IN BRIEF
GUN VIOLENCE VICTIM
Dead man found in storm drain identified
A dead man with a gunshot wound to the head found in a storm drain Monday evening has been identified as 17-year-old Joseph Lopez of Las Vegas.
Police said Lopez's body was found at 6:18 p.m. in the drain on Tropicana Avenue near the Las Vegas Beltway by a worker who was placing barricades on the street.
Anyone with information about Lopez can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 385-5555.
CITYCENTER PROJECT
Electrician who died after fall identified
An electrician who died after a fall at the CityCenter project Saturday morning has been identified as 47-year-old Mark Wescoat of Las Vegas.
The Clark County coroner's office had not identified a manner and cause of death for the man late Tuesday.
Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison said he believed Wescoat fell about 20 feet at the $7 billion project on the Strip that is being built by MGM Mirage.
A spokeswoman with Nevada's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency was investigating and would not comment further.
INCLINE VILLAGE HOMES
Lawsuit challenges property tax appraisals
A federal court lawsuit accuses the Washoe County assessor's office of again unfairly valuing views of Lake Tahoe in appraising property taxes for homes in Incline Village.
The lawsuit seeks to return property values to 2002-03 levels as approved in a 2006 case involving 17 taxpayers.
After five years of fighting, the lawsuit filed by Reno lawyer Suellen Fulstone said Incline Village taxpayers have no remedy under state law and must appeal to the federal courts to end the "unconstitutional and excessive tax bills."
Assessor Josh Wilson says his office followed rules set by the Nevada Tax Commission as required in the 2006 case in valuing 9,000 Lake Tahoe properties.
SOUTHWESTERN UTAH
Poisoned food cited in deaths of prairie dogs
At least 11 prairie dogs are dead in southwestern Utah, apparently after eating poisoned peanut-butter balls.
The dogs are federally protected. State or federal charges are possible if authorities catch the killer.
The Salt Lake Tribune says dozens of the poison balls were found at the Fields, a housing development in Enoch. Lt. Scott Dalebout of the Division of Wildlife Resources told residents to keep an eye on kids and pets.
GUNLOCK FIND
Man giving meteorite half to public in Utah
A man who found a meteorite in Utah is giving it to the public.
The 18-pound Gunlock Meteorite is the size of a bowling ball and now on display at the Utah Department of Natural Resources in Salt Lake City.
Don Adair of Boise, Idaho, found it near Gunlock, a southern Utah town, in 1982. He says the black color made it stand out like a big bandage on a sore thumb.
He sawed it in half and gave a portion to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Adair recently decided to give the other half to Utah.
Utah officials believe it could be billions of years old.
