News briefs for August 6, 2004

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

Fitzgeralds sign damaged by fire

The 34-foot tall leprechaun that used to be part of the Fitzgeralds hotel sign downtown was damaged by fire this morning at the Neon Boneyard, which houses a collection of the city's old signs, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to the fire at Ninth Street and Bonanza Road about 4:15 a.m.

The blaze was so smoky that firefighters couldn't immediately determine what was on fire, but they quickly saw the flames were confined to the fiberglass Mr. O'Lucky sign, spokesman Tim Szymanski said. No other signs were damaged. Firefighters put the fire out within minutes.

There was no estimate on the dollar amount of the damage. Szymanski said investigators aren't certain what caused the fire.

The Mr. O'Lucky sign was removed from Fitzgeralds in 2002.

Man sought by LAPD arrested

A 32-year-old man wanted in connection with a robbery and shooting death in Los Angeles was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas, authorities said.

Authorities allege Michael Joseph Blue assisted in a robbery in which Adolphus Miller Jr. was killed in January 2001.

Blue was arrested without incident in his residence at Rainbow Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road around 7 a.m. LAPD detectives were present during the arrest, police said.

Blue had been living at the 6600 block of Coral Falls Circle, police said.

Nursing home wings open

The Nevada State Veterans Nursing Home in Boulder City now has all of its three planned wings open and could be full by November, home Administrator Gary Bermeosolo said.

The third wing of the 180-bed facility was to open July 1, but Bermeosolo said a shortage of nurses put off the wing's debut. Since then, the home has hired six nurses, which allowed them to move residents into the newest wing on Monday.

No more than two new residents are moved in each day to ease the transition for both patient and facility.

As of Thursday, there were 120 residents in the facility and 151 on the waiting list.

"We plan to be at 180 by November," Bermeosolo said about the number of residents that will live there.

The veterans home opened in August 2002 and survived a rocky start that included seeing three top administrators during its first year open and construction costs that ended up $1 million more than expected.

"This is exciting for us. It's been a long time coming," Bermeosolo said.

Woman found dead in car

A 75-year-old woman was found dead in her car after running the car off the road early this morning at Flamingo Road east of Buffalo Drive, Metro Police said.

The accident happened about 5:58 a.m., police said. Witnesses and evidence at the scene indicated that the woman was driving a 2002 Buick Century east on Flamingo Road when she traveled off the road, striking several newspaper racks and a power box.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. Witnesses said the woman appeared ill prior to the accident. The Clark County coroner/medical examiner's office will determine if the woman died of natural causes or due to the accident, which is still under investigation.

Metro Police probe shooting

Metro Police are seeking two people for questioning in relation to a shooting that happened Wednesday night about 9:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Sierra Vista.

The man who was shot was in critical condition at University Medical Center but is expected to survive, Sgt. Matt McCarthy said this morning. The victim's name was not released.

Witnesses told police that the person who shot him was a black man, about 6 feet tall, weighing about 180 pounds, with short, curly hair, police said.

Detectives want to question a black man, known by the street name "Mouse," and a black woman whose nickname is "Terminator," but neither of the two was wanted today in connection with the crime, police said.