Local news briefs for June 14, 2000

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 | 11:50 a.m.

Fire damages nightclub

An accidental fire at Club Utopia caused $100,000 in damage Monday night, according to Clark County fire officials.

Arson investigators determined the cause of the 11:15 p.m. blaze was electrical, caused by an air conditioning unit on the roof of the facility across the street from the Monte Carlo hotel-casino.

A spokesman for Utopia refused comment.

Parole revoked in fraud case

A Clark County District judge has revoked the parole of a man convicted of insurance fraud in Las Vegas in 1998.

William Lancaster, 27, was recently arrested in California for possession of a controlled substance, which violated his parole, District Judge John McGroarty said Tuesday.

Lancaster has been sentenced to serve time at the Clark County Detention Center concurrent with his three-year sentence that began on Nov. 5, 1998.

Lancaster's conviction was based on a false report he made to his insurance company stating his car had been stolen. He was paid $5,544 by the insurance company to replace the car, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office said.

UNLV professor receives award

UNLV chemistry professor Ronald Gary recently received an award for his research in the molecular interactions during DNA replication.

He is collaborating with Dr. Chang-Shung Tung of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Dr. Dmitry Gordenin of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The Junior Faculty Enhancement Award is given by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a private, not-for-profit consortium of 86 doctoral-granting colleges and universities. ORAU seeks to form partnerships among government, academia and the private sector in the areas of science and technology.

The award comes with $5,000 cash, which will be matched by UNLV to enhance Gary's research early in his career.

Bicyclist killed on Maryland Parkway

A 58-year-old bicyclist was killed Tuesday while attempting to cross Maryland Parkway in mid-block south of Sahara Avenue.

The accident happened just before 10 a.m. when the bicyclist, a North Las Vegas man, who was headed south in the right travel lane of Maryland Parkway, attempted to cross the street to the northbound lanes, Metro Police said.

At the same time a 1988 Dodge was headed south in the left travel lane of Maryland Parkway, and when the bike made its turn it traveled into the path of the Dodge, police said.

The force of the collision threw the man from his bike, and he died at the scene from his injuries.

This was the 42nd traffic fatality in Metro's jurisdiction this year.