Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005 | 10:54 a.m.
Officer who killed man is ID'd
Metro Police on Wednesday identified the officer who fatally shot a Las Vegas man after a lengthy standoff Monday as 39-year-old Mark Fowler.
Fowler shot Daniel Vincent Kloskowski, 33, after the man threatened to kill his own mother and brother, according to a Metro statement. Kloskowski had barricaded himself inside an apartment at the 900 block of East Twain Avenue and held his mother and brother hostage for more than seven hours.
Kloskowski was shot once and died at the scene.
Fowler, who has been with the department since 1989, was assigned to Metro's SWAT section, according to the statement. In keeping with department policy, he remained on administrative leave Wednesday pending a review by the department's use-of-force board.
In 2001, Fowler was cleared in the shooting of 33-year-old Emit Rice, who had fired at officers after taking a woman hostage. Fowler suffered gunshot wounds to his chest and thigh in that standoff, but was spared long-term injuries by a bullet-proof vest.
Resolution OK'd against Bush plan
The Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve an emergency resolution asking Congress to stop a plan by the Bush administration to take revenue from sales of federal land in Nevada.
The Senate unanimously approved the measure Tuesday, and 41 members of the Assembly voted in favor of it on Wednesday. Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno, abstained.
A plan by the Bush administration would take 70 percent of the funds generated from sales of federal lands in Clark County to reduce the national debt.
The money raised through federal land sales so far has mostly gone to buy envioronmentally sensitive land and parks, though some goes toward education and water projects.
Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, called the joint resolution one of the most important the Legislature has passed in recent years, except for resolutions against Yucca Mountain.
"Nevada has done enough," Buckley said. "We already receive much less in federal funding than we contribute in taxes. We get 70 cents on the dollar returned to Nevada."
The cut in funding could affect projects such as improvements to Lake Mead and Red Rock, and a purchase of 770 acres of property near Lake Tahoe, Buckley said.
Berkley introduces vets burial bill
Military veterans would get higher burial benefits based on a bill introduced by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., Wednesday. The bill also would allow the government to adjust the benefits annually for inflation.
"It has been more than 25 years since the last increase in burial benefits for those veterans without a service-connected disability and today the funds provided cover only 6 percent of the average burial cost," Berkley said in a statement.
Berkley introduced a similar bill during Congress's last session.
The Veterans Burial Benefit Improvement Act would increase payment from $2,000 to $4,100 for veterans buried in national cemeteries who die of disabilities related to their service. Also through the bill, burial benefits for veterans without a service related disability or who die in a federal veterans facility would increase from $300 to $1,270. Veteran plot allowances would increase from $300 to $745 for those who satisfy certain criteria.
Monorail ridership numbers drop
Ridership on the Las Vegas Monorail dipped last month, falling well short of of the roughly 27,000 riders a day who boarded the system in August, its only other full month of operation.
About 691,000 riders -- about 22,000 a day -- boarded the system in January, bringing in a little more than $2 million in farebox revenues, according to numbers provided by the monorail company.
Monorail officials, addressing the Legislature in Carson City, had told lawmakers that they project the $650 million system will attract an average 36,000 riders a day this year.
The company's board in December, meeting just before the system reopened from a 107-day closure, projected the monorail would bring in about 29,000 riders last month and would increase to more than 42,000.
Last month's lower-than-expected ridership figures came after what a company spokesman dubbed a successful reopening, which brought in 50,000 partiers for the city's New Years Eve celebrations.
The privately funded system then shuttled nearly 150,000 passengers and generated $450,000 in ticket sales during the Consumer Electronics Show from Jan. 6 to 9, according to the company.
Teen killed in motorcycle crash
A 16-year-old Las Vegas boy was killed Wednesday after his motorcycle collided with the side of a semi-truck, Metro Police said.
The collision occurred about 7:30 p.m. in the 5000 block of North Sloan Lane near Las Vegas Boulevard.
The motorcyclist, identified by the coroner's office as Barry Carnie of Las Vegas, was heading north on Sloan on a 1998 Harley Davidson motorcycle when a 2002 Kenworth semi-truck entered his path while making a left turn into an industrial fuel complex, police said.
The truck driver, Robert Blackman, 46 of Las Vegas, did not see the boy, police said. The boy applied his brakes but could not stop in time and hit the side of the truck.
He was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Police are still investigating the collision, Sgt. Tracy McDonald said. It's still too early to tell who was at fault.
A driver was killed about 8:40 a.m. today after hitting the back of a City of Las Vegas work truck parked along Washington Avenue between Nellis and Lamb boulevards, police said.
The work crew was repairing a street light and their truck was parked legally on the shoulder of Washington when the driver of a 1993 Oldsmobile drifted to the side and hit the rear of the truck, Sgt. Tracy McDonald said.
The driver, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene. A city worker suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment.
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