News briefs for October 26, 2001

Friday, Oct. 26, 2001 | 9:20 a.m.

DOE suspends shipment

The Department of Energy has suspended until spring a rail shipment of spent fuel rods from West Valley, N.Y., to a DOE facility in Idaho.

The 125 nuclear fuel assemblies from an experimental nuclear reprocessing plant, which was temporarily operated by the government, were expected to pass through 10 states to the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory before Oct. 31.

The DOE is concerned that metal gaskets on shipping containers could freeze in winter, which may allow radiation to leak.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham suspended all DOE nuclear shipments. Within two weeks the shipments resumed until Oct. 7, when the United States launched its military action in Afghanistan. Nuclear transportation was again suspended.

DOE headquarters on Oct. 17 ordered the Idaho shipment suspended until spring.

The nuclear load will be kept at West Valley for the winter.

Court amends rules for fees

CARSON CITY -- Arbitrators who try to settle civil suits before they go to trial are going to get a pay raise.

The Nevada Supreme Court has amended its rules requiring the fees of arbitrators be raised from $75 per hour to $100. And the maximum per case would be $1,000, up from the present $650.

The fees for these arbitrators are paid by the parties involved in the legal dispute.

Third labor group backs governor

CARSON CITY -- A third labor organization has endorsed Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn who has yet to formally announce he will run for a second term and has yet to draw a Democratic challenger.

The 4,400-member State of Nevada Employees Association joined the Nevada Carpenters Union and the Nevada Council of Police and Sheriffs in backing Guinn.

Association Executive Director Scott MacKenzie said Thursday the organization would provide grass room workers for Guinn, and he would talk to national labor leaders about getting money for the campaign.

MacKenzie said Guinn addressed the needs of state workers in his last budget, allocating money for a 4 percent raise this year and one next year. He said the union was "appreciative of the fact that you (Guinn) were successful in achieving fair and decent raises for state workers."

The governor, in a news release, said his "door will always be open to the people who work so hard to keep this state running."

Guinn has spent this week in Las Vegas and has been involved in some campaign raising activities.

Panel to review Mack complaint

The chairman of the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board has set a Nov. 5 hearing to review a refiled ethics complaint that alleges Councilman Michael Mack of abusing his position in office.

Attorney Tony Sgro refiled the ethics complaint on behalf of his client, John Staluppi Jr, after Chairman Earle White Jr. failed to call a meeting to discuss the original complaint within the required 30-day period.

A two-member panel of the ethics review board must determine at the hearing whether just and sufficient cause exists to investigate the complaints lodged against Mack. The panel -- White and Vice Chairman Robert Flemming -- determined in August that just and sufficient cause existed to investigate the original complaint, but did not call a hearing within the 30-day period.

Once the panel forwards its findings to the full board the chairman must call a meeting to hear testimony to decide whether Mack violated the city's ethics laws.

Staluppi filed a lawsuit and ethics complaint against Mack when he led the vote in June to deny his Nissan dealership, saying it went against the intent of Town Center. Days after the vote, Mack disclosed that he had an outstanding $60,000 loan from rival car dealer Joseph Scala, and asked for the application to be reconsidered. The application was denied a second time by the council.

No charges filed against driver

No charges will be filed against the driver of a truck that struck a pedestrian Oct. 13, killing him.

Richard Ward, 51, was not at fault in the accident that killed Sam J. Tyler, 52, on Main Street south of Owens Avenue. Metro Police Detective Oscar Chavez said Thursday. Witnesses confirmed that Tyler either jumped in front of the truck driven by Ward or walked into the roadway without looking, Chavez said.

Ward tried to brake to avoid Tyler, but was unable to, Chavez said.

Services for Tyler are pending at Garden Memorial Funeral Home, 3600 W. Vegas Drive.

Northwest park set to open

A new park in the northwest will open this weekend, a collaborative effort between Clark County, the city of Las Vegas and the Clark County School District.

The grand opening of the Estelle Neal Park is Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Festivities include pumpkin decorating and carnival games. Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack, who both represent the growing northwest, will dedicate the park.

Adjacent to the Joseph Neal Elementary School, the park is named after State Sen. Joe Neal's wife, Estelle Neal. The 5-acre park offers walking paths, a playground and picnic shelters.

The playground area will be dedicated to Payson Dodds, a young boy who lost his fight with cancer. Payson's mother, a school teacher at Joseph Neal Elementary School, and her husband, a Metro Police officer, will also attend.

For more information call 249-2700.

Scholarships are available

People interested in becoming registered nurses can get a scholarship to cover tuition.

Scholarship recipients can get up to $2,000 per semester for books, tuition, uniforms and fees.

The Valley Health System is offering the scholarships in cooperation with the Community College of Southern Nevada as the state suffers from a shortage of nurses. Students who receive scholarships have to agree to work for Valley Health once they graduate.

Applications have to be submitted by Nov. 1. For more information, call 651-5919.

UNR awarded $6 million

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $6 million to the University of Nevada, Reno, to establish a statewide biomedical research network.

The three-year grant will allow the state to build a "pipeline of biomedical researchers" throughout the state. Many of these researchers could then form collaborative relationships to draw biomedical companies into the state.

Biomedical research includes areas such as genomics, the study of the function of the genomes of organisms. The grant could also help develop biomedical research talent to expand research on anthrax and other biological warfare agents.

Dean leaving for Texas Christian

After two years as dean of the University of Nevada, Reno's school of journalism, William Slater will leave to become dean of the College of Communication at Texas Christian University.

Slater became dean in July 1999, and enrollment at UNR's journalism school rose to 425 students under his watch. During his time there Slater raised about $8.3 million for the college.

Slater began his career in 1959 as a newspaper reporter before going on to become a broadcast journalist. He went to UNR after serving as the dean of the journalism department at West Virginia University.

USO-style show scheduled

A USO-style charity concert at Caesars Palace Thursday kicks off a month of events to raise money for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and displaced workers locally.

The Nevada Hospitality Emergency Action Relief Tour at 6 p.m. in the Strip resort's Roman Ballroom will benefit displaced casino workers and the families of deployed military personnel.

Among the featured performers are Christopher Cross, Clint Holmes, Sonny King, Phyllis McGuire and members of The Rat Pack is Back show.

Tickets are $100 and may be obtained by calling the Nevada Restaurant Association at 878-2313 or the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association at 878-9272.

Also, KVVU-TV Channel 5 personalities are playing host to a food drive Saturday for the Las Vegas chapter of the Salvation Army at Smith's Food and Drug, 9350 W. Flamingo Road at Fort Apache Road. Non-perishable foods and personal hygiene items are being sought.

Third labor group backs governor

CARSON CITY -- A third labor organization has endorsed Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn who has yet to formally announce he will run for a second term and has yet to draw a Democratic challenger.

The 4,400-member State of Nevada Employees Association joined the Nevada Carpenters Union and the Nevada Council of Police and Sheriffs in backing Guinn.

Association Executive Director Scott MacKenzie said Thursday the organization would provide grass room workers for Guinn, and he would talk to national la- bor leaders about getting money for the campaign.

Man killed in accident

A 24-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested Thursday night after a two-car fatal accident at the intersection of Decatur Boulevard and University Avenue.

Arkday V. Grebnev was booked into the Clark County Jail on a charge of driving under the influence, Metro Police said.

Grebnev is accused of running a red light and striking another car that was in the intersection about 11:45 p.m. Thursday, police said. The 24-year-old driver of the other car died in the accident, police said.

Grebnevs passenger was taken to Summerlin Hospital with minor injuries, police said. The name of the deceased driver was not released this morning pending family notification.

Unemployment hits state hard

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data today that shows Nevada took a huge work force hit last month.

The number of new claims for unemployment compensation in the state was 10,762 last month, the highest number since the federal agency started tracking "mass layoff events in 1995. The number is almost six times what it was in September 2000, and about five times the 1,958 who registered for unemployment in August.

The bureau said many of the layoffs hit the hotel, tourism and travel industries. Those indus-tries already were experiencing a downturn for the first two quarters of this year, but the Sept. 11 terror attacks accelerated the trend.

The bureau said there were 34 mass layoffs in Nevada last month. A mass layoff is defined as a layoff affecting at least 50 people who are out of work for 30 days or more.

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