Archive for the ‘Current Affairs’ Category
 
Las Vegas Ranks Poorly in Teen Driving
Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Any parent of a teen driver worries about them on the roads, but a new study shows that teens driving on Las Vegas roads face even more dangers. The study was done over a seven year period by Allstate Insurance Company, and during that time more than 300 teens were killed on our roads.

The study ranks Las Vegas as 15th out of the 50 most dangerous places for teen drivers. Nationwide, traffic crashes are the number one killer of teens from the ages of 15 to 20. AAA attributes the growing number of deaths in Las Vegas to the growing population, and they say parent involvement is a big part of prevention.

“Teens don’t have to be in big SUV’s that are hard to maneuver. These are the most inexperienced drivers on the road, so the simpler the better when it comes to educating teens. Picking the right car is one of the right answers,” said Michael Geeser with AAA.

Once teens get their license, many want their own car or to take the family car. AAA recommends that parents make sure their teen is driving a vehicle they can handle and the family SUV may be too much car for their experience level.

AAA also recommends that parents draw up a paper outlining what rules they expect new drivers to abide by, so teens know exactly what limits are placed on them as new drivers.

The study called San Francisco the safest city for teens while the Tampa area in Florida was deemed the worst place for teen drivers.

 
Nevada Ranks Poorly in New Gun Report
Thursday, January 31st, 2008

guns_180.jpgAdvocates on both sides of the gun control debate are fired up after a new report shows Nevada isn’t doing enough to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.

The National Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence just released its annual scorecard. It ranks states by how effective their existing laws are in curbing gun violence and illegal gun trafficking.

“Gun control doesn’t control criminals. We need to control criminals,” said gun store owner Bob Irwin.

(more…)

 
Vegas housing affordability swings
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007

Forbes just might be the king of lists, and they released another stat today reveals what most of us already know: even with the housing bubble burst, it is still a chore to find affordable housing in the Las Vegas Valley. Ironically, back in 2001 … just six years ago … we ranked as one of the nation’s most affordable places to live. Anyone who has purchased a resale house recently, and looked at the sale history, usually exhibits a trademark cringe.

As reported by Alyson McCarthy this morning on Eyewitness News 8, Forbes’ data now shows that Las Vegas is the 7th least affordable housing market in the country. Forbes reports that growth has slowed to a point in Southern Nevada that less than 20 percent of the home sales last quarter where within reach of households at the median income level.

You can read the complete Forbes story here.

 
Las Vegas…the best and the worst of it
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

You’ve seen those ranking stories, where you hear Las Vegas or Nevada is in the top 10 or bottom 10 of some new study’s listing. Do we have the most neon lights (probably)? Do we have the worst crime (some days it may feel like it)?

We hope to use this blog to keep you updated on the latest. Right now, you can find out where Clark County schools rank in their Adequate Yearly Progress Report, or where Nevada ranks in child deaths.

You can learn how Metro Police reacted to a study on Nevada’s anti-gang efforts. Then for all you home owners out there (or hoping to some day be one), there’s North Las Vegas having one of the nation’s 10 worst rates of home foreclosure.

Keep checking back for new lists our fair city or state has managed to make — or tell us of ones you’ve heard about.