Las Vegas Academy, opening for bands like Imagine Dragons before moving to New York City at 18. “Growing up in Vegas was a little bit isolating. My house was in the middle of the desert.” Music, she says, was her outlet.

At the core of her songs are themes of temptation and “how far do you want to go with your vices?” she says. Those underpinnings are palpable on 2016 debut Thrills, along with newer tracks like the hazy, selfdestructive “Mulholland.”

In an era oversaturated with content, Sizzy makes decisions that keep her from blending in, while staying connected to her fans. “You have to be interactive now.

It’s not just ‘Look at me perform’ anymore. You’re part of the whole experience.

That’s what Sizzy is about.”

–Leslie Ventura

Sizzy Rocket opening for Shamir.

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club shorts

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Drai’s destroyed Vegas fashion week thanks to the debut of 2018 resident 2 Chainz, who got the rooftop rocking on February 13 as Los Angeles Chargers legend Antonio Gates joined the party. 2 Chainz returns to the Cromwell club on March 17 and April 7. This weekend’s lineup includes Nelly on Friday and Trey Songz on Saturday.

The Golden Tiki in Chinatown will hold a special tribute February 22 from 9 p.m. to midnight to honor the founding father of the tiki bar, Donn Beach (aka Don the Beachcomber). Local bar pros including Fleur’s Rebecca Hayden, Fusion Bar’s Wendy Hodges, Flock & Fowl’s Adam Rains and the Black Sheep’s Jessica Lee Westergom will mix up their original takes on classic Donn drinks, accompanied by live music from The Sharps.

The sexy hideaway with great music and tableside mixology is turning two. Clique Lounge at the Cosmopolitan will celebrate its birthday with a special My Clique Mondays event February 26 starting at 9 p.m. If you have one too many Up All Nights at Clique and think you might be up all night, head upstairs to catch DJ Mustard at Marquee Mondays. –Brock Radke

Throwback jams DJ Franzen brings the house Party to Drai’s

he original House Party movie isn’t about costuming Drai’s staffers; Franny even donned his Kid ’n Play. It’s not even about Bilal, the best Bilal outfit for last month’s House Party. dragon-breath DJ, played by It’s an extra-special affair for the Bay DJ FRANZEN’S Martin Lawrence. It’s about the Area-born DJ, who premiered many of these HOUSE PARTY music, because the music makes the party, throwback tracks when they first came out February 25, and that’s the idea behind DJ Franzen’s during his radio career. And it’s not all hip10:30 p.m., $20-$30. Drai’s House Party at Drai’s, too. hop; memorable R&B and pop-dance tunes at the Cromwell, Franzen, Las Vegas’ hip-hop stalwart, will also make their way into the setlist.

702-605-4000. will take clubbers on a stroll down memory We’re not sure if you’ll be slow-dancing to lane on select Sundays throughout the Heatwave’s version of “Always and Forever” year with these ’90s and ’00s-themed at Drai’s on Sunday night, but you’ll parties, complete with period-appropriate outfits definitely be dancing. –Brock Radke

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2 Chainz (Devin Jimenez/ Tony Tran Photography)

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WORKING TO BE THE GREATEST THE NEW G.O.A.T. SPORTS BAR BRINGS A DIFFERENT VIBE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

BY BROCK RADKE atrick Hua took a different path into the world of Vegas nightlife. He drove into town from Ohio on September 11, 2001, despite his mother’s pleas to turn around and come home. Hailing from a family of entrepreneurs, Hua owned and operated several nail salons before relocating to Las Vegas, which is why he landed first at Bellagio’s salon.

“When I came to Vegas I had the pipe dream that I would retire at 21, but I ran out of money in six months,” he laughs. “My first job was working for my parents at 9 years old.”

Embedded with the entrepreneurial spirit, Hua always dreamed of opening his own bar, even before he spent years working as a dealer and casino manager, and then jumping into club life at Jet, Encore Beach Club and Surrender, Rehab, Omnia and others. “I just couldn’t figure out where and what concept,” he says. He did a lot of research, visiting as many bars, clubs and Patrick Hua’s G.O.A.T. serves up tasty food to go lounges as he could in Las Vegas and beyond, noting the bits and with its welcoming vibe. (Wade Vandervort/Staff) pieces of those venues that appealed to everyone.

G.O.A.T. Sports Bar is the result, opened late last year in a wellworn West Sahara space that had long housed dive bar Shifty’s.

The right place turned out to be the busy stretch that includes popular watering holes like Herbs & Rye and the Phoenix and tons of interesting restaurants. The right concept was a clean, classy, slightly upscale sports bar.

“I knew if I built something nice enough, the questionable crowd would come in and walk right out, and working class people would feel comfortable in a place where they don’t have to worry about ignorant jokes or people hitting on them,” Hua says. “You can come in after work in a suit and not feel over-dressed, or in shorts and a T-shirt to watch a basketball game and not feel over-underdressed. It’s all about the great customer service I learned at those nightclubs—that’s what they want.”

They also want good food, like G.O.A.T.’s small plates of Korean wings and house-made meatballs, and good value. The bar just launched a Monday industry-night promotion when shots of Jameson or Don Julio Blanco, every plate and every beer cost just $5.

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G.O.A.T. SPORTS BAR DJ Franzen (Brandon Pearson/Courtesy)

3805 W. Sahara Ave., 702-489-3787. 24/7.

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2 . 2 2 .1 8 Eric Jordan Young, caught on camera between gigs. (Bryan Steffy/AP/Photo Illustration)

The Strip

Where does he Find the time?

From Baz to Renegades , Vegas stage veteran Eric Jordan Young never presses pause

By Brock Radke ric Jordan Young adopted a new mantra for 2018, and it’s working quite well: No chores.

“Sometimes when we do a lot of work and busy ourselves, we can start to think of everything as an obligation,” explains the Broadway veteran who has recently performed in Las Vegas productions Rock of Ages, Shakin’ and Vegas! The Show. “But I love what I do and I love being involved in a lot of different projects at the same time, so the idea is no chores this year, all great stuff.”

Young is doing so much great stuff on the Strip right now, it’s tough to figure out how he fits it all in. He’s the resident director of Baz: A Musical Mash-up, which plays Tuesday through Sunday at the Palazzo Theatre. “I oversee the creative aspects of the show, anything that deals with performance and casting and staging and structure and costumes and lighting and sound design,” he says. “I’m the eyes and ears on the creative level for the production team, and I offer assistance and guidance to the performers and give them to the opportunity to feel safe onstage.”

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Sounds like a full-time gig. Except that he’s also one of four stars of the fun, new Wednesdaythrough-Saturday 5 p.m. show The Cocktail Cabaret at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace. It’s a powerhouse, throwback musical extravaganza created by composer Keith Thompson and piano phenom Philip Fortenberry. Young is the singing-dancing host of the show, anchoring the performances of standout vocalists Niki Scalera, Daniel Emmet and Maren Wade.

“Cleopatra’s Barge is one of those famous rooms any entertainer would be thrilled to perform in if only for one night,” he says. “So many incredible people have been in that room, from the Rat Pack to Harry Belafonte. It’s such an iconic place—to be on that stage is really cool.”

So cool, in fact, that Young’s third current show, the unorthodox Renegades, plays there, too, Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m.. Young is writer and creative director for the interactive sports-focused show, which features storytelling and conversation with infamous athletes including Jose Canseco, Jim

McMahon and Terrell Owens.

“I’m a storyteller, so that was the main focus of how to make this work,” Young says. “It’s a matter of how to shape those stories and make them relevant to everyone, regardless if they’re a sports fan or if they understand these athletes’ history. And Renegades definitely has some stories you haven’t heard.”

Working with big names is a breeze for someone who collaborated with tons of celebs during the first national company tour of Chicago, when Young teamed with Brooke Shields, George Hamilton, Lou Gossett Jr., Melanie Griffith and many more.

Somehow, Young also finds time to perform in Brunch to Broadway Sundays at Red Rock Resort, a show expanding to Santa Fe Station, too. “It feels like somebody is looking out for me, the way that everything has lined up,” he says. “My day can be really quite amazing, but I just love what I do. I love to see the changes and influence, and I love to pull stuff out of people and make them feel they can do better.”

Just talking to Young can do that, or at least make you feel you can do more.

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Mark Justice co-stars in Unwritten. (Courtesy)

By the book Vegas bookstore Amber Unicorn gets a spotlight in local feature film Unwritten

By Josh Bell as Vegas filmmaker Dale Neven’s journey to making his first feature film, the supernatural thriller Unwritten, has taken him from studying film at California’s Orange Coast College to working various positions (production assistant, grip, set dresser) on film projects in California to video production jobs in Vegas for Southwest Gas and a local megachurch. “[It] was a great experience, learning all the different crew positions, especially now with directing this one, just to know how the different departments work,” he says of his time in the trenches.

Now Neven is getting ready for the world premiere of Unwritten, which stars Vegas-based actor Gabriel Burrafato as Albert Flinch, a failed writer who owns (and lives in) a used bookstore in the middle of the Nevada desert, and has become convinced that a villain from one of his unfinished stories has come to life and is stalk-

L

ing him. The idea sparked for Neven when he Books, the longtime local establishment that’s was reading over an old sci-fi script he’d written. recently gone through some rough times. “They “I was looking at the date that the villain was were just so awesome,” Neven says. “We took going to be born, and I was like, oh, he’s going to over their lives for two and a half weeks. I love be born five years from now,” he explains. “ImMyrna, and I became a fan of the bookstore and mediately, I thought, what would happen if he just how great they were.” Owner and co-founder really was born in five years?”

Myrna Donato lost her husband and fellow Most of the movie’s cast is local, but co-founder Lou in November, and the the producers (with the help of co-star store has struggled since the closure of UNWRITTEN February 25, Mark Justice) were able to land one an adjacent Trader Joe’s last year.

7 p.m., $13, famous face, casting veteran character Since Amber Unicorn played such an AMC Town Square. actor Lorenzo Lamas as a military integral part in making Unwritten a realfacebook.com/ unwrittenmovie. general. Neven admits to being a little ity, the filmmakers decided to return the intimidated, as a first-time director, favor, and proceeds from this week’s preworking with a well-known star, but he miere (which is open to the public) will got over it quickly. “I didn’t have too much time to go toward purchasing books from Amber Unicorn, be nervous,” he says. “Too many things going on.” which will then be donated to children’s literacy For a movie that takes place almost entirely charity Spread the Word Nevada. As Neven’s filmwithin a used bookstore, Neven needed the permaking journey continues, he’s doing what he can fect location, and he found it in Amber Unicorn to give back to the community that supports him.

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Gail Gilbert’s “Aeoliana.” part of Warp & Weft inside the Rotunda Gallery. (Wade Vandervort/Staff)

Dancing metals Choreographer Gail Gilbert turns her sculptures into performers in Warp & Weft

By C. Moon Reed abric, metal, wood and stones—these are the seemingly inert building blocks of Gail Gilbert’s show Warp & Weft. But in this artist’s hands, these materials come to life. Fabric billows like a sail, moved by an invisible wind. Steel strips undulate upward; they look like they could fly away if not for the large stone holding them down.

The show’s title refers to the mechanics of weaving fabric. The “warp” is the stable threads, while the “weft” weaves in and out. Both stability and movement are needed to create the finished product, equal parts limber and strong.

Gilbert’s own life can be seen as a balance between warp and weft. As a lifelong dancer and actor—she plays the nursemaid in Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ—Gilbert manifests other people’s visions. As a choreographer and visual artist, she uses dancers and materials to realize her own. Performing is ephemeral; a metal sculpture lasts. She needs all the yins and yangs to reach her own sense of balance.

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Perhaps for those reasons, Gilbert is inspired by life—as a performer in one way and the other way as the natural cycle of destruction and renewal. She a visual artist—they keep crossing and they form a wants the viewer to gaze upon a work and wonder tapestry,” she says. Gilbert is committed to setting if it represents a beginning or an ending. She more time aside for visual art in the coming year. wants the pieces that she designed and formed to She’d like to build up to an exhibit that combines look as if they sprung up organically from her paintings and sculptures together to Gail Gilbert: the earth. “see what that looks like.” Meanwhile, she As a performer, she trains to make a relishes the collaboration and synergy of Warp & Weft Through March 2, difficult movement look effortless, a pracCirque du Soleil.

Monday-Friday, ticed one look new. This same is true for Gilbert loves to cut 20-gauge steel 8 a.m.-5 p.m., free. the pieces in Warp & Weft. For example, sheets into two-inch strips. “I can bend Clark County Government “Loom” is a giant structure with peeling it with my own hands. It’s still strong, Center Rotunda wood, blue fabric and twisting metal but it’s pliable,” she says, explaining Gallery, strips. It could be a magical portal or the how she “draws” with metal. “I can 702-455-8685. remnants of an old miner’s shack that’s express movement when I twist it.” She been blasted by desert winds for 100 years. loves how the piece changes depending Or it could be a new work that Gilbert built in her on the viewer’s location. From one spot, it apsuburban backyard. pears to be a pencil-thin line; from another, the The artist has been thinking a lot about how the steel is a thick band. “It’s another form of creatdifferent aspects of her creative expression influing movement.” Gilbert says, perhaps summing ence one another. “I realized that’s been my whole up her entire career.

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STAGE TALKING SENTIENCE PLAYWRIGHT TYLAR PENDGRAFT AND MAJESTIC REPERTORY’S TROY HEARD CHAT ABOUT SCIENCE AND STAGE DIRECTIONS

BY C. MOON REED arried couple Deborah and Josh are just like us—with a few genetic upgrades. But can science help them when tragedy strikes? In Sentience, San Diego-based playwright Tylar Pendgraft creates a near-future world in which humanity and technology collide.

In advance of Sentience’s world premiere at Majestic Repertory Theater, the Weekly facilitated a conversation between Pendgraft and director Troy Heard. The playwright and director wrote questions for one another and then answered separately for maximum honesty. Their responses have been edited together into a virtual conversation.

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Pendgraft: What is your hope for the plays you direct?

Heard: I hope to move an audience in some way or another. For me, the worst criticism you can ever get is, “Ehh, the show was okay.” Whether you love it passionately or are mortally offended by it, I want to provoke strong reaction. … How did you manage to find drama in such a dry topic as science?

Pendgraft: For me, science has always been a hobby. I read scientific journals [for fun]. This play burst from another idea about women and their right to control their bodies. I’ve lived with these characters for such a long time that I came to love them. I put passion and drama of everyday life into a scientific setting. ... How do you imagine the Majestic making a cultural impact on Las Vegas?

Heard: We’re taking risks and putting new voices out, producing new works. A world premiere shouldn’t just be a [unique] event, it should be something we do on the regular. ... When did you first see that we needed more strong female protagonists in pop culture?

Pendgraft: It’s always been in the back of my mind in some way. All of my protagonists have been females, especially women of color. Even if a story doesn’t specifically call for women of color, that’s what I advocate for. I’ve been navigating from my experience as a woman of color, and those are stories I wanted to tell. Writing female protagonists is not an overt act of political intention. It’s always the story inside of me that I’ve been wanting to tell in some way or another. Do you ever secretly hope I will change a difficult stage direction?

Heard: (Laughs.) I do not. The challenge of directing is in finding a creative solution to interpret the stage direction. There’s a scene in Sentience where a character tries to drown himself in the ocean. How do you do that in black box theater-in-the-round? Not only did she present a challenge in the script, I’ve given myself another challenge in staging it with audience on all four sides.

SENTIENCE Through March 11, Thursday-Sunday, times vary, $15-$25. Majestic Repertory Theatre, majesticrepertory. com.

Destiny Faith Williams and Joe Basso in Sentience.

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Cut Copies It’s not too late to make your own zine, says the founder of Vegas’ Zine Library

By Leslie Ventura n the slow evenings of his valet shifts in 2003, Las Vegas Zine Library cofounder Jeffrey Grindley spent night after night cutting and pasting blocks of text and images together. He’d been a collector of zines for a few years, but this was his first time creating his own from scratch.

“I love the look, the collaging, the black and white,” Grindley says about his initial fascination with zines—DIY pamphlets created and distributed by activists, poets, musicians and other creative types on the fringe. “I was blown away by this realization that there were all these DIY punk rockers and political activists who took it upon themselves to publish their own stuff and not go through more conventional channels.”

If you were a teenager growing up in the ’80s or ’90s, chances are you came across a zine at some point. Like baseball card or stamp collections for poets and punks, zines exploded across subcultures throughout the ’80s and continued through the early 2000s—a tangible web of communication that brought communities and artists together.

They were especially crucial for kids who felt like they didn’t belong. From the feminist Bust (now a magazine) to monthly punk manifesto Maximum Rocknroll, zines were what the blogosphere was to the early aughts—a real-life, pre-Internet era Tumblr before the idea for Tumblr ever was born.

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screen Titles from the Zine Library’s collection. (Yasmina Chavez/Staff)

Since 2010, Grindley and his wife, Stephanie fruition,” Grindley beams.

Seiler, have been aiming to bring zine culture A decade ago, “It all seemed so big and overback with their Zine Library, first located inside whelming,” Grindley says. He’d been talking Emergency Arts, and now, at UNLV’s Marjorie about starting a zine library for years before he Barrick Museum of Art. “We’re just finally developed a plan, for which excited that it gets to get back out he credits his wife. “She got tired of Las Vegas Zine there,” says Grindley, who will host Library Workshop: it and was like, ‘It’s a great idea. You a zine workshop at the Barrick on need to make it happen.’”

Zines 101 February 23. In 2016, the library shutThanks to community donations— February 23, 2 p.m., free. UNLV’s Marjorie tered when Emergency Arts closed one guy handed over 150 copies of Barrick Museum of Art, Maximum Rocknroll—the library for renovations, but Grindley hopes 702-895-3381. that the museum’s connections to grew from 20 or 30 zines in the first the community will help bring zine year to somewhere in the thousands. culture to a wider audience.

“People were like, “I’m so glad you’re “It just feels like this culmination of a here,” Grindley says. “We’ve always had this bunch of different things that I’ve been doing bigger vision for the collection, so it’s been extra throughout the last 10 years have all come to rewarding, this feeling of completion.”

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Power to the pages A primer on literary activism ahead of UNLV’s upcoming forum

By Mike Prevatt

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What is literary activism? Besides the exact name of the February 28 open forum with UNLV professors and authors Doug Unger and José Orduña? Thirty years ago, it encapsulated a movement pushing alternative ways to print literary works. But Unger defines it two other ways: One describes the act of writing a book on a subject of importance, typically resulting in the writer himself becoming a public advocate for that subject. And then there’s the second: the promotion of the literary arts—or, as Unger puts it, “Making sure literature—and the reading of serious writing—maintains a cultural place in American society.”

Notable titles: Upton Sinclair’s 1906 book The Jungle famously inspired changes in food safety laws. Another recent UNLV discussion participant, Lisa Ko, found herself being repeatedly asked to speak on behalf of immigrants following the publication of her 2017 novel, The Leavers. Unger himself was the recipient of media and public discussion invites after addressing the plight of family farms in his 1984 debut novel, Leaving the Land. And Orduña’s 2016 memoir The Weight of Shadows is also centered around immigration and assimilation.

Prominent issues: Immigration (as mentioned above), human rights, class struggles, racism and diversity, to name a few. “It’s an occasion to provide marginalized voices of all kinds a chance to speak, be activists and [have] their spaces,” Unger says.

Advocacy in action: Unger’s passion to maintain ongoing translation of world literature (despite diminishing publisher interest) resulted in his joining the executive board of Words Without Borders, which has not only published some 2,400 works of contemporary literature from 132 countries in 112 different languages, but, thanks largely to Unger, has spun off an education component.

What to expect at Wednesday’s forum: A deeper, contextualized dive into the concept—and Unger’s official introduction of Orduña as a faculty member. “I’m looking forward to this event as a time for me to say, yes, I’m Doug Unger, you guys know who I am, but this guy, this is an important writer, we’re lucky to have him, and we’re going to talk about advocacy.”

What Is Literary Activism?

February 28, 7 p.m., free.

UNLV’s Beverly Rogers Literature and Law Building, Room 101, 702-895-5542.

José Orduña, left, and Douglas Unger. (Laurel Fantauzzo, Aaron Mayes/Courtesy)

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calendar LIVE music

Austin and the Law 2/23-2/24. Vanessa LeGrand 2/28. Treasure Island, 702-894-7722.

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Unplugged Lounge ft. Habaka 2/25. Typesetter, Mercy Music, Rayner, Bradley Palermo 2/25.

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CORNISH PASTY CO. The American Weather, We Are Pancakes, Austin Shaddix, Beachwood Coyotes, Panic Baby 2/23. 10 E. Charleston Blvd., 702-862-4538.

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The swingin’ Squirrel Nut Zippers play the Historic Fifth Street School on February 28. (Southern Broadcasting/Courtesy)

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Stones 2/24. Red Rock Resort, 702-797-7777.

Marquee Vice 2/23. Don Diablo 2/24. DJ Mustard 2/26. The Cosmopolitan, 702-333-9000.

Sand Dollar Lounge A Slight Return 2/22.

Chris Tofield 2/23. The Moanin’ Blacksnakes 2/24. Sinful Sunday 2/25. Billy Ray Charles 2/27.

The Bar Squad 2/28. 3355 Spring Mountain Road, 702-485-5401.

TAO Justin Credible 2/22. Kayper 2/23. Four Color Zack 2/24. Venetian, 702-388-8588.

South Point Showroom Dennis DeYoung 2/23-2/24. 702-696-7111.

STARBOARD TACK Snailmate, Coolzey, Hassan, Late for Dinner 2/27. 2601 Atlantic St., 702-684-5769.

Stoney’s Rockin’ Country Cody Webb 2/23.

Town Square, 702-435-2855.

Terry Fator Theater Boyz II Men 2/23-2/25.

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Venetian Theatre Chicago 2/23-2/24.

702-414-9000.

Vinyl Rockie Brown, Rabid Young, Mike Xavier 2/23. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000.

XS RL Grime 2/23. Diplo 2/24. Encore, 702-770-0097.

Comedy Orleans Showroom Rob Schneider, Chris Kattan 2/24. 702-365-7111.

Terry Fator Theater Ray Romano, David Spade 2/23-2/24. Mirage, 702-792-7777.

Performing Arts & Culture Charleston Heights Arts Center StorySlam: The One That Got Away 2/24.

800 Brush St., 702-229-2787.

THE Dillinger Tobi D’Amore 2/23. Wayne David Band 2/24. 1224 Arizona St., Boulder City, 702-293-4001.

clubs

THE Dispensary Lounge Elijah Rock 2/24.

Ronnie Rose Blues Band 2/25. 2451 E. Tropicana Ave., 702-458-6343.

Chateau Bayati & Casanova 2/22. DJ Bigster 2/23. DJ Poun 2/24. DJ ShadowRed 2/28. Paris, 702-776-7770.

Clark County Library Studio 34 Dance Company 2/24. Peter Fletcher: Music of Four Centuries 2/24. Fishnets & Spotlights: The Glamour of Casino de Paris 2/25. Jack Sheehan 2/27. 401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400.

Dive Bar Lex the Hex Master, Axe Murder Boyz, Scum, Donnie Menache, JoJo Blast, Feat Itself 2/22. Soulfly, Today Is the Day, Lody Kong, Uncured, Mastiv 2/23. Sheiks of Neptune, The New Waves, Avenue Army, The Implosions 2/24.

4110 S. Maryland Parkway, 702-586-3483.

Drai’s DJ Esco 2/22. Nelly 2/23. Trey Songz 2/24.

DJ Franzen’s House Party 2/25. Cromwell, 702-777-3800.

Henderson EVENTS PLAZA Heart and Soul: A Celebration of Gospel and Black History 2/24.

200 S. Water St., 702-267-2171

Embassy DJ Fuzion 2/22. DJ Animation 2/23.

Kelly J 2/24. 3355 Procyon St., 702-609-6666.

Historic Fifth Street School Squirrel Nut Zippers, Davina and the Vagabonds 2/28.

401 S. 4th St.., 702-229-6469..

Eagle Aerie Hall Sloanwalkers, Dark Altar, Within the Cochlea, Color Cast Cinema, Stephen Douglas Band, Salamander, Outlook Sleep Eater 2/24. 310 W. Pacific Ave., 702-568-8927.

Foundation Room DJ Seany Mac 2/23.

DJ Excel 2/24. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7631.

Encore Theater Diana Ross 2/23-2/24. Wynn, 702-770-6696.

Fremont STREET EXPERIENCE Taste & Sounds of Soul Festival 2/23-2/24. vegasexperience.com.

Gilley’s Saloon CJ Simmons 2/22. Michael

Hyde DJ Benny Black 2/22. DJ Hollywood 2/23.

DJ Ikon 2/24. DJ Konflikt 2/27. DJ D-Miles 2/28.

Bellagio, 702-693-8700.

Intrigue Lost Kings 2/23. Duke Dumont 2/24.

RL Grime 2/28. Wynn, 702-770-7300.

Light DJ Sincere 2/23. Andrew Grant 2/24. DJ Crooked 2/28. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-4700.

Rainbow Library Leonard Patton/Danny Green Quartet 2/23. 3150 N. Buffalo Drive, 702-507-3710.

THE Smith Center (Reynolds Hall) The Chieftains 2/22. Johnny Mathis 2/23. Gary Mullen & The Works (Queen tribute) 2/24. From the Top 2/25.

(Cabaret Jazz) Herb Alpert, Lani Hall 2/23-2/24.

The Composers Showcase 2/28. 702-749-2000.

The Space Mondays Dark 2/26. Jazz Juice 2/27.

Sit With Me 2/28. 460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070.

UNLV (Artemus W. Ham Hall) UNLV Wind Orchestra: Respighi’s “Pini di Roma” 2/22.

Black Violin 2/24. UNLV Music: Symphonic Winds 2/27. 702-895-2787.

West Charleston Library Leonard Patton/ Danny Green Trio 2/23. 6301 W. Charleston Blvd., 702-507-3940.

West Las Vegas LIBRARY Black Weekend 2018: Kemit in the Desert Series 2/22-2/24.

Art Speaks: Musical Theatre Dance Workshop 2/24. Opera Las Vegas: Opera Legends in Black 2/25. 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702-229-4800.

Windmill Library Leonard Patton/Danny Green Trio 2/24. 7060 W. Windmill Lane, 702-507-6019.

LOCAL THEATER CSN FINE ARTS THEATRE PROGRAM (Backstage Theatre) One Act Festival 2/28-3/4.

3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., 702-651-5483.

Majestic Repertory Theatre Sentience 2/22-3/11. 1217 S. Main St., 702-478-9636.

A Public Fit The Glass Menagerie Thru 3/11. Outburst 2/28. 100 S. Maryland Parkway, 702-735-2114.

SPORTS UNLV BASEBALL Columbia 2/23-2/24. Earl E. Wilson Stadium, 702-739-3267.

UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL Reno 2/28. Thomas & Mack Center, 702-739-3267.

UNLV WOMEN’s BASKETBALL New Mexico 2/24. Utah State 3/2 Cox Pavilion, 702-739-3267.

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Essence Cannabis Dispensary

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Inyo Fine Cannabis Dispensary

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Canopi 6540 Blue Diamond Road 702.420.7301 | Canopi.com

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Canopi 2113 Las Vegas Blvd. N. 702.420.2113 | Canopi.com

W E S T G AT E L A S V E G A S R E S O R T & C A S I N O

SUMMER __________________________________________________________________

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POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Servers, Bartenders, Bar Backs, Food Runners, Lifeguards.

Visit Westgatelasvegascareers

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OPENING ALERT

THE MIRAGE’S NEW ITALIAN SPOT, OSTERIA COSTA

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When chef Michael LaPlaca took over the helm of Onda at the Mirage, he revitalized and reinvented the standard red-sauce restaurant as Portofino with his unique takes on Italian classics.

Ultimately, though, his Alfredo with foie gras and chicken cracklings; gnocchi with frog legs; and jagged ripatelli—a pasta of his own creation—weren’t enough to overcome the restaurant’s seldom-visited corner of the casino.

But with the opening of Osteria Costa in the former Samba Steakhouse space, LaPlaca has been gifted an airy, open venue fronting a main-casino thoroughfare from which to showcase his wares. Rather than a collection of his riffs, Osteria features a menu with lighter fare paying homage to the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy.

The stracchino-laden focaccia di Recco is what LaPlaca considers “the ultimate cocktail snack.” Salty and savory, the charred, paperthin flatbread is worth a visit alone. But while you’re there, partake of the briny linguine and clams, LaPlaca’s favorite plate on the menu. Garnished with whole-shell clams atop a garlicky, buttery clam stock-based sauce laden with chopped mollusks, the dish is an epiphany, washing over you with its ocean essence. The Salsiccia, delivered from the pizza ovens front and center in the space, is a pie with homemade Italian sausage, shaved fennel and a fennel frond finish.

When LaPlaca reflects upon his new venue, he beams like a proud father. Osteria Costa is the Italian restaurant venue he, the Mirage and Las Vegas deserve. –Jim Begley

OSTERIA COSTA Mirage, 866-339-4566.

Daily, 5-10:30 p.m.

LaPlaca in his newest space.

(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

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STACKED AND BLENDED BOLD BURGERS AND WILD SHAKES AWAIT AT BLACK TAP

BY BROCK RADKE

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hen you eat a fancy burger in a hip bar on the Las Vegas Strip, give credit to Hubert Keller. When he opened Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay in 2004, he created a simple, delicious blueprint for casinos, restaurateurs and celebrity chefs to follow—an elevation of the classic American fast-food meal plus a great beer selection. Burger Bar is still going strong, as are other Strip burger joints sporting big names like Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay. The burger-and-beer spot has become a must-have for the Vegas megaresort, the same way every casino once required a buffet.

The Venetian has never had a buffet, but it has recently opened a third version of the big Vegas burger bar. The New York City-based Black Tap has taken over the Strip-fronting space formerly occupied by Rattlecan and B&B Burger & Beer, with a wholesale redesign. Black Tap Vegas feels like the no-nonsense urban eatery it originated as in lower Manhattan. The soundtrack features hip-hop and pop from the ’80s and ’90s, and the menu is crafted

by Michelin-starred chef Joe Isidori.

If you like to stick to the basics, you’ll find satisfaction in the All-American burger ($16), prime beef on a spongy bun with all the regs (lettuce, tomato, pickle, American cheese, special sauce) that approximates a great homemade burger. Further into that familiar realm, enjoy the chili cheese burger ($18) or the Texan ($19) with cheddar, crispy onions, bacon and barbecue sauce.

Popular Black Tap signature creations include the Greg Norman ($20), a Wagyu beef patty topped with blue cheese, arugula and buttermilk-dill dressing, and the decadent Old Fashioned ($18) with horseradish, Swiss cheese, crimini mushrooms and caramelized onions.

Black Tap is equally famous for its camera-ready Crazy Shakes ($15-$17), some of which are decorated with whole slabs of birthday cake or ice-cream cookie sandwiches. Classic shakes ($9) are just as tasty, and spicy Korean-style chicken wings ($14) are a solid alternative to fries and onion rings.

Now that we know there will always be new burger joints on the Strip, the only question is which one to visit next. Put Black Tap on your list.

BLACK TAP CRAFT BURGERS & BEER Venetian, 702-414-2337.

Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight; Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Korean-style chicken wings pair nicely with burgers and shakes at Black Tap. (Miranda Alam/Special to the Weekly)

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food & Drink Big dates in local food and drink +

Tickets are on sale now for the annual Vegas Uncork’d weekend, May 10-13, when tons of celeb chefs attack the Strip for special-event meals, cooking demos and more. We’re looking forward to the Women’s Power Lunch with Christina Tosi, Susan Feniger, Elizabeth Blau and an all-female kitchen staff at Border Grill at the Forum Shops May 12, but you can find your favorite event at vegasuncorked. com.

It’s far from the only big food event coming up. Put these on your calendar: The “selfie booth” at Corduroy. (Christopher DeVargasw/Staff)

Retro’s revenge Corduroy’s cocktails dabble in different eras

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Since it opened in August in the Fremont pickleback ($9)—and this is probably it. You can East Entertainment District, the 1970salso order half a spicy pickle to throw into the mix. styled Corduroy has been a welcome reThe Oak & Ivy team created the Corduroy cocktail turn to the easy-access, straight-ahead night at the menu, so you should feel comfortable experimentbar approach, moving away from the various hipster ing with the mules on tap ($11)—either a classic themes that have dominated Downtown made with Ketel One or the flavorful CORDUROY drinking. Sure, there’s a couch-filled Frontier Mule with Bulleit rye and 515 E. Fremont St., conversation pit from a bygone era, a ginger beer. Moving on down the menu 702-553-2548.

Sunday-Thursday, special “lightbox” room for group selfies to its obligatory Fear and Loathing 4 p.m.-2 a.m.; and vintage TVs, speakers and microreference, the Raoul Duke ($11) blends Friday & Saturday, 4 wave ovens serving as art installations.

Tanqueray Ten with Cherry Heering, p.m.-4 a.m.

It doesn’t feel like Old Vegas in here—it triple sec, benedictine, grenadine, still feels like a brand-new Fremont East lime, pineapple, angostura bitters and bar—but it’s comfortable and cool enough to keep a dose of Mezcal for an extra wild ride. you around for multiple rounds.

If rock ’n’ roll ’70s bars had a penchant for silly Also, there are good drinks and goofy snacks. drinks, the Punch Pouch ($8) might make sense, We cannot in good faith recommend you pair a though the Capri Sun-style container for this fruity, shot of Fernet with a sundae cone ($12), but we will Sex on the Beach-esque libation seems like an ’80s acknowledge there’s a time and place for a Jameson thing. –Brock Radke

• The eighth-annual Great Vegas Festival of Beer takes over Downtown April 6-7 (great vegasbeer.com).

• Vegas’ longest-running alcohol-fueled fundraiser, UNLVino, returns on April 14 at the Keep Memory Alive Center in Downtown’s Symphony Park (unlvino.com).

• The second-annual Vegas Food Expo brings local and international boutique brands to the Westgate April 15-16 (vegasfoodexpo.com).

• And Three Square’s Restaurant Week, which saw more than 160 restaurants participate last year, is back June 18-29 (helpoutdineoutlv.org).

–Brock Radke

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ANALYSIS

Trump’s attack on renewable

By Ric Anderson Weekly Staff

On the morning after his State of the Union address, in which President Donald Trump told the nation that his administration had “ended the war on American energy,” he made news that suggested otherwise.

Citing draft budget documents it obtained from the White House, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was proposing to cut federal funding for renewable energy research and development by 72 percent.

“This couldn’t have been worse for this state,” said Robert Lang, an economic development expert and executive director of Brookings Mountain West, during a panel discussion examining the State of the Union address. “This is an actual assault on something that was one

of the state’s largest job producers, one of the gainers in our economy, one of our points of pride.”

Trump’s reductions would be imposed on the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which receives about $2 billion. When the White House’s formal budget proposal came out Feb. 12, it included a cut that was less deep than one in the draft budget, but only slightly. It reduced funding about 65 percent—offering $696 million for the office, which researches solar power, electric vehicles and an array of other clean energy technologies.

“Nevada is at the forefront of America’s clean energy economy. The Trump administration’s budget threatens that leadership, it threatens Nevada jobs and it puts the interests of Big Oil above the well-being of workers in Nevada,” said

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., in a statement following the release of Trump’s formal budget. “In Nevada, we have the opportunity to convert closed mines into renewable energy projects that keep our rural economies growing, attract new jobs and investment to our state, and lead the way in sectors from solar to geothermal energy. I will oppose any attempt to weaken Nevada’s economy, and that is exactly what this budget proposes to do.”

Lang said the proposed cuts, along with tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imported solar panels, threatened to slow the development of Nevada’s renewable energy industry and in turn would force the state to continue relying on imported energy sources like natural gas. Because energy creates wealth in the areas where it’s generated as opposed to

where it’s consumed, he said, the changes could hurt Nevada’s economy.

“In Nevada, we’re a post-carbon energy producer,” Lang said. “We don’t have oil or natural gas. So anything that either imposes tariffs … or anything that reduces public investment in the [research and development] that would advance this kind of technology is against Nevada’s interests.”

Nevada Assemblyman Chris Brooks, D-Las Vegas, agreed, and added that the cuts in research funding could be felt directly in Southern Nevada.

“Some of that money comes directly to UNLV, so we’ll feel immediate budget constraints at UNLV, at Desert Research Institute, at the University of Nevada-Reno,” he said during the panel discussion.

Rebecca Wagner, a former member of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission

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63

EPA RoundUp

How 2018 is faring for environmental policy

By C. Moon Reed Weekly staff

If it seems like the Environmental Protection Agency has been in the news more often than usual, well, that’s because it has. Here’s your primer to stay up to date on the latest 2018 happenings.

Climate change. Early this month, EPA head Scott Pruitt told News 3 LV that climate change is a thing and humans have contributed to it, but it might not be a bad thing. “We know that humans have most flourished in times of what—warming. … It’s fairly arrogant for us to think we know the ideal [global temperature] in 2100.”

energy and the EPA who now operates an energy consulting firm, said the cuts also would likely affect policymakers. The reason: They threaten to reduce output from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and similar state-level operations, which produce information that legislators, regulators and others use in establishing policies.

“To see funding cuts of that magnitude, I’m an optimist, so I’d like to say, ‘Wow, renewables must be doing so well that they don’t need that funding,’ ” said Wagner, who also participated in the panel presentation. “But we need that funding. It’s critical to maintain the trajectory that we’re on.”

Brooks and Lang said the U.S. at one time was a leader in developing renewable energy technology, but

since has lost its edge. Reducing federal funding would allow other nations to increase their lead, they said.

“Nations that just years ago we would have looked at and said, ‘They’ll never be able to catch up with the United States,’ have surpassed us,” Brooks said. “And they’re doubling down on their research and development. We’re being passed up by China and Europe, where we used to be the leaders on some of this technology.

And that’s very disappointing.”

While reducing funding for renewables, Trump’s new budget calls for an increase of about 19 percent for the fossil energy research and development office. The budget for those operations: $502 million.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about

88 percent of the energy consumed in Nevada comes from other states.

In 2016, the last full year for which statistics were available, Nevada generated 21.6 percent of its electrical power through renewable sources, including geothermal, solar, wind and hydroelectric.

Geothermal produced the most among those resources, with 44 percent of the production coming from renewables. The state ranked No. 2 in the nation in utility-scale generation from geothermal and No. 4 in solar energy, the USEIA reported.

A report from the nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and the Las Vegasbased Clean Energy Project said 31,000 people worked in Nevada’s clean energy economy last year.

Travel scandals. Pruitt has faced a lot of static for expensive travel—first-class plane tickets and luxury hotels so as to avoid the disgruntled coach class.

During his three-day Nevada visit this month, he kept his travel low key, but now The Washington Post is reporting that Pruitt just canceled a planned Israel visit because of the backlash.

Mining rules. During his time in Nevada, Pruitt visited several mines with the purpose of extolling state measures over federal ones. According to a newspaper report, Pruitt avoided a Superfund designation for one abandoned mine, letting the state bat cleanup. He also extolled the end of an Obama-era regulation that requires mines to save money for clean-up, saying that Nevada already has such a regulation.

A truce on fossil fuels. Trump and Pruitt have “ended the war on fossil fuels,” but with Nevada set to lead on solar energy production, it might not be great for us.

EPA is leaving Las Vegas. The EPA’s research offices, which are now at UNLV, will be shuttered in September, which is earlier than expected.

Nevada received an EPA grant to reduce diesel emissions. In January, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection was awarded a $348,002 grant to replace six old diesel public works trucks and six old diesel school buses with new vehicles with new engines.

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LV W N E W S 2 . 2 2 .1 8

Five ways the president’s budget could affect Nevada

By Yvonne Gonzalez Weekly Staff

President Donald Trump rolled out his budget proposal Feb. 12, reiterating some unfulfilled objectives from his first budget and reaffirming his priorities.

The $4.4 trillion 2019 budget rolls back Medicaid funding and Obamacare provisions affecting older adults. Among the expenditures: $716 billion for national defense spending and money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

After a year of failing repeatedly to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which has helped many people purchase insurance but resulted in higher premiums for some, the Trump administration is proposing to revisit the effort. The president’s budget suggests a solution similar to a plan that Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., helped craft that would put block grants in place of ACA funding and cap Medicaid. Here’s a look at a few other parts of the budget:

1. Yucca Mountain

The administration is again seeking money for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, though not nearly the amount that would be required to see the project through. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing $48 million for work related to Yucca Mountain, and the Department of Energy is asking for $120 million for the project and interim storage.

The commission expects the process to cost $330 million, but the state pegs the price tag at about $1.6 billion.

Nevada’s Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said the state will fight the proposal.

“Yucca Mountain is incapable of safely storing the world’s most toxic substance and Nevada will continue to oppose any efforts to dump nuclear waste in our state,” Sandoval said in a statement.

2. More on health care

In addition to changes to Medicare and Medicaid, the administration again recommended that Congress repeal and replace Obamacare with legislation similar to the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson amendment, and prohibit abortion providers from receiving federal funds.

The government already prohibits certain government insurance programs from providing abortions. The Hyde Amendment passed in 1976 to block federal funding for abortions, with exceptions added later for rape, incest or the mother’s survival.

3. Community block grants

The Trump budget proposes eliminating the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the Community Services Block Grant and the Community Development Block Grant program, which supports efforts related to affordable housing and infrastructure development, among others.

Trump targeted community block grants in his previous budget, citing a lack of results. Community officials have said these types of cuts would directly affect housing and development programs.

Nevada gets $3 million annually from HOME funds, which help the state expand affordable housing.

4. Safety net programs Major changes have been proposed for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. Trump wants to combine these benefits with a food box program and strengthen work requirements for recipients.

The budget proposal also seeks to allow states to streamline certain safety net programs. These states would be subject to random accountability reviews that focus on how well officials help clients find employment and reduce welfare dependency.

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. said in a statement on Trump’s budget request that this new “skinny” budget, as Trump’s spending plan was called last year, targets Nevada.

“To pay for the Republican tax scam and a draconian crackdown on immigrants, the Trump administration has released a budget that attacks Southern Nevada and social safety net programs like Medicare, Medicaid and supplemental nutrition funding,” Titus said.

5. Public lands The Interior Department is proposing a $230 million cut from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said in a statement that the administration would “rob” the program, affecting education, water and public lands projects.

Sandoval said he is concerned about the department’s request to “raid” those funds.

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LV W S P O R T S 2 . 2 2 .1 8

SCRUM’S i -Dev

n Sh

ort

LAS VEGAN DEVIN SHORT HAS BEEN LIVING HIS RUGBY DREAMS

BY CASE KEEFER

Photo by Christopher DeVargas/Staff

2 . 2 2 .1 8 LV W S P O R T S

67

THE WORD +

Cassandra Orosz coated her son Devin Short’s fingertips with flour and instructed him to perform a standing high jump on her living room wall.

They had to resort to homemade tactics to complete Short’s application for Next Olympic Hopeful last summer, because he’d only learned of the program via a Facebook advertisement right before the deadline. The 19-year-old Arbor View High graduate figured his odds were long but worth a shot to advance his rugby career.

“He did the best jump he could, and I crawled up on the ladder and measured with tape where the flour hit the wall,” Orosz recalled. “He called me a little bit later and said, ‘Guess what? I got chosen.’ ” Short was one of 90 athletes in four sports invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last July—and ultimately he became the lone male rugby player selected to train with the national team.

He spent the next three months at the Olympic Development Academy in Chula Vista, California, alongside the nation’s best rugby players before making the roster for the U.S. Falcons, USA Rugby’s secondary team. Short competed for the Falcons during a January tour of South America that included tournaments in Uruguay and Chile.

Now he has his sights set on making the 13-man roster for America’s top team, the Eagles, who’ll participate March 2-4 in the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament at Sam Boyd Stadium. A camp with approximately 24 players runs through this weekend, with the final roster set to be announced early next week.

“Playing in my hometown with people I’ve played with in the stands, my family in the stands and representing my country would mean everything,” Short says. “It’s my main goal to play for the Eagles; I want to make the Eagles and be one of the main players up there.”

Short has contingency plans. He’ll compete in Las Vegas during the biggest national rugby weekend of the year regardless of whether he makes the Eagles’ roster. Several amateur teams are vying for his services in the Las Vegas Invitational, a larger but less prestigious tournament that runs concurrent to the USA Sevens at fields across the Valley.

If he makes the Eagles, he could spend the next several months traveling the globe. Otherwise, he has a contract lined up with the San Diego Legion of the Major Rugby League, whose season starts in April. “It’s pretty crazy how fast everything has progressed,” Short says.

He could hardly tell a rugby scrum from a wrestling match until a classmate convinced him to try the sport after football season ended during his senior year of high school in December 2015. Short immediately took to rugby, liking that it was just as physical as football and gave him more opportunities to touch the ball. He became a standout regionally while traveling to weekend tournaments.

He reluctantly put the sport on hold, however, because he had an offer to play defensive end at Adams State, a Division II school in Alamosa,

Colorado. “I was so focused on football and wanted to go to the next level, and it was so competitive to make the cut and get a scholarship that I was like, ‘Yeah, I have to go play college football,’ ” Short says. “But once I got there, I was talking about rugby all the time. I was trying to get involved with a rugby program up there. It kind of ruined football.”

Short’s freshman football season halted when he suffered a shoulder injury, and without an athletic anchor, he stopped attending class and moved back home. He started working and playing with local rugby clubs while trying to figure out his next move—right around the time he stumbled upon Next Olympic Hopeful. “I was like, ‘I’m just going to fill this out and see how it goes,’ ” Short says.

After winning, he participated in a three-month training camp, and his family accompanied him on the sidelines for an Eagles appearance at the Silicon Valley Sevens tournament last November in San Jose, California.

That’s when it struck Orosz just how far her son had come in his “second” sport.

“We watched the team he had been living with for the past couple of months, and there was just this spark in his eye where I knew it was all connecting at that point,” Orosz says. “Having lived with those men and seeing what they accomplished in representing America, he was blown away and knew that could be him one day.”

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V E G A S I N C B U S I N E S S 2 . 2 2 .1 8

Women of color are starting businesses at ‘record rates’

T

BY MICHAEL LYLE SPECIAL TO WEEKLY

anitsha Bridgers tells people there are two reasons someone might start a business.

“It’s either out of a need they see and a void that needs to be filled or out of frustration,” she said.

She started Mobile Mental Health Support Services because she saw people who wanted access to mental health care yet obstacles prevented them from getting it.

Almost nine years later, she owns a thriving business and is one of an increasing number of entrepreneurial women of color.

The phrase “the future is female” has been the sentiment for recent political movements, but it also is applicable for women of color in business.

“We see the women’s movement and ‘me too’ and ‘time’s up,’ ” said Kimberly Blackwell, a council member on the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC). “Women are more empowered. The surge is also empowering us in the business world.”

It’s not just in Nevada.

“The numbers aren’t isolated to a certain segment of the country,” Blackwell said. “Women of color are starting businesses at record rates all over.”

According to the 2012 U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners by the NWBC, there are 1,521,494 businesses in America owned by black women, a 66 percent increase since 2007.

Nationally, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women own 24,982 businesses; 1,469,991 are owned by Latinas; and 749,197 are owned by Asian women.

Blackwell, who is based in Ohio, started her communications and marketing agency in 1999 before there was a surge in female entrepreneurs or resources for

them. During the 1990s, the NWBC was developed to start growing resources for women who wanted to own a business.

“I would say in the past decade, we saw more cohesive and collaborative efforts,” she added.

Nevada has also seen significant growth in the past decade, with the highest increase of women starting businesses in the Pacific Islander and black communities—163 and 162 percent increases, respectively.

Among the common types of companies being started are those relating to the management of companies, health care and food services. Blackwell also said there has been an uptick of health care business on a national level.

Bridgers is just one of those entrepreneurs who opened a business in the health care industry. As a licensed clinical social worker, she spent her first few years in Nevada working in hospitals and mental health centers.

“Opening my own business seemed like the next appropriate step,” she said. “I just had my laptop and cellphone.”

The rise in the number of businesses owned by women of color also includes Las Vegas based-entrepreneur Lisa Song Sutton.

While working at a law firm in 2012, she was talking to a friend in Florida who started making alcohol-infused cupcakes on the side.

She immediately knew this had potential.

“I asked her: If I could get it bankrolled, would she be interested in coming out to Vegas to start a company?” Sutton said.

Using a combination of money she had saved and a personal loan from her mother, Sutton co-founded Sin City Cupcakes.

Since then, Sutton has become part owner in nine other businesses, using a mixture of her own funds and

crowdsourcing.

Sutton had no idea how much support was available for women of color.

“I wish there were more resources when I started,” Sutton said. “It seems like there weren’t as many resources back then, but with more women (becoming entrepreneurs), they are popping up.”

Whether it’s the various chambers of commerce, such as the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Urban Chamber of Commerce, or the Nevada Women’s Business Center, there are various support systems.

Kathleen Taylor, the programing and marketing coordinator with the Nevada Women’s Business Center, said women are 74 percent of its clientele but that “we are inclusive and open to all.”

The federally funded nonprofit organization provides assistance to small businesses at any stage and helps aspiring owners with tasks such as writing a business plan, learning how to market, getting a business coach and helping to obtain women- and minority-owned business certifications.

About 63 percent of its clients are minorities.

For the past four years, Bridgers has been part of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, heading up the economic empowerment committee.

“Our economic empowerment committee is like a business shark tank that helps startups,” Bridgers said.

It has helped more than 20 small businesses by providing resources such as paying business license fees or purchasing cards.

Bridgers also said the organization started a mentorship component to help aspiring business owners.

While there is a rise of women-owned companies, there are still obstacles along the way.

Sutton said entering male-dominated businesses can be challenging.

She remembered an instance when she and her business partner walked into a meeting and received a greeting that was off-putting.

“We were meeting with a CEO and he said, ‘You guys are cute. Where are the owners?’ ” Sutton said.

Blackwell said while there are more women of color starting their own businesses, there is still work to be done in helping them remain profitable.

According to the 2012 U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners, white women owned 47,485 businesses in Nevada and saw $11.6 billion in receipts. That’s compared with 9,212 business owned by black women that made $231 million in receipts, Hispanic women who had 15,423 business and saw $804 million and the 485 businesses by women in the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, which had $17 million in receipts.

Knowing women of color are part of the rise of women-owned businesses fills Sutton with pride.

“I think what’s happening is empowering and uplifting,” she added. “I think it’s only going to get better.”

M o n a S h i e l d P a y n e / sp e c i a l t o w e e k l y

V e g a s i n c b u s in e s s 2 . 2 2 .1 8

C h r is t o p h e r d e v a r g a s / s t a ff

72

Arash Ghafoori

Danielle Bisterfeldt

Where were you when you received your 40 Under 40 award? I was executive director at Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

Where were you when you received your 40 Under 40 award? Associate general manager of Fashion Show and director of marketing for Summerlin.

Executive Director / Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY)

Vice President of Marketing - Summerlin The Howard Hughes Corp.

Where are you now? Proudly, I am still the executive director at Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

What has been your biggest accomplishment since you were awarded? NPHY has expanded both physically and across the organization to make it the most comprehensive homeless youth provider in Southern Nevada, serving even more vulnerable youth in our community. Some of these achievements include more than doubling the size of NPHY’s Drop-In Center for homeless youth and partnering with UNLV on the UNLV HOPE Scholars program benefiting graduating Clark County high school homeless students.

Where are you now? Vice president of marketing for Summerlin and Downtown Summerlin, responsible for all branding, PR and public special events for the Howard Hughes Corp. in Las Vegas.

What has been your biggest accomplishment since you were awarded? Forming an amazing marketing team at Summerlin. We continue to drive home sales for our builders, achieving the No. 5 spot on the list of the nation’s top-selling master-planned communities in 2016, according to national real estate consultant RCLCO.

ALUMNI

What do you want to accomplish? I have three main goals I would like to accomplish in the next few years: 1. Making NPHY a local and national leader on the issue of youth homelessness.

2. Coordinating systems-level improvements around youth homelessness and other youth-related issues within our community.

3. Creating the best work environment and the happiest staff possible at NPHY. What have you learned the hard way? First, you should always deal with burnout at the first sign. Second, you should take risks sooner, because it’s better to fall and get back up rather than not risking and not advancing in life.

What’s the best advice you have to offer? The best advice I can give comes in two of my favorite quotes: “The greatest glory is not never falling but in rising every time you fall,” and “leadership is action, not a title.”

What do you want to accomplish? The importance of work-life balance is something I strive for on behalf of my team and for my own personal benefit. I am also committed to the ongoing delivery of unique and memorable experiences to our community, given that Summerlin is home to almost 100,000 residents and Downtown Summerlin is visited by more than a million people each month. The value of the Summerlin brand is not lost on me.

It has been carefully cultivated and nurtured over almost three decades, and I am highly cognizant of my responsibility to continue to ensure the brand remains evocative of the excellence and quality of the premier community it represents.

What’s the best advice you have to offer? Don’t let others compromise your standards. It’s your name associated with the end result. As leaders, remember to be mindful and appreciative of the efforts of those around you. It’s the people in our lives that make it so fulfilling, and oftentimes we lose sight of the struggles they face in their personal lives every day.

S P O N S O R E D

B Y

For 17 years, Greenspun Media Group’s 40 Under 40 awards have honored the best and brightest in the valley. If you’re an alum interested in participating in related features and events (or would like to update your contact information), email Group Publisher Gordon Prouty at gordon.prouty@gmgvegas.com.

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V e g a s i n c b u s i n e s s 2 . 2 2 .1 8

VegasInc Notes The Henderson Chamber of Commerce and the city’s Economic Development & Tourism department’s Economic Development and Small Business Awards recognized the following with Economic Development Awards: n Panattoni—Henderson Freeways Crossing and South 15 Airport Center projects—Economic Development Project of the Year n Levi Strauss & Co.—Expansion Project of the Year n TSK Architects—South end on Water Street and Public Works Coffee Bar—Redevelopment Project of the Year, Downtown Redevelopment Area n Henderson Hospital—Redevelopment Project of the Year, Eastside Redevelopment Area n Chet Opheikens, R&O Construction—Private Sector Person of the Year n Dr. Andy Kuniyuki, dean of Nevada State College’s School of Liberal Arts and Sciences— O’Callaghan Public Sector Person of the Year Small Business Awards were presented to: n Pasta Shop Ristorante & Art Gallery—All in the Family Award n Diced Kitchen—Business on the RISE Award n Voice Plus Communications—Customer Service Award n Seven Hills Hospital—Innovation Award n Boulder Boats—Outstanding Community Service Award n Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth—Outstanding

Nonprofit Award n Eliza Budiarto, GamaPrint— Ambassador of the Year Award n Aviva Gordon, Gordon Law— Board Member of the Year Award n Trish Nash, Trish Nash TeamSignature Gallery of Homes— Noble Award John O’Rourke is the chief of Nevada Highway Patrol.

Baby’s Bounty moved to 3400 W. Desert Inn Road, Suite 24.

The nonprofit agency provides safety items for newborns.

The new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be called the South Point Hotel & Casino Las Vegas 400.

A multi-year agreement makes the Michael Gaughan-owned property sponsor of the South Point 400 beginning in 2018.

Silver Sevens’ director of security/surveillance, Raymond Green, was honored by the Office of the Security of Defense Green Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Green was recognized for his contribution to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve Force.

Recipients of the 2017 Performance Excellence Program award, offered by the Southwest Alliance for Excellence, include the City of Henderson

(Category 1—Leadership & Category 5—Workforce) and Nathan Adelson Hospice (Category 5—Workforce). The annual Performance Excellence Program recognizes organizations for excellence in quality, performance and outcomes.

Beverly Eickmeyer is the portfolio division general manager for Camco, a management services company serving community associations in Nevada.

Colby Balkenbush, Josie Groh and Kristian Kaskla are associate attorneys at Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial.

Five pulmonary care physicians and health care providers joined together as OptumCare Lung and Allergy Care.

Dr. Robert Lampert is medical director. Other providers are Drs. Jim Christensen and Suresh Tawney, and advancepractice registered nurses Daniel Hering and Patricia Roberts. The practice has locations at 4750 W. Oakey Blvd., Suite 1A, and 2610 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 105.

Nevada General Construction finished construction on the first building for the Scientific Games corporate campus. The 100,000-square-foot renovation will serve as the company’s global headquarters.

Binion’s Gambling Hall launched a gaming app developed by Free Slot Games of Las Vegas.

SR Construction completed the Henderson Medical Office Building. The 84,450-squarefoot, four-story building is 200 feet from Henderson Hospital.

The project includes a finished lobby and restrooms with two elevators and complete mechanical and electrical systems with future tap-ins.

Henderson was presented with the 2017 Excellence in Youth Sports Award from the National Alliance for Youth Sports and Athletic Business magazine.

Walter Bracken STEAM Academy and Gordon McCaw STEAM Academy are among 61 schools to be named National Title I Distinguished Schools by the National Title I Association.

Terri Janison is president and CEO of Grant a Gift Autism Foundation.

The Twilight Zone by Monster Mini Golf is open at Bally’s.

Chelsea Robinson is executive director of Susan. G. Komen Nevada.

The Outside Las Vegas Foundation is maintaining and managing Robinson the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden, created in response to the outpouring of support after the shooting of Oct. 1.

Kevin McOsker is Las Vegas’ building and safety director.

Christopher Fiumara is vice president and general manager of the Stratosphere.

Tewes

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Michelle Tewes is regional coordinator and Marcus Sherfield is career pathways coordinator for JAG Nevada (Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates).

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Aristocrat Technologies acquired the Fiumara source code and hardware design for promotional kiosks developed by Phi Gaming.

The Las Vegas North Premium Outlets Shake Shack is open at 905 S. Grand Central Parkway.

The following companies joined the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers: n Betson Enterprises, based in Carlstadt, N.J., provides solutions to the location-based entertainment industry. n Dominode, based in Boca Raton, Fla., provides verified identity and licensing solutions for gaming businesses and professionals. n DR Gaming Technology, based in Aalst, Belgium, with offices around the world, is a supplier of integrated casino management and jackpot system solutions. n Genlot, based in Shenzhen, China, is a provider of goods, services and technology to the Chinese lottery. n GET IN Global, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a global gaming events company. n Jackpot Digital, based in Vancouver, Canada, is an electronic table games manufacturer for the cruise ship and regulated casino industries. n JP Morgan Chase, based in New York, offers global banking solutions and investment services. n Kiron Interactive, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, provides virtual sports content to sports betting and gaming businesses for deployment online or in retail venues. n Visualplanet, based in Cambridge, U.K., provides large-format touch-sensor technology.

David R. Tina received the Realtor Achievement Award for outstanding service from the Nevada Association of Realtors.

YESCO installed LED lamps at the Plaza, making it the first property downtown to switch out cold cathode sign lamps.

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Records & Transactions BID OPPORTUNITIES Feb. 22 2:15 p.m.

Pecos Bonanza Campus, Zenoff Hall: Sanitary Sewer Replacement Clark County, 604751 Sandy Moody-Upton, scm@ClarkCountyNV. gov 3 p.m.

Annual requirements contract for fire sprinkler, fire alarm and fire suppression inspections, testing, repairs, modifications and additions Clark County, 604689 Adriane Garcia, akgarcia@ClarkCountyNV.gov Feb. 28 3 p.m.

Current production model electric hybrid vehicles (Federal Project No. CM-0003235) Clark County, 604762 Sandra Mendoza, sda@ ClarkCountyNV.gov March 1 3 p.m.

Annual requirements contract for clinical microbiology and chemistry laboratory services Clark County, 604723 Adriane Garcia, akgarcia@ClarkCountyNV.gov 3 p.m.

Annual requirements contract for histology laboratory services Clark County, 604724 Adriane Garcia, akgarcia@ClarkCountyNV.gov March 2 2:15 p.m.

Traffic signal improvements: Jones Boulevard and Windmill Lane Clark County, 604707 Tom Boldt, tboldt@ ClarkCountyNV.gov 3 p.m.

Annual requirements contract for janitorial

services at Parkdale Community Center and Senior Center Clark County, 604686 Deon Ford, deonf@ clarkcountynv.gov

Association - Conference of Automotive Remarketing 2018 Caesars Palace March 6-7 1,000

March 8 3 p.m.

Annual requirements contract for uniterruptible power supply maintenance and repair countywide Clark County, 604671 Adriane Garcia, akgarcia@ClarkCountyNV.gov

ASD Las Vegas - March 2018 Las Vegas Convention Center March 11-14 46,000

March 9 2:15 p.m.

Arnona Road - Lake Mead Boulevard to Alto Avenue Clark County, 604722 Tom Boldt, tboldt@ ClarkCountyNV.gov

Conventions Exhibitor Live 2018 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Feb. 25-March 1 6,000 Travel Goods Show 2018 Las Vegas Convention Center Feb. 27-March 1 4,000 HELI Expo 2018 Las Vegas Convention Center Feb. 27-March 1 20,000 Amusement Expo — 2018 Las Vegas Convention Center Feb. 28-March 1 3,000

Brokered Transactions Sale $33,250,000 for 177,007 square feet, office 6605 Grand Montecito Parkway, 89149 Landlord: WaittMontecito Real Estate Landlord agent: Cathy Jones, Roy Fritz, Jessica Cegavske and Jennifer Lehr of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant: Did not disclose Tenant agent: Did not disclose $2,699,000 for 26,600 square feet, industrial 4275 W. Bell Drive, 89118 Landlord: The Prince Group Landlord agent: Lisa Hauger and Timothy Erickson of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant: Desi M. Moreno, Jr. Tenant agent: Marcus & Millichap

Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society Annual Conference & Exhibition Sands Expo & Convention Center March 5-9 30,000

$1,840,000 for 12,540 square feet, office 3070 E. Post Road, 89120 Landlord: JCRC LLC Post Series Landlord agent: Lisa Hauger and Timothy Erickson of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant: Qaiser Hameed Tenant agent: HiTower Realty

Bobit Business Media National Auto Auction

$1,195,900 for 8,686 square feet, office

The List 90 Corporate Park, Suite 100, 89074 Landlord: 90CPD100LLC Landlord agent: Cushman & Wakefield Tenant: Enix Mechanical Tenant agent: Lisa Hauger and Timothy Erickson of Sun Commercial Real Estate $796,368 for 5,648 square feet, industrial 1168 and 1170 Center Point Drive, 89074 Landlord: Desert Breeze Development Landlord agent: Renae Russo of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant: Did not disclose Tenant agent: Did not disclose $500,000 for 5,200 square feet, office Address Did not disclose Landlord: Ann Allen Landlord agent: Ben Millis and Dave Wrzesinski of Avison Young Tenant: Jateko Properties Tenant agent: Dennis Perri of Ehsan Realty Lease $2,226,435 for 21,500 square feet, office 8918 Spanish Ridge Ave., 89148 Landlord: Did not disclose Landlord agent: Jeff Hachquet of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant: Freedom care/ Self Injured Solutions $274,358 for 3,567 square feet, office 6841 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 100, 89119 Landlord: Double Dragon Landlord agent: Renae Russo of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant: Lymphatic Therapy Tenant agent: Did not disclose

Manufacturers Ranked by permanent local employees as of Feb. 16

Company and top local executive

Total number of local permanent employees

Types (not brands) of products you produce locally

Year established locally

1

Aristocrat Technologies 7230 Amigo St. Las Vegas, NV 89119 702-270-1000 www.aristocrat-us.com Matt Wilson, managing director of the Americas

1,200

slot machines, casino management systems, online social games

1963

2

Konami Gaming 585 Konami Circle Las Vegas, NV 89119 702-616-1400 www.konamigaming.com Steve Sutherland, president and CEO

500

Class III casino slots, casino management systems, casino games, player tracking, casino bonusing technology

1997

3

Eagle Promotions 4575 W. Post Road Las Vegas, NV 89118 702-388-7100 WWW.EaglePromotions.com Mario Stadtlander and Sean Ono, partners

207

apparel and promotional products

2001

4

Tronox 560 W. Lake Mead Parkway Henderson, NV 89015 702-651-2200 tronox.com Rick Stater, plant manager

95

electrolytic manganese dioxide 2 grades, boron tri-chloride 3 grades/purities, and elemental amorphous boron

1945

5

Kiesub Electronics 3185 S. Highland Drive, Suite C Las Vegas, NV 89109 702-733-0024 kiesub.com Margie White, marketing manager

35

wire harnesses, power boxes, electromechanical assemblies

1972

6

Somers Furniture 6330 Polaris Ave Las Vegas, NV 89118 702-837-1717 www.SomersFurniture.com Debbi Somers, CEO and founder

20

custom furniture

1989

Information comes from VEGAS INC research. It is not the intent of this list to endorse the participants or to imply that the listing of a company indicates its quality. This list is a representation of the companies who responded to our request for information. Although every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy and thoroughness of VEGAS INC charts, omissions sometimes occur and some businesses do not respond. Please send corrections or additions to research@vegasinc.com.

For an expanded look the List, visit vegasinc.com. To receive a complete copy of Data Plus, visit vegasinc.com/subscribe.

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LV W p u z z l e & h o r o s c o p e s

Premier Crossword

2 . 2 2 .1 8

“delicacy beneath the surface” by frank Longo

horoscopes

week of MONTH DATE by rob brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the game of life, a wild card is the arrival of an unforeseen element that affects the flow of events unpredictably. It might derail your plans, or alter them in ways that are ultimately beneficial. You’ll be in the wild card season during the next four weeks. Any and all of the above definitions may apply. Be alert for unusual luck.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you gorge on 10 pounds of chocolate in the next 24 hours, you will get sick. Limit your intake to no more than a pound. Follow a similar policy with any other pleasurable activity. Feel emboldened to surpass your normal dosage, but avoid ridiculous overindulgence.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Have you ever had a rousing insight about an action that would improve your life, but failed to summon the willpower to take that action? The ancient Greeks had a word for it: akrasia. You may be less susceptible to akrasia in the next four weeks than you have ever been. You will consistently have the courage and command to follow through on what your intuition tells you is in your best interests.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “There is no such thing as a failed experiment,” said inventor Buckminster Fuller, “only experiments with unexpected outcomes.” That’s an excellent guideline for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. You’re entering a phase when questions are more important than answers, when explorations are more essential than discoveries and when curiosity is more useful than knowledge.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): During World War II, British code-breakers regularly intercepted and deciphered top-secret radio messages that high-ranking German soldiers sent. Historians concluded that these heroes shortened the war by at least two years. Your own metaphorical code-breaking skills will be acute in the coming weeks. You’ll be able to decrypt messages that have different meanings from what they appear to mean. You won’t get fooled by deception and misdirection.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In April 1972, three astronauts took a trip to the moon and back. On the second day, pilot Ken Mattingly misplaced his wedding ring. In the zero-gravity conditions, it drifted off and disappeared somewhere in the cabin. Nine days later, Mattingly and Charlie Duke walked in space. When they opened the hatch and slipped outside, they found the wedding ring floating in the blackness of space.

In the coming weeks, you will recover a lost or missing item in an equally unlikely location.

2018 King features syndicate

ACROSS 1 Belgradians, e.g.

6 Head hair hides them 12 Aped 20 Irked a lot 21 Was released 22 In a mannerly manner 23 Start of a riddle 26 Myrna of “The Thin Man” 27 Seasons’ first games 28 Cried feebly 29 Gives in (to) 33 PIN point 34 TV reporter Burnett 36 — Marian 37 Riddle, part 2 45 Currently airing 47 Like straight lines,

for short 48 Recycling receptacles 49 Notable years 50 Riddle, part 3 55 Singer Levine 56 — Fridays (restaurant) 57 Dalai — 58 Freeze Away targets 60 Youth org.

63 Bitten at persistently 67 Penalized monetarily 70 Taunt 72 Riddle, part 4 76 Nero or Livy 77 Actress Eva 78 Actress Eva 79 Ar follower 80 Plane parts 82 Korbut of gymnastics 84 Fleur-de- —

86 Tick’s cousin 87 Riddle, part 5 96 Stage decor 97 Champ’s cry 98 Novelist Seton 99 “Ask, I might know

the answer” 100 End of the riddle 106 Sword type 107 See 9-Down 108 Basketballer Ming 109 Gift from above 111 Test pilot’s garb 114 Least dry 118 Surg. sites 119 Riddle’s answer 126 More ready to hit

the hay 127 Mexican or Guatemalan 128 Wall painting 129 Steed riders 130 Revises, as text 131 Messy types DOWN 1 Toothed tool 2 King James Bible suffix 3 San Luis —, California 4 Really scolded 5 Rose to one’s feet 6 Police rank: Abbr.

“It’s Impossible” 7

singer Perry 8 Over 9 With 107-Across, give in to despair

10 “The 25th Annual

— County Spelling Bee” 11 Tampa Bay city,

for short 12 Stock mkt. debuts 13 Floor cleaner 14 In bad health 15 Neckwear clasps 16 Make harmonious

17 Blue hue 18 Sommer of

“The Oscar” 19 Like much

blond hair 24 No, to Dmitri 25 Writer Bombeck 29 Love, to Nero

or Livy 30 Walking stick 31 French “five” 32 Loafer, e.g.

34 Revise 35 Revive 38 With 113-Down,

product’s ultimate consumer 39 Vietnamese celebration 40 Hero type 41 Nets’ org.

42 Form-filling 43 Millet, fescue

and sorghum 44 Tuber often candied 46 Going gaga,

with “out” 51 Wedding band 52 Lieutenant Geordi

on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” 53 Exclude 54 — Zone 55 Zone 59 Disbeliever in God 60 Exclude 61 Like a worse blizzard 62 Confess 64 Birth mo.

for many Leos 65 Job-creating FDR agcy.

66 Big shot 68 LAX stat 69 Cannes’ Palme —

71 Mag heads 73 Hamlet, e.g.

74 Ballot site 75 Takei’s

“Star Trek” role 81 Close with stitches 83 Way out 85 Full of tension 86 Soup flavor

enhancer, for short 88 Over 89 Not Rep. or Dem. 90 Party card game 91 Lower

Manhattan sch.

92 Turf toughs 93 Ballyhoo 94 “Preach it!”

95 Really mad,

with “off” 97 Krypton-86,

for one 101 Cries feebly 102 Gazing sort 103 Baby’s toy 104 New York City moniker 105 Way out 110 Instruments

with sticks 111 Lillian of silent films 112 French battle

site of ’44 113 See 38-Down 114 Threadbare 115 Suffix with sermon 116 Where the tibia is 117 Minister (to) 120 Tiny — 121 Tiny 122 Set- —

(brief fights) 123 Swing to and — 124 Test center 125 Lofty rails

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to British philosopher Alain de Botton, “Maturity begins with the capacity to sense and, in good time and without defensiveness, admit to our own craziness.” These meditations will be especially useful for you in the coming weeks. They could lead you to learn and make use of robust new secrets of self-mastery.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): During the next four weeks, there are three activities I suspect you should indulge in at an elevated rate: laughter, dancing and sex. The astrological omens suggest that these pursuits will bring you even more health benefits than usual. They will not only give your body, mind, and soul the precise exercise they need most; they will also make you smarter and kinder and wilder.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The little voices in your head may have laryngitis, but they’re still spouting their cracked advice. You are extra-attuned to the feelings and thoughts of other people. I’m tempted to speculate that you’re at least temporarily telepathic. There’s a third factor contributing to the riot in your head: People you were close to earlier in your life are showing up to kibitz you in your nightly dreams. I bid you to bark, “Enough!” at all these meddlers.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Paleontologist Jack Horner says developmental biologists are halfway toward being able to create a chickenosaurus — a creature that is genetically a blend of a chicken and a dinosaur. This project is conceivable because there’s an evolutionary link between the ancient reptile and the modern bird. For the foreseeable future, you’ll have extra skill and savvy in the art of amalgamation.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Be stubborn about your goals but flexible about your methods.” That’s the message I saw on a woman’s T-shirt today.

It’s the best possible advice for you to hear right now.

Are you willing to be loyal and true to your high standards, even as you improvise to uphold and fulfill them?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In her novel The Round House, Louise Erdrich reminisces about how hard it was, earlier in her life, to yank out the trees whose roots had grown into the foundation of her family’s house.

“How funny, strange, that a thing can grow so powerful even when planted in the wrong place.” Make sure that nothing gets planted in the wrong place. Focus all your intelligence and love on locating the right places for new seeds to be planted.

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