When will the Las Vegas Community demand better?

Editorial by Rick Singer

Although I have written on this subject prior to today the question of “when will the greater Las Vegas community demand more for themselves?’ continues to remain in the conversations of many residents throughout Clark County. As one man put it, (a 3^rd generation Clark County resident) “out of the ashes of what are currently Las Vegas needs to emerge a new Phoenix with leadership”.

When you or I or any resident of Greater Las Vegas or anyone observing Las Vegas from a far looks at the ridiculous standards in which our community continues to operate the scenario goes from beyond humorous to completely embarrassing. The levels of self-indulgence, narcissism and nepotism provided or empowered  by this communities leadership (if you can call this leadership) has excelled to the rate of incompetence, theft and abuse that could never be interpreted as maintaining any form of  ‘fiduciary responsibility”  to the citizens.  Just within the last 4 months, here are some highlights:

1. North Las Vegas judge places an order on North Las Vegas city council preventing further reduction of the city Police force because of the citizens rights to Public Safety have been compromised.
2. The son of a Clark County judge is found guilty for “grand theft” at local casinos and then given a minimal sentence.
3. Sun reporter is “encouraged” by a Judge not to write about a specific story that affects the cornerstone of Journalism and the community’s right to know.
4. The school systems of Nevada and in Clark County are nationally ranked amongst the WORST systems for education in the United States.
5. Pill Mill’s (distribution of Legal Narcotics via Pain clinics) has become so epidemic in the Las Vegas area that the number of arrests of Doctors within the community has gone over 19 in 8 months.
6. Unemployment remains between 13.5 and 13.7%. That means 1 out of every 8 people who were working a year ago is no longer working.
7. Metro’s Sheriff Gillespie and his new management team have determined that it is in the best interest of the public to  triple the building and facilities budget while asking Metro Officers  to reduce their incomes. The leader of Clark County Law enforcement has also decided not to add any new law enforcement academies. (I feel so much safer with that new building, don’t you?)
8. Public Safety has been compromised with multiple shootings taking place on the Vegas Strip; enhanced accosting by smut peddlers and children being both injured and killed attempting to cross the street.
9. Las Vegas property values have diminished at a rate faster than the National average (homes are worth 45% less than they were in 2007) in large part due to the number of foreclosures in Clark County. 
10. Why have the foreclosure rates been so high in Clark County? Because the procedures for “kicking people out of their homes” has been compromised, and oh, by the way, the suicides in which  law enforcement has witnessed in conjunction with foreclosures has increased and  is no longer uncommon.
11. Clark County Firefighters were systematically creating an embezzlement scheme by utilizing ‘loop-holes” in the Firefighters contract to be utilized for sick days.

The list can and probably should continue .. but I am becoming noxious thinking about it. The real question is simple; “when will the Clark County residents become sick and tired of being sold neon signage and a cheap cocktail as a substitute for real community leadership”?

1. Judges are bending rules; children of Judges’ are receiving minimal sentences for federal Crimes.
2. Doctors are going to Federal prisons for drug pushing of prescription narcotics.
3. Our Children are getting the worst education in the Nation
4. Public safety has been compromised, crime has increased and our kids cannot come home safe from a night of “Halloween”.
5. Tourists are concerned about safety on the strip with increased shootings and harassment by smut peddlers.
6. Law enforcement has a nice new building while citizens are being evicted from their homes without proper due process.
7. Firefighters and goodness knows how many other city and county employees are working a system to steal that much more money from the populist.

Is this really Las Vegas at its best? For the MILLIONS of dollars available to these departments and boards are you telling me this is the best result we can get for the community? The answer is obviously No! Many more communities with comparable populations and LESS money are providing more to their citizens.
The hard working people of Southern Nevada are great; the people they choose to represent them are the aliens.  Clark County residents need to begin looking within themselves, their own neighborhoods and friends. It really is time for new leadership at all levels of the City of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Clark County, the Board of Education, the Sheriff, and the Judges. We the people of Clark County need and deserve a new Phoenix with leadership.     

John Vellardita as a lead negotiator for CC Teachers - Really?!

School Union taking another leap…backwards

Clark County Education Association recently hired John Vellardita as a lead negotiator to head in their negotiations with the Clark County School District.

A logical choice?  Maybe, considering he is adept at misguiding and misappropriating.

Last year, Vellardita and 15 other defendants were ordered to pay out over $1.5 million in damages as a result of an investigation and a jury’s decision emanating from a scheme that sabotaged the Service Employees International-United Healthcare Workers West and claims that they were attempting to start a rival organization. (court case)

The trial revealed evidence of:

            A scheme to undermine the well-being of union members.

            The theft and destruction of union documents and property.

A conspiracy to use SEIU-UHW’s money and other resources to start a rival Union, even if it meant harming the very members whose interests they        claimed to represent.   

The jury’s verdict was unanimous, finding Vellardita and 15 others liable.  Vellardita was ordered to pay the largest chunk of the award.

Recently, a local article shows a quote from CCEA President Ruben Murillo that the union is “100% behind” Vellardita because he has no criminal record and “has vast experience in negotiations”. (RJ Story) Nowhere did I see any cites of his “vast experience”.

I’m pretty sure the suit was civil and would never show as a criminal offense, Mr. Murillo.

Vellardito was picked from a pool of 14 candidates and deemed the “best qualified”.  Best qualified as what?

Talk about the “bottom of the barrel”.  What were the qualifications of the other 13 candidates?  What kind of lawsuits were they involved in and how much did they have to pay?  Were they accused of destroying evidence and burglary?  Threatening other employees?

The teacher’s union has historically been deemed inadequate, without “teeth” by the membership, with no respect, support or faith from the teachers. 

What do they have to lose?

The last meeting had 30 teachers in attendance out of 17,000 represented employees.

Clark County School District is ranked the lowest in the nation, and now the union hires someone with less than reputable and documented background to represent the teachers they are meant to protect?

I’m wondering how the arbitrators are going to look at it when they make a decision.

Everything about Vellardita has been laid out, his credibility, integrity, morality for everyone to see and yet he still gets the job?

I spoke with a fellow police academy classmate about some of our fellow recruits.  We knew of their background and witnessed their inadequacies while in the academy as did our Training personnel.  We knew that they were not going to be the type of Police Officers the department was hoping for, yet they graduated, even after causing major problems in the academy and field training.  Years later, those officers were plastered across the paper for committing robberies, attempting suicide, and other embarrassing incidents that cost the department money, time and integrity.

Hopefully, they will look at the hardworking teachers that he will be attempting to represent and not his sullied past as he sits in front of them.

World Superhero Registry. Yes, it’s true.

Last week, I let you know about “Phoenix Jones”, a real-life “superhero” that was arrested by police in Seattle for pepper spraying several citizens.  Phoenix believed they were in a fight.  Reports were otherwise.

The whole “superhero” thing piqued my interest.  I’ll be honest with you; I’ve been collecting comic books since I was a kid and have watched the latest superhero movies as an adult (Thor was the latest movie).

Sooo, I began poking around the internet and guess what?  There is a “World Superhero Registry” (World Super Hero Registry)  Yes, there is a website dedicated to those who want to dress in tights (and some not so tight) and fight crime.  Honestly, a few are a little flamboyant and really don’t accomplish anything, like “Pink Man”, who wears a pink (really) unitard and rides a unicycle.

Colorful names like “Nostrum”,  every color of “Arrow”, ”Angle Grinder Man”, “Death’s Head Moth”,  “MotorMouth”, “Nyx”, etc., abound.

So dedicated is this site, it lists active, retired, and heroes in training.  It also lists training academies (the last one was scheduled on Oct 16^th, 2011).  There is a list of resources such as people to contact who want to make you your next superhero costumes, electrical body armor and weapons, give legal advice, participate in a blog to get advice on how to get started as a superhero, etc.

Included in the lists are; the superheroes picture, name, if his/her identity is known (some are listed as semi-public), FAQ’s, superheroes philosophy, any “arch enemies”, organizations they belong to (Not one was a member of the AFL-CIO), the area where they are active (some are in foreign countries), websites and their mission statement.  Not one superhero vehicle was listed or shown.  Guess mechanical aptitude is not a requirement to be a superhero.  Boring…

Not listed are any “superpowers” or special weapons. No one appears to be able to fly, or at least anymore (probably listed under the “retired” listing.  No listing for “expired”). There is a lot of capes and bulky, baggy clothing, scarves and other items that would be great to grab during a fight.  Didn’t they watch “The Incredibles”?  Remember Edna?   She explained to “Mr. Incredible” why capes were detrimental to superheroes.

If I were going to design a superhero costume, it would be made of a flexible, slick material with mica particles so it would reflect different colors based on the ambient light. Snug fitting with Kevlar inserts to protect the vital areas including a ballistic “cup”. The skullcap would have a thin, but solid ceramic polymer that was custom fitted to my large cranium (7 ¾ hat size) with digital hearing devices implemented into the earpieces and protective eyepieces that transitioned with available light, had magnifying ability and could resist small arms fire.  The gloves would be a combination of rubber for grip, leather for durability (deer skin seems to hold up to human sweat better than cow skin), Kevlar for protection and insulated against shock as the fingertips would have the ability to generate 150,000 volts upon touch.  The shoes would have a cross between rubber and hard plastic and I could alternate which medium I wanted to be in contact with the ground by using a built-in lever on the shoes.  My utility belt would be able to spray/shoot a chemical agent capable of disabling the criminal, light up the area and hold the necessary tools of the trade, such as high tensile strength rope, striking tools, cutting instruments, a large caliber less than lethal weapon, and of course, handcuffs.

My vehicle would be a smaller, all-wheel drive with adjustable suspension so it could be raised for off-road ventures, carbon-fiber panels infused with Kevlar and also with mica for a chameleon effect. Old fashioned smoke and oil dispensers in the rear and a complete electronics array for searching the town for bad guys.  An electro-magnetic-pulse gun to disable other vehicles electronics.  A winch system in the front and the back that shoots darts that anchor into anything they hit.  Run flat, and armored tires.  Extendable spikes to shred other vehicle tires and fenders.  Full skid plates, etc. And of course a cappuccino machine.

A name?  Sorry.  Never gave this superhero stuff much thought……..snicker

_____________________________________________________

Today Las Vegas was the location of a Sporting event tragedy: RIP  Dan Wheldon

These superheroes don't have their own comics

These superheroes don't have their own comics.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “superhero" as: a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skillful or successful person.

On October 9, one of Seattle's most, probably only, popular superhero was arrested.

Yes, Seattle has a superhero. Actually, they have a group of superheroes called the "Rain City Superhero Movement". (reallifesuperheroes.org)

Evidently only one of the movement has been proactive.

“Phoenix Jones" was arrested for pepper spraying several citizens whom he believed were involved a street fight.  Extraordinary or superhuman powers? Skillful or successful?

I’m pretty sure pepper spray is not extraordinary or super human unless you have a natural tendency to spray it from a body orifice. I'm also pretty sure that you would not want to deal with the consequences, personally, after you’ve sprayed someone.

Evidently, Phoenix also carries some sort of stun device. Again nothing special.

As far as skill, I'm not sure who came up with his costume but it is pretty sharp, with a built-in, bullet resistant vest and stab protection.

Success? While dressed up in his fancy costume and in patrol mode, his mode of superhero transportation is…wait for it..... his godmother’s Kia. When police were notified of a masked man driving a Kia, they tracked the registered owner down and asked if she knew who was driving her car. She stated it was her godson and he was out “doing good deeds”.  So much for the secret superhero lair.  When he was arrested for the pepper spraying assault, he was booked in under the name of Benjamin John Francis Fodor.  So much for the secret identity.

Okay, at least he has transportation, but as for meetings with the other superheroes...... well, I wonder about these meetings. When they decided to form this movement and come up with their costumes, were they all playing with latex and spandex? I'm guessing Phoenix is the chief “Superhero”, or the president or whatever they call the head of the superhero group. Did they vote him in based on his powers? Or is he the only one that had superhero transportation?

The superhero group has a membership of 9 superheroes, including Phoenix Jones. For some odd reason, Phoenix's wife, Purple Reign, is not listed among the members, who are identified as; Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope and Phoenix Jones.

I couldn't find any crime busting stats for any of the other eight superheroes.

Honestly, I am hoping that they come out with a calendar with photos for each month of each superhero. Since I could find no statistics on the other members, my imagination is running wild. Purple Reign? Penelope? I'm not sure how the ratio of women to men among the superhero ranks is but some of the costumes I've seen on the female superheroes in the movies keeps me wanting more.  

Believe it or not, we found that there are even more superheroes in Seattle, but they don't want to be associated with the “Rain City Superhero Movement”. Two other heroes named “Capt. Ozone”  and “Night Owl”  do not want to be recognized as members. Seattle, not Gotham City, Smallville, or New York even, must be the superhero capital of the world.

Here in Las Vegas, ”Batman” was seen on the strip getting his ass kicked by a drunken tourist.  I would post the link but some of the language is not family friendly.  Check it out on YouTube. 

Evidently superheroes in Las Vegas don't cut the mettle.

Guess that's why they're called Street performers, not superheroes. Or maybe that's the Superhero Junior Varsity Boot Camp.....

Is police work stressful? Part 1.

Police work has changed since about the 1980’s.  I entered the police force in 1987 and began my solo beat after field training in the early part of 1988.

The academy was very stressful, with senior officers screaming in your face, spittle spewing onto you as you tried to maintain some sort of composure.  After they were done yelling at you, you usually had to take a lap around the parking lot or 20 pushups.

Your weapon had to be beyond sparkling clean; your shoes and gun belt spit shined, uniform freshly pressed and clean.  If any of that was not 101%, you endure the discipline.

During one inspection, my classmate, standing next to me was noticeably squirming.  The senior officer inspecting him noticed an ant on his front sight of his displayed weapon and yelled, “Did we tell you it was okay to bring pets to the academy!!”  Discipline was administered and the recruit gladly took his lap so he could get off of the anthill he was standing over.

During our lunch break, which was usually “our” time, the academy lieutenant would come strolling through and help himself to our lunches, obviously without any resistance (the same lieutenant that threw our loaded weapons over the chain link fence where school kids were walking and who also shot up his house while off-duty and then later received a promotion).

My entire time in the academy, I observed everyone’s way of dealing with the “stress”, so not-so-well, and usually they quit.  We would have recruits quit the very first day because they couldn’t handle the stress of enduring an inspection.   We had a 50% washout from the academy and field training, which was deemed acceptable and the standard.  If 50% attrition was not achieved, there was a perceived problem with the program.

I graduated from the academy and within the first year of being on the street, a fellow officer, Marc Kahre, was shot and killed while on duty (lvmpd memorial).  I attended his funeral, and experienced a new type of emotional stress.  I saw what appeared to be the entire police department and other police department members, in dress uniforms, attending and paying their respects to a fellow brother-in-arms.  I observed thousands upon thousands of civilians line the motorcade route with their hands over their hearts as the motorcade passed. I watched as the flag was presented to his family at graveside. I felt the emotions of his family and friends. I then wondered if my family and friends would have to endure this also.

After the funeral, the camaraderie in the department was apparent.  Some attempts of humor veiled the sorrow hidden underneath the badge and uniforms.  Supervisors made sure that the message to “Be Safe” was repeated often and understood.  Officers spent a little extra time with other officers.  Even the citizens made sure that their appreciation was shown by saying a kind word and buying a cup of coffee for an unknown officer sitting nearby.

I then began to think about my choice to become a police officer.  Did I make the right decision?  I also had a family.  I didn’t want to them to suffer as Marc’s family and friends did. 

I had a decision to make.

To be continued…

Dave at Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, Las Vegas, NV

Take a walk down Memory lane with this great Video!

LVMPD’s bad management; is the public paying the price?

When I began writing, I tried not to concentrate so much on my old employer, LVMPD, as it might appear that I had a grudge against them.  But as you watch the TV or read the paper, it is apparent that controversy reigns supreme in Metro’s management.

The question is why?  What is the problem?  We should be looking at the “top”, at the upper administration, not at the troops working the streets. 

The premise?  Most problems with most failing organizations begin with bad management and bad policies.

Let’s review a few of the facts:

1.     The new LVMPD building comes at a lease (30 years) price of over 12 million dollars per year.  Prior to opening the building the total leasing price of the offices it replaces was approximately 1/3^rd of the new lease.  The cost for the new, inadequately equipped headquarters is a net increase of 8 million tax dollars per years.  Coincidentally, this year, the sheriff has told the employees of Metro that another eight million dollars needed to be trimmed from the existing budget this year.

a.)   Most other metropolitan areas have begun investigating in “de-centralizing” their headquarters for obvious security reasons.  After the 9/11 attack of primary government buildings, the vulnerability of having “all your eggs in one basket” became painfully clear.

b.)  There will still need to be millions of dollars in needed upgrades to the headquarters in order for all the residents/officers/detectives to function properly.  (Many of the upgrades, including security measures, were eliminated from the initial budget to meet the construction budget, but will be added later after completion of the building, not that the administration was trying to sneak anything by the public).

2.      Currently, Metro Police officers and civilians are being required to accept pay cuts and decreases in benefits due to budget cuts while upper administration appears to be expanding and new positions are being formed to accommodate the “special” management.  Such new positions such as the Chief of Staff (never had one before) and appointing a new, unneeded Assistant Sheriff in the last six months are indicative of the favoritism in the upper regime.  How does this make any sense?

a.)  These decisions may have made some sense in another, more prolific time, such as the growth boom in the early 2000’s, but with a dramatically reduced population since 2005, why does it take more chiefs to oversee fewer Indians?

3.      Next, it would seem that common sense would dictate Sheriff Gillespie’s decision to appoint Deputy Chief Greg McCurdy to Assistant Sheriff.  Here’s a man that was deemed guilty of sexual harassment of two female Metro employees, while in charge of the bureau that investigated sexual harassment complaints at Metro!  The payout by Metro was allegedly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer’s money.  So, he knows of the policies that regulate his ability to perform his job and he chose to skirt them instead of enforcing them and he is now Assistant Sheriff?  I hope he’s wearing an ankle bracelet.

4.     Mismanagement of tax dollars and public funds for purchasing radios that work only part of the time and in certain parts of the county can be forgivable (everyone makes a bad buying decision from time to time), but to continue to re-enforce that bad decision by force feeding the radio system down the throats of those whose lives depend on a properly working system is unforgivable.  The very same people who have showed concern for the improperly working system have been threatened with discipline if they continue to express their feelings about it.  The same people who are blamed for the radio problems due to “user error”.  Every aspect of the system is flawed, but the administration refuses to accept responsibility for it, instead placing blame on the employees and the surrounding casinos for “infringing” on Metro’s frequency.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention.  This particular company LVMPD bought the system from has been documented for its failures with other police agencies.  Metro continues to spend additional millions in an effort to correct the numerous problems with its radios, now labeled as “speak and spell” by officers.

5.     When chief editor Rick Singer called the Sheriff’s office, he was directed

to a message machine to leave his questions and concerns.  This was last Friday, the 16^th.  To date, he has not received a return call.

At the end of the day, can senior management stop an individual’s poor behavior?  Not really.  Occasionally, people, police officers, etc., may stray, drink and drive, crash into some friends, pick up a hooker, etc..  But where does the permissive attitude begin?  At the top!  Mishandling money, womanizing, domestic violence, promoting employees guilty of unacceptable behavior to high levels of management, promoting friends and family members of senior staff while at the same time asking the “grunts” to take pay cuts and reduce their benefits appears to be the  management and policy method of choice for LVMPD.  Any wonder why crime goes up?  Public service goes down.  Public perception of the police goes down.  Department morale is in the toilet.  Other agencies laugh at Metro’s inadequacy to properly equip our officers in case of a critical incident.

I guess the point is based upon the leadership in LVMPD, how can you expect a once highly ranked/rated police department in the country to do anything else?

 “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”? Let's hope that's true with the example these guys are setting.

Another newborn baby dies needlessly.

March 3^rd, 2011, a dead newborn baby was discovered in a dumpster in California.  The mother told her attorney that she didn’t realize she was pregnant. Riiiight. (Story 1)

In North Carolina, a 2 to 3 day old dead baby was found in a convenience store’s bathroom garbage can.  Video surveillance shows the mother and a male companion carrying a bag into the store and leaving with a lighter bag.  She later admitted that she didn’t know if her boyfriend was the father.   (Story 2)

In Georgia, a young mother was transported to the hospital, only to find out that she had already given birth and dumped the newborn into a trash can outside of her home. (Story 3)

In California, another teenage mother was being treated for post-delivery symptoms when the hospital notified police about the suspicious circumstances.

They found the dead baby in a garbage receptacle behind a Mexican restaurant.  (Story 4)

The stories go on and on and are particularly abundant in some 3^rd world countries.

In many of the cases, the mothers needed medical treatment for the delivery and the hospital’s responsibility to report the suspicious incidents helped locate the body, unceremoniously dumped in a trash can.

And in many cases, the mothers face prosecution for charges varying from abandonment to murder.

Many of the mothers were trying to conceal the birth from their parents or significant others.

Many of the people watching/reading the news are trying to have children and would’ve jumped at the chance to adopt a child, any child, only to watch a life get literally thrown away for no good reason.

Most cities, counties and states have options for the unwanted children.

They have assorted titles (“Safe Surrender”, etc) and different time limits for the babies to be turned over, but the message is the same.

The baby can be left at an appropriate facility, with no implications and prosecution, as long as no abuse is involved.  The baby will be cared for and a loving family will be found.

In Nevada, we have the “Safe Haven Infant Protection Act”.  It allows someone to surrender a baby with no fear of arrest or prosecution.  No names are documented, and any info given will be kept confidential.  (Safe Haven)

The baby has to be 30 days old or younger and can be brought into any hospital or urgent care facility, any occupied law enforcement agency or public firefighting agency.  An ambulance can be called (911) to transport the baby to a hospital.  The appropriate child care services will take custody of the child and make arrangements to place the child in a foster home.  The parent can later petition to get custody of the child.

The law requires that the appropriate agencies know about the Safe Haven Act, but not much information has been distributed to the public.

I haven’t seen a public service announcement reference this service. 

It might be apparent that these other mothers haven’t either.  I’d like to know if they knew these services were available…

Hey! The police would tell us!!

Clark County officials have concluded their investigation reference the sick leave abuse by county firefighters and have adjudicated the punishment to those who broke the rules, BUT they won’t tell the public who broke the rules and who were punished based on personnel privacy rules. 

Really?

LVMPD cannot wait to run to the highest hilltop with the biggest megaphone and scream their results of their internal investigations across the valley. 

I guess police officers have a lot less rights to privacy.

Sometimes they won’t even tell those accused of the violation until they find out later that something was placed in their file.   But the complainant will receive a letter from internal affairs with the disciplinary action taken.

CCFD had two employees terminated after managers determined that they abused the sick leave policy and 12 other employees cases didn’t end with their termination.  But the punishments for the 12 will not be released to the public because of the “Privacy” rules.  So how do we know that they will be punished or even if the investigation is complete?

Oh, and after termination, the two “fired” employees still received their retirement and cash-out. (read article) 

Fired or quit.  What’s the difference?

Allegedly, other employees suspected of abusing the sick leave quit or retired before the investigation was complete.

Commissioner Tom Collins claimed that the internal investigation revealed that only a “handful” of “wrongdoers” was revealed, not the 230 initially thought that were involved.  He further stated that he believed that the Fire Department’s damaged reputation was unfounded and the investigation proved it.

Okay.  Prove it to us. (Here)

Vet's Angels - Benefits you should know....

Recently, a friend decided to have her 94 year old mother move into an assisted living home. 

Because of her disabilities, it was very apparent that she was unable to function on her own without some 24/7 aid.  But because of her stubbornness and her desire to live in her own house, the move was postponed several times, until it had to be done.

The late night calls from emergency personnel.  Continual injuries while at home.  Calls from strangers who found her in front of her home, unable to get off the ground.  Multiple trips to the doctor or hospital.  All took a toll on the family. 

When the decision was made to move her, it also taxed the family due to the additional monetary costs for her care.  Each service provided at the home, however small, would add up. 

Thanks to another friend, the family was directed to the Veteran’s Angels Inc. (http://www.vetangels.org/) a non-profit organization that assists senior veterans and their spouses or widows get a little known benefit that is referred to as the “Aid and Attendance Special Pension”.

1.  Basically, the applicant must require assistance from another person on a regular basis to help them deal with the trials of everyday living.

2.  They must be over the age of 65 or totally and permanently disabled.

3. The veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty with only 1 day during a time of war.

4.  Any discharge other than dishonorable.

5. A surviving spouse does not have to be over 65 years of age, however, they must have been married to the veteran for at least one year at the time of the veteran’s death and cannot be re-married.

Benefit Awards could total up to $1,949.00 per month for the veteran with a dependent.  Up to $1,644.00 for a veteran and up to $1,056 for a surviving spouse.

Veteran's Angels is an important resource for the public.  It relays needed information to those looking for help, and points them in the right direction by giving them a “how-to” for filling out the paperwork, making sure it is completed properly, and forwarded, via email, to the appropriate entities.

This “pension” assists the family in deferring the costs associated with the long-term care of their loved ones and allows the seniors tax-free money to help pay their expenses, protect their income and live their lives in dignity.  (watch video here).

Upon speaking with Stephen Stone , Vietnam Vet and CEO and Executive Director of Veterans Angels, I was astounded to find that only 5% of eligible veterans and the families know of this pension program.  Also, that they have helped 4,000 applicants get their deserved benefits.  To date, Veteran’s Angels has assisted 98% of all applicants get approved for the program.

Veteran’s Angels is totally supported by volunteers and donations.  They are classified as a 501C3 charity only organization.

VegasNewsReview.com is dedicated to our veterans and their families, here and overseas, and will assist in any way to help those deserving of the gratitude of a helpful nation.

Please support Veteran’s Angels at http://www.vetangels.org/.