News briefs for July 10, 2001

Tuesday, July 10, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

Victim ID'd in downtown killing

A man shot to death during a fight at a downtown apartment complex Sunday has been identified as 22-year-old Jack Calvin Burnell.

Burnell and another man got into a fight at the South Cove Apartments Sunday about 5:20 a.m. The other man is accused of pulling a gun and firing several shots, hitting Burnell, Metro Police said.

The suspect was described as a black man, in his late teens or early 20s, tall with braided hair and last seen wearing a blue and black striped shirt.

California funding not supported

Representatives of six Western states did not support a proposal to seek federal funding for California's plan to reduce its use of the Colorado River.

At a House water and power subcommittee meeting in Salt Lake City Monday, representatives expressed support for California's efforts to reduce its reliance on the river over the next 15 years, but balked at federal funding.

An agreement reached last year outlined a 15-year plan to wean California from using other states' surplus Colorado River water.

Slave reparations just a gimmick

Con artists are targeting seniors in a telephone scam that promises up to $5,000 in slave reparations in exchange for personal information such as Social Security numbers, Rep. Shelley Berkley said.

More than 29,000 people nationwide have already been fooled into handing out the sensitive information, and some have been targeted for identity theft and other fraud.

There is no legitimate government program offering any kind of additional benefits or slave reparations, Berkley, D-Nev., said.