Almost half an inch of rain fell over the Las Vegas Valley overnight, according to the National Weather Service. The valley’s record-breaking 116-day dry streak ended Monday, with 0.14 inches of rain before midnight. The valley saw another 0.35 inches of rain between midnight and 6 a.m. Tuesday, the weather service said.
A firefighter was injured and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening when a fire broke out at a strip mall in the southwest Las Vegas Valley Monday night.
The fire was first reported at 10:52 p.m. on the 3400 block of Jones Boulevard, near Desert Inn Road, and as of 1:30 a.m. Tuesday firefighters and police were still at the scene. At least seven businesses were damaged, including a furniture store at the north end of the mall. The strip mall also houses several restaurants, including Fuku Burger, which was on the opposite end from where the fire broke out.
Elevators at Mandalay Bay are again stopping at the 32nd floor after a pause at the end of last year.
Mandalay Bay closed off a few floors starting in late November amid a guest slowdown caused by the combination of the holiday season and fallout from the Oct. 1 mass shooting.
On Jan. 15, State Superintendent of Instruction Steve Canavero will issue a ruling whether the Clark County School District is following the reorganization law. He doesn’t expect they will be found in compliance. Here’s one of the major reasons why: The law says school should benefit from “attrition savings.” When a school can’t hire a full-time teacher and has to hire a substitute, they’re saving the district some money, because substitutes cost less. That money is called attrition. Historically, schools haven’t been given the money they save the district. The district has used it for other projects. That has to change, according to the law. But the district says it’s hard to “build the engine of a plane while it’s flying.” The state will likely issue a corrective action plan, laying out what the district needs to do to come into compliance.
Boyd Gaming properties will house large lanterns to help promote the China Lights Festival, coming to North Las Vegas in January. Elaine Wilson/Las Vegas Review-Journal
A new forecast for the Colorado River says the outlook for the coming year is bleak. The National Weather Service predicts the river will flow at about 54% of its average volume from April to July. That’s when the river usually swells with snowmelt from the Rockies and other ranges, but precipitation this winter has been well below normal across the region. There’s still plenty of time for conditions to improve. The river basin tends to accumulate much of its snowpack in January, February and March. Lake Mead ended 2017 almost 2 feet higher than a year ago, as use of Colorado River water by Nevada, Arizona and California hit its lowest level since 1992. The lake can use all the help it can get. Its surface has dropped more than 130 feet since drought started in 2000. Projections for the lake are almost certain to get worse.
The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was set up on behalf of Clark County to accept money for victims of the Las Vegas shooting. 100% of donations to the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund will go to three categories of victims.
