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EDITOR IN CHIEF Preston P. Rezaee, Esq.
PUBLISHER
Tyler Morgan, Esq.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Jeffry Collins
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Danielle Saenz
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CONTRIBUTORS ERICA A. BOBAK ANDREW CASH, M.D. J. MALCOLM DEVOY, ESQ. MARK FIERRO NEDDA GHANDI, ESQ. KYLE LAUTERHAHN DON LOGAY MARK MARTIAK MYRON MARTIN VALERIE MILLER RICK NELSON MARYAM RASTKERDAR ANDREW SCHNEIDER STAN V. SMITH, PH. D. DONOVAN THIESSEN, CPA
SPRING 2019
COVER STORY
CONTENTS
PG. 28
LAW
12 // STRAIGHT OUTTA MARRIAGE 16 // CASE IN BRIEF 20 // MEET THE INCUMBENT: MARK STEVENS 24 // QUARTERLY ECONOMIC COMMENTARY 26 // COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION 28 // POT TAX DOLLARS & CCSD 36 // LEGAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS PICTURES
BUSINESS
41 // VLM’S BLACK BOOK 44 // RANGE ROVER VELAR 47 // STATE OF THE MARKET 48 // FADE TO BLACK MOUNTAIN 52 // INCOME TAX CHANGES 54 // FINANCIAL FREEDOM 56 // HEAD OF THE CLASS
LIFESTYLE
60 // SAK’S FIFTH AVENUE 69 // BAR REVIEW: BAVETTE’S STEAKHOUSE 70 // THE SMITH CENTER 72 // CELERY JUICE 74 // NEW TECHNOLOGY FROM 2019 CES 78 // LAKE LAS VEGAS 80 // EATING HEALTHY & STAYING FIT 81 // HUMOR
FADE TO BLACK MOUNTAIN PG. 46
2019 CES PG. 74
Vegas Legal Magazine Summer 2018 | Pg. 5
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LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
In this issue’s cover story, Vegas Legal Magazine examines the very complex issue of involving the tax revenue derived from legalized
recreational marijuana sales in Nevada. During the lead up to the 2016 election, proponents of recreational cannabis promised much of the tax revenue would go to our cash-strapped schools. But now more than two years later, schools aren’t reaping a windfall promised. So what happened? It’s complicated! In this issue of Vegas Legal Magazine we seek to shed some light on the topic that impacts our children’s futures. Also, be sure to check out our wide range of regular features and expert opinions in this installment of Vegas Legal Magazine. As always, we here at Vegas Legal want to thank the people who make this magazine such as success – the contributors, readers, advertisers and sponsors. You make it possible for us to continue to bring you unique insights that you can’t find anywhere else.
Preston P. Rezaee, Esq.
Vegas Legal Magazine | Pg. 7
LETTER FROM
THE PUBLISHER
Our cover story this month is focused on an issue that never gets enough attention– our schools. The new superintendent of the Clark County School District, Jesus Jara, made a statement that couldn’t be more truthful, “everybody wins when schools succeed.”
Nevada’s school system has notoriously been at the bottom of the barrel year after year amongst other states in this country. In fact, Mayor Goodman recently campaigned for the new Amazon headquarters to be opened here in Las Vegas, however, our lack of an educated workforce was one of the main reasons the company decided to look elsewhere. We have to make a change and now more than ever we actually have the funds to do so. Marijuana tax revenues have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the state, dollars earmarked for education but not necessarily applied to education. But why? Well that’s just how politics work unfortunately. After numerous interviews and investigation into the marijuana tax revenues and the CCSD budget, we found that what voters believed to be was a funding boost to schools (Question 2, 2016) was actually no more than a simple disbursement swap. Funds that the state would otherwise direct towards the school system from its general fund were returned to the state and only an amount of marijuana tax revenues equal to the annual school budget would be directed to schools. This means any surplus revenues generated from marijuana sales exceeding the school system’s existing budget divert to the state’s general fund. In sum, there has been no windfall of money to the schools and no one ever planned to increase the CCSD school budget to account for the increased funds the state was planning to receive. The idea of promoting legalized marijuana so more revenue can be generated for our schools was a façade. Lobbyists and politicians promoted the benefits to our schools, but all they really intended was to find a way to make more money for the state’s general fund and alleviate themselves from having to fund the school budget. They knew this all along and us voters were just left fooled by the bait and switch. Today, we still have school children struggling for meals, struggling for supplies, and struggling to learn because of the lack of school funds for better programs and facilities. Our politicians love to hold out the idea of improving our education system to lock in more votes for their campaign, but who is actually going to do what they promised?
Tyler Morgan, Esq. Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 9
These Looks At Saks Fifth Avenue Fashion Show Mall Las Vegas
These Looks At Saks Fifth Avenue Fashion Show Mall Las Vegas
STRAIGHT OUTTA MARRIAGE
The Impact Of Bankruptcy On A Non-filing Spouse During Divorce – By Nedda Ghandi, Esq.
Property rights are the cornerstone of any bankruptcy proceeding
and are a critical issue fought over in any divorce proceeding. In either proceeding, the determination and classification of the property involved will have significant impact on the party’s rights. Many practitioners may not realize that one spouse, whether married or separated, can file bankruptcy alone and without the consent of the other non-filing spouse. Sometimes this is a good thing, because in Nevada, the non-filing spouse can often obtain the benefit of the automatic stay as to themselves or their property and can benefit from a community discharge of certain debts. This means that it is possible that one spouse filing bankruptcy can discharge liability as to both spouses while they remain married. However, when mixing community property laws with the bankruptcy code, the non-filing spouse can find himself or herself in great jeopardy by design or accident. This is especially true when one spouse files bankruptcy during a pending divorce proceeding and prior to any family court determinations regarding the division of the separate and community property rights of the couple. If one spouse files bankruptcy during a pending divorce proceeding, it is critical that divorce counsel for the non-filing spouse immediately refer the non-filing spouse to competent bankruptcy counsel. Both the divorce lawyer and retained bankruptcy counsel should communicate directly with each other to ensure that the impact of the filing spouse’s bankruptcy on the nonfiling spouse is properly handled in the both pending proceedings and clearly communicated to the client. The Automatic Stay Some spouses file bankruptcy during the pendency of a divorce to delay the divorce for some reason. When a bankruptcy petition is filed, the automatic stay is triggered instantly. With few exceptions, the stay prohibits numerous types of creditor activities, including but not limited to wage garnishment, foreclosures, repossessions and most lawsuits. Say that your client is going through a divorce and in order to divide property he/she needs to sell a home as part of an agreement, and escrow is in one week. Well, the bankruptcy likely just killed the deal because, in part, of the automatic stay. Or perhaps, your client is in a bitterly contested divorce and that long awaited (but dreaded) trial is
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 12
finally going to happen. The automatic stay is going to mess with that. While child support, alimony and visitation rights are not technically affected by the stay, and the family court may proceed, many family law judges will not proceed for fear of violating the automatic stay. Community Property Becomes Part of the Estate In a Chapter 7, the debtor’s property, with some exceptions, becomes the bankruptcy estate. Section 541(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that property of the estate includes all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case. This can include cars, real property, lawsuits, bank accounts, tax refunds, stocks, collectibles, and the list goes on. Property is a very broad concept in bankruptcy. The presence of community property can complicate a bankruptcy proceeding, particularly when one spouse files bankruptcy during a pending divorce proceeding. Community Property is not defined in the Bankruptcy Code because, for the most part, state law will apply and control the creation and definition of community property interests. Under section 541(a)(2), the estate includes “[a]ll interests of the debtor and the debtor’s spouse in community property as of the commencement of the case that is ... under the sole, equal or joint management and control of the debtor.” (Emphasis added). Section 541(a)(2) applies regardless of whether one or both of the spouses file. Thus, when one spouse files bankruptcy, the following community property becomes property of the bankruptcy estate: (i) all interests of both the debtor and the debtor’s spouse in any community property that is under the sole, equal, or joint management of the debtor, (ii) all property that is liable for any allowed creditor claim against the debtor, and (iii) all property that is liable for any allowed claims against both the debtor and the debtor’s spouse. This is one of the most damaging aspects of when divorce intersects with bankruptcy proceedings. Unless there is a nuptial agreement or other means of maintaining property separately, in Nevada, all property acquired during marriage is likely community property and property of the bankruptcy estate. If the community asset contains equity that the filing spouse does not claim exempt, a Chapter 7 trustee
STRAIGHT OUTTA MARRIAGE may cars, sell homes and otherwise attempt to liquidate assets that are community in character. So, for instance, if a couple is separated and the non-filing spouse is living in the former marital residence while the filing spouse has moved into a new home, the filing spouse can claim the new home as the exempt personal residence thereby leaving the former marital residence exposed to a potential sale by the Chapter 7 trustee. Additionally, the Chapter 7 trustee can attack certain financial transactions. For example, the Chapter 7 trustee could sue family members of the non-filing spouse to seek a return to the bankruptcy estate of any transfer of property or monies that were paid to those family members. This is just a small sampling, as Chapter 7 trustees are granted fairly extraordinary powers in bankruptcy for marshaling assets. Through the filing of a bankruptcy petition, the filing spouse has potentially exercised a vicious but effective form of revenge through filing bankruptcy, claiming exemptions that solely benefit the filing spouse, and dragging the non-filing spouse into bankruptcy court. Disbursements to Creditors and the Community Discharge For estates that include community property, the Bankruptcy Code provides a mechanism for dealing with community property. In essence, section 726(c) creates a “sub-estate” that calls for the segregation of community property from other property of the estate and sets forth the order of distribution of the sub-estates for payment of claims: first, administrative expenses are paid equitably from both kinds of property; second, community claims against the debtor or the debtor’s spouse are paid from community property, except such as is liable solely for the debts of the debtor; third, community claims against the debtor, to the extent not paid under the above provision, are paid from community property that is solely liable for the debts of the debtor; fourth, to the extent that all claims against the debtor including community claims against the debtor are not paid under the above provisions, such claims shall be paid from property of the estate other than community property of the estate; fifth, if any community claims against the debtor or the debtor’s spouse remain unpaid, they are paid from whatever property remains in the estate. See 11 U.S.C. § 726(c).
However, the key word in the phrase “community discharge” is the word “community.” When the couple divorces, there is no community anymore. Therefore, the non-filing spouse no longer retains the benefit of the filing spouse’s discharge and is potentially on the hook for all of the community debts. In all practicality, creditors are not always diligent enough to check to see if the spouse of the individual who filed bankruptcy later divorced. However, when the bankruptcy is filed during the pendency of the divorce, creditors participating in the bankruptcy may be more aware of the fact that the community discharge will be short lived. Often times, the filing spouse may try to discharge debts as to himself or herself and leave the non-filing spouse on the hook. However, if the non-filing spouse’s attorneys communicate effectively, this spiteful use of bankruptcy may backfire. The spouse filing bankruptcy may take some joy at sticking the nonfiling spouse with all the debt, only to have the non-filing spouse, through competent counsel, successfully petition the family court for more support to pay for the increased debt load. Tread cautiously if your client is considering a bankruptcy as a tool for revenge during a divorce. Your client may find he or she bit off way more than they can chew. Nedda Ghandi, Esq., is the founding partner of Ghandi Deeter Blackham Law Offices. A Nevada native, Ghandi is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law and has practiced law in Las Vegas for 9 years. Ghandi has written numerous articles for publications concerning interesting developments in the law, and has been selected as a member of Nevada’s Legal Elite and as a Super Lawyer every year since 2013. Ghandi Deeter Blackham specializes in family law, bankruptcy, guardianship, and probate. Consultations may be scheduled by calling 702.878.1115 or visiting www.ghandilaw.com
Bankruptcy Code section 524 includes community debts as obligations subject to discharge. Thus, even though only one spouse may have filed bankruptcy, the entire community may receive a discharge which means that the discharged obligation is no longer enforceable against any community property or against the separate property of the filing spouse. Section 524 also grants protection to after-acquired community property so long as both spouses are innocent of any wrongdoing. In other words, community creditors are barred from asserting their claims against the couple’s after-acquired community property. Therefore, the filing spouse’s discharge prevents all collection efforts except as against the separate property of the non-filing spouse. So long as the parties remain married, the non-filing spouse will obtain the benefit of the community discharge.
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 13
CASE IN BRIEF
The Nevada Supreme Court’s RecentTreatment of Nevada’sAnti-SLAPP Laws ShowsThat PreparationAndThoroughness Is RequiredTo UseThem Effectively –By J. Malcolm DeVoy and Erica A. Bobaki
In the early 1990’s, California and Nevada passed laws designed to help
individuals and the media avoid the burdens of litigation when sued by business magnates, politicians, and others who believed—rightly or wrongly—that wealth and influence provided immunity from criticism. This species of lawsuit, normally based on claims of defamation, came to be known as strategic litigation against public participation, or “SLAPP” suits. As a remedy, California and Nevada’s laws, commonly known as Anti-SLAPP laws (or, in California’s case, the Anti-SLAPP statute ) were designed to provide a speedy and cost-effective way to not only terminate, but discourage SLAPP suits: a successful Anti-SLAPP motion would result in the plaintiff paying the defendants’ attorney’s fees and costs. Although similar and substance and purpose, the California and Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP provisions took diverging paths during the first twenty or so years of their existence. Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws applied only to speech made to the government to seek specific action, and was infrequently used. The circumstances in which it could apply were very narrow. In contrast, California’s Anti-SLAPP statute covered a broad range of subjects that were of the public interest and made in a public forum, and spawned a robust body of precedent. In 2013, the Nevada Legislature amended Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws to accommodate the protections for public speech that California had provided for nearly two decades, and the two states achieved a rough parity in the scope of their Anti-SLAPP provisions. Whatever the Nevada Legislature and proponents of Nevada’s broadened Anti-SLAPP laws might have desired, though, the Nevada Supreme Court has repeatedly grounded Anti-SLAPP motions. The Nevada Supreme Court’s precedent reveals a court attempting to strike a balance between lofty goals of free speech and civic engagement, and the reality that the existence of Anti-SLAPP laws dissuade potential litigants from pursuing legitimate claims. This careful balance is necessary, as prioritization of the constitutional right of free speech at the expense of the co-equal right to a trial by jury led the Washington Supreme Court to declare that state’s Anti-SLAPP law unconstitutional in 2015.
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 16
The Mechanics of an Anti-SLAPP Motion in Nevada Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws, found at NRS 41.635-670, were last amended in 2015. The purpose of these laws is to provide defendants not only with protection from costly litigation, but a relatively quick, two-step method to obtain an early dismissal of lawsuits based on their exercise of First Amendment rights. Under the Anti-SLAPP laws, if an action is brought based upon a good faith communication “in furtherance of the right to petition or the right to free speech in direct connection with an issue of public concern” the defendant may file a special motion to dismiss within 60 days. The special motion to dismiss is a “procedural mechanism to prevent wasteful and abusive litigation by requiring the plaintiff to make an initial showing of merit.” Upon filing the special motion to dismiss, the court must first determine whether the defendant has met the initial burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the lawsuit is based upon a good faith communication in furtherance of the right to petition. Once this first element is satisfied, the burden shifts to the plaintiff, who must then show with prima facie evidence a “probability of prevailing on the claim.” If the plaintiff fails to meet this burden, the claims are dismissed, with a mandatory award of attorneys’ fees to the moving party, and up to an additional $10,000 awarded to the movant as a deterrent against future SLAPP suits. The Recent Legislative History of Anti-SLAPP Motions and Their Standard of Review The 2013 amendments to Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws completely changed the plaintiff ’s burden of proof for surviving an Anti-SLAPP motion. In addition to broadening the circumstances where the Anti-SLAPP laws could be used, the amendment required the plaintiff to show by clear and convincing evidence that it had a likelihood of succeeding on its claims in order to defeat an Anti-SLAPP Motion. The standard for Anti-SLAPP
motions in Nevada had never been so favorable, and Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws arguably led the country as being the most aggressive and favorable to movants.
sufficiently related to legal proceedings to be in “direct connection” with an issue under consideration by a judicial body and qualify for protection under Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws.
This legal standard, requiring the plaintiff to prove its claims at the outset of litigation by the highest civil burden of proof, was short-lived. The Nevada Legislature again amended the Anti-SLAPP Laws in 2015 by passing Senate Bill 444, bringing NRS 41.660 in line with California’s Anti-SLAPP statute in terms of its burden of proof. The 2015 amendment decreased the plaintiff ’s burden, requiring the plaintiff only to show prima facie evidence in support of its claims. As a result, akin to California law, Nevada Anti-SLAPP motions are evaluated as if they are motions for summary judgment, and granted where there are no issues of material fact. Finally, in the 2017 legislative session, the Anti-SLAPP statute was left unchanged, leaving lawyers and courts to digest the previous amendments.
Finally, as one of the Nevada Supreme Court’s first published opinions of 2019, it once again affirmed a district court’s denial of an Anti-SLAPP motion in Coker v. Sassone. Most significantly, Coker clarified that under the 2015 amendments to the Anti-SLAPP laws, Anti-SLAPP motions are reviewed on a de novo basis, as if they were motions for summary judgment. Previously, such motions were reviewed for abuse of discretion, a standard more deferential to the district court’s findings and rulings. In addition to once again affirming the denial of an Anti-SLAPP motion, the Supreme Court confirmed that such motions were to be evaluated on the same basis they were before Shapiro, and to be granted—and affirmed—only where the movant can show the absence of any genuine issue of material fact preventing it from being entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
The Nevada Supreme Court Takes Litigants, Attorneys, and Courts to Task in Properly Applying Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP Laws Free speech advocates believed that a new dawn had broken with Nevada’s 2013 amendment of its Anti-SLAPP laws. As Anti-SLAPP motions worked their way through the district and appellate courts, though, it became clear that judicial application of the statutes required more scrutiny than rhetoric. Since 2017, the result has been a raft of decisions requiring parties and district courts to conduct more thorough analysis in their attempts to use Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP Statutes. The 2013 amendments to the Nevada Anti-SLAPP laws received in-depth analysis in 2017, after they had been superseded by the 2015 amendments in Shapiro v. Welt. The Shapiro court that Anti-SLAPP motions brought under the Anti-SLAPP laws that existed from 2013 through 2015 were evaluated on appeal for abuse of discretion. This standard, however, could only be applied retroactively, and to appeals of Anti-SLAPP motions filed after the 2013 amendments, but before the 2015 amendments that altered the movant’s burden. While this decision would affect cases potentially pending on appeal, it had no applicability to the standard of proof that had been amended into Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws nearly two years prior. As a more lasting impact of Shapiro, the Nevada Supreme Court adopted the California test articulated in Piping Rock Partners, Inc. v. David Lerner Assocs., Inc. in determining whether an issue is of public interest. The Shapiro court required that district courts must determine whether the statements at issue in the litigation are a matter of public interest; if so, the court must then consider whether such communication was made in a place open to the public, and whether it was truthful or made without knowledge of falsehood, prior to granting an Anti-SLAPP motion. Finding that the district court did not apply these principles in reaching its decision on the underlying Anti-SLAPP motion, the Nevada Supreme Court remanded the case for further proceedings. Since Shapiro, the Nevada Supreme Court has not published a single opinion affirming the grant of an Anti-SLAPP Motion. In 2018, the Supreme Court’s decision in Patin v. Ton Vinh Lee held that a statement by an attorney on her firm’s website summarizing a jury’s verdict, which was the subject of a claim for defamation, did not constitute a matter of public interest. The defendant attorney argued that the statement was made in connection with a proceeding before a judicial body, but the Supreme Court disagreed. Affirming the district court’s denial of the Anti-SLAPP motion, the Supreme Court found that the statements at issue were not
While activists’ cri de couer for free speech and the lofty goals of protecting an engaged public were enough to significantly broaden the reach of Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws in 2013, these sentiments have not translated into successful Anti-SLAPP motions, or reversing their denials by district courts. Because of their ability to stay discovery while a motion is pending and shift fees to a successful movant, Anti-SLAPP motions remain a valuable tool available to litigators when cases touch upon issues of public expression and even an arguable public interest. The Nevada Supreme Court has made clear, however, that the care taken in bringing such a motion must be the same as a motion for summary judgment, and there can be no question as to the propriety of granting relief to a movant in vindication of its first amendment rights, at the expense of the nonmovant’s rights under the i. J. Malcolm (“Jay”) DeVoy is the owner of DeVoy Law P.C., and Erica A. Bobak is an associate attorney with the firm, joining upon completing her clerkship for Department 30 of the Eighth Judicial District Court. DeVoy Law focuses on providing representation to clients in significant business disputes, serious personal matters, and advising medical professionals and practices about issues including licensure, HIPAA, Stark Law, and the Anti-Kickback Statute. ii. California Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16. iii. See Cal. Code of Civ. P. § 425.16(c); NRS 41.670. iv. Davis v. Cox, 183 Wn. 269, 351 P.3d 862 (2015). Notably, the Nevada Supreme Court has not considered whether Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP laws violate litigants’ rights to trial by jury, and has only declared the Nevada Anti-SLAPP Laws constitutional on the narrow basis on whether they are impermissibly vague. Shapiro v. Welt, 133 Nev. 35, 37-38, 389 P.3d 262, 267 (2017). v. NRS 41.660. vi. NRS 41.660(2). vii. John v. Douglas Cty. Sch. Dist., 125 Nev. 746, 758, 219 P.3d 1276, 1284 (2009). viii. NRS 41.660(3)(a). ix. NRS 41.660(3)(b). x. NRS 41.660(3), NRS 41.670. xi. Coker v. Sassone, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 2, 432 P.3d 746 (2019). xii. 133 Nev. 35, 389 P.3d 262. xiii. 946 F. Supp. 2d 957, 958 (N. D. Cal. 2013), aff ’d 609 F. App’x 497 (9th Cir. 2015). xiv. 133 Nev. at 40, 389 P.3d at 268. xv. Id. xvi. 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 87, 429 P.3d 1248, 1249 (2018). xvii. Id. at 1252. xviii. 432 P.3d 746 (2019). xix. Id. xx. Id., citing Shapiro, 133 Nev. at 37, 389 P.3d at 266. xxi. Coker, 432 P.3d 746; see John, 125 Nev. 753-54, 219 P.3d 1276, 1281-82. xxii. NRS 41.660-670.
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 17
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MEET THE INCUMBENT Judge Mark Stevens Judge Mark Stevens serves as city of Henderson Municipal Court Judge,
Department 1, taking office April 17, 2007. He served as Chief Judge from 2012 through 2015 and 2018 to present. Judge Stevens presides over criminal arraignments and trials, as well as traffic arraignments and trials. In June 2011, Judge Stevens initiated the Veterans Treatment Court program in Henderson. This program assists military veterans charged with misdemeanor crimes while struggling to readjust to civilian life. Prior to becoming Henderson Municipal Court Judge, Judge Stevens was a prosecutor for seven years with the Henderson City Attorney’s Office, Criminal Division, and a Henderson Police Department patrol officer for three years. Before his service at the city, Judge Stevens practiced civil law and was the staff attorney for a law enforcement training center. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1988 to 1994 as captain, company commander and judge advocate defense attorney (JAG). Judge Stevens earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration Management at Oklahoma State University and his Masters of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1990 and became a member of the State Bar of Nevada in 1991. Judge Stevens previously served on the S.A.F.E. House board of directors and was an instructor for the Southern Desert Regional Police Academy. A member of the Clark County Bar Association, Nevada Bar Association and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar Association, Judge Stevens also served as the 2017 President of the Nevada Judges of Limited Jurisdiction. In addition to Nevada, he is licensed to practice law in the states of Nebraska and Colorado as well as U.S. District Court. What in your childhood or young adulthood could you look back on and view as a sign of what was ahead for you in your law career? Did you have a moment when you knew what you wanted to do? I grew up as a farm boy back in Nebraska and from an early age I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer and hopefully one day a judge.
One day lasted from 7:30 AM until 3:00 AM the next morning and we started back up at 7:30 again. What is the most memorable case you have presided over as a judge… and why? A vehicular manslaughter case because of the emotions involved. What is the most challenging thing about sitting on the bench versus trying cases as an attorney? And was there something in your transition that took some getting used to? It takes a while to get used to waiting for things to happen versus making things happen during a trial. Describe a situation where you had to support a legal position that conflicted with your personal beliefs, and how you handled it. I don’t recall a situation that conflicted with my personal beliefs. I believe every defense attorney needs to zealously represent their client and every prosecutor needs to do what is in the best interest of justice. Describe a court situation that tested the limits of your patience. How did you respond? And in hindsight, would you have done anything different? Dealing with sovereign citizens and their actions in court can be difficult. The best way to handle it is to take a deep breath and/or take a break if necessary. Biggest pet peeve triggered by attorneys that appear in your courtroom? Our legal community is exceptionally professional, but a lack of professionalism is a pet peeve. What is your best piece of advice for litigants and/or attorneys that appear in your courtroom? The best piece of advice is to display civility in court.
What do you love most about being involved in the law community in Las Vegas? Does it differ from practicing law or sitting on the bench elsewhere?
Knowing what you now know about your work, what advice would you go back and give your younger self about practicing law, or sitting on the bench?
I enjoy the professionalism displayed by the attorneys in court in Nevada. I had a similar experience with the attorneys in the Marine Corps.
I don’t know what advice I would give my younger self but the experiences as a Marine defense attorney, police officer, prosecutor and judge have helped me to become well-rounded.
What is the most memorable case you tried as an attorney before taking the bench? Please share why. My most memorable case was the very first case as a defense attorney “JAG” in the Marine Corps. It was an 8-day trial with extremely long days.
What has being a judge meant to you? I truly enjoy being a judge. As the saying goes, “If you enjoy what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 21
ECONOMIC EXPERT REPORT
SPECULATIVE DAMAGES V. IMPRECISION: ARE THEY THE SAME? –By Stan V. Smith, Ph. D. with Kyle Lauterhahn
“Since damages must still be based on facts, a qualified economist can make a fact-based projection based on sound data.” At times, attorneys are hesitant to pursue the full possible damages
for their clients due to concerns that the damages would be deemed “speculative.” This concern often arises when prior earnings are sparse, or related to new business startups, and in many other instances. Attorneys should be rightfully alert about presenting sufficient basis in claims for damages – it is the plaintiff ’s burden to do so, but a sparse or even non-existent past record need not deter a claim. Let’s review the idea of speculative damages. Speculation is an estimate based on conjecture versus knowledge or evidence. A useful discussion of the definition of speculative damages can be found in Sherrod v. Berry, 629 F.Supp. (159 N,D.Ill 1985). This opinion, upheld on appeal, and later re-endorsed in a unanimous embank rehearing, was written by the late Honorable Judge George Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 24
Leighton of the Northern District of Illinois, one of the most highly regarded district court judges in the well-renowned Seventh Circuit. The court’s standing is based on its members reputation for critical thinking in the area of law and economics; a heritage started by former Chief Justice Richard Posner. Judge Leighton was so respected for his service to the law that the Cook County criminal courthouse in Chicago has been named in his honor. “Damages are speculative when the probability that a circumstance as an element of compensation is conjectural. The rule against recovery of ‘speculative damages’ is generally directed against uncertainty as to cause rather than uncertainty as to measure or extent. That is, if it is uncertain whether the defendant caused the damages, or whether the damages proved flowed from his act, there may be no recovery of such uncertain damages; whereas,
SPECULATIVE DAMAGES & IMPRECISION uncertainty which affects merely the measure or extent of the injury suffered does not bar recovery.”
earnings can be provided within a reasonable degree of economic certainty, following standard principles of economics.
In other words, damages are speculative when it cannot be welldetermined that an event has caused harm. Once it is determined that some harm or damage has been caused, the damages are no longer speculative. They may at times be precisely measured, or the measurement may be imprecise, depending on the circumstances, but imprecision does not bar recovery, and imprecision does not imply speculation. All too often there is confusion on this.
Consider another case where a person has sustained a back injury but returns to work with difficulty sitting and standing. The fact the person is still working does not at all preclude recovery of future losses. As an example, a jury would certainly understand that a person wrongfully irradiated for a false-positive cancer diagnosis will have future problems that do not show up as a current damage. A car whose front wheel has hit a pothole which bends the axel may still be driven, with a “shimmy,” which will shorten the treadwear of the tires, and ultimately lower the lifetime expected mileage of the car. So too, when someone sustains an injury that causes some degree of impairment, resulting in difficulty walking for example, that impairment has a statistical reduction in a person’s future worklife and also possible wage rate. The person still walks, but with a “shimmy.” Government statistics exist on people with various disabilities that provide the statistical wage and employment impact that can be used to estimate future lifetime income impact. You do not have to be so injured as to have lost your job to have future wage and employment losses.
Another court opinion that looked at the standard for damages is the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Granthan and Mann, Inc. vs American Safety Products, 831 F2d 596 (1987). Here, Judge Anthony Celebrezze, another colossus of the law here in the Midwest (the Federal building in Cleveland bears his name), writes that the rule against speculative damages “serves to preclude recovery however, only where the fact of damages is uncertain, i.e. where the damage claimed is not the certain result of the wrong, not where the amount of the damage alone is uncertain. Once the existence of damages has been shown, all that an award of damages requires is substantial evidence in the record to permit a factfinder to draw reasonable inferences and make a fair and reasonable assessment of the amount of damages.” Here again, speculation refers to whether damages flowed from the alleged cause, not as to the degree of precision of the extent. “Substantial evidence” does mean years and years of data. A business plan for a company yet to be developed can constitute substantial evidence, when combined with the skills and experience of the person implementing the plan. Since damages must still be based on facts, a qualified economist can make a fact-based projection based on sound data. An economist can study the past trend of growth in a firm to determine the growth in sales but for a fire which damaged the firm’s entire inventory. Relying on government data for occupational earnings, an economist can point to the level of earnings a young person can expect to earn over a full career.
Of course, to recover damages, liability and harm must be established. But once liability and harm are determined, and there is evidence that the harm has caused damages, the measurement of such damages is no longer speculative. Stan V. Smith, Ph.D., is VLM’s Quarterly Economics Columnist and president of Smith Economics Group, Ltd., headquartered in Chicago. Trained at the University of Chicago (one of the world’s pre-eminent institutions for the study of economics and the home of the law and economics movement), Smith has also taught at the university and co-authored the first textbook on the subject of economic damages. A nationally-renowned expert in economics who has testified nationwide in personal injury, wrongful death and commercial damages cases, Smith has assisted thousands of law firms in successful results for both plaintiffs and defendants, including the U.S. Department of Justice. To that end, Smith also developed the first course in forensic economics at DePaul University, and pioneered the concept of “hedonic damages,” testifying about the topic in landmark cases. His work has been featured in the ABA Journal, National Law Journal, and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Kyle Lauterhahn is a Senior Economic Analyst at Smith Economics Group in Chicago. Smith Economics Group, Ltd., is located at 1165 N. Clark Street, Suite 600, Chicago, IL, 60610. Dr. Smith may be reached at 312-943-1551, and at Stan@SmithEconomics. com.
Consider the example of a 12-year-old who may have been likely destined to graduate college, whose parents are both college graduates, but who may never work due to a brain injury. Government statistics can provide guidance as to average earning of a college graduate, evidence commonly used by economists to project life-long earnings absent any actual career earnings. Once the evidence that such a person cannot work is adduced, the damages are no longer speculative. Of course, one can never know the precise career path of a 12-year-old after later earning a college degree, but a fair, neutral and unbiased statistical estimate of career Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 25
COURT
OF
PUBLIC OPINION
–By Mark Fierro
Regulators of Nevada’s nascent cannabis industry are at a crossroads.
Should they keep the estimated half-billion dollars a year of revenue entirely in the hands of local owners, who would logically seem to have a greater interest in the local economy and local issues like education? Or should they sit on the sidelines and allow that massive flood of cash to rush out of state or even out of the country through foreign ownership? A point of disclosure, my firm, Fierro Communications, Inc., has been retained to handle public relations efforts on behalf of Nevada dispensary owners, many of whom had essentially perfect records of operation but were passed over in favor of business interests in Chicago and Canada. As to where a huge chunk of the Nevada marijuana money goes, we are about to find out: Last year there were 64 new Nevada cannabis licenses granted. Of those licenses, more than one-third went to three
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 26
companies — a public Canadian company, a company headquartered in Chicago whose majority investment is from Canada, and another public company headquartered in Chicago. Our flood of cash may have just been diverted 2,500 miles away to our pals in Ottawa and Chicago. Something doesn’t smell right, and this time it’s not a cloud of marijuana smoke. No doubt about it, the industry is proving to be an economic boon for the taxpayers of Nevada. Whatever happens, the tax proceeds from all those grams, “eighths,” and pre-rolls stay in Nevada one way or another. Also this is likely the legislative session in which lawmakers will put a much finer edge on where in Nevada those state tax dollars are allocated. In the early planning stages cannabis revenue was originally earmarked for education. Didn’t happen. It could happen this legislative session. One way or another, the opening year of recreational cannabis sales, July 2017 to June 2018, saw $500 million in gross revenue go to
COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION dispensary owners. That put just under $70 million dollars into state coffers. That was the first year. Because of Nevada’s decades of experience in modern gaming and handling of cash in a highly regulated business, officials originally put a lot of emphasis on owners being Nevadans. It was far easier to conduct comprehensive background checks on local owners who would handle the goods from seed to sale. But that “locally owned” approach may have had an economic impact far larger than Nevada state legislators ever imagined. This year looks even better for sales and taxes. The question is, what does the horizon look like for the local economy when you take into account the “economic multiplier” that drives the local business climate? Local owners spend locally. After they pay their local employees and take care of their local business operations, they are sitting on a pretty big stack of cash. That money goes somewhere. Investment, new homes, new cars, new boats, other business opportunities. Wherever it goes it seems likely that more, not less, is going to stick to the local economy. That’s where “economic multipliers” come into play. New home? Tax. New jobs to build that home. Tax. New car? Tax. New … you get the picture. It’s estimated in an economy like the Las Vegas Valley, where we are essentially an island, each new dollar turns over 3.5 times before it leaves our sphere of influence. That $500 million in revenue is looking more like $1.75 billion — that’s each year, assuming no growth. That is $70 million in tax dollars coming in to help education, homelessness and infrastructure. That number looks to be a bit beefier as well when all those investments and purchases by owners are taxed and taxed again when spent. What’s a legislator to do? Well, the answers aren’t easy but if you care about Nevada and our local priorities the path seems fairly clear. This massive shift of money to the Canadians had its roots in the 2016 initiative on recreational cannabis sales. Once the people of Nevada had spoken in favor of recreational marijuana sales, then Governor Brian Sandoval made the decision to speed up implementation. He looked at medical marijuana license holders in good standing who had paid their taxes. Nevada operators were first in line and the rollout of recreational marijuana sales in Nevada went off as well as anyone in government had hoped. That was completely in line with the initiative petition which defined the “Qualifications for licensure that are directly and demonstrably related to the operation of a marijuana es-tablishment”. As part of that 2016 initiative process, the cannabis application process moved from Nevada’s Division of Public and Behavioral Health to the Department of Taxation. Sounds logical so far. But in the most recent round of licensing, much of the system that raked in those original big bucks and kept them here in Nevada got swept away. Rather than the meticulous grading of applications that had been past practice by the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, the Department of Taxation used temp workers from Manpower.
Manpower. Temp services. It’s not the kind of move that tends to engender confidence when grading applications that will steer hundreds of millions, eventually billions, of mostly cash dollars on behalf of the good citizens of our state. To make matters far, far worse, the new 2018 system is essentially opaque. It’s not up for review. You can’t see the process. You are not allowed. Hands off. Eyes closed. As a matter of fact, the licensees can’t even see the process behind their own grading. The state became one giant leap closer to transparency as Governor Steve Sisolak has championed a new Cannabis Compliance Board based on Nevada’s vaunted gaming control regulatory structure. That, unfortunately, is only half of the answer because somewhere between the Manpower system and the governor’s new system, Nevadans got played. One of the applicants in the new 2018 process, who was awarded 8 licenses, reached a definitive deal to sell their company during the application scoring process. They sold to a public company headquartered in Chicago. The bottom line: 64 licenses were awarded. Of the 64, more than onethird went to three companies that were out of state or were Canadian companies or companies whose majority investor is Canadian. Sixtytwo percent of the licenses granted went to six companies. The Canadians are in — unless they aren’t. Big questions loom on the horizon. How did the Manpower scoring result in out of state and Canadian firms and/or investors ending up with more than one third of the licenses? You won’t know and you aren’t allowed to find out unless someone in the executive, legislative or judicial system makes a sweeping decision right now. Quick. Could the entire 2018 process be thrown out and recast under the auspices of the governor’s new Cannabis Compliance Board structure? It could. It might not. A big green chunk of Nevada’s economic future is at risk. One thing is certain: Billions of green dollars are in play and will likely end up being invested, spent, and taxed over and over again in the next decade, creating a mountain of positive economic momentum. The question is: Will that massive infusion of wealth benefit Nevadans or our good friends out of state and north of the border? Mark Fierro began his career as a reporter/anchor at KLAS-TV, the CBS television station in Las Vegas. He worked at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He served as communications consultant on IPO road shows on Wall Street. He provided litigation support for the Michael Jackson death trial. He is president of Fierro Communications, Inc., and author of several books including “Road Rage: The Senseless Murder of Tammy Meyers.”He has made numerous appearances on national TV news programs.
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 27
HAZY ISSUE
Did Pot Tax Dollars Fail To Help The Clark County School District? —By Valerie Miller
This legislative session, Jesus Jara is going to make his case about school
funding to Nevada lawmakers. The newest superintendent of the Clark County School District makes the point that the success of local schools translates into prosperity for all parts of the community. “Everybody wins when schools succeed,” Jara maintains. “I believe we are the economic engine,” he said during a recent public meeting in Henderson. “The first thing employers ask is, ‘How are your schools?’” Jara won’t sugarcoat the answer to that question. “We have a lot of work to do, and we have to work quickly,” he adds, “because our kids only have one time in school.” The session in Carson City will be a key: “In the legislative session, the first priority is to fix the funding formula,” Jara said in a recent interview with Vegas Legal Magazine. “The second priority is for the money that is allocated, to be used in the most effective and efficient way for our children.” The disparity in student achievement is one of the major issues Jara is trying to address in the district of 322,000 students.
“There is a 40-percentage point difference between our highest-achieving student and our lowest-achieving student,” Jara notes. “Twenty percent of our students don’t feel safe in school, and 20 percent of our students don’t come to school on a regular basis.” Jara is drafting a strategic plan, “Focus 2024,” to help address some of the problems facing the school district. But one thing many education advocates agree on is that the Clark County School District does not have adequate funding. The state’s school-funding mechanism, the Nevada Plan, was developed in 1967. “The Nevada Plan was established by the state. That is the minimum required funding for education,” explains Jason Goudie, who is CCSD’s chief financial officer. “That established a ‘bucket’ of funds for education.” Into the bucket goes slot tax, state sales tax, one-third of property taxes, and “what’s left over comes (to the schools) from the state’s general fund,” Goudie notes. Not surprisingly, over the years many proposals to boost school funding have been floated in Nevada. But everyone remembers the most-recent one: Flash back a few years ago, to 2016: A bombastic billionaire, and reality TV star, named Donald Trump was predicted to lose his presidential bid in a landslide to Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Of course, everyone knows
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 29
how that one turned out). But, here in Nevada, the hottest local contest was arguably not between a Democrat and a Republican. Instead, Nevada voters had to decide whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana.
of the marijuana tax to boost schools. As Jara notes, any extra money the school district gets from pot-tax dollars just results in fewer dollars the state will give the district from other sources.
The great pot debate had Nevada residents taking sides. Should the Silver State risk the potential crime – and other problems -- that opponents said would come with legalized cannabis? Opponents pointed to statistics that they claimed showed that legalizing recreational marijuana resulted in an uptick in crime in some states like Colorado.
“That’s what I was talking about when I said a ‘leaky bucket,’” Jara says of the school district’s budget. “The money went in, and then it went out. A complicated Leaky Bucket.”
Not to be deterred from their goal of making pot legal in Nevada, proponents of recreational cannabis offered up a feel-good idea: Use the extra tax money from marijuana sales to help the state’s schools. The idea of aiding schools with tax money from legal pot sales likely won over some of the voters on the fence. The measure – Question 2 -- passed on Election Night in November 2016. This victory paved the way for marijuana dispensaries to begin opening in Clark County – and all over the Nevada – in July 2017. In under nine months, more than $263 million worth of taxable marijuana had been sold in Nevada. And Nevada schools are now projected to get at least $26 million more in wholesale-tax revenue from marijuana in 2019. So, what could go wrong with this noble plan of offering schools this added money? Well, there were flaws in this plan, critics say. More than a year and a half after the first dispensaries opened in Las Vegas, the additional tax dollars provided to the Clark County School District haven’t been a windfall for the schools, district officials say. Jara points to the state’s way of funding education in explaining the failure
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 30
Part of the overall public confusion, about what happened to the money from “marijuana tax,” is due to the complicated nature of how the state handles the schools’ budgets. Add to that the fact that there is more than one “marijuana tax” generated, and the head-scratching increases. “Marijuana tax fills up the ‘bucket,’ but there is no additional funds going to education,” Goudie says. There is the 15 percent wholesale-pot tax, which was in the ballot Question 2 that voters approved in 2016. That money is earmarked for schools. In addition, then-Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval successfully lobbied for another 10 percent retail-sales tax on Cannabis, which is sometimes also called an “excise” tax, recalls Michael Schaus, the communications director of the Nevada Policy Research Institute. “One of these (taxes) went into the (state’s Distributive Schools Account or) DSA. The other one went into (Nevada’s) ‘Rainy Day Fund,’” he adds. The wholesale-pot tax goes into the DSA, while the retail-marijuana tax goes into the ‘Rainy Day Fund.” Sandoval’s 10 percent pot-retail tax was projected to generate about $60 million. The lawmakers took $60 million from the ‘Rainy Day Fund” and put it in the DSA for the schools in July of last year, explains Richard “Tick” Segerblom, the former Nevada lawmaker who sponsored the marijuana dispensaries bill. However, the retail-tax revenue came in higher than
JESUS JARA anticipated at $90 million, and the whole $90 million went to the ‘Rainy Day Fund.” So, the extra $30 million retail-tax revenue is just sitting in that fund, at the moment. “The ‘Rainy Day Fund’ made $30 million from the (retail-pot) tax. That’s 50 percent interest on the $60 million loan,” Segerblom muses. “I know a lot of folks are unhappy about the (retail-tax) money going into the ‘Rainy Day Fund,’” Schaus agrees. As for CCSD’s total DSA allocation, the district’s CFO Jason Goudie puts that number as being between $70 million and $100 million. Not all that money is from the marijuana wholesale tax, however. The wholesale-pot tax revenue was around $25 million, which was put the state’s schools account, or DSA, in July 2018, Segerblom relates. He predicts another $35 million will go into the DSA from pot-wholesale tax this July – which is about $10 million more than predicted. Meanwhile, the money from the DSA is given to the state’s school districts. Yet, the Clark County School District’s $2.4 billion operating budget for the 2018-2019 school year has changed little from the school year before. “When the (schools) got the money from the marijuana (wholesale tax), it was no windfall for the schools,” Schaus continues. “It didn’t increase what the schools were going to receive, as it just reduced what the state had to devote to schools, from other sources.” In other words, that’s the “leaky bucket” CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara discussed with the audience members, during a CCSD Town hall
meeting in Henderson on Jan. 14th. Later, in an interview with Vegas Legal Magazine, Jara explained that the marijuana wholesale-tax money the school district receives simply “supplants rather than supplements” what CCSD gets from the state of Nevada in the DSA. To recap, what the schools are getting is money from the marijuana wholesale tax, and the retail tax (which was later orchestrated by Sandoval). For reasons not everyone agrees on, $30 million in extra retail-pot tax money is still sitting in the state’s “Rainy Day Fund.” Bottom line, Schaus says is, “The money (distributed already) didn’t really help the schools.” Segerblom disagrees, saying that the pot-tax money doesn’t appear to make a difference because it is budgeted into the overall school budget. “They may not have realized that it was there,” Segerblom says of the school districts, “because the state added it to their budgets.” Did other Problems also thwart Schools in getting more Pot-Tax Money? Now a Clark County Commissioner, Segerblom says Nevada voters did get what they voted for in the fall of 2016. He maintains part of the issue is that the legal-pot sales exceeded what they were expected to be initially. That meant the retail-sales tax estimates were lower than they should have been. “At the end of the day, they put in (the schools’ budget) what (schools) were supposed to get, but the (estimates) were too low,” he explains. Segerblom estimates around $60 million went into the schools (DSA) account from retail-pot taxes – via an advance from the ‘Rainy Day Fund.” But more money should have been put in. “They kept the (extra) $30 million in the ‘Rainy Day Fund,’ from the (retail) pot tax,” says Segerblom. He clarifies that he did not draft the tax-distribution portion for the ballot measure legalizing marijuana dispensaries. Segerblom, who jokes that his nickname is the “Grandfather of Pot,” wishes the $30 million in extra marijuana retail-tax money had gone directly to the schools, instead of being left in the ‘Rainy Day Fund.’ “It’s not a huge amount of money, but the way the schools were, the kids needed it,” he laments. New Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak could lead a legislative effort to get that $30 million moved from the ‘Rainy Day Fund’ to the schools. But does Segerblom think that is likely to happen? “No,” he answers, “because they are stingy, and want to keep that money in the ‘Rainy Day Fund.’” Besides, Sisolak’s plans to raise the amount kept in the ‘Rainy Day Fund’ makes the money move seem more unlikely, according to Segerblom. A Sisolak media representative said the new governor was unavailable
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 31
“The money went in, and then it went out. A complicated leaky bucket.” for comment due to scheduling demands, including the 2019 Nevada Legislature, which convened in February. Segerblom doesn’t get to vote on the matter anymore, as he is no longer a Nevada legislator. But that doesn’t stop him from having a wish list.
“(CCSD) is the lowest-funded district – per pupil – in the state,” the superintendent states. “There are 17 school districts (in Nevada), and we are last.” “More Taxes aren’t Always the Answer.”
“If it was up to me, I would have called a special session (of the Nevada Legislature) to give the money back to the schools.”
Whether it be school taxes, cop taxes or road taxes, NPRI’s Schaus says: “The devil is in the details. More taxes aren’t always the answer.”
Can the Local Schools get a higher amount of Marijuana Tax Money?
You can count on politicians to ruin a good idea, he adds.
NPRI’s Schaus says it is possible the schools could receive the extra $30 million from the retail tax on pot, which is now kept in the “Rainy Day Fund.” But it will take somebody spearheading the effort.
“Overall, school funding has been going up over the years, but not very much, in spite of the taxes that politicians impose,” Schaus points out. “That’s because everybody seems to have their hooks into it.”
“I think it would pass a vote, but somebody would have to bring it up,” the NPRI communications director opines. “It was just easier to throw the money in the ‘Rainy Day Fund,’ and figure out what to do with it at a later date.”
Amanda Morgan, the legal director for the education advocacy group Educate Nevada Now, agrees that accountability for past taxes needs to happen before new taxes are added on.
Segerblom says part of the problem also lies with the fact that the marijuana wholesale-tax revenue is distributed to all the school districts in Nevada. More of the revenue is generated in Clark County, but the money is divided between counties – even to those counties that do not have pot dispensaries. Segerblom thinks this is unfair. “It should just go to the school districts where the (dispensaries) generate the money,” he argues. Also, the 10 percent pot-retail tax was not earmarked for the public school districts initially, Segerblom explains. “It was for charter schools, and the ESAs – Sandoval wanted to use it for the Educational Savings Accounts.” But Jara says in overall funding per student, the Clark County School District is on the bottom.
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 32
“How do we fund schools in the state?” She asks. “We are 45th in the country … We have a 50-year-old school-funding formula. And we have a lot more students who don’t speak English and a lot more students living in poverty.” The marijuana-tax money would help some – if the schools could actually get the funds directly. “But the ‘bucket’ leaks,” Morgan concedes. Morgan is up in Carson City for the 2019 Nevada Legislature, as well. Jara said more fiscal responsibility is also needed at his new school district. “I think if we add more money, and keep things the same way, the same things will happen.” Valerie Miller is an award-winning Las Vegas Valley-based journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.
Jesus Jara
CCSD Superintendent
Then-Gov.Sandoval Joined Other States In FightingThe Feds For The Pot Industry –By Valerie Miller
While states like Nevada, Colorado and Washington have
thriving legal marijuana businesses, the money plant is still a “Schedule 1” drug under federal law. That means cannabis is classified as the most-dangerous type of drug by the feds. Then-Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, who wasn’t always the biggest fan of legalization, nonetheless later tried to protect Nevada’s budding marijuana industry. In early 2018, Sandoval joined a group of a dozen governors calling on Congress to guarantee federal protections for the states’ marijuana operations. While candidate Donald Trump had promised to take a “hands off ” approach to the growing number of states legalizing marijuana sales, later he would name a harsh opponent of weed – Jeff Session— as his first attorney general. Sessions was decidedly more anti-pot than the more-liberal new president. As president, Trump would eventually call Sessions off his marijuana-squashing campaign. But until President Trump intervened, Nevada and other states tried to act themselves.
Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 34
When the U.S. Justice Department rolled back federal protections to existing marijuana programs at the direction of Session, lending dried up for many in the legal pot business. So, Sandoval joined many other states’ governors last year in backing a federal bill called the “Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act.” Fortunately for Nevada and the other pro-legal marijuana states, Sessions lost favor with Trump after Sessions recused himself from the investigation of possible collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government. That Special Counsel Robert Muller report, which was released in late March, cleared Trump of collusion, but it came too late to save Sessions’ job. The first AG pick of Trump’s was asked to resign following the November mid-term election. Robert Barr, the AG under former President George H.W. Bush, again took the top law enforcement post for President Trump. Barr, who has been busy lately working out the release of the Muller report, has not been as vocal as Sessions on the legalization of marijuana. Valerie Miller is an award-winning Las Vegas Valley-based journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.
RANGE ROVER VELAR
EVERY ROAD HAS A STORY TO TELL There are some things that you can’t help but be drawn towards, even if your instincts tell you otherwise. The Range Rover Velar with its bold stance and slender full LED headlights may appear rather intimidating. But inside, it’s a welcoming sanctuary you can’t help but enter. A truly compelling design, inside and out, that can’t help but captivate you. And of course, it’s a Land Rover vehicle with unrivaled capability. To experience the 2019 Range Rover Velar for yourself, visit Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas for a test drive today. Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas
6425 Roy Horn Way, Las Vegas, NV 89118 702.579.0400 www.jlrlv.com
2018 LEGAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS
LAS VEGAS COUNTRY CLUB
Business Report
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
Range Rover Velar –By Rick Nelson
“Mud and Caviar” are two words that are seldom used in the same sentence. But no other expression is more fitting to describe the 2019 Range Rover Velar.
Introduced last year, it is a dream on the eyes. This, affectionately is the caviar part. Surrounded by opulent leather and optional wood trim, the luxurious isolation for the outside is simply incredible. For those wishing for greener faire, there is optional Premium Textile seating surfaces and other renewable finishes. On the “mud” side you can expect as standard equipment the best off-road capability in its class with optional air height adjustable suspension and the system known as “Terrain Response” (standard), which essentially adapts itself to conquer the harshest road conditions imaginable. Aside from the “mud and caviar” balance, the vehicle is full of the latest technology, bringing further comfort, safety and convenience. The standard InControl Touch Pro Duo is a two-screen infotainment system. It is made up of an upper screen where the most important data is available to the driver, such as Navigation, cell phone, and music source. The bottom screen right behind the shifter is the interface for the climate control, climate seating adjustments, the Terrain Response info and other items that are typically used less often. Also offered is a heads-up display and other advanced driving aids. Perhaps “Mud and Caviar” should be used in the same sentence… For more information please contact Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas at 702-579-0400 or online at JLRLV.COM.
STATE
Of The
MARKET
– By Mark Martiak
On the last day of the third quarter 2018, the financial markets continued
to climb higher and then Q/4 began and the market volatility shook investor confidence and continued for the remainder of the final three months of the year. I ended my last column in Vegas Legal by indicating that industry analysts in aggregate predicted the S&P 500 will see a 10.5% increase in price over the next twelve months. This percentage is based on the difference between the bottom-up target price and the closing price for the index as of October 4th, 2018. If you’re following along, the bottom-up target price is calculated by aggregating the median target price estimates (based on company-level estimates submitted by industry analysts) for all the companies in the index. On October 4th, the bottom-up target price for the S&P 500 was 3205.51, which was 10.5% above the closing price of 2901.61. Through February 22nd, both the Dow and S&P have surged more than 11% to start 2019, on pace for their biggest two-month surge since 1987 and 1991. The indexes are sitting at 3% and 4.7% respectively, below last year’s records. Volatility has also eased this year: The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX also known on Wall Street as the ‘fear gauge” has fallen for nine consecutive weeks, it’s longest-ever losing streak. They say, “the trend is your friend” and these trends appear promising for the next nine months. According to Dow Jones Market Data, the Dow and S&P move in the same direction in the first two months and the remainder of the year more than 60% of the time.
In 2018, February, October-November-December were all highly volatile and contributed to a down year across all the major indexes. In each of those months, volatility flared-up when investors didn’t expect it. I think that short-volatility trades heightened violent intraday swings. Estimates of the risk of a U.S. recession have increased. In late February, S&P Global Inc. economists said they forecast a 20% to 25% chance of recession within the next year. Wells Fargo Securities estimates the chances of a recession within the next year are about 40%. (5) I am a Wealth Strategist, a Financial Planner, not an Analyst, though I follow them all closely. I take a holistic approach. From my view, I believe the equities market continues its bull run. Since the Federal Reserve Bank (FOMC) has indicated a willingness to pause their interest rate hikes, the fixed income, real estate, industrials and energy sectors, while challenged, shouldn’t lag in this rising interest rate low inflationary environment. Alternatives deserve an investor’s consideration as an allocation for hedging volatility and for non-correlation asset classes compared with fixed income and stocks in their portfolios. When you want to be defensive, allocate to cash – it’s your friend.
In 1991, the last time the S&P 500 climbed more than 10% in January and February, it rose an additional 14% over the following ten months according to the Dow Jones Market Data (3)
Such forward-looking statements are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and actual results could be materially different. There are no guarantees associated with any forecast and the opinions stated here are subject to change at any time and are the opinion of the individual strategist. Data is taken from sources generally believed to be reliable, but no guarantee is given to its accuracy. Indexes are unmanaged, and investors are not able to invest directly into any index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Where’s the looming risk this year? An unsuccessful end to the trade negotiations with China and Europe, slowing global growth and a potential corporate earnings recession. Much has changed since the Q/4 – most importantly sentiment.
1. Earnings Insight, October 5th, 2018 by John Butters, Senior Earnings Analyst at FACTSET 2. Dow Jones Market Data, February 22nd, 2019 3. Dow Jones Market Data, February 22nd, 2019 4. Commodity Future trading Commission, February 5th, 2019 5. Wall Street Journal: Investors See Calm Markets Ahead, February 23-24, 2019
Another bullish sign for stocks: The New York Stock Exchange advancedecline line, an indicator of market breadth that tracks the stocks advancing minus the number declining each day has hit new highs. Also, as of Friday, February 22nd, 91% of S&P 500 index stocks were trading above their 50-day moving average – which is a positive technical analysis indicator. Moreover, I see that more market sectors are participating from a buying standpoint beside the tech sector such as industrials, materials, utilities, real estate and energy are participating.
Mark Martiak is a New York based Investment Advisor Representative for Premier Wealth Advisors LLC. Mark is a regular Contributor for VEGAS LEGAL MAGAZINE who has appeared on CNBC’s CLOSING BELL, YAHOO! FINANCE MIDDAY MARKET MOVERS, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK and has been quoted in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
In another sign that investors are embracing risk, wagers that the market will continue to be calm – bets against volatility have climbed. Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show that speculative investors like hedge funds have gradually increased net bearish bets on stock volatility this year, after reducing them through Q/4.
Securities offered through: First Allied Securities, Inc. A Registered Broker/Dealer. Member: FINRA /SIPC. Advisory Services offered through: Premier Wealth Advisors, LLC. (PWA) & First Allied Advisory Services, Inc. (FAAS). Both Registered Investment Advisers. PWA is not affiliated with First Allied Securities, Inc or FAAS. Such forward-looking statements are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and actual results could be materially different. There are no guarantees associated with any forecast and the opinions stated here are subject to change at any time and are the opinion of the individual strategist. Data is taken from sources generally believed to be reliable, but no guarantee is given to its accuracy. Indexes are unmanaged, and investors are not able to invest directly into any index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. “The opinions expressed in this material is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial, tax or legal advice. This commentary contains forward-looking statements and opinions. These opinions may not develop as predicted. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable; however, their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. Indexes are unmanaged and investors are not able to invest directly into any index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”
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FADE TO BLACK MOUNTAIN
Fate Of Historic Henderson Golf Course Pits Operators Against Residents –By Valerie Miller
The once-green, lush golf course has a lot more dirt visible these
days. By the end of February, Henderson’s historic Black Mountain Golf and Country Club had been closed a full three months. But what this land will look like years from now is what worries local residents the most. “I was born and raised here, and we are trying to save the neighborhood,” says Val LaPorta, a resident who has been vocal in fighting high-density housing on the site. One proposal put forth by the Black Mountain Golf and Country Club operators called for around 1,800 houses on the 200-acre site, with almost all of those houses being on a portion of land near Horizon Drive and Greenway Road. Neither of those cross streets could handle those infrastructure demands, says resident John Stevens. “Horizon and Greenway are not large streets like Eastern (Avenue). It would overwhelm our schools, as well,” the resident adds. Denell Hahn leads the Black Mountain Neighborhood Association, which has around 200 people involved with it. She concedes that some development will come to the course, but wants to ensure that what’s built on the site won’t destroy the neighborhood many residents have lived in for more than a half century. “We are almost all life-long residents, and we know each other’s parents and children, although we welcome and love the new residents,” Hahn says of the association.
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No fees or dues are part of this association, which was formed only in 2017, she adds. Members often wear the green “Save Black Mountain” t-shirts to neighborhood and Henderson city meetings. “We just want to preserve our neighborhood,” Hahn maintains. While Hahn has not personally experienced any rodent infestations since the golf course’s closure in late November, others haven’t been as lucky, she points out. Another resident said they “have had their air conditioner cord chewed off ” by a rat, Hahn offers as an example. A loud and contentious neighborhood meeting on Feb. 11th, at the Black Mountain Golf and Country Club, resulted in a slew of residents complaining of mouse-and-rat infestations as a result of what they claimed was reduced watering on the closed golf course. Others claimed to be also swarmed by rabbits. A few maintain that even coyotes come by their property now. That’s a charge that Black Mountain Golf and Country Club’s bankruptcy attorney, Candace Carlyon, disputes. “Based on the time of year it is (the winter), we wouldn’t be watering more than we are now (if it was open),” Carlyon told Vegas Legal Magazine in a late February interview. Carlyon says there’s really not a lot they can do about the stray rabbits, as it is cruel and illegal to poison rabbits. “We are not going to do that.”
An employee of a neighborhood home-improvement store, which is nearest to the golf course, recounted seeing “double the number of people” purchasing mice-and-rat traps, when compared to the same time last year, he said in February. The employee, however, didn’t know the exact cause of the surge in pest-control products. The Black Mountain Golf and Country Club went into bankruptcy reorganization in 2017, and closed its doors near the end of November of last year. Once a thriving course, the course fell victim to a perfect storm of events, says Carlyon. “Golf courses all over the country are dying, and Millennials aren’t playing golf that much,” she laments. In addition, the Great Recession, which hit in late 2007 and lasted for years, caused the Black Mountain Golf and Country Club’s membership to drop by nearly two-thirds by the time of its closure, Carlyon adds. Prior to the recession, the course had around 300 members, but by the time of the November closure, that membership total had dropped to just over 100, she explains. “Some other golf courses can survive, after their membership
declines, because they are supported by (homeowners) association fees. But we didn’t have an association that paid us fees,” Carlyon adds. Residents are being unreasonable in their demands, the attorney contends. She points to an earlier – and failed -- mediation between some residents, Black Mountain Golf and Country and the city. “They want to have a big, lush, expensive golf course that somebody else has to pay for,” Carlyon states. Founded in 1957 as one of the first golf courses in Southern Nevada, the Black Mountain Golf and Country Club was “nonmoneyed and non-profit,” according to an April 2018 bankruptcy filings. Bordered partially along Horizon Drive and Greenway Road in Henderson just west of Boulder Highway, the golf course is an integral part of the community that surrounds it. The 27-hole golf course is on 200 acres of land, and also includes a club, shop and banquet facilities. At the time of the bankruptcy filing only 18 of the 27 holes were being operated. Those included the “Founders 9,” which first
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opened for play in the late 1950s, and the “Horizon 9,” which began play in the early 1960s. The “Desert 9” course was closed prior to the bankruptcy filing. The course’s expansion was made possible due to the acquisition of land from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The land had been purchased at a 10 percent discount from the BLM due to a reversion clause requiring the land to be used for a non-profit use, according to Candace Carlyon, the attorney for the Black Mountain Golf and Country Club. At the present time, the BMGCC is in the process of repurchasing that reversion clause or paying back that 10 percent discount in today’s dollars. Henderson City Councilwomen Gerri Schroder, who represents the ward which includes Black Mountain, says the city is doing what it can to ensure the golf course is maintained properly during its closure. The city developed a plan for the course’s operators to follow. After residents complained about the course’s condition at a Feb. 19th Henderson City Council meeting, a code enforcement official inspected the course and found an active code violation, Schroder adds. The Henderson City Councilwomen agreed with residents that the previous proposal for 1,800 houses on the site of the course was way too high a density for the neighborhood. She opposes that many houses on the site.
That said, Schroder cautions that the city of Henderson is not interested in operating another golf course. “The city is not going to buy the property,” she adds. Black Mountain Golf and Country Club has also received approval from bankruptcy court to remove and sell some trees to Wynn Resorts. That is just another sad reminder of the fate of the Black Mountain Golf course for Denell Hahn and other residents. Hahn says she “loves her rabbits,” but instead is more worried about massive amounts of people invading the neighborhood. Now, the long-time resident just hopes to mitigate the damage done to the neighborhood. Hahn wants to see a much-smaller golf course maintained on the original “Founders 9” portion of the property. The course, ideally, would have natural grass and a real clubhouse. “We’d like to see if they would come up with something we could live with,” Hahn said of Black Mountain Golf and Country Club’s operators. “But everything has been terrible so far.” Valerie Miller is an award-winning Las Vegas Valley-based journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.
REVIEWING THE TOP
INCOME TAX CHANGES FROM 2018 – By Donovan Thiessen, CPA
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was passed into law over a year ago.
Although it has been in the news regularly since then, and despite the release of clarifying regulations, there is still surprise and confusion on the effects of the law. Social and mainstream media have reported recent stories of taxpayers with higher tax liabilities and lower refunds than they saw on their 2017 income tax returns. One of the main reasons this happened was due to a change in the federal withholding tables in early 2018. Due to some of the changes highlighted in this article, the government estimated that most people would pay lower federal income tax in 2018 than they did in 2017. As such, they reduced the federal tax withholding rates, and took less taxes out of your paycheck. The upside was a higher net paycheck and increased discretionary spending which ultimately serves to increase GDP. This particular change has resulted in negative media for the tax reform. Many taxpayers are shocked at having to write a check to the Treasury when unaccustomed, and many others are receiving reduced refunds that were previously used to pay down debt, invest, and improve the home. By the end of this article, you should have a better idea of what is really happening with income taxes for 2018 and beyond. Personal exemptions, standard deduction and the child tax credit In 2017 each taxpayer and their dependents were eligible for an automatic personal exemption of 4,050 per person. The standard example is a twoparent household, and two dependent children ages 10 and 12 (“the Smith family”). The taxpayers would have claimed $16,200 in personal exemptions in 2017. Beginning in 2018 through 2025, those have been eliminated. If nothing else changed for these taxpayers, their taxable income increased by $16,200 from 2017 to 2018. As you compare your
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2017 and your 2018 tax returns, this is a change you will notice regardless of filing as single or married. Schedule A, which reports your itemized deductions, saw big changes in 2018. Most notably, the standard deduction was increased from 6,350 in 2017 to 12,000 in 2018 for single filers and 12,700 to 24,000 for married filing jointly. This will help reduce the time necessary to tally Schedule A deductions such as property, real estate and state income taxes, charitable deductions, medical expenses and gambling losses. A particularly painful tax change is that the maximum deduction for State and Local taxes is now capped at $10,000. Taxpayers residing in states with income tax (California, Arizona, Oregon, amongst others) that pay more than $10,000 between income, property and real estate taxes may be hurt by this. In years prior to 2018, employees could deduct unreimbursed business expenses such as vehicle fuel, client lunches, travel and incidental supplies. This no longer applies from 1/1/2018 to current. I recommend that employees make sure they can get reimbursed for an item, if not then have the company pay for the item directly. This includes cell phones, vehicle expenses and the home office deduction. In a recent return I prepared, this was a large deduction in 2017 that is now gone. My suggestion to the client was to negotiate a raise with the employer if you continue to pay for employment related expenses out of pocket and no tax benefit. The child tax credit, which directly reduces the tax liability dollar for dollar, was expanded. In prior tax years taxpayers filing as married jointly would begin to phase out of this $1,000 per child tax credit beginning at modified adjusted gross income of $110,000. The new tax credit is $2,000
per child up until the child is age 17 at the end of the calendar year. Also, for married filing jointly the phase out begins at $400,000. This adjustment should easily make up for the loss of any personal exemptions for children, mentioned earlier. As a reminder, Tax credits are always preferable to tax deductions.
equipment. If you’ve purchased or plan to purchase equipment, vehicles, completed leasehold improvements to business property, in 2018 through 2025, you should consult with your tax advisor on the depreciation expense for tax purposes. It is likely that you’re able to accelerate the depreciation deduction for your fixed assets faster than in recent years.
Schedule A – Itemized Deductions
Qualified Business Deduction
The standard deduction was increased from 6,350 to 12,000 for single filers and from 12,700 to 24,000 for married filing joint (from 2017 to 2018). This change helps offset the removal of the personal exemptions.
This new deduction is aimed at business owners. It came as a result of the top corporate tax rate being slashed from 35% to 21%. In an effort to be fair to businesses operating in pass-through entities like partnerships, S-Corporations and trusts, there is a new maximum 20% deduction of qualified business income. Much has been written about this deduction and this article simply cannot cover all of the rules, details and regulations that have been issued since the tax reform went into effect. If you have qualified business income of $100,000, this deduction could be as high as $20,000. This is an annual deduction that is set to expire after 2025. This means that you could qualify for this $20,000 Qualified Business Deduction each year until 2025. A small amount of planning in this area could be valuable to you!
Unreimbursed employee expenses, which include vehicle mileage deductions and home office expenses are now gone. Equivalent expenses for self-employed individuals are still in effect. Tax preparation fees, investment fees (fees paid to your financial advisor) are no longer deductible. Keep in mind that if part of your tax preparation fee involves accounting and tax work for rental properties or a self-employed business, the fees related to those activities can be deducted on the appropriate schedule (other than Schedule A). The deduction for taxes has been capped at $10,000. This include state and local taxes, property taxes and personal property taxes (sales tax on a new vehicle for instance). For most people in Nevada, this may not be a big deal since we don’t have state income taxes. But for people with high property taxes and / or a second home, this could be painful. It is especially painful for residents of states with high income taxes such as California, New York and Illinois. Businesses For businesses, the first-year bonus depreciation was expanded from 50% bonus to 100% bonus depreciation and it qualifies for used or new
It is my hope that this article provided a refresher to the changes in your tax return from 2017 to 2018. The new law is complex, and although the recent media coverage has stated that the reform was a net negative for taxpayers, I believe we still have a lot of planning opportunities to consider. I trust that my fellow tax and financial advisors will agree! Donovan Thiessen, CPA is The Accountant. He is a small business owner in Las Vegas focusing on individual and business income taxation, and quality accounting. You may reach Donovan at donovan@theaccountantcpa.com and 702-786-0272.
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FINANCIAL FREEDOM Building Wealth To Live The Live You Love –By Andrew Schneider Financial Advisor, Morgan Stanley
What does financial freedom mean to you? For some, it is synonymous with financial security. But, for others, the definition of financial freedom goes beyond money to include living with purpose, cultivating a healthy mind and spirit or being able to pursue their dreams without fear of the unknown or unexpected. No matter how you define it, the fundamental steps of mapping a path to the opportunities that financial freedom offer are the same: Define Your Goals What is your vision of a successful life? Defining your goals as specifically as possible helps you begin to establish priorities and distinguish between needs and wants. Once you have clearly identified your priorities, you can start thinking about what types of financial trade-offs or lifestyle compromises you’re willing to make to achieve your version on success, on your own terms. Set A Budget Living on a budget may sound limiting, but in reality, a budget is a valuable tool for helping you do the things you really want by showing you how much money you will need to do them. Start by calculating your income and tracking your current expenses. Then, separate your needs from your
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wants in the content of your overall goals. Once you set your budget, the most important thing is to stick to it, monitor how you’re doing and then adjust if necessary. Make A Habit Of Saving Saving early, automatically and often is the cornerstone of an effective wealth creation strategy as it allows you to take advantage of the power of compound interest. Prioritize saving over optional expenses and make automatic deposits to your savings, investment or retirement account, if your company enables you to do so. In addition, contributing to a flexible spending account, health savings account, retirement plan or education savings account enables you to take advantage of tax benefits. You can also trim spending by changing your habits—for example, bringing, instead of buying, lunch or unsubscribing from retailer email lists to avoid the temptation to buy things you don’t really need. Align Your Investment Strategy With Your Goals. If you’re thinking about investing, you’ll want to formulate an investment strategy that helps you achieve your goals. Begin by figuring out how much you’ll need (your target), when you’ll need it (your time frame) and how much risk you can live with (your risk tolerance). These inputs help to define your asset allocation—the mix of asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash
equivalents and other investments) in your portfolio. Since different asset classes tend to behave differently under different market conditions, the goal is to find the mix of investments that has the highest probability of helping you reach your goals. Establish Good Credit Don’t estimate the value of a high credit score. Your credit score is how people assess the level of financial risk associated with giving you a loan or conducting any kind of business with you, including renting an apartment or buying a cell phone. To improve your credit score, pay your bills on time, borrow (but don’t over-borrow) and monitor your credit reports from each of the three main credit score suppliers—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—on a regular basis. Getting Started No matter how old you are or where you are in life, the future you envision begins with a comprehensive plan and a Financial Advisor who cares about you and your unique definition of financial freedom. Disclosures Article by Morgan Stanley and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor. Andrew Schneider is a Financial Advisor in Las Vegas at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). He can be reached by email at Andrew.schneider@ morganstanley.com or by telephone at (702) 792-2060. His California Insurance
License # is 0M31624. schneider/index.htm.
His website is https://fa.morganstanley.com/andrew.
This article has been prepared for informational purposes only. The information and data in the article has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. It does not provide individually tailored investment advice and has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. The strategies and/or investments discussed in this article may not be suitable for all investors. Morgan Stanley recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives. Asset Allocation does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining financial markets. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC is not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement with/of the third party or that any monitoring is being done by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) of any information contained within the website. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information contained on the third party website or the use of or inability to use such site. Nor do we guarantee their accuracy or completeness. Andrew Schneider may only transact business, follow-up with individualized responses, or render personalized investment advice for compensation, in states where he is registered or excluded or exempted from registration, https:// fa.morganstanley.com/andrew.schneider/index.htm. © 2018 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC 2149159 06/2018
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Henderson Mayor
Debra March
HEAD OF THE CLASS
Henderson Offers Up Marijuana Business-License Revenue To Local Schools –By Valerie Miller
The state of Nevada may want to take a cue from the City
the opening of legal marijuana dispensaries in 2017, the city to the south of Las Vegas had already offered funds -- from it redevelopment tax set aside -- to give schools a boost. Those distributed redevelopment dollars totaled $1.3 million in 2018. The practice of setting aside some redevelopment funds for schools started in 2015. To-date, a total of $3.3 million has been Henderson decided to take a portion of its marijuana business- distributed to schools from redevelopment dollars. license revenue and use it for grants to aid city schools. Those eligible include Clark County School District schools in Strictly speaking, school funding and education are not part of the prescribed duties of a municipality, explains Henderson Henderson, as when as public charter schools. Mayor Debra March. But city officials took on the role anyway. At the end of its first year in 2018, that money totaled $148,000. That amount represented about 30 percent of the total business- “I think we are the only local municipality using marijuana licensing fees generated by marijuana-related businesses in money for schools,” March says in an interview with Vegas Legal Magazine. “It is part of our commitment to move the needle for Henderson. our schools.” But that’s not all Henderson did to assist its schools. Prior to of Henderson. While the end result of Nevada’s marijuanatax money distribution to the Clark County School District is debatable, Henderson is using some of its own extra pot dollars to help community schools.
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HEAD OF THE CLASS Henderson has 40 CCSD public schools, 15 charter schools. So far, the extra money from pot-related business licenses -and redevelopment set-aside dollars -- has been used for things including students’ Chromebook laptops and repainting a local high school, along with helping at-risk schools with a part-time social worker.
Liz Trosper, a Henderson business owner of Trosper Communications, also sits on CEAB. She gives the mayor and Henderson City Council credit for offering the extra money to schools. She also says there’s accountability by grant recipients.
In addition, a $100,000 grant went to provide extra support services for students at Henderson’s Basic High School, Brown Middle School and Robert Taylor Elementary School. Early interventions are provided to students who have suffered traumatic experiences.
“If you ask for things (for your school), you are accountable to show how it worked out,” explains Trosper.
“The students at the schools come from our redevelopment areas, so it ties into the redevelopment (funding),” explains Stephanie Garcia Vause, the city’s chief strategy officer.
The mayor also praises the new CCSD superintendent, Jesus Jara.
The redevelopment money was given to schools as grant money, she adds. Henderson’s redevelopment areas include downtown Henderson, Pitman (which is south on Boulder Highway), and the eastside of Henderson. Garcia Vause is also part of Henderson’s Community Education Advisory Board, or CEAB. The board was formed after the reorganization of the school district, which gives local school officials more control over their schools. CEAB receives grant applications from schools and educators for consideration.
“The grants are given out in the fall, so at the end of the year, we can evaluate,” March explains.
“Dr. Jara seems more willing to work with us,” March maintains. And Garcia Vause points out that the city is working with CCSD to “support schools.” The city’s economic future depends on having an educated workforce, March says. Adequate school funding is part of that equation. “I hope the marijuana money will have a long-term impact on schools (success),” March responds. “I hope so.”
“We were the first community education advisory board in Southern Nevada,” she says proudly. The board was formed in April 2017.
Patricia Charlton, the provost of the College of Southern Nevada’s Henderson campus, praised the work of CEAB and the use of extra marijuana revenue to help schools.
Mayor Debra March notes that the residents’ named education and schools as a priority in the Henderson Strong Comprehensive Plan’s community research.
The provost lauded CEAB’s efforts to put more money in schools for mental health services, as well as instructional services.
“We’d like to make our schools the best in the state, if not the country,” the mayor adds. “Raising up our children is a priority.” The city has already set up wi fi zones in its recreational centers where children can go to do their homework. General funds were used for the homework zones.
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“I think this (funding) has made a notable difference and really helped move the needle,” she says. “I think this dedication to our schools is one of the things that draws people to Henderson. Valerie Miller is an award-winning Las Vegas Valley-based journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.
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BAR REVIEW
Bavette’s Steakhouse & Bar When the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino underwent an identity
change to become the Park MGM Hotel and Casino so did all of its restaurants. One in particular is the heavyweight steakhouse that took over the previous Brand Steakhouse. Bavette’s Steakhouse & Bar isn’t just another steakhouse in Las Vegas…it’s much more. It’s both a restaurant and a hang out. Before and after Golden Knights hockey games it’s the pre-game fill up as well as the post-game hangout. Step in and you’ll be surrounded by classic steakhouse style tuft booths, dark tones and jazz filling the air creating almost seductive feels. You instantly realize this isn’t just a sister location to the original in Chicago. No, this is a multi-million-dollar expression of the Chicago classic. But walk past the tables and around the back wall and you find the back bar within a secret room where typical dining tables and chairs are traded in for more relaxing sofas and coffee tables setting the mood for the perfect venue that embraces a combination of “classic fine dining” and “in the scene hotspot.” In sum, this place is simply just cool.
Bavette’s caters to both the cocktail drinker and the serious eater. The drink menu features an extensive list of bourbon, whiskey and scotch with an emphasis on classic cocktails. As for the food, well it’s a steakhouse and the prime beef here is king…’nuff said. Aside from the beef, several dishes are standouts including the double bone Berkshire pork chop (my favorite) and the Brussel sprouts coated in a sherry wine, mustard and honey glaze which are arguably the best in town. Oh, and if you still have room afterwards, order the giant slice of carrot cake. You won’t be disappointed. Bavette’s Steakhouse & Bar 3770 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109 Sun-Thurs: 5 - 10 PM Fri - Sat: 5 - 11 PM (702) 730-6700
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The Smith Center
Nevada Leading The Way With Ticketing Laws –By Myron Martin
A law was passed during the last legislature that helps to regulate unscrupulous ticket reselling. The Nevada law is now viewed as a model around the country, and it is only appropriate that “The Entertainment Capital of the World” is taking a leading role with ticketing for sports, concerts, theater, and other live entertainment events. The 2019 Legislature will be looking at strengthening these laws.
Nevada reaffirmed the Federal law relating to BOTS, the computerized ticket buying programs that buy up all the best seats before consumers even have a chance to sign on to the website. However, this practice is still prevalent and there is work to be done. For those who may not know, these computer programs buy seats for sold out shows in part to control the secondary market for these seats. When tickets are no longer available from the venue, then consumers are forced to look on the secondary market for seats. And these tickets are often offered at prices much higher than the original sale – sometimes by multiples of ten or more. When they sell a $200 ticket for an arena concert for $1000, they keep the $800 profit. None of profit goes to the artists, the writers, the venue, the producers, or to the show itself, and the state does not collect the live entertainment tax on the difference either. I happen to think that there is a place for secondary ticketing. Las Vegas brokers with brick and mortar offices do a service for out of town visitors who really want to see a show, a fight, or a concert. I have purchased tickets on occasion in the secondary market for out of town sporting events and I know I am paying a premium, but it’s my decision to make as a ticket buyer. If I believe the tickets are legit, and the price is acceptable, then there is value knowing that I have seats before travelling to an out of town stadium. However, I do not believe that someone should have the right to something they do not own. Too many times consumers are taken by illegitimate deals for tickets from brokers who do not even own the tickets. They call this speculative ticketing, and I think it is wrong. If a broker wants to advertise that they will find tickets to a specific event – that they currently do not have – for a fee, then I suppose consumers can decide if they want to take that risk and pay the premium. It is wrong however to pretend that you actually have tickets that you don’t (sometime with fictitious seats numbers) and either substitute the tickets for inferior seats at the last
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minute, or even worse tell the buyers that they do not have and cannot get the tickets – AFTER they have travelled to see an event and paid the costs of airfares and hotels. It should be simple. You should own the tickets or have a contract directly with the team or venue to own particular tickets (with exact location seat numbers) before you can advertise them. You should not be able to sell something you do not own. More so, you shouldn’t be able to set up a web site pretending to be someone that you are not either. Too many consumers are taken advantage of on websites that masquerade to be the official venue site. No one is exempt from being ripped off from one of these sites. I recently heard that the owner of a major sports team arrived at the last UFC fight in Las Vegas only to learn that his expensive tickets were fraudulent and invalid. The current legislature is looking at strengthening the ticketing laws. As the “Entertainment Capital of the world,” we are in position to be a leader, and I look forward to seeing how our Legislature can further protect consumers. Myron G. Martin is president and chief executive officer of The Smith Center. Martin earned a bachelors degree in music from the University of North Texas, and an MBA from Golden Gate University.
THE HEART OF THE ARTS. ®
In the heart of our city, there’s a place that’s celebrated around the world. It’s our city’s heart of beauty and creativity. It’s the heart of learning and inspiration. The heart of magic. And it was built just for you. Experience it and let your life be changed in brilliant new ways.
TheSmithCenter.com 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89106 | 702.749.2000 | TTY: 800.326.6868 or dial 711
Celery Juice?
WHAT IS ALL THE HYPE ABOUT –By Maryam Raskterdar
You’ve probably heard about celery juice and how everyone seems to be drinking and swearing by it. Celery juice has suddenly become a cure-all for everything from digestive issues and skin conditions to chronic pain. Supposedly drinking 16 oz. of celery juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning will help strengthen the digestion of foods that are being consumed throughout the day and help clarify the liver.
Fresh celery contains a high percentage of water and electrolytes that help prevent dehydration and provides a source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, potassium, magnesium, folate, manganese and riboflavin. Celery in its whole form is a great source of fiber and helps with bloating, constipation and IBS; however juicing strips celery of its fiber. Celery also contains numerous antioxidants such as caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, luteolin and tannin to name a few. Vegas Legal Magazine Spring 2019 | Pg. 72
The powerful antioxidant properties help to remove free radicals in the body that can help prevent cancer. In addition to its antioxidative properties, celery can also prevent cardiovascular diseases by reducing blood pressure, blood glucose levels, as well as blood lipid levels. In addition, because of its anti-inflammatory properties, celery and celery seeds have been used in the treatment of skin conditions including acne, eczema and psoriasis. While eating celery stalks are very healthy, it doesn’t seem to be the same as drinking pure celery juice. When celery is juiced, the fiber is removed, and it is believed that the healing benefits become much more powerful, mainly because far more celery is being consumed as juice than by just eating a few stalks. With all the health benefits that celery has to offer, it is very easy to see why celery juice is being praised as a miracle potion.
2019 CES
New Products &Technologies –By Don Logay
The annual CES show is one of the largest trade shows in the world. This year over 180,000 attendees came to Las Vegas to view tomorrow’s new products, emerging technologies and amazing visionary thinking presented by more than 4,500 exhibitors.
Size-wise, the 2019 CES (formerly Consumer Electronic show) covered 2.9 million square feet of floor space. That’s more that 52 football fields or 69-acres of jawdropping, cutting-edge devices, gadgets and vehicles that will be ushering us into a space-age future world worthy of the Jetsons. Home entertainment is always a main feature at CES, and this year was no exception. Entering the exhibit hall, a darkened room with 260 TVs mounted side-by-side as one massive undulating surface, extended wall-towall and curved overhead, immersing one in a brilliant burst of colors and mesmerizing images that foretold of things to come. One soon discovered that HD TV’s are now “ultra” UHD and 4K has been upped to 8K (8,000 pixels) to provide better resolution
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for budget-busting huge 88-, 95and 219-inch wall-size LEDs that are just around the corner (so much for bringing one home in your SUV). Another cool innovation is a flexible big LED TV that rolls-up (like a window shade) at the push of a button when not in use. Communication is always another highlight and this year’s CES saw the introduction of 5G technology that will gradually replace today’s 4G network. A simple hohum upgrade? Not so. The new 5G is more than 1,000 times faster – and, for example, will allow you to download a full-length HD movie in about 10 seconds. It is slated to be phased in over the next few years and will impact virtually all things wireless. Beyond this, one also finds that everything is suddenly “smart” – from appliances and doorbells to hi-tech shoes, shirts and toilet seats that monitor your health – including “smart” homes and entire cities. If not smart by definition, almost all other new hi-tech innovations featured an “e” or an “i” prefix to denote new and/or improved capabilities.
Another big advancement is AI (Artificial Intelligence) that will soon be impacting almost every phase of our future days. AI is the ‘secret sauce” being included to enhance many other technologies, from “self-driving” cars, busses and taxis (even Harley-Davison motorcycles, John Deere tractors and airplanes) to precise facial recognition and better-than-ever video surveillance – everywhere (so be on your good behavior). Other cool transportation innovations are just around the corner and include handy concepts like unmanned “Robomart” mobile grocery stores that bring the most popular basics (like bread, eggs, milk and fresh produce) to your front door… and not what you’ve ordered, but just so you can slide open the doors and shop right in your driveway. Another cool find was the awesome “Nexus” Air Taxi by Bell (of helicopter fame). A sleek hybrid electric-powered VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) chopper-type craft, with four large upward facing fans, that lift and then tilt 90-degrees forward. Designed to be stationed at hubs around major cities, the Nexus Air Taxi will whisk four passengers to nearby airports in minutes, high above traffic at 150 mph. Early versions are piloted, but technology is being developed that will lead to being totally pilot-less in the future. It is a “for real” introduction that is slated to initially be put into service at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport in the next few years.
2019 CES
Underwater Drone
Artificial Intelligence technology is also reshaping everything from warehouse stocking, sorting and shipping to advanced robotics (both fixed and mobile) for everything from flipping burgers and pouring drinks to delivering room service. Soon, the bartender that remembers your favorite drink or friendly Walmart Greeter that say’s “Hi’ with a smile just may be an AI enabled “never sick/ never tired” 24/7 robot. Today, hi-tech remote-controlled drones are not only buzzing overhead. In addition to delivering packages and pizzas, they’re now making a big splash on and underwater too. Why? To help find fish, look for sunken treasure and aid in search and rescue operations. After three days of exploring miles of aisles – and exhibits filled with “tomorrow today” – one comes away both exhilarated and excited, with thoughts of all the exciting great things that are about to enhance our day-to-day lives… and just a wee bit of hesitation and nagging thoughts that beg the question, “Do I really need a hi-tech refrigerator that streams TV, displays Mom’s recipes and orders milk when I run out?” Maybe. On the other hand, these nifty innovations may be just what we need. We shall see. Don Logay is an award-winning journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of three national magazines. In addition to articles for numerous publications, he also writes tips for homeowners heard daily on hundreds of radio stations nationwide. Contact dlogay@whatsnewguru.com
LG Roll Up LED TV Nexus Air Taxi By Bell
Lake Las Vegas
Photograph by: Windermere Prestige Properties
LAKE LAS VEGAS A World-Class Resort Community Like No Other –By Don Logay
There are a number of exclusive and upscale gated communities that
surround the greater Las Vegas Metropolitan area and the city’s worldfamous hotels, resorts and spas that line the glittering Strip. To the Northwest, it is “The Ridges” in Summerlin. Southwest, it is the upscale “Southern Highlands” and Southeast, both “MacDonald Highlands” and “Ascaya” in Henderson offer up-to-the-minute contemporary architecture and spectacular city views. None however, rival the sheer beauty and luxurious resort lifestyle of the communities and world-class vacation destinations that line the shores of Lake Las Vegas. A Dream Becomes Reality What began as a simple flyover and vision by J. Carlton Adair in 1967, later became an amazing reality as a result of concerted efforts begun by developer Ronald Boeddeker in 1987 and initially completed by others that followed. With phase one finished in the early 1990s, the captivating man-made waters of Lake Las Vegas had 320 acres of shimmering surface area – with three billion gallons of water below – and over 10 miles of stunning shoreline. Soon, surrounding rugged terrain gave way to the posh South Shore community nestled on the northeast corner and the cobblestone streets of a quaint Italian coastal-style village, filled with shops and restaurants, and a replica of the famed Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence, Italy on the Southern-most shore. As the Lake Las Vegas dream continued to transform from vision to reality, first time visitors were struck by the awe-inspiring beauty of such an unlikely serene oasis located in the middle of the desert and were even more surprised that it was only minutes from Las Vegas and the Strip. From day one, Lake Las Vegas was a world-class destination for travelers and a stunning attraction for locals right in their own backyard. But those looking to “live the dream” created even greater interest and set in motion today’s diversity of sophisticated and beautifully designed new home communities.
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This is history, and it was just the beginning, as there was much, much more to come. A Continuing Masterpiece Overall, Las Vegas and the surrounding area is consistently identified as one of the United States’ “Ten Best Real Estate Markets” determined by analyzing new home construction, local economies, median incomes and various other factors. One of the leading companies representing sales in the fast-growing Las Vegas Valley market is Windermere Prestige Properties, owned and operated by broker Robyn Yates. “We have two locations,” she states, “one office is in the heart of Green Valley and the other is the only exclusive onsite-brokerage located in the Lake Las Vegas Village.” “While Windermere serves buyers seeking luxury homes and commercial properties all throughout the Las Vegas Valley,” notes Robyn Yates, “we are also considered the Lake Las Vegas experts for both existing homes and all of the emerging new home communities.” Windermere’s team at Lake Las Vegas is headed up by Realtor and Sales Manager, Sharla Scharpnick, an 18-year local resident that has been there since the early beginnings. “Lake Las Vegas is exploding with incredible new home communities,” notes Scharpnick, “designed by award-winning builders… offering today’s latest exciting new styles and must-have amenities… with a wide range of pricing for every budget.” “In addition to amazing single-family homes, condos and townhouses, from mid-range to the ultra-luxurious,” she adds, “there are choice custom lots and lake front properties with a view to build your own dream home.” To underscore her point, she notes there are seven award-winning home builders with new home communities that are now underway or planned.
Photograph by: Windermere Prestige Properties The New Communities of Lake Las Vegas Lennar has “Regattta Pointe” (one- and two-story 2,153 to 2,856 sq. ft homes, mid- $300,000’s), “Regatta Heights” (2,642 to 3,100 sq. ft. single story homes, mid- $400,000’s) and “The Outlook” (2,320 to 2,588 sq. ft. single story homes, mid-$500,000’s). Pulte Homes “Varenna” (1,959 to 2,455 sq. ft. single story models, low $400,000’s). Century Communities “Monte Lucca” (2,537 to 4,187 sq. ft. single- and two-story homes, some with Strip and mountain views, high $500,000’s). William Lyon Homes “The Peaks” (2,977 to 3,399 sq. ft. two-story models, in the $500,000’s) and “Lago Vista” (one- and two-story 3,733 to 5,032 sq. ft. homes on the lake, from $800,000). Both feature contemporary architecture. Woodside Homes just began building models for the new “Alta Fiore” community (with two-story 1,902 to 2,564 sq. ft. homes, pricing TBD), Edward Homes is completing “Vita Bella” (with 1,700 to 2,100 sq. ft. townhomes in the high $300,000’s) and Blue Heron will soon begin building “Vantage” contemporary homes on view lots on the North Shore in mid-2019. Legendary Lake Las Vegas Sharla Scharpnick notes how the serene demeanor of Lake Las Vegas continues to attract buyers from all over the world. In addition to the beautiful new communities all around the Lake, the inviting Italian coastal-style Mediterranean Village offers an array of tantalizing restaurants, boutique shops and exciting live entertainment.
Lake Las Vegas also hosts a number of special events, from concerts and festivals in the Village to a wide range of year-round attractions on its serene and expansive waters. Also offshore, the 82-foot luxury yacht “la Contessa” cruises the Lake while residents and visitors alike enjoy a wide variety of watersports. A new state-of-the-art sports club and fitness center and two signature Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses are also hallmarks of the Lake Las Vegas lifestyle. Beyond the two world-class resort hotels on site, there are numerous options for both long and short-term rentals. “Windermere is the only licensed brokerage available to manage short term rentals in Lake Las Vegas,” Scharpnick adds, “offering accommodations and reservations via its website, www.lakelasvegasvacation.com.” Today, the picturesque beauty of this serene desert oasis, located just minutes from the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip, continues to be an ever changing, new and exciting discovery for visitors, locals and home buyers alike – even more so than ever before – and for many, it is considered paradise found. The early visionaries said, “Build it… and they will come.” Today, the new home builders of Lake Las Vegas and the real estate professionals – like those of Windermere – continue to fulfill the promise and further the dream. For more information contact www.widermerelakelasvegas.com. Don Logay is an award-winning journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of three national magazines. In addition to articles for numerous publications, he also writes tips for homeowners heard daily on hundreds of radio stations nationwide. Contact dlogay@whatsnewguru.com
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EATING HEALTHY AND
Staying Fit
WHILE HAVING FUN IN VEGAS –By Andrew Cash, M.D.
It is that time of the year -- spring break and March Madness are here!
recommendation or fad diets. Nutritional recommendations will be varied dependent on individuals and their medical composition. There are always “new” and “cool” fad diets on the horizon. Don’t follow hip diets just because they were named after trendy cities.
Las Vegas will be full of visitors and many of us will have relatives and friends at our door. The culinary temptations will be enormous; so here are some thoughts to keep in mind during this season: •
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Eat in moderation. Eating “too little” might lead to low energy throughout your work and play in Vegas and in an extreme case malnutrition. Eating “too much” leads to post-meal lethargy, increased fat storage and wasted nutritional content. This cycle of increased weight, increased lethargy, decreased exercise and increased eating can potentially cascade out of control. Eating once or twice can kick your metabolism into hibernation mode where your body converts food into body fat. Try to eat modest portions 4-6 times a day. Eat “right”. Protein, carbohydrates and fats should be involved in your diet. Many personal trainers and nutritionists that I have encountered indicate that a palm-sized portion of meat and a fistsized portion of carbohydrates are reasonable. Decrease simple and complex sugars. Breads and processed grains notoriously wreak havoc on your nutritional system. Multiple meals throughout the day might be advantageous to the consumption of one large meal during the day. Keep in the mind the old adage that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. Energy consumption in the morning will provide energy output throughout the day. Always check with your personal physician for recommendations and guidance before following any widely held beliefs about diet, any particular person’s specific recommendations, including this
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•
Stay hydrated in Las Vegas, it is a desert after all. World Health Organization provides outlines of water consumption for hydration regarding activity, inactivity and to prevent dehydration. Follow your physician’s guidelines prior to any abrupt changes in diet or hydrational strategies.
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Stay fit in Vegas. Again, it is important to seek your personal physician’s recommendations prior to starting, adjusting or continuing your health routine. Activity increases overall energy, self-esteem, motivation and preferred phenotypic appearance. Vegas offers year-round outdoor and indoor activities. Join a gym, a Pilates studio, cycling club, etc. There are numerous specialized gyms in town. Larger gyms provide a variety of classes like yoga, swimming, and high intensity training.
Try hiking. There are so many incredible trails in the Red Rock Recreation Area, Mt. Charleston and Hoover Dam. Go to their respective websites and check out all the options. Always hike in a group of two or more. Find a fitness routine that works for you. Excessive exercise to rapidly decrease and/or increase weight and/or muscle mass or change the body composition might be medically dangerous. Remember slow and steady wins the race!!!
HUMOR //
Spring 2019