Monorail deal may be imminent
LVCVA’S CEO suggests acquisition could be completed by Sept. 1
Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill hinted Tuesday that a deal for the LVCVA to acquire the Las Vegas Monorail Co. could come as early as Sept. 1.
In a report updating LVCVA board members on ongoing issues, Hill asked members to block out 3-5 p.m. Sept. 1 for a potential special board meeting, replacing the regularly scheduled Sept. 8 session.
“Our conversations with the Monorail continue and there are several steps in that process that have to take place, including agreements with (Clark) County,” Hill told the board. “We are trying to line up those steps to both make sense and to be done expeditiously so we may need to call a board meeting at 3 p.m., on Sept. 1.”
Hill didn’t elaborate on what steps need to be taken and the status of negotiations with the Monorail company.
A representative of the Las Vegas
Monorail Co. did not respond to a request for comment on Hill’s remarks. The coronavirus pandemic has closed the system down.
At the board’s July 14 meeting,
Hill disclosed that he had begun talks with Monorail Company President and CEO Curtis Myles about acquiring and operating the 3.9-mile transit system. Hill said he believed the LVCVA could operate the system profitably, but one of the key factors in acquiring the
Protecting workers
Geoconda Argüello-kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary union, said during Tuesday’s event that the law will protect more than 280,000 workers in Clark and Washoe counties.
Argüello-kline said that the union has had 35 members die from COVID-19 and more than 300 members hospitalized by the virus.
The Culinary union had sued MGM Resorts earlier this year, accusing the casino company of failing to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. That lawsuit was dropped in late July. On Monday, MGM and the union issued a joint statement celebrating the new legislation and pointing out that the two sides have resolved the lawsuit with passage of the bill in the recent special legislative session.
“We want economic recovery and the return of more employees to the workforce. And we agree sick employees, exposed guests and the possibility of future closures and economic devastation are in no one’s best interests,” MGM Resorts CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle said during Tuesday’s signing.
Hospitals left out
SB4 originally excluded only hospitals and most other health care entities from those protections, which drew a rebuke from that industry, arguing that the exclusion could lead to capacity issues inside hospitals and make it so visitors would not be allowed inside to visit hospitalized loved ones.
Bill Welch, president and CEO of the Nevada Hospital Association, called the passage of the bill “disappointing.”
“Hospitals and health care workers have been on the front lines of COVID-19 since March, and not extending premises liability
protections to them creates situations that need to be addressed to ensure the safety of patients, employees and hospitals themselves,” Welch said in a statement.
School districts were included in the original bill, but after teachers and their unions voiced concerns about being able to safely return to schools during a late-night hearing that lasted until nearly 3 a.m., school districts were later excluded from those protections as well.
The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support, but also bipartisan opposition. Progressive and workers’ rights groups have criticized the legislation for granting liability protections to most businesses and employers while only providing additional health and safety precautions to hotel workers.