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010805-3267 ***** A letter from District Judge of Family Court Cheryl Moss To Dr. and Mrs. Tony Lei was sent by her from her Office. It stated her congratulations to "Next Weekly" and best wishes for continued success and contributions to our community:

010505-5967
Meet WBTI Fellow Dina Titus
By Cheryl Moss and Tiffany Chang

"Our greastest asset at Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) is our people -- not facades or fountains, not landscapes or lakescapes, but people -- faculty, advisory board members, administration, and a host of friends," said President Dr. Tony Lei of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI). "On the publications of WBTI through multimedia locally, nationally, and internationally, we have featured many of our own: U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, Governor of Nevada Kenny Guinn, Pepperdine University President Dr. Andrew Benton, Chief Federal Judge Lloyed Geroge, Pepperdine University Chancellor Dr. Charles Runnels, Former Chief Justice and now Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court William Maupin, Dr. William Thompson, Dr. Lee Bernick, Dr. Keong Leong, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, among others."

"Enriching our research and community service process were made possible by these friends who joined and supported this academic institute. WBTI is really a chain of dedicated individuals, intellectuals, and professionals who join to research, serve, support and to give. We take great pride of our people, including our outstanding faculty members. They are some of the best in the world. We are sincere servers to help improve the quality of life of all the residents and visitors of Nevada."

Nevada State Senator Dina Titus was appointed by Washington Business and Technology Institute as a Fellow of its Public Administration Institution (PAI) on August 15, 2001. She was very pleased to receive the congratulations call from Dr. Tony Lei early that morning. Having out of town for a couple of days, the call reminded her that at the suggestion of U. S. Senator Harry Reid, former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones had offered to step down as Nevada's Democatic National Committeewoman, and Dina Titus would seek that job. This would give her some Washington, D. C., connections and enhance her political profile. With four trips a year to Washington, D. C., the committeewoman and committeeman from each state are expected to speak on party issues, raise money, and help recruit candidates.

"It's really my honor to be a Fellow of the Public Administration Institution of Washington Business and Technology Institute," said Senator Dina Titus to the readers of "Nevada Examiner" and Las Vegas Review-Journal.com. "I'm also honor to be invited by Dr. Tony Lei as a Special Guest to the Event and Dinner Party for a Special Tribute to U. S. Senator Harry Reid on August 24, 2001," she continued.*2 Dina Titus brought her husband Dr. Wright to attend the Party at the Asia Palace Chinese Restaurant on the Friday evening. Dr. Wright is a Senior Professor in the Department of History at UNLV. The Event and Dinner Party was initiated by Dr. Tony Lei and Ms. Nancy Diaz. It was chaired by Dr. Tony Lei, Dr. R. D. Prabhu, Dr. Ram Singh, Mr. Tonie Sison, and Ms. Rita Vaswani. Joined with more than 36 hosts of the Dinner Party by community and organizational leaders, business exevutives and owners, and government officials, we had guests and participants more than 384 people.*3

As a Professor of Political Science of UNLV, Dina Titus is now a famous Senator of the State Nevada. She is also a State Senator Democratic Leader. On August 14, 2001, she said that she would run for Lieutenant Govenor if Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman ran for Nevada Governor. "She's brilliant, and she would be a great governor," Mayor Goodman siad of Senator Titus.

To her new honor and appointment as a Fellow of Public Administration Institution (PAI) of WBTI on August 15, 2001, Senator Titus agreed with District Judge Valorie Vega on "This position will undoubtedly provide me with avenues for exploring improvements in public services to which I'm most dedicated." It is really a valuable advancement that we may have such an appropriate and achieved individual like Dina as a colleague to our Institution. Senator Titus' expertise and good reputation in political science has been known locally and nationally. With her outstanding professional expertise and practical public administration experience, Senator Titus' acceptance as a fellow of PAI evidenced that in supporting Director Dr. William Thompason with Fellows Former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, Justices of the Supreme Court William Maupin and Nancy Becker, District Judges Mark Denton, Valorie Vega, Nancy Saitta, Jackie Glass, Michelle Leavitt, Jennifer Togliatti, Jessie Walsh, among others, they would form an excellent leadership team launching PAI into the next milleunnium for academic excellence and administrative practicality.

Dina Titus is now a famous Adjunct Professor of Administrative Strategies in the Graduate School of Business and Public Administration (GSBPA) of Washington Business and Technology Institute.

Professor Dina Titus, a native of Georgia, was educated at William and Mary, University of Georgia and received her Ph. D. from Florida State University. She currently teaches Political Science at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and, in addition to these responsibilities, she is also a Nevada State Senator from District 7 in Clark County. She is on the Board of Directors of the Nevada Test Site Foundation and is a member of the Nevada-California Super Speed Ground Transportation Commission, Clark country Women’s Democratic Club, Education Commission of the States and the Nevada Commission on Participatory Democracy. Se was named the Spanos Outstanding Teacher at UNLV in 1985, was the Chairman of the Nevada Humanities Committee from 1984-19865 and in 1999 was the Nevada Arts Advocate of the Year.*3

Her most recent publication is Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics. The title of Dr. Titus’ Convocation lecture, “The Mushroom Cloud as an American Symbol,” attests to the extensive knowledge she has concerning America’s nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site and the impact it has had on that region.*4

"The maturity of citizens society is the fundamental guarantee for the normal processing of democratic politics. In a citizens society, it depends highly on the team of public intellectuals. A good public intellectual interates peoples' opinion, analyze rationally, and points out wise perspectives and notice. Dina plays an important and significant responsibility of mission as an achieved intellectual at the same time as an important statewoman. Our Nevada is critically in need of these intellectuals and professionals in every kind of fields," said Dr. Tony Lei, President of WBTI.*5

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References

*1 Vega, Valorie, and Chang, Tiffany. 'Senator Dina Titus appoints Fellow of Public Administration of WBTI,' "Nevada Examiner," (August, 2001), Las Vegas, Nevada: Nevada Examiner.
*2. Ibid.
*3. Google. 'About Tina Titus,' "A search about Senator Dina Titus on Google.com," (January 5, 2005), U. S. A.: Google.com.
*4. Ibid.
*5. Chang, Tiffany. 'Asian American community united to honor U. S. Senator Harry Reid,' "8 Years of Thai Cultures in Las Vegas, Nevada," (November 13, 2001), Las Vega, Nevada: Thai Cultural Arts Association of Las Vegas.

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122204-3687
Merry Christmas cards sent by President Dr. Andrew Benton of Pepperdine University and District Judge Cheryl Moss are the two first ones to Dr. Tony Lei, President of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) on December 10, 2004. Following that were the three ones from District Judge Mark Denton and Dr. Liz Kent ( a classmate of Dr. Tony Lei and Ed. D. of Pepperdine University), and President of TACCLV Sapatra Chemprachum on December 18, 2004. Dr Tony Lei received a Merry Christmas card from Pepperdine University Chancellor Dr. Charles Runnels in Malibu, California on December 21, 2004. (The Merry Christmas cards of President Dr. Andrew Benton and Chancellor Dr. Charles Runnels were designed and post on the Section of "Pepperdine University Alumni Association".)

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113004-3678 ***** The 2004 Proclamation of Clark County to Dr. Tony Lei, President of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI):

113004-3286
"Post by PAI....." (See our letter to you on 8/24/04 please.)

Friday, November 26, 2004
Copyright @ Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cirque Tops Itself

'Ka,' the most expensive live show in modern history, takes a new direction by telling a story
By MIKE WEATHERFORD
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Lo Ngaching performs during the pageant scene in "Ka," the new epic from Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand.

A turbulent storm at sea leaves "Ka's" young heroine and her nanny underwater, which is shown through a stage transformation, aerial wires and film projection.

Jorg Lemke (background, as Counselor) and Miro (as Counselor's Son) rehearse.

Jorg Lemke

Chinese Wushu artists perform in the pageant scene.

"Ka" performers are hooked into their harnesses.

Kleber Berto from Brazil rehearses in the "Ka" training room.
Photos by Jeff Scheid. (Check all the photos with LVRJ please.) [You may view them from the section of "Neon" on reviewjournal.com at November 30, 2004.]

Seen from directly overhead, two opposing groups of armor-suited warriors charge to meet in the middle. A fierce battle ensues, the warriors using staffs, swords and kung fu. Some have an almost-supernatural power to leap over their enemy.

That's how the scene unfolds in Cirque du Soleil's new "Ka." But the audience doesn't see the overhead perspective on film, or reflected in mirrors. They see it because the warriors are suspended in the air, their feet rappelling onto a near-vertical wall, upon which the image of the battlefield is projected.

Along with performing their stunt combat, the performers are squeezing control units, hidden in their fists, to move the wires that suspend them from a grid 90 feet above the stage.

In part, it's the answer to the question everyone had: How could Cirque top itself and deliver a distinct new product in its fourth show on the Strip?

The $165 million "Ka," which begins its first ticketed "preview" shows today at the MGM Grand (the formal opening is in February) marks not only a watershed for Las Vegas entertainment, but perhaps the creation of an all-new entertainment medium: the live movie; theater that uses the language of cinema.

"In movies you will see a battlefield from different angles ... We've had the opportunity to give people a live experience about battle that is completely different than what you would get in any other theater," says Lyn Heward, who oversees Cirque's creative content division.

"Ka" has the rich, textured atmosphere of grand opera, except that nothing is stagebound, not even the two stages themselves.

Scenes flow from one to another, changing perspective. When the nanny of the young protagonist falls overboard during a turbulent storm at sea, you first see the older caretaker (Teuda Bara) swept off the side of the boat that spins and bobs like a cork on the water.

Then the stage transforms to an underwater point of view, to show the nanny sinking to the bottom -- again by using aerial wires and film projection -- and the young heroine (Jennifer Haight) plunging in to rescue her.

"It does focus the way a spectator can watch an activity. When I go see `O,' I have difficulty choosing what to look at," Heward says. "But this is a little bit different. We are giving you a point of view to look at this from."

Moreover, the signature Cirque music, acrobatics and overall aesthetic have been focused into actual storytelling for the first time. "Cirque du Soleil is at the point where it wants to reinvent itself and see how it can push further," says Robert Lepage, the director hired to help Cirque turn that corner. "You have to move on to something different and you have to break something to do that."

Lepage -- perhaps best-known in the United States for staging two Peter Gabriel tours -- says he and Cirque founder Guy Laliberté wrestled with questions of, "How can this feel familiar without being redundant? How can this feel like you're walking into a different world, but still with the confidence you have in your guide, which is Cirque du Soleil?"

The long road

"If your foundations are solid, then you can build it," says "Ka" production manager Stephane Mongeau.

The first Cirque production to be storyboarded in advance came together, perhaps not coincidentally, in a relatively compressed time frame.

In June 2002, Cirque and MGM Mirage confirmed rumors that dated back to at least mid-2001: "EFX" would close at the end of that year, to be replaced by the new Cirque and, as it turned out, a theater gutted and rebuilt from the ground up.

But Lepage had come up with the basic treatment for "Ka" by the end of 2001. And Cirque had dropped a major clue to its new direction with its tribute to special effects in the 2002 Academy Awards broadcast.

"What we were trying to do at that time was say to people, `Look, you don't need the magic of film to do "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"-like movements.' You can actually do it in real life, too," Heward says.

Cirque knew it wanted to create an epic, and to present it in a suitable theater. For that it turned to Mark Fisher, production designer for the Queen musical "We Will Rock You," currently at Paris Las Vegas, as well as the U2 "PopMart" tour and the Rolling Stones' "Bridges to Babylon" stadium tour.

"He was a real sprinter for us," Mongeau says of Fisher. "He had a very quick vision of the entire big picture (and) computer-animated a rendering of the entire theater within a month. Someone like him inspires the others."

In lieu of a fixed playing area, the stage design resembles a black void, where the two main stages move in and out of position. One is the "Tommy deck," a platform that slides in and out much like a drawer. The other -- the one hosting the vertical battle -- is the "cliff deck," an 80,000-pound rectangle lifted in and out of place by a 230,000-pound gantry arm.

The old theater was gutted and construction of the new one began in July 2003. Cirque took over the 1,951-seat theater in November 2003, but missed its goal of opening last summer, chiefly because of problems with the gantry arm.

A big star of the show was the last to join the cast: fire. At first, county fire inspectors told the creators that the theater's lack of a formal proscenium -- and thus, the traditional type of fire curtain --would prohibit pyrotechnical effects. Cirque agreed, but later reopened discussions. Inspectors signed off on the pyro effects Oct. 31.

The cinematic feel of the show also introduces a new, home-theaterlike dimension to the theater: Every seat will have its own personal set of speakers.

"It is not as if sound always comes out of the seat. It is just another pair of speakers," says sound designer Jonathan Deans. In fact, there are 180 outputs of sound, compared to 60 for "EFX."

"We take a sound and shred it into multiple sections," Deans explains. "It will go out and fly around the auditorium shredded, then come back into that (original) sound. Will the audience know that is happening? No. But they will feel something different is happening."

Much of the music is recorded, but all sound effects are live. "If a fireball comes up through the stage," Deans explains, "we draw little squares on the camera image (that monitors the stage action). So when the fireball crosses through the squares, it actually triggers different sounds, and places the sounds to different speakers."

War and peace

"It simplified itself," Lepage says of the story that was code-named "Duality," and takes its name from the Egyptian concept of a spiritual double. "It's difficult to talk about simplicity in this context, but it did."

"The story was very ambitious in the beginning, and that is what simplified itself, to where you get a thread more than a story and that thread becomes your emotional guide," he explains. "It's still a Cirque du Soleil show. It's all based on numbers and pretexts to have acrobatics or martial arts. It's the way you string these things together that forms a story line."

In this case, it's the story of twins (Haight and sister Sheri) in an ancient Asian society who are separated when enemy archers kidnap one of them. Along the way, their separate journeys include a giant forest and a beach full of giant animal puppets created by Michael Curry, best known for Broadway's "The Lion King."

The biggest challenge: "How do you present conflict in a Cirque du Soleil show?" Lepage remembers. "How do you present violence in a nonviolent way? How do you make a ballet out of an attack?"

Cirque traveled the world to find swordsmen, archers and the roof-jumping Yamikazis of Paris. "You show these videos in sequence and you went, `Yikes! This is so violent,' " Lepage recalls.

Help came from Taiwanese martial arts choreographer Yung Biau Lin and his experience dating back to his childhood with the Chinese Opera, which trains youngsters in gymnastics, acrobatics and martial arts as well as performance skills such as mime and dance.

"There are many ways to use the martial arts. Fighting is one, but there are a lot of others," Biau Lin says through an interpreter.

"What I am trying to do in this show is look at the whole span of energy and play with that," he says of the rare mix of disciplines: Chinese Wushu -- an umbrella term for a variety of styles -- and Brazilian Capoeira.

For all that is new about "Ka," longtime fans of Cirque will hear the sounds of a long-lost friend. René Dupéré, who composed the soundtrack to "Mystere" and most of the Cirque shows before it, returned to the fold at Laliberté's request after a 10-year break.

"It has to be a score, like a movie score," Dupéré says. "The music has to tell what's going on, because there's nobody talking."

The most distinctive aspect of the score is a 42-voice choir, which sings "invented lyrics" by Dupéré's wife, Elise Velle, who was principal singer for the first year of "Mystere."

The choir and orchestral sounds are blended in with the live performance of a seven-piece band, which the audience doesn't see.

But, Dupéré says, in places "I had to soften (the music) a bit. It was so dramatic, I couldn't see the action. The music was too big."

It's a larger lesson the creators of the most expensive live show in modern history are trying not to forget. One key special effect is created by nothing more than the shadow of a candle.

"Human beings make the effects, and not machines," Heward says. "The technology is simply a support to the human performance."

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111804-3967
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COSTS CONTINUE TO DECREASE in Nevada
By Dr. Kenny C. Guinn*1

I’d like to tell you about another positive development for Nevada’s business climate. Since this administration privatized Nevada’s workers’ compensation system in 1999, one of the major success stories for our state has been the downward trend in workers’ compensation rates. This privatization resulted in the elimination of a potential $1.6 billion state liability and helped the state create better efficiencies, resulting in the elimination of more than 500 employee positions. As a result, most Nevada employers have seen a consistent reduction in renewal premiums.

Recently, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) submitted a filing to decrease workers’ compensation voluntary insurance loss costs in Nevada by an average of 6.8 percent. The NCCI also filed for a decrease in workers’ compensation insurance assigned risk rates by an average of 1.9 percent. The changes will become effective in January 2005.

This is the second year in a row that workers’ compensation loss costs have declined for Nevada’s employers. In 2004, rates were decreased by 12.3 percent in voluntary loss costs and 15.6 percent in assigned risk rates. This is in contrast to many other states, where workers’ compensation rates have remained flat or increased.

Nevada’s efforts to diversify the state’s business portfolio benefit greatly from these falling rates, as reduced costs encourage businesses to relocate to Nevada. In addition, reduced costs encourage existing businesses to remain firm in their commitment to Nevada. Although it should be noted that NCCI loss costs are only one component of the rates charged by insurers, this recent news is yet another encouraging sign of the state’s ever-strengthening business climate.

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Reference

*1. About Governor Kenny Guinn (by the Editor of this flier):

Kenny Guinn, 67, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physical Education from Fresno State University and later obtained a doctorate in Education from Utah State University in Logan. He was named Superintendent of Schools in Clark County and served with distinction in that position until 1978.

In his work for the Clark County School District, Guinn was recognized as an effective administrator committed to educational excellence at a time when the county was experiencing exponential student growth. His service to Clark County students was honored when Kenny C. Guinn Junior High School was named for him.

In 1978, Guinn began applying his management skills in business as Administrative Vice President for Nevada Savings and Loan in Las Vegas, which later became PriMerit Bank. At PriMerit, he was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas-based bank. Soon thereafter, Guinn was recruited to the energy business as the President of Southwest Gas Corporation and eventually became Chairman of the Board of Directors of that utility in 1993.

In 1994, Guinn was recruited by the University of Nevada Board of Regents to serve as interim president of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

In addition to his one-year term at UNLV, Guinn served the state in leadership roles on a variety of committees and commissions, including the Clark County Community College Advisory Committee, the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees, the White House Conference on Children and Youth, among others.

Guinn has also worked in his community in a variety of volunteer roles, ranging from involvement in the Boy Scouts and Pop Warner Football to the United Way of Southern Nevada and the Southern Nevada Independent Youth Athletic Association.

Kenny spent his boyhood in the small, Central Valley town of Exeter, California where he met Dema, his wife of 47 years. Kenny Guinn believes in families.

Dr. Kenny Guinn is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI). He is now the Governor of Nevada, U. S. A. at his second term.

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110104-6198 Some good Chinese paintings.

102204-5158
(1). On the following first picture: A group of participants at the Event and Dinner Party for the former Hawaii Governor Jonh Waihee. The party was held by Let's Go Vote, Inc. at Chow's Cuisine in Las Vegas on October 2, 2004 . The dancing show by Island Girl Marketing was brought by Christine Biaggi. From left on the front: Ms. Francis Allen, Ms. Elizabeth Halverson, and Dr. Tony Lei. From left on the back: Miss Yi Li, Mrs. Judy Lei, Ms. Sandra Pomrenze, Miss Jasmine Guo, Ms. Annie Chen, and Mrs. & Mr. Stevan Talkjan.
(2). On the following second photo: From left Dr. William Thompson and Dr. Tony Lei in an Asian American Event and Dinner Party. Dr. Thompson was invited as a Special Guest by Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) where he is the Director of Public Administration Institute (PAI ).

"As Director of Public Administration Institution (PAI), it's my privilege to share a leadership role with Dr. Tony Lei and to have wonderful cooperation of all the faculty since PAI's establishment. Innovative in integrating his expertise in institutional management and spiritual value in education, Dr. Tony Lei's wisdom and efforts towards community service and academic endeavor have been very valuable. We expect the forthcoming work performance of Pan Pacific and Asian American Forum (PPAAF) founded by this Institute to help Improve the quality of life of the people and to contribute to the peosperity of this State," Said Dr. William Thompson.*4 Bill is former Chairman and now Professor of the Department of Public Administration of UNLV.

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