News briefs for Feb. 26, 2004

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

Ether spill prompts college evacuation

Two floors of a building on the south side of the Community College of Southern Nevada's West Charleston Boulevard campus were evacuated Wednesday after a small amount of ether was spilled in a lab.

Fumes from the ether were sucked into the ventilation system and the odor spread throughout the two floors, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters used blowers to pump fresh air into the building and to help with flushing out the mechanical ventilation system within the building, they said.

Two people were examined by fire paramedics on the scene and were released.

No injuries were reported.

Grants received for conservation

Nevada has been granted $364,500 by the federal government to help protect the habitats of endangered plants and animals.

The funds are part of a $34.8 million program from the Interior Department to assist private landowners in conservation efforts. An additional $121,500 will be spent by the state to augment the federal funds.

The majority of the funds, $300,000, will be used in Washoe and in nearby Lassen county in California to protect a bird known as the sage grouse.

In Southern Nevada $80,000 will be spent in Oasis Valley in Nye County, and $106,000 is budgeted for the Virgin River habitats in Clark County and northern Arizona. Those monies will be used to protect various aquatic species, including the Amargosa toad and the speckled dace.

Groups join suit against tax hike

A group of California legislators and the Pacific Legal Foundation made requests to file "friend of the court" briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.

The groups filed the briefs supporting 24 Nevada Assembly Republicans who want the highest federal court to reverse a July decision by the Nevada Supreme Court, which said the two-thirds vote requirement to raise taxes was not needed.

Lawyers for the Legislature say the Supreme Court should not interfere.

The court has not decided on a court date yet for the case, according to the clerk's office, but the requests to file the briefs were received Feb. 20.

Attorney says he'll run for JP

Attorney Joe Bonaventure announced Wednesday he will run for Justice of the Peace, Department 9.

The lifelong Las Vegas resident recently resigned from the Clark County district attorney's office to enter private practice. He was a prosecutor in the criminal division of the district attorney's office for 14 months and before that worked in the appellate division.

He graduated as a member of the charter class of the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.