Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will hold a rally for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

The rally will be Thursday, August 28 at the Henderson Pavilion starting at 4 p.m. The address is 200 S. Water Street. Prior to that rally, Romney will host a fundraiser for the Nevada Republican Party.

Romney, was a one-time competitor with McCain for the GOP nomination.

The City of Henderson City Council has approved a pilot loan program to help residents in replacing their water-thirsty grass with water-efficient landscaping.

The City of Henderson supports the SNWA Water Smart Landscapes Rebate Program, which offers a rebate of $1.50 per square foot for turf that is converted to drought tolerant landscaping.

Turf requires approximately 55 more gallons of water per square foot annually than water-efficient landscaping.

SNWA estimates up to 30-percent of residential applicants withdraw from the program before completion, many due to the prohibitive up-front costs of new landscaping installation. The City's Turf Removal Loan Pilot Program will assist those Henderson residents of any income level who wish to participate in SNWA's rebate program.

The program will offer a loan up to $5,000 at 3-percent interest, amortized over a seven year period. Eligible applicants must be City of Henderson Department of Utility Services customers, and the property being converted must be their primary residence. Eligible applicants must meet minimum credit requirements.

Football season is fast approaching, and that means the Basic High School Wolves are working hard to make sure they’re on top of their game. This season, some big changes have been made.

Jeff Cahill, a 1992 Basic graduate, has just stepped up as head coach for the varsity team. He wants to make sure the teachings of former coaches are remembered, especially because one of those former coaches happens to be his father.

“We definitely are about tradition here at Basic and I grew up throughout that tradition…I’m really trying to emphasize keeping (former coaches’) teachings and the things that they did within the program and adding some new stuff with the new generation,” Cahill said.

SLIDESHOW: Basic Gears up for Football Season

His father Dan Cahill has been at Basic High School since it was built in 1972. He attended Las Vegas High School when he was young, then left to play at Miami University in Ohio. He also spent six years as the head coach for Boulder City High School’s team. Now, he’s happy to be retired, but still volunteers his time with the team. 

“What a great group of kids. (It’s) fun to come out here every day. It’s just a joy, pure joy and then it’s doubled by being able to work with my son,” he said.

He’s also proud that his son has been able to take charge of the team in his own way, but doesn’t take a lot of credit for his son’s talents as a coach.

“I think (Jeff) probably gained more from Clif Frazier, John Wise and Richard Whitehead, who was his coach in high school. He picked a lot of the things up that he does from them. So I have to accredit them more with that part of his development. His personality, I’ll take credit for!”

With two generations of Basic High institutions, plus additional coaches for support, the Wolves Jeff Cahill is certain they’ll be the best in the valley this fall.

“We’re really excited about this season.  We’re trying to take that next step here and turn us into a playoff team every year, and it’s something that we’re striving for - to be better.”

The City of Henderson Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit on Aug. 14 for a new Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada Women Infants and Children Clinic to be opened in October.  The new facility isn’t far from the old one, but it’s space that is sorely needed.

“In the past year our program here at the Henderson office has doubled in participant size.  We’re really going to expand a lot more once we move.  There’s great need for our service in the community and if we move into a bigger space we can serve more people,” said Crystal Schulz, Grant Compliance Manager and Nutritionist for the WIC Program.

The WIC program offers nutritional education and referrals to low income pregnant, breast feeding or post-partum mothers.  The Henderson branch has increased their outreach efforts now that more people are hurting in a slow economy.

“Mostly we serve Henderson residents, but also those ones that are over there in Southern Highlands come here, or seven hills area.  They all come here and it’s really far. They might be better off actually driving to Las Vegas, but the like how we are here.  We’re generally pretty nice to them and get them out of here on time,” Schulz said.

If all goes well, a third facility located closer to Green Valley will be opened in January to better serve the southwest part of the valley. Right now the closest clinic is over thirteen miles away from the Henderson facility.

Nevada State College is moving into new digs for the 2008 school year. A 42,000 square-foot building in Henderson that cost $23 million to build.

The liberal arts and sciences building is the first of several buildings on a wish list for the school of about 2,000 students. The school opened in 2002 with temporary headquarters inside a remodeled vitamin warehouse.

The school has secured 500 acres of hillside space in Henderson. School spokesman Spencer Stewart says officials want to build a 60,000 square-foot, $40 million nursing and sciences building.

Since 2002, the school has leased the vitamin warehouse from the city of Henderson for $1 per year. It also leases class and office space elsewhere in Henderson.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Thirty percent of new businesses never make it through their first year, according to Larry Vierra of the Nevada Small Business Development Center. He also added that there is a 60% failure rate for any independent business operating in their first three years.

In a slow economy it is even harder for businesses to stay open, especially restaurants. The first thing people cut back on in hard times is their night out, and new restaurant owners aren’t always prepared for that.

“A lot of times people have grandiose ideas, especially in the restaurant industry, and they will commit far too many dollars up front with nothing in reserve for consequences like we’re facing today in the economy,” explained Vierra.

There’s at least one restaurant in the valley making profits. R.E. Tapas is a hot spot located right between Henderson and the strip. Chef Errol LeBlanc is the owner, and he took a lot of risks to open last March, but those risks seem to be paying off. He’s taken a lot of measures more recently to make sure that the success of his lounge is not a passing fad.

“I think it just comes down to how you manage your place, how you run your place, and what you serve. If you have a good-quality product and it’s remotely unique, you’ll survive if you want to survive,” LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc has cashed in on the hospitality industry in particular. He decided to keep R.E. Tapas open late, and as a result, he serves his creations to a lot of casino workers after they clock out. Those workers have given him a lot of insight about how restaurants on the strip are faring in the bad economy.

“It’s super slow, they’re transferring people around…It was amazing, I couldn’t believe it.  I couldn’t believe that the hotels were slow like that too,” LeBlanc said.

Vierra said that because LeBlanc is the only restaurant open late in his area he could do very well because he’s serving a specific need, but is also welcoming to all patrons.

“If you’re in a location where people are getting off of work and it’s more of a destination and gathering spot then you can certainly be successful.”

Spectrum, a Motown tribute group, performed on the strip for nine out of the 13 years the group has been together. They’re just one of many Las Vegas acts that have been hit hard by a slow economy and major changes in the type of acts being booked.

 ”It appears that a lot of the lounges have closed, the lounges have been closing one by one and we’re in a period of ultra lounges and the hot clubs. The DJs are making a lot of money, and I think a lot of the entertainers are in trouble and are not working,” said Pierre Jovan, the group’s bass and baritone singer.

“We have found that a lot of our colleagues have been losing their contracts and jobs at some of the lounges. Fortunately, we are not a lounge act - we originated as a showroom act at legends in concert and American superstars and then graduated to performing a showroom act on our own in a tiny showroom at the Boardwalk,” explained Cushney ‘Cush’ Roberts, the group’s founder and a Henderson resident.

After the Boardwalk Casino was imploded to make way for City Center, Spectrum was at the height of their success. They had just been voted Las Vegas’ number one lounge act by the Review Journal for two years in a row, but they haven’t performed on the strip since then.

 ”If you want to call us a semi-showroom, semi-lounge act because we’ve had the versatility to do both in Las Vegas, then we have successfully been able to transition into competing on a national stage and that has enabled us to keep afloat in these hard times,” Roberts said. 

The group says that their heart has always been in Las Vegas, but they’ve had to turn to unconventional venues to keep the cash flow steady. They still get a big turnout for their symphony tours and have received some international success following their performances on cruise ships.

A bobcat was spotted in Sun City Anthem. Melodie Miller sent us pictures of the cat. She says they were taken at a home near the golf course.

She says the cat was not scared of her but watched her closely while she took pictures.

Of course, it's never a good idea to approach a wild animal.

The race for the White House came through Las Vegas again Friday. Senator Hillary Clinton made her first campaign stop for Barack Obama at Green Valley High School.

Hillary Clinton's visit kicks off a chain of events throughout the state trying to rally those undecided voters behind Barack Obama.

Friday's rally is just another step forward as Democrats in Las Vegas try to put the heated primary battle behind them. It's no secret that many Clinton supporters are still wounded. But Hillary is trying to patch them up.

There were rumblings and muffled cheers of her name as she entered but it wasn't a rock star reception, nor was it a packed house. But Clinton had a message to give. A message she hopes will unify the party before the Democratic convention in just two weeks.

Her push to bring the party together couldn't have come at a better time. The McCain camp is using her attacks against Obama in campaign ads. Clinton says McCain is trying to take attention from his shortcomings.

'”It's to divert attention from the inadequacies of their own campaign. I am here today on behalf of Senator Obama. It's my 8th or 9th appearance for him. So I am going to keep working on his behalf,” she said.

Hillary Clinton says Obama also has her husband's full support and both of them will work together to make sure Obama wins the White House in November.

National research shows the race is a virtual dead heat. So who wins the White House will ultimately come down to which candidate can get their supporters to the polls. That's why Clinton is calling on even those who are too young to vote to get involved – volunteer, knock on doors and register people to vote.

Clinton has asked that her name be put in nomination during a roll call vote at the Democratic convention. Some say that could be a disaster. She kept it simple. She says both her and Obama's staff are working that out right now. But she did say that the party wants no disputes at the convention.