IN BRIEF
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
Reno doctor fined for unlawful prescriptions
A Reno emergency room doctor has been fined $2,000 for writing prescriptions for painkillers to two topless dancers who were not his patients.
Dr. Dana Marks did not admit guilt in his March 13 plea but admitted that enough evidence existed to persuade a judge or jury to convict him. He was charged on two counts of unlawful dispensing of a controlled substance.
Marks was arrested in October 2007 after an investigation by the Department of Public Safety.
According to a criminal complaint, a dancer at the Wild Orchid Adult Cabaret was arrested at a Reno drugstore in 2007 after a pharmacist called police and reported she was attempting to pick up a fraudulent prescription for hydrocodone.
STIMULUS FUNDS
Improvement aid goes to Reno/Tahoe Airport
The Reno/Tahoe International Airport is getting $2.2 million in federal stimulus funds to improve surfaces near the terminals.
Airport spokeswoman Heidi Berthold says the money will be used for the ramp areas where airplanes pull up to the terminals for passengers to board and exit planes.
Berthold says some of the pavement near the terminals is about 20 years old.
Berthold says between 80 and 100 people will have jobs because of the contract. That includes contractors, vendors and suppliers.
FATAL HIT AND RUN
USC student is killed, another struck by car
A 19-year-old University of Southern California student was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as she crossed a street before dawn Sunday, police said.
Officer Rosario Herrera, a police spokeswoman, said the student was in a crosswalk near the university when she was hit by a dark-colored car driven by a man.
A male walking with her also was struck. He was hospitalized in critical condition.
The driver fled, and traffic investigators were trying to find him.
SAN DIEGO HOUSE FIRE
Marijuana plantation goes up in smoke
A Mira Mesa indoor marijuana plantation went up in smoke Sunday after the equipment used to grow the plants malfunctioned.
Fire officials said the blaze broke out around 5:10 a.m. It caused about $100,000 damage to the house and destroyed $50,000 worth of marijuana.
A marijuana-cultivation system was found in the ruins.
San Diego police Sgt. Art Campa said a man thought to be the homeowner was under arrest.
WASHOE COUNTY REVENUE
Officials: $19 million in fines, fees uncollected
Washoe County officials say more than $19 million in court fines and fees has gone uncollected in the county since 2000 because nobody is going after what is owed.
A recent audit showed that people convicted of crimes have not paid $19.5 million in fees and fines.
Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice James Hardesty said the county and the courts haven't set up a system to collect the money.
Connie Steinheimer, chief judge of Washoe District Court, says convicts often don't have money to pay fines, and prisoners have no income.
"I don't truly believe that money is going to be collectable," Steinheimer said. "If a person is willfully unemployed, yes, he may go to jail. But we don't have a debtor's prison."
Hardesty says about 70 percent of those convicted of crimes in 2007 were sentenced to probation and should have been paid.
He is hoping lawmakers will pass legislation this session to create a statewide collection agency to pursue the unpaid money. He also wants Nevada's congressional delegation to support a federal effort to use tax refunds of those who have not paid court-ordered fines to collect the money.
The recent audit showed that in many cases, fines are simply listed in a file and not ever paid.
