IN BRIEF

JAN. 15 ELECTION

Republican Party has new county chairman

The Clark County Republican Party has a new chairman

Bernie Zadrowski was elected to the post Jan. 15.

"My charge is to accomplish the goals of the party set out in our bylaws," Zadrowski said Wednesday.

His main responsibilities as chairman include directing policy for the county party and raising funds to elect Republicans.

"I plan on putting us in a financial condition that we can sustain operations and provide financial support to local Republican candidates," Zadrowski said.

Zadrowski earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in 1988 and his law degree from the University of Denver in 1997. He moved to Las Vegas shortly thereafter and has worked in the Clark County district attorney's office for 11 years. He is the chief deputy in charge of the bad check unit.

The chairmanship previously was held by John Hambrick, who stepped down to seek election in Assembly District 2.

RECORDS DATABASE

Health Sciences System gets $500,000 gift

The University of Nevada Health Sciences System announced a $500,000 gift Wednesday aimed at creating an international database of electronic records of patients with neurological disorders.

Longtime Las Vegas businessman and UNLV alumnus Bruce Layne, 63, said he made the contribution in hopes it will help develop a cure for neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, which Layne was diagnosed with in 1999.

The gift will found the Layne Family Center for Discovery, which will gather records from the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute and other institutions worldwide and make the data available to researchers.

A supercomputer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will house the database.

The Health Sciences System is a collaborative effort involving the Nevada higher education system, local health providers and nonprofit research institutions.

Layne's gift is one of the system's first significant donations toward its goal of raising tens of millions of dollars.

DEAN MARTIN DRIVE

22-year-old dies in one-car crash

A man driving on Dean Martin Drive near Jerry Lewis Way was killed after striking a large power pole early Wednesday morning, Las Vegas police said.

The 22-year-old was driving south in his 1997 Chevy Camaro at 3:08 a.m. when the car drifted into the northbound lanes. Steering back into the southbound lanes, he overcorrected, driving onto the sidewalk and hitting the pole, police said.

They didn't identify the victim.

DEC. 4 SHOOTING

Two teens charged in Arizona slaying

A seven-week homicide investigation in northwest Arizona led to the arrest Tuesday of John Leland Neal Jr., 19, and Pascual Sosimo Acuna, 18. They were charged with first-degree murder, according to the Mohave County sheriff's office.

Sheriff Tom Sheahan accused both men of participating in the Dec. 4 shooting death of Anthony Ray Martin Jr., 28, of Kingman. Martin's body was found off Cactus Wren Road, about five miles north of the Kingman city limits.

Sheahan said Neal, formerly of Kingman, was arrested in Grand Junction, Colo., and Acuna was charged in the Mohave County jail where he already was being held in another case involving aggravated assault, drive-by shooting and drug charges.

The sheriff said investigators still were trying to establish a motive in the killing.