IN BRIEF

DUI CHARGE

Boy on Strip sidewalk struck, injured by SUV

A 9-year-old boy was critically injured Thursday morning when a driver struck him as he walking on a sidewalk on the Strip.

Las Vegas police said witnesses reported the boy was walking south about 7 a.m. on the east sidewalk, near Four Seasons Drive, when a northbound 2007 GMC Yukon in the far right travel lane drifted onto the sidewalk.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center with critical injuries. His name was not released.

The driver of the Yukon, identified by police as Calvin Nelson, 55, was arrested. Jail records showed he was charged with DUI with substantial bodily harm.

CALIFORNIA BOUND

FBI agent in LV office named to L.A. division

Steve Martinez, special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas division for the past three years, has been named assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles division.

FBI Director Robert Mueller appointed Martinez to replace Salvador Hernandez, who retired. No replacement has been named for Martinez, who is expected to remain in Las Vegas another four to six weeks.

Martinez, 51, became a special agent for the FBI in January 1987. In 2003, Martinez was assigned to the cyber division at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was serving as acting director of that division when he was appointed to the Las Vegas position in 2006.

ANTI-TAX CAMPAIGN

Assemblyman starts bid for state Senate

Republican Assemblyman Ty Cobb of Reno hailed his anti-tax conservatism in announcing his candidacy for the state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Randolph Townsend because of term limits.

In a statement Thursday, Cobb took issue with what he called attacks by "special interests in Carson City" for his opposition to nearly $1 billion in tax increases passed by the 2009 Legislature that came after lawmakers cut spending by a similar amount.

The tax package was vetoed by Gov. Jim Gibbons but upheld by lawmakers after Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio rallied enough Republican support for an override.

Former journalist Ben Kieckhefer also has said he will seek the GOP nomination. Kieckhefer has been endorsed by the Republican caucus.

SECRETARY OF STATE

September tally shows more voters registered

The number of registered voters in Nevada as of September is nearly 5 percent higher over the same month a year ago, with the largest percentage increase being in those registered as nonpartisan.

Secretary of State Ross Miller said of the 54,451 additional voters who have registered in the past year, 15,670 registered as nonpartisan, a 9 percent increase from September 2008.

About 25,000 registered as Democrats, up 5 percent, while 8,200 registered as Republicans, up nearly 2 percent.

When compared with the same month in the past election cycle, September 2007, the total number of registered voters is up 15 percent, or by nearly 160,000 voters.

Of those, 66 percent registered as Democrats, 21 percent as nonpartisan and 7 percent as Republicans.