News briefs for Sept. 22, 2005

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.

Death at South Coast investigated

State safety officials are investigating why a construction worker fell to his death Wednesday at the South Coast Casino project.

The new resort is being built by Coast Casinos at Las Vegas Boulevard South at Silverado Ranch.

Metro Police were called to the scene at first as well as the Clark County Fire Department, said Bob Leinbach, fire department spokesman.

But the worker, identified by the Clark County Coroner's office as Alonso Moreno, 24, was dead when authorities arrived, Leinbach said.

Nevada's Office of Safety and Health Agency was in the preliminary stages of an investigation, Supervisor Steve Coffield said.

LV pilot killed in chopper crash

A helicopter pilot was killed near the California-Nevada border in a mountain area of San Bernardino County, a California sheriff's spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Jodi Miller of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said deputies received a call at 10:20 a.m. Wednesday that the helicopter, which was not carrying any passengers, crashed for unknown reasons about 30 minutes outside of Barstow, Calif.

The pilot was identified by the San Bernardino County Coroner's office as Todd Leroy Carie, 35, of Las Vegas. The pilot was the only person on the helicopter, the coroner reported.

The coroner reported that the helicopter was travelling from Torrance, Calif., to North Las Vegas and was lost in poor weather condition.

The coroner's office stated that the body was removed from the wreckage at 4:30 p.m.

A second helicopter crashed in San Bernardino County Wednesday, she added, in the Twin Peaks area, but the pilot only suffered a broken leg and some cuts, and there were no others on board.

State employee pleads guilty

An employee with the state treasurer's office pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony theft for taking at least $2,500 in unclaimed travelers checks from the treasurer's office in Las Vegas, the Nevada attorney general said.

Cathryn Rose Miller, an administrative assistant with the treasurer's office for almost six years, pleaded guilty in Clark County District Court on Tuesday to one count of felony theft, according to the plea agreement.

She faces between one and 10 years in prison and a fine of not more than $10,000, according to the plea agreement.

Miller is accused of taking and cashing at least $2,500 in unclaimed American Express travelers checks from the treasurer's office, the attorney general said.

Miller had access to a fireproof cabinet area where the checks and other unclaimed property was stored, the attorney general said.

Beltway restriction begins Sunday

Clark County construction officials and a Las Vegas Beltway contractor have scheduled lane restrictions for a section of the beltway starting at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The northbound frontage road network will be reduced to a single travel lane between Sunset and Russell roads.

The lane restriction is necessary to accommodate construction efforts for the adjacent retaining walls for that section of the beltway.

The lane restriction will be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the necessary work is finished. It is anticipated that the lane restrictions will be in place for 30 days per wall.

The work is just one phase of the county's project to upgrade this section of the beltway to its "ultimate" build-out configuration. The overall project should be finished by the end of August next year.

While the work is being done, motorists are encouraged to use an alternate route.

For more information, contact Bobby Shelton at 455-6030.

Regents to vote on Reno land sale

RENO -- The Nevada Board of Regents is poised to decide the fate of a tract of land on the edge of Reno that Washoe County officials say is critical to their flood control plans.

The regents are scheduled to vote Friday in Las Vegas on the proposed sale of the 55 acres to a private developer.

The University of Nevada, Reno owns the land at the corner of Mill Street and South McCarran Boulevard. The school awarded the parcel last month to Reno-based Pacific West Properties for the high bid of $13.2 million.

The county had offered $12.1 million, but it's bid was contingent on a bidding appraisal that UNR officials feared would bring the price down.

Earlier this week, a county negotiating team submitted a proposal that drops the requirement for the appraisal and would pay the school $12.1 million in cash.