Publisher's Note May/June 2019

This month, we celebrate our ninth publishing anniversary. In choosing the content for this special issue, we inadvertently decided to run a story that features the same model that appeared on our second-anniversary cover.

Back then, in May 2012, our cover story focused on four Downtown Las Vegas women artists. One of the artists we profiled was Jennifer Henry, her outrageous crinkle ‘n crunch cellophane outfits have since become a Sin City staple. DAVID art director Steve Wilson photographed Alexandria Finley wearing several Jennifer’s creations, one of which was chosen for our cover.

In Paul Harasim’s Cancer’s Cover Girl, pages 40-43, Finley shares the impact her cervical cancer diagnosis has had on her and her family. Also interviewed are a UNLV obstetrics and gynecology professor and a Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada medical oncologist. They offer a medical perspective on the disease and its connection to the dangers of the human papillomavirus (HPV) as well as warning women against putting off pap smears.

Continuing our focus on women’s health, we explore the subject of women’s heart disease. In his piece Surviving a Near-Death Experience, pages 30-33, Scott Kerbs interviews Christina Mason and her doctors at the UMC Cardiology and Stroke Center. UMC has an impressive track record of helping patients who suffer from this number one killer of women.

Our cover story this month focuses on women and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In STEM Girls, pages 26-29, Aleza Freeman writes of the efforts to promote STEM to young girls and women. She interviews Blair Bauman, a UNLV science student and Eric Mendelsohn, co-founder of the after-school technology center Code Central. Mendelsohn has received encouragement and support from Senator Jacky Rosen, who we interview separately in our “Grill” section on page 58.

Brian Sodoma writes about the student debt crisis. In The Price of a Good Education, pages 44-47, he explains how getting into college can result in mountains of debt.

The use of runway models that represent all races, sizes, and gender identities is an emerging trend among today’s trendy designers. In Fashion for All, pages 48-51, Rachel Hershkowitz delves into the world of high fashion and finds an evolution in design sensitivities and attitudes taking place. Once the exclusive domain of six-foot-plus, impossibly skinny models, runways now celebrate diversity.

Every now and then, I come across a compelling story that begs to be shared. This is true of an illustrated book and the museum exhibition it inspired. Jaq Greenspon’s piece, Sara Berman’s Closet, pages 52-56, focuses on the book and the show of the same name. After successful runs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, Sara Berman’s Closet has opened at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. Artists Maira and Alex Kalman, (Sara’s daughter and grandson,) are responsible for the book, published by Harper Collins in 2018, and are credited with the design and mounting of the three exhibitions.

I cannot believe that the passion project my wife Joanne and I launched in 2010 has turned nine. I guess time flies when you are having fun. Thank you for your continued interest in our publication; we guarantee more entertaining and thought-provoking content in the years to come. As always, see you in the racks.

Max D. Friedland

max@davidlv.com