Author: T.R. Witcher
Tailor-Made Art
An architect brings his eye for detail to his new career as a painter
When Michael P. Thieme moved to Las Vegas in 2005, he did so as an architect. He joined SH Architecture and helped design, among other buildings, the cutting-edge Cashman Equipment building on St. Rose Parkway. A year and a half later he’d moved on to interior design firm Parker Scaggiari and was involved in an ambitious renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Then the economy tanked, and the architect was out of work.
Read More »The Breakup
Urban life lessons with LeBron
It still means something to be from a place. Loyalty matters. Roots are still important in these days of highly mobile communications and capital. Betrayal, even if it’s only the perception of betrayal, still stings like a son of a bitch.
That’s one lesson to take from LeBron James, the erstwhile Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star who earlier this month announced, on a self-aggrandizing hourlong ESPN broadcast, that he was departing for the Miami Heat to join friends and fellow free agents Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in forming a virtual all-star squad for the next half-decade.
Read More »New School Blueprints Have Green Tinge
Energy efficiency, larger classrooms and flexibility among architects’ goals
Clark County schools are known for the consistency of their designs—each elementary school is a near clone of every other elementary school. Ditto for middle schools and high schools.
Read More »Trouble in Paradise?
Three summers after opening, the Springs Preserve is trying again to attract crowds
If the Las Vegas Springs Preserve were a lesser attraction it would be easy to criticize. But by almost any measure, it is a first-rate amenity.
Read More »A Different Kind of Summer Camp
Downtown is not yet the vibrant hub toward which its boosters have worked for years, but the Arts Factory is injecting crucial life into the neighborhood. Following the closing of Paymon’s Mediterranean restaurant at the wedge corner of East Charleston Boulevard and South Casino Center Boulevard in March, Arts Factory owner Wes Myles teamed with restaurateur Franco Spinelli to open Bar+ Bistro in April.
Read More »Growing by Fractals
The beloved Trifecta Gallery moves to a bigger and better space
During the last five-plus years, gallerist Marty Walsh has had chances to move out of her tiny 256-square-foot gallery, Trifecta, tucked into the rear of the Arts Factory downtown. She always refused.
Read More »We Don’t Need New, We Need Next
What some of the world’s oldest cities can teach one of its youngest
When you’re in a city famous for its simulacra of other cities, it’s reassuring when you actually check in on some of those other cities. The Luxor may be able to beam a light into outer space, but the pyramids—you know, the real ones—have been standing for more than 4,000 years.
It might have been the sheer newness of Las Vegas that recently drove me to visit Athens, Cairo and Istanbul—three of the longest-running shows on earth. And the cities did not disappoint, with their intoxicating blends of people, culture and history.
Read More »Fresh MEET
Downtown events center aims for special niche
The real work of closing big deals at conventions is usually done off-site, away from the hoopla, banners and noise of other vendors, in a conference room or ballroom where companies can host private receptions or entertain favored clients. But these spaces have their own distractions—especially in Las Vegas—they’re not terribly exciting, and they tend to come with plenty of regulations. (Vendors aren’t allowed to repaint the walls, for one.)
Read More »Fifth Street Shakeup
City preparing to hike rates at downtown cultural center Since it re-opened two years ago, the renovated Fifth Street School has become what Mayor Oscar Goodman had hoped: downtown’s “cultural oasis,” regularly hosting lectures, recitals and events such as the Vegas Valley Book Festival. The building is home to the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Las Vegas offices of the American Institute of Architects, the Downtown Design Center of UNLV’s School of Architecture and the Nevada School of the Arts. Read More »
All Eyes on Arizona
Could a similar immigration law be part of Nevada’s future? Pending court challenges, it’s the law of the land in Arizona that police can check a person’s immigration status in the course of a lawful stop if they have “reasonable suspicion” the person is in this country illegally. For supporters of the law, it is a long-overdue tool to help law enforcement curb illegal immigration. Detractors see it as an open invitation to racially profile Hispanics in Arizona—and to detain both resident aliens and legal immigrants who don’t have the right paperwork on them. Read More »
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