New Years party arrests were relatively mild after a big media blitz by Metro stressing ZERO tolerance. Metro bagged 107, including 17 felonies and 51 DUIs. Nevada Highway Patrol bagged 48.

New Years tourism was very high and that combined with the CES crowd puts Las Vegas off to a strong start. Big Game(Super Bowl), Valentines Day, NASCAR, NCAA playoffs, and spring break are all expected to be big for Las Vegas in the next few months.

2010 ranked as the 8th hottest year in Las Vegas history.

A 3.6 earthquake rocked an area near Carson City on New Years Day.

Fatburger on the strip will be temporarily rebranded as Bob's Burger in reference to a new TV show.

The 17 year old that spray tagged petroglyphs at Red Rock Canyon had charges dropped by the state and then the feds moved in and dropped heavy charges on him.

Brian Sandoval was sworn in as the new leader of Nevada.

A major spill of sulfuric acid shut down the strip for several hours in front of the WynnDot. About 200 of the 800 gallon load leaked onto the boulevard. There were two injuries.

Plans are in the works for a distillery to be built in Las Vegas, just north of downtown. There are still many hurdles to overcome.

Once again, snow covered covered Las Vegas on Monday. The biggest accumulations were to the northeast portions of the valley. Over the hump in Pahrump, they got about 6 inches of snow.

Metro released a 2010 traffic report. Intersections with most accidents with injuries lately are Lamb@Charleston, Rainbow@Flamingo, Paradise@Tropicana, Tropicana@Koval, Decatur@Sahara. 2010 DUI arrests numbered 9101. 2010 pedestrian involved accidents were 613.

North Las Vegas police shot and killed their first citizen of the year as they approached celebratory gunfire on New Years morning.

As temps dipped well below freezing, a very high number of house fires are occurring. One was a New Years domestic dispute that turned to arson in an apartment and left several families homeless and another was a lady smoking in bed while on medicinal oxygen.

500 teams from 9 different countries came to the Flamingo for the 6th annual World Series of Beer Pong. The grand prize for the winning team, Standing Ovation, was $50,000.

The record for the most cabs loaded at McCarran airport was set on Wednesday as part of the CES convention. It beat the old record by 4% which was set at the start of CES in 2006.

Police have been cracking down on medical marijuana offices in the last few months. They say there's still about 60 more shops on their list.

Teen girl was jay walking and struck by car. She was thrown about 125 feet and injuries were so severe that doctors put her into a medically induced coma. Later that day, Metro cops show up to issue coma girl a jay walking ticket. Mom is upset with the timing of the ticket but refuses to say when a good time would be.

The Consumer Electronics Show has signed a deal to stay in Las Vegas for another 3 years. The announcement comes on the same day as the Las Vegas Convention Center becomes a World Trade Center.

In restaurant news, Beso in Crystals filed for bankruptcy and Alex at the WynnDot will close for good on Jan 15. Firefly at the Plaza has closed.

CJ Stewart who was tried and sent to prison with OJ Simpson, was granted a new trial, pled no contest, and is now free on house arrest.

Fire in the MGM parking garage destroyed 1 car and heavily damaged 2 others vehicles on Tuesday morning.

Metro unveiled a fleet of electric motorcycles to help fight crime.

JMT,

Thank you for these reports. Do have the number of cabs loaded for the record?

The airport had 14,495 cab loadings on Wednesday.

An average airport day is about 8,200.

Does someone really stand there and count those cabs? Or is there some electronic gadget that does it automatically?

Does anyone have any idea who the one individual is who tabulates the number of people arriving each day at the airport? I would assume that each arriving flight reports the number of disembarking passengers to one central location.

Or does some guy run around the airport with a pen and paper doing all this tabulating stuff as each aircraft touches down?

And how the heck do they count the number of people arriving via automobiles each day? I've never seen anyone standing on the side of the highway counting cars as they were passing by.

And how do I apply for that job counting all the shrimp that is consumed within Las Vegas each year?

I guess someone's gotta do it!

PS... Not at all surprised about Beso.

The disappearance of a dancer from the Luxor show Fantasy has been solved. Her boyfriend strangled her, dismembered her, packed her into tubs of cement, and sealed the tubs into a closet in an abandoned house. More horrible details on any local news site. The GPS in the rented U-Haul truck was key in locating the body.

Miss America contest in progress all week. Miss North Carolina won the preliminary talent competition. Miss Hawaii won the preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness contest. Miss Oklahoma and Nebraska are doing well too. Miss Washington (state) is a popular favorite to take it all on Saturday night.

Not to miss a photo op, the mayor proclaimed Jan 15 as Miss America Day in Las Vegas.

As The Happiest Mayor In The Universe nears the end of his term, Oscar Goodman made his final State Of The City address.

The first child drowning of the year failed when the child was brought from the bottom of the family pool and taken to a hospital. The parents still get a big star of neglect on their report card.

Las Vegas gaming wins are down, but tourism is up.

The LVRJ "Best of Las Vegas" poll has started. It will come out in several sections. The current poll is Hotel and Entertainment. Other categories will come at later dates. The results will come on March 27.

The Sunset Bridge is open. This isn't a big tourist deal being able to cross I-15 at Sunset at this time. There isn't much on the other side as Valley View is the only street that will go anywhere. For those living on the west side, it could be a strategic back entrance to Town Square and Frys.

Peepshow star Holly Madison told that she needs to lose weight.

Stratosphere has been remodeled and is looking for a new image. Therefore, they will be the title sponsor of the NASCAR race here in March.

An 84 inch water pipe under Valley View Blvd. ruptured about noon Wednesday, shutting down Valley View near Spring Mountain Road. They managed to get one lane open for those that must travel that road. The pipe has finally been patched, but the road repairs are still going on and Valley View is still restricted to one travel lane.

Fire at Ballys on Sunday night. Possible over reaction is better than lack of response by fire department. It was just a mattress fire in a room. One person was injured. Evacuation was in progress.

Record high temp for Monday at 74 degrees. Normal high temp is 57. Normal low is 37. It sure felt nice. Maybe more 70+ by this time next week.

Idiot from New York calls a dancer to his room at the Stratosphere who dances for him. They then make a sex deal. The next day, idiot calls for a refund and is denied, so he calls Metro police who threatened to arrest him. Idiot flew home and filed a lawsuit.

Street performers and advertisers will be allowed back on Fremont St to collect "donations". They will not be allowed to block pedestrian traffic, not be allowed within 20 feet of entrances, ATMs, etc. Get ready for porn cards downtown.

On Monday afternoon, a 23 year old New Jersey man jumped to his death from an Imperial Palace tower room. He landed in the courtyard between Harrahs and the I.P. Still no jumps from the bypass bridge or Cosmopolitan yet.

Nobody was injured when a car crashed into a school bus on Wednesday morning. Nobody was driving the car either and apparently it rolled out of the 7-11 parking lot on it's own.

City Center raised 1.5 billion dollars to reduce it's current debt down to $500 million. The billion and a half will have to be paid back in 2016 and 2017.

About the only thing uglier than Donny and Marie, H&M, and Toni Braxton wraps on the Flamingo is when they are taken down to expose missing paint, leftover wrap fragments, and inconsistent tint on the room windows.

Megabucks hit for almost $13 million at Aria on Friday.

It is the year of the rabbit and decorations are in full swing at Crystals, Bellagio, Palazzo, Wynn, and others.

2 charities had their transportation vehicles broken into and vandalized. Opportunity Village and Easter Seals had several vans and trucks heavily damaged. No items of significant value were stolen. A local car dealer will fix them for free and give Opportunity Village an extra $2000.

Clark County firefighters have a new contract. Arbitrators sided with the county which calls for 2% pay cuts, and since they have been operating under the old contract, firefighters actually owe the county money as the contract is retroactive. The contract also calls for top brass to investigate abuse of sick leave more closely. It's not rare for firefighters to call in sick and let buddies fill in at overtime rates. Then those overtimers will call in sick on their regular shifts and have that filled by even more overtime. This new contract expires in less than 6 months. There's some ugly mud slinging going on.

Clark County has changed diesel fuels and is now using GDiesel which is supposed to be cheaper and cleaner burning. The county has 2,798 vehicles. 1,426 of them use diesel fuel, 537 are hybrids, 451 use cleaner burning reformulated gasoline, and 91 use compressed natural gas. The fire department will begin using GDiesel later this year.

Donny and Marie are done at Flamingo? (I'm sorry, I've been out of touch!).

JMT, I drove from the intersection of Jones and Warm Springs to the Town Square Shopping Center. Last Saturday morning ... Warm Springs eastward to Valley View, then Valley View northward to Sunset, then Sunset eastward over the I-15 and a direct right turn into the northern edge of the shopping center.

Less than a five minute drive!

During that very short drive I must have seen a maximum of five cars traveling in the opposite or the same direction.

It was early Sat morning but I understand that is the only way to 'fly' if you want to travel peacefully with no traffic hassles what-so-ever.

On my return, I made the mistake of traveling across the Sunset bridge and continuing along Sunset ... past Valley View only to discover that Sunset ends in a desert expanse.

As you so aptly stated, right or left on Valley View is the only way to go once you cross over the I-15 via that Sunset bridge.

But Valley View is a very nice and quiet road to take if you want to visit the Orleans or The Palms under non-traffic conditions even during peak traffic hours.

Mike, Donny and Marie got into an ugly public spat with their manager. They finally went to the public and said all is well, but you could still see both sides foaming at the mouth. The wrap came down and the dynamic duo went to Utah to work on a holiday show that they took on the road. Then they spent a little time on Broadway. They are supposed to start back at the Flamingo soon. It's hard to remember back when the Flamingo had that nice paint and classy gold tinted windows. Now the paint is peeling and bits and pieces of wraps still litter the windows. I think I saw Toni Braxton's toe on one window.

Will, that Sunset bridge is gonna be our little secret, right? Especially with that Warm Springs bridge over the interstate being closed for over a year.

4 earthquakes struck central Nevada early on Saturday. They ranged from 3.2 to 4.3 magnitude. No significant damage noted.

S&P gave City Center a B- credit rating. That's not a very good rating and not likely to improve much even as they deferred much of their debt for several years.

The post office on Industrial Road, near the strip will be closing soon in a nationwide postal cutback. If you use this post office near Industrial and DI, kinda behind where the Stardust was, then you'll need to find another.

Mesquite City Councilwoman and her husband found dead in apparent murder/suicide. The woman faced severe discipline and possible removal from office for submitting false travel expense reports on trips that she did not take. She called 911 after she shot her husband and just before she shot herself.

Vince Neil pleaded guilty for a DUI arrest last summer. He will turn himself in on Feb 15, a week after his birthday and spend 15 days in the Clark County Detention Center. He will spend an additional 15 days on house arrest and do some community service work.

A homeless census for southern Nevada was held on Thursday morning between the hours of 1am and 6am. I guess they didn't want to do the count while they were walking in the intersections with signs or buying crack after dark. 2 years ago, the count was 13,338 in Las Vegas. This census is required every 2 years in order to be eligible for some federal funding.

A pit bull dog attacked 3 of it's household members. It attacked the 55 year old aunt of the owner tearing off fingers and pieces of her feet and legs, leaving her with life threatening injuries and possible amputations. A second woman tried to stop the attack and was severely bitten. Finally the owner tried to help and was also attacked badly before he shot the dog and killed it.

Elizabeth Halverson lost a supreme court appeal and it was affirmed that she is permanently removed from ever serving as a Nevada judge.

Binions has brought back Bingo to it's list of games offered. There is only one other Bingo choice downtown.

Carolyn Goodman, the wife of the Happiest Mayor in the Universe has signed up to run for her husbands job when he leaves due to term limits.

Two Metro police officers are in deep trouble after they were pulled over for speeding in Kingman Arizona. No good reason as to why the two cops were over 100 miles away from their post.

Celine Dion woke up on Wednesday morning and saw her shadow indicating 3 more years of concerts at Caesars Palace.

Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular celebrated it's 2000th performance on Feb 1

UNLV is looking to build a 40,000 seat arena. It would easily convert to accommodate various events.

A group of lenders have filed a foreclosure notice against the Hard Rock Hotel. They have the option to take over the property or sell it at auction. The Hard Rock filed a suit to block these actions.

I-15 shut down on Monday night for removal of 50 year old Warm Springs overpass. The new bridge will take a year to be built.

Record cold temps swept in on Tues and Wed. Watch out east coast. It was freezing on both nights. Days have been sunny and cool.

The Bellagio bandit was caught on Wednesday night trying to sell stolen chips to an undercover police officer. He is the son of a municipal court judge.

After 2 years of no 401k match for employees, MRI is now matching 50% of the first 6% it's employees contribute to the plan.

Clark County firefighters sick leave abuse gets worse as the investigation continues. About a third of all firefighters took at least a month of sick leave in 2009.

Robert Ubriaco aka "Bubbles", the big host guy that greeted just about everyone that walked into Rao's at Caesars, passed away on Thursday.

Nevada is out of sodium thiopental which is a drug used in executions. There are currently 82 inmates on death row awaiting execution and in various levels of appeals. The company that once made the drug no longer makes it.

The Los Angeles Temptation beat the Philadelphia Passion 26-25 in the Lingerie Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.

About 375,000 visitors came to Las Vegas for a weekend that included the Lingerie Bowl, a UFC fight, and a NFL media circus.

Cher had her last of 200 shows at Caesars on Saturday night. I'm guessing it's time for yet another farewell tour.

The foreclosure of the Hard Rock has been put on hold as the money people and the operators reached an agreement.

The Bellagio Bandit appeared in court and did not make a plea. His first hearing will be on Feb 23.

The happiest Mayor in the Universe holds a 9 to 1 futures ticket bought before the NFL season started that said the Green Bay Packers would win the Super Bowl. The $100 ticket is now worth $900.

The man who called a stripper to his Stratosphere room and had buyers remorse the next day and threatened to sue the escort agency and Metro, has had his case thrown out of court.

A Las Vegas gang banger involved in a shooting on the strip several years ago is now on the US Marshals most wanted list and has $25,000 price tag on his head.

Silk Road at Vdara will close the first of March and is to be replaced with a grocery store. BRILLIANT.

The Monte Carlo was lit up in blue lights as a hint that something was going to happen. The Blue Man Group will be moving to the Monte Carlo from the Venetian in 2012. They moved to the Venetian from the Luxor a few years ago.

The old Ritz Carlton at Lake Las Vegas has reopened. It has been refurbished slightly and has a new name. It is now Ravella. Part of the plan was to downgrade it from a 5 star resort to a 4 star resort so that it could attract more guests.

I'm surprised anyone is going out to Lake Las Vegas anymore. Are the golf courses still operating? And is the other hotel still going?

I think the golf course is still good. The casino closed long ago.

Bombs Away as an Air Force jet taking off from Nellis Air Force Base experienced engine trouble on take off and had to return to base. Before he could land, he had to dump his weapons, so he dropped 2 500 pound bombs a couple of miles north of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The explosions rattled buildings in the area and the blast was heard for miles.

Vince Neil turned himself in to jail for 15 days after a plea deal on driving drunk last summer.

Valentines Day came and went with no big deal. It is traditionally a very big news day in Las Vegas.

One act of domestic violence/road rage as man got in fight with woman in car, pulled over, took out a shotgun and began shooting. He shot the woman, shot at passing cars, and shot at police. Police shot him and still had to zap him to get him into hand cuffs. This all happened near Blue Diamond and I-15.

Rain and cooler temps blanket the area as a series of fronts are expected to pass through in the next several days.

Celine Dion moved back to Las Vegas as she prepares for her new show. Caesars couldn't be happier as her gambleholic husband hits the tables.

The SI swimsuit models came to town and a part of The Strip was renamed Swimsuit Blvd for a brief time.

The 2011 Indy car series will wrap up it's season in Las Vegas. It will be held in Las Vegas on October 16, during the same weekend as the NASCAR truck series. There is a special $5,000,000 prize for a non Indy race driver to win.

Senator Harry Reid, the king of ultra liberal ideas, claims prostitution is keeping businesses from moving to Nevada. I guess he doesn't think 24/7 drinking and gambling or a water shortage or school system quality are decision factors.

The Bellagio bandit popped back in the news as he faces additional charges. Previously was armed robbery, assault, burglary, and carrying a concealed weapon. Now they added charges that include "with a deadly weapon".

We now have a Rio bandit, where a man ran into the Rio casino and stole a bunch of chips at about 4:30 in the morning on Thursday. As with the Bellagio robbery, the bandit made a clean get away. Police are hot on his trail as they have captured the cab driver that took him away and the man who bought the stolen chips.

Tix4Tonight is buying out assists of VegasTix4Less, in a settlement where they were suing each other. The later was owned by Vegas.com, a Greenspun corp.

A man suspected of a burglary was taken into custody, handcuffed and put into a Henderson cop car. He told the cops where some evidence was, so the cops left him handcuffed in the back seat as they searched for the item. The thief managed to get to the front seat and steal the patrol car, drove it several miles before abandoning it in a shopping center. He was re-arrested hours later.

Former Playboy model, mob princess, and daughter of Sam Giancana is suing the Vegas Mob Experience which is set to open in the Tropicana next week. She was hired as a consultant, sold some family items, and the Mob Experience is not paying her. I actually spoke with her a month ago during Mob Month, and she was actively promoting the experience. Her son, Carl Manno is a consultant in good standing with the Mob Experience.

The Light Group, which owns several nightclubs in town is being accused of operating as a brothel by training waitresses to be sexually provocative and encouraging them to have sex with rich clients who pay the club for the favors.

Vince Neil was released from jail early on good behavior and will spend the remainder of time on house arrest.

BB Kings at The Mirage has filed for bankruptcy, citing "steward services" that the Mirage is charging the club for things such as dishwashing. I had lunch there today. It was pretty good.

Cops TV show doing ride alongs this week. I saw them on the strip.

Tis NASCAR week. Carl Edwards jumped off Stratosphere. Tony Stewart drove cab painted as his race car. 69 year old Morgan Shepard chased down and tackled a shoplifter at a Walmart. Matt Kenseth is on the pole for the big race setting a track record.

Las Vegas Sands cuts comp rooms, tournaments, and discounts for shows and meals. Some amenities for free or reduced prices can still be had based on points.

Local baseball kid Bryce Harper started his professional career with 2 strike outs.

There is yet another ferris wheel proposal. The 500 wheel would be much like the London Eye, and part of a complete family friendly amusement park. The proposed park, including the wheel were approved by the Clark County Commission. The trick is that they will start with a small ferris wheel, and the big one will come later when the profits start rolling in. lol

Couple in court for leaving their child to die in hot car (and other child abuse) show up for sentencing. The guy brings a briefcase with $500 cash and $100,000 in jewelry and is denied bail.

Idiot jumped to his death from the Cosmopolitan hotel on Friday morning. Police were called to a possible suicide attempt early in the morning. The guy jumped a couple of hours later.

Thanks again, JMT! This always my favorite TalkVegas read

I have not taken a close enough look but I would assume that the Cosmopolitan has rooms with outside balconies.

In the old days when the Strip high rise hotels were originally being constructed, it was common knowledge within the LV construction industry to make it almost impossible for anyone to jump from a high place in an attempt to commit suicide.

Even today most all of the Nevada hotels ensure that windows cannot be open wide enough for any human body to fit through.

So I am a bit surprised if the Cosmo was constructed in such a way as to allow anyone to take a final jump from a devestating height.

If such is the case I fear that there will be many more successful suicide attempts followed by many successful lawsuits.

Maybe the lawyers will figure out a way to release such hotels from financial liability with a suicide release clause which visitors will be required to sign upon checking in before "checking out".

JMT, Thanks, I too look forward to these news stories!

I say, let them jump, so long as they don't hurt anyone else, or land on my car!

Must have been a slow week, the cops didn't shoot anyone????

The cops are still shooting but nothing that doesn't happen near your area. Mostly suicide by cop.

Thanks for reading.