Archive for the 'traffic' Category

It’s all about revenue…or is it?

Van November 18th, 2010

So the economy in Vegas, and throughout the country has tanked.  It’s certainly hitting our part of the world as hard, and evidence suggests actually harder than the rest of the country.  Our governments, i.e. Nevada and its municipalities derive a large portion of their revenues from gaming and lodging, and the state, so far thankfully, has not imposed a state income tax.  So what happens to governments when the revenue stream is hit as hard as it has been in the last two years, to make up the shortfall and continue to provide government services? 

 In the case of municipalities, a portion of their revenue stream comes from traffic enforcement, and it’s not a small amount.  Several million dollars per year are collected by municipalities in Clark County alone.  So it seems reasonable to assume that the municipalities would step up traffic enforcement in order to generate additional revenue to cover the shortfalls in the main revenue stream, i.e. gaming/hospitality taxes.  The problem with that concept, is that the Las Vegas economy is derived from entertaining people and attracting tourists, and stepping up enforcement risks putting a damper on the already weakened economy by running off the golden goose: the tourist trade. 

 So what do we make of reports that one court in Clark County had nearly 30,000 fewer traffic cases this year over last?  Should we assume that traffic enforcement has not been stepped up, or that the legendary “quotas” that we all suspect exist, have been lowered?  I wouldn’t make that assumption. 

 The first issue is, that there are fewer cars on the road in Clark County.  With the downturn in the tourist trade, fewer people are coming to Vegas, especially the California trade which largely made their way here in cars via I-15.  Remember the days when you didn’t want to be coming to Vegas from CA on a Friday afternoon, and you didn’t want to be on I-15 heading to CA on a Sunday afternoon?  It was near bumper to bumper for the entire 250 or so miles with occasional jam ups along the way.  Well, it still happens, but very very occasionally anymore. 

 Next, the population of Clark County is actually decreasing.  This is a little secret that doesn’t get much attention.  Gone are the days when people were moving to Vegas at the level of thousands a month.  In fact, some estimate that Clark County has lost as much as 50,000 in population in the last year.  Of course, with those 50,000 people go an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles.  So between the decline in the tourist trade and the reduction in population, there are fewer tickets being written for fewer vehicles on the road.

 All of these facts certainly didn’t stop the cop who gave me a ticket for allegedly failing to stop at a deserted residential stop sign at about 8:30 PM when I was the only vehicle at the intersection.  This was a particularly petty traffic stop, which was part of a trap, as there was a second cop-car at this scene, also with another driver pulled over being likewise victimized.  And I suppose that the world is a safer place because of it.  Luckily, my ticket is being handled by Ticket Busters, and my ticket will be negotiated to a parking violation, and handled without my need to stand in line at the courthouse or miss work to go to court.  Call us at 666-6666.

It’s A Plain Shame…

Van October 25th, 2010

This week one of the most important men in Las Vegas, was brutally and senselessly killed.  No, our good friend Mayor Goodman is OK, and the city council and the county commission were spared.  This man, is one whose name probably won’t be remembered past a week or two from now by the world at large, and he didn’t live in a mansion, he lived in an apartment in one of the less desirable parts of town.  We proudly display his name here, and realize that this world is a lot worse off, because Timothy VanDerbosch, is no longer among us.

Who, you ask was Timothy VanDerbosch?  Oh, he was a seemingly humble and unassuming man who walked to work early almost every day by 6 AM to get a head start on his work for the day.  He was walking to work the day of his death at 5:30 AM, when four punks stopped their car and accosted him, and beat him, leaving him for dead.  He wasn’t dead, but a passing motorist who didn’t see him laying in the road accidentally hit him and finished the job that the cowardly punks, who left him in harm’s way, left incomplete.  I wonder, you miserable punks, have you ever done anything in your detestable lives that can compare to what your victim has done, or would have done in his, had you not crossed paths?

You see, Timothy VanDerbosch was someone that we don’t have enough of anymore.  He was a Midwestern transplant to Las Vegas from Indiana, who grew up dreaming of doing something with his life and did it.  This man lived on a salary, rented an apartment, and did what he loved…he taught kids.  This man was a teacher.  He taught high school physics and chemistry; not in Summerlin or some swanky private school…he devoted his life to teaching in an area where most people wonder if it’s even possible to teach anymore.  He proudly walked from his home to Eldorado High School every day to work on his lesson plans to teach students in a less than upscale neighborhood; well let’s be completely honest about this, this is a high crime neighborhood, a dangerous place to be.  And yet, in spite of discussions with his sister that he change schools and teach in a “better” part of town, he seemed content to stay where he was. 

Perhaps he would have, or maybe he did, teach some young person the basic chemical science that might yield advances in medicine to extend life, or solve the puzzle that has baffled physicists for generations, and formulate a “theory of everything” to finish what eluded Einstein during his life.  According to his students, he was strict in his classroom, but he was respected, and they listened to him.  He “expected a lot” from his students and was a committed teacher in less than favorable circumstances.  This is what we don’t have enough of anymore.  And while the world at large won’t remember his name, I’m sure that the students, whose lives he touched will never forget it.  For further evidence of this click here and here.

So back to our perps, who are still at large, I ask again, what have you done in your pitiful lives, and what will you ever do, that compares to the nobility and commitment of this good man?  These four thugs, three 20-something men and a woman, are suspected of a crime spree that lasted all night, with three violent robberies, including a stabbing, in the same general area previous to their encounter with our school teacher.  You don’t deserve to breathe the same air that Mr. VanDerbosch breathed.  He had more importance in his little finger than you’ll ever achieve in your detestable lives.  How dare you, you vicious thugs.  Shame will be all you’ll ever have.  What a plain shame!

Life In The “Which” Lane?

Van October 4th, 2010

As you get older, everything changes. You’ve heard, 60 is the new 40? Anyone really believe that? As one who is closer to 60 than 40, I don’t believe it.

When I was a young pup, I watched Disneyland on Sunday nights, and I recall one such show that was entitled “SUPERHIGHWAY USA”. In this show, Walt Disney himself, and his henchmen, layed out what was to become our nationwide Interstate highway system. This was, of course, before Cloverleaf Industries could act on their nefarious plan to close down the Red Line and replace it with highways. (oops sorry, getting Disney mixed up with Roger Rabbitt, please disregard from “Cloverleaf Industries” on.) Anyway, back to SuperHighway USA; everything was laid out there: the banked and crowned roadbeds, the acceleration lane and freeway approaches and exits, the gentle curves. Traffic always moved quickly as we watched the model cars moving on and off the demonstration model that was used to instruct us in this new driving method. This was, of course, before freeways turned into parking lots, and commutes turned into multi-hour outings. They didn’t tell us about that in SuperHighway USA. It wasn’t supposed to be like that! Did Walt Disney lie to me? And he was such a nice man…he and that little rodent.

One of the things that was talked about in Super Highway USA, is how all highways of the future, would have multiple lanes and how the right lane was for regular traffic, and the left lane, was for people who were passing or were otherwise moving faster than people in the right lane(s). This became ingrained in my brain through Super Highway USA, through driver’s education and training, and through music. The Eagles even wrote a song called “Life In The Fast Lane.” Were they singing about the lane that has the exit lanes coming off of it, and the approaches emptying into it? No, they were singing about that lane that is farthest away from safety, closest to the approach of opposing traffic at break neck speed, far away from the entries and exits, the dangerous fast lane. So my question is: what happened to the fast lane?

Interestingly, it appears that the fast lane of today, is more often than not, something other than the left lane. Have you noticed this? I guess everyone thinks that the left lane is theirs and that when they are there, that they can go whatever speed they want, even if it’s below the speed limit. WRONG! The left lane is for those of us who can survive out there with the other fast drivers. It is not for the faint of heart. It is certainly no place to be if you’re talking on your cell phone. For more on my cell phone rant, click HERE. The left lane is the place where the law of the jungle prevails, and the law of the Highway Patrol. But today, it is no longer the fast lane. In fact, in my driving, it seems as though the lane that is open most often, where you can pick up some speed and not have many drivers to contend with is now…the right lane. What happened?

So for the foreseeable future, I’m going to be traveling and passing all of you, in the right lane. Perhaps at some future time, the fad will die and it will be cool to be in the right lane again, in which case, I’ll be back where I’m supposed to be, the place Walt Disney told me about, and the Eagles sang to me about, the place of legend and intrigue, the famed real fast lane, the left lane.

O Paris…

Van September 2nd, 2010

My perusal of the RJ this past Sunday yielded many interesting factoids.  Many of the articles told the story of gloom and doom for Las Vegas.  For more on this click here.  For this entry I want to focus on our darling Paris Hilton who was a recent visitor to our fair city, and had an opportunity to tour one of our detention facilities over the weekend.

So, allegedly, Paris Hilton comes to Vegas to visit with one of her studs…Cy Waits. This young man happened to be one of Steve Wynn’s favorite club operators and had just been hired to run Wynn’s nightclub operations at Wynn LV and Encore. I use past tense purposely here, because of Mr. Wynn’s zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs and arrests. As of today, Mr. Waits is no longer employed by Mr. Wynn. (applause for Steve Wynn inserted here.)

Anyway, allegedly, cops stopped the black SUV that Paris and Cy were tooling around town in, at about 11:30 Friday night, allegedly due to the smell of marijuana. Can you imagine such a thing from these crazy kids? Paris says she needs to use the bathroom so allegedly is escorted from the alleged Escalade into the Wynn hotel with a police escort, and as Paris pulls lip gloss from her purse (well you have to look good for a drug bust) what should fall out of said purse, but a baggie of cocaine…we’re told was allegedly 0.8 grams of the stuff.

But it gets better, allegedly she tells cops the purse isn’t really her’s…she’s borrowing it from a friend. Hmmm. Anyway, the two (Cy and Paris) are taken to jail and after about 3 hours, Paris is released. We are then told that there was no special treatment of Ms. Hilton, but that the jail was overcrowded, and she has no violent record, and yet later in the article, it is revealed that she was kept in an isolated, er uh, private cell during her short visit. Now, is there anyone reading this, that believes that if you were arrested due to 0.8 grams of coke in your purse, car, house, or neighborhood, that you would get a private cell and be released after 3 hours? But I digress.

What’s the matter with kids today? Well dear Paris, you are being charged, I understand with felony possession, and so I’m guessing you’ll have more opportunities to visit Vegas. Unfortunately what happened in Vegas in this case, did not just stay here…it’s all over the net, and maybe that’s OK…perhaps any publicity is better than no publicity in your case.

So bottom line is this…we aren’t all Paris Hilton’s, thankfully, but when we get in a bind; maybe it’s not cocaine, maybe it’s an unpaid warrant, or a traffic ticket that we just don’t have the time to deal with, there is a service, call it a “concierge” service that will handle your tickets and warrants and even defend you in case of a drug charge, or other criminal mischief. Call us at Ticket Busters 666-6666 or The Defenders 333-3333. We will be there to assist you.

Court Jargon Simplified

admin March 1st, 2010

After reading an article about a murder case that was taken from the Florida court to the Florida Supreme Court, and then back to the Florida Court, I thought about how confusing the article must be for a person who lacks a basic legal background.

 Footnotes or cliff notes would really come in handy for those who do not work in the legal field. Nowadays, Wikipedia is just a Google click away, but who has time for such rhetoric. Nevertheless, there are those who read our blogs..I will make this short and sweet.   

 We have a three-tiered Court System:

 District Court or Trial Court- a Judgment is reached. If you find error in the judgment reached in district or trial court, you can appeal to the Appellate Court.

 Appellate Court or Court of Appeals:  Is made up of a panel of three judges who hear arguments on both sides.

 The Appellate Court has three options: 

  • Change the judgment
  • Remand send the case back to the lower court to change the judgment
  • Send the case back to the lower court to keep the same judgment

 Supreme Court- All 50 states have their version of the Appeal to the Supreme Court.

 The Nevada Supreme Court is comprised of seven justices. There is no court higher than the Supreme Court- their decision is final.

Nevada DMV, Friend or Foe?

admin February 3rd, 2010

Apparently 15 percent of Nevada Drivers are uninsured according to KTVN Channel 2 news, which has caused our DMV to become babysitters or debt collectors.

 In the past the DMV took a drivers word when it came to proof of insurance, but since we can’t play well with others, we must abide by the new rule and pay.

 Before registering a car with the DMV, you must provide proof of insurance on the vehicle, if you cannot prove you have coverage or your insurance lapses drivers will be fined $250. Nevada Drivers will not have a seven-day grace period anymore.

 The DMV keeps track of lapses in insurance electronically and when lapses occur, it will prompt an automatic bill in the mail.

 So, it sounds like big brother is really looking out for us, or could it be a simple way to generate some state income?

 Either way, I guess it won’t hurt for Nevada drivers to grow up and become responsible adults.

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

admin February 2nd, 2010

Yesterday a man riding a motorcycle died after crashing into the back of a car.

The rider and another person on a motorcycle were speeding northbound on Lorenzi Street near Alta Drive. The car was also going northbound on Lorenzi when the rider hit the car’s back bumper.

According to police, the motorcycle was going so fast, it skidded more than 150 feet before stopping.  

Before riding on the back of a motorcycle with anybody I always ask if they’ve ever been in a motorcycle accident, if their reply is “no,” I don’t ride.

People who have been in motorcycle accidents and survive are most likely to use due care and don’t speed because they have experienced the ramifications.

These accident survivors have encountered one of the most horrific near death experiences- there are no fender benders in an accident involving a motorcycle- because the rider is always the most vulnerable.

Unfortunately, when you are dead there is no time to learn your lesson. Moral of the story- learn from others mistakes.

 

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