Changes have been made to UNLV’s athletics compliance office. Eric Nepomuceno was hired to head the office. The previous compliance chief reported only to president Len Jessup. Nepomuceno also will report to athletic director Desiree Reed-Francios. He replaces former director Eric Toliver, who resigned in February.
Golden Knights fever is gripping Las Vegas as the second round of the NHL playoffs continue. Longtime observers of the local sports scene are comparing to the team’s popularity to that of the UNLV basketball team during its heyday. It has been 27 years since UNLV last played in the Final Four. Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was only 5 years old when the Rebels beat Duke to win the 1990 national championship. “You’d go to the bank, and everybody would ask how the Rebels were going to do against Oklahoma, against LSU. I think what is happening (with the Knights) is similar. The most important part is that it is uniting the community like UNLV basketball did.”
Lyft passengers now have the option of hailing a self-driving car on the Las Vegas Strip. Aptiv PLC launched a fleet of 30 autonomous vehicles on Thursday. The multiyear agreement between Lyft and Aptiv provides highly trained drivers in the cars. Glen De Vos, Aptiv chief technology officer
The USL suspended Lights FC technical director Jose Luis Sanchez Sola seven games. Sola made contact with an official after last Friday’s 3-1 loss to San Antonio FC. My finger did make contact one time with the referee, for which I want to apologize many times. But my action and my only intention was to point to him. Without intention, and with one finger, you can’t hurt anyone. I made a mistake in touching the referee with my finger. It will not happen again. Sola will be eligible to return to the sidelines on June 16 as of now. The Lights are appealing his suspension. Obviously, no one should ever touch a referee. And obviously, we don’t condone the behavior. However, there are clear differences between a poke and something more serious. I have personally spoken with multiple eyewitnesses, all of whom corroborate (Sola’s) version of the events. We look forward to the appeal process and will respect the decision of the Independent Discipline Panel once it is rendered. Again, the incident never should have happened, and (Sola) was the first person to say so afterwards.
Legislation to allow the Department of Energy to resume its license application process to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain could see a House vote as early as next week . A bill approved last year by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to jump-start the licensing process is being reviewed and the legislation could move to the floor next week. The legislation would streamline the process to open Yucca Mountain to store nuclear waste and address the stockpile of spent fuel being stored at power plants across the country. “We owe it to the 121 communities across 39 states, as well as to every American taxpayer forced to shoulder the daily $2.2 million burden of inaction, to get this done,” said Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., in a joint statement.
A crash early Friday morning has left a motorcyclist hospitalized with a serious head injury, according to Las Vegas police. The crash occurred in the southwest valley at Durango Drive and the 215 Beltway, and was reported around 1:30 a.m. Police are investigating and one lane of the eastbound 215 offramp has been shut down.
Las Vegas police are looking for the suspect who stabbed a woman in the stomach during a street robbery Friday morning in the central valley. The 37-year-old woman walked into the 7-Eleven at 531 E. Sahara Ave., around 1:30 a.m. with a wound to her abdomen, according to police. She was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive her wound. The stabber remains at-large.
