After eight years off, Garth Brooks has announced he is unretiring to play quarterback for the Oakland Raiders again.
Oh, that was Aaron Brooks. Sorry. Garth Brooks is unretiring to add to his trail of country music hits.
"We're going to take the retirement roof off over our head, and I already feel taller," Brooks, 47, said in a press conference Thursday at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.
Brooks announced an extended engagement at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas starting Dec. 11, but says he has no plans to tour.
He retired in 2001 to spend more time with his three daughters, the youngest of which is now 13. He married fellow country singer Trisha Yearwood in 2005.
YES, MY FRIENDS, SHE HAS BREASTS: Meghan McCain was trying to joke on Twitter about how she was "getting old" because she was spending the evening with an Andy Warhol biography.
But the photo she accompanied the Tweet with Wednesday revealed cleavage up to her clavicle, and the Republican columnist's followers acted as if she had said something nice about MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.
McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., then ran the gamut from threatening a Miley Cyrus Twitter abandonment to apologizing — and presumably swathing herself in her rattiest bathrobe.
"So I took a fun picture not thinking anything about what I was wearing, but apparently anything other than a pantsuit, I am a slut," she Twittered, per the New York Daily News. She had on a spaghetti-strap tank top that seemed to compress her breasts as close to her throat as possible.
Next: "I have been considering deleting my twitter account, what once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment." She promised to sleep on it.
Finally, contrition: "I do want to apologize to anyone that was offended by my twitpic," McCain wrote Wednesday. "I have clearly made a huge mistake."
SWIFT REVENGE: Guess who's hosting "Saturday Night Live" Nov. 7? Taylor Swift, whose best female video win two months ago at the MTV Video Music Awards was MUCH to the chagrin of Kanye West.
The rapper might as well prepare himself for another heaping serving of crow.
"I've been thinking about skit ideas for a long time," country star Swift, 19, says. "There are definitely some hilarious things that have happened to me over the past couple of months that I think will be pretty substantial skits."
Mum's the word, alas, but she hopes to collaborate with cast member Andy Samberg on a digital short music video.
REPORT — COCAINE DIDN'T KILL BILLY MAYS: An independent medical examiner's evaluation on television pitchman Billy Mays' autopsy refutes that cocaine contributed to his sudden death in June.
"Chronic cocaine use was not demonstrated by the autopsy findings of Mr. William Mays," reads the report by Dr. William L. Manion. "In addition, there is nothing in his medical, social or professional history to suggest chronic cocaine use."
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
N. Las Vegas police plan increased DUI patrols
LAS VEGAS—North Las Vegas police say they will spend Sunday looking for drunken drivers.
Police announced Wednesday that they'll conduct a saturation patrol in a few major areas in North Las Vegas on Sunday, the day after Halloween.
Officers will conduct traffic stops and look for drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The extra patrols are being funded by a grant from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.
The patrols will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Source
Police announced Wednesday that they'll conduct a saturation patrol in a few major areas in North Las Vegas on Sunday, the day after Halloween.
Officers will conduct traffic stops and look for drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The extra patrols are being funded by a grant from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.
The patrols will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Rapper charged for Las Vegas DUI again
Rapper "Too Short," otherwise known as Todd Shaw, was arrested and charged with DUI and possession of marijuana this morning in Las Vegas. The arrest occurred around 4AM and is the rapper's second in three months.
Las Vegas Police pulled the rapper over for speeding and "exhibition of power." The exhibition of power charge is used when a person is either excessively speeding or intentionally squealing tires, among other obvious displays of a car's engine.
Too Short is currently still in jail according to Las Vegas police. He was found with less than one ounce of marijuana. Nonetheless, Nevada laws state a DUI while in possession of any amount of illegal drugs may be charged as a felony.
Violation of the zero tolerance period will also yield increased penalties for Too Short. Nevada has a seven year period of zero tolerance where a person cannot register a BAC over .02%. There is no word yet on Too Short's exact BAC.
Too Short had a target on his back from an arrest only 3 months prior, and he should not have risked having even one drink then driving. He is certainly wealthy enough to have utilized a cab or car service.
Furthermore, excessive speeding and exhibition of power draw police to pull over a vehicle. The marijuana possession is just the icing on the cake for this arrest.
Source
Las Vegas Police pulled the rapper over for speeding and "exhibition of power." The exhibition of power charge is used when a person is either excessively speeding or intentionally squealing tires, among other obvious displays of a car's engine.
Too Short is currently still in jail according to Las Vegas police. He was found with less than one ounce of marijuana. Nonetheless, Nevada laws state a DUI while in possession of any amount of illegal drugs may be charged as a felony.
Violation of the zero tolerance period will also yield increased penalties for Too Short. Nevada has a seven year period of zero tolerance where a person cannot register a BAC over .02%. There is no word yet on Too Short's exact BAC.
Too Short had a target on his back from an arrest only 3 months prior, and he should not have risked having even one drink then driving. He is certainly wealthy enough to have utilized a cab or car service.
Furthermore, excessive speeding and exhibition of power draw police to pull over a vehicle. The marijuana possession is just the icing on the cake for this arrest.
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Federal drug czar makes stop in Las Vegas
The federal drug czar visited Las Vegas on Wednesday in an effort to raise awareness about drugged driving.
Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, joined local officials for a news conference at the Nevada Highway Patrol’s Southern Command, 4615 W. Sunset Road.
While the number of people driving under the influence of alcohol has declined in the last 30 years, Kerlikowske said, the number of people driving under the influence of drugs, both illegal and prescription, has gone up.
“Over the years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of drugged drivers on our roads and highways commensurate with the substance abuse problems we have in our communities, including not only illicit drugs but prescription narcotics,” said Nevada Department of Public Safety Director Jerry Hafen.
A Sun analysis of prescription narcotic consumption across the country between 1997 and 2006 revealed that Nevadans consume about twice the national average per capita of prescription narcotics.
According to a recent study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 16 percent of drivers on weekend nights tested positive for drugs.
Source
Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, joined local officials for a news conference at the Nevada Highway Patrol’s Southern Command, 4615 W. Sunset Road.
While the number of people driving under the influence of alcohol has declined in the last 30 years, Kerlikowske said, the number of people driving under the influence of drugs, both illegal and prescription, has gone up.
“Over the years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of drugged drivers on our roads and highways commensurate with the substance abuse problems we have in our communities, including not only illicit drugs but prescription narcotics,” said Nevada Department of Public Safety Director Jerry Hafen.
A Sun analysis of prescription narcotic consumption across the country between 1997 and 2006 revealed that Nevadans consume about twice the national average per capita of prescription narcotics.
According to a recent study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 16 percent of drivers on weekend nights tested positive for drugs.
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
DUI campaign shifts focus amid changing trends
In the 30 years since the fight against driving under the influence of alcohol began, a lot has changed and the number of drunken drivers has decreased. But some new trends are beginning to worry experts.
For Gary Urbantke, the fight against impaired drivers has been personal for 25 years.
Urbantke, once a Henderson police officer, was driving from Las Vegas to Henderson to pick his daughter up from school on July 16, 1984.
His wife and 5-year-old son were with him in the car when he saw a van coming straight at him — in his lane on the divided Boulder Highway near Russell Road.
The two cars collided at a combined speed of more than 100 mph.
Urbantke was knocked out and paralyzed. His wife was killed instantly and his son died four hours later at a hospital.
The other driver had only a broken leg. He was arrested, convicted and served 10 years in prison for the crash — two years less than the maximum allowed at the time for two counts of felony DUI.
Urbantke has since remarried and gone on with his life.
“But there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think of both my wife and son, and it’s the same way for my daughter,” he said. “It’s something that will affect us for the rest of our lives.”
“We were fortunate in the fact that this man was tried, he was convicted and he did his time; a lot of people get off on technicalities.”
Urbantke has been lobbying for tougher DUI laws and has been trying to educate people about the dangers of impaired driving.
Since the crash, DUI laws across the nation and in Nevada have become stricter, with harsher penalties and lower blood-alcohol levels permitted.
But alcohol-related crashes still accounted for about 37 percent of Nevada traffic fatalities in 2008, a figure that has stayed virtually unchanged for more than a decade.
As an annual national campaign against driving under the influence kicked off Friday, two trends are particularly worrisome to law enforcement officials — the rise in people driving under the influence of drugs and the increase in the number of women driving under the influence.
Source
For Gary Urbantke, the fight against impaired drivers has been personal for 25 years.
Urbantke, once a Henderson police officer, was driving from Las Vegas to Henderson to pick his daughter up from school on July 16, 1984.
His wife and 5-year-old son were with him in the car when he saw a van coming straight at him — in his lane on the divided Boulder Highway near Russell Road.
The two cars collided at a combined speed of more than 100 mph.
Urbantke was knocked out and paralyzed. His wife was killed instantly and his son died four hours later at a hospital.
The other driver had only a broken leg. He was arrested, convicted and served 10 years in prison for the crash — two years less than the maximum allowed at the time for two counts of felony DUI.
Urbantke has since remarried and gone on with his life.
“But there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think of both my wife and son, and it’s the same way for my daughter,” he said. “It’s something that will affect us for the rest of our lives.”
“We were fortunate in the fact that this man was tried, he was convicted and he did his time; a lot of people get off on technicalities.”
Urbantke has been lobbying for tougher DUI laws and has been trying to educate people about the dangers of impaired driving.
Since the crash, DUI laws across the nation and in Nevada have become stricter, with harsher penalties and lower blood-alcohol levels permitted.
But alcohol-related crashes still accounted for about 37 percent of Nevada traffic fatalities in 2008, a figure that has stayed virtually unchanged for more than a decade.
As an annual national campaign against driving under the influence kicked off Friday, two trends are particularly worrisome to law enforcement officials — the rise in people driving under the influence of drugs and the increase in the number of women driving under the influence.
Source
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Disbarred Las Vegas attorney accepts decision
The Nevada Supreme Court has disbarred Las Vegas attorney Manuel Montelongo, who must wait three years before applying for reinstatement.
According to the high court's order, filed Wednesday, Montelongo submitted an affidavit consenting to disbarment and acknowledged that the State Bar of Nevada "is currently investigating seven pending grievance files and has filed three complaints that contain allegations that are grounds for discipline against him."
In the affidavit, Montelongo wrote, "I submit the instant affidavit consenting to disbarment with full knowledge that if the State Bar of Nevada prosecuted the complaints and grievances, I could not successfully defend against the charges."
His attorney, Gregory Knapp, declined to comment on the disbarment.
Deputy Bar Counsel David Clark said most of the allegations against Montelongo involved "either misappropriation or failure to properly account for monies held in trust."
"I have no direct evidence he personally misappropriated funds, but there are certainly monies missing involving cases handled by his law firm, for which he is ultimately responsible," Clark said.
Montelongo, 54, obtained his license to practice law in Nevada in September 2003. According to the State Bar of Nevada's Web site, he received his law degree from the University of Nebraska.
Source
According to the high court's order, filed Wednesday, Montelongo submitted an affidavit consenting to disbarment and acknowledged that the State Bar of Nevada "is currently investigating seven pending grievance files and has filed three complaints that contain allegations that are grounds for discipline against him."
In the affidavit, Montelongo wrote, "I submit the instant affidavit consenting to disbarment with full knowledge that if the State Bar of Nevada prosecuted the complaints and grievances, I could not successfully defend against the charges."
His attorney, Gregory Knapp, declined to comment on the disbarment.
Deputy Bar Counsel David Clark said most of the allegations against Montelongo involved "either misappropriation or failure to properly account for monies held in trust."
"I have no direct evidence he personally misappropriated funds, but there are certainly monies missing involving cases handled by his law firm, for which he is ultimately responsible," Clark said.
Montelongo, 54, obtained his license to practice law in Nevada in September 2003. According to the State Bar of Nevada's Web site, he received his law degree from the University of Nebraska.
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
DUIs and traffic accidents in Las Vegas
Drinking driving and cell phones were features hit the headlines hard this week with fatalities and fender benders throughout the city highlighting the cities growing traffic issues.
The urban sprawl of Las Vegas is vastly different from the small town comfort of rural Texas but there are issues which reach across culture and population. While covering the police beat for the Orange Leader a small town newspaper in rural Texas I had the misfortunate to cover the DUI related death of a young college student whose car was hit by a man driving under the influence of alcohol went the wrong way up a highway on off ramp.
Drinking and driving has always been a fact of life in a city devoted to the permanent part time, a city that has grown beyond the wildest dreams of the Rat Pack generation entrepreneurs who built the city’s first mega casinos.
The Las Vegas Review Journal reported the death of a 37-year-old woman North Las Vegas woman Wednesday
“A 37-year-old North Las Vegas woman died early today after being rear-ended at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road, Las Vegas police said.
According to police, the woman was waiting at a red light at the intersection around 5:17 a.m. when her 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier was rear ended by a 21-year-old male driver,”The man accused in the drunk driving death of 18-year-old Lindsay Bennet had his bail reduced after a stream of friends testified on his behalf.A traffic accident occurring on Las Vegas blvd had a less tragic ending. The driver of a passenger car traveling down the strip in we hours of Tuesday morning ran head on into a crane that was being used by workers at the new City Center construction project. The driver was reportedly using his cell phone when the accident happened seeming to confirm suspicions that talking and driving are almost as dangerous as drinking and driving.One study confirms that during the 90s cell phones were life savers when used by motorists to alert authorities to accidents and hazards in a timely manner but have turned into a hazard as their use proliferated reaching what the article critical mass of 100 million phones in the US. Hands free cell phone conversations were found to increase stopping distance by 5 meters or slightly more than five yards for a car going 60 mph.Younger drivers are far more likely to be arrested for DUI than 50-years-of-age who have the lowest DUI arrest rate of all the age groups. Men are five times more likely to have a DUI than adult female drivers. Sixteen percent of the estimated 186 million drivers in the US reported they had driven under the influence of either alcohol or drugs or both.
Source
The urban sprawl of Las Vegas is vastly different from the small town comfort of rural Texas but there are issues which reach across culture and population. While covering the police beat for the Orange Leader a small town newspaper in rural Texas I had the misfortunate to cover the DUI related death of a young college student whose car was hit by a man driving under the influence of alcohol went the wrong way up a highway on off ramp.
Drinking and driving has always been a fact of life in a city devoted to the permanent part time, a city that has grown beyond the wildest dreams of the Rat Pack generation entrepreneurs who built the city’s first mega casinos.
The Las Vegas Review Journal reported the death of a 37-year-old woman North Las Vegas woman Wednesday
“A 37-year-old North Las Vegas woman died early today after being rear-ended at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road, Las Vegas police said.
According to police, the woman was waiting at a red light at the intersection around 5:17 a.m. when her 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier was rear ended by a 21-year-old male driver,”The man accused in the drunk driving death of 18-year-old Lindsay Bennet had his bail reduced after a stream of friends testified on his behalf.A traffic accident occurring on Las Vegas blvd had a less tragic ending. The driver of a passenger car traveling down the strip in we hours of Tuesday morning ran head on into a crane that was being used by workers at the new City Center construction project. The driver was reportedly using his cell phone when the accident happened seeming to confirm suspicions that talking and driving are almost as dangerous as drinking and driving.One study confirms that during the 90s cell phones were life savers when used by motorists to alert authorities to accidents and hazards in a timely manner but have turned into a hazard as their use proliferated reaching what the article critical mass of 100 million phones in the US. Hands free cell phone conversations were found to increase stopping distance by 5 meters or slightly more than five yards for a car going 60 mph.Younger drivers are far more likely to be arrested for DUI than 50-years-of-age who have the lowest DUI arrest rate of all the age groups. Men are five times more likely to have a DUI than adult female drivers. Sixteen percent of the estimated 186 million drivers in the US reported they had driven under the influence of either alcohol or drugs or both.
Source
Monday, September 7, 2009
Boy, 10, injured in crash; driver arrested for DUI
A 10-year-old boy is in critical condition after the 2004 Chevy Trailblazer he was riding in crashed through a block wall and into the side of a house in the northwest Las Vegas Valley Sunday night, Metro Police said this morning.
The crash occurred about 7:28 p.m. Sunday when the sport utility vehicle, going southbound on Michael Way as it fled from two previous hit-and-run collisions, veered westbound and struck the block wall at the corner of Seattle Slew Drive, police said.
The SUV continued through the wall and into the backyard of 2429 Bay Meadows Circle, where it struck the east wall of the house and stopped, according to evidence at the scene and witness accounts, police said.
The boy, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, was taken to University Medical Center's trauma unit with life-threatening injuries, police said.
The driver of the SUV, 25-year-old Juan Esteves-Villegas of Las Vegas, was also taken to UMC with minor injuries, police said. He was arrested in connection with driving under the influence with substantial bodily harm, a felony, and child neglect with substantial bodily harm, also a felony, police said.
Source
The crash occurred about 7:28 p.m. Sunday when the sport utility vehicle, going southbound on Michael Way as it fled from two previous hit-and-run collisions, veered westbound and struck the block wall at the corner of Seattle Slew Drive, police said.
The SUV continued through the wall and into the backyard of 2429 Bay Meadows Circle, where it struck the east wall of the house and stopped, according to evidence at the scene and witness accounts, police said.
The boy, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, was taken to University Medical Center's trauma unit with life-threatening injuries, police said.
The driver of the SUV, 25-year-old Juan Esteves-Villegas of Las Vegas, was also taken to UMC with minor injuries, police said. He was arrested in connection with driving under the influence with substantial bodily harm, a felony, and child neglect with substantial bodily harm, also a felony, police said.
Source
Monday, August 10, 2009
Man facing felony DUI after crash into Vegas house
LAS VEGAS—Authorities say a 10-year-old passenger is in critical condition and a driver faces felony drunken driving and child neglect charges after crashing an SUV into a home in Las Vegas. Police say the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer plowed through a block wall about 7:30 p.m. Sunday in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood after two earlier crashes nearby.
Police say the 10-year-old Las Vegas boy was being treated for multiple serious injuries at University Medical Center.
The 25-year-old driver, Juan Esteves-Villegas, was treated at UMC and taken to the Clark County jail, where he is being held on $10,000 bail.
He's due in a Las Vegas court on Tuesday.
Source
Police say the 10-year-old Las Vegas boy was being treated for multiple serious injuries at University Medical Center.
The 25-year-old driver, Juan Esteves-Villegas, was treated at UMC and taken to the Clark County jail, where he is being held on $10,000 bail.
He's due in a Las Vegas court on Tuesday.
Source
Monday, July 20, 2009
'Laverne and Shirley' Star Eddie Mekka Arrested for DUI
The guy who played Carmine "The Big Ragoo" Ragusa on "Laverne and Shirley" was arrested last Friday in Las Vegas after he allegedly got into a drunken car crash.
Law enforcement sources tell us they received a call at around 12:30 PM about a collision with a "suspected drunk driver."
When officers arrived, they found Eddie Mekka and administered field sobriety tests. After the tests, Mekka was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence — a misdemeanor.
As for the accident, we don't know any details, but we do know there were no injuries reported at the
Source
Law enforcement sources tell us they received a call at around 12:30 PM about a collision with a "suspected drunk driver."
When officers arrived, they found Eddie Mekka and administered field sobriety tests. After the tests, Mekka was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence — a misdemeanor.
As for the accident, we don't know any details, but we do know there were no injuries reported at the
Source
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