Simpson returns home after arrest

For football legend O.J. Simpson, the worry now isn't whether what happens in Las Vegas stays here; it is whether he will stay here because of what happened.

A tumultuous week for the Heisman Trophy winner ended Wednesday, after he posted $125,000 bail and left Sin City for his home in Miami.

Simpson and five of his friends are accused of robbing two sports memorabilia collectors at gunpoint inside the Palace Station on Sept. 13.

Simpson was arrested Sept. 16 for his role in the incident and charged with 10 felonies and one gross misdemeanor.

He was just one in a colorful cast characters. There's Alfred Beardsley, one of the alleged victims, who was arrested last week for violating parole in California.

The other alleged victim, Bruce Fromong, of North Las Vegas, said Simpson once called his mother to sing her "Happy Birthday."

Fromong suffered a heart attack days after the robbery.

Tom Riccio, an auction house owner who arranged the meeting between Simpson and Beardsley and Fromong, has a felony record and has done time in a California prison.

The Regional Justice Center served as big top for a media circus that came to town to witness Simpson's latest run-in with the law.

The Simpson case, and accompanying circus, isn't set to be back in court until late October.

MONDAY

Halverson plans re-election attempt

Suspended District Judge Elizabeth Halverson said she knows she is not blameless but wants another shot at the bench and plans to run again in 2008.

"It is hurtful to not be able to go to work every day," she said in an interview with the Review-Journal's editorial board, columnists and a reporter.

TUESDAY

Gibbons: No plans for special session

Gov. Jim Gibbons said there is no current need to call the Legislature back into session to allocate money to hire workers for the Division of Parole and Probation.

Gibbons said he's confident that funds to bail out the division and the state Parole Board can be allocated soon through the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee.

WEDNESDAY

Car plows through Strip pedestrians

A blue Pontiac bulldozed through 14 people on a Strip sidewalk in front of the Planet Hollywood Resort.

Eight of those hit, and the driver, Robert Allen Christenson of Chandler, Ariz., were taken to hospitals with injuries.

The others walked away from the crash with only bruises and scratches.

THURSDAY

Priest admits hitting woman

A suspended priest admitted in court that he smashed a wine bottle over a woman's head at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church in January.

The Rev. George Chaanine pleaded guilty to a felony, battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm, and in exchange for that plea, prosecutors dropped other charges in the case, including attempted murder and sexual assault.

FRIDAY

Statewide jobless rate near record

Southern Nevada casinos, home builders and temporary employment agencies continued trimming their work forces in August, although the Las Vegas unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percent to 5 percent.

Statewide, seasonally adjusted unemployment was the highest since November 2003, according to the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

COMPILED BY MICHAEL SQUIRES

READ THE FULL STORIES ONLINE AT