Las Vegas news briefs for July 16, 1999

Friday, July 16, 1999 | 12:58 p.m.

Three arrested at construction site

Three valley residents have been arrested and charged in a series of construction site robberies in Henderson.

Henderson Police arrived at a construction site near 1801 Scimitar Drive at 2:20 a.m. Thursday and noticed a pickup leaving the area.

The truck was stopped and an investigation revealed that the three people inside had cut through the wire fence surrounding the construction site, police said.

Darren Blue, 18, of Henderson and Jeramiah Baro, 22, and Rae Anna Lewis, 18, both of Las Vegas, were arrested on charges of attempted burglary and possession of burglary tools, police said.

Police later discovered stolen tools and equipment at Blue's residence and in a Henderson storage shed rented to Blue. Police believe the equipment is from other construction site robberies and say more charges will be leveled against the three.

Pair sought in liquor store holdup

Metro Police are looking for two men they believe held up a liquor store in east Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Two men entered the liquor store in the 3900 block of East Charleston Boulevard and demanded money, police said.

One of the men reportedly had a gun and robbed the cash register, while the other man beat a store clerk.

The men are described as black, about 18 years old, 6-feet tall and 155 pounds. Both men were wearing black tank tops and black pants, police said.

Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Secret Witness at 385-5555 or the Metro's robbery detail at 229-3591.

Identification of dead newborn still unknown

Metro Police are still trying to identify a baby found dead in a Strip trash bin one year ago Saturday.

The newborn, given the name "Baby Mary" by the Knights of Columbus, was found wrapped in a towel in a Dumpster at 4770 E. Luxor on July 17, 1998.

The Knights of Columbus buried the baby, but homicide detectives have exhausted all leads in the case.

Anyone with information on the baby or the baby's parents is asked to call Secret Witness at 385-5555 or the homicide section at 229-3521. A $1,000 reward is available for information.

Bryan requests longer public comment period

An angry Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Las Vegas, sent an urgent letter to the Department of Energy asking for a longer public comment period on the upcoming draft environmental impact statement for a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

The draft statement is expected to be released July 30, but the DOE is allowing only 90 days for comment. Bryan asked for 180 days.

"It is absolutely unconscionable that the Department of Energy wants to limit public comment on an issue that has so many potential health and safety ramifications for the citizens of Nevada," Bryan said.

The DOE proposes to build a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, to keep 70,000 tons of radioactive wastes away from people and the environment for a minimum of 10,000 years. The environmental impacts will be contained in several volumes the agency has taken years to prepare.

"Decisions made by the department as part of the EIS process will affect the public health and safety for thousands of years, so it is not unreasonable for the DOE to give the public and local officials more than 90 days to respond," Bryan said.

Also, Clark County officials will be available from 3 to 8 p.m. on July 29 to publicly preview the draft EIS. The Clark County Nuclear Waste Division is sponsoring an open house at the Government Center, 500 Grand Central Parkway. Copies of the statement will be available in print and on compact disks, along with a summary of the document.

Southern Nevada air exceeds health limits

Southern Nevada's air exceeded the health limits for ozone Wednesday and Thursday, the Clark County Health District reported.

Ozone is created mostly by vehicle exhaust and appears in summer months as the brown cloud of smog over cities.

Both measurements were made at a monitor at West Alta and Buffalo drives.

The monitor read 119 on Wednesday and 116 on Thursday, according to the Pollution Standard Index. That level is unhealthy for infants and anyone with certain sensitivities, such as respiratory problems. A level exceeding 151 is considered unhealthy for everyone.

Through June Clark County has exceeded the standard four times this year.