Local news briefs for April 13, 2000

Thursday, April 13, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

Motorist charged with hitting officer

A motorist was arrested Wednesday evening after he swerved his car at a traffic officer and then punched an officer in the face, police said.

The incident happened about 5:45 p.m. near the intersection of Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive, Sgt. Alex Cruz said.

Officers were helping move traffic at the intersection because of the added volume from the National Association of Broadcasters meetings at the Las Vegas Convention Center, when one driver wouldn't follow instructions, Cruz said.

An officer motioned for a man driving south on Paradise to stop, but instead the man swerved his car at the officer and then hit two cars as it continued south, Cruz said.

Two officers caught up to the car at Desert Inn Road, where the driver got out and punched an officer, police said. The officer was not hurt in the scuffle, and the man was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery of an officer.

EPA gives LV cleanup funds

The federal Environmental Protection Agency gave the city of Las Vegas another $150,000 on Wednesday to continue work on cleaning up brownfields, industrial areas that are abandoned or neglected, Vice President Al Gore announced in Washington.

Two years ago the EPA gave the city $200,000 to assess areas. Cleanup at former National Guard armory site at Eastern and Stewart avenues has been completed, Jim Dix of the city's Office of Business Development said.

The new funds will allow the city to continue assessing other sites, and $50,000 of it will go for review of sites the city wants to develop as parks or greenspaces, Dix said.

The brownfield concept allows cities to analyze and clean up sites that can be redeveloped, Jim Hanson of the EPA's Region 9 office in San Francisco said.

$50 million OK'd by House

Nevada can compete for $50 million approved by the House to help clean up lakes such as Mead and Tahoe in a revival of the nationwide Clean Lakes program.

Reps. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., both voted for the measure, which passed 420-5.

Although the Clean Lakes program under the federal Environmental Protection Agency expired in 1990, Congress kept funding it until 1995.

Lake Mead and Lake Tahoe could benefit from funding to prevent surface runoff from polluting their waters.

Scam involves bogus cards

State Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman Wednesday warned about a scam being used mostly in Las Vegas involving phony auto proof-of-insurance cards.

An investigation by her office found individuals were either using stolen blank proof-of-insurance cards or legitimate cards that had been altered and reprinted. So far, the division has confiscated about 100 of bogus cards, which are being sold to consumers for about $100.

Car owners must have a card that verifies they have insurance coverage for the vehicle. Some consumers may believe they have the coverage when they don't, Molasky-Arman said.

Consumers who buy bogus cards are in violation of state law requiring insurance and are legally liable for damages as a result of an accident in which they are involved, she said.

They are also subject to other fines and penalties for operating a vehicle without proper coverage.

Engineering college gets new dean

UNLV's Howard Hughes College of Engineering has a new dean -- Oklahoma University's Ronald L. Sack.

Sack, who had been serving has director of Oklahoma's School of Engineering and Environmental Services, will start at UNLV on July 1.

Sack has taught at Clemson University, Idaho University and has been at Oklahoma since 1988. From 1996 to 1999 he also served as director of the division of civil and mechanical systems of the National Science Foundation, where he managed an annual budget of $60 million and established three earthquake research centers.

Sack will be the Hughes college's second dean, and will succeed founding Dean William Wells, who plans on returning to teaching.

Work planned on Charleston Blvd.

Nevada Department of Transportation work crews will close the right westbound traffic lane of Charleston Boulevard between Shadow Lane and Rancho Drive on April 20 and 21 to inspect storm drains.

The road closure is expected to run each day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Pavement patching operations will cause some southbound lanes of Nellis Boulevard between Sahara Avenue and Vegas Valley Drive to be closed on April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

New pass will cost $50 annually

Lake Mead National Recreation Area will celebrate National Park Week 2000 with the inaugural sales of a new national park pass.

The new pass costs $50 a year and will be good for entrance to all national parks beginning April 18.

The passes are for sale over the Internet (www.nationalparks.org) or from any National Park Service office including a new location in Boulder City at 410 Nevada Highway, suite 140.

National Park Week 2000 begins Monday and runs through April 23.