Las Vegas

Las Vegas: Over 223K Mail-In Ballots Bounced as ‘Undeliverable’ in Recent Primary Election

More than 223,000 mail-in ballots sent to registered voters in Clark County, Nevada, were bounced as “undeliverable” in the state’s June primary election, newly released data reveals. According to data collected by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) from the Clark County Election Department, a total of 223,469 mail-in ballots sent to registered voters for the June 9 primary election ended up bouncing as “undeliverable” — 17 percent of the total 1,325,934 mail-in ballots that were sent out in the county. “These numbers show how vote by mail fails,” PILF President J. Christian Adams said in a statement, adding: New proponents of mail balloting don’t often understand how it actually works. States like Oregon and Washington spent many years building their mail voting systems and are notably aggressive with voter list maintenance efforts. Pride in their own systems does not somehow transfer across state lines. Nevada, New York, and others are not and will not be ready for November. For comparison, in the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 general elections, the entire state of Nevada recorded just 5,863 mail-in ballots as “undeliverable.” That data comes from U.S. Election Assistance Commission surveys. The data find that of those “undeliverable” mail ballots, 58 percent were from inactive voters and 42 percent were from active voters. Put another way, 92,337 were listed as Democrats and 53,129 are Republicans. Clark County, which went more than 52 percent for Hillary Clinton in 2016, sent out mail-in ballots to all registered voters for their primary election — unlike other counties, including Washoe, in the state’s northwest corner. Washoe County sent out a little more than a fifth of the mail-in ballots that Clark County sent for the primary election and saw far fewer “undeliverables,” less than 28,000. Unlike Las Vegas, Reno officials did not send ballots to “inactive” voters. The revelation comes as Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) signed legislation to send mail-in ballots to all active registered voters for the 2020 presidential election. On Wednesday, President Trump said Nevada did not have the election infrastructure to take on such a task as universal mail-in voting. Trump wrote in a post: Nevada has ZERO infrastructure for Mail-In Voting. It will be a corrupt disaster if not ended by the Courts. It will take months, or years, to figure out. Florida has built a great infrastructure, over years, with two great Republican Governors. Florida, send in your Ballots! Recent data has not shown a compelling public health justification for mail-in voting. In Wisconsin’s April election, only 52 of more than 400,000 voters and poll workers were confirmed to have contracted the Chinese coronavirus. None of those cases were fatal. This equals an infection rate below two-hundredths of one percent.

Thunderbirds honor coronavirus responders with Las Vegas flyover for ‘true heroes’

High in the skies over Las Vegas, the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron — also known as the “Thunderbirds” — showed its support on Saturday for those on the frontlines responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The Thunderbirds said the flyover was to show appreciation and support for health care workers, first responders and other essential personnel in Sin City and around the nation working in the battle against COVID-19. “It is an honor to fly for the Americans at the forefront of our nation’s fight against the coronavirus,” Lt. Col. John Caldwell, Thunderbirds commander and leader, said in a news release. “They are true heroes and we look forward to demonstrating the support of the 685,000 total force Airmen of the U.S. Air Force for health care workers, first responders and COVID-19 essential personnel in Las Vegas and across the nation.” The flyover on Saturday featured eight F-16 Fighting Falcons, which soared throughout Las Vegas starting at 2:30 p.m. and lasted about 25 minutes. The Thunderbirds’ flight path started at Nellis Air Base and took them through Centennial Hills, Summerlin, Spring Valley, along the Las Vegas Strip, and down to Henderson before returning to Nellis Air Force Base. Images showed the aircraft soaring over the famous Las Vegas Strip and casinos now empty due to the virus outbreak. Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett shared a video on Twitter of an inside look of the planes flying over the Strip. Las Vegas residents were able to enjoy the flyover safely from their home-quarantine. The Thunderbirds had asked that people refrain from traveling to landmarks and gathering in large groups to view the flyover. “While our jets will be flying close together, we want (to) stress that no one should travel or gather to see us fly,” Caldwell said. “We want Las Vegas residents to look up from their homes and enjoy the display of American resolve and pride while keeping front line coronavirus responders in their hearts during this unprecedented time in our nation.” Officials in Clark County, Nevada, said the show in the sky was a “great viewing experience” as the aircraft flew by. “We haven’t had much to enjoy lately, but today the Nellis Air Force Base U.S. Air Force team provided a much-needed lift,” the Clark County communications team said on Facebook.

How great is this?!?  I’m sure the folks in Sin City really appreciated this.  The Thunderbirds are based there at Nellis AFB.  So, this was a real  treat for the locals.   To see videos and pics from yesterdays show, click on the text above.      🙂

Donny and Marie Osmond announce ending to 11-year Las Vegas residency

It’s an end of an era. Donny and Marie Osmond are saying goodbye to their Las Vegas show later this year, concluding an 11-year residency. The brother-sister duo made the announcement during an appearance on “Good Morning America” on Thursday. “It’s been rumored that we’re bringing Donny & Marie to an end here in Las Vegas,” Donny, 61, told the outlet. “And we’re here to say it’s official.” “We have been through so much the last 11 years. Her particularly,” Donny went on to say about Marie, 59. “And she gets on stage and she’s such a professional,” he gushed. “She does a great job. I’m gonna miss this a lot… There’s a bond here that will never be broken.” Their final performance at the Flamingo Las Vegas is scheduled for Nov. 16. According to the casino, the two launched their residency back in September 2008, planning for just a six-week concert engagement. However, the residency was extended again and again, marking a decade of performances last year. Despite ending their long-time show, Donny hinted that the duo will still continue to perform in some way. “It’s the end of the Donny & Marie show, it’s not the end of Donny and Marie,” he said.

I remember way back when they did their variety show in the mid-late ’70s…  Definitely the “end of an era.”  But, does sound like there will still be ” a little bit country, and a little bit rock n roll” in some fashion or other after their show ends in Vegas in November.     🙂

 

Nevada committee approves $750M Vegas stadium plan for Raiders

A plan to build an NFL stadium in Las Vegas and lure the Raiders from Oakland crossed a major hurdle Thursday when a Nevada oversight committee voted unanimously to recommend $750 million in public funding for the project. The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee recommended raising the hotel tax in the Las Vegas area to help pay for a 65,000-seat domed venue that was promoted and would be partially financed by billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Proponents still need to win over the governor, the Legislature and three-quarters of NFL owners to make the project a reality, but it’s a significant milestone for a city that’s never had a professional football team and has been hammering out the particulars of the Raiders deal for months. “We get an NFL team, and that is a significant step forward for Las Vegas and the community,” committee chairman Steve Hill said about the project’s potential. “Those teams bring the community together. We’re going to have people wearing Raiders jerseys and high-fiving each other … That’s not something you can put a number on.” The Adelson family plans to put $650 million toward the stadium, which would also be home to UNLV Football, while the Raiders plan to kick in $500 million. Officials with the Las Vegas Sands, Adelson’s company, said they don’t want to return any profits to the public because they’d be making little or no money on the stadium. They’re also committing to fund construction cost overruns and infrastructure improvements at the yet-undetermined site. Sands representative Andy Abboud said the Adelsons were in China to open a $2.9 billion Parisian Macao casino and probably asleep when the vote came, but he texted them the news and said they’ll be excited. “I never dreamed of or hoped for a unanimous vote,” Abboud said. “But a unanimous vote, I think, sends a very strong signal to the Legislature.” Opponents question whether it’s appropriate to put public dollars toward a project spearheaded by one of the richest men in the world. They’re also wary of the bonds used to finance the project, which could put taxpayers on the hook to cover stadium debt in a downturn. Hill said the deal’s structure would shield taxpayers even in a recession as deep as the most recent one, when hotel tax revenues fell 33 percent. He also addressed arguments that tax hikes should prioritize Nevada’s bottom-ranking public school system. “I’m not going to argue that a room tax couldn’t be used for other things,” Hill said, noting that the increase will mostly affect tourists, not locals. “I will say this is an entirely, very appropriate use for room tax.” Stadium proponents drove a hard bargain with the committee, which included casino leaders and elected officials. The Las Vegas Sands said they’d walk away from negotiations if the public put in less than $750 million, and the company fought to protect themselves from any future taxes targeting the team. Public pressure mounted, too. Union members wearing Raiders gear held tailgate parties outside the committee’s meetings, and cheerleaders in silver and black flanked the entrances to the meeting on Thursday. Electronic billboards along the interstate urged people to “hold politicians accountable” on the stadium deal and recommended the hashtag “Don’t Screw This Up NV.” It was unclear when Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval might call lawmakers into special session to consider the deal, although proponents want it as soon as possible so they can pitch the deal to NFL owners ahead of their January meeting and potential team relocation vote. “I will not move forward until all questions have been resolved,” he said. “I am hopeful the work completed by this committee will serve as a roadmap to Southern Nevada’s unrivaled and continued success.” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, meanwhile, said her city “is neither rolling over, nor giving up” and continues work on a deal with the team. “Now is the time for everyone in our region to pull together to show the NFL and the Raiders that their future is in Oakland,” she said.

Hmm..  Not very convincing..

NHL awards expansion franchise to Las Vegas

The National Hockey League’s 31st franchise will play in Las Vegas beginning in 2017, Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday. On a 109-degree day in the Mojave Desert’s gambling mecca, the NHL’s Board of Governors awarded the team to billionaire businessman Bill Foley, who is expected to pay $500 million to the NHL’s other owners as an expansion fee. The new team will play in T-Mobile Arena, the $375 million building that opened just off the Las Vegas Strip in April. “We think this is a tremendously exciting opportunity, not just for Las Vegas, but for the league as well,” Bettman said, calling Las Vegas “a vibrant, growing, global destination city.” Bettman also announced that an expansion bid from Quebec City was “deferred” indefinitely, allowing Las Vegas to enter the league alone in the Pacific Division. The league’s alignment and playoff format won’t change. The NHL is expanding for the first time since 2000, when Minnesota and Columbus each paid $80 million to join the league. With nearly 2.2 million people in the last census, Las Vegas is the largest population center in the U.S. without a team in the major professional sports. Vegas was an economic boomtown in the previous decade, and the NHL is betting that its slowed growth hasn’t curbed the city’s appetite for sports and spectacles. “We want everyone to be a fan,” said Foley, who fell in love with pond hockey while growing up in Canada. “We’re dedicated to it. We’ll leave no stone unturned in our dedication, in our pursuit of hockey for Las Vegas, not just for our team, but for the community.” Bettman said the league made the move largely due to the persistence and strength of the ownership group led by Foley, a financial services tycoon, who has been working on the idea for three years. Foley is joined by minority partners Joe and Gavin Maloof, the former owners of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Foley’s also bid had the enormous advantage of an NHL-ready arena built with private funding and eager for a flagship tenant. Foley has already accepted more than 14,000 season ticket deposits and sold out all 44 suites in the 17,500-seat rink built by MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Kings. “We won’t sell out every game with season-ticket holders, but I believe it’s going to be 85 percent, 90 percent (filled by season ticket holders),” Foley said. Along with a top-six pick in next year’s draft, the Vegas franchise will be stocked by a June 2017 expansion draft that will be more favorable than previous drafts, theoretically allowing Foley’s team to become competitive more quickly. Las Vegas will have four nearby rivals — at least by West Coast standards: the league’s three California teams and the Arizona Coyotes. Although ice doesn’t last long in the desert, Las Vegas has had an appetite for hockey since the Kings and New York Rangers played a memorable outdoor exhibition game here in 1991. The IHL’s Las Vegas Thunder sometimes drew more fans than UNLV’s beloved basketball team at the Thomas and Mack Arena in the 1990s, and the Minnesota Wild’s Jason Zucker leads a handful of locals who went on to hockey careers. The endurance of that appetite will depend on Foley’s ability to keep fans excited about the newest show in town, but the NHL seems confident it’s getting in early to a growing market. Foley announced plans to devote considerable resources to building community interest in youth hockey, including a two-rink team training complex that will be “open to all.” Sports leagues once rejected the city outright due to concerns about corruption from Vegas’ massive sports betting economy, but the NHL and the NFL no longer share those worries, with Bettman calling his sport “less susceptible” to gambling interests due to the small volume of bets placed on hockey. Foley realizes his team might not be alone in Vegas for long. Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis is interested in partnering with Vegas interests to build an enormous domed football stadium for his team. “I think the NFL would be great here,” Foley said. “They have a different fan base than we do. I don’t think it will affect us.” Foley hasn’t decided on a nickname or logo for his team, but an announcement could be made in the next few weeks. He has strongly considered the Black Knights, a name that has special meaning to Foley, a West Point graduate. “I love Black Knights,” Foley said. “I’m an Army guy, but maybe that’s not the right name for the team at this time. We’re going to work through the league.”

Sniper’s backpack, battle uniforms, and mine detectors: Tactical stars of SHOT Show

The Sniper’s Backpack, Enhanced Battle Uniforms and MineSharks were three of the standouts in SHOT Show’s fastest growing law enforcement section. Owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the SHOT Show provides a first look at products and services used by target shooters, hunters, outdoorsmen, and law enforcement professionals. Over the course of four days last week, more than 65,000 industry professionals from all 50 states and more than 100 countries convened in Las Vegas for the 37th annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show.

Nice!  Sounds like candy-land to me.    🙂

Hillary Clinton touts affordable higher education in $225G Las Vegas speech

Hillary Clinton called for businesses to collaborate with universities to make higher education more affordable in a $225,000 speech Monday night at the annual University of Nevada Las Vegas Foundation dinner.

What a nauseating hypocrite!! Every time I see her obnoxious, wide-eyed, smile on tv I want to vomit. Here we see her diva-ness netting a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS for what? Maybe an hour’s worth of her babbling about the need for more “affordable higher education.” Seriously?? Just wrap your brain around the irony, and gaul of that coming from someone making for that one hour more than most people will see in their entire lives. Yeah, much of her speaking fees probably came from some private donors here and there…but were ultimately funneled through the Univ of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). So, yeah.. it came from UNLV. Bottom line, the state of Nevada (i.e. its tax paying citizens) and the alumns of UNLV paid much of Princess Hillary’s whopping speaking fee. That’s Nevada’s tax dollars hard at work, let me tell ya! And, this to a person who said she was “dead broke” when she and Bill left the White House back in 2001. Can I PLEASE be tht broke?I just wish she’d go away…and go back to Arkansas and hang out at the Clinton Presidential Library and write a memoir about her “Hard Choices” or something else equally silly.

Hillary: ‘Climate Change Is Most Urgent, Consequential Challenge We Face’

Hillary: ‘Climate Change Is Most Urgent, Consequential Challenge We Face’

I just LOVE when Hillary talks, and its captured on video/audio. Each time her mouth opens, it spews ridiculously stupid things like this. What’s even better is that SO many Dems out there actually think she is smart! lol Um, no, Hillary. So-called “global warming,” (or the latest trendy euphemism “climate change”) is NOT “the most urgent, consequential challenge we face,” you moron. How about ISIS, or the prospect of another Cold War with Russia?..or perhaps the current wave of illegal immigration that is crippling our economy which is already $17.5 TRILLION in debt! I think we’ve suffered enough under Obama’s enviro-wacko policies, and spent MILLIONS and MILLIONS of hard-earned tax-payer dollars on Obama-directed “green” initiatives that have been a total bust. Remember Solyndra? Hillary is completely clueless buffoon. It is because of this sorta crap that our country is in the toilet. We have people like her, Obama, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), and other liberal Dems making this their #1 priority, while the number of people in this country is at an all time high, 1 out of 10 California workers are illegal aliens, ISIS is beheading Americans, and the rest of the world is in turmoil. Their priorities are all bassackwards, and they’re stuck in the hippie ’60s. That’s why I love when Hillary actually says hilariously stupid things like this, which of course is just red meat at this convention. But, its the sorta thing that absolutely MUST be used against her in a campaign if she actually runs for President in 2016. In the meantime, I hope some enterprising journalist will confront her about these statements and ask, “which is a more ‘urgent, consequential challenge we face,’ ISIS or climate change?” Lets se her respond to THAT on camera! I’ll get some popcorn started, lol.

Al Qaeda magazine hints of looming attack; urges bombing of Vegas, military targets

Al Qaeda magazine hints of looming attack; urges bombing of Vegas, military targets

I think its pretty clear what Al Qaeda and ISIS’ goals here.  And yet today the president said that he has no long term strategy for fighting ISIS, and that his military leaders were reviewing options.  Huh?!?!?  When he said that I about wanted to flush my head down a toilet.  A couple things:  #1..  Whether you do or don’t, you NEVER EVER say that out loud; much less on tv.  You NEVER say what you do.  You leave ALL options on the table and let the bad guys wonder what all you night do.  What an IDIOT!!  #2..  Of COURSE there are strategies and options.  That’s what the DoD exists for.  Heck, there are plans for invading Canada if we get a wild hair.  There are options and plans for everything.  Trust me.  Obama just doesn’t know what to do, and doesn’t have the stomach to do what is necessary.  So…he is basically saying, “gosh.. we’re evaluating our options.”  What a puss.  He really needs to just stop talking.