WEEK IN REVIEW: Top news

Henderson Police Chief Jutta Chambers announced her retirement Thursday, less than two weeks after the city approved a settlement with a man in diabetic shock who was kicked in the head by officers during a traffic stop in 2010.

After Chambers met privately with her staff on Thursday, Mayor Andy Hafen said she is taking a buyout after 29 years with the city.

Henderson officials did not respond to a Las Vegas Review-Journal request for the terms of her buyout. It was unclear whether Chambers will return to work before her retirement takes effect on March 1.

According to a source, departing City Manager Mark Calhoun on Monday told Chambers to step down after members of the City Council expressed displeasure over how she handled the October 2010 beating of Adam Greene.

The same day, Calhoun sent an email to city employees announcing his own retirement effective May 1.

Monday

UNLV's super new home

Think of all the frequent flier miles the Rebels are going to rack up!

The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA announced plans to form a new 24-team super conference that will stretch from the East Coast to Hawaii.

The affiliation is set to begin in the 2013-14 academic year.

Tuesday

Whittemore paper trail

Federal grand jury subpoenas served on Harvey Whittemore's employees and family members seek documents related to campaign contributions they made, as well as copies of checks to and from the politically connected lobbyist, the Review-Journal has learned.

The grand jury will convene Feb. 29 in Reno.

FBI agents are investigating whether Whittemore funneled tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions through his employees and family members to Nevada federal candidates as far back as 2007, sources told the newspaper.

Wednesday

Case goes cold

The cause of death for a newborn girl found in a trash bin in the eastern valley last year has been ruled undetermined after a three-month investigation.

Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy said it still isn't clear whether the baby was born alive, as police initially thought, or whether she was stillborn.

The girl's body was found Oct. 29 by a homeless man digging for scraps in a trash bin at the Bella Estates Apartment Homes on Twain Avenue near Nellis Boulevard.

Las Vegas police homicide detectives have been unable to make headway in the case.

Thursday

Carson City South?

Hey, Las Vegas, how about some more Beers?

Former longtime legislator Bob Beers says he is running for the Ward 2 City Council seat vacated by former councilman turned Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.

If Beers wins, the Republican and staunch fiscal conservative would be the second former legislator on the current council, joining Councilman Bob Coffin, a Democrat who served in both the Assembly and state Senate from 1983 to 2010.

Friday

Halseth stepping down

State Sen. Elizabeth Halseth, R-Las Vegas, announced her resignation because of personal problems, according to the Senate GOP caucus.

The stunning development could help Democrats hold on to their state Senate majority after 2012 because the party has a 2,000-plus voter registration edge over Republicans in her state Senate District 9.

Halseth, who was elected in 2010, has been going through a divorce and has young children.