Publisher's Note October 2018

Some journeys take the long straight road; others meander seemingly without purpose before arriving at their final destination. This month’s DAVID started as usual with the editorial calendar, then, with the craziness of the times we live in, things evolved. This month, the long and winding road has led to an eclectic collection of articles that together make for an unexpectedly good read.

Regular readers of DAVID are familiar with the advertiser that graced our back cover for almost a whole year. Jim Jimmerson is regarded as a premier Las Vegas legal mind. His client list reads like a Who’s Who of individual and corporate elite. Lynn Wexler had the pleasure of talking to him about his practice and a particular cause that is close to his heart. In her piece on pages 26-27, we read of his support for Cognotion, a learning company dedicated to the principle that individuals deserve the dignity of a meaningful job. His notion that giving back keeps success in perspective is an idea that we all should contemplate.

Breast cancer awareness month occurs this October. To do our part, we asked Paul Harasim of the UNLV School of Medicine to contribute. In his piece Stephanie’s Choice, pages 31-33, he introduces us to local kindergarten teacher Stephanie Carrell and her husband and wife team of doctors from the School of Medicine. Dr. Jennifer Baynosa is a Surgical Oncologist and her husband Dr. Richard Baynosa is the chief and program director of the school’s division of plastic surgery. Their dedication to medical excellence and exceptional care helped Stephanie with her difficult decision.

The Cosmopolitan is once again tickling our taste buds with their addition of Block 16 Urban Food Hall. In his piece Courting all Tastes, pages 34-38, Jason Harris samples many of the included vendor’s offerings. My daughter, Zoë is especially excited to try Pok Pok’s Vietnamese chicken wings; something that she has dreamt of them since she first tried them some years ago in Portland.

Our cover this month says it all. BRAVISSIMO! The Las Vegas Philharmonic celebrates twenty years of programming that has significantly added to the cultural fabric of our community. Rob Kachelriess, on pages 40-45, asks them twenty questions, one for each year of their existence. As a regular concert goer, I cannot wait for the next twenty years and beyond.

Sometimes a story grabs your attention and will not let go. In this case, it was it was a press release about a Minden, Nevada aviation company and their record-breaking glider flight. The fact that in the age of rocket-fueled flight an engineless plane could reach subspace altitudes has me enthralled. On September 2, 2018, with Jim Payne and Tim Gardner at controls, the Airbus Perlan II reached the phenomenal height of 76,124 feet above sea level. In Jaq Greenspun’s piece Glidin’ High, pages 52-56, you can read more about this fantastic achievement.

As election season will soon be upon us, we felt it would be useful to ask a few critical questions about the integrity of our election systems and the influence of election forecasts.

Aleza Freeman’s Cyber Watch, pages 46-51, dishes up the good and bad news about election security in Nevada and Jaq Greenspon’s Survey Says…, pages 28-29, gives us a brief history of polling, what they got right and what they got wrong. Both these articles are must-reads before heading off to your local polling station.

As the seasons change and we can once again enjoy the great outdoors, keep cozy see you in the racks.

Max D. Friedland

max@davidlv.com