Vegas Life
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2/2/2009
Been in town for nearly 39 years and have seen many, many changes. One of the most problematic has been the increase in crime over the years. As the population boomed from 1990 to 2007, the crime increased and there is a significant gang presence in areas of the city. Certain areas are beautiful and masterplanned (e.g., Summerlin), but many older areas in the north and northeast sections of the city are dangerous.
The other problem area is infrastructure. The population far outstrips the roadways and there is constant expansion of major arterials which has been going on for years and will proceed into the foreseeable future.
Finally, there are problems with governmental priorities. We are one of the lowest-rated states in terms of education performance. There are currently budget cuts threatened which will gut the university system and push many young teachers over the edge into a non-subsistence wage. There is concurrently a plan proposed to build a new city hall and perhaps a "mob" museum as a tourist attraction. Why we don't have a lottery, with payments earmarked for education, is simply beyond me. While I understand the major casinos being against a competitive gambling venue, it certainly doesn't seem the lottery (at $1 per play) would siphon anything meaningful away from the casinos.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Joe | Summerlin South, NV