Dave Courvoisier

Thursday, April 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Quick and Dirty: A notebook of news and politics

Your tax dollars at work

The tax debate rages on in Carson City, with three major plans now on the table. Gov. Kenny Guinn's $1 billion proposal, which includes a business tax, is still in the lead, largely because he's the governor and his budget is based on it. It's also the top contender because the casino industry supports it. However, a key piece of Guinn's plan, the so-called amusement tax, seems doomed.

A bipartisan plan introduced by Sens. Terry Care and Mark Amodei, which does not include a business tax, seems to be stalled, in part because the two sponsors aren't exactly major players in the Legislature. The newest proposal, brought forth by Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, is a joke, in that it would gut education, welfare and other services (including funds for the legal fight against Yucca Mountain) while imposing a regressive tax scheme that does not include a business tax. The two redeeming pieces of Hettrick's plan are that it would tax casinos a little more heavily than the others and it would eliminate Nevada State College. But, frankly, that's just another reason it's DOA.

The prospects for the latter two proposals are particularly dim because Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins has proclaimed that no tax bill will pass the lower chamber without a broad-based business tax.

All in all, we have the makings of a fiasco, which is fairly predictable when the Nevada Legislature meets. Despite the best efforts of Guinn, who normally gets little respect in these pages, the Legislature likely will be making tax sausage in the final days of its 2003 session.--GS

Swing and a miss

Las Vegas attorney Glen Lerner, a.k.a. "the Heavy Hitter," is facing some serious heat from a fellow barrister, and the thermostat is about to be cranked up. Lerner is being sued for malpractice by legal eagle Gary Logan, who has a well-earned reputation as a relentless litigator with a taste for the jugular.

Logan is suing on behalf of a former client of Lerner's. The suit alleges that Lerner grossly overbilled the client, taking $400,000 for settling a personal injury case, which amounted to about 57 percent of the total settlement, $120,000 more than the lawyer had coming.

Lerner says the case in question involves a possible billing mistake that occurred more than two years ago. "But the client never called my office," he says. "Instead of coming to my office to resolve the issue of this possible mistake, he goes to Gary Logan. Logan just wants his name in lights. Glen Lerner is a star, and Logan just wants to ride his coattails."

Since news of the lawsuit surfaced a few weeks ago, Logan says he's been inundated with calls from other Lerner clients who tell similar stories. One Las Vegas woman says Lerner talked her into accepting a sizeable loan from one of his business associates, money the woman needed to pay her medical bills while she awaited her settlement. The loan was made at a blood-curdling interest rate, and the woman says that by the time she received her big settlement, she ended up owing money. She is now telling her tale of woe to Logan, who says Lerner's actions are a prime example of why people hate lawyers.

It isn't often that Las Vegas lawyers sue other lawyers for malpractice, but Logan isn't shy about it at all. Last year, he filed a malpractice suit against one of the biggest law firms in town and won a judgment of $3.3 million. He says he is getting a lot of information about Lerner and he intends to stick with the case until he "finds out everything." But in the end, perhaps it's the clients who'll be taking the heaviest hits.

"I feel sorry for the client," Lerner says. "Logan's taking even more money from this guy and acting like some kind of shining knight."--STAFF

Walking the talk at Red Rock

Saturday morning's rally at Red Rock Canyon was definitely spirited. Salt-of-the-earth types, some even on horseback, gathered at the scenic overlook to drum up support for state Sen. Dina Titus' Senate Bill 358, which would save Blue Diamond Hill from development by Jim Rhodes. Speakers took turns at the mic, including Calvin Meyers of the Moapa Paiute Tribe and Titus herself, who led the crowd through a chant of "Red Rock yes, Rhodes Ranch no!" She hopes to see her bill pass in June.

It'll be a pitched battle in the Legislature. Another front is the battle of public opinion. Ed Rothfuss, a Sierra Club volunteer, put his finger on it: "Today we're preaching to the choir," he said. "We need to talk to our neighbors, friends and county supervisors and get them on the bandwagon." Instigating a wave of public opinion against a possible Rhodes development could be as simple as, well, a walk out in Red Rock. "I know people who discover Red Rock on their last day here, and for their next vacation, plan an extra day just to visit it," Rothfuss said. "We need to stress the economic value of this place."--AK

Watch out

The signs are encouraging that Blue Diamond Hill, within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, will be saved from suburban sprawl. But advocates for protecting the hill must remain watchful for secret deals and 11th-hour tactics. State Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, says she believes she has the votes for her bill to freeze zoning on Blue Diamond Hill, a move that would prevent massive subdivisions and the accompanying traffic, pollution and visual blight. Meantime, Clark County Commissioner Mark James has decided, one presumes after much handwringing, that he favors Titus' bill as well as county-level protections for the hill.

So, everyone's happy. But don't forget that developer Jim Rhodes has purchased the mine atop the hill for $50 million, and he intends to recoup his investment and then some. He has big-name lobbyists working hard to make sure he hasn't thrown away his money.

It's not over till it's over, in other words. Advocates better keep their eyes peeled for mischief in Carson City and at the Clark County Government Center.--GS

Thomas & Mack, meet the Orleans Arena

The Orleans Arena, the hotel-casino's entry into the big-event biz, is slated to open next month with a fat roster, including its May 25 grand opening night with country act Brooks & Dunn. Consider it the 7,200-seat venue's shot across the bow at the Thomas & Mack Center, its closest competitor. It's not the first volley. The new venue, which boasts granite floors, free parking and, says the press release, an "overabundance of restrooms," has already snagged two major events that have historically taken place at UNLV's Thomas & Mack: the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice. How'd that happen? Publicist Windy Lawson was mum on the matter, but it might have something to do with the fact that much of the Orleans Arena staff came from the Thomas & Mack (including Lawson).--AK

Courvoisier returns

A face familiar to anyone who's been in Las Vegas for at least five years will return to local television this summer. KLAS Channel 8 has hired Dave Courvoisier to co-anchor its 5 and 11 o'clock newscasts.

Courvoisier was the lead anchor at KVBC Channel 3 for 13 years before leaving Las Vegas in 1998 to be closer to his parents in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He will return to the Las Vegas airwaves June 30.

Fitting Courvoisier into the Channel 8 mix will mean an adjustment for longtime anchor Gary Waddell, who will now host the noon, 4 and 6 p.m. newscasts. Waddell will share the noon and 4 o'clock duties with Polly Gonzalez and the 6 p.m. show with Paula Francis. Courvoisier will work with Francis at 5 and 11.--GS

Gov't

Contractors' Board office

victimized by defects

The state Contractors' Board has a responsibility to hold contractors liable for construction-related violations of state law, including construction defects. So, last week at its offices at the Green Valley Corporate Center in Henderson, it was amusing (and potentially embarrassing) to discover a number of "defects" in, of all places, the men's restroom--less than 30 feet from where the board was meeting. For starters, the door would not close, latch and lock properly, leaving occupants fully exposed to passersby should someone merely push on the door. And then there was no toilet paper roller and no paper towel holder--minor, perhaps even trivial, shortcomings.

The saying goes, "Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees." The new saying--at least at the Contractor's Board--goes, "Sometimes you can't see the problem unless you've got a weak bladder."--FC

Hard times at

health district

There was a time, not too long ago, when the Clark County Health District board met at 8 a.m. and the district's cafeteria staff would set up a Continental-style breakfast smorgasbord before the meeting got under way.

There may not have been any Egg McMuffins, but there were plenty of melon slices, grapes, pastries, muffins, bagels and cream cheese and even hard-boiled egg halves neatly arranged alongside the more traditional coffee, tea and juice on two eight-foot tables spiffily draped with snow-white tablecloths.

Now, because of "the worst budget conditions in decades," the fare has been trimmed way back to a more austere offering of coffee, juice and cookies that can fit on a wobbly paper towel-covered TV tray.--FC