City Cast Las Vegas

The federal Equal Rights Amendment was a simple thing: An amendment to the Constitution to guarantee equal rights regardless of gender, for both men and women. But the bill languished in 1977 without enough state support... Until Nevada (yes, our very own Silver State) brought it back from the dead and ratified it in 2017 — thanks to NV, the federal ERA is back in play. And then, we took it one step further: A state-level ERA that’s even more expansive than the federal ERA is on the ballot as Question 1 this November.To help us parse out just why Question 1 is so confusing and what voters can expect if it passes, Dayvid sits down with Kate Kelly, an attorney and advocate for the ERA who’s currently campaigning for “Yes on 1” in Las Vegas right now. Kate answers all your ERA questions, like: Will the ERA be the end of girls’ sports? (No.) Will kids be able to buy beer?(Again, no.) And will the ERA protect abortion rights? (A resounding yes.)How are you planning to vote on Question 1? Or what questions do you have about it? Call or text us at 702-514-0719, or shoot us a note on Twitter @CityCastVegas.Don’t forget to sign up for our brilliant morning newsletter for even more news, events, and commentary at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter

Chris Giunchigliani, or Chris G. as she’s often known, is a familiar name to Nevadans — from teacher’s union president to Nevada Assemblywoman for 15 years, she then served as a Clark County Commissioner for 12 years. Today, Vogue sits down with Chris G. to look back at some of her pivotal career moves, from voting yes on voting machines and no on the Raiders’ Stadium. We ask how Nevada might be different if she’d won the 2018 gubernatorial primary against Steve Sisolak, and hear what she’s been up to in retirement (hint: she owns multiple chainsaws and her own cement mixer). And we look to the future, to what she hopes for Nevada in next month’s elections and beyond.Do you have thoughts or questions for Chris G.? Leave us a voicemail or give us a call at 702-514-0719. We’re also on Twitter! Follow us @CityCastVegas.For even more Vegas news and goings-on-about-town, make sure to sign up for our amazing morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

During his time in Nevada, journalist John M. Glionna has visited pretty much every city, town, township, hamlet, burg, village, and wide spot in the road in this state. In every spot he’s found a compelling story, a very human character — the last sheep farmer, an Indigenous artist, dozens more. He’s gathered the best of those tales in Outback Nevada: Real Stories from the Silver State. In today’s episode, Glionna regales Dayvid with outback anecdotes, and dishes on what the rurals really think of Las Vegas.You can catch John Glionna at the Las Vegas Book Festival this weekend on Oct. 22nd at 11 a.m. in Room 125.What’s on your rural Nevada travel itinerary? Let us know at 702-514-0719. We’re also on Twitter! Follow us @CityCastVegasWant more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

Yes, Las Vegas has rapidly become a sports town — but could we also become an eSports town, too? Ryan Smith and Lukas Eggen, co-hosts of the RJ’s eSports and gaming podcast LAN Parties, think so. Today, they sit down with Dayvid to talk about how this billion dollar global industry could take hold in our city, how betting and superstars might help, and what it takes to be a professional gamer (spoiler: it’s not just lounging in a comfy chair and eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos).Want more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! We’re also on Twitter! Follow us @CityCastVegas You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. 

Aaaand eyebrows UP! We’ve got some head-turning news for you in the roundup this week. Vogue, Dayvid and Sonja are talking about this week’s surprising endorsements… and lack thereof. The Clark County Education Assocation declined to endorse either gubernatorial candidate, while 14 members of Adam Laxalt’s family just endorsed his opponent, Catherine Cortez Masto… without mentioning poor Adam’s name once. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Joe Lombardo for governor, and Sonja’s got thoughts on why.Next, we get into the creation of a new evictions diversion court, and what that could do for renters… and where it still falls short. And, last but not least, we’re talking about the imminent arrival of the world’s first comprehensive punk rock museum, right here in Las Vegas! It’ll be a 12,000 square foot homage to the genre, located downtown, right next to Little Darlings. All in a week’s news in Las Vegas!Want more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!We’re also on Twitter! Follow us @CityCastVegas You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. 

It’s a big week for the Vegas cannabis industry. Cannabis consumption lounge applications open tomorrow after 5 years of back and forth in the state legislature. Forty-five dispensaries and 20 individuals will be granted licenses to open lounges in Las Vegas and Unincorporated Clark County. While no alcohol or gaming will be allowed, other business models like movie theaters, bakeries, and music venues are fair game. So, what will these heavily regulated and expensive cannabis consumption lounges look like? And more importantly… what will they smell like?Christopher LaPorte, founder of the cannabis hospitality management company RESET and future operator of THRIVE Dispensary’s lounge, sits down with host Dayvid Figler to discuss how we got here, the potential of this new industry, and what our city and its tourists have to look forward to.What would your dream cannabis lounge look like? Tell us your thoughts or concerns about cannabis lounges in a voicemail at 702-514-0719. You can also let us know on Twitter @CityCastVegas Want more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

Last week, the Clark County Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve Jim Rhodes’ housing project near Red Rock Canyon — predictably, Vegas Twitter exploded. Building near Red Rock just might be one of our city’s most contentious issues (just ask Rhodes, who’s been locked in a 20 year battle with the County to build here). But — deep breath, everyone — the approved project contains just 429 homes, a fraction of the originally proposed 5,000. And Rhodes still needs approval from the BLM to build a road out there.So today on City Cast Las Vegas, we’ve got the whole backstory on this housing development: we’re bringing you an interview we did with environment reporter Daniel Rothberg back in August. Daniel detailed the decades-long saga of the battle to build at Red Rock in an investigative piece for the Nevada Independent (it’s reeeally juicy, go read it now). We also get into roads — the ones you drive on, not the developer! — and why they’re trouble for wildlife.How do you feel about development at Red Rock? Leave us a voicemail at 702-514-0719 or find us on Twitter @CityCastVegas.For more Vegas news and goings-on-about-town, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

Look, we’ve got some great galleries and small art museums here in town — we’re not denying that. But when it comes to the massive, three-story, famous-permanent-collection kinda museums that other cities have… where’s ours?? Even Reno has one. We were actually supposed to get one, until the pandemic put a halt to it. In 2020, the Nevada Museum of Art, which runs programs throughout the Silver State, actually gave back $4 million of state funding that was earmarked for a Las Vegas branch.Today, Vogue talks with Carmen Beals, associate curator and outreach director with the Nevada Museum of Art, about why the project was put on hold, and if we might, juuuust might, get an art museum of our own someday.Where do you think we should put an art museum in Las Vegas? Leave us a voicemail at 702-514-0719, or hit us up on Twitter @CityCastVegasFor even more Vegas news, events and general shenanigans, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter

What. A week. Of news. Before we get into today’s topics, we wanted to acknowledge the violence that occurred on the Strip yesterday: Six people were injured and two died in a mass stabbing attack near Las Vegas Blvd. and Sands. It’s a lot to process and the story is still developing, so we’ll be coming back to it next week.In the meantime, we’re got plenty more news to discuss today. Vogue is joined by Dayvid and special guest Geoff Carter, Senior Editor at the Las Vegas Weekly, and they’re tackling:1. The latest news about the Rhodes development abutting Red Rock Canyon (and what some sources are getting wrong about it)2. Sad puppies at the Animal Foundation! Or at least, the ups and downs of a nonprofit that’s now facing a wave of seriously sick pups3. First Friday’s 20th birthday (as Vogue puts it, it’s not quite old enough to drink yet) — and Geoff’s fantastic retrospective in the Weekly about the evolution of First Friday, for better, worse, and somewhere in betweenWhat are your thoughts on the week’s news? Call or text us at 702-514-0719, or find us on Twitter @CityCastVegasWant more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!And a quick note: We're observing Indigenous Peoples' Day on Monday, so we'll be back in your feeds on Tuesday. Happy weekend, everyone!

As we’ve discussed on City Cast, homelessness in the Vegas Valley is an urgent issue that’s only getting worse. Our patchwork of municipalities—including the County and the City—have taken different approaches (and have sometimes publicly sparred about them). But City Councilman Brian Knudsen has quietly been laying the groundwork for longterm solutions through healthcare — some of which might not bear fruit for 30 years, he says.Today, Dayvid sits down with Brian to talk about a new pilot program that brings social workers along with Metro on crisis calls, how Medicaid funding could support mental health centers, and just why this problem is so intractable in Las Vegas.Do you have questions about homelessness in Las Vegas? Leave us a voicemail at 702-514-0719.You can also ask us on Twitter @CityCastVegasWant more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! Special thanks to Jason and Wes over at KUNR for their technical support for this episode.