Local news briefs for February 15, 2002

Friday, Feb. 15, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

County, RTC negotiate deal

A yearlong argument over paying for work on the Las Vegas Beltway should be over next month, the head of the Regional Transportation Commission said Thursday.

The RTC has proposed lending $50 million to Clark County to build sections of the beltway. The county has proposed paying the agency back only half of the loan.

But the RTC already has the $50 million earmarked for other purposes. RTC General Manager Jacob Snow and Clark County Finance Director George Stephens said they expect a resolution in a few weeks.

Reid, Gibbons testify about range

Two of Nevada's congressional delegates testified in Washington Thursday for a new shooting range northwest of Las Vegas.

Sen. Harry Reid, a Democrat and majority whip, and Rep. Jim Gibbons, a Republican, testified in favor of a bill that would transfer almost 3,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management property to Clark County for a shooting range.

Police seek help from public

Metro Police are searching for a missing mentally disabled man last seen Tuesday.

German "Herman" Ramos, 33, was last seen about 6 p.m. Tuesday in the area of the 4200 block of Thom Boulevard, near Rancho Drive and Cheyenne Avenue.

Ramos was last seen wearing a dark colored jacked, dark blue or green short sleeve shirt, beige pants and white tennis shoes.

He is described as Hispanic, 5 foot 8, weighing about 195 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on Ramos' whereabouts is asked to call Metro's missing persons unit at 229-LOST (5678) or Metro Police dispatch 229-3111.

Experiment called a success

The National Nuclear Security Administration's Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted a successful subcritical experiment, called Vito, at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Nevada Test Site, officials said.

Data from monitors confirmed that, as expected, the experiment remained subcritical, which means that sustained nuclear reaction occurred.