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CARLOS MOLINA ARRESTED
Jailed boxer Carlos Molina still in Las Vegas jail
LAS VEGAS (AP) — An attorney for boxer Carlos Molina has told a judge in Las Vegas that attorneys hope to get a Wisconsin warrant withdrawn and then get immigration proceedings resolved so Molina can be freed from jail.
Molina is jailed in Las Vegas following his arrest March 4 on a January 2007 warrant issued in Wisconsin accusing him of failing to register as a sex offender. The judge on Tuesday scheduled another status check Thursday about Molina's case.
Molina missed a March 8 fight to defend his IBF light middleweight title against Jermall Charlo in Las Vegas. The 30-year-old Molina was born in Mexico, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in California say he was deported in 2006.
ICE has said that if he's freed from jail, he'll face additional immigration proceedings.
CHILD KILLED BY SUV-SPARKS
5-year-old dies after running across Sparks street
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Sparks police say a 5-year-old boy was hit and killed by an SUV after he and another child ran across the street.
Authorities say they responded to Baring Boulevard a little before 8 p.m. Monday and found the boy lying in the roadway unconscious.
The child was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, where he succumbed to his injuries. His name hasn't yet been released.
Investigators say it appears the boy and another child were running across the road when the SUV hit him. The driver has been cooperating with the investigation, and police say it doesn't appear alcohol was involved in the accident.
HOMICIDE-VEGAS WETLANDS PARK
Man arrested in death at Clark Co. Wetlands Park
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say they've arrested a 27-year-old man accused of killing another man at the Clark County Wetlands Park a week ago.
Authorities say they arrested Robert Williams in connection with the death of 32-year-old Chester Cullen.
Coroner's officials say Cullen died of multiple gunshot wounds and was found in the park the afternoon of April 1.
Police say it appears Williams burglarized a home and stole a gun, then shot Cullen with it when they encountered each other in the park.
Williams was arrested April 2 after a separate burglary and standoff with police.
Detectives say they later determined the same gun was used in both incidents.
The nature preserve is located on the eastern side of the Las Vegas valley and features a visitors' center and walking paths.
GEORGE WALLACE-INJURY LAWSUIT
Jury deliberating in comic's Vegas injury lawsuit
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada jury resumed deliberating Tuesday whether comedian George Wallace should be compensated for a leg injury he said he received while performing in December 2007 at a posh Las Vegas Strip resort.
The 61-year-old stand-up comic known to many as Jerry Seinfeld's friend is seeking at least $7.1 million from the Bellagio Las Vegas hotel-casino.
The civil court jury deliberated about an hour Friday and all day Monday after two weeks of testimony in Clark County District Court.
Bellagio attorney Paul Haire says Wallace had a pre-existing Achilles injury and failed to prove the hotel and its employees were responsible.
Wallace testified that he's permanently hobbled by a sudden injury suffered when his leg became entangled in wiring onstage while entertaining an HSBC Card Services Inc. audience.
TAHOE-REGIONAL PLAN
Federal judge upholds Lake Tahoe regional plan
(Information in the following story is from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com)
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal judge has upheld a regional plan regulating development in the Lake Tahoe Basin that straddles the Nevada-California line.
U.S. District Judge John Mendez in Sacramento on Monday ruled in favor of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency regulators in a lawsuit brought by environmental groups.
Mendez said the TRPA acted properly when it approved the updated regional plan for the basin in 2012.
The Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore sued in February 2013 seeking to block implementation, arguing the plan was flawed and would pose a threat to the lake's delicate ecosystem.
But TRPA Executive Director Joanne Marchetta tells the Reno Gazette-Journal (http://on.rgj.com/1hXEyFp ) the plan will accelerate environmental restoration.
TRIBAL SOLAR ARRAY
Tribe, US officials christening $2.4M solar array
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tribal leaders and U.S. officials are marking the completion of a nearly $2.4 million solar power array at a freeway travel stop and convenience store off Interstate 15 outside Las Vegas.
A ceremony was set Tuesday at the Moapa Travel Plaza at the Valley of Fire State Park turnoff about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Moapa Band of Paiutes Tribal Council Chairwoman Aletha Tom and tribal Administrator Randall Simmons were joining United States Department of Agriculture officials John Padalino and USDA Nevada chief Sarah Adler at the event.
The project was funded by an Agriculture Department High Energy Cost Grant.
Officials say the hybrid system reduces diesel fuel use by about half, cuts carbon dioxide emissions and will save money.
VEGAS HOUSING
Median Vegas-area home price climbs to $195K
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Southern Nevada home prices were up in March, and the number of homes on the market is also on the rise.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that the median home price in March was $195,000, up from $190,000 in February. The price is up more than 21 percent from what it was a year ago.
Almost 3,100 homes were sold in March, up several hundred from February but down several hundred from a year ago.
Association chief Heidi Kasama says an increase in inventory in March is helping buyers who are looking for a home. But she says the number of sales so far this year is down 15 percent from the same time last year.
COLLEGE SAVINGS
Nevada program promotes college savings
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Open enrollment is underway for Nevada families wanting to accelerate college savings.
The Silver State Matching Grant Program provides up to $300 in matching funds each year, up to a lifetime benefit of $1,500, to eligible participants.
The 2014 enrollment period ends July 31.
State Treasurer Kate Marshall says matching grants are available to Nevada families with an adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 who have an SSgA Upromise 529 college savings account.
Matching funds come from fees Nevada receives for managing the program. No taxpayer dollars are used.
Both the account owner and the beneficiary must be Nevada residents to qualify. Additionally, the beneficiary must be 13 years old or younger when the first matching grant is approved.
CONCRETE CANOE
UNR team dominates concrete canoe competition
RENO, Nev. (AP) — University of Nevada, Reno engineering students are floating high in a concrete canoe.
UNR's 39-member team called Alluvium took home top honors last weekend at the Mid-Pacific Regional Conference hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers and California State University Fresno.
The Nevada team finished first in all four categories including racing, canoe aesthetics, design paper and oral presentation. The team now heads to the national concrete canoe competition to be held at University of Pittsburgh in June.
Engineering competitions also were held in steel bridge, transportation, water research, water treatment and geo-wall construction.
UNR's water treatment team took second place for both design paper and oral report.
MOJAVE MAX EMERGES
NV tortoise emerges from burrow in sign of spring
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A famous southern Nevada tortoise has emerged from his burrow in another sign that spring has begun.
Clark County officials say Mojave Max made his seasonal debut at 4:10 p.m. Monday at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
The tortoise goes into hibernation every winter and emerges each spring as his internal clock responds to warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours.
Schoolchildren in the area guess when Max will emerge as part of an annual contest that's been running since 2000. The winning student receives prizes including a year-long pass to national parks, a laptop computer and a digital camera.
The winner has not yet been announced.
The earliest the tortoise has emerged is Feb. 14, and the latest is April 17.
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