[lvoc]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

Las Vegas means, "The Meadows", and was named that by the Spanish traders that stopped here in their travels along the old Santa Fe Trail, which they used to go from Santa Fe, Nuevo Mejico, to southern California. It's still visible in places. The Meadows were created by the artesian wells that came up out of the ground where The Springs Preserve is located. Up until maybe fifteen or twenty years ago there were a lot of artesian wells in the area, but destruction ...I mean development, has messed it all up, including wiping out whole mesquite forests that we had in this valley not that long ago.

Speaking of the Las Vegas Valley, I believe it is actually the Las Vegas Alluvial Plain.

Google Image Result for http://pages.uoregon.edu/millerm/alfan2.jpeg

Only in Las Vegas. Check any Spanish to English Dictionary. There is a translation of water meadow...but that is actually different from a meadow. And plain makes more sense.

I am sure it is the Las Vegas alluvial plain. It is also the Las Vegas Valley.

[Kevin98103]

In short, it's because the best part of the strip these days was started in large part by mob figures who did not want to deal with Las Vegas city officials, so they started casinos which were then outside of town. At a time when many people still arrived by train, downtown was the best part, and the strip was just a desert two lane highway on the way to LA. It wasn't that long ago really. Very entertaining stories, should you decide to read about them.

There is also a culture of misfits and anti-tax here, I live in an unincorporated neighborhood completely surrounded by the city of Las Vegas in 89146. We still get the same county services, we just don't pay city tax. It has no name as far as far as I know, we use Las Vegas on our address, someday it will surely be incorporated, but for now it's still a hold out.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by Kevin98103

In short, it's because the best part of the strip these days was started in large part by mob figures who did not want to deal with Las Vegas city officials, so they started casinos which were then outside of town. At a time when many people still arrived by train, downtown was the best part, and the strip was just a desert two lane highway on the way to LA. It wasn't that long ago really. Very entertaining stories, should you decide to read about them.

There is also a culture of misfits and anti-tax here, I live in an unincorporated neighborhood completely surrounded by the city of Las Vegas in 89146. We still get the same county services, we just don't pay city tax. It has no name as far as far as I know, we use Las Vegas on our address, someday it will surely be incorporated, but for now it's still a hold out.

There are lots of those county islands and they are, at this point, almost never annexed to the City. There are many surrounded by NLV and Henderson as well.

Unless something changes that makes annexation desirable I can't see it ever happening. Just no downside.

[Kevin98103]

Originally Posted by lvoc

There are lots of those county islands and they are, at this point, almost never annexed to the City. There are many surrounded by NLV and Henderson as well.

Unless something changes that makes annexation desirable I can't see it ever happening. Just no downside.

I don't think I said my area was unique, in fact I explained my area as just one example of the local culture, which implies there are others. And just because annexation hasn't happened yet means nothing, Las Vegas is too young. Lots if not most older cities once had unincorporated islands; but over time they almost always incorporate or get annexed. Give it time, and reasons will present themselves.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by Kevin98103

I don't think I said my area was unique, in fact I explained my area as just one example of the local culture, which implies there are others. And just because annexation hasn't happened yet means nothing, Las Vegas is too young. Lots if not most older cities once had unincorporated islands; but over time they almost always incorporate or get annexed. Give it time, and reasons will present themselves.

I made no comment about "unique". I am well aware it is not and presumed you were too.

Your belief in annexation is misplaced. Most cities are not embedded in counties with more population and resources than the city has. If anything I would not be surprised to eventually see the City of Las Vegas and NLV absorbed by the County. Henderson has already reached a state where they may not choose to join. But it would likely be better for all concerned to fold the other two cities.

[irishspy]

This is a quote from the link I posted on this thread.
Paradise Township became the largest unincorporated town in the United States in 1950. The reason they made Paradise Township was because the mayor of Las Vegas was pressing for annexation of the Las Vegas Strip. This was not in the interests of the owners of the newly thriving businesses along the Las Vegas Strip, so those owners, some of whom were mob connected, managed to get a law passed in Nevada forbidding a city from annexing an unincorporated town. Then all they had to do was form a new township and Las Vegas could forget about annexing the Las Vegas Strip. The stratagem worked, so that, ironically, very little of what most tourists come to Las Vegas to see is actually in the City of Las Vegas. In fact, all of the strip South of Sahara, plus even the Rio and Palms Hotels, are located in Paradise Township, not Las Vegas. For a short video from the Clark County Centennial collection about Paradise Township,
click here.
Other Townships in the Valley include Sunrise Manor, Whitney, Spring Valley, Winchester, and Enterprise. None are nearly as large, however.
One of the many attractions in Paradise.
Photo by Steve Fey

[Buzz123]

I don't mess with dinky dictionaries. My American Heritage Spanish Dictionary says a vega is a fertile lowland. Where I come from we call that bottom land - or - wait for it - a meadow. I'll check iTranslate later on my iPad.

In COOba a vega is a tobacco plantation.

en Chile (Cheelay), it is swampy or marshy terrain.

En Nebada, Las Vegas (pural) ees The Meadows, as in see em ere meadows up ere? Theys water thar.

[Buzz123]

That sounds plausible Irish Spy. A lot of what you see in any state is because of politics. Here a lot of the reason for county "islands" surrounded by city limits has to do with how the BLM released the land for development. Or in most cases, traded it for ranch land in the boonies so we'd have city in the city and open space in the desert. Many areas of "town" are given the name the developer used. Although I still hate to refer to the destruction of open space as "development".

BTW: You could live anywhere in the Valley, Henderson, NLV, "Paradise", The Lakes, or whatever, and use Las Vegas as your address as long as you get the zip code right. And even if the zip is wrong and the address is correct you'd probably get the delivery.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

".
BTW: You could live anywhere in the Valley, Henderson, NLV, "Paradise", The Lakes, or whatever, and use Las Vegas as your address as long as you get the zip code right. And even if the zip is wrong and the address is correct you'd probably get the delivery.

Yep - I used to work s a package handler for RPS(before fed ex bought them) - and all we memorized were zip codes. Las Vegas(890 and 891 prefixes was one of the trailers that I memorized. If you lived in the Las vegas valley - and you had a package delivered from my part of southern California to the Las vegas Valley in the late late 90's - I ensured that the package got on the correct truck - because I memorized the zip codes and getting the package on the right truck was my primary job while i was working throgh college.

[Kevin98103]

Originally Posted by lvoc

I made no comment about "unique". I am well aware it is not and presumed you were too.

Your belief in annexation is misplaced. Most cities are not embedded in counties with more population and resources than the city has. If anything I would not be surprised to eventually see the City of Las Vegas and NLV absorbed by the County. Henderson has already reached a state where they may not choose to join. But it would likely be better for all concerned to fold the other two cities.

So you first quoted me in order to agree with me, ok.

Is there any precedence of a major metropolitan area in the US becoming unincorporated, rather than the other way around? Use of the name Las Vegas would be even more of a misnomer than it already is, if everything were instead just Clark County, NV. Also seems like you would end up with a similar outcome as annexation, becoming one contiguous entity, rather than islands within other entities. What an anomaly it would be if there were no city at all here, in order to avoid paying tax.