Thumbs - Our high country lowdown on the news

THUMBS UP! COUNCIL CANDIDATES FORUM. While the turnout at Monday night forum wasn’t so impressive (there were about 50 in the audience) the candidates themselves made the evening interesting and enlightening. And with 100 percent attendance from the eight candidates seeking to replace Andrew Feldman and Diane Moore on the Las Vegas City Council, they all had their say.

Let’s hope the mayoral candidates forum — which will begin at 6 p.m. this coming Monday in the Memorial Middle School auditorium — is equally enlightening. With a little more than two weeks before election day, and early voting already under way, it’s time to start separating the wheat from the chaff.

THUMBS DOWN! MULTIPLE OFFENDER. We’re certain that Rudolph A. Muniz has some redeeming qualities, but good judgment must not be one of them. As one of the drivers in a two-vehicle collision on Feb. 3 at Grand and Lincoln avenues, Muniz — who has a history of drunken driving convictions — has been charged with yet another DWI as well as vehicular homicide. His long-time friend, Manuel A. Olivas, a passenger in the pickup Muniz was driving, was killed as a result of the crash.

Another senseless fatality. Another reason to clamp down hard on drinking and driving.

THUMBS UP! GOING IN STYLE. The second annual Salvation Army Fashion Show, held last weekend in the Plaza Ballroom, was another fun display directly from the racks and bins of the local store at Douglas and Eighth streets. We hope this unique and fun-filled fund-raising event will continue for years to come.

THUMBS UP! EXTENDED HOURS. During a time when it seems that customer service is being streamlined or reduced, one state agency and its Las Vegas office have figured out a way to expand its service hours. The Las Vegas office of the state Department of Veterans Services has extended its office hours to include Tuesdays and Wednesdays — so now the agency is available to help veterans Mondays through Fridays.

• • •

AND WE QUOTE

“It is obvious that when a school district has financial authority removed from local control, it takes many demonstrations of good practices to regain the authority it previously might have taken for granted.”

— Ruben Cordova, superintendent of the West Las Vegas School District, regarding the news that, after nearly six years, the state is returning control of the district’s finances to the district itself.