Las Vegas news briefs

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 1997 | 10:50 a.m.

* VETS OFFICE -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has asked the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to consider opening a regional office in Southern Nevada. Reid sent Secretary-designate Hershel Gober a letter this week asking for the new office, which would ease the caseload now handled by Nevada's lone VA regional office in Reno. "Nearly two-thirds of veterans in Nevada live in the southern half of the state," Reid said. "For them, the VA regional office in Reno is 500 miles away. Veterans living on fixed incomes simply can't afford to travel all that way just to file a claim." Reid said a second office also could help speed claims processing. Because of Nevada's nation-pacing population growth, it now takes more than 500 days to process a claim through the Reno office, according to Reid.

* BLM HEARING -- The federal Bureau of Land Management has invited the public to evaluate changes in how the federal agency will respond to wildfires. The BLM will conduct a hearing at 7 p.m. Thursday at its district office at 4765 W. Vegas Drive. The BLM is in phase one of its plan to allow natural fires to restore ecosystems harmed by fire suppression policies over the past 100 years.

* MOST WANTED -- One of Clark County's most wanted fugitives has been captured in Florida. Ottoniel Lima, a k a Ottoniel Martinez, 22, was extradited to Las Vegas and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Oct. 2. Metro Police provides information on five fugitives every other week that is printed in the SUN and other media outlets. To date, 190 out of 265 suspects profiled have been apprehended.

* WARD 1 MEETINGS -- Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald has scheduled meetings for Ward 1 residents to address neighborhood issues. The meetings are set for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Charleston Heights Arts Center Ballroom, 800 Brush St.; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Masonic Memorial Temple, 2200 W. Mesquite Drive; and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28, Western High School Student Center, 4601 W. Bonanza Road.

* UNLV GRANT -- The UNLV environmental studies program has been awarded a $23,679 grant by the Environmental Protection Agency. The money will be put toward a program to raise endangered fish in ponds of treated wastewater. Students from the university and public schools will work with environmental professionals to maintain water quality for the fish. The grant was awarded under the National Environmental Education Act.