Local news briefs for October 10, 2000

Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2000 | 10:32 a.m.

Man accused in killing of women

An August trial date has been set for a 21-year-old man accused of stabbing his grandmother and another woman to death in March 1999.

Ronald Calvin, who has been declared competent, will face a jury on Aug. 12 in the deaths of his grandmother, Evangeline C. Lee, 72, and Diane L. Paynes, 58.

Authorities believe Calvin, who lived with the victims, stabbed them several times in March 1999, then stole his grandmother's car and drove to California.

He was arrested at a Fresno, Calif., hospital after he went there seeking treatment for a knife wound in his hand three days after the bodies were discovered.

Deputy District Attorney Michael O'Callaghan is seeking the death penalty for Calvin because there were multiple victims and the slayings occurred during the course of another felony, robbery.

Man killed in hit-and-run crash

The Clark County coroner's office has identified the victim of a fatal hit-and-run accident as a Las Vegas man.

Michael Edward Beer, 26, was killed early Monday morning when his 1993 Saturn collided with a Geo Tracker in the intersection of Valley View Boulevard and Hacienda Avenue, Metro Police. Metro Police say the driver of the other car ran from the scene.

Jose DeLeon, 25, believed to be the Geo driver, was later taken to University Medical Center to be treated for moderate injuries. No charges have been filed pending further investigation, police said.

The accident was the 70th traffic-related fatality in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

'POV Vegas' captures award

"POV Vegas," the Las Vegas Sun's news discussion show, won the top award for local discussion TV program Saturday in Working in Communications' 13th annual Electronic Media Awards.

The show that won the honor featured Richard Ziser, head of the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, and Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. It aired June 19, shortly after Ziser's group gained enough signatures to put an initiative on the November ballot that would write a ban on gay marriage into the state Constitution. State law already bans homosexual marriages.

The awards recognized outstanding local work in television, radio, ad agencies, production companies, public relations and other firms.

"POV Vegas" airs Monday through Friday at 4:30, 5:30 and 8 p.m. on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable Channels 1 and 39.

Work scheduled on I-15 ramps

Construction work will close two ramps on Interstate 15 for two or three weeks this month.

The Grand Central Parkway on-ramp to I-15 north was closed Sunday night and will not reopen for at least three weeks. Rancho Drive is a suggested alternate route.

At 9 p.m. Friday the Charleston Boulevard west exit 41B will be closed to traffic for two weeks or more. Motorists can instead take the Charleston 41A exit or get off at the Sahara Avenue exit.

Both ramp closures are part of the I-15 flood control project.

Desert crust to be studied

Two UNLV biologists have received a $250,000 research and teaching grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to study how limited water and nutrients affect desert life.

UNLV biology professors Stan Smith and Diane Wagner will work with University of Nevada, Reno, professors Robert Nowak and Robert Qualls on the project.

The research will focus on how microbiotic crusts, a layer on the soil surface formed by plants such as algae and lichens, affect use of water and food supply in the ecosystem, Smith said.

The desert crust is disrupted by activities such as livestock grazing and off-road vehicle use, yet there are few studies to assess the role of how the crust protects the fragile desert environment, Smith said. No studies have been done in such an arid region as the Mojave Desert.

The study will be conducted on an area at the Nevada Test Site.