Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

News briefs for April 1, 2005

Late Sun exec Deskin honored

Students at Ruthe Deskin Elementary School celebrated the first annual Ruthe Deskin Day today at the school, located at 4550 N. Pioneer Way.

Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown was guest speaker.

Deskin was assistant to the Las Vegas Sun's late publisher Hank Greenspun, and she was also an advocate for youth and a community supporter. She died in 2004.

"Ruthe Deskin is more than just the namesake of our school," said Diana Brown, parent coordinator for the event.

Inmate commits suicide in prison

An inmate at the High Desert State Prison who recently had been denied parole committed suicide by hanging himself Thursday, a prison spokesman said.

The man, whose name was withheld pending the notification of his family, had been convicted in Clark County of burglary and was serving a sentence of one to three years in prison, Howard Skolnik, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Corrections, said.

He was last seen by the staff at 10:45 a.m. Thursday and was discovered dead at 1:30 p.m., Skolnik said. He had been at the prison since December.

Check the time on sprinklers

As daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, water officials are reminding residents and businesses to adjust their sprinkler clocks.

Automatic sprinkler clocks should be programmed to water lawns and landscape on the correct watering days and at appropriate times, the water authority said.

Spring watering restrictions are now in effect.

Water customers are assigned certain days and the group they are in appears on monthly water bills.

Customers who water on days other than assigned watering days may receive a water-waste fee.

Ex-Fresno civic leader found dead

Stebbins Dean, who served as chief executive of the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce for 12 years until he resigned in 2003 after his arrest on drug charges, died in Las Vegas this week. He was 52.

Dean was found dead in his apartment around 4 p.m. Monday, according to Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy. The cause of death has not been determined and is being investigated.

His sister, Mary Dean of Santa Cruz, told the Fresno Bee she didn't know details about his death, but said he died of natural causes. She said he most recently was executive director of a mortgage brokerage association in Las Vegas.

Dean was arrested on a felony drug charge while attending a leadership forum in Naples, Fla., in July 2003. Police said he tried to buy crack cocaine from an undercover officer, but Dean pleaded innocent to the charge.

The drug charge was dismissed after Dean completed a 28-day drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in Napa after his arrest. He resigned from the chamber in September 2003 and later moved to Las Vegas.

Delays expected on Desert Inn Road

Drivers heading east on Desert Inn Road from Las Vegas Boulevard tonight may want to reconsider their routes as the Clark County Water Reclamation District closes one lane to make way for a pipeline maintenance project.

Work on East Desert Inn Road from Las Vegas Boulevard to Paradise is expected to begin at 8 p.m. and crews are expected to continue working through Sunday, the water reclamation district said. One lane is expected to stay open.

The closure is the latest in the water reclamation district's pipeline rehabilitation project is part of a larger plan to repair roughly 11 miles of underground pipe. The project is expected to continue in future years until all 50 miles of pipe has been inspected and repaired.

During the closure, pipes are expected to be inspected and cleaned before workers install a composite liner and cut access ports for lines into the main line.

At least two other similar closures on Desert Inn are expected this month, one on Thursday from the onramp to Stardust Lane. Another is scheduled for April 25, when some eastbound lanes from Las Vegas Boulevard to Maryland Parkway will be closed, crews said.

Workers expect the 11 miles currently being inspected to be finished by September at a cost of $13.2 million.

Work being done on Charleston Blvd.

Drivers on West Charleston Boulevard between Shadow Lane and Rancho Drive can expect to spend a little more time in their cars tonight, Las Vegas Public Works said Thursday.

Charleston is expected to narrow to one lane in each direction late tonight and early Saturday morning as crews repair a storm drainage system in the area.

The roads will remain reduced to two lanes in each direction during daylight hours, public works officials said.

City engineers recommend drivers headed that direction take Sahara Avenue and Oakey Boulevard as major delays are expected.

The entire $4.1 million project is expected to take another three months.

10 indicted in Medicare fraud

A federal grand jury has indicted 10 people on fraud charges for an alleged scheme in which false bills were submitted to Medicare and a portion of the proceeds were used to buy a Rolls-Royce, a yacht and to pay gambling bills in Las Vegas.

Federal agents arrested seven of the 10 defendants Thursday, including the operator of a Huntington Beach medical supply firm, the U.S. attorney's office office said.

Three others named in the indictment, which was issued Wednesday, will receive a summons to appear in court in coming weeks, authorities said. Those indicted include two doctors.

All 10 are charged with 35 counts of health care fraud. Phu Luong, 50, who ran United Medical Supply in Huntington Beach, was indicted on an additional five counts of money laundering.

Luong allegedly used the money to buy a yacht for more than $185,000; a Rolls-Royce for $118,000; a $1.7 million down payment on a home in Huntington Beach; a $170,395 Lamborghini; and to pay $120,000 in gambling bills, the indictment claims.

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