News briefs for July 6, 2004

Tuesday, July 6, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

Man indicted in hit-and-run crash

A Clark County grand jury Friday indicted a 32-year-old man on charges of killing a woman by crashing his truck into her as she retrieved something from her parked car.

Rolando Espinoza-Soriano is charged with drunken driving resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident for the April 18 crash that killed 45-year-old Winefrida Paredes

Espinoza-Soriano is expected to appear before District Judge Donald Mosley in the next two weeks, according to Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson.

Police allege Paredes was leaning into her 1995 Honda Passport parked in front of her home on Christy Lane near Charleston Boulevard when Espinoza-Soriano struck her with his 2002 Dodge pickup truck. He fled but was quickly apprehended.

Nelson said Espinoza-Soriano, who was originally placed under house arrest, had a $500,000 warrant issued to ensure his presence at his next court date.

UNLV gets new liberal arts dean

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas appointed a new dean, Edward J. Shoben, over its College of Liberal Arts, officials announced Friday.

Shoben, who has a doctorate in psychology from Stanford University, comes to UNLV from the University of Illinois where he was the chairman of the psychology department.

He begins his new job running the 10-department Liberal Arts college Aug. 1, overseeing majors such as anthropology and ethnic studies, English, the English Language Center, foreign languages, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology and women's studies.

Shoben replaces Jim Frey, who retired June 30.

Walters to head library association

The executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District was announced president-elect of the Public Library Association last month.

Daniel Walters, who recently underwent his annual review by the district board, said he would focus on the "effect of economic conditions on library services and patron privacy issues" as vice-president, said district spokeswoman Patricia Marvel.

Walters currently chairs the association's Technology in Public Libraries Committee. Under his direction, the library district increased circulation by more than 85 percent in the past four years.

The Public Library Association is a division of the American Library Association that aims to strengthen public libraries and their contribution to their communities.