UNLV Performing Arts Center welcomes legendary Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight” February 22
The UNLV Performing Arts Center welcomes Hal Holbrook in a special
performance of “Mark Twain Tonight” — arguably the most successful
one-man production in the history of American Theatre — at 8 p.m. on
Saturday, Feb. 22.
For 50 years, Holbrook has dazzled audiences with his candid portrayal
of Mark Twain. Winner of the Tony and the New York Drama Critics
Circle Awards, Holbrook has the uncanny ability to change and edit his
Twain to fit the times.
“I came… to see a professional man of theatre dress up and honor
Mark Twain, and instead had to settle for the crotchety, cigar-smoking
genuine article. By my count, the ornery fellow on stage was a spry
168… I never did get to see Mr. Holbrook” (John L. Smith, Las Vegas
Review-Journal).
Academy Award-nominee for 2007, Holbrook has appeared in dozens of
movies and numerous television programs, in addition to his lengthy
and varied career on the stage.
Tickets to Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight” are $25, $40, $55, and
$75 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center Box Office at
895-ARTS (2787) or by visiting pac.unlv.edu. Student rush tickets are
$13 each (not inclusive of the facilities fee), and available one hour
prior to each event, based on availability and with valid student I.D.
UNLV faculty and staff discounts also are available. A $1.50
facilities fee, in addition to the ticket price, is charged on all
Performing Arts Center tickets.
The box office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Information about all of the
season’s performances can be found on the Performing Arts Center
website, located at pac.unlv.edu.
Founded in 1976, the Performing Arts Center at UNLV is Southern
Nevada’s original performing arts venue, celebrating nearly 40 years
of arts in Las Vegas. Located on the north end of the UNLV campus, the
PAC hosts a variety of performances and is home to the Charles Vanda
Master Series. At the UNLV PAC, Southern Nevadans can enjoy the arts
nearly every day of the year. The Performing Arts Center is home to
productions presented by the Nevada Conservatory Theatre at UNLV and
the UNLV music and dance departments, the Desert Chorale, and the
Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society. The Center also hosts more than
50,000 Clark County School District students yearly for productions,
festivals and concerts.
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Flood control project begins in northwest Vegas Valley
Work began along a stretch of a northwest Las Vegas Valley roadway
that has endured several washouts in the last year due to heavy
rainfall.
The city of Las Vegas said the work involves the installation of storm
drain infrastructure on Grand Teton Drive between Durango Drive and
Rainbow Boulevard.
The two-mile stretch will take on the placement of underground box
culverts which will carry water to the Las Vegas Wash. The $11.7
million project is expected to last 15 months, the city said.
The city also noted one open traffic lane will be maintained on Grand
Teton during the work.
Drivers were advised to take Farm Road as an alternative route.
Residents along Grand Teton saw its share of washouts last year when
heavy rain caused flooding and portions of the road to damage.
Much of its damage stemmed from a storm in August that took away
chunks of asphalt from the road, creating pot holes and dangerous
driving conditions on Grand Teton.
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AARP: Coach USA diabetes policy change good for working seniors in Nevada
AARP is calling a recent change in diabetes policy at a major tour bus
operator a big win for older workers in Nevada and across the nation.
Coach USA, which conducts tours in Nevada, recently changed its
medical protocol for testing drivers for non-insulin-treated diabetes.
Daniel Kohrman, senior attorney, AARP Foundation Litigation, explained
that the company basically improved a policy that previously could
suspend drivers who might have the mildest form of diabetes but are
capable of doing their jobs. Prior to the policy change, he said, some
Coach USA drivers had to deal with being out of work for months at a
time.
“When older workers lose their job, they take about 50 percent longer
to find another job than younger workers — on average, nearly a year.
It is devastating to lose a job, altogether, for an older worker.”
Kohrman said Coach USA made the changes voluntarily, following years
of litigation on the matter in which his organization acted as
co-counsel for the plaintiffs. According to Coach USA, the company has
about 2,500 buses on the road and employs about 3,000 drivers.
Federal regulation of drivers with diabetes is geared toward those
using insulin, Kohrman said, adding that the drivers who sued Coach
used methods other than insulin — such as tablet medications, diet and
exercise — to manage their diabetes. Kohrman said AARP Foundation
Litigation is hoping other companies will also change or improve
health policies that wrongly fault employees with disabilities that
don’t affect their work performance.
“We are hopeful if we find more cases, as we suspect are out there, we
will be able to persuade companies that there’s a better way of doing
things. If Coach can agree to a better way, then other companies can,
too,” he said.
Don Carmichael with Coach USA said the new policy is a win for all
parties involved and is designed to keep healthy drivers on the road,
protect passengers and the public, and make sure that drivers who need
medical attention get it.
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“American Heart Month” focus is on preventing heart disease
Efforts are under way in Nevada during February to educate people
about heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans.
The American Heart Association’s annual “American Heart Month”
campaign is focused on education and prevention of a disease that
kills one in four Americans.
Jennifer Merback, communications director for the association in
Nevada and Utah, said prevention begins with understanding our own
health.
“Knowing your numbers,” she said, “which means knowing your blood
pressure, your cholesterol, your BMI — body mass index — visiting your
doctor to know those numbers.”
Prevention then focuses on the value of living a “heart-healthy
lifestyle” which involves daily exercise, eating healthy and doing
one’s best to handle stress, Merback said.
Another big part of American Heart Month is “National Wear Red Day” on
Friday. It’s meant to raise awareness of the fact that heart disease
kills one in three American women, and causes more deaths among
females than all forms of cancer combined.
Merback said being overweight and out of shape are big factors in
heart disease, but smoking remains the most deadly problem.
“It is the No. 1 preventive cause of death,” she said. “Many people
think obesity is coming up there but smoking is still No. 1 in the
U.S. and Nevada.”
According to the association, slightly more than 4,800 Nevadans died
from heart disease in 2010, accounting for 25 percent of all deaths in
the state that year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports that heart disease kills about 600,000 Americans every year.
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UNR hires new dean for College of Agriculture, Biotech, Natural Resources
Following a national search and recruitment process, William “Bill”
Payne joins the University of Nevada, Reno as the new dean of the
College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources.
Payne comes to the University from Texas A&M University, where he was
a professor of crop physiology and director of a multi-institutional,
$150 million research endeavor aimed at improving food security and
livelihoods in the dry areas of the world.
As dean, Payne also becomes director of the Nevada Agricultural
Experiment Station, which conducts basic and applied research,
programs and collaborations to enhance the sustainability of Nevada’s
agriculture industry. The Agricultural Experiment Station operates
eight field laboratories around the state.
Payne, as director of the Research Program on Dryland Systems
conducted through Texas A&M’s Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research, led an innovative and integrated agro-ecosystem
approach involving multiple stakeholders to improve agricultural
productivity and alleviate poverty and hunger in dry areas of the
world. Much of his field work centered in Ethiopia.
Payne earned his doctorate in soil science from Texas A&M, has
authored or co-authored more than 120 journal articles and book
chapters, and edited three books.
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UNLV Performing Arts Center welcomes legendary Hal Holbrook
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