News briefs for May 28, 2004

Friday, May 28, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

Gas explodes in townhouse

Two townhouses were damaged Thursday afternoon from an apparent natural gas explosion.

The Clark County Fire Department arrived about 1:20 p.m. at Meadows Haven Lane, near Spring Mountain Road and Jones Boulevard, where a thick plume of smoke could be seen coming from two units, fire department spokesman Scott Allison said.

A leak in a natural gas dryer in a laundry room apparently produced enough gas to trigger an explosion from a water heater's pilot light, Allison said.

Firefighters found pillows and blankets in the tops of the trees surrounding the townhouses.

There were no injuries. No one was home at the time of the blast.

Computer causes fire

A restaurant on the second floor of the Plaza Hotel was evacuated Thursday night after a portable computer caught fire in the adjacent housekeeping area.

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue responded to the hotel on Main Street at Fremont Street about 9:20 p.m. after restaurant employees heard the fire alarm and smelled smoke from across the hall, spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The Center Stage restaurant was evacuated and a second alarm was sounded as a precaution, Szymanski said. The smoldering fire was contained to the portable computer inside the housekeepers' office, he said.

The fire caused $5,000 in damages, primarily to the portable computer and the desk it was sitting on, Szymanski said.

Plane slides off runway

A private aircraft skidded off a runway at North Las Vegas Airport shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The Raytheon Beechcraft Premier jet experienced brake failure as it landed on runway No. 7, Clark County Aviation Department spokeswoman Elaine Sanchez said.

Two people on board were uninjured, Sanchez said. There was no fire aboard the craft.

LV woman remains AWOL

The Las Vegas woman who left her Army base without permission after she claimed she was being sexually harassed remains absent without leave as her lawyer negotiates with military officials.

Pfc. Jacquelyn Fairchild, 21, has been away from Fort Irwin, Calif., since October.

"The situation hasn't been resolved, but there has been some progress," her lawyer, Glenn Meier, said on Thursday.

Fort Irwin's public information officer, Maj. Chris Belcher, said the Army offered Fairchild an arrangement that would resolve her status, but it was rejected. Neither side would say what the offer was.

"Our view remains the same, that she needs to return to base," Belcher said. Fairchild has said she feared for her safety if she went back to the fort, which houses a training facility.

Bond plan OK'd for highway

The state Transportation Board Thursday approved issuing $390 million of bonds over the next two fiscal years to finance continued construction of major highway projects.

Of the total $190 million would be issued next year and $200 million the following year. The bonds would be repaid primarily with federal funds.

Transportation Director Jeff Fontaine said the money would be used to continue "super projects" such as the widening of U.S. 95 and the interchange of Interstate 215 and U.S. 95 in Henderson. Other projects include the Carson City bypass and the Reno-Carson City freeway.

The Legislature has already approved the $190 million bond issue.

The 2005 Legislature will be asked to approve the $200 million of bonds to be issued in fiscal year 2006.

Driver injured as car hits tree

A Las Vegas man was in critical condition this morning after his car ran into a tree on Maryland Parkway south of Charleston Boulevard.

Kwamin Gray, 23, was driving his 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII at a high rate of speed about 12:30 this morning when he lost control of the vehicle while traveling through a curb. The Lincoln then struck a curb, causing it to spin, said Metro Detective Doug Nutton.

It then traveled off the road and struck a tree. Gray and his passenger, 19-year-old William Williams of Las Vegas, were transported to University Medical Center. Williams remained in the hospital this morning with moderate injuries, Nutton said.

Investigators are still looking into whether alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, he said.

Supreme Court disbars Centofani

The Nevada Supreme Court Thursday ordered Las Vegas lawyer Alfred "Chips" Centofanti III disbarred from practicing law based on his conviction of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon.

Centofanti agreed to the disbarment, saying he could not successfully defend a disciplinary complaint that would be filed by the state Bar of Nevada.

He was found guilty earlier this year of the shooting death of his ex-wife Virginia "Gina" Centofanti.

Ex-regent Sparks joins Taxi Authority

Gov. Kenny Guinn today named Carolyn M. Sparks of Las Vegas to the state Taxicab Authority that regulates the industry in Southern Nevada.

Sparks, owner of International Insurance Service, Ltd., succeeds Joanna Winn of Las Vegas, who resigned.

Guinn said "Carolyn has had a distinguished career serving our state, as a talented businesswoman, as one of the state's greatest volunteers and philanthropist."

She is a member of the board of directors for Southwest Gas Corp. and has been named Southern Nevada's Outstanding Volunteer Fund-Raiser. She served two terms on the university Board of Regents, was founding president of the University Medical Center Foundation and is a board member of the Las Vegas Museum of Natural History.

The Taxicab Authority has five members; it adopts regulations and enforces the laws and rules governing the taxicab business and its drivers.