‘None of These Candidates’ line on Las Vegas ballot could affect national outcome

Posted on by October 4, 2020
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None of These Candidates

Ballot in a Las Vegas precinct

John Bolton is the mustached conservative stalwart who served as President Donald J. Trump’s national security advisor for 17 tumultuous months and then wrote a best-selling book attacking his boss, The Room Where It Happened. In a recent interview, Bolton says he won’t vote for Trump, and of course not for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Instead, he declared he would write in the name of a “Republican conservative yet to be determined.”

It’s a good thing for Bolton he lives in Maryland and not here in Nevada. That’s because the Silver State, alone among the 50, prohibits write-in votes. Instead, for statewide races voters are given the option of choosing “None of These Candidates.”

In the past the NOTC option has influenced the outcome of races in Nevada. This year it could even do so nationally in the presidential contest. Continue reading →

In Las Vegas suburb, Home Depot stops blaming governor for masks

Posted on by September 9, 2020
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Home DepotMaybe Home Depot is showing a little sense.

Two weeks ago in this space, I showed a photo of a big, crudely hand-lettered sign outside the Home Depot store on Marks St. in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson. Mask-wearing in the store is “mandated by the governor,” it declared.

I opined that blaming Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, seemed to me more a way to stir up even more mask-wearing opposition following the unfortunate lead of Republican President Donald J. Trump. And also a reason why the coronavirus pandemic might last awhile. In addition, the language of the sign struck me as consistent with the pro-Trump sympathies of Bernard Marcus, a Home Depot co-founder and one of Trump’s biggest contributors in 2016.

Accordingly, I declared a personal boycott of Home Depot.

Now, I’m still New To Seattle. But this blog does get read and sometimes shared. And whadayaknow! Today, I passed by the Home Depot store as I headed to the Costco across the street. The offending (to me, anyway) sign was gone and replaced by the one shown nearby.

“All customers must wear facial coverings while shopping in our stores,” it says. No blame. No finger-pointing. A simple matter-of-fact statement.

So my Home Depot boycott is now over. Time for new light bulbs.

Follow William P. Barrett’s work on Twitter by clicking here.

In Las Vegas, Forbes 400 roster continues to thin

Posted on by April 17, 2021
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This morning, Forbes Magazine published its 39th edition of the Forbes 400, the heaviest hitters (by net worth) in the country. The rich have never been so rich, with a collective net worth valued in late July of $3.2 trillion, up $240 billion in a year.

But the Las Vegas contingent isn’t doing so well. Once numbering as high as nine entries, the Las Vegas roster is down to four. One fell off this year, while most of the others saw their fortunes decline.

The latest to drop: Elaine Wynn, 78. Last year, she was ranked tied for No. 388 with a net worth of $2.1 billion. Then came coronavirus, which knocked 68% off the value of shares of Wynn Resorts, which she co-founded with (twice) ex-husband Steve Wynn and remains the largest shareholder of. Forbes values her down $400 million at $1.7 billion. That’s not chump change, but it’s $400 million below the $2.1 billion cutoff for this year’s list. Continue reading →

In Las Vegas it’s Jason–or Greg–on the line from Energy Advocates

Posted on by December 16, 2020
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Energy AdvocatesSee update at end of story

At the New To Las Vegas world headquarters I’m getting as many as 10 telephone calls a week from someone who says he’s with Energy Advocates, marketing home solar energy systems. Most of the time he says his name is “Jason;” occasionally, it’s “Greg.” But it’s the same voice every time, which may not be surprising because the voice is generated by a computer using technology and probably a real person to monitor how I respond.

Now, I would tell you that any outfit using a computer to call me 10 times a week is not on the up and up. Another reason for my thinking this: The local telephone number that shows on the caller ID generally is nonexistent, as I find when I call that number after the call to me is over. Judging from complaint postings on the Internet, Energy Advocates is plying its scheme nationally. Continue reading →

Far from Las Vegas, fitting venues for GOP speeches

Posted on by August 28, 2020
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Francis Scott Key

fitting venue for GOP speeches

Andrew W. Mellon

For me, still New to Las Vegas, part of the fun watching the convention-less Republican National Convention that wrapped up last night was not only the speakers, but where they spoke.

I am referring in particular to two of the venues, the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., and Fort McHenry in Baltimore. In this time of economic distress and racial strife, they both have compelling back stories that are especially fitting—although perhaps not in ways calculated to win over uncommitted voters that Donald Trump needs to overcome his current deficit in the polls. Continue reading →

In a Las Vegas suburb, store blames government for the masks

Posted on by August 26, 2020
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blame for the masksThis sign–outside a Home Depot store today on Marks St. in the upscale Las Vegas suburb of Henderson–helps to show why the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. is going to last for awhile.

Rather than simply stating masks are required for entry, this Home Depot management decided to blame it all on government. “Mandated by the Governor,” the crudely hand-lettered sign says in a way calculated to stir up even more mask opposition.There already is an anti-mask group in Las Vegas.

It’s worth noting that Home Depot’s lead founder, Bernard Marcus, is a prominent Republican who was one of anti-mask Donald Trump’s biggest financial supporters in 2016, while Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak is a Democrat.

I’ll leave it to others to explain how the age-old and proven technique of wearing a mask in a pandemic has become a political issue. Meanwhile, my home improvement patronage will go elsewhere.

Follow William P. Barrett’s work on Twitter by clicking here.