Washoe County: $19.5M exist in unpaid court fines
RENO (AP) " Washoe County officials say more than $19 million in court fines and fees has gone uncollected in the county since 2000, because nobody is going after what is owed.
A recent audit showed that people convicted of crimes have not paid $19.5 million in fees and fines.
Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice James Hardesty said the county and the courts haven't set up a system to collect the money.
"The county's collection division isn't doing it " the court doesn't have the staff to do it," Hardesty said. "At a time when we're struggling for resources, we need to get our house in order from a business standpoint and collect what we're owed."
Connie Steinheimer, chief judge of Washoe District Court, says convicts often don't have money to pay fines and prisoners have no income.
"I don't truly believe that money is going to be collectable," Steinheimer said. "If a person is willfully unemployed, yes, he may go to jail. But we don't have a debtor's prison."
Hardesty says that about 70 percent of those convicted of crimes in 2007 were sentenced to probation and should have been paid.
He is hoping lawmakers will pass legislation this session to create a statewide collection agency to pursue the unpaid money. He also wants Nevada's congressional delegation to support a federal effort to use tax refunds of those who have not paid court-ordered fines to collect the money.
Reno airport getting $2.2M in stimulus
RENO (AP) " The Reno/Tahoe International Airport is getting $2.2 million in federal stimulus funds to improve surfaces near the terminals.
Airport spokeswoman Heidi Berthold says the money will be used for the ramp areas where airplanes pull up to the terminals for passengers to board and exit planes.
Berthold says some of the pavement near the terminals is about 20 years old.
Berthold says between 80 and 100 people will have jobs because of the contract. That includes contractors, vendors and suppliers.
The White House announced the funds on Friday, as well as $1.3 million for the Boulder City Airport.
Reno police arrest officer imposter
RENO (AP) " Reno police say they arrested a man on suspicion of impersonating a police officer and pulling over a woman's car with a siren and flashing lights.
Police say they arrested 36-year-old David Robert Schmall on Friday.
A woman driving in south Reno on March 21 says she was followed by a dark-colored sport utility vehicle, which flashed lights and sounded a siren.
The woman says a man approached her car, identified himself as an undercover officer, asked her for ID and questioned her about whether she was drinking.
Authorities say the woman was uneasy about the encounter and called the police department.
Officials say Schmall was later identified as the suspect.
Topless revue closes after 49 years
LAS VEGAS (AP) " The topless revue "Les Folies Bergere" has hung up its feathers after 49 years at the Tropicana hotel-casino.
Many performers who had taken part in the show's 29,000 runs since Christmas of 1959 crowded the set after its final curtain on Saturday.
The closing leaves Bally's "Jubilee!" as the last full-scale showgirl revue left on the Las Vegas Strip.
Showgirl productions have fallen out of favor with Cirque du Soleil dominating entertainment on the Strip in recent years.
"Folies" came from Paris in 1959 and opened under then-Tropicana entertainment director Lou Walters, the father of newswoman Barbara Walters.