Joe Schoenmann

Story Archive

Pot dispensaries come with big price tags, lots of rules
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
If the expense of opening a medical marijuana facility — dispensary, cultivation or production facility, or testing lab — doesn’t scare away investors, 28 pages of Las Vegas regulations might. The city’s Recommending Committee will...
Las Vegas considering outdoor ban on alcohol bottles, cans downtown
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
A city of Las Vegas committee will consider a new booze rule allowing people to drink only from plastic cups in a 32-block area around Fremont Street downtown. The proposed amendment to city ordinances is meant to ...
Las Vegas budget remains unbalanced
Sunday, May 25, 2014
The Las Vegas city budget got busted in the recession.
Q+A: Bob Beers on budgets, Cliven Bundy and his challenge of Sen. Harry Reid
Friday, May 23, 2014
Councilman Bob Beers is frustrated that the City of Las Vegas can’t seem to live within its means. At a recent meeting ...
City to allow dispensaries on LV Boulevard, Fremont Street
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Ultimately, only 12 dispensaries will be allowed within Las Vegas city limits. There are no numerical limits on cultivation and production facilities beyond distance separation ...
Las Vegas officials bar new liquor stores, tighten rules
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The belief that drink-fueled problems in the five-block Fremont Street Experience are caused by package liquor sales prompted the Las Vegas City Council to crack down, toughening laws on ...
Gambling returns to old Moulin Rouge — for a day
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The historic Moulin Rouge casino is reopening — kind of, for eight hours anyway, and in a trailer. One day next month, a trailer with 16 slot machines will be rolled onto the site of the mostly demolished Moulin Rouge, allowing the owner to...
Campaign finance: Mark Hutchison, Lucy Flores and more
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Campaign finance reports for Nevada politicians are due today. We'll break down ...
Joe Downtown: City commission gives $1 million to help revive Huntridge Theater
Monday, May 19, 2014
Questions about the risk Las Vegas might take on if it invests $1 million in historic Huntridge Theater fell to impassioned speeches from neighbors about ...
Joe Downtown: Use of force is prominent topic in sheriff candidate forum
Thursday, May 15, 2014
With just nine days before early voting begins, eight of nine men vying to become the next sheriff answered questions Thursday night on everything from police use of force on people — and animals — to immigration and ...
Bundy family to pursue legal action against BLM
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Unsatisfied with the local government response to a showdown between supporters of Cliven Bundy and Bureau of Land Management rangers more than a month ago, the Bundys announced they will ...
Downtowner named among most creative people in business
Monday, May 12, 2014
A downtowner was named one of this year’s 100 most creative people in business in the latest issue of Fast Company magazine. Jen McCabe is VegasTechFund’s chief of hardware investments. TechFund is...
Vintage is back in style in Las Vegas
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Las Vegas history matters again, moreso than it maybe ever has, to the community at large as well as the business community. The success of the Mob Museum and the push to revitalize the historic Huntridge Theater are just two examples of how the city ...
One month later, Cliven Bundy, militia, residents face an uneasy coexistence
Thursday, May 8, 2014
The federal agents backed down. The TV lights flickered off. The reporters flew home. But one month after the Bureau of Land Management’s cattle roundup...
Joe Downtown: Councilman exploring whether city can kick-start Huntridge fundraising effort
Friday, May 2, 2014
Las Vegas Councilman Bob Coffin said a lawsuit looming over an effort to purchase and renovate the historic Huntridge Theater has caused would-be backers to …
Rancher Cliven Bundy's family, supporters gather peacefully at Metro Police
Friday, May 2, 2014
Cliven Bundy's family protested peacefully in front of the Metro Police department this morning and filed criminal complaints against the Bureau of Land Management for...
Joe Downtown: Clark County public defenders form union, face battle with administrators
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Very quietly, lawyers in the Office of the Clark County Public Defender have formed a union, a move they feel is key to obtaining pay equity with ...
Movie shot and produced in Nevada puts new tax incentive in play
Friday, April 25, 2014
Las Vegas’ neon-lit, mobster-shadowed history is a frequent backdrop for movies and television shows. But the fact that a movie is being filmed ...
Joe Downtown: Thousands — mostly non-Nevadans — sign online petition opposing horse carriages
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Posted online less than a week, a petition against horse-drawn carriage rides in Las Vegas had collected some 5,400 electronic signatures by Thursday afternoon. Of the most recent 1,000 signatures, only 30, or 3 percent, were ...
Joe Downtown: Just opened, O Face doughnuts already packing them in
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
The mere fact that two of its morning offerings contained bacon is a sign that O Face is on the right track. Another sign: by 10 a.m., a rush of customers...
Joe Downtown: City seeking lifeguards, swim instructors
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Lifeguards and swim instructors are needed to patrol the waters of city pools this summer. The city has about 35 positions available for...
Joe Downtown: Inspire Theater to show documentary on jazz, big band musicians
Monday, April 21, 2014
A multi-award-winning documentary about female jazz and big band musicians from the 1930s to now will be shown at downtown’s new Inspire Theater next week.
The New York Times described...
Recipe for success not so complicated
Sunday, April 20, 2014
In an odd way, the struggles at Wild, the pizza restaurant on the first floor of the Ogden, could be a good thing for the Downtown Project ...
Joe Downtown: Construction to begin on downtown beautification project
Thursday, April 17, 2014
The city is about to shower some love on a part of downtown that needs it. Construction on a Main and Commerce streets beautification ...
Joe Downtown: Fremont Country Club gets OK for 18 and up shows
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Fremont Country Club has booked a few bigger-name acts — Hanson (of "MMMBop" fame) played there last September — but it has never made the big splash that its operator/promoter ...
Joe Downtown: Las Vegas City Council votes to allow horse-drawn carriages downtown
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Though they argued it would lead to more congested streets downtown, the mayor and two Las Vegas City Council members were outvoted: horse-drawn carriages are on their way. Despite concerns...
Joe Downtown: Liquor battle brewing at Fremont Street Experience
Monday, April 14, 2014
downtown liquor store operators on Fremont Street are feeling the squeeze. They put up signs telling people not to open containers inside their stores, they hired security, they warned customers not to drink within 1,000 feet of their stores. But even after all that ...
Joe Downtown: Company gets tax credits for shooting movie in Las Vegas
Monday, April 14, 2014
A production company shooting a movie in Las Vegas starring Dakota Fanning has received $297,000 in state tax credits. The company, LPF One DTIG LLC, will be filming in Southern Nevada until early May and already has shot at a downtown club, at Mount Charleston and today was at ....
Joe Downtown: New management at The Ogden’s Wild eyes healthier business model
Thursday, April 10, 2014
The Downtown Project has taken over Wild, the gluten-free pizza restaurant on the first floor of The Ogden, and has employed a former chef to help ...
Joe Downtown: Slotzilla zip lines tested with dummies as attraction sets to open
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
No one is saying exactly when Slotzilla will open, but project managers and engineers are this week testing 175-pound dummies on each of the four lower lines of the zipline attraction at the Fremont Street Experience. Lonnie Reed, principal of Themed Development Management, categorized the ride’s testing as some of the most ...
Joe Downtown: Cars towed, spirits dampened on First Friday
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
A tiny dirt lot in downtown Las Vegas became ground zero for bewildered vehicle owners who found their cars had been towed. Downtown resident John Delibos pulled into the lot and found ...
Joe Downtown: New online magazine hopes to be ‘go-to reference site’ for fashion in Las Vegas
Thursday, April 3, 2014
A new online magazine and blog focusing on all things fashion-related in Las Vegas launched today. Called FashionFeedLV.com, it is the creation of founder ...
Joe Downtown: Electric Daisy promoter told to stay away from his downtown clubs
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Pasquale Rotella, whose Insomniac Inc. puts on the popular Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, has been banned by the city from visiting...
Joe Downtown: Add another to list of businesses departing Container Park
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Yet another Container Park business will be leaving, this on the heels of the four other businesses announcing they'd vacate the recently opened downtown development by …
Joe Downtown: Officials toast opening of Bier Garten at the Plaza
With its abundance of plants and lawn, site is touted as 'a place to escape the concrete jungle'
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
On a windy and cool night suitable for an Oktoberfest party, the mayor, ex-mayor and dozens of drinkers foisted beers, and a martini, to the grand opening of Bier Garten, an indoor/outdoor bar/eatery at the Plaza. “It gives people a place to escape ...
Joe Downtown: The Atomic to host demo for 3D TV, minus the glasses
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
But The Atomic, one of the oldest bars in the city, will this week bring something to its customers that is at the forefront of visual technologies. Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. the bar will showcase ...
Joe Downtown: Group lauds Container Park as it pulls plug on 3 shops there
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Three businesses operated by Future Restaurant Group are moving out of the Downtown Container Park, just a few months after ...
Joe Downtown: Group working to preserve Huntridge memorabilia opens office
Monday, March 31, 2014
The Huntridge Foundation, which seeks to preserve items from the Huntridge Theater’s past, is opening its office and kicking off its “Memory Project” starting Friday. The new office is in ...
Could horse-drawn carriages make a comeback in Las Vegas?
Sunday, March 30, 2014
New York City's mayor calls them inhumane, but some in Las Vegas think horse-drawn carriages can work fine here ...
Joe Downtown: Container Park to host monthly music series
Friday, March 28, 2014
When musician Sheryl Crow plays at the Container Park next Friday night for roughly 1,000 people, it will be something of a milestone for East Fremont Street. Crow has been in the business for decades and...
Get to know Las Vegas from natives
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Stories of the kids of mobsters who went to public school and drove expensive cars blend one into the other. But it pays to listen, if only because it tells you something about Las Vegas ...
Joe Downtown: Streets to close for burning of Life Cube
Thursday, March 20, 2014
The streets will be closed downtown Friday night in the vicinity of the Life Cube, which will be set ablaze, along with thousands of written goals and wishes. The Life Cube is the manifestation of...
Joe Downtown: Harvard students look to apply lessons in Las Vegas
Monday, March 17, 2014
Harvard Business School students looking to connect the real world of downtown Las Vegas with an entrepreneurial idea they’ve spent the last few months developing want feedback from Las Vegas residents at...
Joe Downtown: Plug pulled on music events leading up to Life Cube burning
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Six nights of music leading up to a widely heralded, public performance art exhibit in downtown Las Vegas is likely to be canceled because...
Joe Downtown: Does state's lawsuit hinder Huntridge momentum?
Friday, March 7, 2014
The Nevada Attorney General's Office has sued the current owners of the historic Huntridge Theater, alleging they broke various covenants and must repay...
Joe Downtown: Metro officers ready to walk the beat around East Fremont
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Aside from the Strip or inorganic commercial developments that prohibit vehicular traffic to satisfy tourists, Las Vegas doesn’t have much for people who simply want to walk the neighborhoods. But redevelopment on East Fremont Street is making parts of downtown so walkable, Metro Police are about to embark on a new method of patrolling there. Officers downtown are going to start ...
Joe Downtown: Upper-floor Container Park tenant is shuttering store
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
The owner of Alios, an architectural and entertainment lighting business, said he got “great exposure” by being at the Container Park, even though his third-floor location gets little visitor traffic. Todd VonBaastians discusses another possible reason business wasn't booming at the outdoor mall.
Joe Downtown: Downtown Project takes over another building, but this time it’s different
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Plans filed with the city for yet another Downtown Project development stand out immediately for one detail.
Joe Downtown: East Fremont getting its grocery store … sort of
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
It finally looks like something of a grocery store is coming to east Fremont Street. Plans for a combination grocery store/restaurant at 611 Fremont St. were submitted to the city and will be considered Tuesday by the Planning Commission. A Mexican restaurant and a deli/market used to share the 6,500-square-foot spot until they were forced to move last year; Downtown Project became the new tenant after their leases expired.
Joe Downtown: ‘Pawn Shop Live!’ moving to the Riviera
Monday, March 3, 2014
A stage production inspired by the hit reality TV show “Pawn Stars” is moving from downtown to the Strip.