The Nevada employment division is set to release its June unemployment numbers Friday, and that figure is expected to climb from May's 11.3 percent figure. Lynn Baird and Nishon Burton of the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation will answer your questions about the process for filing for unemployment benefits. The state agency receives 25,000 calls every week about new and existing claims, causing the department's Las Vegas call center to double its staff and extend its hours.

The New York Times reports that 5,000 restaurant workers are unemployed in the Las Vegas Valley, as the recession deepens, and that's led to reduced hours and closures of restaurants. Meantime, the scheduled December opening of the first phase of MGM Mirage's massive City Center project will see new restaurant openings, sparking competitors to worry that high-end eateries could take an additional hit. We look at the challenges facing the Strip restaurant scene. Guests include chef Rick Moonen; Le Cirque and Circo owner Mario Maccioni; as well as KNPR food critic John Curtas.

Mbalax is a form of Senegalese percussive music that was popularized by the musician Youssou N'Dour. The Las Vegas-based Senegalese group Bhoutalow, or Black Scorpion, joins us to share their sounds. Members Toumany Kouyate, Adama Diop, Papis Cissoh, and Ousme Guye perform. They'll be performing at the Winchester Cultural Center on Sunday, July 19th at 2pm as part of Clark County's World Vibration Concert Series.

If you're in a crowd on Fremont Street Friday night don't be surprised if dancing breaks out all around you...just like in Musical. We get the story from Rebecca Zisch.

Norm Schilling scouts some summertime casualties in his yard. Ever the optimist, Norm, reviews some recent garden failures with what he can learn in this edition of Desert Bloom.

Norm Schilling shows off the replacement to his Century Plant Agave that will come to the end of its life after its flowering phase.

Century Plant Agave Century Plant Agave