News briefs for February 25, 2005

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.

Vote planned on school zoning

The Clark County School Board will vote early next week on proposed attendance zone boundary changes for the 2005-06 academic year, decisions that could affect tens of thousands of students.

The Clark County School District will open 11 new schools in August: seven elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.

In an effort to ease overcrowding at some schools while creating enrollment for the new campuses, the School Board will consider boundary recommendations of the Attendance Zone Advisory Commission. Made up of appointees, AZAC has been drafting various proposals and collecting public input for several months.

The School Board will vote Monday on elementary school attendance zone boundaries . A vote on secondary school boundaries, including the new Arbor View High School in the northwest valley, will be held Tuesday. Both meetings will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road.

Agency stays out of Yucca rail issue

The Council on Environmental Quality will not intervene in the Energy Department's plan to build a railroad to the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval asked the office twice to determine if the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency in charge of regulating railroad construction, should be in charge of environmental studies on the proposed 319-mile rail line in Caliente instead of the Energy Department.

But the council's chairman, James Connaughton, told Sandoval in a two-paragraph letter sent Feb. 8. that there is no problem among federal agencies regarding which one should be in charge so his office will not get involved.

"In this situation, there is a lead agency which, as you point out, is well under way in preparing the EIS (environmental impact statement) and no federal agency has expressed disagreement with the decision," Connaughton wrote.

Shooting victim in critical condition

A man was in critical condition Thursday night after his girlfriend's neighbor allegedly shot him multiple times, Metro Police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, was shot in the chest and the thigh sometime before 10:30 a.m. in the 1300 block of Pacific Street near Charleston Boulevard and Fremont Street, Metro spokesman Officer Jose Montoya said.

The victim is believed to have spent Wednesday night at the suspect's house, Montoya said. The next morning the suspect reportedly visited the victim at his girlfriend's house, said he was missing some things, grabbed a jacket, then shot the victim in the backyard, Montoya said.

The victim is in his late 20s or early 30s and was taken to University Medical Center.

The suspect is described as a thin black male with a shaved head, 25-30 years old, 6 feet tall.

"They think they know who that person is and they're hoping to make an arrest," Montoya said.

Police did not name the suspect. They did say, however, that they are looking for Richard Roberson because they need to interview him for the investigation. Detectives believe he was present during the shooting, police said.

Anyone with information may call Metro's Violent Crimes unit at 229-5634 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.