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August 28, 2026

Dolly Parton's Literary Legacy, a Vegas Apartment Shortage, and Good News Friday

City Cast Las Vegas

Dolly Parton's Literary Legacy, a Vegas Apartment Shortage, and Good News Friday

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Nevada's low literacy rates among the valley's youth are always a hot-button issue as it relates to our education system as a whole, and while we were looking back at Dolly Parton's legacy, we found an interesting connection she has to helping Las Vegas kids get a jump on reading, which got us thinking about what else can be done to improve our education system in a meaningful way. It turns out our housing shortage is worse than many realize, after a new report said Vegas needs 5,000 new apartments every year to make a dent. We dig into whether or not that's reasonable and how we can make housing more affordable for locals. Plus, we've got another installment of Good News Friday. And in our members-only bonus segment, we break down the latest parking update for the Arts District and explain why paid parking might not be so bad after all. Host Jesse Merrick dives into it all with Spotlight Poetry founder Elle Hope and "Keep It Local" writer Melinda Sheckells.


Learn more about the sponsors of this Friday, August 28th episode:

Neon Museum

Elect Alex Quagge


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