News briefs for May 4, 2001

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 10:19 a.m.

Offices planned for worker claims

Special claims offices for Nevada Test Site workers and other Department of Energy employees sickened on the job are expected to open June 15, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said today.

A special toll-free number to handle inquiries about the program should be set up by the end of May, Chao said, if the White House approves the agency's draft regulations by the end of this month.

An office in the Las Vegas area has not been chosen yet. The benefits include $150,000 plus lifetime medical care to workers at nuclear weapons plants who contracted cancer, silicosis or beryllium disease because of on-the-job exposure. The first checks should be in the mail by fall, she said.

Las Vegas man indicted in killing

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a Las Vegas man with three counts in the mailing of a bomb that killed Patrick Hsu of San Jose, Calif.

Anthony Chang, 30, of Las Vegas, is charged with causing the pipe bomb to be mailed, according to the indictment brought Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Chang was married to Hsu's sister, Wendy, and had threatened to harm her brother if she ever left him. Wendy Hsu filed for divorce in late 2000.

Another man, David Lien, also known as David Lin, 33, of Milpitas, Calif., was charged with actually mailing the pipe bomb to Hsu.

Hsu received a toy robot dog that apparently detonated when he placed a battery in it, authorities said. He was visiting his parents from college and was alone in the house.

Report criticizes Nevada voters

Nevada residents got low marks on a new report card that rates participation in government. The grade comes despite a finding that the state's government was well structured and conducive to involvement.

The report card, developed by the Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy, gave Nevada residents an overall grade of "C."

But the state got a "D-" for voter participation and a "C-" for civics education. The overall grade was improved thanks to an "A" in democratic institutions -- the basic structure of Nevada's government.

The committee was established to advise and make recommendations to the Department of Museums, Library and Arts on matters pertaining to participatory government.

According to the report, only 39.9 percent of all eligible Nevada voters cast ballots in the 2000 presidential race.

The report outlines various recommendations to the Legislature and state and is available on the Internet (dmla.clan.lib.nv.us).

Conference set for Thomas & Mack

The Women of Faith conference is slated to begin Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The conference features female Christian speakers from throughout the country, including Barbara Johnson and Patsy Clairmont, Luci Swindoll, Thelma Wells, former "700 club" host and singer Sheila Walsh and former professor Marilyn Meberg.

Comedian Chonda Pierce and singer CeCe Winans are also scheduled to appear.

Billed as "America's Largest Women's Conference," the Women of Faith tours began in 1996 with appearances in 10 cities. Last year, more than 360,000 women in 24 U.S. cities attended a Women of Faith conference.

Tickets for the conference, which begins at 7 p.m. and concludes Saturday night, are $65. For tickets, call (888) 49-FAITH.