WEEK IN REVIEW: Top news
Seven Marines were killed Monday night in an explosion during training at the Hawthorne Army Depot, about 320 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
A 60 mm mortar exploded during a live-fire training exercise about 10 p.m. as Marines from the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., were firing it.
Seven other Marines and a Navy corpsman were injured.
The Marine Corps put a hold on the use of 60 mm mortars, with an exemption for troops in Afghanistan, until investigators determine the weapon and its ammunition is safe.
The Hawthorne Army Depot is one of the world’s largest munitions stockpiles. It is also a popular training site and a point of pride for its namesake town of about 3,000 people.
About 600 Hawthorne residents, some of them in tears, turned out for a memorial service Tuesday in Veterans Park to honor the Marines.
Monday
Legalize it?
The message used to be “Stay in school, stay off drugs.” Now a state lawmaker has unveiled a bill that would allow people to support public education by “toking up.”
Assembly Bill 402, introduced by Joe Hogan, D-Las Vegas, would allow those 21 and older to legally possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes. It also would tax the drug, generating as much as $500 million a year to fund public education in Nevada, Hogan said.
Tuesday
Constable closure
Clark County commissioners voted unanimously to abolish the Las Vegas constable’s office in 2015, when Constable John Bonaventura’s elected term is up.
But Bonaventura isn’t giving up without a fight. At an April 30 court hearing, a judge is set to take up his request for a preliminary injunction that would stop the county from shuttering the office.
Bonaventura and his deputies have come under intense scrutiny following a series of controversies.
Wednesday
Tribe says data dirty
The Moapa Band of Paiute Indians has accused NV Energy of submitting phony air pollution data to state regulators for a coal-burning plant tribe members insist is making them sick.
Tribal leaders based their claim on documents showing the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection had to discard about five years of dust pollution data from the Reid Gardner Generating Station after a 2011 investigation determined the information was logged incorrectly by a contractor hired by the utility.
State environmental regulators blamed the phony data on “human error.” The tribe and its lawyers called it “deliberate misconduct” and threatened to sue NV Energy.
Thursday
March Sadness
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is the biggest sports betting event in Las Vegas, but local fans didn’t find much to cheer about.
UNLV lost in an upset to California on Thursday in the teams’ East Region opener in San Jose, Calif.
The Rebels (25-10) were knocked out of the NCAA field in their opening game for the fourth consecutive year.
Friday
A spy among us?
An Army Reserve soldier at the center of an espionage case in Hawaii previously served as the executive officer for a Las Vegas-based unit when it was moved here from Salt Lake City in 2007 to support combat operations in Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Ben Bishop, 59, is accused of communicating nuclear weapons secrets and classified information on early warning missile defense radar systems with a 27-year-old woman from the People’s Republic of China.
NUMBERS
1,830
The number of days — and counting — since UNLV won a game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, after Thursday’s 64-61 loss to California.
$67 million
The cost of each F-35 Lightning II, the new joint strike fighter jet that arrived last week at its new testing and training home at Nellis Air Force Base.
$718,984
How much the city of Las Vegas spent to train 14 firefighter recruits before they were caught cheating on a written test and barred from graduating.
6
UNLV’s rank on BuzzFeed.com’s list of college basketball tournament schools with the most embarrassing alum, thanks to 1990 grad turned celebrity cook Guy Fieri.
QUOTES
"John, you’re going to get paid for two more years no matter what."
Tom Collins, Clark County commissioner, before Tuesday’s unanimous vote to abolish the office of Las Vegas Constable. Current constable John Bonaventura will get to serve out his elected term, which ends in 2015.
"They died in my hometown. It feels like we somehow are responsible. They didn’t die in combat, but they died in service to our country."
Myra Sterling, Hawthorne resident, talking about the seven Marines who were killed Monday in an explosion during a training exercise at the Hawthorne Army Depot.
"Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what happened."
Mike Moser, UNLV forward after the Rebels’ 64-61 loss Thursday in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.
"Some of the B-52s we fly are older than I am. A 60-year-old airplane ain’t good."
Randy Black
Honorary commander of Nellis Air Force base and its support team, welcoming the arrival of the military’s newest warplane, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
MULTIMEDIA
• PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Culinary workers strike on the Strip
• PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio are honored on Las Vegas Walk of Stars in front of Paris Las Vegas
• VIDEO: Comedian Jo Koy
