Proposed state budget cutbacks threaten to close the longtime Division of Welfare and Supportive Services office at 1040 W. Owens Ave.
While 70 funded staff additions have been shelved for cost-saving reasons, Gary Stagliano, deputy administrator for programming and field operations, says that so far no current department employees are expected to lose their jobs. The Owens location is 3.6 miles from the nearest welfare office, he adds.
"None of this is desirable," Stagliano says.
Not with the economy foundering and need for services growing by the day.
JESSICA'S CHILDREN: When 26-year-old Jessica Korschinowski was fatally wounded on May 18, 2003, she left behind four children ranging in age from 1 to 9.
Since that awful day, her family and friends have worked to make sure her children remained in the safe, loving home of Jessica's parents. Her sisters, Kim Comer and Traci Reiss, joined with friend Hollie Taylor to create a charity golf tournament to benefit Jessica's children.
This year's tournament is set for Tuesday at the Dragon Ridge Country Club with an entry fee of $200 per player. Donations also will be accepted, and all funds go directly to the children.
THE SINGER: Paul Anka likes to call himself a saloon singer, but that's like Mickey Mantle calling himself a sandlot slugger. Anka homered on July 26 when he married 37-year-old personal trainer Anna Aberg in Sardinia, Italy. The couple has been together four years and has a 2-year-old son.
Anka, 67, returns to Las Vegas in December to headline at the Orleans.
TOPS OPTIONAL: The Las Vegas Advisor reports 10 casino pools have "gone topless," with gaming companies grooming ever-closer relationships with topless cabarets. The Rio's hookup with Sapphire Gentlemen's Club is arguably the most risqué.
"It's the closest thing yet to a strip club inside a casino," LasVegasAdvisor.com President Anthony Curtis says. "The girls aren't allowed to strip or perform lap dances, but there's no mistaking the vibe or the intent."
MAHEU'S MEMORY: Howard Hughes' business alter ego Robert Maheu, who died Monday, arguably knew no better friend in recent years than former Hughes aide Gordon Margulis. A consummate straight shooter, Margulis calls tripe any thoughts that Maheu harbored resentment toward Hughes after their well-publicized split. When Hughes died in 1976, Maheu was deeply saddened.
"Bob had bitter things to say, but not about Hughes," Margulis says. "About the people around him, yes, but not about Hughes."
GENE'S 'PRAYER': Platters bass singer Gene Williams died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. Manager Jean Bennett will always cherish his amazing voice.
"I talked to him just a few days before he died," says Bennett, who first met Williams after he joined manager Buck Ram's rendition of the singing group. "Gene had a great feeling for an audience. He had a deep warmth in his voice that just melted everyone's heart."
HEROES WANTED: There's still time to nominate a worthy local person for the second annual Heroes of Southern Nevada Awards. Nominations are due by Sept. 15.
More information is available at redcrosslasvegas.org.
'OH, MAMMA': This week's column on "Mamma Mia!" super fan Jim Sebert and his family has generated mail from other devotees of the musical at the Mandalay Bay with a common theme: Why must it close on Jan. 4?
Dave Kirvin crafts the PR for the production: "The producers of the show feel that they had a terrific, extraordinary run here in Las Vegas, and they're very proud of the show's success, but they also felt that it's best to leave on a high note, and I think it's the old show business: You always want to leave them wanting more."
From the sounds of things, they do.
ON THE BOULEVARD: Clark County officials aren't commenting on their ongoing inquiry into the Commercial Center's, ahem, "health clubs."
BOULEVARD II: Sahara alums won't want to miss the storied casino's 12th annual reunion set for Sept. 18 at Palace Station.
Why there and not the Sahara? Station Casinos founder Frank Fertitta Jr. once worked at the Sahara, event coordinator Robin Feigelman tells me.
BOULEVARD III: Brandon Rayner, a brave boy who is battling leukemia, still needs a bone marrow transplant. The folks at Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada can help you become part of the National Marrow Donor Program. The number is 737-1919. You could save a life.
Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.
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