🛫 The longest flight to Vegas

🧳 All-Day Travel to a Land Down Under

Can you last 15 hours and 15 minutes in economy — and keep your sanity? The challenge comes with the first-ever direct route between Las Vegas and Sydney, Australia. The new Qantas Airlines flight, the longest ever for Harry Reid International Airport, launches in December. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

💩 Septic Tank Owners Raise a Stink Over Regulations

What a mess. The Southern Nevada Health District tried to unroll new septic tank regulations, nixing lifetime permits in favor of five-year renewals before walking back the idea. The confusion led to a chaotic community meeting at the Centennial Hills YMCA with roughly a thousand septic tank owners revolting … and capacity overflowing. [KTNV]

👍 Toucan Sam Is Safe

A colorful toucan named Sam — who went viral after escaping his cage, living in the desert for three months, and setting off a valleywide search — was finally captured by volunteers. (How? He flew into somebody’s garage.) Sam was a little worse for wear, but got checked out by a vet and will be ok. [KVVU]

• In more non-human news: The Animal Foundation is working on design plans for a new supplemental shelter in the Southwest Valley. [KVVU]
• A local doggie named India, who brought help to her injured owner, reached the quarter finals of America’s Favorite Pet competition 🥹 [KTNV]

💰 Is Nevada’s Live Entertainment Tax Unfair?

Nevada’s decades-old casino entertainment tax was repealed in favor of the more extensive live entertainment tax in 2004, but has been inconsistently applied ever since. City Cast Las Vegas looks at the differences in taxing sports, concerts, and other forms of entertainment — and why lawmakers may want to revamp the system for everyone’s benefit. It’s all part of the Friday news roundup, along with the latest on Flavor Flav’s Olympic-sized party invitation, and a goldendoodle who found a new home after getting abandoned at the airport. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

😃 Hey!

Did you miss the City Cast Las Vegas news quiz last week? Don’t worry. It’s back to test how well you pay attention to me. As always, the questions are based on stories featured in the newsletter over the past week.

Here’s the first question to get you started:

What is Metallica promising to do during the band’s upcoming residency at the Sphere?

A. Play the "Master of Puppets" album in its entirety

B. Reunite with former bassist Jason Newsted

C. Limit repetition between setlists

D. Give away free tickets to fan club members

Each week our City Cast Las Vegas Neighbors get to shout out their favorite local people, places, and things.

• 📣 Carlos V. is a fan of Poppy’s Donuts in the Medical District. “As an early riser, I appreciate tremendously Poppy's Donuts on Charleston and Shadow for opening at 0500 hours,” he says while raving about the “delicious” food and “freshly squeezed O.J.”
• 📣 Amy M. loves The Parlour Bar and Lounge at El Cortez on Fremont Street. “Roger always makes me feel welcome, no matter how late,” she says. “And the food is ALWAYS FIRE!”

Become a City Cast Las Vegas Neighbor to share your own shoutout in this newsletter and on our podcast.