Gehry's favorite Strip building is the Excalibur? Gee, wish somebody had known that before he was hired to design the brain center.

At least now I understand why the Ruvo center looks like it does -- Gehry's getting even.

I hardly know where to begin after reading this interview.

The tension you feel in the city, Mr. D'Agata, has nothing to do with Yucca Mountain. If you lived here full-time, you would realize that Yucca Mountain is not part of the "stress" of living in Las Vegas. You are correct, though, in that there is something hanging over the city. But you are mistaken that is has anything to do with a nuclear waste project.

"But with my own mom suddenly living in Vegas, Yucca Mountain became a personal threat," you say. I say, oh please. I am very sorry that you mother is on-edge since moving here. Your concern about her is to be commended. But if you are truly looking for the source of her (and thousands of others) stress, look no further than the headlines in the local newspapers.

Unemployment is at its highest rate in decades. People are worried about losing their jobs. Employers large and small (including state and local governments) have not only stopped hiring but are also laying off workers in droves. Social services and education budgets are being cut to the bone. Real estate values have plummeted. People who have lost jobs can't afford to make mortgage payments. Even people who HAVEN'T lost jobs can't afford to make mortgage payments. If you lose your job, you can't look for work in another state because you won't be able to sell your house here without losing your shirt. (And that's assuming you can even find a buyer who isn't solely interested in foreclosure properties.)

And I haven't even touched on the ominous situation of water supply for Las Vegas. Lake Mead is now at a 44-year low after nine years of drought. In 2008, scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography predicted there is a 50% probability that Lake Mead will be completely dry by 2021.

Even before the announcement that Yucca Mountain's license application would be pulled, if you had asked 100 people on the street what their primary concern was regarding their personal well-being, it would not have been Yucca Mountain. It would not even have been second, or third, on their list.

So if you want to use terms such as "scary," "devastatingly scary," "fear," "threat," and "stress," you need to direct them where they properly apply... and not at Yucca Mountain.