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CONGRESS-MOUNT REAGAN
Committee approves bill naming peak after Reagan
WASHINGTON (AP) — About the only thing former President Ronald Reagan doesn't have named after him is a mountain, not one recognized by the federal government anyway.
Now, Republican Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada is pushing a bill that would name a part of Frenchman Mountain, located just east of Las Vegas, after the nation's 40th president.
The House Natural Resources Committee approved Heck's bill by voice vote Wednesday, but not before some Democrats had fun with the issue.
One suggested that Yucca Mountain, site of a proposed nuclear waste depository, be named after Reagan. Another suggested the whole planet.
The bill is likely to pass the House but stall in the Senate. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he has higher priority land bills for Nevada, his home state.
NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTHERN NEVADA
Stomach bug going around Vegas ID'd as norovirus
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health officials say a stomach bug is going around in the Las Vegas area, and they've identified norovirus as the cause.
Southern Nevada Health District officials report Wednesday that they've seen an increase in cases of gastrointestinal illness in the past few weeks.
Tami Bruno of the epidemiology office says an investigation began March 28 when people at a conference at the Planet Hollywood started coming down sick.
But Bruno says the illness has been reported around the valley, including at private parties and in long-term care facilities.
Norovirus is a common virus that brings symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and cramps. It's contagious and can't be treated with antibiotics.
Officials say sick people should stay home from work or school until at least three days after their symptoms have ended.
RANGE SHOWDOWN
Nevada governor weighs in on BLM-rancher dispute
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada's governor is criticizing a federal cattle roundup and what he calls "intimidation" in a dispute with a rancher who claims longstanding grazing rights on open range outside Las Vegas.
Federal Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service officials didn't immediately respond Wednesday to Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's call for the BLM to "reconsider its approach."
Sandoval says he's most offended that federal officials have tried to corral people protesting the roundup into a "First Amendment area."
Federal officials say 277 cows have been rounded up since Saturday from a 1,200-square-mile area that it has closed to the public for the operation about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
The BLM says Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy has allowed his cattle to trespass and graze for decades in the area.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Washoe County OKs medical pot zoning regulations
(Information in the following story is from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com)
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Washoe County commissioners have approved rules governing where medical marijuana facilities will be allowed within unincorporated areas of the county.
Under the ordinances approved Tuesday, dispensaries will be allowed to operate in strip malls, mixed-use and areas zoned for commercial use.
Grow houses would only be allowed in industrial areas, shopping centers or strip malls. Grow houses must be enclosed buildings where none of the marijuana odor can be detectable from the outside.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports commissioners also limited dispensary hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The commission still must decide how to charge for a medical marijuana business license.
BLOODY HOME SLAYINGS
Trial reset to 2015 in Vegas hammer deaths of 2012
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Trial has been reset to June 2015 for a 23-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting and killing a Las Vegas mother and daughter, and nearly killing their husband and father in a bloody hammer attack.
Court records show that Bryan Devonte Clay Jr.'s defense attorney, Tony Sgro, and prosecutor Pamela Weckerly sought more time to prepare, and Clark County District Court Judge Jessie Walsh granted the delay.
Clay's death penalty trial had been due to begin this month.
He's accused of attacking and killing Ignacia "Yadira" Martinez and 10-year-old Karla Martinez in April 2012, and leaving Arturo Martinez with a severe head injury.
Martinez's two sons, ages 9 and 4, were spared in the attack.
Authorities say Clay told detectives he was under the influence and didn't remember anything.
GIRL HOSPITALIZED-SCHOOL FIGHT
Girl hospitalized after fight had medical episode
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say a girl who's in the hospital after a fight at a Las Vegas middle school suffered a medical episode during the altercation, and it's unclear whether the fight itself was the cause.
Clark County School District police say the scuffle at Mike O'Callaghan Middle School on April 2 involved two girls who had a strained relationship on and off campus.
They say it wasn't a case of bullying.
Officials say the 13-year-old girl was taken to University Medical Center and remains under doctor's care, although her identity and details about her condition haven't been released.
School police Capt. Ken Young said Tuesday that both girls are suspended from school and could be expelled or face criminal charges.
ASSEMBLYMAN CHALLENGE-NEVADA
DA rejects Hatch Act complaint against assemblyman
(Information in the following story is from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors in Las Vegas have rejected a complaint alleging that Nevada state Assemblyman Tyrone Thompson violated a ban on federal workers engaging in partisan politics.
Clark County Counsel Mary-Anne Miller says in a letter dated Wednesday that the Hatch Act can't be used to challenge a person's ability to run for office, but could affect a candidate's job if he or she wins the election.
Thompson is a Democrat from North Las Vegas who was appointed by the Clark County Commission to complete the term of expelled former Assemblyman Steven Brooks.
Thompson works for the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition.
The Hatch Act complaint was made by the son of Patricia "Pat" Little, the Independent American Party candidate running against Thompson in the 2014 election for Assembly District 17.
WIRELESS SCHOOLS
Washoe trustees OK wireless school upgrades
(Information in the following story is from: KOLO-TV, http://www.kolotv.com)
RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Washoe County School Board has approved $12 million to install wireless Internet systems in all schools in the district.
KOLO-TV reports the money approved Tuesday comes from $73 million remaining in capital reserves from a 2002 rollover bond.
School district officials say technology is more important than ever in education, and the need for connectivity in classrooms is a big concern for teachers and administrators.
School officials says they are not ignoring the maintenance needs of the county's schools, but are trying to balance repairs with using the money the way the voters approved.
The bond expires in 2017 and it will take at least two years to install WiFi in every school. Currently only eight of the 93 schools in the district are equipped with Wi-Fi technology.
SLS LAS VEGAS HOTEL
SLS Las Vegas taking reservations for Aug. opening
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Owners of SLS Las Vegas say they're now taking online reservations for the new hotel opening up on the north end of the Strip.
The hotel's president says guests can reserve rooms for Aug. 25 and later. Labor Day weekend is the official grand opening for the SLS, which is opening at the site of the shuttered Sahara casino.
Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment began construction last winter after securing the $400 million needed for the project.
Managers closed the 59-year-old Sahara, which once hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, in May 2011, saying it wasn't economically viable.
SBE says the new resort will bring celebrity chefs, nightlife and 1,600 guestrooms and suites to the Strip's older and less glitzy north end, which includes the famed Stratosphere.
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