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HEALTH OVERHAUL-NEVADA
Audit details problems with Nevada health exchange
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — An independent auditor is recommending Nevada levy penalties against Xerox for failing to achieve key performance benchmarks in operating the state's health insurance exchange that has been wracked by problems since it went online in October.
The recommendations were included in a report presented Thursday to the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange board.
The review conducted by Health Claim Auditors found instances of incorrect subsidy calculations and more than 1,000 invoices in which people paid too much because tax credits were omitted. Additionally, about 11 percent of claims reviewed did not account for reduced out-of-pocket costs for participants based on income levels.
The exchange was given a rating of "fail" in several categories, including call response timeliness and resolution time.
Xerox says it has made strides correcting problems.
RANGE SHOWDOWN
Reid calls rancher's backers 'domestic terrorists'
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is calling armed backers of a Nevada rancher "domestic terrorists" for using guns in a grazing rights battle with the federal Bureau of Land Management.
The Democrat was speaking at an event hosted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday when he referred to Saturday's armed confrontation between BLM agents and self-described militia members supporting Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy.
No shots were fired.
After the confrontation, the BLM released almost 400 of Bundy's cattle that had been rounded up. The BLM says its action was spurred by Bundy's failure to pay more than $1 million in grazing fees on federal land.
Bundy says he doesn't recognize federal authority on the land his family has used since the 1870s.
Reid says a federal task force is being formed to resolve the dispute.
SUSPICIOUS TEST SCORES
Nevada supe: Kids are victims in cheating scandal
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada's state superintendent says children are the victims in a cheating scandal uncovered at a Las Vegas elementary school.
Superintendent Dale Erquiaga spoke briefly about the matter Thursday at a Nevada Board of Education meeting, saying it was unfortunate that 2011-2012 test scores for students at Matt Kelly Elementary School would be invalidated.
A report released Wednesday concluded at least one adult altered standardized test answer sheets in Spring 2012, leading to a dramatic increase in test scores at the traditionally low-performing school. The probe didn't determine exactly who corrected the tests.
Erquiaga says the answer-changing happened after the tests, and students were not coached during the test as reported by a tipster.
Principal Patricia Harris, Assistant Principal Steven Niemeier and Associate Superintendent Andre Denson have been placed on leave.
FOREIGN COURTHOUSE VISIT-VEGAS
Delegation from Latin America visits Nevada courts
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Legal officials from seven Latin American countries visited Nevada's busiest courthouse on Thursday to learn about specialty court programs.
The visitors from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela were getting information about alternative court programs that focus on resolving business, juvenile, mental health and complex litigation, as well as cases involving U.S. military veterans and people with mental health issues.
Clark County District Court Judge David Barker was conducting the tour of the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas.
The 52 judges in the state's Eighth Judicial District handled an average of 1,840 cases each last year.
The visit was sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Office of International Visitors and arranged by the World Affairs Council of Las Vegas.
APARTMENT FIRE
Woman treated for smoke in Vegas apartment fire
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A fire official says a woman was treated for smoke inhalation during a fire that badly damaged an upstairs apartment of a two-story building south of downtown Las Vegas.
Deputy Clark County Fire Chief Jon Klassen said it wasn't immediately clear whether the woman was hospitalized while firefighters doused flames about 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the building on East Sahara Avenue near Lynnwood Road.
Klassen says the cause of the fire is being investigated.
HUTCHISON-AD
Hutchison ad slams Lowden for Reid donations
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Mark Hutchison's campaign for Nevada lieutenant governor is taking on Republican primary opponent Sue Lowden for donating to Harry Reid in previous elections.
The 60-second radio ad released Thursday says Lowden contributed five times to the Democratic majority leader's campaign.
Hutchison is midway through his first term as a Nevada state senator. He has the backing of Gov. Brian Sandoval, a fellow Republican.
Lowden is a casino owner and former state senator who ran unsuccessfully in the 2010 GOP primary for U.S. Senate. She lost to Sharron Angle. Angle was then defeated by Reid in the general election.
The lieutenant governor's race could be pivotal in Nevada politics if Sandoval decides to seek federal office in 2016. The lieutenant governor would then ascend to the governor's office.
MOB MUSEUM-CASH PAYMENT
Mob Museum makes huge payment in cash, mob style
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman took a cue from the mob in making a huge payment on behalf of the city's Mob Museum.
Goodman presented $1.5 million in cash to the City Council at a meeting on Wednesday. The $100 bills bundled up and stuffed in suitcases are the first of four annual payments the two-year-old museum plans to make to the city.
Las Vegas invested $33 million into renovating a historic former federal courthouse and post office in downtown and launching the museum that leases the space. Executive Director Jonathan Ullman says the nonprofit museum planned to pay back $6.2 million of the city's original investment, and is on track to do so.
The museum has welcomed nearly half a million visitors since launching on Valentine's Day 2012.
VEGAS HORSE CARRIAGES
Vegas Council clears way for horse-drawn carriages
(Information in the following story is from: KLAS-TV, http://www.klas-tv.com)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas City Council has cleared the way for horse-drawn carriages to return to some parts of the city for the first time in nearly 30 years.
The city banned the carriages in 1985 after a spooked horse ran out of control on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The prohibition later was rescinded and the council approved a series of routes Wednesday proposed by two carriage operators seeking business licenses to resume the rides.
KLAS-TV reports Nevada Voters for Animals President Gina Greisen told the council the practice is both "dangerous and inhumane."
But Marybeth Jalepes of the MB Horse & Carriage Company says there's no reason they can't be made safe if regulated correctly.
The carriages still will be banned on Fremont Street, Las Vegas Boulevard and Maryland Parkway.
CLOSED GOLF COURSE-RENO PARK
Closed Reno golf course could become new park
(Information in the following story is from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com)
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Residents of a northwest Reno neighborhood are launching an ambitious effort to turn an abandoned golf course into a park.
Once known as the "St. Andrews of the Sierra," the links-style Northgate Golf Club has sat vacant since it closed in 2009.
Homeowner Linda James is among those who want to convert the old cart paths into hiking and biking trails and turn the old clubhouse into a community gathering place.
She tells the Reno Gazette-Journal she's excited because the city recently announced it secured help from the National Park Service and the American Society of Landscape Architects to help residents craft a plan to design and operate the 200-acre site as Sierra Vista Park.
City Parks Director Julee Conway estimates the outside expertise is worth $100,000 to $150,000.
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