🌺 How Las Vegans can help Maui

🍎 Training Teachers

The school district still has, conservative estimate, a million teacher vacancies — OK, the real number is closer to 1,100 — so it’s piloting a new program to help alleviate the shortfall: “teacher residents.” Those would be education majors from Nevada State University who’ll work in high-needs elementaries, aided by close mentorship — and a higher than normal sub pay. [Review-Journal]

💵 Who’ll Help the CEOs?

To help bolster the valley’s business-luring efforts, local governments are being asked to help bankroll a lavish weekend for CEOs during the 2024 Super Bowl weekend — including a $1.24 million “game day suite” at Allegiant Stadium. Among the big asks: $440,000 from Clark County, and $290,000 from the city of Las Vegas. [Nevada Current]

🌊 Water Restrictions Easing — A Little

Thanks to winter’s heavy snowpack, it’s likely the feds will ease water restrictions on Colorado River users this week — slightly. Lake Mead is still at just 33% of capacity. [KLAS]

🫰 Bettor Daze

With its lurid elements — a pro athlete turned illegal bookie; a secret book of names; possible ties to a resort president — the sports-betting scandal currently rocking the Strip sounds readymade for HBO. Nevada Current journalist Dana Gentry talks to podcast co-host Dayvid Figler about untangling this web of allegations and scandal — and what it could mean for Las Vegas. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

Now That Hurts, CNN …

* * * *

What's on Your Mind?

🚧 Regarding incessant traffic construction, this reader has a theory that’s much more plausible than the idea that our roads need so much work:

Te Ann: “To save the city money for storing traffic cones in a warehouse, they are instead shuffled around street to street.”

🤔 A report on the rise in homelessness brought this response:

Tim Tieman: “Mayor Oscar Goodman had the all-time best way to help the homeless, but it was shut down by the supposed homeless advocates. His idea was especially good for families. It kept them safe, fed, living in clean facilities with education for kids, medical care … It had one drawback that in the face of everything that's going on now seems immaterial. It was to be located in the almost brand new and unused prison at Jean. There were plans to make it more like apartments, but the homeless advocates didn't want to lose control.”

• Well, let’s not give Goodman too much humanitarian credit. Of those homeless people who might not want to be warehoused in a remote desert prison, he said at the time, “I don't care if they don't want to move there or not, sometimes people don't have choices.”

🤡 In this town, would anyone even notice …

Press release: “The Clown School is coming to Las Vegas.”

• Well, Las Vegas is a good city in which to educate circus performers. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

🎸 ‘Cruel Summer’ | Friday | 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

It’s a double bill of bilingual rock ’n’ roll with local rock en Español acts Los Pelos Del Mas Alla and The Sonz. [Taverna Costera, Arts District; $17.85]

🎫 ‘The Tempest’ | Friday-Sunday | Various times

Las Vegas Little Theatre and the Alchemy Arts Academy team up for this late-period Shakespearean banger, which features a shipwreck, magic, young love, and more. [Las Vegas Little Theatre, Valley View and Spring Mountain; $20-$10]

🚶‍♀️ Labyrinth Presentation, Indoor Walk | Saturday | 2-4:30 p.m.

Get caught up on the 4,000-year history of the labyrinth (which isn’t a maze, by the way) and its uses — and walk one yourself. [Paseo Verde Library, Henderson; free]

• Before you attend: A few words about labyrinths from yours truly [Hey Las Vegas 📧] and even more words from yours truly. [Desert Companion]

The Gambling Scandal That Has the Strip on Edge

A pro-athlete turned illegal bookie. A secret book of names. And possibly money-laundering through comped chips in a scandal that’s rattling the Boulevard. This is the subject of new investigative reporting from Dana Gentry at the Nevada Current. She talks to co-host Dayvid Figler about what this could mean for Las Vegas.