City of Las Vegas news briefs

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 1997 | 9:06 a.m.

* EXPENSIVE PETS -- Dogs and cats will have to be licensed yearly as the result of an ordinance passed Monday by the Las Vegas City Council. The measure requires owners to pay $25 a year per pet. It's part of the city's "Ticket Home" program, whereby animal control officers return loose pets directly to their homes, instead of taking them immediately to the city pound. The previous license fee, good for the life of the pet, was $10.

* CITIZEN HONORED -- Hattie Canty, president of the Culinary Union Local 226, is the Las Vegas "Citizen of the Month." Canty became involved in the union in 1985, 10 years after she went to work as a maid in the Maxim Hotel after her husband died and she assumed sole responsibility for raising their 10 children. In 1992, Canty became the first black woman elected to the Democratic National Committee of Nevada.

* GARBAGE CONTRACT -- The council unanimously approved the assignment of its waste disposal contract with Republic Industries, the company that has purchased Silver State Disposal. Silver State officials assured council members that the change in ownership would be undetected by customers. The company plans to use the same name, the same trucks and the same employees.

* SPEED HUMPS -- Commuters using Searles Avenue and Lorenzi Street as shortcuts will have to slow down after the City Council approved speed hump installation on both streets at Monday's meeting. The humps will be placed on Searles between Eastern Avenue and Mojave Road and on Lorenzi between Alta Drive and Westcliff Drive. The city's Public Works Department has installed several speed humps in the last two years, to help accommodate the growing traffic problems in the city.

* MAYOR TRAVELS -- Mayor Jan Laverty Jones is in Washington, D.C., today for the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. Several meetings and seminars were on Jones' agenda today, including some attended by Cabinet members. Tonight, she is scheduled to attend a reception and dinner that will also be attended by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. In her absence, Mayor Pro Tem Michael McDonald conducted Monday's City Council meeting.

* TRUCK BRAKES -- The council approved a bill banning the use of compression brakes by large commercial trucks within city limits. Councilman Arnie Adamsen, who sponsored the bill, said he favored the ban, "after having received dozens and dozens of complaints" from people who "have literally been shaken out of bed." Adamsen added an amendment to exempt emergency vehicles after a fire department spokesman voiced concerns that the bill would harm their ability to respond to calls.