McCarran International Airport has taken one of the east-west runways (the runway closest to Sunset Road, labeled Runway 07R-25L) at McCarran International Airport (LAS) out of service for the next six months.
The Clark County Department of Aviation is repaving the surface of Runway 07R-25L (at a cost of $75 million), and this must be done during the cooler months. The east-west runways (the longer of the four runways at LAS) must be operational during the hot summer months or delays would likely become unmanageable.
Runway 07R-25L is primarily an arrival runway for all large air carrier aircraft. In order to keep delays to a minimum due to the loss of this runway, the Las Vegas Air Traffic Control Tower, manned by the Federal Aviation Administration, is utilizing different runway configurations to accommodate traffic demands.
Over the next six months, more aircraft will be departing to the north and east, and landing from the south, while Runway 07R-25L is out of service. This is a temporary change caused by runway construction activities. A similar impact occurred from May 2005 through September 2006 when the Clark County Department of Aviation repaved Runway 01R-19L (the north-south runway closest to the Terminal). During those 17 months, the FAA had to utilize the two east-west runways much more frequently than normal to accommodate traffic demands while the one north-south runway was out of service.
Additionally, this is the time of year when the Las Vegas Valley tends to get winds from the north. (A main reason for cooler temperatures.) Even without the Runway 07R-25L rehabilitation project, LAS has historically departed to the north more frequently during the winter months.
For further information, please call the Clark County Department of Aviation's Noise Office, at 261-5600.
Naturalists Push Petition to Preserve Tule Springs
Courtesy of Tule Springs Ice Age Park, Copyright 2007
The Tule Springs Wash, also known as the Upper Las Vegas Wash, is a World renowned mammoth fossil site in the Northern part of the Las Vegas Valley. These 13,000 acres are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The 1962 "Big Dig," documented by National Geographic, put Tule Springs in the spotlight as the first U.S. test area of the then new technology of radiocarbon dating. The significant four month study cataloged thousands of Ice Age mammal fossils including Columbian Mammoth, Ground Sloth, American Lion, Camelops, Bison and ancient species of Horse.
As the Las Vegas Valley grew, the 13,000 acres of the Wash and surrounding land became threatened by residential development, illegal dumping and unauthorized vehicle traffic. More studies were ordered by the BLM to determine suitable boundaries to protect the fossil sites and endangered plants such as the Las Vegas buckwheat, Merriam’s bearpoppy and the Las Vegas bearpoppy. Over 400 surface fossil sites were documented along the entire length of the acreage in 2004, as well as 9,800 fossils removed to install 36 Nevada Power towers.
Today, the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are lobbying for the BLM to sell off this land for development. The Protectors of Tule Springs and many other conservation groups see the opportunity to save these 13,000 acres for for future generations.
The group is circulating a petition that will urge the BLM, federal, state, county and local representatives to protect the Upper Las Vegas Wash and associated land (13,000+ acres) and designate it as part of a National Conservation Area managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
To sign the petition, click here.
Las Vegas Justice Court Offers Amnesty for Unpaid Traffic Tickets
Individuals who have unpaid traffic tickets in the Las Vegas Township Justice Court will be offered amnesty until February 6, 2009 to pay an outstanding obligation.
"We are offering amnesty to anyone who wants to come in and clear up an outstanding ticket or warrant with no additional penalties," said Chief Judge Douglas E. Smith. "Once amnesty is over, you risk additional fines, a mark on your credit report, or even arrest if you fail to take advantage of it. Amnesty is your best opportunity to take care of a longstanding obligation with the court."
Amnesty for unpaid traffic obligations will remain in effect until February 6, 2009. Starting February 9, 2009 the court will begin enforcing warrants for all unpaid traffic tickets in the Las Vegas Justice Court. Individuals with outstanding warrants risk arrest for failure to pay an outstanding traffic obligation. The warrants will be enforced by local law enforcement.
"We are pleased to work as a partner of the court and will actively enforce warrants for unpaid tickets once this amnesty ends," said Las Vegas Township Constable Robert (Bobby G.) Gronauer.
Individuals with outstanding traffic obligations with the Las Vegas Township Justice Court are encouraged to resolve them by calling the court’s automated phone system at (702) 671-3444 or (877) 455-1289, visiting the court’s payment website, found in English: www.clarkcountycourts.us/paythefine and in Spanish: www.clarkcountycourts.us/pagarlamulta, or by coming in person to the Traffic Division Office on the First Floor of the Regional Justice Center at 200 Lewis Avenue.
Protecting Elders from Neglect
Courtesy of the State of Nevada, Division for Aging Service
Neglect of an elder is just one type of abuse that should be reported to the authorities immediately.
Neglect means a failure of a person who has assumed legal responsibility or a contractual obligation for caring for an older person. Neglect can also be by who has voluntarily assumed responsibility for the elderly person's care, to provide food, shelter, clothing or services which are necessary to maintain the physical or mental health of the older person; or the failure of an older person to provide for his own needs because of the inability to do so.
The State of Nevada provides protective services for persons 60 and older who may experience abuse, neglect, exploitation, or isolation.
Any person may report an incident of abuse if they have reasonable cause to believe that an elderly person has been abused, neglected, exploited, or isolated. All information received as a result of a report is maintained as confidential.
Reports must be made to the local office of the Division for Aging Services during normal business hours, any police department or sheriff's office or Clark County Protective Services.
If an older person is in immediate danger, the local police, sheriff's office or emergency medical service should be contacted.
If the older person is not in immediate danger, the report should be made to one of the designated offices. After normal business hours, the reporter should contact local law enforcement, or the Crisis Call Center at 1-800-992-5757.
Looking for something to do? Click here for a list of events going on in Clark County parks this week.
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