Say what you will about our fair city, there’s never a shortage of things to do. For example, the Culinary Union Local 226 is going to hold a celebration at 6 p.m. Friday at the Culinary Training Academy (710 W. Lake Mead Blvd., in North Las Vegas) commemorating the successful six-year strike against the Frontier hotel-casino.
For newcomers, the length of the strike is hard to fathom: It started Sept. 21, 1991 and didn’t end until Jan. 31, 1998. And every day, strikers were on the picket line, warning tourists that the Frontier at the time was not a very labor-friendly place. Ultimately, the hotel was sold, and its new owners made peace with the union.
Hey, aren’t there some downtown casinos that still haven’t signed a Culinary contract this time around? You don’t suppose this celebration — coincidentally timed for the 16th anniversary of the date the strike began though it may be — could be a way for the Culinary to send a message, do you? Something along the lines of "we’re here for the long haul, bitches, so you’d better sign on the dotted line!" Or something along those lines.
Nah. It’s probably just a party to remember the good old days.
» If the labor scene isn’t your thing, how about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich? He’s going to be speaking next week to the annual gathering of the conservative think tank, the Nevada Policy Research Institute. The institute is celebrating its 16th year with a dinner at the Venetian hotel-casino Sept. 25.
Hey, do you think he’ll announce he’s getting into the race for president at the dinner? He’s hinted that if the other candidates don’t meet his expectations, he’ll jump in himself. Somebody should really show up and ask him about it.
By the way, the little tab that comes up when you click on the link above says "Celebration of Freedom" in our browser. And given that Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson is an "honoree" at the dinner, and given that Adelson has said some very nice things about the Chinese, who most definitely don’t celebrate freedom … well, we just thought that was a little ironic.
So the group Judicial Watch is suing the Bureau of Land Management, seeking letters or other documents from U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and others regarding lawyer/lobbyist Harvey Whittemore’s Coyote Springs project.
The group’s complaint says that the BLM hasn’t provided "contacts or communications" from Reid, U.S. Sen. John Ensign and then-U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons sought under the Freedom of Information Act.
Somehow, Judicial Watch must have gotten the impression that Reid and his fellows in Congress used their special powers to help Whittemore build Coyote Springs, which is a huge community in the middle of freaking nowhere. (Consider it "leapfrog development" if the frog in question was bionic and had super powers as the result of being exposed to radiation.)
How could they have gotten that idea? Oh, probably from the Los Angeles Times, which reported in 2006 that Reid helped Whittemore pave the way for his project, thanks to an "especially close" relationship. The story also detailed Ensign’s role in helping Whittemore on the project.
Then again, maybe Judicial Watch just read the Review-Journal, in which Reid literally described the cooperation between lawmakers, environmental groups and government as "a lovefest" in a July 2006 story.
Naturally, Judicial Watch wants to know precisely what was said to whom, by whom, when and what impact it might have had on the government’s role in the "lovefest." And now that they mention it, we’re kind of curious about that ourselves.
Reid could, of course, release all letters, report all contacts and make staffers available for interviews as to what they did with respect to Coyote Springs. After all, if nothing untoward happened, what’s the harm?
But we’re guessing Reid’s going to fight this one. His spokesman, Jon Summers, called the lawsuit "a politically motivated move by a right wing group attempting to get headlines using Sen. Reid." Well, if that’s the goal, mission accomplished! But we’re thinking Judicial Watch is after something a little more than a headline.
Besides, who cares if it is politically motivated or if Judicial Watch is a right-wing group? (Lawyers from Judicial Watch did sue Vice President Dick Cheney over records from his secret energy task force, a lawsuit that was unsuccessful when the U.S. Supreme Court unconscionably sided with Cheney.)
But politicians and spinmeisters often complain about the motives of their attackers, when what’s really at issue is underlying conduct. And even a person’s most dedicated enemy can find a legitimate scandal, no? In fact, it’s usually the enemies who are the only ones who care enough to look.
Too bad for Reid that courts don’t care about motive; instead, they apply the law. And based on our knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act, we think Judicial Watch is going to get the documents they’re after.
All the more reason for Reid, Ensign and Gibbons to release what they have now. Let’s have a look at just how much love they put into the fest.
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