It’s a no-brainer for many: As the outer boundaries of the Las Vegas Valley blur and thousands of homes pop up where only desert used to be, the bathtub ring around Lake Mead seems to only deepen.

A new report ranks one Las Vegas Valley city among the nation’s communities with the most unmanageable level of credit card debt.

When the smell of pine begins to fade this holiday season, UNLV has an easy solution for Southern Nevadans. Tara Pike, UNLV’s sustainability coordinator, said the university and its partners will be ready to collect Christmas trees as soon as Friday through Jan. 15.

Residents can recycle their Christmas trees for free starting Friday at more than 30 drop-off locations throughout the valley. The Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling Committee will accept trees through Jan. 15. The recycled trees will be chipped into mulch for use in school gardens and parks across the community. The program, a partnership of UNLV, community agencies and local businesses, has operated for three decades.

As people settle in to watch holiday movies this week, a question arises: What makes a Christmas movie? Not every film with Christmas in it qualifies, says Adam Paul, an assistant professor of film at UNLV. True Christmas movies share essential elements: hope, family, nostalgia, magic, redemption and often romance.

Panic erupts in the McCallister household as soon as the day begins. The parents' alarm clock never rings, bags and coats spill across the floor, and the family barrels out the door to catch a flight to Florida.

Santa Claus has long called the North Pole home. But let’s be honest — 24 hours of darkness and subfreezing winter temperatures aren’t the most conducive to making toys. His workforce, including the reindeer, are aging, and in an era of fast-moving technology and rapid shipping, the North Pole isn’t necessarily a transportation hub.

Have a live Christmas tree and wondering what to do with it after the holidays? Residents are encouraged to recycle their live trees instead of throwing them away, and a local partnership helps the Southern Nevada community do just that.For three decades, the Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling Committee has coordinated a free Christmas tree recycling program for local residents. The committee is a partnership between UNLV, community agencies, and local businesses.