City Cast Las Vegas

Football season starts tomorrow, and for some of you, it’s not just ego and bragging rights on the line. Ever since the Supreme Court allowed for sports betting outside of Nevada, the industry has seen major growth: It doubled in 2021 with over $57 billion wagered across the U.S. So what does that mean for Las Vegas?Yahoo sports betting analyst and Las Vegas local Minty (who goes by “Minty Bets” online) joins host Vogue Robinson to answer all of our most pressing and ridiculous questions about sports betting: What kind of prep does she have to do? Does sports betting ruin the experience of the game? Is Las Vegas still important in the ever-expanding world of sports-betting? And how can you tell when you’ve gone a little too far with the wagers?

Last month, CCSD confirmed their first Monkeypox case at Palo Verde High School. With Las Vegas being a global destination for tourism, how concerned should we be about Monkeypox? While our numbers remain low compared to the rest of the country, issues around messaging create a harmful stigma and false sense of safety for groups not included in the language. Southern Nevada Health District senior health educator Cheryl Radeloff talks with host Vogue Robinson about our case and vaccine numbers, the similarities in messaging with HIV/AIDS, and what we can to do protect ourselves.You can find the EPA's list of disinfectants for emerging viral pathogens here.Do you have more thoughts or questions about Monkeypox? A story to share? Tweet at us @CityCastVegas or leave us a voicemail or text 702-514-0719.Want more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!

Millennial content warning: We reference BOTH The Dark Crystal and the Mayor of Flavortown in today’s episode. But before that — in this week’s Friday roundup, lead producer Sonja Cho Swanson sits down with producer Layla Muhammad and host Dayvid Figler to discuss the most important news items to share at the BBQ this Labor Day weekend. A proposal from the Nevada Department of Corrections is on ice after Gov. Sisolak asks for more data on how restricting greeting cards and colored ink in mail would decrease the amount of contraband in prisons. Advocates say the proposal is anti-family and dehumanizing. With autumn at our doorstep, elections aren’t far behind. We take a deeper look at Question No. 3 on this year’s ballot and how the results in Alaska could give some insight on how Nevada’s elections could go in the future. Lastly, a new name in Nevada’s “Black Book” could open the floodgates for people restricted from casinos.Still confused about ranked choice voting? Want to share who YOU’D vote in as the Mayor of Flavortown? Let us know on Twitter @CityCastVegas or leave us a voicemail or text at 702-514-0719.Stay up to date on the news and goings-on about town with our brilliant morning newsletter! Sign up atlasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter

Las Vegas doesn’t run on rum, tequila, or vodka — that’s tourist juice. Coffee’s the true lifeblood of our 24-hour city. Today on City Cast Las Vegas, Scott, Dayvid and Vogue talk about their favorite spots around town to get excellent brews, where to take a coffee date, and why a city needs a vibrant, healthy coffee scene.Did we miss your go-to coffee shop? Let us know at 702-514-0719 or tell us on Twitter @CityCastVegas! For more Vegas tips, tricks, and thoughts, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! 

City Cast Las Vegas co-host Dayvid Figler has a decades-long friend in Anne Kellogg. Anne is a fiercely proud born-and-raised Nevadan, businessperson, an arts supporter, a ranch caretaker and maybe beyond all else, one of the biggest cheerleaders for Nevada you’ll ever meet. She and her husband spend much of the year bouncing between her hometown Las Vegas and her adopted city of Ely.With its plentiful charms, artistic endeavors and abundantly magnetic sights and sounds, Ely has become a favorite for Las Vegans. But are Las Vegas residents always welcome, and why don’t Ely residents seem to embrace much that comes from Las Vegas? In a State where blue cities and red rurals make us perpetual purple, is there still time to embrace "One Nevada?"Dayvid and Anne talk about the differences, the similarities and the causes of disconnect between two very different but both unique Nevada towns.

Amid the attention given to predictions in a recent UNLV study that valley’s population will grow by more than 1 million by 2060, another interesting trend seemed largely overlooked. That is, that the number of residents 65 and older is expected to more than double. Among other implications of this is a likely boom of the healthcare industry to cater to these seniors. Today on the podcast, host Vogue Robinson is joined by independent Medicare broker La’Chelle Buckner to discuss why Las Vegas is the new retirement Mecca and how the healthcare system works — or doesn't — for our aging populace.

Las Vegas has shifted its slogan from “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” to “What Happens Here, Only Happens Here.” Both slogans shroud our city in mystery and encourage outsiders to speculate about our culture. What happens when you tell someone you live in Vegas? You get a slew of ridiculous questions! Do you gamble everyday? Do you only eat at fancy restaurants? Can I get a job outside of a casino in daytime hours?City Cast CEO, David Plotz, lives in Washington, D.C., and hasn’t visited Vegas for almost 20 years! Today on the show he asks our hosts Dayvid Figler and Vogue Robinson a series of wild and ridiculous questions about Las Vegas. You might learn a bit more about the weird jobs people can have in town, plus a few fun places you’d actually want to take your kiddos.

In this Friday’s news roundup, the question of whether Vegas is a “cesspool of crime” as former president Trump claimed is debated yet again, but this time by our very own Dayvid Figler, Vogue Robinson, and Scott Dickensheets. Oh, and they’ve got some numbers! Also, what’s with that new megasculpture, “City,” and why haven’t any local outlets covered it yet? Plus, the team talks about how Lake Las Vegas ended up on the 2021 list of top Las Vegas valley water users.Hear more from Scott in our daily morning newsletter! You can sign up at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter

Everyone we know in the Valley has an opinion about water — so why not make it an informed opinion? You can start by listening to the highly informative and entertaining podcast Water Smarts, from the experts at the Southern Nevada Water Authority. You’ll get deep dives on topics like wastewater surveillance, tips on how to save water in your landscaping, and insights into our decades-long water crisis, straight from the source.Today, we’re sharing an episode of Water Smarts all about our tap water — yep, it’s safe to drink.Carolyn Faircloth, the Water Quality Laboratory Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), shares how she and her team test and monitor our drinking water to ensure high-quality water is delivered to your home or business every day. Hosts Crystal Zuelke and Bronson Mack talk water quality and how you can find out what’s in our water on episode 25 of Water Smarts Podcast, “Yes, you can drink the tap water.”Do you have feelings about the tap water in town? Got a burning tap water question? Leave us a voicemail or send us a text message at 702-514-0719. You can shoot us a tweet @CityCastVegas.Get more Vegas news, events, and whip-smart commentary in our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter— it’s the freshest thing in your inbox every morning, at 6 a.m.

While our producers are taking a much-needed vacation, we’re revisiting one of our favorite City Cast Las Vegas interviews with the woman we’ve dubbed the Lorax of Las Vegas: Lisa Ortega, Master Arborist. This episode originally aired on June 14, 2022.Las Vegas is the fastest-warming city in the U.S. — and that's only made worse by the urban heat island effect, caused by dense concentrations of heat-trapping concrete, asphalt, glass, and steel. (Read more about Southern Nevada's extreme heat vulnerability on this site from RTC: Southern Nevada Strong.) The effect isn't evenly distributed: Our neighbors in the center and Eastside of the city see even higher temperatures from older infrastructure and more blacktop.This April, the City of Las Vegas announced a plan to plant 60,000 trees by 2025 to combat the city's extreme heat. In today's episode, the state’s only female Master Arborist and founder of the non-profit Nevada Plants, Lisa Ortega, joins host Dayvid Figler to discuss why trees are the answer to our heat problems, how this disproportionally affects communities of color, and why we might just be able to dub her the Lorax of Las Vegas.Do you have a favorite trees? Thoughts on our warming city? Leave us a voicemail or a text message at 702-514-0719. Or find us on Twitter @CityCastVegas and gives us your best hot take.Want more Vegas news, events, and snarky commentary? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter!