MARCH 17-21: Defiant medical board members refuse to quit

Gov. Jim Gibbons met resistance in his attempts to remove members of the state Board of Medical Examiners and its director in the wake of the discovery of a cluster of hepatitis C cases linked to the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

Dr. Daniel McBride said Monday he would fight any attempt to remove him. Tony Clark, the board's executive director, also defied the governor's request to resign.

Gibbons vowed to take action against McBride and two other doctors, board President Javaid Anwar and Vice President Sohail Anjum, if they did not resign.

Gibbons said the fact the doctors can't vote on issues affecting the Endoscopy Center's Shadow Lane facility because of friendships and business associations with the clinic's owner, Dr. Dipak Desai, would be grounds for replacing them.

"I am not questioning their integrity," Gibbons said. "I want members who can participate and vote on the issues. I want action from the Board of Medical Examiners to restore public confidence in the health care system."

On Tuesday, health officials announced they have "clear-cut" evidence a second medical clinic was responsible for transmission of hepatitis C. That will send investigators sifting through patient records to determine whether any clusters can be traced to the clinic.

The Southern Nevada Health District said the case stems from an endoscopy procedure at Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center, 4275 Burnham Ave.

MONDAY

Credit crisis puts projects on hold

Two multibillion-dollar Strip developments could become victims of tightening credit markets and rising construction costs.

Wall Street investment house Deutsche Bank has notified developers of the Cosmopolitan that it will begin foreclosure proceedings on the mixed-use development being built in the shadow of MGM Mirage's CityCenter complex.

Farther north on the Strip, a $6 billion development modeled after the Plaza in New York City that was to be built on the site of the imploded New Frontier may be put on hold because of the subprime lending crisis.

TUESDAY

Medical fraud case ends in mistrial

A federal judge declared a mistrial in the fraud and conspiracy case against personal injury attorney Noel Gage after jurors, who deliberated for one week, announced they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Senior U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush dismissed the jurors in the early afternoon and, in an attempt not to taint future jurors on the case, asked them not to speak to the media.

WEDNESDAY

Prosecutors say

two in gangs

Prosecutors say two teens accused of killing Palo Verde High School freshman Christopher Privett in a February drive-by shooting belong to a hybrid street gang.

Gerald Q. Davison, 16, and Ezekiel Williams, 18, belong to Squad Up, a local gang whose members have been accused of homicides and other crimes, prosecutors say.

Gang enhancements will be added to the charges. That could increase the time they spend in prison if convicted.

THURSDAY

Lawsuit challenges

ballot initiatives

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and every municipality in Clark County filed a lawsuit to disqualify two November ballot initiatives that would divert room tax dollars away from tourism support and into either public education or public safety improvements.

The convention authority said changing how room taxes are divvied up would damage its mission to support Southern Nevada tourism and hurt its standing with bond holders for the Las Vegas Convention Center expansion.

FRIDAY

Gaming industry faces challenge

The economic slowdown has the casino industry facing its toughest challenge since after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a report released by a Wall Street bond rating house.

A Moody's Investors Service report concludes, however, that longer-term fundamentals of the casino industry remain favorable.

COMPILED BY MICHAEL SQUIRES

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