Bumper stickers shocking
The Department of Motor Vehicles has had its battles with motorists who sport vanity plates. The agency can refuse to issue plates it deems inappropriate, although, as we saw last summer, the decisions of DMV officials sometimes can be overturned. But what’s the deal with bumper stickers?
• A woman is frustrated with her potty-mouth neighbor: My neighbor has two totally obscene bumper stickers (both of which include the F-bomb). Even my 8-year-old granddaughter is appalled. I’d really appreciate any help you can give me in getting this smut off our little cul-de-sac.
This is an interesting issue that has been debated across the country. Several states have laws prohibiting motorists from affixing stickers with profane or lewd language on their vehicles.
Although law enforcement has tried to enforce the regulations, higher courts have found such laws to be unconstitutional. It boils down to freedom of speech versus public obscenity.
I was unable to find any such obscenity laws in Nevada’s statutes. And according to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, Clark County code enforcement and Las Vegas police, it boils down to a freedom of speech issue, and there is little anyone can do if the message is offensive.
• William and Carolyn both want to know what is up with the intersection of Alta Drive and Rampart Boulevard: They put up restrictions in both directions, and then the machinery sat there for almost a month before anything was done. Now it looks like the pipes are done and work has once again stopped.
The Clark County Water Reclamation District is moving 1,000 feet of 36-inch pipeline from a chunk of private property near Alta.
The pipeline was installed in the 1980s and was expected to run beneath what eventually would become Rampart, until Rampart was realigned. Now that the private property is being developed, the district must move that pipeline.
But back to the question. The contractors have run into obstacles, one being that the pipeline was 25 feet underground and required quite a bit of excavation, according to district spokesman Bronson Mack. He said the project should be finished and the barricades cleared by the end of the month.
There might be some overnight lane restrictions after that as a median is restored and street lights are installed.
• Stephen asks: In North Las Vegas, a block stretch of North Pecos Road, just south of Washburn (at the south-east corner of Shadow Creek Golf Course) has been blocked off for about two years now. There’s no sign of construction, nor any other apparent reason for the closure. Any explanation?
You’re right on your timing, Stephen. North Pecos in that location was closed in July 2007 and is not likely to reopen anytime soon. The reason is the southeast corner is owned by a private developer and the city cannot secure enough right-of-way to allow room for northbound traffic on Pecos to reach Washburn.
Also, the southeast chunk of private property is at a higher elevation. So, even though that intersection is an all-way stop, it could be dangerous because of visibility problems.
Once the development on the southeast corner is completed, the city will re-evaluate the intersection to determine whether it can secure right-of-way for Pecos.
• Another reader asks: When will Durango Drive (between the Las Vegas Beltway and Russell Road) be finished?
Durango, not to be confused with Decatur Boulevard, is expected to be finished in March or April.
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