Leaving Las Vegas
So, I’m headed out of Sin City yesterday after three days at NATPE (National Assn. of Television Program Executives) where I moderated a panel on environmental programming with reps from the soon-to-launch Discovery Planet Green, News Corp., PBS, HGTV and KRON in San Francisco. The aiport seemed overwhelmingly mobbed for a late Thursday morning. Wha’ happened? It seems Air Force One was docked at McCarran Int’l Airport, for a rather stealth trip by George W. that didn’t get much coverage. He had addressed a conservative think tank the night before, with his motorcade closing down the Strip and creating automotive chaos. But it was worse on the aviation side. All air traffic to and fro LV was shut down for several hours so AF One could have the airspace to itself, delaying tens of thousands of travelers. Funny thing, though. Nellis AFB is just eight miles away from downtown Vegas, begging the question of why the president’s plane didn’t avail itself of its facilities. No fuss, no muss, no security problems and no one inconvenienced. Go figure….
