By Rolando Larraz
Heck, it is the last week of the first month of the year and I am in the mood for some satire and sarcasm in this column even if I don’t know how to be either satirical or sarcastic — but I am going to try and because some people are under the impression that we do not have enough local content in the newspaper, I will do my best to stay within the Clark County border or even better, within Las Vegas city limits.
Our small publication cannot afford three reporters in the court house, two in the federal court house, two at the county building, one at city hall, one or two covering North Las Vegas jurisdiction and on and on just to have six pages of local news, including the editorial section and half of the pages are advertising, but people think we do not have enough local news.
Just when I thought I had seen it all I was almost thrown out of my chair when I saw soon-to-be-retired City Councilman Bob Coffin’s new hairstyle with a tiny little mini ponytail that made him look like the clown of the board.
Coffin, following disgraced former City Councilman Ricki Barlow, is set to “retire” soon and so far has not said what he is going to run for next; he is “retiring” because like everyone who is in hot water, he has “health issues” or most commonly is looking to “spend more time with the family” to get out of the heat with a little bit of class (?), if they ever had any to begin with.
Remember good old David Roger? The former Clark County District Attorney who ran for re-election, collected a bunch of money in campaign contributions, won the reelection, and two months later happened to remember that “he misses his newborn baby” and realizes that he wants to “spend more time” with his family and then quit the job that he so badly wanted.
This is all very noble, very sweet for a grown man to retire early in his career to be in the warm and lovely atmosphere of his home and be part of his newborn baby’s early stage of life; the ironic part of this picture is that little David was (or still is) under the impression that his supporters and the voters in Clark County are
stupid and they all knew that David’s wife is an elected member of the judicial system in Las Vegas doing a very excellent job and works more than eight hours a day; they also question the fact that little David walked out of his elected office and went to work at two very stressful positions: one as an attorney for the Las Vegas Police Protected Association and the other as a partner in a local law office, where he was looking to add his name to the letterhead of the office and use himself as a magnet to bring in new clients.
But Bobby Coffin is not the only council member with hair issues, having to hold his little ponytail with a rubber band; my favorite female councilwoman, Michele Fiore, is in the same boat; she drives me crazy playing with her hair during the long hours of the city council; she may think that the hair play is very sexy and feminine but someone has to wake her up.
That is not sexy and in fact it takes off from her very well managed political career. She is active and very much involved in community issues; I have always said that Michele Fiore is the perfect public official caring for her constituents and the rest of the community in general. I see Michele Fiore going far in politics, one step at a time.
Even if she is no longer a young lady, she has time to follow the steps that she needs to follow; she can wait for “her Mayor” to finish her last term in office and then run for that position, then jump to Clark County where her dedication will place her at the Chair of the Board before she becomes the first female governor of Nevada and finally makes the jump to U.S. Senator for the Silver State.
Of course no one pays attention to my predictions because “I talk with an accent,” and what do I know about politics? I do not use fancy words that most people don’t even know what they mean, and I don’t open a newspaper under a “non-profit” system and collect millions of dollars in donations.
How can one open a non-profit newspaper without jeopardizing the integrity of the publication? I may be too stupid to know the answer to it, which is why at my age I am still struggling with a real “non-profit” newspaper; it might make a difference though if you come to Las Vegas from Cuba, or from Buffalo, N.Y.
The difference is that I am consistent; I have not jumped from one newspaper to another, and I have not jumped from one radio station or television station to another.
I hate to say it, but I have been my own boss for a very long time and have not been fired from anywhere because, as I previously have said, I put my money where my heart is and not necessarily sexually speaking.
My name is Rolando Larraz, and as always, I approved this column.
Rolando Larraz is Editor in Chief of the Las Vegas Tribune. His column appears weekly in this newspaper. To contact Rolando Larraz, email him at: Rlarraz@lasvegastribune.com or at 702-272-4634.
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