Entries from January 10, 2010 - January 16, 2010
Vision Airlines, out of North Las Vegas, doing their part in Haiti
Pilots for a North Las Vegas-based airline are volunteering to fly in supplies and emergency crews to Haiti after Tuesday's devastating earthquake.
Airspace over Port-au-Prince International is packed with planes and helicopters bringing disaster relief.
There is no longer a control tower, and, at times, aircraft are forced to circle overhead for hours and wait for a chance to land on the runway, which is overflowing with emergency vehicles bringing medical supplies to the injured. It's difficult to tell whether they are alive or dead.
U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force members are directing flights in and out -- standing by the runway using radios.
Smoke billows in the distance on the hillside where the capital city of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country once stood -- swallowed by a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake and battered by dozens of strong aftershocks. As planes descend, the crumbled buildings and rubble appear to crew members.
And then you see them, the thousands of people wandering the streets aimlessly with horrific expressions of absolute terror and distress who are searching for loved ones.
That's what pilot Michael Raymond saw Thursday afternoon as he flew in 37 rescue workers and seven search dogs from Miami to Port-au-Prince. The Boeing 737-400 then was loaded with 57 Americans, one of whom had suffered a back injury, to return to Miami.
Airline employees have volunteered to fly supplies and bring back citizens to the United States. At least three Vision Airlines flights from Atlanta and Miami have made the three-hour round trip. Most have been delayed as planes wait their turn to land on the tiny airstrip.
"When we had landing assured and you started recognizing streets, you see these thousands of people with a sense of hopelessness, they're just devastated," Raymond said. "As you were flying in, at the border of the airport, you can see people begging to get out of there."
At one point, Raymond and his crew had to circle for two hours, it was a "scary thing" for the pilot.
"You always plan ahead for holding, so we had plenty of fuel, but then we had to hold for so long," said Raymond, who has 31 years of flying experience. "Fuel became critical."
There are places to get fuel in the Dominican Republic, he added.
"It's a tough job," Raymond said. "There's a whole gamut of emotions as you're looking at workers coming up and down. You'll see a person lying on a stretcher with IVs and you don't know if they're dead or not."
The biggest challenge for the crew in North Las Vegas is air traffic, said Jason Tolman, director of systems operations control for Vision Airlines. Usually the team manages sightseeing flights over the Grand Canyon.
"We're communicating with airplanes and just trying to get as many flights down there with relief workers on board," Tolman said. "Everybody is eager to help out and doing whatever is necessary, but it's very stressful with long days and demanding issues. Big decisions need to be made under pressure, and that's the hardest part."
As of right now, Vision Airlines is planning to make planes available for disaster relief indefinitely, Tolman added.
Vision Airlines loaded planes in Miami and Atlanta with rescue workers, search dogs, water and medicine, and pilots are coping with the difficulties of disaster relief responsibilities on top of their work schedules.
Local Las Vegans await word from Haiti
Days after an earthquake destroyed Haiti's capital, local families are still searching for news about their loved ones in the Caribbean nation.
Some of their worst fears have come true as stories of dead and dying family members buried under large debris are confirmed by surviving relatives and friends who were able to escape Tuesday's devastation.
Delivrance Jean-Charles, pastor of La Premiere Eglise Evangelique Haitienne de Las Vegas, found out her aunt and cousin were killed when their home collapsed on top of them. Their bodies are still inside the wreckage.
"People keep moving big blocks and rubble by hand," she said. "It will take so long for them to reach all the people."
Her 25-year-old niece is still missing after she left her work office and never came home.
Family members "went in the house to check, but we don't know if she had time to get out," Jean-Charles said. "People saw her leave work. By the time the earthquake hit, they believe she didn't make it to the house yet. She might be dead under the rubble, but no one knows where she was exactly."
Her cousin finally got through on the phone and described the city of Port-au-Prince smelling of rotting flesh as thousands lay dead on the streets. At least 7,000 bodies were laid to rest in a mass grave this week, some identified and others were not, she added.
"We got cut off," she said. "For me it was a miracle to talk to someone in Port-au-Prince on the inside. I was feeling so down."
Jean-Charles said she checks her cell phone every five minutes to see if someone is calling to update her on the well-being of friends and family.
Her husband, Jeanot, is trying to find his nephews. His grandmother was killed in the quake.
"My entire family, most of them live in the north part," he said. "Some go to school in Port-au-Prince. For some reason they didn't that day. If all of them were going to school they would be dead also."
Kenson Desinor of the Las Vegas Haitian Disaster Relief Community said a relative who lives outside the capital was able to call him to say that many of his friends died.
"A lot of people are starting to get information," Desinor said. "My friend had lots of nephews die, and lots of his other family members died too."
Desinor said he has tried to call his relatives who live in Haiti but cannot get through to them.
"I have heard from family, but not in the affected part," he said. "We have a lot of friends in the area, but you can reach people in other parts of the country. It's not that easy, sometimes (phone lines) connect, but it's hard to get connected."
Liberace Museum moving to the Strip
For years the Liberace Museum has been near UNLV and Tivoli Gardens, the restaurant that Lee owned. But, in these struggling times, the museum is moving on up to the Strip in an effort to get more foot traffic through the door.
Liberace and his brother, George at the Museum in 1979
From our pal, Johnny Kats:
The Liberace Museum's days on the corner of East Tropicana Avenue at Spencer are numbered.
We'll put that number at over/under 400 1/2. As always, for entertainment purposes only.
New Liberace Foundation & Museum President Jack Rappaport, a member of the Liberace Foundation Board of Directors since 2006, said today the Foundation is in discussions with an entity on the Strip to relocate the Liberace Museum (and my man Ubiquitous Robin Leach tweeted this earlier today, so right on).
The Liberace Museum has stored and displayed Liberace's costumes, footwear, jewelry, photos, vehicles, pianos, photos, and even bedroom sets in two buildings at 1775 East Tropicana since April 15, 1979. Rappaport says it could be as soon as Thanksgiving or as long as the latter half of 2011 that the museum is fully relocated to a high-density area on the Strip.
"This is not the best spot for us. This is not where we should be," Rappaport, who has taken over the position vacated by Darin Hollingsworth soon after the museum celebrated its 30th anniversary in April, said during a phone conversation this afternoon. The reason the museum is in a bad location — even if that location was decided on by Liberace himself — is because tourists are not interested in moving so far off the Strip to visit the museum. At its peak, the Liberace museum attracted a quarter of a million visitors annually; that number dropped to about 50,000 by the time the 30th anniversary rolled around.
"Liberace wanted to appeal to locals because he was so heavily involved in the community, and here was a time when we had 10, 12 tour busses stop here, but that's no longer the case," Rappaport said. "We're not getting the tourist traffic we used to from the Strip. It used to be tourists would gamble and lie in the sun on the Strip and not do much else, so they would see the museum. But then the Strip, over years, became an attraction unto itself, and we stopped getting so many visitors."
Interns from the UNLV School of Architecture are in the process of drafting plans for the 20,000-square-foot project, which is about what the two museum buildings occupy now. Rappaport says there will be a more intelligent use of space in the new ... space. There will be a plan for an expanded showroom, larger than the cabaret theater at the current museum.
"It is a work in progress, keep that in mind," Rappaport said. "But it will be located in an area where a lot of tourists will already be visiting, and locals will still have a chance to visit the museum … this is long overdue, actually."
What would further inflate visitor numbers is a feature film about Liberace starring Michael Douglas in the lead role, and Matt Damon portraying the pianist's longtime lover Scott Thorsen. I say this because People magazine's Web site reported back in September that Douglas and Damon would star in a film about Liberace, with director Stephen Soderbergh confirming their involvement in the film. Since, Rappaport has sent letters to Soderbergh and United Artists CEO Jerry Weintraub offering to assist with wardrobe, memorabilia, those types of contributions, when the film reportedly starts shooting this spring. He hasn't heard back. No worries, though.
"We've been looking at museums across the country for design ideas, but we're so different," Rappaport said. "We're labeled a museum, but we're more than that. We're an experience." And one that more past and future fans of Liberace should, in fact, experience.
LasVegasLynn
in Cultural Tourism, Current Day, Las Vegas History, Las Vegas Strip, Liberace, Museums
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Random Thoughts and Things That Irritate Me
Just some things that irritate me, make me wonder and really make me mad. Hey, it's my birthday. I should get to blog about personal stuff every now and then.
1. The NBC Late-Night Fiasco. I know there are folks on Team Conan and folks on Team Leno. But guess what? There are no people on Team Zucker and that’s the way it should be.
Jeff Zucker, the one-time boy genius who was going to make NBC #1 forever and ever, instead, made one of the worst decisions in network history. Now Zucker is blaming Conan for not delivering a higher audience for the Tonight Show and blaming Jay for not delivering a higher audience for the Jay Leno show.
Despite the fact, that he, Jeff Zucker, was the architect of this entire fiasco.
In the old days of corporate America when you screwed up on a scale this grand, you did the right thing by taking the blame and stepping down immediately. Not Jeff Zucker, he really wants to be the poster boy for everything that we hate about Corporate America today. That is, instead of admitting your mistakes and taking your punishment, you instead blame the victims and ask all of America to ignore your hand in designing this fiasco and ask that we all just pretend you’re not to blame. Sorry, Jeff Zucker, there’s a reason the only person on Team Zucker is you.
2. Post-Apocalyptic Movies. They come around every few years. Anyone remember “The Postman” with Kevin Costner? Earlier this winter we had “The Road” with the wonderful Viggo Mortensen and based on the acclaimed novel by Cormac McCarthy. Didn’t do well at the box office. I’m thinking when it comes to post-apocalyptic movies, movie goers want someone forceful, charming and who offers hope. Kevin Costner in “Postman” not so much, Denzel Washington in “The Book of Eli”, hell yeah!
3. Mel Gibson in “Edge of Darkness”. With all the problems Mel has had with his fans and his personal life the last few years, is this really the time in his career to start channeling Jack Nicholson? Doesn’t he realize that Jack is still alive and can probably kick his ass for stealing his act?
4. Smokey Robinson. Who knew that Smokey was Wayne Newton’s half-brother? I didn’t . Did you? Well, have you seen Smokey lately? I saw him the other night on an American Masters documentary on Sam Cooke and my jaw dropped to the floor. There was Smokey, our Smokey, looking like he had gone to Wayne Newton’s plastic surgeon and was proud of it!
All I could do was hang my head in despair. Has looking youthful in America sunk so low that someone like Smokey has to chase the fountain of youth to be taken seriously? For God’s sake, he’s Smokey Robinson!!!! That should be enough to let him grow old gracefully and still love him!
5. The Las Vegas Sun. I read the paper every day on-line. When I click on News it takes me to a new page where it previews the big Las Vegas news story of the day and has one or two other line items for other news stories. Underneath it says, More Las Vegas News. I click on that thinking it will take me to more news stories about what is happening around Las Vegas.
Instead, it takes me to the weather articles. Rain in the forecast, not so much. In the winter, reports of a cooling or cold trend, in the summer, reports of the heat. I don’t really want to know the weather. I want to know the More Las Vegas News stories. Why doesn’t the Sun have a separate weather page? Or do they really think the weather in Las Vegas changes enough to warrant being the end page for More Las Vegas News?
6. Sheldon Adelson. He built a new casino in Bethlehem, PA on the grounds of the old US Steel plant. As part of the deal with the city, he also funded a museum detailing the history of Bethlehem and the importance of US Steel to the community.
Years before, Shel Adelson built a casino/hotel in Las Vegas called “The Venetian”. It was built on the site of the famed and beloved Sands Hotel. We didn’t get a museum detailing the history of Las Vegas or the importance of the Sands Hotel. The Sands was home to the Rat Pack. The Sands was one of the first hotels to break the color barrier. The Sands was the hotel we think of when we think of Classic Las Vegas. We got squat for all that history. Thanks, Shel.
7. Cell Phones. If you are shopping in Trader Joe’s, do you really need to be talking on your cell phone? Do you really think the rest of us care about your conversation, that we care about who is picking up the kids, what’s for dinner, what your plans of the evening are? News Flash! We don’t. Trader Joe’s are not large stores. If your call is that freakin’ important take it outside and let the rest of us shop in peace. Because you standing in the middle of the aisle talking away while you and your cart block the rest of us from shopping is only making us hate you more.
8. Trying to park your car while talking on your cell-phone? Please get off the phone! Now!
9. The El Cortez. With all the focus on rehabilitating Downtown, will someone, besides us, please acknowledge that the crew behind the El Cortez ROCKS! Jackie passed his legacy to a group that understands his legacy. Thank-You!!!!
10, Endangered Buildings. As the economy starts to rebound more and more buildings and homes will become endangered:
- Flora Dungan Humanities Building designed by Zick and Sharp. One of the last original campus buildings yet, UNLV higher ups want it gone.
- Valley High School- an impeding update will destroy much of the original Zick and Sharp original architecture.
- City Hall, another Zick and Sharp late mid-century modern architecture. Mayor Goodman wants a new City Hall closer to the Smith Center. If the that happens, the current building will be torn down to make room for a new casino/hotel.
- East Fremont Motel Auto Courts. One of the largest and last standing groups of motor auto courts still in existence. Not to mention the wonderful neon signage still standing. All are endangered.
- The Las Vegas High School Historical Neighborhood. Despite being on the Historical Registry of Historical Places, this neighborhood still does not have City Preservation Protection. Thus, many of the homes that date back to the 1920s-1930s are being torn down and in there place are rising McMansions. This is our best example of a Historic District and we are letting it go to waste.
LasVegasLynn
in Cultural Tourism, Current Day, Fremont Street, Historical, Las Vegas History, Las Vegas Neighborhoods, Las Vegas Strip, Memories, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Preservation Issues, Roadside Architecture, automobile
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Las Vegas Monorail files for Bankruptcy
And you're surprised? Without spurs to McCarran Airport and Downtown it still boggles the imagination how the builders thought this would be successful.
The Las Vegas Sun is reporting (scoping the on-line version of the R-J- Proving once again that a two newspaper city is better than one):
The Las Vegas Monorail has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sun columnist Jon Ralston is reporting this afternoon.
Board member Bruce Woodbury said in December the company hasn't raised enough money from fares to pay off the $650 million in construction and startup loans floated to build and start operating the system in July 2004.
The 3.9-mile system runs on an elevated track linking Strip casinos and the Las Vegas Convention Center east of the Strip.
Woodbury said in December that plans still call for building a $500 million extension to McCarran International Airport and other Strip resorts to boost revenues.
But he says that until the current debt is restructured, the system probably won't be able to attract financing.
The company reported carrying 6,005,024 passengers in 2009, with revenues of $26,974,513 for the year.
That is down from a peak passenger count of 7,917,613 in 2007, when the system had revenue of $30,252,305.
The monorail is the only privately owned public transportation system in the United States. The company was formed in 2000 and acquired the original one-mile monorail that connected MGM Grand and Bally’s. The new 3.9-mile route opened in 2004, connecting many properties on the east side of the Strip from Sahara Avenue to Tropicana Avenue.
