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CASINO STRIKE AUTHORIZATION VOTE
Workers at some Vegas casinos holding strike vote
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Union members are voting on whether to authorize a strike if ongoing bargaining doesn't yield a new contract with 10 downtown Las Vegas casinos, a bar and a laundry service.
Several thousand Culinary Workers Union Local 226 members are expected to cast ballots. Union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said results are possible late Thursday evening.
Khan said more than 5,000 members are eligible to vote. Balloting is scheduled in two shifts, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the East Las Vegas Community Center.
Members last month voted to end a contract extension approved last June, clearing the way for strike and picket actions. Members previously approved a dues increase to cushion the financial blow of a walkout if one occurs.
NORTH LAS VEGAS-BUDGET CUTS
NLV plans deep cuts if union settlement fails
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Officials in cash-strapped North Las Vegas say they plan to slash spending by 10 to 20 percent if employee unions don't accept a settlement.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the proposed cuts were announced at an employee meeting Wednesday and will only take effect if the city can't reach a $7.7 million settlement with public safety unions. Department heads would decide whether services or payrolls are reduced.
The negotiations come after a court ruled in January that the city couldn't avoid paying $25 million in raises by declaring a state of emergency.
North Las Vegas faces a projected $18 million budget deficit, and lost a $4 million court judgment last week to a commercial landowner.
Still, Mayor John Lee tells KSNV-TV he thinks the city is close to a resolution.
HEALTH OVERHAUL-NEVADA
Nevada exchange takes up 2015 policy fees
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The financial viability of Nevada's health insurance exchange comes under scrutiny as the board overseeing operations considers potential fees to cover next year's operating costs.
There are a lot of elements for the board to consider Thursday. Enrollment, marketing, billing options and continuing enrollment assistants each has a price tag.
Depending on how the board decides to proceed, monthly fees could skyrocket. First-year operations were paid with federal grants. But beginning in 2015, state exchanges must be self-reliant, and Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he will not use general fund sources to support it.
This year consumers who purchased medical plans are paying $4.95 per month.
One big unknown is projected enrollments, which have fallen woefully short. More people signing up means a lesser monthly fee in 2015.
JAYWALKING FATAL-VEGAS
Coroner names woman killed crossing Las Vegas road
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities have identified a 45-year-old woman who was fatally injured when she was struck by a minivan on a busy Las Vegas thoroughfare.
The Clark County coroner says it could take a few weeks for the return of toxicology results and a final ruling on the cause of Sherri Bartold's death.
Accident investigators say Bartold was with a man crossing Spring Mountain Road about a block west of Decatur Boulevard when she was struck and fatally injured about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The man wasn't hit.
Police say a 63-year-old woman driving the Toyota Sienna minivan and her 62-year-old passenger weren't physically injured.
Investigators say the driver isn't suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
GEORGE WALLACE-INJURY LAWSUIT
Comedian may testify in Las Vegas casino lawsuit
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Comedian George Wallace could take the witness stand Thursday to tell a Nevada state court jury about a leg injury for which he is seeking $9 million from a posh Las Vegas Strip resort.
Trial is continuing in Clark County District Court in Wallace's civil negligence lawsuit against the Bellagio.
Wallace claims he was injured by stage wiring during a private performance for a corporate group at in December 2007.
Bellagio lawyers cast Wallace was careless, and say he voluntarily assumed the risk of injury.
The 61-year-old Wallace removes his customary beret in the courtroom.
Testimony began last Friday.
Wallace reached a confidential pretrial settlement last week with the group he was entertaining, HSBC Card Services Inc. Neither disclosed terms.
Wallace has been headlining since 2004 at the Flamingo hotel-casino.
THE SHELDON PRIMARY
GOP hopefuls betting on mega donor in Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A slate of potential Republican presidential candidates is descending upon Las Vegas to court one of the GOP's most powerful patrons.
Republican super donor Sheldon Adelson is the main attraction for White House hopefuls as the Republican Jewish Coalition begins its annual "spring leadership meeting" Thursday. The four-day gathering is already being called "the Sheldon primary."
Adelson almost single-handedly bankrolled Newt Gingrich's presidential bid in 2012. He is considered one of the 10 richest people in the world.
The gathering features several prospective presidential candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
The agenda includes Scotch tastings, private roundtable discussions, and golf and poker tournaments. Most of the events are private.
LIMO LAWSUIT-SETTLEMENT
US court posts notice of limo lawsuit settlement
(Information in the following story is from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge in Las Vegas is giving former drivers at Nevada's largest limousine company until April 21 to claim a share of a $3.85 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit over unpaid overtime and regular wages.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the U.S. District Court notice seeks employees who worked at Bell Trans, Bell Limo, Presidential Limousine and Whittlesea-Bell any time between Dec. 18, 2005, and Jan. 1, 2011.
A settlement summary says the company failed to pay regular, minimum and overtime wages for all hours worked, failed to pay wages due at the termination of employment and improperly withheld wages.
VEGAS AIRPORT-TRAFFIC
Vegas airport traffic up 2.4 percent in February
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport is on the rise compared with a year earlier.
Data released Thursday show nearly 3.1 million people arrived and departed from the Las Vegas airport in February. That's up 2.4 percent from February 2013.
The number of passengers flying domestically was up 2.2 percent, while international traffic was up 4 percent for the month.
Total airport traffic is up 3.9 percent so far this year compared with the same period in 2013.
McCarran ranks as the seventh-busiest airport nationally and 20th worldwide by passenger volume.
RENO-TAHOE-TOURISM SURVEY
Families targeted in new Reno-Tahoe tourism survey
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Tourism official say last year's visitors to the Reno-Tahoe area stayed longer, spent more money and brought their children along more often than they did two years earlier.
Officials for the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority say the survey identifies families as a key target audience moving forward because they spend more than groups with only adults. They also stayed nearly twice as long last year — averaging 6.2 days compared to 3.2..
The survey shows the share of families traveling with children under age 21 increased from 27 percent in 2011 to 35 percent last year. It says families averaging spending $773 compared to $637 by adults-only visitors.
The survey also found that for the first time visitation from Los Angeles equaled visitation from the San Francisco Bay Area.
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