Las Vegas Weekly

[Meet your neighbors]

Pop palace

Michael Jackson has moved into a small, elite neighborhood by a school—does anyone mind?

Jackson’s new digs have become a popular stop.

Photo: Aaron Thompson

As mother Angela Navetta and her 4-year-old son walk down Palomino Road near Wadsen Elementary School Friday afternoon, shortly after classes have let out for the weekend, they stop to pause and look around. Suddenly, two wooden gates open up from a majestic estate known as Hacienda Palomino, and a large white SUV full of burly looking men wearing white suits and dark shades pulls out onto the street. The men, bodyguards, nod at Navetta as they drive past, and she waves in return. But strange men in white suits, big SUVs and a steady stream of random gawkers are regular sights, she says, especially since one of the most famous people of the 20th century, Michael Jackson, moved into the 12,000-square-foot abode on the 2700 block of Palomino nearly two months ago.

Since then, visitors from around the world have come to the house in the hope of catching a rare glimpse of the reclusive celebrity, sometimes waiting hours before ultimately giving up, says Steven, a neighbor who lives near the Palomino estate.

Steven’s daughter, Vivian, 10, says that she and some other neighborhood figures along with tourists were part of a group that gathered outside of the gates on August 29 to wish Jackson a happy birthday. They were greeted with pizza and ice cream, she says.

“The guards came out, and they were really nice,” Vivian says. “I wish they’d do it again. He seems really nice.”

Yet while parents picking up their kids from the adjacent elementary school seem to see the Jackson house as an odd, intriguing, generally harmless landmark, others such as Maria, a non-English-speaking mother who has children who go to Wadsen, see him as a potential threat to their safety.

“He’s a rapist,” Maria says through an interpreter. “I don’t feel like my kids are safe in the neighborhood.”

Navetta, who’s lived in the area for more than 13 years, says Jackson’s past alleged crimes shouldn’t be a concern for any parent, considering the high level of security elementary schools operate under.

“You know, I think that the kids are fine,” Navetta says. “Especially at an elementary school, they don’t let the kids wander around, and they put them on the bus. It’s very safe. Parents honestly have nothing they really need to worry about. Besides, it’s kind of cool having a celebrity living in this place. It shows he has good taste.

“It’s kind of exciting having [Jackson] around,” she says. “But it doesn’t really change anything.”