IN BRIEF
case to be heard aug. 2
New trial date set for former UMC chief Lacy Thomas
A new trial date has been set for former University Medical Center chief Lacy Thomas, a week after a District Court judge declared a mistrial.
The case is scheduled to be heard Aug. 2.
Judge Michael Villani declared a mistrial after he learned Las Vegas police failed to turn over hundreds of pages of potential evidence. Those documents could lead to other witnesses or evidence to help Thomas defend himself, the judge said.
The mistrial came after two weeks of testimony by more than 16 witnesses.
Thomas is charged with five counts each of theft and misconduct by a public officer stemming from contracts UMC awarded to five companies when he ran the county's only public hospital.
Prosecutors contend that Thomas cost UMC about $10 million by awarding unnecessary or duplicative contracts to friends and associates from Chicago.
His defense attorney has said Thomas brought in his contacts because he had worked with them at a large county hospital in Chicago and trusted they could help solve problems at UMC.
matter to be appealed
DOE to appeal move to delay Yucca Mountain termination
The Department of Energy served notice Thursday that it will appeal a move by federal regulators to delay decisions on terminating the Yucca Mountain project.
The department is opposing an order made this week by administrative judges at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to have a federal appeals court rule first on legal issues connected to the shutdown.
In a court filing Thursday, attorneys for the DOE and NRC said the matter will be appealed on Monday to the commissioners that oversee the NRC and who have the final word on how the nuclear safety agency will proceed.
According to DOE officials, the department has the authority to withdraw a license application for the Nevada nuclear waste site. It is fighting lawsuits from the states of Washington and South Carolina and Aiken, S.C., that argue only Congress can end the project.
had other illnesses
10-year-old boy becomes
40th H1N1-related fatality
A 10-year-old boy who had swine flu died last week, the Southern Nevada Health District has reported.
The patient, who was unidentified, had underlying medical conditions and had suffered a lengthy illness.
His is the 40th H1N1 virus-related death since the spring of 2009.
To date, the Southern Nevada Health District has received 172,000 doses of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, some of which has been distributed to private providers. Approximately 379,000 doses have been delivered to private providers in Clark County by the Nevada State Health Division. The Southern Nevada Health District has administered more than 133,400 doses since October.
