Building Up Nevada Education | Vegas Seven | Aug. 10-16, 2017

FREE August 10–16, 2017 « KID-FRIENDLY PLACES TO EAT / SEN. TICK SEGERBLOM CLEARS THE AIR / DJ EDOC ON THE RISE »

BUILDING UP NEVADA EDUCATION

UNLV’S MEDICAL SCHOOL & SOLAR DECATHLON PROJECT CCSD’S NEW OPTIONS & REORGANIZATION

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME: WEED & BETSY DEVOS

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GET AMPED.

200 S. 3rd Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101 | 800.745.3000 Get your tickets now at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center Box Office or at DLVEC.com

ON THE COVER

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18

Read Vegas Seven right-side up and then flip it over and start again with Seven Nights, featuring after-dark entertainment and the week’s nightlife happenings.

THE EDUCATION ISSUE Pictured A RENDERING OF UNLV SOLAR DECATHLON 2017 HOUSE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25

Our back-to-school primer, from CCSD’s restructuring to how weed affects the budget.

SEVEN NIGHTS Photography KRYSTAL RAMIREZ Vintage aesthetic renders Corduroy Instagram-fabulous, without the filter.

Mandalay Bay Ticket Office 702.632.7580 mandalaybay.com 800.745.3000 ticketmaster.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONVERSATIONS

33 Deep Roots in Nevada

State Sen. Tick Segerblom has a long political history but looks to the future.

AUGUST 10–16, 2017 TO DO

13 24/7

What to do around the clock in Las Vegas.

BY LAUNCE RAKE PLUS: Tech-savvy UNLV, CCSD restructuring, Betsy DeVos, Las Vegas schools then and now

TASTE

14 The Deal

25 S’more Foie Gras, Please

BY ANTHONY CURTIS

FEATURE

DJ EDOC uses music to battle his way through extreme highs and lows.

BY NICOLE CORMIER

BY JASON R. LATHAM

Yes to the lobsters, pass on the grasshoppers.

34 Redemption Song

How Chef José Andrés does the classic campfire treat.

BY MARISA FINETTI

26 Kid-Approved

The menu for picky eaters goes beyond mac ’n’ cheese.

35 Back (in Time) to School

Cigarettes, Chevys and Brown v. Board of Education.

BY JAMES P. REZA

36 Lucky No. 7

Where we go in Las Vegas to feel smarter.

BY WENDOH STAFF

SEVEN NIGHTS

What To Do After Dark Concerts, nightclubs, food and experiences.

BY JASON R. LATHAM

[ Behind the Bar ]

Corduroy—Fremont East’s latest watering hole.

BY BOB BARNES

[ Pool Tour ]

BY MARISA FINETTI

UNLV schools create an energy-efficient dream home for 2017’s Solar Decathlon.

The Cosmopolitan’s Marquee Dayclub invites you to get a little closer.

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

BY JASON R. LATHAM

BY AMBER SAMPSON

29 Passing the Storm

16 Forever Home

19 When One Door Closes Out with ESAs, in with Opportunity Scholarships.

BY SHANNON MILLER

20 Doctors of the Future From fundraising to fruition, an update on the UNLV School of Medicine.

BY JESSI C. ACUÑA

HIV-positive woman finds a support system in Aid for AIDS of Nevada.

BY MICHAEL LYLE

[ In Case You Missed It ]

Best of the City 2017 Awards party.

PLUS: Pool

Parties

30 The Future Is Now

Esports draw an audience more interested in fun than payouts.

BY DAVID G. SCHWARTZ PLUS: Songs

From the Lineup

22 What Your

Green Can Buy How cannabis taxes can fund Nevada schools.

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

OUR SITES TO SEE

VegasSeven.com

FAED Might Have You Calling in Sick DJ duo Eric D-Lux and Five will supply the party at Jewel Nightclub and maybe even the hangover, but the doctor’s note is on you.

DTLV.com The Paranormal Life of Jojo Jilbert The Downtown sculpture artist builds impressive, intricate pieces from scrap metal, but says something otherwordly is driving his creations.

LifeIsBeautiful.com

Beautiful Bites: The Culinary Lineup Revealed From vegan eats to ice cream sandwiches, there’s something for all tastes at this year’s festival.

SpyOnVegas.com

Photography Anthony Mair

The Hookup Find upcoming events, see highlights from the hottest parties, meet the DJs and more.

Aug ust 10 –16, 2017 vegasseven.com

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Photography KRYSTAL RAMIREZ Pictured CORDUROY CEILING DETAIL

Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger President Michael Skenandore &KLHI )LQDQFLDO 2I¿FHU Sim Salzman Vice President, Marketing and Events Keith White Creative Director Sherwin Yumul Technical Director Herbert Akinyele Controller Jane Weigel

Letters and Story Ideas Comments@VegasSeven.com Advertising Sales@VegasSeven.com Distribution Distribution@VegasSeven.com

VEGAS SEVEN 701 Bridger Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89101 702-798-7000 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada. © 2017 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

Publisher

Michael Skenandore Editorial EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Melinda Sheckells MANAGING EDITOR, DINING EDITOR

Genevie Durano SENIOR EDITOR, LIFESTYLE

Jessi C. Acuña ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Mark Adams EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Lissa Townsend Rodgers EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Shannon Miller EDITORIAL INTERNS

Michaela Chesin, Katie Michaels, Ryan Vellinga Senior Contributing Editor Xania V. Woodman (Beverage) Contributing Editors Michael Green (Politics), David G. Schwartz (Gaming/Hospitality) Art CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Benjamin Ward SENIOR DESIGNER

Cierra Pedro STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Krystal Ramirez Online DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL CONTENT

Zoneil Maharaj WEB EDITORS

Jessie O’Brien, Amber Sampson CONTRIBUTING WRITER, RUNREBS.COM

Tyler Bischoff Production/Distribution DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION

Marc Barrington ADVERTISING MANAGER

Jimmy Bearse Sales BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Christy Corda DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL SALES

Nicole Niazmand ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Brittany Quintana, Mimi Tran ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Robyn Weiss DIRECTOR OF SALES, BILLBOARD DIVISION

John Tobin

S K C E U L R T T T A D B O O N F O I T T E A M R R T S U U O L G L I 5 M A E T S E E V I M L A G T E E R ST J D E LIV

DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS - OFF FREMONT | DOWNTOWNGRAND.COM | 206 N 3RD ST, LAS VEGAS, NV 89101 | 702.719.5100

TO DO

What to do around the clock in Las Vegas

By Jason R. Latham

THURSDAY 10

FRIDAY 11

It’s Dollar Beer Night at Cashman Field as the Las Vegas 51s end their current home stand with a game against in-state rival Reno Aces. Please drink responsibly. 7:05 p.m., $11–$30, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North, lv51.com

Celebrate Hawaiian music and culture at the fifth annual KumuKahi Ukulele & Hula Festival at Sam’s Town Live. The event runs Friday and Saturday. 2:30 p.m., $25, inside Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, kumukahi310.com

Town Square Las Vegas hosts its final Movies on the Green event of the summer with

You’ll never have to order off a pizza delivery app again after you ace the Hands-On Cooking Class: Makin’ Time for Pizza Pie at the Springs Preserve. Hone your skills with the help of Divine Cafe chefs, then start your own pizza empire! 6:30–9:30 p.m., $81-$89, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., springspreserve.org

PHOTOGRAPHY JEREMY DANIEL

a screening of 2016’s Rock Dog. The free show starts at sundown. mytownsquarelasvegas.com

Broadway hit Something Rotten! continues its run at The Smith Center. Catch the Shakespeare-inspired musical before it wraps up its run on Monday. 7:30 p.m., tickets start at $29, thesmithcenter.com Comedian/puppeteer/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham brings his Perfectly Unbalanced show back to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

7:30 p.m., $50–$80, caesars.com

You might get a glimpse of a future Broadway star at this weekend’s 13th Annual Broadway Vignettes “Movies & Musicals” show starring the Las Vegas Young

Entertainers. Local students ages 8 to 18 perform at the Friday– and Saturday–night shows inside the Clark County Library theater, with proceeds benefiting the Rudy Foundation, which provides scholarships

for youth in performing arts, sports and academics. 6:30 p.m., $15, 1401 E. Flamingo Rd., lvccld.org Downtown Grand is hosting a Tekken 7 tournament at its esports venue. There’s a $500 pot bonus, plus happy hour drink specials. 7 p.m. (registration begins at 6 p.m.), downtowngrand.com Starting tonight, former Las Vegas headliner Frank Caliendo performs two nights of stand-up comedy at The Orleans Hotel and Casino. 8 p.m., tickets start at $35, orleanscasino.com

Something Rotten!

And fellow funnyman George Lopez is also in town, Friday and Saturday night at The Mirage. 10 p.m., tickets start at $66, themirage.com Classic rock group Rare Earth will perform its ’60s and ’70s hits at Downtown’s Golden Nugget Hotel. 8 p.m., tickets start at $21, goldennugget.com

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24/7

TO DO

THE DEAL BY ANTHONY CURTIS

Yes to the Lobsters, Pass on the Grasshoppers LAST MONTH, I DEVOTED AN ENTIRE

The Claudettes

SATURDAY 12

“Hangovers only last a day, memories last forever” is your incentive to make it down to No Regrets Brunch at Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues. There will be all-you-candrink mimosas and vodka cocktails, plus a specialty bites menu with items starting at $4. Noon, houseofblues.com Downtown Summerlin hosts the 10th Annual COX Back to School Fair, where you can get stocked up for the upcoming semester. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, kids, but I’ll bet your parents are happy to read this. 10 a.m.–4 p.m., downtownsummerlin.com It’s Home School Day at Wet ’n’ Wild water park.

Homeschooled children and their families can get discounted tickets, in advance or at the gate, with promo code HOME. 10:30 a.m.–10 p.m., prices vary, 7055 S. Fort Apache Rd., wetnwildlasvegas.com Sample more than 50 rare draft beers at the 8th Annual Strong Beer Fest at Aces & Ales. Beachwood, Big Dog’s, CraftHaus, Evil Twin, North Park, Stone, Tenaya Creek and Triple 7 are just a few of the featured breweries.

3 p.m., 2801 N. Tenaya Way, acesandales.com Here’s a friendly reminder that the Oakland (and soonto-be Las Vegas) Raiders will have their first 2017 NFL Preseason game tonight against the Arizona Cardinals. Some would argue it’s not too soon to jump on the bandwagon. 7 p.m., KVVU-TV, nfl.com Comedian (and costar of two Resident Evil movies) Mike Epps is back in Las Vegas to provide laughs at the Pearl Concert Theater. 8 p.m., tickets start at $42, inside Palms Casino Resort, palms.com Singer/General Hospital star Rick Springfield plays a free show at the Fremont Street Experience. 9 p.m., fremontstreetexperience.com

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Get some outdoor exercise in one of the city’s most unique places during Hot Yoga at The Neon Museum’s Neon Boneyard. The one-hour vinyasa session is suitable for beginners and experienced participants. 5:30 p.m., $18, 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North, neonmuseum.org

column to the excellent $47 show and buffet package at the Golden Nugget Hotel. That’s a great price for a night out, but it’s still a hundred-dollar bill for two. For an even more frugal option, you can see the shows by themselves, two for the price of one on select dates in August. After taxes and fees, the lowest-priced ticket for Frankie Moreno is $22.08, and to see Clint Holmes it’s just $16.63: a night out for two for less than $50.

Buy tickets online or at the box office.

Here’s another discount deal that also includes some charity largesse: Now through September 3, purchase $10 worth of pet supplies at any Henderson or Las Vegas-area Petco location, then donate it to the Animal Foundation and get one free ticket to see Mat Franco in Magic Reinvented Nightly at The Linq Hotel & Casino. There’s a maximum of two tickets per person, which means two can see this magic show for only $20.

In a town full of steak-and-lobster bargains, one of the best is in a bar. On Fridays, O’Aces Bar & Grill serves a complete steak-and-lobster dinner for $19.99. The selling point here isn’t just the impressive size and quality of the lobster tail—it’s that there’s two of them! The steak also rates and comes with a choice of potato and vegetables (no salad). It’s served 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (unless they run out) at the Decatur and Tropicana location only.

Earn 500 same-day base points ($1,000 coin-in) at Rampart Casino on any day in August and get a free lunch buffet, or earn 800 points ($1,600) for a dinner buffet. If you earn 1,200 points ($2,400), you get a 25-minute spa service; it takes about three hours of play on quarters and less than an hour on dollars. Or earn 1,941 points ($1,941 coin-in) in a day at El Cortez Hotel & Casino and receive $10 in free slot play. Limit one redemption daily.

Caesars Entertainment, the last of the major casinos not to offer a mobile sports betting app, is close to launching theirs.

All of the books in the system are in the process of swapping out their counter software, and the app should be ready by football season.

In the department of “I do it so you don’t have to,” I ordered—and ate—the sautéed grasshoppers (chapulines) at El Dorado Cantina next to Sapphire gentleman’s club.

Did I like ’em? Not really. But not for reasons that you might expect. They weren’t squishy or crunchy or even buggy (whatever that is). If anything, they were too bland to describe, until the bartender nailed it with “soggy sunflower seeds.” Bottom line: If you want to eat grasshoppers just to say that you ate grasshoppers, you don’t have to worry about being repulsed by the taste or consistency. Or maybe just go with one of El Dorado’s other dishes. 7

Looking for more stuff to do in Las Vegas?

Check out vegasseven.com/calendar

Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and lasvegasadvisor.com.

SUNDAY 13

Long before Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway flubbed the announcement for this year’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture, they starred in one of the most acclaimed films ever made. See the duo in the Bonnie and Clyde 50th Anniversary Screening Presented by TCM. Theaters, showtimes and ticket prices vary, fandango.com There’s a War on the Catwalk tonight at House of Blues, as contestants from Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race perform in this one-night-only show. 8 p.m., $33, inside Mandalay Bay, houseofblues.com MONDAY 14

Punk/soul outfit The Claudettes play a free show at Fremont East’s Beauty Bar, with local bands Europa and Child Support also on the bill. 8 p.m., 517 Fremont St., beautybarlv.com TUESDAY 15

Stop by the Las Vegas Natural History Museum for shark feeding time, and remember to keep your hands safely in your pockets. 2:30 p.m., free with $6–$12 museum admission, 900 Las Vegas Blvd. North, lvnhm.org There will be drink specials plus a performance by The Moonshiners at this week’s Party at the Park between New York–New York and Monte Carlo on the Strip. 5 p.m., theparkvegas.com WEDNESDAY 16

Forever Home

UNLV schools band together to create an energy-efficient dream home for 2017’s Solar Decathlon

By Amber Sampson Photography Anthony Mair

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Most summer-break stories involve dayclub meanderings, close encounters of the inebriated kind and too much Netflix. But UNLV architecture and engineering majors Nasko Balaktchiev and Adam Betemedhin’s summer story will be about building a fully functional, 990-square-foot solar house.

T

he house—dubbed Sinatra Living for its old Vegas aesthetic—is a twoyears-in-the-making project that’s finally starting to live up to its name.

In early July, the house’s construction site, located on UNLV’s Paradise campus, reflected a project in its infancy. But a month later, Sinatra Living stands as a brick-and-mortar manifestation of an idea coming gracefully together. And if you ask Balaktchiev, he’ll tell you that the home is not only stylish, but it’s “the last house you’ll ever have to buy.”

As project manager and engineering lead, respectively, Balaktchiev and Betemedhin have teamed up with the brightest minds of UNLV’s health sciences, business, fine arts, engineering, architecture and hotel schools to create Sinatra Living. But they’re not just swinging hammers in 101-degree heat for street cred and bad tan lines. They’re doing it for the U.S. Department of Energy, which picked UNLV to compete in the biennial Solar Decathlon, an international competition that challenges colleges to create energy-efficient homes, to be judged on factors including curb appeal, market potential and smart energy production.

“It’s to inspire individuals to look at sustainability, look at renewable energy and shows that it’s something that’s feasible, it’s something that students can do,” Betemedhin says of the 15-year-old competition.

UNLV enjoys a successful history at Solar Decathlon. Back in 2013, the university not only won first place nationally, but also took second place in the world with its 754-squarefoot vacation home, DesertSol (now at Springs Preserve). This year, the competition will be held in Denver on October 5–15, with a $300,000 prize for the first-place team.

“Every [team] in the competition has a different market that they essentially try to sell the house to,” Balaktchiev explains. While teams like UC Davis and Alabama are creating houses that address hyper-local issues such as droughts and tornadoes, UNLV’s going national with an idea inspired more by people than region or climate.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that between now and 2050, the U.S. will see considerable growth in its elderly population. By 2030, 20 percent of U.S. residents will be 65 and older, which not only impacts social security programs and Medicare, but also families who need to care for their loved ones as they grow older. That’s where UNLV’s aging-inplace design comes in. “It’s targeted toward people 55 and over,” Balaktchiev says, “but if you were younger, you could buy this house, and stay in it for the rest of your life and not have to do any retrofit.”

An aging-in-place design is far from the nursing home environment you might imagine. Picture this instead: a midcentury modern home, plucked from the iconic neighborhood of Paradise Palms, complete with a wraparound deck, six-foot roof overhangs and enough smart technology to keep residents as safe as they are satisfied.

The house does not run completely off solar (Decathlon rules require it to be hooked up to a utility grid), but a majority of its electrical features, including lights and air conditioning, do thanks to the photovoltaic solar panels covering its sloped roof. “Not only do we have full energy through the solar panels, but we can also heat all the home’s hot water with [a solar thermal system],” Balaktchiev explains. “It’s not

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Previous Page: The UNLV Solar Decathlon Team. This Page: Renderings of a completed Sinatra Living

installed yet, but on top of the floor, we’re also going to have a radiant heating system so that hot water can actually be pumped through the floor to heat the home.”

Excess energy is also stored in a Tesla battery, which, when discharged during the hottest parts of the day, reduces energy costs and operates as a backup source in case of a grid outage, an event that could be hazardous for an elderly person who relies on critical support systems. And that’s just one of the features tailored to an older audience: In addition, the house will have adjustable cabinetry and counters that are controllable by touch or voice command, as well as wheelchair accessibility, fall-detection sensors and an automation app that operates the house’s features remotely.

The smart house will also respond to environmental conditions to save energy. For example, “utilizing flux sensors to measure daylight and adjust artificial lighting accordingly,” Betemedhin says, will reduce energy waste. And an automated wall partition will roll over the home’s east windows to produce shade, but also capture sunlight in the winter.

It’s hard to believe that such a sophisticated, well-conceived home could be student-made, but that’s

the point. Solar Decathlon challenges students to take on the ultimate learning experience. And many, Balaktchiev says, have a higher chance of walking away with jobs in the solar and renewable energy field because of it.

Toward the end of September, team UNLV will break Sinatra Living down, ship it to Denver and, over nine days, put it back together to undergo 10 tests. Everything will be juried and measured, from the house’s energy performance and architecture to how comfortable dinner party guests feel in it. Each house can earn up to 1,000 points, but Betemedhin says he’s seen fractions of points turn the competition.

Yet with two months to go, he and Balaktchiev appear more focused than ever. They’ve tasted victory before, and with team sponsors such as NV Energy Foundation and Switch and in-kind donations from various other businesses, they’ve got the support. Whether they win or not, it doesn’t matter: The team has already done its job by putting UNLV on the map as a university that inspires and encourages innovation. 7 Follow Team UNLV’s progress on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @unlvsd17

Your Tech Is Showing If slow and steady wins the race to the future, UNLV is gaining on the competition. Here are three ways the university’s tech-savvy students and faculty are making a difference.

Big data for big success. Last month, UNLV hosted 11 middle and high school teachers and around 30 students from local schools at a summer camp to learn about STEM education and analyzing big data. Taught by a team from the UNLV writing center and graduate students from the engineering college, the six-week course touched on everything from computer programming to research methods. The camp, made possible by a federal grant from the National Science Foundation, will surely help teachers elevate their students’ skill sets.

Can you hack it? In January, a band of UNLV students won $10,000 at the Smart Cities Hackathon, held at the Consumer Electronics Show. Their prize-winning hack? Software that immediately alerts city officials to faulty streetlights using Amazon Alexa. Considering how much time and effort goes into identifying these lights and how much energy a defective streetlight wastes, this is a win for the City of Las Vegas.

Give us some space. In 2016, UNLV entered into a five-year, $5 million agreement with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The contract enlists the help of students and faculty from the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering to work on NASA’s Orion program, meant to transport humans to space and back. We don’t need to tell you how cool this is, do we? —Amber Sampson

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Where One Door Closes ...

Out with ESAs, in with opportunity scholarships THE LARGEST PROGRAM IN THE NATION When the Nevada legislature went blue last election, it created a roadblock for Nevada’s proposed Education Savings Account program.

Commended by President Donald Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, the program was supposed to make Nevada the first state to have a universal Education Savings Account program.

Unlike in other states where vouchers are only available to disadvantaged students, ESA funds would have been available to all Nevada public school families. “Would have” because the ESA bill did not make it out of the 2017 legislative session. But when one door closes, another one opens—in this case, that other door is an expansion of the Opportunity Scholarships program.

First, a clarification of terms: “voucher” and “ESA” are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Vouchers are state-funded scholarships that go toward a student’s private school tuition. ESAs are also state-funded, but allow parents to use the money for things other than private school tuition—such as tutoring, online courses, transportation, homeschooling and other approved expenses. In addition to these two categories of private school choice, there are tax-credit scholarships, which Nevada’s Opportunity Scholarships program falls under.

After two lawsuits and a Nevada Supreme Court ruling that the proposed model of funding for the program was unconstitutional, the Democratic-majority legislature killed the ESA bill.

Reactions varied, from the high of opening a good report card to throwing a tantrum in timeout. In a press release, Educate Nevada Now policy director Sylvia Lazos thanked legislators for standing strong against the program, which the nonprofit opposes on the grounds that it will further harm already disadvantaged students. On the other hand, supporters of school choice reeled at the decision to defund the program, citing the loss of opportunities for children who had already applied and/or been approved for ESAs. Many parents were irate at having the rug pulled out from under them, and legislators pointed to Treasurer Dan Schwartz’s office, which urged parents to apply for ESAs before funding for the program had been approved. A public letter from the treasurer’s office issued January 20, 2017, said they had received a total of 6,414 applications, of which 243 had been processed by the time the letter was sent. State Sen. Aaron Ford pointed out in a February budget review that the treasurer’s office had not been forthcoming in regard to how much work it had done for the program.

“A couple of weeks ago, someone from [Treasurer Schwartz’s] office, maybe a [public information officer], sent a newspaper in Las

Vegas information about demographics. I’m a little confused, and I want to offer the context that we’ve been asking this office for a year and a half for that demographic information,” Ford said. Furthermore, shortly after the demographics were released, the Las Vegas Sun’s analysis revealed that affluent ZIP codes that already have access to high-performing schools (like Henderson, Summerlin and some Reno suburbs) had more ESA applications than those zip codes with lower incomes and worse schools.

OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS After the would-be ESA program was defunded, Assemblyman Paul Anderson said 2,700 Nevada students had been approved for it. And of the ESA applicants who had been approved, Anderson figured about 40 percent are eligible for Opportunity Scholarships. While those scholarships will not be available to every single family who wants them, the program focuses on the families who most need them.

The major distinction between the Opportunity Scholarships program and the ESA program is that Opportunity Scholarships are neither universal nor publicly funded. Students must meet disadvantage, disability or low-income criteria to be eligible; and, in addition to the one-time $20 million infusion to fund the scholarship program, businesses can donate to the program in exchange for credits on their Modified Business Tax bill. The scope of what Opportunity Scholarships can be used for is also smaller than ESAs—the funds may only go toward tuition, fees for distance education and dual-credit programs in public schools. The State Department of Education reported 1,153 Opportunity Scholarships awarded last year.

Dinosaurs and Roses is one of the four Nevada nonprofits certified to process applications for the scholarships. “We follow the [state] guidelines [for processing applications], and last year, we sent more than 300 children to school,” says Michele Morgan, executive director of Dinosaurs and Roses. “You should see the letters that I got from some of these kids, thanking us for being part of the program and telling us how much they’ve learned, and photographs of them wearing their school uniforms so proudly. Can’t put a price on that.”

Given our state’s place at the bottom of national rankings in pre-K–12 education, there doesn’t seem to be much to be proud of when it comes to Nevada public schools. But a universal ESA program will not be the way our state pulls itself up.

With Opportunity Scholarships, the door opens for the most disadvantaged students while also allowing continued focus on improving public education. —Shannon Miller

BREAK IT UP The Clark County School District’s school-centered reorganization is ready to launch With more than 320,000 students, the Clark County School District is the sixth largest in the nation. There has been talk of breaking it up into smaller, more manageable units, and in 2016, the process began to reorganize the CCSD on a more school-centered model. The 2017–2018 school year will be the first in which the majority of decisions will be made by a school organization team of educators, staff and parents.

“We’re redefining how we relate with each other,” says Kellie Ballard, director of the office of the deputy superintendent. “Many things can affect what a school needs, and those needs will determine what the relationship between schools and central [administration] will be. Our purpose is to provide for schools and to provide for students.”

Instead of educational mandates coming from a central office, each of the 350-plus school teams will work with the school principals to decide which programs and services most benefit their students, and the central administration will provide them. The teams will also choose how to spend the majority of their school’s budget.

“Education finance is very complicated, and I think that the realization of how tight it is and how little there is to work with is eye-opening for some of the team members,” explains Ballard.

In an atmosphere where there is often debate about whether schools are adequately funded and spend their money wisely, when community members become part of the budgeting process, they gain a new perspective about how complex it actually is. “I really expect that we’ll be forming 1,200 advocates for their school district every year—they see the challenges we face as we try to meet the needs of the kids,” says Ballard.

Team members serve from October 1 to September 30. “They get to run through the majority of the school year up through when we receive results from state testing,” she explains. “They will be able to participate in the full cycle of planning, working out a plan and then seeing some results come through.” Those eligible to serve are parents/guardians of students, teachers and support staff.

While it’s an evolving process, Ballard says that the experience thus far has been a positive one. “Team members felt like their voices were valued.

They appreciated being part of the conversation, trying to make their schools a better place for their students and for other students.” —Lissa Townsend

Rodgers

Doctors of the Future

By Jessi C. Acuña

Photography Krystal Ramirez

from fundraising to fruition, an update on the UNLV School of Medicine

This page: Rendering of UNLV Medical School building Opposite: UNLV School of Medicine Chief of Staff Maureen Schafer

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hat started as an unlikely-yet-plausible vision, the UNLV School of Medicine celebrated its first day of class on July 17.

As its 60 students participated in a presentation of ceremonial stethoscopes celebrating their futures in medicine, it was a long-awaited moment for higher education in Nevada.

“It was the end of the beginning of what we hope to be able to build and offer for the community,” says Maureen Schafer, chief of staff. As founding dean Barbara Atkinson’s first hire roughly three years ago, Schafer is optimistic about the school.

“We’re not your mom’s medical school, that’s for sure,” Schafer says. “Our future doctors are going to be able to be deployed anywhere, at any time, and serve any population.” That’s a need not only imperative for the varied demographics of Southern Nevada, but also for populations across the United States.

Another need she and the school’s supporters hope to meet is the high demand for local doctors. According to a 2016 study by the Physicians Workforce in Nevada, our state ranks 48th in the nation for the amount of physicians per population. With plans to grow from its current seven departments—psychiatry, internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, ENT and neurology—more subspecialties, as well as residencies, are in the works.

“It’s based on market need, and the good—or bad— news about this is we need everything,” Schafer says.

“We’re 3,000 doctors down across all specialties, not even the ones who we have just to get to the national average. Not to be best, not to be kind of awesome, just to be average with our peer states.”

That’s where students like Toyokazu “Chris” Endo come into play. The Duke University undergraduate is among the initial group selected to attend the School of Medicine, all of whom have ties to the Silver State.

“When I was applying for medical school, UNLV happened to have their inaugural class in 2017,” says Endo, who attended Durango High School. “It was obviously on the top of my list. I want to be close to home.

On top of that, they were giving out scholarships.

The decision finally came down to where I was most comfortable, where I felt like I could flourish and have a support system.”

Endo was also accepted into Duke’s medical program, but cited giving back to his community as reason enough to return. Like his classmates, most of whom grew up in Las Vegas, Endo wants to practice medicine locally.

“All the statistics and data say most doctors end up staying in the community where their residency is,” Schafer says. “If they’re from Nevada to begin with, they know the community, and if they do their residency here, chances are, at the end of this whole long process, they’ll stay here and become practicing doctors. That’s the whole point of this.”

Currently, the students are attending classes in temporary facilities in the Las Vegas Medical District, which will ultimately become a part of the school.

Located on a 9-acre parcel on Pinto and Shadow Lanes, the permanent education building is being donated by Clark County and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2021. The school recently received a $25 million anonymous donation, but still needs to raise more funds to complete construction and reach its goals, such as being fully accredited and bringing 120 new faculty physicians and scientists on staff over the next 10 years.

In addition to the lure of scholarship money, Endo says he feels the program is geared more toward stu-

dents and how they flourish. “UNLV has a lot to offer with its unique curriculum,” he says. “It’s one of the most unique I saw when applying to different medical schools. I don’t feel like I’ll be a number here.”

During the first six weeks of school, students will be undergoing EMT certification. “That is unusual for medical schools, to put students in a patient environment in their first month of medical school,” Schafer says. “We are going to be driving home the idea that innovation, access and engagement with the community and patients are evolving and critical 7

UNLV School of Medicine’s Inaugural Class by the Numbers · 31 women, 29 men · 48 are Las Vegas natives · 17 are first in their families to attend college · 2 are U.S. veterans · 2 are graduates of rural Nevada high schools · 20% of students are Latino and 8% are African American, both underrepresented demographics in medicine · $100,000 in estimated scholarship money per student awarded for the inaugural class

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What Your Green Can Buy 11

ONE OF THE MAJOR SELLING POINTS for legalizing recreational marijuana in

Nevada was the financial windfall that tax revenues offered our state’s perpetually beleaguered school systems. According to estimates from the governor’s office, the combined revenue from medical and recreational marijuana fees and taxes, as well as an additional 10 percent sales tax on recreational cannabis should pull in about $44 million for fiscal year 2018. Here are just a few of the things that money could buy. —Lissa Townsend Rodgers

SALARIES FOR FIRSTYEAR TEACHERS

MILLION

SCHOOL CENTRAL AIRCONDITIONING SYSTEMS

4

1,075

13.5

MILLION

SECONDARY SCHOOL LUNCHES

33,850

PAPERBACK COPIES OF WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

CAFETERIA TABLES

132

407

MILLION

SCHOOL BUSES

461,940 COPIES OF 11TH GRADE BODY STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS TEXTBOOK

231,570 LAPTOP COMPUTERS

NO. 2 PENCILS

7.1

2.7

MILLION

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

REAMS OF PAPER

1.6

MILLION

SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT TESTS

4,400

STUDENT MILLENNIUM SCHOLARSHIPS TO UNLV

Illustrations Cierra Pedro

By Michaela Chesin

It Was Different When I Went There We caught up with some CCSD alumni and current students to get their thoughts on Las Vegas high schools. For more, go to vegasseven.com/ccsdquotes.

things have] changed … including the campus’ switch from public to magnet.

—Savannah Urcioli, senior at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts (formerly LVHS)

History is missing in Vegas because we like to implode. You blow it up and you build something else …. Working with the alumni association for Las Vegas High School, one of our objectives is to help the [current] student body understand where they’re going to school and what [it means] to the city.

—Susan Lowe and Matt Shlisky, Las Vegas High School classes of 1964-65

This district is way too large. As a sophomore in high school, our school district was a lot better than Los Angeles city schools. Now, you compare us to some of these big cities, and we’re number five [in size] in the United States, and we’re a relatively small city. —Anita Ziegler, Western class of 1967

This year in my history class, we took a tour of the school. Everybody kind of complained about it, like, “Ugh, we have to walk around [campus],” but it was fun learning about [the past]. Education needs to be more prominent [in showing how

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At times it’s hard to hear [in class] because kids sit there and don’t pay attention, and with more students, that’s hard. Most of my classes are full and we have had to bring in extra desks. I would say we have about 40 [kids in a class]. —Jocelyn Tadeo, junior at Western

OPINION

DOESN’T MAKE THE GRADE Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos needs to do her homework

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

Everyone else has to ...

W

hile there has been much dispute over the qualifications of Trump administration appointees, the one who has provoked the most “Why?” reaction might be Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. She was appointed to oversee the nation’s public schools, despite the fact that neither DeVos nor her children have ever attended one. However, she was born to enormous wealth and married into more, a chunk of which has been donated to Republican candidates—her family has given the party an estimated $200 million over the years. This must count for something, because there isn’t much else on DeVos’ CV to indicate she’s up to the job. From the dictates of the Nevada constitution to the CCSD teacher requirements to the Common Core second-grade math standards, Betsy DeVos falls short.

But Betsy gets to ...

The Nevada Constitution is firm on the separation of private religion and public schools, stating that “any school district which shall allow instruction of a sectarian character therein may be deprived of its proportion of the interest of the public school fund during such neglect or infraction.” It also mandates that all funds and property “pledged for educational purposes and the money therefrom must not be transferred to other funds for other uses.”

Betsy DeVos has long been an advocate of school choice and using vouchers as one of the means by which to use public money to fund private religious education. “There are not enough philanthropic dollars in America to fund what is currently the need in education,” she said in 2001. “Our desire is to confront the culture in ways that will continue to advance God’s kingdom.”

According to the CCSD elementary school teacher requirements, “an elementary license (K–8) may be granted to holders of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, provided that the applicant has completed a program for elementary school teaching (including student teaching, nine semester hours in the teaching of reading, and nine semester hours in elementary methods as minimum requirements).”

DeVos has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has never taken education coursework or worked in a school.

The CCSD code of honor states that “cheating and plagiarism violate the fundamental learning process and compromise personal integrity and one’s honor. Students demonstrate academic honesty and integrity by not cheating, plagiarizing or using information unethically in any way.”

DeVos was accused of plagiarizing responses on her Senate questionnaire from an Obama administration official. Given that the answer concerned the bullying of LGBT students and DeVos later declared “this department is not going to be issuing decrees” about treatment of LGBT students, we can see why the words “Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive and grow” might not have come from her.

The Nevada State Social Studies standards for grades 9 through 12 require an understanding of American history and its current impact: “Summarize the concepts and results of the Civil War and Reconstruction as they apply to the 20th Century,” as in how past events have shaped present policies and institutions.

Clinging to her pet issue of school choice and vouchers, DeVos praised historically black universities as “real pioneers when it comes to school choice,” ignoring the fact that HBUs exist because African Americans were not permitted to attend institutions of higher learning during the Jim Crow era.

The Common Core math standards for sixth grade involve understanding the meaning of different forms of measurement and using the appropriate one for the task, specifically, “describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement.”

During her Senate confirmation hearing, DeVos was asked about measuring students by proficiency vs. progress—i.e., how close they come to a standardized goal vs. how far they’ve come in a month/grade, etc. (a concept as basic to educators as standard vs. automatic is to auto mechanics). She responded with word salad about how she “would also correlate it to competency and mastery so that each student is measured according to the advancement that they’re making in each subject area.” Senator Al Franken eventually explained the difference in a tone of supreme exasperation.

Part of the Common Core math standards for second grade involve understanding and comparing larger numbers. “Students extend their understanding of the base-ten system. This includes ideas of counting in fives, tens, and multiples of hundreds, tens, and ones, as well as number relationships involving these units, including comparing.”

Recently, Donald Trump donated $100,000—a quarter of his presidential salary—to the Department of Education. DeVos accepted the check, exulting about how the “generous gift” showed the president’s “commitment to our nation’s students.” Of course, Trump’s budget cuts the Department of Education by $9.2 billion, almost 10,000 times the value of his “generous gift,” but apparently comparing numbers isn’t DeVos’ strong suit. 7

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ONE BITE

TASTE

S’more Foie Gras, Please

Leave it to chef José Andrés to take foie gras and give it a playful spin. At first glance, his s’more looks like the classic treat from childhood, but one bite and the graham cracker crunch gives way to seared, warm foie gras, sweet marshmallow and melted chocolate. The complexity of this dessert is unparalleled, and the texture is rich and luxurious. ¶ “The s’mores is a sweet version of a foie gras dish,” chef Alex Pitts says. But is it a dessert or an appetizer? Found in the savory section of the Bazaar Meat menu, it’s considered an appetizer, but there are no rules. If blurring the line between sweet and savory is your delight, pick this one.

–Marisa Finetti

Photography Anthony Mair Aug ust 10 –18, 2017 vegasseven.com

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By Marisa Finetti Photography Krystal Ramirez

KID-APPROVED The choices for picky eaters go beyond mac ’n’ cheese

A

mong the many things we can be certain of in the dining world, chicken fingers on kids’ menus is one of them. Not that this should be entirely discouraged, because, let’s be honest, chicken tenders and mac ’n’ cheese are easy on the little ones’ palates. But a few Las Vegas dining spots are challenging the status quo and turning up the food (and the fun) with an eye toward picky eaters, so that parents can go out on the town, skip the boring kids’ menus and enjoy a “proper” meal (wink, wink).

HONEY SALT AMERICANA

Sunday brunching at Americana (2620 Regatta Drive, americanalasvegas.com) is a delectable experience for adults and kids. The waterfront location adds to the overall enticement, and kids can enjoy a little maritime activity after they finish their meal with the big kids.

Americana’s Sunday brunch items include cheesecake-filled crepes with strawberries, French toast with berry compote, carne asada fries and huevos rancheros burritos, to name a few dishes that appeal to kids (children under 8 eat for free). After a full stomach, they can enjoy freshly spun cotton candy and a spin on the lake with pedal boats. Sunday brunch, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

TOM’S URBAN

Tom Ryan, founder of Tom’s Urban (inside New York-New York, tomsurban.com), created a dish inspired by his children called the Pot Sticker Salad. While he often tried to encourage them to eat their greens, he had the brilliant idea to combine their favorite food—dumplings—with leafy greens, veggies and great-tasting sauces. This “eatthe-salad-then-you-can-have-the-dumplings” thinking worked and led to the Pot Sticker Salad, which is on the regular menu. No kids’ menu needed here.

Honey Salt (1031 S. Rampart Blvd., honeysalt.com) offers dishes that are more elevated than standard kids’ fare, combining innovative dishes with a commitment to locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, just like the regular menu. Among a variety of choices for the kiddos are the incredibly crunchy Corn Flakes Crusted Chicken Fingers and Mac and Cheese-y, Yes Please-y, which is made of orecchiette smothered in a tasty blend of Gouda, cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

After a healthy dose of grilled asparagus, the finale is the sushi-inspired dessert—sweet and chewy bites of Milky Way and Fruity Pebbles rolled into a Fruit Roll-Ups strip.

SUSHISAMBA

Sushisamba (inside The Venetian Las Vegas, sushisamba. com) has beautifully presented kids’ dishes celebrating the flavors of Brazil, Peru and Japan, such as shrimp and vegetable tempura, Wagyu sliders, anticuchos grilled organic chicken or beef served with rice, assorted sushi bites and ramen in miso broth. Exotic libations for kids made from fresh fruit juices, such as watermelon mojo and coco leites, make perfect pairings. Sushisamba keeps the fun going throughout the entire meal by providing soy crayons, a coloring page and take-home training chopsticks designed by celebrated Brazilian neo-pop artist Romero Britto.

WOLFGANG PUCK BAR & GRILL Left: Candy sushi at Honey Salt

Kiddos who visit Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill (Downtown Summerlin, wolfgangpuck.com) can indulge in pizzas shaped like Mickey Mouse’s face (by request only). The kid-friendly idea goes back approximately 35 years, when Wolfgang’s flagship, Spago Beverly Hills, started to offer youngsters a cheese pizza they could really get excited about. The kids’ menu also offers spaghetti and meatballs and other tried-and-true favorites.

DO GOOD

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

By Michael Lyle Photography Krystal Ramirez

F

Passing the Storm HIV-positive woman finds a support system in Aid for AIDS of Nevada Aid for AIDS of Nevada’s annual Black & White Party is August 19 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Last year’s event raised more than $140,000, with all proceeds going to AFAN services.

7–9 p.m. VIP reception, 9 p.m.–1 a.m. main event, tickets start at $65, afanlv.org

ollowing her HIV diagnosis, Connie Shearer, 42, spent years feeling less than human due to misconceptions and stigmas surrounding the disease.

But from the moment she walked through the doors of Aid for AIDS of Nevada, a service organization for people living with HIV/AIDS, she says she has been able to reclaim her dignity.

“They’ve helped me with everything from medication to mental health and emotional support,” Shearer says. “I’ve felt so depressed before because of the way people treated me. [AFAN has] empowered me.”

The nonprofit, which provides support for more than 4,000 Las Vegans, offers case management, personal guidance counseling, health education, financial assistance, nutrition guidance and transportation.

“Contrary to what everyone may believe, there are still many families—including men, women and children—who are affected by HIV/AIDS,” says Antioco Carrillo, AFAN’s executive director.

Everything changed for Shearer when she was diagnosed in 1996.

“My doctor gave me a timeline of diagnosis to death,” she says while sniffling back tears. “He gave me 12 years. I just wanted to spend that time with my daughter.”

Shearer’s daughter was only 18 months at the time, so the thought of not seeing her grow up was heartbreaking. “I shut down,” she says. “All I could focus on was working and spending as much time with my daughter as I could.”

She kept in contact with her doctor and did regular checkups to try to keep healthy—eventually starting medications. “Each February [the anniversary of the diagnosis] passed, and I would tell myself I can make it one more year,” Shearer says.

“And after another year passed, I would feel more secure in my health.”

After year 12, she knew her prognosis was wrong and that she would survive much longer. She began thinking about leaving Indiana and eventually settled on Las Vegas after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning. “I wanted to be someplace dry because it was better for my lungs,” she says.

In 2013 she landed at a weekly motel, but her new bills zapped her money. With $14 left to her name, Shearer didn’t know what to do. That was when she found AFAN. The organization didn’t just assist her with food when she was in need. Over the years, it helped her as she worked to rebuild her life. She was supplied with a much-needed bus pass as well as given free mental health services through AFAN, which included seeing a therapist and joining a women’s support group. “That has helped me through everything I’ve faced since,” she says.

Now, with more stable footing, Shearer is trying to end stigmatization of HIV/AIDS and promote the resources of AFAN to people living with the disease.

Little by little, she has learned there is power in her story, and she has decided to be more forthcoming about sharing it. Among many things, Shearer is using her story to encourage people to get tested. Beyond that, she hopes people living with the disease are inspired to believe that anything is possible.

“We have self-worth,” Shearer says. “We are not our diagnosis.” 7

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F

or the past several years, the most common topic at casino gaming conferences has been the future. As with any human enterprise, the gaming industry must adapt to new conditions or decline, and casinos must acknowledge the inevitability that gambling tastes will change. This has been happening since people started gambling: Faro, basset and landsknecht are no longer popular—it would be rare to find a current gambler who could even identify those games.

In other words, people are still gambling, but the ways they play wouldn’t be immediately recognizable to a time traveler from 150 years ago. They might be confused and possibly a bit frightened if suddenly confronted by a modern slot machine but, after a while, they would get the idea.

Which brings us to EVO 2017, which took place at the Mandalay Bay last month. EVO is short for the Evolution Championship Series, an annual tournament that seeks to crown the

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Blazblue: Central Fiction, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Let’s say you wanted to test your skill in Street Fighter (the most popular game at this year’s event). For $30, you could have registered yourself in the tournament, which would get you a slot in a double-elimination qualification pool of eight or more players.

You’d have to bring your own controller, and if you wanted a cheering section, they’d pay $40 each to get in. If you finished in the top two of your pool, you would advance to the semifinal bracket, and if you make it into the top eight of the semifinals, you’d move on to the finals.

The top eight players finish in the money, with the champion receiving 60 percent of the prize pool and others a diminishing share. This year’s last surviving Street Fighter V player, for example, won about $15,000, while eighth place took home $262. That’s several orders of magnitude smaller than the prize pool at the World Series of Poker;

By David G. Schwartz

The Future Is Now ESPORTS DRAW AN AUDIENCE MORE INTERESTED IN FUN THAN PAYOUTS best players in several fighting video games, one of many popular genres of esports. This isn’t the first time the tournament has been held in Las Vegas—it’s been here since 2005.

So what makes EVO 2017 worth commenting on? Primarily, it was a chance to take stock of how well Las Vegas resorts are doing at attracting younger visitors. There has been a fair amount of anxiety over the purported antipathy of millennials to traditional casino gambling. While it is true that slot win has lagged statewide since the recession and that, generally, twentysomethings aren’t flooding casinos, it is also true that they never really were. A 2006 Harrah’s survey found that the median age of casino gamblers was 46, slightly older than the United States average. If casino revenues are slumping, don’t blame the millennials (yet).

But to remain relevant when casino gambling is everywhere, Las Vegas has successfully broadened its appeal. Group travel, for business and leisure, is a growing market. It’s hard to make a case for esports as a replacement for traditional casino gambling, but it is easy to see the real opportunities for it to fill resort conference centers and hotel rooms.

This year, EVO had just over 10,000 entries split among nine games: Street Fighter V, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, King of Fighters XIV, Injustice 2, Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator 2,

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Scott Blumstein had an $8.15 million payday for rising to the top of a field less than three times the size of Street Fighter V’s.

So the lure for players isn’t necessarily money, although no one hates leaving Las Vegas with more cash than they arrived with. Instead, the real appeal is meeting people from around the world who share your passion. Several vendors were there, selling game- and anime-related prints, shirts and accessories, while a small group of game developers offered players the chance to try out their games and solicited feedback from them. EVO 2017 wasn’t just about crowning nine champions; it was, more broadly, a chance for game lovers to meet other game lovers.

A cursory look around the tournament area showed that, yes, EVO participation skews younger than play on the casino floor, and most attendees appeared to be enjoying themselves. Did any of them gamble? That’s possible. But even if they didn’t, that’s hardly a deal-breaker in modern Las Vegas.

Overall, EVO 2017 proved that esports are not the future of Las Vegas: They are its present. At the right scale and in the right location, esports should remain part of our city for a long time. 7 David G. Schwartz is the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research.

Songs From the Lineup Capital Cities’ “Safe and Sound” Songs From the Lineup is a series that unpacks the musical lineup of the Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival through individual songs by the featured artists. Look for weekly installments at DTLV.com, right up through the festival in September.

Perhaps no Capital Cities song is quite so buoyant, bouncy and infectiously upbeat as the Los Angeles–based duo’s 2011 single “Safe and Sound.” Certainly no track of theirs has had as much play on Spotify, with more than 305 million streams and counting. I can tell you that at least a few thousand of those were me.

“Safe and Sound” first injected itself into my consciousness when I caught a Capital Cities performance at the finish line for the 2012 Downtown Las Vegas GlowRun in mid-October of that year. It was one of those songs that, from the first notes, resonated on such a deep level as to imprint instantly and completely. For the next few weeks, whenever I heard it, my spirits were lifted. I was effervescent and taller, even.

When Hurricane Sandy careened like a blinddrunk slam dancer into New York that October 29, it not only annihilated my plans to fly home to surprise my father on his birthday, but also deposited a large oak tree onto my childhood home’s roof. Power lines were downed everywhere and information was lacking. My parents charged their phones off the car battery so they could stay in contact and up-to-date on news until finally the lack of heat and electricity sent them fleeing to a hotel for two weeks.

And there I was, thousands of miles away in Las Vegas, safe and sound.

Suddenly, the lighthearted song took on a more serious tone: “Even if the sky is falling down / I know that we’ll be safe and sound … We’re safe and sound (Hold your ground).” I posted the lyrics on my Facebook page and dedicated them to my dad for his birthday. And then I dramatically ramped up my listening—multiple doses taken daily at regular intervals. It was the only thing that could puncture the deep funk I was in and get me functioning again until they were back in the house, also safe and sound.

Which they were, soon enough. The roof was repaired, the power and heat were restored, and life moved on. In time, other songs naturally overtook “Safe and Sound” in my favorites playlist, tracks by other Life Is Beautiful acts, in fact (hi, Haim!). But when those familiar first beats drop— along with tracks from Capital Cities’ latest album, Swimming Pool Summer—I’ll dance and smile and remember all the times I let the reassuring, eternally hopeful words of Sebu Simonian and Ryan Merchant lift me up. –Xania V. Woodman

PHOTO BY PIPER FERGUSON

GREEN FELT JOURNAL

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

STAY THIRSTY

©2017 DOS EQUIS® XX Special Lager. Imported by Cervezas Mexicanas, White Plains, NY.

CONVERSATIONS

By Launce Rake Photography Krystal Ramirez

Deep Roots in Nevada State Senator Tick Segerblom has a long political history, but focuses on the future

H

e is, among a particular set of Nevada residents, undoubtedly the most popular politician in the state. With his unruly thatch of blond hair on top of his fireplug-shaped body, a wide smile frequently affixed, State Senator Richard “Tick” Segerblom has handled some headline-grabbing issues, but he remains focused on the quality of life for his constituents.

Segerblom, of course, is mostly known as the architect of the legalized marijuana legislation that has transformed Nevada’s drug laws.

He was one of the first customers of recreational cannabis when dispensaries started selling July 1.

And despite a few issues such as a threatened shortage that required a “statement of emergency” from Gov. Brian Sandoval, it’s gone pretty smoothly so far, he says. The law stipulating that only licensed liquor distributors may distribute marijuana products needs to be re-legislated, Segerblom says, to allow distributors more of a markup as an incentive. In the meantime, despite the guffaws over the “emergency” declaration, no adults—and especially medical marijuana patients—seem to have been unable to get their hands on legal cannabis.

Segerblom would seem to be an unlikely hero of the legalized-cannabis movement. His roots in Nevada go deeper than nearly all of his political friends’ and adversaries’. Four generations of Segerbloms have served in the Nevada Assembly and Senate, among other governmental and political positions. Tick’s mother, Gene Segerblom, served in the Assembly from 1992–2000, and he was elected to it six years later. He was elected to the Senate in 2012, representing Clark County’s urban core.

He looks younger than his 69 years, still much like the football player he was when he attended Pomona College outside Los Angeles.

At the time, Segerblom was one of the thousands of young people who supported Senator Robert Kennedy, brother of the slain president, an anti–Vietnam War candidate running

on top of a wave of youthful idealism.

On the night of his victory in the California primary, Kennedy’s campaign ended with his death by gunshot in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

The bloody assassinations of both RFK and Martin Luther King Jr. within the same year, the rise of the anti-war movement and the New Left, the youth movement, rock ‘n’ roll and the ugly end of the Summer of Love—1968 was a crucible for many young people like Segerblom.

The assassination pushed him, temporarily, out of college, but not out of politics. “The whole period was just incredibly traumatic,” he recalls.

He was active in the presidential campaign for a Christian progressive (a rare breed today) named Jimmy Carter, who was running an outsiders’ insurgency through the Democratic primaries. “Lo and behold, we kept winning states,” Segerblom says. Carter was elected to the presidency, but when he cut the number of employees working at the White House, Segerblom headed home to Nevada and dove into state politics.

“I’ve always been a progressive, liberal politician,” says Segerblom, who served four years as the state Democratic Party chair. And some of those “liberal” platforms have crossed over to the mainstream.

Segerblom’s support for access to medical marijuana, and then to regulated recreational use, is an example. It is an issue that was anathema to many Democrats and most Republicans, even as libertarian conservatives and progressives banded together to make Nevada one of the first states to legalize cannabis. Throughout two decades of debate on the issue, Segerblom has been out front.

“Politicians were terrified,” he laughs. “But I’ve always felt that Nevada was actually a very progressive state.” Segerblom admits that he was surprised when anti-marijuana advocates from either party failed to materialize in substantial numbers in the Nevada legislature.

“They could have squashed us if they wanted to,” he says.

Certainly there were powerful figures opposed to access to cannabis, medically or recreationally, but aside from a few hiccups, it has been a fairly steady march to legalization. Along the way, Segerblom’s had some odd fellow travelers: Newly elected Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore, an überconservative Republican, was an important vote to allow medical marijuana dispensaries as an Assembly member in 2013.

Now Segerblom is turning to another political post, this one arguably the most powerful elected position in the state outside the governor’s office. He is running for the Clark County Commission to replace termed-out Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani (who is actively considering a bid for that governor’s office, and will have Segerblom’s endorsement if she does run).

The Commission wields immense power, overseeing the Las Vegas Strip from the Stratosphere southward, as well as much of unincorporated Clark County. If elected, Segerblom would still have an active role regulating, modifying and guiding the evolving cannabis industry in the state. He would also have a voice,

potentially, in the next frontier of allowing regulated public use, which is still illegal in Nevada.

But he says quality of life is the big issue among his constituents. Population growth continues stretching the ability of government to matc h resources to challenges, from roads to schools, flood control to water availability, Segerblom explains, saying that elected leadership needs to work for “quality growth.”

Segerblom is counting on a new generation of voters, including the young people he worked with on the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign last year, to lift his political fortunes.

He says that the rise of new voters, organizing block by block in Clark County and statewide, can be a model for progressive organizing nationwide. “It is so exciting to see this new generation of millennials representing some of the values that we shared in the ’60s, trying to make the world a better place,” he says. Those voices are representative of the leadership that he would have nationally.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Segerblom admits. “We’re going to have to systematically take it back.” 7

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CONVERSATIONS

THE COME UP

REDEMPTION SONG CODY COURTNEY USES MUSIC TO BATTLE HIS WAY THROUGH EXTREME HIGHS AND LOWS

By Nicole Cormier Photography Andrew Sea James

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THERE’S A LOT TO SAY ABOUT BEING SELF-MADE, STORIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO PULL THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR BOOTSTRAPS. SHIT, THAT’S THE AMERICAN DREAM. BUT IT’S OFTEN NOT UNTIL SUCCESS IS REALIZED THAT THE HARDSHIPS OF THE JOURNEY ARE FULLY UNDERSTOOD. IN THIS SERIES, WE LOOK AT THE LAS VEGANS IN THE THICK OF IT—DANCING ALONG THE LINE OF TRIUMPH OR DEFEAT. BECAUSE LET’S FACE IT, WE LEARN BEST WHEN THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.

assion has a unique ability to light a fire. For Las Vegas native Cody Courtney, 33, that hasn’t always been the best thing.

Better known as DJ EDOC (the phonetic version of Cody backward) and for a full, luxurious beard that has its own name—Billion Dollar Beard—his zeal for music, family and his favorite plant, cannabis, creates a mix that has caused both destruction and restoration in his life.

“I’ve always been into needles and turntables,” Courtney recalls. “My dad had a giant record collection, he loved it, and he was meticulous about how it was kept. I was a sloppy person, still am, so I was never really allowed to mess with any of that stuff. It was completely off-limits.”

Courtney’s father was a bass player, working in lounges around town and practicing at home

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on the weekends. Though the record player was out of reach, musicians such as the Allman Brothers Band rang through the happy, music-filled household on the west side.

Ultimately, Courtney made his way to the drums, teaching himself the ropes after a few lessons at age 6.

“I stayed in my room, played my drums, listened to a lot of Nirvana, Bush, Allman Brothers and REM. I taught myself to play drums just listening to those songs.” That same experimental nature led him to DJing when he was 16.

“I always wanted to mess with the records; DJing was neat to me. I’d listen to the radio, Power 97, a Top 40 hip-hop station. I’d fuck around— because my stereo had an equalizer on it, I’d turn it up and down and pretend I was mixing and have a bunch of fun.”

From drumming with local bands as a kid to adding rapping to his repertoire as an adolescent, Courtney was finding his stride. As a part of the Las Vegas hip-hop scene, he hung out at the now-defunct underground shop Da Joynt and Industry Records next door in Downtown. It was there that he built a strong foundation with area b-boys and DJs, and built his record collection, eventually buying his own turntables.

“I saved my money, and I had the choice to buy a car or turntables,” Courtney says. After snapping up a set of Gemini turntables—the “DJ in a box kit” popular at the time—from music store Musician’s Friend, he says, “it was the dumbest thing, but it was enough for me to get a handle on things.”

Although not an ideal setup, that DJ kit gave him the tools and confidence he needed to learn the craft. But even as he mastered the decks, it

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wasn’t the kind of skill set that he could make a living on—at least, not yet. With wife Amy at home and a baby on the way, he had to pay the bills somehow, which led him to Best Buy. But changes were afoot.

—

After losing his job at Best Buy due to his struggle with sleep apnea and the work he missed because of it, Courtney heard of an exciting prospect on his favorite local radio station at the time, Hot 97.5.

“I hear about a DJ competition on the radio, and I’m like, fuck yeah!” Courtney remembers with a smile. “I call the station and Mike P answers, and I ask him if you need to bring your own records or whatever. He responds in his radio voice, ‘Just come and do you!’” So like “a boy scout,” he came prepared.

He was the only one who did. Courtney mistook what the Galleria at Sunset mall competition was looking for—on-air personality DJs, not the mixing type he’d become.

After making it to the final round, the station decided to add both finalists to the staff.

Courtney began on-site meet-and-greets with listeners as a street team member. But that’s where things got interesting.

“I smoke weed, so of course I get to know everybody who smokes weed at the station,” he says. “We go on a remote, and a supervisor says, ‘Let’s get some weed.’” They ended up toking up in the station van. “Two days later, I get to work and I’m fired.”

Things spiraled from there, starting with an eviction. Losing the family apartment with a young child was the last straw for Amy. She and the baby went to stay with her sister. And with a due date looming for a $2,000 fee for an altercation he says he had with his wife’s stepfather, an unavoidable incarceration was in his foreseeable future.

“I’m sleeping in my car at Desert Breeze Park. It’s actually pretty nice; I have a bunch of blankets and two pillows,” he jokes. Pushing 30, this was his version of rock bottom. And then another DJ competition fell into his lap.

“DJ Zo [a friend] calls me and tells me about this tablet DJ battle [event] sponsored

by Verizon, and the prize is $2,000!” The only power outlets he had access to were at the area McDonald’s, where he’d been using its Wi-Fi to apply for jobs.

“I can’t really do anything because my stuff’s in storage, so I hit up all my DJ friends for a place to practice my set. Turns out, it’s some scratch DJ app on tablets, and it doesn’t resemble traditional DJing in any way.”

After preparing as much as he could within his limited means, he made it to the competition ready to battle and bring the showmanship.

“I embrace my homelessness and make some cue cards with cardboard boxes and a Magnum [marker] to hype up the audience for my set,” Courtney says.

Not all of his competition was as prepared. The first competitor was in a panic as he had difficulty using the app. Then Courtney was up.

“I played a super-hype remix to ‘Seven Nation Army,’ so I wrote down some lyrics to the hooks. Basically, I rocked the fuck out, going hard, dancing with the crowd.”

He took the win, bringing home the money, some tablets and a gift card. The victory not only preserved his freedom, it also solidified his aspirations to pursue music, all while his wife cheered him on.

From living in his car to moving into a Downtown apartment with his growing family, things were on the up and up. He was confident and ready to make DJing his career, and after his charismatic performance, plenty of venues were lining up to book him.

—

Behind the tables, Courtney is anything but mild-mannered. His energy is contagious, and he says, “I’m really good at adapting.”

This, matched with strong musical knowledge and a distinguishable look, has helped him establish a following and a calendar full of gigs. He spends his days as a stay-at-home father to his daughters.

From DJing Tuff-N-Uff MMA fights at Thomas & Mack to the live-art Secret Walls competitions, Courtney continues to build his name. He’s a regular at the Donald J. Pliner retail store in Forum Shops at Caesars and is best known for playing at art collective I.S.I. Group’s events, including the monthly Off the Wall Graffiti Disco at Beauty Bar. His most recent passion project, Creative Cannabis Group TV’s Zunday Zesh, a weekly YouTube Web series with friend and partner Phil Limon, features the pair smoking copious amounts of weed with friends and guests as they talk about current topics and conspiracies. It has brought him back to the habit that almost derailed a career. His goal is to turn the venture into an income generator.

Music, weed and family are the fires that burned his life to the ground and the same fuel that keeps him growing, specifically the tunes.

“Not to be a whore about it, but I love music and I’ll play anything,” he says joyfully. “I love the blend. When two songs I’ve heard and played a million times before become something new, it gives me the same feeling I get when I make original music.

And the booty-shaking—I love watching people have the best time … sometimes the best day of their life.” 7

Back (i n Ti m e) to Sch oo l CIGARETTES, CHEVYS AND BROWN VS. BOARD OF ED.

By James P. Reza Many reader queries have been addressed in this column, but many remain unanswered. One topic the Native hasn’t dug into is the past history of public school in Las Vegas. Indeed, going to school in Sin City was quite different back in the day. But so was America.

An obvious change? High schools once had student smoking areas. While that might seem crazy in 2017, this was the freewheeling 1980s (or earlier). I’m not sure of the legal smoking age back then, but I know cigarette vending machines were everywhere and none of them checked IDs. The result? The Clark High School quad between classes was thicker with Marlboro Reds than the Double Down Saloon is at midnight on a Saturday.

What about sixth grade centers? Unique to Las Vegas, the Sixth Grade Center Plan of Integration was the CCSD’s lawsuit-forced effort to fulfill the Supreme Court’s landmark desegregation decision in Brown v.

Board of Education (1954). From 1972–1993, every neighborhood elementary school in our city’s predominantly African American Westside was instead a sixth grade center. From first through fifth grades, affected neighborhood children were bused to predominantly white schools; for sixth grade, most white kids from the other schools were bussed to a center. Mine was Matt Kelly, and even to my 11-year-old sensibilities, the whole thing still seemed inherently unequal.

As if that wasn’t odd enough, a peripheral effect of sixth grade centers was that junior high schools served grades seven through nine. High school freshmen mingled with (or beat up) 12-year-olds, while high school boys rolled up to Hyde Park junior high in Chevy Novas to pick up their freshmen cheerleader girlfriends.

There’s more to daze and confuse you. While a ninth grader (er, freshman) at Hyde Park, I earned an “Honor Card”—an academic performance perk I could flash to exit class early for “extra library study time.” With apologies to Ms. Owczarzak, I used mine to bail on World History, scooting across the street to scarf fro-yo and play Space Invaders.

Which, of course, leads to the joys of an open campus.

I loved hopping into my Datsun 4x4 during Clark’s lunch period, booking to Mickey D’s or Montesano’s Italian Deli with too many pals, the Specials’ “Ghost Town” blaring from my speakers. It was a daily dash of freedom that has sadly been lost since 2002, when CCSD closed all local high school campuses after a Las Vegas High student, “speeding in order to make it back to school before the end of the lunch period” (Las Vegas Sun), crashed into a light pole. Tragic? Absolutely. Reason to end decades of tradition? Questionable.

Have a question or comment about Las Vegas past, present or future?

Send them to askanative@vegasseven.com.

CONVERSATIONS

LUCKY NO. 7

Paseo Verde Library in Green Valley. It has a reading room with floorto-ceiling windows, plenty of desks and tables, an extensive CD collection and occasional book sales (everything you can fit into a bag for a few bucks!). There’s also The Coffee Press, which has reasonably priced beverages, pastries, bagels and sandwiches, as well as board games—if you want to procrastinate doing the work you went there to do in the first place. –Shannon Miller, editorial assistant

Nothing makes you feel smarter than a bookstore. Both The Writer’s Block and Amber Unicorn Books can be counted on to offer up many treasures for perusal.

Bonus: Once you take them home and read them, you actually are smarter! –Lissa Townsend Rodgers, editor-at-large

When I was an undergrad at UNLV, I never fully appreciated how fantastic the school’s Lied Library is. Since graduating, I have returned to check out books (Non-students can sign up for library cards there—who knew?) and spend time in its fascinating Special Collections room, full of historic media such as decades-old newspaper clippings, early university documents and vintage menus from Strip gourmet rooms. Stepping foot in there also reminds me of a time when I was a Dean’s List student with loads of time to read novels for pleasure. Now, let me get back to that BuzzFeed quiz!

—Mark Adams, arts & entertainment editor

I feel smart at The Smith Center.

It’s a great place to go and laugh at intellectual jokes I don’t understand and drink wine I don’t know how to pronounce.

–Jessie O’Brien, web editor

I love attending the readings at the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute.

They’re a rare chance to hear and interact with today’s best writers, both established and emerging.

The events also provide a great opportunity to meet literaryminded folks in Las Vegas.

–Genevie Durano, managing editor, dining editor

I go to UNLV for its Barrick Lecture Series. Dozens congregate at the university to hear the stories and perspectives of inspirational leaders from various backgrounds. It’s not only an informative experience, but it’s a moving one as well.

In the past, the lecture series has welcomed a CNN host, an astronaut and a Pulitzer Prize– winning reporter.

–Amber Sampson, web editor

CreativeMornings! It’s a wonderful monthly event where people go to learn, create and collaborate. It’s nice seeing people come together with the common goal of making the world a more creative place.

–Adam Christopher Smith, production coordinator, Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival

We asked the WENDOH M edia staf f:

Where in Las Vegas do to feel smarter ? you go Photography Anthon y Mair

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