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MAYOR-TERM LIMITS
Court won't reconsider Reno mayor term limit case
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court won't change its mind over term-out city council members running for mayor.
In an order filed Wednesday, justices declined to reconsider its previous ruling that said council members who have served 12 years on the City Council are ineligible to run for mayor because of term limits imposed by voters in 1996.
A 5-2 ruling issued last month knocked former Reno Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza and current Councilman Dwight Dortch out of this year's mayoral race.
But Sferrazza's lawyer asked the court to reconsider its decision, arguing justices overlooked other precedent-setting election law cases that said when a law is ambiguous, the ultimate decision is up to voters.
The court rejected those arguments in the same 5-2 split as the original ruling.
BALLOT MEASURES-SUBJECT
Nevada high court considers ballot measure rules
(Information in the following story is from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Critics of Nevada's initiative process say restricting petitions to a single subject invites legal challenges that stall the process and prevents backers from gathering signatures by a mandated deadline.
They asked the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday to make it easier for groups to qualify measures for the ballot.
The challenge to the single-subject rule was brought by Las Vegas attorney Kermitt Waters on behalf of Citizen Outreach and two other groups. They argue the limitation makes it nearly impossible for citizens to bring proposals before voters.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Waters argued that the requirements for citizen petitions should be the same as those for the Legislature, which is allowed to enact bills dealing with multiple subjects.
Justices heard arguments in Las Vegas and will rule later.
HIGHWAY MURDER PLOT
Ex-wife sentenced in Vegas highway shooting case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Wednesday to almost 14 years in state prison for conspiring with her brother and son to kill her estranged husband for $250,000 in insurance money.
A fight broke out in the courthouse hallway between people who watched 43-year-old Amy Bessey deny again Wednesday that she had any part in the November 2012 wounding of Robert Bessey as he drove on Interstate 15.
A court spokeswoman says two women were given misdemeanor summonses, but no injuries were reported.
A jury in November found Amy Bessey guilty of all seven felony charges against her, including conspiracy and attempted murder.
Amy Bessey's ex-convict brother, Richard Pearson, and her son, Michael Bessey, have since pleaded guilty to conspiracy and attempted murder charges. They're scheduled for sentencing April 30.
POLICE SHOOTOUT-MESQUITE
Man in Nevada police shooting gets 12 to 30 months
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 41-year-old ex-convict from Utah could be eligible for parole almost immediately after he was sentenced to 12 to 30 months in prison in a shooting that left him and a Mesquite police officer wounded almost a year ago.
Daniel Wesley Runyon's public defender, Melissa Navarro, told a judge on Wednesday that Runyon shot himself in the head before he was also shot by police during a traffic stop last March 21.
Navarro says she can't account for a gunshot that wounded Mesquite police Officer Craig Empey.
Runyon also spells his last name Runyan.
He pleaded guilty in November to being an ex-convict in possession of a firearm.
His plea deal avoided trial on multiple charges including attempted murder, assault with a weapon and drug transport and trafficking.
I-80 FATAL
NHP: speed, alcohol, contributed to fatal crash
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada Highway Patrol says speed and alcohol were contributing factors in the death of a man who crashed his pickup on Interstate 80.
The victim was identified Wednesday as 63-year-old Michael A. Lomax of Tacoma, Washington.
Authorities say dispatchers received multiple calls from motorists reporting a reckless driver Monday night on I-80 between Sparks and Fernley.
A trooper in the Fernley area headed west to try to intercept the vehicle that was clocked traveling at 90 mph.
The patrol says as the officer was preparing to make a U-turn to stop the east bound pickup when the driver crashed into the median and then overcorrected, sending the truck into a roll.
Lomax was ejected and died several hours later.
He wasn't wearing a seat belt.
MISSING WOMAN-DEATH PROBE
Dead Nevada man lied about missing wife's death
(Information in the following story is from: KRNV-TV, http://www.mynews4.com)
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Washoe County detectives investigating the suspicious disappearance of a 56-year-old Spanish Springs woman say her husband made up a false story about her supposed death in California before he committed suicide earlier this week.
Sheriff's spokesman Bob Harmon says 51-year-old Gerald Muhl had been cooperating in the search for Colleen Muhl before he was found dead Monday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a few blocks from their home.
However, Lt. Tom Green says investigators determined over the weekend he had lied about her dying while they were in California weeks before. She last was seen on Feb. 17 and was declared a missing person on Sunday.
Green says family and friends had become concerned because she has failed to return their calls. Detectives say they now suspect foul play.
DOG SLAYING-VEGAS
Vegas man takes plea deal in dog slaying case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 22-year-old Las Vegas man has taken a plea deal in a bid for probation in a case alleging he slashed the throat of the family dog for the thrill of the kill.
Jeremy Espiritu pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to kill an animal — a charge that can result in a felony or misdemeanor conviction.
Espiritu could get probation or up to four years in prison at sentencing May 6 before Clark County District Court Judge Jerome Tao.
Authorities say Espiritu admitted stabbing and slitting the throat of the black Labrador mixed breed named Serenity at his parents' home on Dec. 5.
The dog died at an animal hospital.
Espiritu underwent a court-ordered psychological evaluation and was found to be fit for trial before he agreed to plead guilty.
SUPER BOWL BETTING-SUIT
Gambler sues, says he lost $500,000 playing drunk
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada gamblers lost nearly $20 million on Super Bowl bets last month. But one man, who was playing table games while others were focused on the football championship, is trying to get back $500,000 he lost at a Las Vegas casino that weekend.
Southern California retiree Mark Johnston is suing the Downtown Grand for loaning him money and allowing him to play while he was blackout drunk.
Nevada law bars casinos from allowing visibly drunk patrons to gamble and from serving them comped drinks.
Johnston's attorney Sean Lyttle says the Grand, which opened late last year, is countersuing Johnston for trying to shirk his gambling debts. The Grand did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The state Gaming Control Board is investigating.
TV- SKATING SPECIALS
ABC to air 4 figure-skating specials
LOS ANGELES (AP) — ABC says it will air figure-skating specials with Sochi Olympic gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White among the performers.
The network said Wednesday that veteran Olympian Brian Boitano also will skate in the series of four specials hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi and Michael Weiss.
Two of the programs will air in fall 2014, with the second set to air in early 2015. They will be taped in various locations including Penn State's ice arena and at a Las Vegas resort.
Ice dancing pair Davis and White recently were announced as contestants on the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars," another ABC program.
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