Halverson returns to bench after ban lifted

On the Regional Justice Center’s 11th floor, fledgling District Judge Elizabeth Halverson returned to the bench after an eight-day ban on her presence was lifted by Nevada Supreme Court justices.

"I’m happy to be here," Halverson said. "I’m happy to do what I was elected to do."

Up on the 16th floor, Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle presided over a group of 15 attorneys arguing about a peremptory challenge of the judge assigned to their civil case. She didn’t comment on the return of Halverson, who was barred from the county courthouse by Hardcastle’s order.

The workplace conflict between the black robes erupted May 10, after Hardcastle determined that Halverson had risked courthouse security by allowing two bodyguards to bypass security checkpoints. Halverson had retained personal security after her bailiff, Johnny Jordan, was reassigned in April.

Halverson’s brief tenure has unfolded in controversy, including the loss of her entire first set of staff members. In April, Hardcastle restricted Halverson to hearing civil cases, after a recommendation from a panel of three veteran judges who wanted Halverson to have more time to learn rules and procedures.

Halverson is challenging those mandates.

In the meantime, Clark County’s legal business will be conducted in an environment charged by the judicial feud. As bailiffs ushered the public through the Regional Justice Center’s metal detectors Friday morning, one man asked the bailiffs how things were going.

"Just another day in Camp Run-amok," one bailiff said.

 

MONDAY

Gibbons vetoes bill blocking tax breaks

Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed a bill that would have suspended tax breaks for energy-efficient building projects, but he gave the Legislature an opportunity to revise the array of benefits for green construction by issuing an executive order that accomplishes the same objective.

The order, suspending the sales and property tax breaks for all but four projects already approved for the tax benefits, expires June 4, the last day of the legislative session.

Gibbons said the order will give the Legislature time to have hearings on the tax breaks and how they could affect future sales and property tax revenues for schools and local governments.

 

TUESDAY

Israeli group buys the New Frontier

An Israeli-owned real estate investment group bought the New Frontier and its 36 Strip acres for more than $1.2 billion, the casino’s current owner, Phil Ruffin, confirmed.

Elad Group signed the purchase agreement last week for the hotel-casino site, Ruffin said.

Ruffin, a Wichita, Kan., businessman who paid $167 million for the New Frontier in 1998, said a $100 million deposit on the deal arrived Monday.

"We’re under contract, and that means we’re doing the deal," Ruffin said.

WEDNESDAY

Decline continues in housing market

Home Builders Research reported another dismal month for housing in Las Vegas, with new and existing home sales falling by double-digit percentages in April.

Home building analyst Dennis Smith said he counted 1,568 recorded new home sales in April, a 40.7 percent decline from the same month a year ago. Existing home sales fell 36.6 percent to 2,353, the second-lowest monthly total in the past six years.

"This correction or slump or slide or dip or whatever you want to call it is deeper and longer than most expected," Smith said.

 

THURSDAY

Foothill teachers under investigation

Three teachers at Foothill High School are being investigated for sexual misconduct with students, sources close to the investigation said.

"There’s been sexual misconduct. The allegations involve students," said a source who asked not to be named. "The investigations started sometime this month."

Three officials who have knowledge of the situation but asked to remain anonymous confirmed that the Clark County School District investigations involve three teachers and three students at the Henderson school. The sources said the incidents involving the three teachers are not related, and some of the acts are alleged to have taken place weeks ago.

 

FRIDAY

Guilty plea entered in Spilotro hits

The star witness in the government’s case against a dozen Chicago mob figures pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy that included 18 murders, including hits on Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro, long known as the Chicago mob’s man in Las Vegas, and Spilotro’s brother, Michael Spilotro, in 1986, The Associated Press reported.

Nicholas Calabrese admitted that he took part in planning or carrying out 14 of the murders, including the Spilotro killings. The investigation was aimed at clearing up old, unsolved gangland killings and bringing down Chicago’s organized crime family.

The Spilotros were beaten to death and buried in an Indiana cornfield.

COMPILED BY MICHAEL SQUIRES READ THE FULL STORIES ONLINE AT www.reviewjournal.com/wir