My Stuff, Lately

Nobody will ever accuse me of slacking off at the end of my Vegas run. In the past week alone, several significant pieces have appeared, but two in particular are worthy of highlighting:

* JOCKEY CLUB 4EVA: The cover of the Las Vegas Weekly is an assessment of this little eyesore of a timeshare complex run by understandably grumpy people and it's weird relationship with all the massive towers, most specifically the Cosmo, that surround it. As I am writing this from charming Ely, Nev., I can assure you I appreciate history and revere what's come before, but as a business model the Jockey Club portends the future of Vegas in a not-so-good-way. Check it out.

* HYDEIA BROADBENT, FORMER CHILD STAR: Fifteen years ago, North Las Vegas resident Hydeia Broadbent addressed the Republican National Convention as a 12-year-old with AIDS who stopped the show and forced the religious right to hit pause on the culture war for a split second. She became the most famous youth HIV/AIDS activist in the world, filling a niche vacated by the deaths of Ryan White and Pedro Zamora. I profiled her for an award-winning cover story in Poz Magazine back then, but what's become her since? Well, she's 27 now, barely speaks to her mother and is trying her best to recover from a childhood in the spotlight during which nobody really thought that she'd ever live to be an adult. It's messy and fascinating, and I'm pleased Desert Companion gave me the space to tell the story.

In addition to all that, there's also my column in the Weekly assessing the changes at the Plaza and a feature in Desert Companion on the largely unnoticed 100th birthday of the late William F. Harrah. And other stuff, too, but I can't think of it at the moment as I've gotta get in the car and head to Eureka. But there's some stuff to chew on for your Friday.

The Farewell Tour Hits Stride On Wednesday

All the appreciation we've been feeling from listeners, readers, friends, sources and colleagues as the days tick down before we leave Vegas has been overwhelming and gratifying. Still, it's hard for me to stop working when there's so many stories left to finish, so it's a weird time.

For efficiency's sake, I've consolidated some key moments tomorrow. Podcast fans ought to know we will NOT be doing a live show on Wednesday but, instead, will do a live one on Saturday night with some surprise appearances. More on that to come.

Here's what happens tomorrow:

* At about 10 a.m. PT, I'm scheduled to be on KNPR to talk about these years of coverage and whatever else they throw my way. Listen live at knpr.org or on 88.9 FM if you're here. It'll replay at about 9 p.m. PT.

* At 11:30 a.m., I address the monthly luncheon of the Lambda Business and Professional Association. This is the gay business networking group where I interviewed Carolyn Goodman and Chris Giunchigliani in May in the only serious news-making debate/forum/event of the otherwise dull 2011 mayor's race. This time, I'll be discussing what I've seen change in news coverage and the lives of GLBT people in Las Vegas since I first arrived in 1996. It's at Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant in Commercial Center and costs $15 at the door. All are welcome, gay or not.

* At 4 p.m., I'm due at the Coffee Bean at 10834 W Charleston in Summerlin to discuss my two pieces for Desert Companion, the lifestyles magazine produced by Nevada Public Radio. More on those pieces in this separate post, but they include the one on would-have-been-centenarian William F. Harrah and a lengthy, important piece on the troubled transition to adulthood for Las Vegan Hydeia Broadbent, once America's most significant child advocate for people with HIV/AIDS.

So that's tomorrow. And don't forget YOU are welcome and invited to our farewell party at Piero's on Saturday from 2-5p. We don't actually check out of Vegas for another couple weeks and my Las Vegas Weekly presence doesn't end until Sept. 1, but these will be very, very busy and stressful times indeed and it's nice to do all of this before it gets completely out of control in our home.

The #NFL v #Vegas & More!

Yes, I've been vacating. Sort of. In actuality, our eight-day London sojourn was packed with assignments that I'm busy this weekend fulfilling along with expense forms and other various and sundry things related things.

But it's not as though I've been completely neglecting my Vegas duties. Here's some recent stuff to gnaw at while I concoct a fun blog about the London trip:

* My Las Vegas Weekly column this week examines how Vegas is no longer just where old show-biz talents go to die, it's also a Mecca for formerly prominent 1990s tabloid sensations. OK, so it's not as explosive a piece as last week's Twitter Twerps drama. They can't all be.

* I contributed to Desert Companion's Best Of issue with entries naming the region's best vet (as informed by Petcast co-host and current Knight-Wallace fellow Emily Richmond), best new political activist and best beat reporter.

* With the Super Bowl once again upon us, I revisited the ongoing drama between the NFL and Las Vegas for AOL News. Rob Dondero from R&R Partners seems convinced that sooner or later the team will overrule the NFL's ban on Vegas-related advertising if only because they want our money for stadium billboards and the like.

This brings me to the most pressing question: Who to lay my Super Bowl bet on? I'm inclined to go Pittsburgh and the under, anticipating a low-scoring game. Who's with me?