Week in Review: Top News, June 9
June 8, 2013 - 11:45 pm
The 27th special session of the Nevada Legislature ended quickly after it began, with lawmakers endorsing a bill allowing the Clark County Commission to increase the sales tax to raise money for more police.
“Public safety is extremely important in Clark County; the crime rate has gone up,” Gov. Brian Sandoval said. “I’ve had an opportunity to meet with Sheriff (Doug) Gillespie. This was an extremely important bill to him and the people of Clark County.”
It is still unclear when commissioners will enact the new tax, dubbed “More Cops.”
Monday
Actress in standofF
Former Broadway star Pia Zadora was arrested on charges she scratched and choked her autistic son, but the hours-long SWAT standoff that stemmed from the call was initiated by her husband, an off-duty Las Vegas police officer, it was revealed.
According to his wife’s arrest report, officer Michael Jeffries refused to come to the door when patrol officers from his department arrived at his home last weekend to investigate a domestic dispute.
The officers, who knew it was his house, left the home in the 60 block of Hawkridge Drive in Summerlin and waited for SWAT officers.
Jeffries’ biological son, Mike Jeffries Jr., 32, was also home.
Neither man spoke with police or was arrested. The junior Jeffries is set to go to trial later this year on a murder charge.
Tuesday
Gas taxes could rise
Legislators gave the Clark County Commission the authority to raise gas taxes by 3 cents per gallon to raise money to build new roads, but it’s unclear if commissioners will approve an increase.
If it is approved, the tax would pave the way for finishing the 215 Beltway, widening U.S. Highway 95, and connecting Las Vegas to Phoenix via a new interstate.
Wednesday
IRS agent sues feds
Las Vegas IRS officer Anthony M. Zecchino, 41, alleges in a federal lawsuit that the agency enlisted the help of the Nevada U.S. attorney’s office to target him in a criminal investigation in retaliation for discrimination claims he filed earlier this year.
The lawsuit says Zecchino, an IRS employee for 14 years, received a target letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Newman after his lawyers filed a complaint alleging Zecchino’s supervisors made derogatory remarks about his Italian heritage.
Thursday
Gun bill reactions
Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office was barraged with phone calls from people asking him to veto gun-control legislation.
The governor had long promised to veto the bill, which would require background checks.
Locally, police reported an increase in gun registrations as the bill got widespread attention. This year, police said, registrations are up 25 percent over last year.
Friday
School ratings up
The state’s school rating system changed, and some local schools saw their ratings plummet as a result.
In phasing out the federal requirements of No Child Left Behind, the Nevada Department of Education also replaced the Clark County School District’s self-created star system
The state-created system ranked five Clark County schools as one-star campuses and gave two stars to 58 schools, a big change from the district’s own ratings.
The fundamental difference between the state and district systems was the weight given to schools’ scores for showing improvement.
The state designated 66 Clark County schools as five-star campuses. The district had awarded five stars to 92 of its 327 schools.
BY THE NUMBERS
$5.9 million
What Floyd Mayweather Jr. bet on the Miami Heat to win Game 7 the NBA Eastern Conference championships, according to an unconfirmed Twitter post.
$96,270.61
The damage estimate from a birthday party in a two-story suite at Encore. California lawyer Robert Pearman was arrested in connection with the drunken rumpus.
29th
Las Vegas’ rank out of the country’s 50 largest cities on the state of its public parks system. Sprawl was blamed for the low ranking.
$1 million
Roughly how much baseball great Pete Rose makes each year signing autographs at The Mirage, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.
QUOTES
"I did all of this. I am responsible for all these people. Let my people go."
Robert Pearman, a Los Angeles lawyer quoted in a Las vegas police report after his 5,829-square-foot high-roller suite at the Encore was trashed during his birthday party
"It sounds like a chain saw flying overhead. It’s been described as a flying trash can."
Mike Hutt, head of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office, describing one of the drones the agency uses for land and wildlife management
"I don’t need a court order; I’ve got a gun."
What Arizona rancher Nigel Turner reportedly said to a road worker, prompting turner’s arrest. he is fighting the Hualapai Indian tribe over ownership of a road to the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Over Memorial Day weekend, Turner blocked the road and charged tourists a toll
"Just because you slow down after seeing the cop doesn’t mean you get out of a speeding ticket."
Kevinn Donovan, a parent who complained about the Clark County School Board’s naming Pat Skorkowsky superintendent, on the board revoting on the issue to essentially nullify complaints like his
"It is about time that these phonies and wannabes are held accountable for years of lies for their own monetary gain while disrespecting true warriors."
Jack Donahue, president of the Las Vegas Chapter of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society, on passage of the Stolen Valor Act