County commissioners struck down a proposal that would outlaw intentionally feeding pigeons, fearing fees and potential jail time for scofflaws would be too harsh. As the proposal was written, those who refused to stop feeding pigeons after being warned once by a postcard could have faced a misdemeanor charge worth up to six months in jail or a $1,000 criminal fine.
Three attorneys vying to become Clark County’s district attorney faced a 4½-hour marathon of questioning Tuesday by the County Commission. Steve Wolfson, a Las Vegas councilman and defense lawyer; John Hunt, former county Democratic Party chairman; and Drew Christensen, county director of appointed counsel, presented their views on the coroner’s inquest process, the death penalty, shootings by police, and how each would handle being the county’s top prosecutor if appointed.
Victor and Annette Fuentes blame a federal agency for problems at their church camp west of Pahrump. First their baptismal pond dried up; then the desert camp was flooded with water and mud. Now the Nevada Policy Research Institute will represent the Fuenteses as they seek to recover more than $85,000 in damages.
Assemblywoman April Mastroluca blasted the state Board of Pharmacy on Tuesday for failing to move quickly to outlaw so-called “bath salts,” or crystal methamphetamine-type synthetic drugs that are killing people around the country. The drugs, which can be bouth at some convenience stores and head shops, carry names like plant food, K2, Mamba, Vanilla Sky, Ocean Burst and Ivory Wave.
County commissioners on Tuesday referred a discussion about banning certain animals on Las Vegas Boulevard to a work group examining issues on the Strip. The group, which is composed of tourist and gaming industry representatives and meets in secret, was formed by County Manager Don Burnette at the direction of commissioners last year to examine liquor sales, hand billing, street performers, vacant parcels, trash collection, graffiti, news racks and other persistent issues in the tourism corridor.
A Henderson teenager who participated in a paintball shooting spree must remain in custody while awaiting his sentencing hearing, a Juvenile Court judge ruled Tuesday. Defense attorney Mark Anderson described Christian Melton, 16, as “a really good kid who did some bad things.” Anderson noted that Melton’s 18-year-old co-defendant, Robert Lockwood, was released on his own recognizance last week.
Brandon Oravetz, 27, has been sentenced to 18 to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the April 2010 slaying of his former lover. Oravetz in November pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder and armed robbery for the death of Roger Dayag Galapon, 39. He was sentenced Jan. 11.
Andrew Mendoza has been sentenced to 16 to 54 years in prison for the 2010 beating death of his 3-month-old son Angel. Mendoza in December pleaded guilty to six counts of child abuse. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a murder charge.
Findlay Automotive Group agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by two former employees, but the company strongly disputed the way it was publicly characterized Tuesday by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
George Levine, father of Rep. Shelley Berkley and a link to the Rat Pack era of Las Vegas, suffered a “mild heart attack” on Monday and is scheduled for surgery this week. A spokesman in Berkley’s campaign office disclosed Levine’s medical condition in explaining her absence from the House on Tuesday. Lawmakers were reconvening after a four-week holiday recess.
The County Commission approved a $75,000 settlement Tuesday with Las Vegas police officer Jeffrey Barker, who was injured in a motorcycle accident on the job four years ago.
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