A Clark County, Nevada, representative touted the role of McCarran International Airport as a technology innovator on Monday. The airport owns and operates all 20,000 pieces of hardware on site, which includes computers, signs, boarding passes and boarding gate scanners. The airport is used to test new technologies like bag tags that emit electromagnetic waves for tracking.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board approved a series of recommendations Tuesday to curb employee misuse of airline gift cards. An audit in April found that CEO Rossi Ralenkotter used $17,152 in airline cards for personal travel for himself and his family. The Las Vegas Review-Journal had requested employee gift and travel records months before the gift card disclosure in 2017, but the authority did not provide any records of the airline cards. It maintains there was no process in place at the time to track the use of the cards. Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly used $699 in airline cards for a trip with his daughter. Bill Noonan, a senior vice president at Boyd Gaming, who ordered the review of policies: “We’re not done. There could easily be more.” The recommendations approved Tuesday included storing the cards under lock and key and requiring written approval of any gift card requests and recording receipts.
Benjamin Sparks entered a not guilty plea Tuesday Sparks, a Las Vegas political advisor, is accused of domestic battery. Lawyer Gloria Allred is representing the victim. His ex-fiancee told the RJ that Sparks sexually enslaved and beat her. He is believed to be in Texas. Allred warned Sparks: “You can run but you can’t hide.” The woman provided copies of emails, text messages and a signed contract laying out her duties as a “slave in training” to Benjamin Sparks. A police report shows that Sparks evaded police after the domestic dispute at the woman’s home on March 29. According to the emails, documents and text messages obtained, Sparks and his ex-fiancée signed a 5-page contract saying she would be his “slave and property.” Under the contract, the woman was forced to kneel and look down when she entered his presence. She was also required to be nude at all times, have sexual relations with him whenever he wanted and wear a collar in private. Sparks most recently worked on Rep. Cresent Hardy’s campaign, and has since been fired.
All 30 teams will compete in this year’s Las Vegas NBA Summer League. The annual event has become a big hit with fans. The Lakers’ Lonzo Ball was last year’s top player. Jayson Tatum of the Celtics was one of last year’s standouts. The 76ers’ Markelle Fultz was the No. 1 overall draft pick.
As part of a panel of experts, Bruce Ford of Boston-area hotel services firm Lodging Econometrics spoke of fast-growing communities for hospitality. Southern California and Nashville have seen impressive construction for a variety of room types, he told a crowd at the Hospitality Design Expo and Conference. The expo brought about 17,500 people to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Kylie and Leah Becker have sparked Foothill’s run to the postseason. Kylie, a senior, is one of the top shortstops in the region, and Foothill’s leadoff hitter. Leah, a sophomore, is the No. 3 hitter and the Falcons’ ace in the circle. Kylie is committed to play softball at Montana, where Leah begins her recruitment cycle next year. The postseason begins Tuesday when Foothill hosts Green Valley at 4 p.m.
Queen with Adam Lambert has announced 10 shows on the Strip this fall. Crown Jewels runs from Sept. 1-Sept. 22 at The Park Theater. Queen and Lambert will play such hits as “We Are the Champions” and “Another One Bites the Dust.” Lambert says of Crown Jewels, “You’ll be humming them all night.” The show is three months before Lady Gaga opens at Park Theater in December.
Photo by Andrea Cornejo Photo by Erik Verduzco Photo by K.M. Cannon Photo by Andrea Cornejo Photo by Richard Brian Photo by Andrea Cornejo Photo by Chase Stevens Photo by Patrick Connolly Photo by Benjamin Hager Photo by Andrea Cornejo
Jared Smith is ready for the Class 3A Southern Region golf tournament. The Western junior has won all but two Sunset League matches this season, and has finished no worse than third. He made an adjustment this summer, fixing his posture and shaving seven strokes off his game. He finished sixth last year, and eyes medalist honors this time around. The tournament begins Monday in Boulder City, and finishes on Tuesday.
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ to Cross $1 Billion Mark And it will have done so faster than any other film in history. The Anthony and Joe Russo directed film has only been in theaters for eight days since its Apr. 27 release, and it’s already raked in $905.1 million at the worldwide box office, including $338.4 million in North America. It will reach the milestone faster than ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ which took 12 days to cross over the $1 billion threshold. ‘Infinity War’ is the 34th film to cross $1 billion at the global box office, not accounting for inflation.
Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Erupts Causing Mass Evacuations The volcano erupted late Thursday night, causing over 1,500 people to flee from Leilani Estates, a community of Hawaii’s Big Island. The governor of Hawaii, David Ige, issued a mandatory evacuation and called in the National Guard. It sounded like if you were to put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turn it on as high as you could. You could just smell sulfur and burning trees and underbrush and stuff. Officials are unsure how long the eruption will continue.
Changes have been made to UNLV’s athletics compliance office. Eric Nepomuceno was hired to head the office. The previous compliance chief reported only to president Len Jessup. Nepomuceno also will report to athletic director Desiree Reed-Francios. He replaces former director Eric Toliver, who resigned in February.
Golden Knights fever is gripping Las Vegas as the second round of the NHL playoffs continue. Longtime observers of the local sports scene are comparing to the team’s popularity to that of the UNLV basketball team during its heyday. It has been 27 years since UNLV last played in the Final Four. Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was only 5 years old when the Rebels beat Duke to win the 1990 national championship. “You’d go to the bank, and everybody would ask how the Rebels were going to do against Oklahoma, against LSU. I think what is happening (with the Knights) is similar. The most important part is that it is uniting the community like UNLV basketball did.”
Lyft passengers now have the option of hailing a self-driving car on the Las Vegas Strip. Aptiv PLC launched a fleet of 30 autonomous vehicles on Thursday. The multiyear agreement between Lyft and Aptiv provides highly trained drivers in the cars. Glen De Vos, Aptiv chief technology officer
The USL suspended Lights FC technical director Jose Luis Sanchez Sola seven games. Sola made contact with an official after last Friday’s 3-1 loss to San Antonio FC. My finger did make contact one time with the referee, for which I want to apologize many times. But my action and my only intention was to point to him. Without intention, and with one finger, you can’t hurt anyone. I made a mistake in touching the referee with my finger. It will not happen again. Sola will be eligible to return to the sidelines on June 16 as of now. The Lights are appealing his suspension. Obviously, no one should ever touch a referee. And obviously, we don’t condone the behavior. However, there are clear differences between a poke and something more serious. I have personally spoken with multiple eyewitnesses, all of whom corroborate (Sola’s) version of the events. We look forward to the appeal process and will respect the decision of the Independent Discipline Panel once it is rendered. Again, the incident never should have happened, and (Sola) was the first person to say so afterwards.
Legislation to allow the Department of Energy to resume its license application process to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain could see a House vote as early as next week . A bill approved last year by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to jump-start the licensing process is being reviewed and the legislation could move to the floor next week. The legislation would streamline the process to open Yucca Mountain to store nuclear waste and address the stockpile of spent fuel being stored at power plants across the country. “We owe it to the 121 communities across 39 states, as well as to every American taxpayer forced to shoulder the daily $2.2 million burden of inaction, to get this done,” said Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., in a joint statement.
A crash early Friday morning has left a motorcyclist hospitalized with a serious head injury, according to Las Vegas police. The crash occurred in the southwest valley at Durango Drive and the 215 Beltway, and was reported around 1:30 a.m. Police are investigating and one lane of the eastbound 215 offramp has been shut down.
Las Vegas police are looking for the suspect who stabbed a woman in the stomach during a street robbery Friday morning in the central valley. The 37-year-old woman walked into the 7-Eleven at 531 E. Sahara Ave., around 1:30 a.m. with a wound to her abdomen, according to police. She was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive her wound. The stabber remains at-large.
Durango’s softball team earned a 12-6 road win over Desert Oasis on Thursday
to lock up second place in the Southwest League. Kaitlin Fazenden hit a two-run homer in the third inning
to get the Trailblazers on the board. Winning pitcher Trinity Valentine hit a two-run single in the fourth to give Durango the lead for good. Valentine and Alexis Geraldo each drove in three runs for Durango, which had 13 hits. The Trailblazers took two of three games from the Diamondbacks, and will be the league’s No. 2 seed in the upcoming Sunset Region tournament.
President Trump Acknowledges Stormy Daniels Payment,
Denies Affair Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to acknowledge the payment of $130,000 that was made to Daniels. The president’s comments come after his attorney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, confirmed that Trump has since repaid the money to Cohen, his personal attorney. Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006, is currently suing him for defamation.
Trump Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize Eighteen House members sent a letter to the Nobel Committee in Norway, recommending President Donald Trump for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. The letter was signed by Rep. Luke Messer and other GOP members, according to the New York Post. Letter to Nobel Committee This week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Trump deserved the nomination, as well, for his efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons. Trump is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un soon.
Las Vegas beat Silverado 6-4 on Wednesday, but it was far from easy. The Wildcats took a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Silverado fought back. The Skyhawks scored four in the frame, and loaded the bases before Las Vegas escaped. Las Vegas induced a double play in the seventh to take home the win in the regular season finale. Kevin Verduzco led the way by scoring three of the Wildcats’ runs. Las Vegas improved to 16-3 (9-11 Sunrise League). Silverado dropped to 11-17-1, 8-12.
The Lights FC was without its coach and technical director Monday. Both were suspended for their actions after Friday’s 3-1 loss to San Antonio FC. Any additional punishment will be announced later this week. In their absence, the team knows everyone else needs to step up. Myself, also (captain) Joel (Huiqui) and all the people on the field we had to gel because (technical director Jose Luis Sanchez Sola) was not there to scream at everyone
Las Vegas’ Spencer Gallagher was suspended by NASCAR Wednesday for violating its substance abuse problem. It happened three days after Gallagher posted his first Xfinity Series victory, at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The 28-year-old Las Vegan has agreed to participate in NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program. If he is cleared to race in 2018, he will not receive a waiver to compete in the Xfinity playoffs, despite winning last weekend. I would like to say that I am sorry to all of the GMS organization for my actions, especially my team and team owner (father Maury Gallagher), who have worked so hard this year and have put faith in me. I also want to apologize to NASCAR, Chevrolet and my fans for letting them down. I have not upheld the behavior that is expected of me.
Centennial point guard Taylor Bigby is one of the best freshmen in the country. She already has offers from four Division-I schools, including UNLV, Utah and Colorado. Bigby plays AAU basketball for Cal Sparks on Nike’s EYBL. She’s 6-feet tall, and is a gifted passer and shooter.
Mount Charleston saw a rare may snowfall on Tuesday, as lightning flashed and thunderstorms pelted parts of the Las Vegas Valley.
An early Tuesday morning rollover accident in North Las Vegas left a 48-year-old man dead. A Chevrolet pickup was heading west on the 215 Beltway when it left the highway and crashed near Losee Road. A Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman said weather might have played a role in the crash. The driver, who was the only person in the truck, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected.
Garrett Giles’ bases-loaded walk powered Basic to a 2-1 home win over Rancho in nine innings. Basic scored in the second, Rancho scored in the fourth, and it remained tied until the ninth. Nick Thompson started for the Wolves and pitched 6 1/3 strong innings. Rancho starter Layton Walls went 6 2/3, and neither factored into the decision. Basic improved to 25-5 (15-4 Sunrise League), one game behind first-place Rancho (24-5, 16-3).
The NRA announced on Monday that as a result of Vice President Mike Pence’s attendance at their annual convention, guns will not be allowed. NRA It was later announced that President Trump would also be in attendance. When Pence and Trump are not in attendance, guns will be allowed at the convention again.
On Monday, Stormy Daniels filed a defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump in federal court in New York. The complaint stems from one of Trump’s tweets. According to Time, the court filing claims the tweet was “false and defamatory.”
