Titus Now Leading Porter it District 3
A new poll conducted for state Senator Dina Titus shows the Democratic hopeful is now leading Jon Porter in their race for his seat in Congress. The poll shows Titus has 43-percent support among voters in Congressional District Three, versus 39-percent for the Republican incumbent. Ten-percent of the voters chose one of the third-party candidates, while seven percent are undecided. Last month, a Review-Journal poll showed Porter leading Titus by three percentage points. But the polls indicate a tight race in a district Democrats believe they can win this November. Democrats now outnumber Republicans in District Three, which covers the southeast valley. Porter is seeking a fourth term in Congress this year. Titus, who is Senate minority leader, lost her gubernatorial bid to Jim Gibbons in 2006. Gibbons is now suffering low approval ratings.
08/01Wedding Chapels Gear Up for Triple Eight Day
A big event is predicted for one week from today. August 8th, 2008 is expected to inspire a flood of couples that want to exchange vows on that propitious date. The number eight is considered lucky and a symbol of prosperity in Asian cultures. Next Friday also happens to be the opening day of the Beijing Olympics. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the Clark County Marriage License Bureau will be ready for a deluge of applications on that triple eight-day. This year, instead of having brides and grooms wait outside the license office in triple-digit heat, couples will get express passes, allowing them to return to the bureau and get their license later in the day, not unlike the Fast Pass express system at Disneyland. Vegas chapel owners are hoping to have their hands full with ceremony after ceremony on August 8th. A spokeswoman for Caesars Palace expects next Friday to be the biggest wedding day of the year, even surpassing Valentines Day.
08/01Disturbing Trend
A disturbing trend in family-related sex crimes in our valley that Metro Police is monitoring seems to be a relatively new development. According to detectives, a number of recent cases involved underage girls, some in their pre-teen years, willing to engage in sexual activities with much older men. Members of the Crimes Against Youth Department and Family Bureau will outline the crimes at a news conference this morning, and talk about penalties for those convicted of such behavior.
08/01Off-roading Restrictions
The Bureau of Land Management will limit off-roading and vehicle access because of environmental concerns. The BLM will limit the use of motorized vehicles to designated routes on more than 550-thousand acres around Clark County. The agency says a mere ten-percent of the 906 miles of identified routes in the area will be closed to motor vehicles. The BLM says because of the rapid growth in Nevada, increased off-road driving is taking a toll on endangered plant and animal species and damaging prehistoric resource sites in the Las Vegas Valley.
08/01Political Contributions
Nevada Senator John Ensign (R-NV) says he will not give away cash gifts he received from indicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. A spokesman for Ensign says he considers the 28 thousand dollars in political contributions already spent, because it was received for past elections. According to the Review-Journal, the latest contribution came in 2005. At that time Ensign received ten thousand dollars from Stevens and his Northern Lights Political Action Committee. Presidential candidate John McCain and some other Republican lawmakers who received money from Stevens have donated those contributions to charity. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, is accused of failing to disclose more than 250-thousand dollars in gifts from an oil service company.
The lawyer for Sen. Stevens requested a quick trial so his name can be cleared before his re-election run in November.
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