Back in October, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV officially opened its first dedicated building, on its 9-acre campus on Shadow Lane in central Las Vegas. It was heralded as the beginning of a new era, the opening of a state-of-the art facility that will allow the medical school to eventually double the size of its graduating classes, anchor future development in the medical field and help address the widespread shortage of healthcare professionals across the state.

When I read the sign posted at the St. Marks Headwaters Greenway off Baum Road, I wondered about its wording. It was direct and clear. What I wondered about was the psychology behind the words. How do you communicate a concern about arsonists and their activity that does not embolden them, but encourages them to reconsider?

It's National News Literacy Week. A chance to reflect on the vital role of gathering and sharing news and information. It's a lesson the next generation of journalists are learning everyday in classrooms across the country.

The cycle of police violence and protest in America has so often been told as a story of white officers killing Black men that three words — “Black lives matter” — stand as global shorthand.

The growing number of law enforcement agencies across the Valley, state and nation adding body cameras to their tool kit is a good thing, for both the officers and the citizens they are charged with protecting.

Every cop in every city can name a dozen spots within their jurisdiction that might call a hot spot or the place where drugs are sold, burglaries occur, or maybe where the next shooting will happen. It may not be so easy to articulate why, off-hand, but concepts like Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and of course, crime maps can help.