News briefs for February 26, 2002

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.

A former news anchor for KTVN Channel 13 sued the company and two executives, alleging he was wrongfully fired on Nov. 9 after he was arrested on misdemeanor domestic violence charges.

Ken Tyndall, also known as Ken Hamilton, on Monday sued Journal Broadcast, the parent company of Channel 13; and the station's president, Jim Prather, and general manager, D.R. Oswald, alleging they refused to reinstate him even though no formal charges were filed against him.

Oswald, in a Nov. 9 letter to Tyndall, said the television station terminated him because it believed "this incident clearly put (the) station into public ridicule and disrepute and hurt (its) image as a newsgathering entity."

Tyndall, who said he cannot seek employment as a newscaster because of a six-month noncompete clause in his contract, wants an order to either reinstate him with back pay or to prevent the defendants from enforcing the noncompete clause.

The defendants declined comment.

State workers given too much

An undated report by the state Department of Personnel shows that 91 state employees have been overpaid, anywhere from a few dollars to thousands of dollars.

Personnel Director Jeanne Greene said today the overpayments go back four to five years and the employees are put on a repayment plan.

Employees receive a check for 80 hours every two weeks. Greene said the problem usually occurs when a worker is on leave without pay. The pay slip does not reach the department in time to make the correction on the salary.

The director said the department makes an effort to recover the overpayment within a year so as not to burden the employee.

A construction worker

at the Cancun hotel 8335 S. Las Vegas Blvd., fell to his death Monday night. The worker fell about 30 feet and died at the scene, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn

will take questions from viewers Wednesday night in the debut of a monthly call-in show on KLVX Channel 10. The premiere episode of "Direct Access" airs 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and will be moderated by "Nevada Week in Review" host Mitch Fox.