Appointments full

Wednesday’s and Thursday’s COVID-19 vaccination appointments at two Las Vegas sites are now full for utility workers and those 65 and older, city officials announced Saturday.

The vaccination appointments at the Veteran’s Memorial Center and Centennial Hills Active Adult Center were announced Friday evening but have since been filled up, according to a city of Las Vegas news release sent Saturday morning.

Due to delays in vaccine shipments from winter storms in other parts of the country, the health district is not offering first-dose appointments this week. The first-dose appointments at health district and partner clinics are set to resume on March 1. Katelyn Newberg

Louis A. Pisani peacefully entered eternal life surrounded by his children February 6, 2021 following valiant battles with chronic myeloid leukemia and prostate cancer. Southern Nevada Baseball lost its “dean” this season. Louis “Coach Lou” Pisani was a pillar in the Las Vegas baseball community for over 50 years and loved to share his passion, enthusiasm, and skills for the game he loved with all the players he coached. Lou was born April 15, 1927 in Oakland, CA to Louis G. and Floresta Pisani, 1916 Italian immigrants. He attended Saint Mary’s Grammar School and shortly before graduating Oakland High School, Lou joined the United States Navy in February 1945. He gallantly served his country as Seaman First Class aboard the USS Kinzer in the South Pacific, was awarded the AsiaticPacific Campaign Medal, and was then assigned to Pearl Harbor where he served as captain of the fire department. While stationed at the Aiea Barracks in Pearl Harbor, Lou played pitcher and shortstop for the barrack’s team and won the 12th Naval District Spring Championship over all Hawaiian bases in 1946. Lou returned to the United States to civilian life and was drafted by the professional baseball team, the California Mohawks. In 1950 he enrolled at the University of San Francisco to obtain his BS in History. While at USF, he played for the Don’s baseball, football, and track teams, coached under Pete Newell, playing alongside Ollie Matson. Lou’s most significant accomplishment at USF was meeting his “one and only,” Rosemary Mikulich. The two shared a class together and Lou coached himself quite well by slowly sitting closer and closer to her, finally hitting a home run by asking her out. The two were married August 8, 1952 at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church and would later welcome four children. Lou began teaching and coaching at Las Vegas High School in 1953, where he remained for nearly 30 years. When he began his teaching career at LVHS, he coached the sports of football, basketball, and baseball, and taught history and health & science before moving to P.E. When he was appointed as the head baseball coach, he led his Wildcats in capturing three state championships. Coach Lou was named as the Southern Nevada Coach of the Year on four occasions. He was the founder of the Jimmy Dyer Baseball League, now known as American Legion Baseball league. In 1959 Lou played for the Las Vegas Cashman Cowboys, a semi-pro baseball team. Lou loved to teach and enjoyed helping all students achieve, however his first love was baseball, developing young athletes and sharing the game that no one cherished more, he proudly treasured wearing a baseball uniform. After leaving LVHS, in his 7th inning stretch, he continued his coaching career as head baseball coach for BGHS from 1983-87. He held scouting positions for the following MLB Teams: Kansas City Royals (1971-73), Philadelphia Phillies (1974-81), and the San Francisco Giants (1984-88). Lou also served as a coach and scout for the Phoenix Firebirds. In addition, Lou served as a volunteer assistant coach for both the UNLV baseball team and the Las Vegas 51’s, he was part of the So. Nevada Referee Association for over 30 years and he was a member of countless other sports programs. In August of 2002, the Mayor of Las Vegas, presented a proclamation, declaring, August 3, 2002 Lou Pisani Day. Coach Lou was then honored in June of 2005 by being inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. While Lou could be found at all hours on the field, he and his wife Rosemary were one of the founding parish families of Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church. He had a lifelong devotion to his faith and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. Most notably, Lou was a man devoted to his faith and family, a loving and supportive father and grandfather. Coach Lou was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Rosemary Pisani (nee Mikulich), and he is survived by his children, Veronica Morton (Charles), Lyndalou Bullard (Bryan), Juliana, and Sam; 14 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren, A Rosary & Visitation will be held at 10:30am, Friday, February 26, 2021 at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church, 3050 Alta Drive, a Funeral Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated immediately following the Rosary at 11am. The family asks that donations be made in Louis Pisani’s name to the American Cancer Society.

CULVER CITY, Calif. — XPrize founder Peter Diamandis thought he could hold a conference in an “immunity bubble” in the middle of California’s COVID-19 surge last month but instead created a superspreader event that infected attendees, staff and himself.

“I was wrong,” Diamandis wrote in a Feb. 12 blog post that detailed the implications of a false sense of security created by negative test results that may lower vigilance and his conclusion that masks and distancing are effective.

It was a humbling admission for Diamandis, a high-profile entrepreneur who has degrees in science, engineering and medicine and came to fame with the original XPrize for the first privately developed manned spaceflights that promoted space tourism.

Diamandis wrote that “it is a story of what questions remain to be answered about the accuracy of testing before we can safely return to work, travel, relax in small groups, or see our kids off to school.”

Diamandis said that for the past nine years he has run a conference called Abundance 360 that draws about 400 entrepreneurs and corporate executives to discuss “exponential technologies.”

The January event was scheduled for a Los Angeles hotel. But the pandemic prevented that, so he organized a virtual conference originating from XPrize offices in suburban Culver City.

Diamandis said he was inundated with requests from members who wanted to attend in person and decided that a small number could be present under a protocol requiring repeated polymerase chain reaction testing.

“As a result, we felt awesome, we felt safe. But I was wrong,” Diamandis wrote.

The production ended on Jan. 26. Two days later, a staff member tested positive.

Twelve of 30 Abundance 360 members, four of nine Abundance 360 faculty and five of 10 staff contracted COVID-19. There were no cases among the 35 members of the professional audio-visual team who wore masks the entire time and isolated in a corner of the office.