Thanks will. 1955 and 1965 saw water levels about the same as they are now. It was probably the early 1980s when you saw it lapping over the spillway...I know I did.

Poor frying pan.

Murder suicide in Valley hospital room. Woman was in her husbands room where he was admitted for medical reasons and his mental capacity was in serious decline…possibly Huntington's disease. Woman spent all night with the man and shot him then herself Monday morning. She left a note blaming Valley Hospital for poor care.

A federal judge says the City of Las Vegas is responsible to clean up toxic residue from the area known as Symphony Park which was once the old Union Pacific railroad yard. The area across the tracks from downtown was sold "as is" to developers many years ago when they wanted to build a sports stadium.

The Las Vegas City Council is considering a ban on hula hoops on the Fremont Street Experience. Street performers using these things are blocking people from passing through, especially the performers with seriously oversized hula hoops. A group from California is here to protest, saying it would be a ban on free speech.

10 cars belonging to the late Danny Gans will be auctioned off at the Las Vegas Barrett Jackson auto auction on Sept 23-25. Press releases say the cars will include a 1932 Ford 3 window coupe, a 1955 Chevy Cameo Pickup, and a 1970 Cuda.

Bryce Harper, the Las Vegas superstar baseball kid signed a 5 year deal for just under $10 million. It's the biggest rookie contract for a non pitcher.

Nevada's 11th largest attraction is off road racing which will go under scrutiny after a horrible accident in California last week.

Two 18 year olds in a Jeep were out throwing eggs at cars when an upset neighbor came out with a handgun and tried to shoot out the tires and disable the Jeep. One of the bullets hit a window causing minor injuries to one of teens. The stage is set the gunman to get in big trouble and the teens to get a slap on the wrist.

Billionaire Carl Ichan is suing the Tropicana hotel. Carl owns Tropicana Entertainment which was once associated with the Las Vegas hotel. Carl wants $10 million for the hotel to use the name for 5 years.

The contents of Liberace's home, Las Vegas Villa, is going up for auction this Sunday. Not to be confused with the museum contents, this is his former home across Tropicana from UNLV.

September 22 is the new date for the coroner's inquest on the 3 policemen that shot a man at a Summerlin Costco. The original date was postponed indefinitely pending more data.

Mayor Oscar Goodman is in talks with an American League baseball team to move to Las Vegas.

Remodeling of the Lady Luck Hotel is set to begin soon. With a completion date in 2012, it will feature over 600 rooms, new meeting spaces and restaurants, and a new rooftop pool and sun deck.

Now THAT's funny. LOL!!!

The low temperature Sunday August 22nd at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas again only fell to 86 degrees. This reading broke the previous record high minimum or warmest low temperature for the date which was 83 degrees set in 2006. It "seems" like a late summer that never got brutal but there have been a lot of records set this year. And we might not hit 90 for a high tomorrow.

The Nevada Test Site now has a new name. It is now the Nevada National Security Site…aka N2S2. The new name better reflects it's usage as a training area for homeland security.

A local lawmaker has proposed a change in the pronunciation of the name of the state. Currently, the proper name is Ne-vad-a. The proposed accepted name, would be the proper Spanish pronunciation and the way I always called it before I moved here…Ne-vah-da.

The 30 day grace period is over for residents with out of state license plates on their cars. Violators are now subject to $1000 fine, $100 constable fee, and still have to pay to register that vehicle. If you want to snitch on some freeloaders who aren't paying their fair share of taxes with out of state plates, call 455-FAIR

The Cosmopolitan is the subject of a lawsuit stating that the parking lot is below the water table and pumps must continuously run to keep it from flooding.

Stupid criminal of the week started when a Terribles gas station/convenience store was robbed at gun point. He got about $80 and demanded that the safe and slot machines be opened. When the clerk explained that she could not open them, the crook shot one of the slot machines twice, and left frustrated with some candy and two sodas. He fled to a nearby pub and grub where he held the employees at gunpoint and demanded cigarettes, liquor, and cash. Then he called a friend to pick him up. As it turns out, police were already on his tail, because during the robbery at the Terribles, he left behind a traffic ticket that he had gotten the day before for not having enough seat belts for all of the children in his car.

Runner up for stupid criminal of the week was a guy wanting "suicide by cop". He pretended to pull a gun on a cop, and the cop shot him in the arm. He will survive and be a suicide chump the rest of his life.

The new Cloud 9 balloon ride that was twice damaged by high winds is coming back. It should be inflated within the next 10 days.

Woman was missing since April and numerous searches for her have turned up nothing. She was a happily married woman who was friends with everyone she met. She loved the desert and hiking. Due to a recent stroke, it was suspected she wandered off and could not tell anyone who she was or where she lived. As her husband and a child were cleaning out their VERY cluttered home, a body was found in the home and it turned out to be her. How cluttered and stinky does your home have to be for that to happen.

Lake Mead water levels have dropped 15 feet in the last 5 months.

Penn Jillette cut off 10 inches of his signature pony tail for a charity event that provides hair pieces for disadvantaged children. He still has enough hair for about 2-3 inches of pony tail, which is enough to hide the wires he uses on stage.

Professional female golfer Erica Blasberg was found dead in her home on May 9. The cause of her death has been a mystery until now when a doctor she was "seeing" said that he found her dead at her bedside and removed a suicide note and bottle of pills…to protect her family. Dr Thomas Hess has been arrested for obstruction, and has a lot of questions to answer.

Caesars Palace has been fined $250,000 for allowing a man to walk on and dance on the baccarat table during a live game and placing bets from the table.

Nevada Highway Patrol killed a guy with a taser as they investigated a road rage report amidst a major freeway closure due to a hazmat spill.

Pool news. A guy died at Rehab at the Hard Rock pool, a baby nearly drowned at the Rio pool, and the MGM pool was evacuated when it became over chlorinated.

JMT, thanks again for this column. Always very interesting.

But with the Cosmo "parking under water' situation .... Who is suing who/whom?

Guess VIP parking won't be on level 1 at the Cosmo.

Thank you JMT for posting the headlines.

I'm still baffled over this one. How bad can the stench be in the house to not notice the smell a corpse rotting away? And what about the neighbors, didn't they notice the foul stench coming from the property and report it???

Ditto !

Does Paris Hilton win next weeks stupid criminal of the week?

Lee, I really don't like to give those pop tarts any more attention than they already get, she does dumb stuff every time she is in town, and she will probably spit in the face of justice when she walks free without serving any time for this felony. OTOH, this is a very high level of stupidity.

The week is still young. There's a group of thugs in a police chase that crashed out on the freeway and took off on foot. All were hit by traffic as they ran across the freeway. I'm hoping Darwin will step in and come up with a story to beat Paris and the thugs.

paris said she thought it was gum and not her purse

People do say stupid things when they get arrested.

They say these things in an attempt to prove their immediate innocents.

I know a guy who was arrested for 'too darn many drugs' in the trunk of his car.

He immediately blamed those drugs on his mother for lack of a better excuse.

The mother protected her son up and spent two years in jail.

American justice!

Good or bad .... it's the best we got!

Heard on the news last nite, Paris was on the black list of two Vegas casinos, they mentioned Wynn as one, but never said the second? Any ideas? I also respect Wynn, just a little bit more now!

I'm a big fan of natural selection! LOL

Paris the "twit" just busted herself on Twitter when it was discovered that she bragged about her new purse and showed pictures of it, it's just like the one she got busted with the cocaine in it. So much for that defense, guess she will have to stick with the Juicy Fruit defense. Oh I thought it was gum offcer...what a freakin' bimbo.

Lee - the paper this morning said Paris is banned from Wynn and Encore.

Publishers Clearing House caught up with a mail man in Las Vegas to award him a million dollars. They caught him on his route, did the preliminary award of the big check, and went to a nearby pub and grub to finish the paper work. Then the man continued on his route.

The Nevada Secretary of State has set up online voter registration in Clark County. This makes Nevada one of nine states that allow online voter registration.

A man in Pahrump held his girlfriend hostage for two days, often pointing a gun at her head and pulling the trigger but the gun did not fire. When the police closed in on him, he shot himself in the head, then shot himself in the chest, and then was taken to a hospital in Las Vegas, some 60 miles away. He will now survive to face charges of false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and will forever be known as a suicide chump.

A 40 year old man is dead after his truck drove on the sidewalk, crossed 4 lanes of traffic and crashed into a tree in the median outside of the Mirage hotel.

A man shot and killed himself just outside of the international terminal. The reason for killing himself is unclear. There was no disturbance inside the terminal.

2 Metro cops in trouble from a crash over a month ago when they were chasing a driver that was driving erratic. Their sergeant called off the chase, but these cops kept chasing. They turned off their lights and sirens, continued following the car, and did a PIT maneuver which caused a 5 car wreck including both police cars. The bad guy, who was high on meth, died.

Wayne Newton showed off his airplane which proudly sits in his back yard. It had been parked on a ramp up north for many years without him paying ramp parking fees. The very old Fokker F-28 was unairworthy and full of black mold. Wayne plans to have it as an exhibit for a future tour of his property that will include dinner in his home.

LOL...The Suicide Chump of Pahrump. He won't be a Darwin award winner because he survived is attempt to remove himself from the gene pool, but I'm sure he will get honorable mention.

This week's suicide chump is an idiot that was firing off his shotgun in an act of stupidity. When police arrived, he raised the shotgun at the police. He was shot but will survive. As usual, the family thinks police are trigger happy. I'm not the sharpest knife in that thing where they keep the knives, but when 15 cop cars scream up to your home and the cops jump out with guns drawn and start barking orders, it's time to shut up, listen and obey. There are no extenuating circumstances at that moment.

A small plane crashed in a Henderson neighborhood about a mile from the SouthPoint. The pilot was killed and 3 passengers were burned badly. The plane took off from Henderson Executive airport going to Louisiana, had engine trouble, then tried to turn around and go back, ending up crashing mostly on a street.

The Jerry Lewis Telethon for MDA was hosted here and raised about $59 million.

A 61 year old man has been charged with 3 felonies following an alleged bomb threat at Arizona Charlies on Boulder Highway. The man walked into the casino, went up to the security desk and showed security that he was wired to explode. The hotel, casino, and RV park were evacuated and the highway was shut down in both directions. It turns out the bomb was a fake and he was just wanting suicide by cop.

A school teacher is behind bars in North Las Vegas for trying to set her school on fire. She managed to ignite a copier in a faculty room and created some smoke. Nobody was injured.

The 6th longest dry spell in Las Vegas ended on Tuesday after 137 days without measurable rain. We officially got 0.01" of rain in the rain bucket which is the lowest possible amount of rain to be considered measurable rain.

A lion attacked a trainer at the MGM lion habitat on Sept 1. A female lioness and another trainer both tried to stop the lion. The worker was not seriously injured. Amazing video available on YouTube. MRI's comment is that the trainer was not an MGM employee.

Vince Neil, front man for Motley Crue, local businessman, and regular at the county jail was arrested for battery after he beat a woman in an elevator in the Hilton.

Floyd Mayweather Jr, pro boxer and regular at the county jail was arrested for embezzlement for taking from the home of his ex girlfriend. She claims he also beat her. She has maid the claim before and changed her story after he was arrested. She is the mother of 3 of their children.

Bob Beckett, Nye County DA and regular at the county jail completes the trifecta. This time he was found asleep at the wheel of his county owned car and failed a series of sobriety tests, after Heidi Fliess reported a suspicious car near her home. In 2008, he was arrested for drunk driving in California after wrecking 2 cars on the same road in a 6 hour period. He has been out on bail since May for embezzling funds from Nye County. The funds were used to wildly to pay for a number of things including cars for friends and support the cheerleading team that his wife coaches. The four term DA came in last place in his bid for reelection to the position in June, getting 9% of the votes. This means there are over 400 voters that want him embezzling funds and driving drunk.

The Liberace Museum will become a victim of economy when it closes for good on October 17 after some 30 years of entertaining Las Vegas visitors. It is expected to become a traveling museum.

A 13 year old student was arrested for holding a knife to the throat of a school administrator.

Harrah's wants to give PHo exterior a facelift that will include more attraction to the Miracle Mile shops and more outdoor dining. If all goes well, it could finished in 9 months. They will present the plan to Clark County for approval this week.

Las Vegas casinos are not using Twitter much these days. Some 40 percent of casinos with Twitter accounts post less than one post per day. The average is about 2.8 per day. Included in the average is Casino Royale which posts about 16 tweets per day. The Luxor was the first major casino in Las Vegas to have a Twitter account.

Arrangements have been made for Paris Hilton to plead guilty to possession and obstruction, and be put on a year of probation.

In November, the Plaza will close it's hotel and much of it's casino. This is said to be a temporary closure for renovation, which is pretty much what they said at the Lady Luck. At this time, it looks like a small part of the casino, the restaurants, and the Rat Pack show will remain open.

Las Vegas Sands is considering a name change to reflect to their global presence. They will vote in November. It is quite possible it may become Sands or Sands International.

The City of Las Vegas moved to allow more and more homeless to loiter in city parks and allow them to be fed there. It comes in the form of a rule that allows gatherings of up to 75 people without a permit.

Another boat launch ramp closes on Lake Mead as water levels continue to fall. This time it is the Boulder Harbor launch ramp. The Boulder Harbor is only about 3.5 feet deep now.

Am I overly concerned about Lake Mead's decreasing water levels?

I recently read that one knowledgeable individual claims that the lake has a 50% chance of drying up within the next 20 years ,,,, yet I don't see too much concern about that possibility within the general population.

Once again, thanks for the above info, JMT.

Will you be attending the Hoover Damn Bypass function next month?