Area Briefing
JUSTICE COURT TO BE IN SESSION
to help homeless during event
The Las Vegas Justice Court will hear misdemeanor matters during Project Homeless Connect from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North.
Project Homeless Connect brings together volunteers and service providers, centralizing access to resources to get homeless families and individuals on their feet. Legal matters are just one of the many obstacles to overcoming the cycle of homelessness, city officials said.
Each year, the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission Committee on Homelessness Regional Initiatives Office and the Nevada Homeless Alliance coordinate Project Homeless Connect. The aim is to make it easier for those in need to take advantage of access to amenities to promote their success and to take part in free services, including medical care, housing, immunizations, career counseling, family, mental health and substance abuse.
Volunteers are needed to make Project Homeless Connect successful. For more information about Project Homeless Connect, call 892-2300 or visit helphopehome.org.
Donations of T-shirts, socks and water are needed. For more information about donating, call the Nevada Homeless Alliance at 743-1487.
For more information about the Las Vegas Justice Court, visit clarkcountycourts.us.
SALE OF PAVER STONES TO SUPPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT'S OUTREACH PROGRAMS
The Friends of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation is selling dedicated paver stones to raise money for its many safety and community programs, such as Shop with a Cop, Halloween safety fairs and the Every 15 Minutes teen driving safety program.
The stones are 4 inches by 8 inches and can hold up to three lines of text. The cost is $250 or $500.
For more information, visit lvmpdfoundation.org or call 539-5741.
FINGERPRINT BUREAU ADDS LOCATION, EXPANDS HOURS OF OPERATION
The Metropolitan Police Department's fingerprint bureau expanded its hours of operation Oct. 10 and opened a second full-service location to increase access to the service.
The new office is on the ground floor of the department's new campus at 400 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Building C.
The first office is at 5880 Cameron St.
Both locations will allow customers to obtain work cards and fingerprint cards and fulfill registration requirements.
The expanded hours of operation for both sites are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
For more information, visit lvmpd.com or call 828-3111.
MORE THAN $135,000 AWARDED
TO HOMEOWNERS BY CONTRACTORS BOARD
The Nevada State Contractors Board recently awarded Residential Recovery Fund dollars totaling more than $135,000 to valley homeowners.
The awards to the 19 homeowners ranged from $520 to the maximum amount of $35,000.
The Residential Recovery Fund was established by the Nevada Legislature in 1999. It offers protection to Nevada owners of single-family residences who conduct business with licensed contractors for the performance of any construction, remodeling, repair or improvement.
An owner must occupy the residence to qualify. An applicant's eligibility to receive funds is determined after an investigation is conducted by the Nevada State Contractors Board.
The fund is designed to assist in providing relief to homeowners when they have been damaged by licensed contractors.
Contractors are required by law to provide information to a homeowner regarding the Residential Recovery Fund upon establishment of a residential contract with the homeowner. To be considered for the fund, a complaint must be filed with the contractor's board within four years after the completion of work.
A single claim cannot exceed $35,000, and claims against a single contractor cannot exceed $400,000.
For more information, call 486-1100 or visit nscb.nv.gov.
NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL ACTIVATED
AT BONNEVILLE AVENUE AND THIRD STREET
A new traffic signal at Bonneville Avenue and Third Street switched into full red, yellow and green operation mode Oct. 3, the final signal to be turned on as part of the Bonneville/Clark One-Way Couplet Project, according to the city of Las Vegas.
The city also has activated new traffic signals at Bonneville Avenue and First Street and at Bonneville Avenue and the new Bonneville Transit Center driveway.
The Bonneville Avenue and Third Street intersection sees about 13,000 vehicles and hundreds of pedestrians per day, the city said. The new signal at the intersection is aimed at providing safer crossings for pedestrians and improving vehicular mobility in the downtown area.
The signals were funded by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.
For more information, visit lasvegasnevada.gov or call 229-6011.
SEWER WORK STARTS ON KATIE AVENUE
The Clark County Water Reclamation District has started sewer rehabilitation work at Katie Avenue east of Maryland Parkway.
A new sewer line with new manholes is being installed, and a water line is being relocated.
A travel advisory started Sept. 23 and is in effect through at least Nov. 11.
Two lanes on Katie Avenue will be restricted from Cambridge Street to Algonquin Drive. Travel lanes will shift to accommodate eastbound and westbound travel on Katie Avenue.
Northbound travel on Maryland Parkway may be restricted to allow construction access to Katie Avenue.
Work will be conducted 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, the district said. However, traffic restrictions will remain in place to protect sewer bypass pumps and pipes.
Access to businesses in the area will be maintained throughout the project, and the sidewalks and crosswalks will remain open for pedestrian access. Sewer service will not be disrupted.
For more information and traffic updates, call the project hot line at 668-8668 or visit thelvpipeline.com.
ART SUBMISSIONS DUE TODAY
FOR ANTI-GRAFFITI CONTEST
Clark County fifth-graders are invited to submit artwork for a D.A.R.E. anti-graffiti event planned for Dec. 1.
Students can submit entries under the You Spray, You Pay theme, encouraging the public to recognize that graffiti as a crime.
The two winners will be revealed at the Dec. 1 event, and the winners' artwork will be displayed on Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada transit vehicles for up to one year.
Works must be original, colorful and submitted on an 11-by-17 horizontal paper or posterboard with an entry form attached to the back. The deadline is today. Entries can be turned in by individuals, a class or a group of students to the commission's administrative offices, 600 S. Grand Central Parkway.
For more information, call 676-1735 or visit rtcsnv.com.
ELKHORN ROAD CLOSURE BEGINS BETWEEN TORREY PINES DRIVE AND JONES BOULEVARD
Elkhorn Road closed Oct. 3 to through traffic between Torrey Pines Drive and Jones Boulevard through March 2012 during construction of a storm drainage improvement project, according to the Clark County Regional Flood Control District.
Construction work is expected between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, during significant rain or other inclement weather, construction may be conducted outside of these work hours.
Motorists are advised to use Dorrell Lane or Wittig Avenue to the south as alternate routes. Residential access will be maintained on Elkhorn Road for all residences that access directly from Elkhorn Road.
Construction traffic will be substantial, and uniformed flaggers may be present to direct construction traffic within the work zone, county officials said. Access to neighboring residential, business and school properties will be maintained at all times during construction.
The work on Elkhorn Road is part of a $30 million storm drainage improvement project that began in December 2010 and includes improvements along North Decatur Boulevard from the Las Vegas Beltway to Elkhorn Road and on Elkhorn Road from Decatur Boulevard to Torrey Pines Drive.
Large, cast-in-place, reinforced-concrete flood control boxes are being installed in the center traffic lanes on Elkhorn Road. Channel structures, pipes and other flood control improvements also will be constructed. Work and lane restrictions continue on North Decatur Boulevard, too.
The storm drain project is expected to provide critical collection and connection between the upstream and downstream detention basins in the Las Vegas Wash Middle Branch watershed and greatly enhance flood protection during major and minor storms while also reducing nuisance flows on surface streets.
The contractor is Meadow Valley Contractors. The city of Las Vegas Department of Public Works is managing the project. Louis Berger & Associates is the construction manager.
Funding is provided by the Clark County Regional Flood Control District, the city of Las Vegas and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.
TORREY PINES DRIVE RESURFACING
CAUSES LANE RESTRICTIONS
Traffic lane restrictions expected to last two months went into effect Oct. 5 on Torrey Pines Drive between U.S. Highway 95 and Cheyenne Avenue.
The restrictions will be in effect on a 24-hour basis as part of a preventative maintenance project to extend the life of this heavily traveled roadway, the city of Las Vegas said.
Torrey Pines Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction and should return to full access when the improvements are completed in late-November. Rainbow and Jones boulevards are suggested north-south alternative routes.
Las Vegas Paving is the contractor. City of Las Vegas Department of Operations and Maintenance personnel are managing the project. Funding is being provided by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and the city of Las Vegas.
Henderson RESIDENTS CAN FILE
CERTAIN POLICE REPORTS online
Victims of nonemergency crimes will be able file their reports online with the Henderson Police Department.
With the new system, residents will not have to wait for an officer to respond or a call back. A report can be filed at any time using the online system for crime such as accidents on private property, minor theft, lost property, vandalism and some burglaries.
When citizens complete the online crime reporting, they will be given a police report number and the ability to print out the report for free.
Once the report is filed, a police supervisor will review it to ensure all the information has been provided and determine if follow-up is needed, just as if a police officer took the report.
A crime can only be filed through the online system if there is no suspect information.
Many times, minor crimes have no suspect information, no evidence and no witnesses, but people still need a police report for insurance purposes.
Each year, Henderson police officers take at least 2,000 of these types of reports.
The online reporting system will allow the city to keep its officers on the street, available to respond to emergencies and to do proactive patrols in the community, Police Chief Jutta Chambers said.
For more information, visit cityofhenderson.com/police or call 267-5000.
NEVADA CHILD SEEKERS CLASSES
TEACH KIDS TO RESIST AGGRESSION
Nevada Child Seekers plans to educate kids on how to resist aggression defensively during radKids classes set through mid-December at the Silver Springs Recreation Center, 1951 Silver Springs Parkway, Henderson.
The radKids program aims to provide children with basic safety skills dealing with issues such as fire, their home and the Internet and avoid potential bullying and abduction.
The organization, which tries to prevent children from being exploited or going missing, is offering the free program in 90-minute sessions planned every Saturday.
The schedule for Saturday through Dec. 17 is:
n 9 to 10:30 a.m. for 4- to 8-year-olds, code 194055-13.
n 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for 9- to 12-year-olds, code 194055-15.
A $61 fee is payable to the Silver Springs Recreation Center. The city of Henderson has scholarships available for families that qualify. Nevada Child Seekers also will offer scholarships.
For the Henderson scholarship, pick up the paperwork at any recreation center in Henderson or at Henderson City Hall, 240 S. Water St. For the Nevada Child Seekers scholarship, call 458-7009.
Residents can register at the recreation center or at cityofhenderson.com
Parents will need to attend the first class so consent forms can be signed.
For more information, call 458-7009, email carole@nevadachildseekers.org or visit nevadachildseekers.org.
CHEYENNE AVENUE MEDIAN IMPROVEMENTS CAUSE LANE RESTRICTIONS
Traffic lane restrictions that began Oct. 17 on Cheyenne Avenue between Rampart Boulevard and Hualapai Way and due to end Friday as the city of Las Vegas completes work on median island improvements.
Inside lanes in east and west directions are closed between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.
The median island improvements started last spring as part of a roadway overlay and improvement project.
The new work will consist of adding decorative rock and boulder placement, followed by installation of decorative metal sculptures of desert flora and fauna.
This type of median island improvement project provides aesthetic enhancements to the corridor but with lower construction and maintenance costs than live plant landscaping and without the use of irrigation water, the city said.
The city Department of Operations and Maintenance is constructing the improvements, which are estimated to cost $80,000 for this phase. The metal sculptures will be a mix of items procured from a private vendor.
For more information, visit lasvegasnevada.gov or call 229-6011.
