City Cast Las Vegas

When Kim Foster started the cookbook club Please Send Noodles (a cheeky play on “please send nudes”), it was a gathering of local home cooks who discussed a new cookbook and met for a potluck every month. Then, the pandemic shut down Las Vegas — and the cookbook club. Our hospitality-centric city was devastated… and hungry. The Please Send Noodles crew swung into action, pivoting from potlucks to pantry, cooking hundreds of meals each month for struggling Las Vegans.Next week, Please Send Noodles will hold its first in-person gathering since the pandemic started. Kim joins host Dayvid Figler to talk about how the cookbook club met the challenges of the moment, why restaurant-centric Las Vegas needs a cookbook club, and how both trauma and resilience can show up when the table is set.For more information about Monday’s cookbook club event, visit The Writer’s Block website.Kim Foster is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and essayist. Her book, The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in an American City, will be released from St. Martin’s Press in Fall 2023.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 @CityCastVegasDo you have an interesting club or organization that Vegas needs to know more about? Tell us about it by calling or texting 702-514-0719.

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto made headlines when she publicly criticized President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, breaking rank with Democrats. So is this a play for Republican votes during a tough battle for reelection? Or is she actually swinging left of the Dems on this issue — especially given the fact that she’d already proposed a college affordability and loan forgiveness bill? Today, Dayvid talks with Nevada Independent reporter Tabitha Mueller, who recently wrote about Cortez Masto’s stance on the Biden plan, and how it all might play out in her reelection campaign.What do you think about Biden’s loan forgiveness plan? How are student loans affecting you? Leave us a voicemail or a send us a text at 702-514-0719. We’re all ears on Twitter, too: @CityCastVegasWant more Vegas news, observations, and goings-on about town? You’ll want to sign up for our brilliant morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

A few weeks ago, our team talked about the movers and shakers from Las Vegas history who would be on our(hypothetical) Mt. Rushmore. The problem? We had no women on our list! Here to help us fix that glaring omission is Dr. Su Kim Chung, Head of Public Services in Special Collections and Archives at UNLV Libraries. She and host Vogue Robinson talk about four iconic women in Vegas history that we should all know (plus one bonus pick!), and how they made our city what it is today.For more information about the women on Su Kim’s list, click on the links below: Helen Stewart Lubertha Johnson Claudine Williams Carol Harter Margaret Kelly (Miss Bluebell) Did you know about all of these Las Vegas women? Who would you add? Leave us a voicemail at 702-514-0719, or hit us up on Twitter @CityCastVegas.For even more Vegas insider history, news, events, and more — you’re gonna want to sign up for our brilliant morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!Note: In the introduction to this episode, we incorrectly called Su Kim Chung the Head of Special Collections. Her correct job title is Head of Public Services in Special Collections and Archives at UNLV Libraries. Apologies for the error!

Sonja and Dayvid are joined today by a very special guest: Joey Lovato, host of the Nevada Independent’s podcast IndyMatters. (Psst, it’s his birthday today, y’all!) Joey catches us up on the cannabis news — namely, that the ACLU has won its lawsuit against the State Board of Pharmacy, who will now be required to de-classify cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug. So what does that mean for Las Vegans?We also talk about the endorsement that six local chambers of commerce recently gave to a ballot initiative that proposes to split up Clark County School District into smaller school districts. CCSD is the fifth-largest school district in the country — but splitting it up comes with some pros and cons. We round out the roundup with a remembrance of Blair Dewane, a beloved local indie musician who passed this week at too young of an age.Last but most certainly not least, we learn that Dayvid is in a polka punk band called Tippy Elvis, and that Joey was in a Justin Bieber-meets-Alvin the Chipmunks band called Full Silver… in the 5th grade. We’re currently looking for the Full Silver deep cut album, so let us know if you find footage anywhere!How do YOU feel about the CCSD ballot initiative? Are you in a local indie band that you want to shout out? Leave us a voicemail at 702-514-0719 or hit us up on Twitter @CityCastVegas.Want more Vegas news and events? Reward yourself every morning with our 6 a.m. newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

Vegas is buzzing as the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces make their way to Connecticut tonight with a 2-0 lead over the Sun in the WNBA Finals. They are one game away from bringing home our city’s first major league sports championship — it could happen tonight! News 3 sports anchor Bryan Salmond tells host Dayvid Figler how the team got there with a rookie coach and all-star roster. Also, what its win could mean for Las Vegas and a hint as to how they might celebrate a W.GO ACES!How do you hope to celebrate Vegas’s first major league sports championship? Share your excitement with us at 702-514-0719. We’re also on Twitter! Follow us @CityCastVegas Stay up to date on all the Vegas happenings by signing up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! 

The music, food, and art festival Life is Beautiful starts Friday — you may have already noticed street closures downtown as it sets up. Since 2013, Life is Beautiful has taken over several blocks of downtown for three days. Headliners have included huge artists, like Megan Thee Stallion, the Gorillaz, Kendrick Lamar, Arcade Fire. Celebrity chefs show up. Apparently Banksy was there one year? It’s all wild and magical… but maybe not for everyone.Today, Sonja (an LiB newbie) talks with Dayvid and Layla, both veterans of Life is Beautiful, about why so many locals have mixed feelings about it. Dayvid shares a conversation with musician Jack Evan Johnson, who started the cheeky Life is Shit event, while Layla talks with local artist Tanna Marie, who’s getting a huge break at this year’s festival.Quick note, you’re gonna hear some profanity in this one, including a well-executed F bomb.How do YOU feel about Life is Beautiful? Let us know: 702-514-0719 or @CityCastVegas on Twitter.For even more Vegas news, events, and snarky commentary, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter.

Twenty-six years ago today, Tupac Amaru Shakur died at University Medical Center here in Las Vegas. A few days before his death, he was shot at the intersection of Flamingo and Koval — you may have driven past the spontaneous, informal memorial at the site, a collection of fan tributes scrawled onto a telephone pole. There is no official memorial or plaque here, or anywhere in Las Vegas. Tupac didn’t get the accolades he deserved during his lifetime, but today, he’s remembered as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of all time — so where’s our memorial?Host Vogue Robinson is joined by DJ Warren Peace, a local who was on the Death Row street team and was playing at Club 662 the night Tupac never arrived. He tells us stories from the 90s club scene, and lays out the big picture: How the Vegas powers that be viewed hip-hop in the 90s, and why he thinks we don’t have a Tupac memorial.Where were you when Tupac was shot? Who else do you think deserves to be memorialized in Las Vegas? Let us know at 702-514-0719 or on Twitter @CityCastVegas.Looking for more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our amazing morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! 

If you’ve been in Vegas for a while, you might’ve seen “Rogers” in an organization’s name or two. That’s Beverly Rogers, who grew up in Las Vegas and has become one of Las Vegas’ biggest donors to education and the arts. The Rogers Foundation’s commitment to supporting students in Las Vegas was created to advance the passion of Jim Rogers (Beverly’s late husband) for education. Today on the podcast, Beverly tells host Vogue Robinson about her early life and how its led her to philanthropy, the influence Vegas has had on her, and the scoop on when The Beverly Theater will be opening!Do you have first-hand experience with the work of the Rogers Foundation? Or thoughts on philanthropy in Las Vegas broadly? Fill us in! Leave us a message or send us a text at 702-514-0719. Or drop us tweet @CityCastVegas.Get even more Vegas news, commentary, and events when you sign up for our fantastic morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

In our look back at the week’s news, our team is tackling the story of local journalist Jeff German’s murder, which has made national headlines. Today, Dayvid, Scott and Sonja catch you up on the news, reflect on the tense environment for journalists, and how that might (or might not) bear on this particular case.In case you missed it, here’s a summary of the news so far: Investigative journalist Jeff German was found murdered outside his home Saturday morning following an altercation the night before that left him with multiple stab wounds. After four days of investigations, police arrested Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles on Wednesday evening in connection with the murder. Evidence was found linking Telles to the scene, including his car, a ripped-up hat that matched a video of the suspect, and DNA under German’s nails. It is believed that reporting from German (which exposed a toxic work environment at Telles's office) contributed to the loss of Telles's reelection bid in the June primaries. It was announced on Thursday that Telles was charged with open murder and will be held without bail.

Where have all the showgirls gone? No, we’re not talking about the costumed photo ops on Fremont Street, or those 50-foot clip art signs downtown. We’re talking about the classic showgirl revue — like Jubilee, the last showgirl show, which closed in 2016. Kelly O remembers those years well: She’s a dancer who performed in the iconic Jubilee show during its sunset years.In this special guest episode from our friends at the Faces and Aces LV podcast, Chris Kim talks with Kelly O about how she moved from ballet in NYC to the feathered world of Vegas showgirls, what a day in the life of a showgirl is like, and all of the other dancing gigs she’s taken up in Vegas since her showgirl days.You can listen to more Faces and Aces LV at facesandaceslv.com.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.