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MEDICAL MARIJUANA-VEGAS
Vegas eyes another 6-month ban on pot dispensaries
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas City Council is considering extending a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries that is set to expire later this month.
A proposal introduced Wednesday would put a six-month ban on the businesses. It's up for debate and a possible vote on March 19.
The city's current six-month moratorium expires March 17.
Nevada voters approved medical marijuana in 2000, but that law provided no legal way for patients to obtain the drug except to grow it themselves.
Lawmakers passed a law in 2013 that sets up a framework for distributing medical marijuana, although it allows cities and counties to impose moratoriums.
HEALTH OVERHAUL-NEVADA
Nevada exchange recommends Deloitte contract
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The board overseeing Nevada's health insurance exchange is recommending another contractor be retained to assess the state's problem-plagued online market system.
The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange board of directors on Thursday endorsed Deloitte Consulting to evaluate the system set up Xerox. A proposed contract authorizing up to $1.5 million requires approval by the state Board of Examiners.
Deloitte is already part of Nevada's effort to set up its own health exchange under the Affordable Care Act. It developed the state system to determine Medicaid eligibility and verify income and Social Security information through federal data hubs.
Xerox was awarded a $75 million contract to develop Nevada's online web portal and call center. But the operation has been riddled with problems including lost payments and computer errors.
VALLEY OF FIRE DEATH
Man dies in Valley of Fire State Park
OVERTON, Nev. (AP) — Police say they're investigating after a man died in Valley of Fire State Park.
Officer Larry Hadfield says rescuers were called to the park about 11:30 a.m. Thursday and found the man trapped between a vehicle and a rock. He was pronounced dead.
The man's identity and circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately released.
INMATE DEATH-VEGAS
Officers cleared in fatal jail struggle in Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The district attorney in Las Vegas says four veteran jail officers won't face criminal charges in a fatal struggle with an inmate in a Clark County Detention Center more than a year ago.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson says 38-year-old prisoner Luis Solano created a potentially dangerous disruption by resisting officers in a common area of a jail psychiatric unit, and the officers didn't use excessive force while restraining him.
The release of Wolfson's 50-page report detailing interviews with inmates, jail officers, supervisors and medical staff followed a Feb. 6 public airing of evidence that included security video of Sgt. David Aspiazu and officers Bradley Temple, Patrick Gray and Eugene Dixon struggling to handcuff Solano.
Witnesses told investigators the confrontation began when Solano failed to follow guards' commands to stop knocking on a control room window asking for water.
Six of 14 inmates who reported witnessing the three-minute struggle said they heard Solano declaring that he couldn't breathe before he became unconscious on the floor. Several reported hearing officers tell Solano to stop resisting.
Solano died nine days later at a hospital. The Clark County coroner ruled he died of complications of suffocation due to police restraint procedures, and noted renal failure and an enlarged heart.
JEWELRY STORE ROBBERY-SCOOTER
Large man on little moped sought in jewelry heist
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Police in Henderson say they're looking for a large man who used a little moped to get away after a jewelry store heist a week ago.
Henderson police spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said Thursday that no weapons were used and no one was hurt in the Feb. 27 robbery at a store near Sunset Road and Stephanie Street.
Police released a security camera image of the man sitting in chair in the store.
He's described as being about 300 pounds, with a mustache and black-framed eyeglasses.
He's wearing a blue baseball cap, dark shirt and blue jeans.
Richards isn't saying what he took.
NEVADA MARINA-DEAD FISH
Restocking eyed at Sparks Marina where fish died
(Information in the following story is from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com)
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Department of Wildlife officials still have hope this spring of restocking trout in the Sparks Marina where an estimated 100,000 fish were killed due to a sudden drop in oxygen levels.
Officials say if the levels of dissolved oxygen continue to improve at the current rate, they could restock the urban lake next month.
The latest samples the city took at seven locations on Feb. 27 showed healthy oxygen levels ranging from depths of 2 feet to 50 feet.
Sparks City engineer John Martini says the results suggest that the 77-acre, man-made lake along U.S. Interstate 80 likely can again support the fish that made it such a popular fishing spot before the December die-off apparently spurred by unusually cold weather.
NDOW spokesman Chris Healy says they could begin restocking about 26,000 rainbow trout as soon as the first week of April.
NASCAR-MENARD-STANDBY DRIVER
Crafton on standby for Paul Menard
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Truck Series champion Matt Crafton will be on standby at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for Paul Menard as the driver awaits the birth of his first child.
Jennifer Menard was in North Carolina while Menard made the trip to Las Vegas for Sunday's race.
Crafton will be on standby for all practice sessions and the race. Crafton won the Truck Series championship last season, and although he has 317 career starts over 15 years, he has never raced in the Sprint Cup Series. NASCAR wanted to observe Crafton in the No. 27 Chevrolet on Thursday to approve him as the standby driver.
Crafton and Menard have been close friends since 2001, and he says he's honored Menard has the confidence in him to step in if needed.
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