Watchdog News 3 Investigators

Secondhand Smoke

2009-07-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hope you saw my story on Secondhand Smoke Dangers. We talked to a woman who worked at Caesars Palace as a dealer for 25 years. She was instrumental in getting the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to do a study on the effect of secondhand smoke on non poker dealers. Non poker dealers were chosen since many poker rooms, including the one at Caesars, are non smoking. Thought I'd pass along a couple emails from viewers after the story aired.

I have been a dealer at Caesars for many years and knew Terri Price. She was an excellent dealer and a perfect vision of courtesy that we want a tourist to remember Las Vegas for. It is a crying shame that these corporations, especially Harrahs, has ruined our industry and taken away the pride that we felt working for Caesars Palace. Jan Laverty- Jones lied when she said that improvements had been made to our ventilation system, when in fact, we can hardly get enough air turned on to cool the place much less a continuous circulation of air. Our total working conditions and environment is continually deteriorating. There has been over 50 dealers and/or casino workers at Caesars that has had cancer, most died, and that does not include all the dealers that retired or left that we are unaware of. A very large percentage of the dealers now have respiratory problems such as asthma. With that said, our VP of Casino Operations, Jimmy Wike, had the audacity to tell us we could not wave the smoke out of our face when the customer intentionally blows it on us. Why are we treated as sub-citizens for the almighty dollar? The corporate management certainly does not work in a smoke filled environment as they take all the money from our local economy. It is time for Americans, especially front line casino workers, to wake up and demand their working conditions improve.This type of mentality and greed is why the dealers at Caesars Palace voted in the union two years ago.
A long time dealer!

and this one...

It is very popular to attack smokers and defend all against them. It is also not a very smart choice when it comes to the economics of running a business. Terry should have been fired for offending a guest. When Terry applied for her job was she so ignorant that she did not know people smoke in casinos? If so she should be terminated for ignorance.

Legal brothels hire women who should know there may be some sex involved in their job. Should they be able to sue when it happens? People need to be responsible for their own choices. If the casino cannot get applicants because of the job conditions they will change on their own. When all the nannies get out of business we may recover. It’s pretty clear the nannies have it now and will do their best to stifle commerce.

Yes, I am jaded. I do enjoy a smoke. I never have and never will go anywhere to spend my recreational dollars at a business that hates me because I do enjoy a smoke.

Beware the $9.95 Special!!!

2009-06-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Auto Repair is one of the most common complaints the Nevada Consumer Affairs Division receives. Unfortunately, due to budget issues, Consumer Affairs was downsized. If you need to find out where to go for help, they are still there. 702-486-7355.

This email I received acts as a warning for anyone getting an oil change. Keep in mind these auto repair places will try two and three times to sell you more services. According to this viewer .. they were things she didn't need!!! They can suggest all kinds of things they claim you need, but you don't have to approve them. Remember the $9.95 special is just to get you in the door, often to sell you additional items.

Here's the email:

I just went to a "Econo Lube N' Tune" to get one of their $9.95 oil changes. I was told I needed the $29.95 service because I need a different weight of oil. Since I was already there I agreed. But then they came back a little while later and said I needed to flush the following:
Brake system, power steering, coolant and transmission. Plus I needed to replace the air filter and do a 2-step fuel system cleaning.
Just 8,000 miles earlier I had my car serviced at a dealership and they flushed the transmission fluid and checked everything out. So I checked the transmission fluid myself and it was pink, not brown like Econo Lube said and my husband just replaced the air filter just 1000 miles ago. Is there anyway we can warn the people about these ripe-off artist?

Consider yourself warned!

Questions About Fraud?

2009-06-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance to get some good information about Fraud. The Nevada Fight Fraud Task Force is holding a series of gatherings at local libraries. I highly suggest you take part! Here's your chance to ask questions, or to let the Task Force know about something you think is fraudulent.

What is the Task Force? A group made up of local law enforcement, IRS, Department of Justice, Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, BBB, Division of Mortgage Lending, The Postal Service .. and many other groups and agencies.

Seminars: All are from 7 to 8 pm.

Sunrise Library
Thursday, June 11

Enterprise Library
Thursday, June 25

West Las Vegas Library
Wednesday, July 15th

Clark County Library
Thursday, July 23rd

West Charleston Library
Thursday, August 6

Learn more at fightfraud.nv.gov

Air Conditioning 101

2009-05-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

With the hot weather here, at some point you're going to have an air conditioning issue.
My advice: spend a couple minutes doing a little research NOW on which company you'll be calling when the A/C goes out. Believe me, you won't want to do the research then.
Rather than just rely on the phone book or an internet search .. try this. Ask your friends who they use. Also call the Better Business Bureau and ask them what they know about the company you've chosen. The BBB rates air condtioning companies based on consumer problems, length of time in business, how they resolved complaints, etc. Companies are given a grade from A to F, and you will find out why the BBB has given them a particular grade.
One question you may want to ask, are the repair people sent to your home paid hourly, or are they on commission? If they're on commission they may be more likely to find a more expensive fix.

Here's what the BBB recommends:

Get 3 bids.
Ask friends for a reference.
Make sure the company and repair people are licensed and bonded.
Companies doing A/C repair work need to have a business license AND be licensed by the State Contractor's Board.
Do the companies provide workmen's comp coverage to their employees? (If they don't, you could be liable if they fall off your roof)
Check out the BBB's site here

If you have a problem with an A/C company, let the BBB know about it. You can file a complaint against a company and the BBB will get involved.

The World of On-Line Dating

2009-04-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you know someone looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right ... you'll want to check out the match.com story the News 3 Investigators did.
You can see it by clicking here.

Several days before the story aired I tried to contact Match.com for a comment. When the company did respond, they made no mention of what I asked them. Specifically, how often are customers being hit up for cash by people they've recently met on the site. I know they have this information, because the woman in our story filed a complaint with match.com and one of the questions asked on the complain form is "Did this person ask you to send them money?".

Here's the official response.

In regards to your email, we are terribly sorry to hear about this members' situation. In addition to employing an excellent Customer Care team that constantly monitors, investigates, and removes fraudulent accounts, we also provide all of our members with valuable online dating safety tips that can be found here:
http://www.match.com/matchus/help/safetytips.aspx

Match.com makes no mention of Romance Fraud. But that looks like what happened to the woman in our story.
Romance Fraud: when a person befriends someone on line, pledges their love, and within a week or two makes a plea for money. It was one of the top scams on the 2007 Internet Complaint Center Annual Report.
This shouldn't stop you from trying to meet someone. But keep these things in mind.

OUT OF STATE PLATES UPDATE!

2009-04-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

There are two bills aimed at the Out of State Plates issue circulating in Carson City.

Assembly Bill 291 increases the fine for failing to comply with the registration law up to $1,000. (The absolute minimum would be $250 if a person, after being cited, shows he or she did register their car.) As it stands now, an officer told me many of the citations are simply dismissed once someone finally shows they registered their car.
The bill would also allow Constables to demand and view the certificate of registration for any vehicle and to request information to determine whether a vehicle should be registered in the State. We've checked with Metro and they will only ticket a person for not registering their car if they are, say, pulled over for another reason. Metro will not ticket parked cars. A.B. 291 passed through the Assembly.
Senate Bill 218 does basically the same thing as A.B. 291. It could pass through the Senate as soon as today.
We've heard from a lot of you about this story. Some have reported businesses who are using out of state plated cars in the Las Vegas area to save money on registration. Another person reported a member of my home owner master association who lives here, sits on the board of a well known bank in town, and drives a car registered in Idaho? I don't know the guy .. but I'll ask him what the deal is.
Hopefully if these two bills pass, or they're combined into one, there will someday be a way for you to report people who are knowingly ignoring the law and not paying their fair share.

OUT OF STATE LICENSE PLATES

2009-03-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

If you didn't see our piece on out of state license plates, click here to see it.

We heard from a lot of you about the story. Some loved it, others .. not so much.
Some people in the military feel attacked, although we pointed out the exceptions to the law. By mistake, that was not made clear in the 11pm version, for which I apologize. It was noted on the 5pm version, the on-line version, and the version that ran in our Noon newscast.

(Active military and their family, out of state students who come to school here and part time residents, as long as they are not employed.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's what the DMV says on its website:

You must be a Nevada resident and provide a Nevada street address to obtain a driver license.
Active duty military members, their dependents and others living temporarily in Nevada are not required to transfer their license and registration. If you obtain non-military employment, however, you become a Nevada resident and must obtain a Nevada license and registration.
Licenses are not issued to visitors, out-of-state students or foreign exchange students. Other foreign nationals may or may not be eligible for a license depending on their specific immigration status.
-----------------------------------------------------
Other viewers say this is a complaint they've had for years and suggested places to look for offenders.

Here are portions of some of the many emails I received:

"I just watched your story tonight on the out of state plates. I have another place to look and I believe you will find alot. Look in the Casinos' Employee Parking Lot."

"I have a issue with my neighbors who live at Red Rock Country Club for over 5 years that still do not have Nevada plates on the cars. They have at least three cars that are here at all times."

"I think your news spot on 12 Mar about out-of-state license plates was absolutely unfair to military families. By law military members have the right to register their vehicles in their home state. You should have clearly pointed this out to the general public."

"I recently watched your broadcast concerning people who have out of state license plates but live in the state of Nevada, is there a number that one can call to report people of this nature.......I personally think it is unfair for those to have plates from states with lower rates then ours does...........i have a neighbor how has lived here now for close to 5 yrs and still has Washington plates on there vehicle, wish u would do more reporting on this subject, maybe it would scare people to abide by the law."

"I'm afraid my wife and I could have told you this six years ago. When we moved here in 2002 we registered our two cars right away. It was after that we noticed vehicles around us still had the out of state plates. Not for a month or two or three, but for years. Some vehicles STILL have them on. I don't know if the Nevada Department of Transportation doesn't care or there's nothing they can do about it."

"I understand you are doing a piece on the out of state vehicles in the valley. It's about time someone did. I've lived here 33 years and the out of state vehicles are getting out of hand. I've even seen vehicles with stickers from local schools that brag that their kid is an honor roll student. I understand that NHP had a program in place some years ago but dropped it. I don't know why."

We've got some updates planned on this .. so stay tuned.

Lobbyists & The Bailout

2009-03-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Here's something that you may find interesting. Despite all the trouble many banks are having these days, and the government money many of them have received .. they still found a way to spend dollars to lobby. An article from TheHill says JPMorgan Chase & Co. spent about $87,000 on lobbying lawmakers since November 2008. (including $5,000 to former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, $5,000 to Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, $15,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and $5,000 to the New Democrat Coalition.)
Chrysler's political action committee spend $62,500 in campaign contributions in December .. no doubt some of it went to those who agreed to bailout the company.
Since mid-November money spent on lobbying: American Bankers Association $132,000, Independent Community bankers Association $106,000.

See the full article here:

A Warning for Manufactured Homeowners

2009-02-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

If you own a manufactured or mobile home ... we've got a warning for you.
Nevada's Department of Business and Industry says be wary of the "free" home inspections you might be offered.

Here's something else to keep in mind. Any company or person wanting to do work on your manufactured or mobile home must be licensed. There are two license options: General Services license or Specialty Services license. A General Service license allows a person to do repairs in all trades .. except air conditioning. Specialty license holders can do repairs only in the trade in which they're licensed .. like plumbing, electrical, etc.

Before anyone does an inspection .. even a free one ... call the Department of Business & Industry's Manufactured Housing Division 486-4590 to verify the license, and the business name!

Hall of Shame!

2009-02-24T14:47:00.000-08:00

Channel 3 viewers has passed along many suspicious emails, letters, and texts. And we thought they could be used as learning tools. So many people are reporting they received an email from their bank .. claiming their "personal information" needs to be updated. Banks don't send you emails to do that. It's part of something called "phishing". it's how people simply try to fool you into giving them your personal information.
We want to let you know we've assembled something called the "Hall of Shame". It's a collection of these bogus phishing attempts. So check it out. The more you know, the better off you are! See it HERE.

State Budget Battles

2009-01-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

A lot of talk about budgets. You may have heard the Governor say in his State of the State address he will cut his own salary by 6 percent, if state worker salaries are also cut, as he has proposed. He also asked his Constitutional officers to match his voluntary cut.

I called representatives for the other 5 Constitutional officers. Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki will do whatever is necessary if the legislature deems it's necessary to cut state employee salaries.

Secretary of State Ross Miller will also take a cut if the legislature decides to go that route. But, Miller believes the pay cut for state workers is not the best way to deal with the budget situation.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto had this to say:
"A 6% cut to state employees is a short term solution to a long-term budget problem. It is shortsighted and fails to contribute to a sustainable fiscal policy for our state. If the legislature chooses to cut state employees salaries by 6% then I would be willing to stand in their shoes."

A representative for State Controller Kim Wallin said Wallin is on vacation and will provide a comment when she returns on Friday.

State Treasurer Kate Marshall says she will honor the 6% cut request if the legislature decides to cut state employee salaries.

If you are curious as to what these people make .. here you go:

As of January 2007, Governor's salary is $141,000.
As of January 2007, Lieutenant Governor's salary is $60,000.
As of January 2007, Secretary of State's salary is $97,000.
As of January 2007, State Treasurer's salary is $97,000.
As of January 2007, State Controller's salary is $97,000.
As of January 2007, Attorney General's salary is $133,000.

And for those of you curious about the salaries of Nevada Supreme Court Justices. Some of them are paid $140,000 and others are paid $170,000. Justices do not receive pay raises in the midst of their term. It kicks in when they are re-elected, or when a new person is elected to the position.

2008-12-30T08:32:00.000-08:00

Lots of emails about our story on Rex Harris and his company Better Realty Deals.

Click here to see the story. Then click on "Better Realty Deals, Real or Not?" in the player.

Rex Harris told us he was the former sales manager of another company, Our Family First Realty, that apparently took a lot of money from Realtors and didn't follow through on its promises. Our Family First is now out of business. Better Realty Deals is Rex Harris' company which appears to operate in very much the same way as our Family First. Collect money from Realtors with promises of advertising. But so far, the ads have not aired.
Here's a sample of some of the emails I received after the story aired:

Just wanted to add myself to the list of people ripped off by Rex Harris. I bought in for $3,800 in Zip codes and never saw a thing in return for my investment.
Colette

$1600 for a zip code and never a ad in!
I feel like a fool but appreciate the fact you are making this public so hopefully he will be shut down for good!
Bev

I was one of many Realtors here in Arizona that was misled by Rex Harris back in October 4, 2007. He runs a pretty good scam by keeping people running in circles. I never met with Rex, only spoke with him, but dealt with two of his sales people and spoke to one of his associates that had the business in her name.
Mark

Please add me to your list of scammed Realtors. He took me for $2,200 August of 2007. I have demanded my money back several times and got nothing. I have his voicemail recorded where he tells me to read my contract.
Deanne

And I got an email from Rex Harris AFTER the story aired. Remember we offered him a chance to sit down, face to face, and talk about many of the inconsistencies we found in our investigation.. before the story aired. We also asked him for proof that he had a contract to air commercials. He told an agent during the sales pitch he had a contract. We also asked for documentation about when and where we could see those commercials on the air. That's something you would have if you actually purchased the time to air the commercials. We never got that information and he never showed for the interview.

In this latest email, he talks about a "crook" who didn't finish the commercial .. correctly. I know he already has commercials ready to go .. at least he told me that. In fact, you can see it on his website. It's the same commercial he will show you before he starts his sales pitch. Why doesn't that one air in the meantime?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
To Whom It May Concern,
First and foremost I want to offer my sincere apology to any and all Realtors who were mislead by Our Family First Realty.
Wow, where should we start. How about proof that I did not own Our Family First Realty? I have . FBN numbers on two owners. How about proof that the company closed down due to a web desighner who was a crook and when he did not get his way he shut down the site and started making allegations to all of the company's clients for his own twisted fun?What about all the clients like Mr and Ms Gunning who have been responded to and being told that this will get back up and running and that we will give them more than they signed up for, for there patience. These agents like the Gunning's have stated they our excepting the free extension. Then they lie on camera. Does that not stand for anything?
I understand that you can and will report what you want. But i work 7days a week trying to build a dream. Next time you want to talk to me. Get the facts straight. And again our commercials start in January as stated to any of the Better Realty Deals clients. We wanted to start earlier but as we ran into another crook who did not finish the commercial correctly. We shoot a new commercial this week. And on air the next. Feel free to call us if you have not seen us. Also Nevada Coorperate Headquarters is responsible for all our coorperate paperwork. Did you need anything from them? to show we are a corp?
I have tried talking, I am trying to do right by my clients. Why don't you do your story on that? If you only had a clue how hard it is starting something that has this potential by yourself. Im doing everything in my power and again want to apologize to anyone that was not contacted about this matter.
Agents need to contact me and let me know what areas they were signed up for, so that I can honor their contrcat with the company that I worked for, not owned.
Rex Harris 877-78-better
_______________________________________________________________________________________
We did find that Better Realty Deals did finally register as a corporation with the Nevada Secretary of State's office. It became incorporated December 12, 2008.

Selling Commercials and Some Hints About Mailing Holiday Cards

2008-12-18T18:38:00.000-08:00

I hope you checked out our latest report. We heard from many real estate agents who say they paid for a service and didn't get it.
They were promised TV commercials and new business referrals. They tell me they got neither and they want their money back.

I had a viewer contact me recently about some missing Holiday cards. That led to some phone calls to the United States Postal Service. The customer service person I spoke with reminded me that if you're mailing a check or gift cards, be careful. Although the postal service says it's mail drop boxes have been reinforced, you still need to be wise about your mailing habits. If there is money or gift cards inside the card you are sending, deposit it in the drop box INSIDE the post office. If you use one of the outdoor mailboxes, or even the drive by mailbox, check to see when the last pickup is. If it says the last pickup is 6:30pm, and you're dropping off something after 7pm .. it'll sit there all night and that's just one more chance for something to happen. The USPS also told me most of those mail thefts happen between 1 and 5 am. If you ever see someone breaking into a mailbox, the best thing to do is call 9-1-1. If you suspect mail theft is going on, contact the postmaster at your local post office or call the mail inspection service at 702-796-5272.

DIDN'T PAY YOUR CREDIT CARD BILL?

2008-11-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

If you have a debt...PAY IT!.

Credit attorneys tell us

"Any unpaid debt will never go away ... but legal action has a time limit."

While "the bill collector" is one person no one wants to hear from from ... these debt collectors play an important role in our economy.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP conducted a survey on behalf of ACA International.

The survey found that in 2007 about $40.4 billion of debt was collected and returned.

That $40.4 billion is equivalent to an average savings of $354 per American household that might otherwise been spent had businesses been forced to raise prices to cover the unreceived debt.

If you have debt - know the laws and rules.

A good place to start?

The FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT

The FTC is another good source.

Statue of Limitations in Nevada
Written Contracts: 6 years
Nev. Rev. Stat. 11.190(1)(b) (WESTLAW through 2001 Reg. Session and 17th and 18th Special Sessions of the 71st Leg.).

Oral Contracts 4 years
Nev. Rev. Stat. 11.190(2)(c) (WESTLAW through 2001 Reg. Session and 17th and 18th Special Sessions of the 71st Leg.).

Judgments 6 years
Nev. Rev. Stat. 11.190(1)(a) (WESTLAW through 2001 Reg. Session and 17th and 18th Special Sessions of the 71st Leg.).

Hospital Accounts
Effective Date: October 1, 2007
1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, an action against a person to recover payment for any amount owed to a hospital for hospital care provided to the person at the hospital must be commenced not later than 4 years after the date on which any payment that is due for the services is not paid.
2. The period provided in subsection 1 is tolled during any periods in which the hospital is awaiting a determination concerning eligibility for, or the amount of, benefits from an
insurer or public program and during any periods in which payments are being made.
3. As used in this section, “hospital care” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 428.155.
N.V. A.B. 247(Sec. 7) (2007)

WHAT TRIGGERS THE CLOCK ON DEBT TO RESTART?
The time in NRS 11.190 shall be deemed to date from the last transaction or the last item charged or last credit given;

and whenever any payment on principal or interest has been or shall be made upon an existing contract,

whether it be a bill of exchange, promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness if such payment

be made after the same shall have become due, the limitation shall commence

from the time the last payment was made. Nev. Rev. Stat. 11.200

(WESTLAW through 2005 73rd Reg. Sess. & the 22nd Special Sess.)

If a debt is days or minutes away from reaching six years

and a payment is made, the clock restarts.

** First, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits any debt collector from falsely representing the character, amount, or legal status of any debt.

** Second, Rule II(A)(6) of the ACA Code of Ethics states members have a duty not to threaten or initiate collection litigation on time barred debts.

Another Consumer resource is "Ask Doctor Debt." It is a sort of "Dear Abby" for consumers with specific credit and debt questions.

"Ask Doctor Debt" is a completely free web site where consumers can find tons of information on credit and debt collection issues like the one we profiled in our story.

There is a staff dedicated to answering specific Consumer questions that get e-mailed to

"Ask Doctor Debt."

POOPER SCOOPER ON THE RUN

2008-11-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

The Pooper-Scooper-on-the-run … is still wanted by authorities.

If you didn’t see the story, you can click here.
In a nutshell, it’s the story of a man who was hired to do a job, and then for some reason did some bad things to his former clients, according to the orders of protection filed in Justice Court.

One of his former clients told us Gober dumped paint all over his truck.

The protection order says Gober called one client after he left paint thrown on the front door of that client’s home. The report says he called the client and left a message. In part it said, “It’s payback time B****. The paint on your F****** door, I did it. And you know what, there’ll be more.”

It’s something to think about. How much do you know about the person you hire to mow your lawn, clean your pool, clean your house? There is an arrest warrant out for Joe Gober, since he didn’t show up for a court appearance.

SENTENCED!

2008-10-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Juanetta Granger, also known as "The Heiress", "The Designer", "The Master Florist", and a list of 20 other aliases was in court today. * She was sentenced by Judge John McGroarty.

It's been a long road for the victims in this case, and some of them had their cases dismissed, although there is a chance they will get some restitution.

If you didn't see our stories, you'll find them listed on the player as "The Heiress" and "The Designer". Click here to see them.

The particulars: She was sentenced to 19 to 48 months at the Nevada State Prison. That sentence was suspended. She will be on probation for 5 years. she's to have no alcohol during that time. She will be paying restitution to her many victims, but the total amount is not yet clear. The judge used the figure of $128,851.46, but a restitution hearing in November will determine the exact amount.

She will have to pay extradition costs of $1,226.14, and will have to stay behind bars for 90 days,. starting today, October 22, 2008. Two victims spoke at today's sentencing. One man who runs Summerlin Shoes says she intentionally and deliberately talked up a good story and took advantage of him and his business, with no intention of ever paying for the shoes he sold her. He is owed $1230.25. Another victim, Janet Schertzer, is owed far more. She wants her $22,500 back. Granger told Janet she was a designer and the two of them should start a business. Granger took Janet all over town to furniture stores, model homes, and high rise condos to make Janet believe this was a real business. When Granger was asked by the Judge if she had anything to say. She did say "I'm sorry." She then complained that there was no counseling for her, no impulse counseling available to help her.

According to the District Attorney in Payne County, Oklahoma, Juanita Charree Lantz, as she's known there, told people she was JC Gaylord .. a member of the Oklahoma City Gaylord family that owns the News Press. She signed real estate documents as JC Gaylord Wolf. Granger/Gaylord's boyfriend, a Mr. Wolf, said that Granger/Gaylord told him that she was a member of the Gaylord family of Oklahoma City. She's now facing a felony charge of personation in Payne County.

*Here's a look at some of what we believe to be her aliases: Charree Lavicky, Juanetta Charree Gross, JC Lantz, JC Lavicky, JC Gross, Brandy Lance, Charree Tuscanio, Juanita Lance, Juanita Lavickey, Juanita Lavicky, Juanita Tuscanio, Juanita West, Juanetta Granger, Juanetta Charree Granger, Bobbie Sue Ford, Juanita Charee Gross, Juanita Gross, JH Stranhan, Juanetta Granger Gaylord!

INFINITY INVESTMENT SERVICES - BUSTED!

2008-10-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

DAMON HILL - THE KING OF NO SHOW

2008-09-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Liticaphobia- the fear of lawsuits.

The man who calls himself the CEO of Infinity Investment Services may suffer from liticaphobia.

What else could explain a consistence record of not showing up in court when you or your company is being sued?

You may remember that Hill was due to appear in a California court room in 2003 - he never showed up.

HILL remained at-large (no pun intended) until Metro police placed on the cuffs in 2005.

California wanted him back. For whatever reason, Hill did not want to face his crimes in California. and he refused a voluntary extradition.

Gee, Damon, we have to ask you this question: What kept you wanting to stay at CCDC?

The beautiful accommodations?

A lot of time, paper work and a lot of tax payers money had to be spent to extradite Hill.

Here we are in 2008, and Damon Hill appears to be suffering again with liticaphobia.

Infinity Investment Services, Damon Hill's pride and joy, has lawsuits being throw at it as fast as they can be written...and when it comes time to appear in court? Damon Hill is a no show.

AUGUST 2, 2008 - INFINITY INVESTMENT SERVICES loses in court. Default judgement totalling $39,904.03. Infinity never showed up. Now come on, where's Damon?

SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 - Once again - NO SHOW in Judge Cadish court room. Hyundai Motor Finance is suing Infinity Investment Services.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 - Why stop? No show in Judge Denton's courtroom. American Honda Finance is suing Infinity Investment Services.

Hill has yet to appear in court for the case involving Kia Motors.

On October 2, 2008 - Infinity Investment Services is scheduled to appear in Judge Williams courtroom at 9am. Infinity is being sued by JP Morgan Chase Bank.

Deep breaths, Damon. Keep telling yourself, "it's just a courtroom, it's just a courtroom."

Don't look over at the uniformed officer with the hand cuffs. Focus. You can do it.

INFINITY INVESTMENT SERVICES

2008-09-12T11:49:00.001-07:00

Location: 1641 East Flamingo, Las Vegas

A quick acting INFINITY client intercepted this letter containing two VISA cards.

It appears INFINITY was not fast enough to pull off a quick change of addresses that would have sent this letter to the INFINITY offices instead of to the rightful owner.

This VISA card belongs to the client, not INFINITY. It was the client’s social security number and personal information that was used to obtain the credit.

At no time did the client give permission to INFINITY to apply for this card.

Don’t you have to sign a credit card application? Yes. Forgery?

It appears DAMON HILL, CEO of Infinity Investment Services, or someone using his name at Infinity did apply – and put DAMON HILL as the secondary user, requesting a card in that name. Was it DAMON?

This came as a surprise to the client. Why would they use their credit so DAMON HILL can have a credit card in his name? No where do you see Infinity Investment Services printed on either card.

A bigger surprise came a few days later.

NEWS 3 INVESTIGATORS revealed information about DAMON HILL’S criminal past.

(See DAMON HILL's mug shot to the right)

All the clients we spoke to told us they had no idea about DAMON’S past – seems DAMON HILL does not openly share this information with prospective clients.

Why would he?

DAMON HILL is a felon. He served time in California for Identity Theft and two counts of grand theft auto.

It does not stop there.

According to Las Vegas Metro police records DAMON HILL was busted in Las Vegas. He was arrested for holding up a man at gun point…..trying to stealing the man’s laptop as he exited a restaurant. DAMON HILL then told the victim he knew where the victim’s mother worked and lived and would “visit” both of them if the victim did not go to their ATM and withdraw cash.

The victim got into their car and drove to the ATM. HILL followed in another car.
The victim simply called 911 on their cell phone. Within minutes HILL was busted.

DAMON HILL sat behind bars at Clark County Detention Center from September to January. Seems HILL was wanted in California. He had been on the run for two years. According to records, HILL would not sign the extradition papers releasing him into California custody. So both states had to go through the long process that eventually would send HILL back to California.

INFINITY INVESTMENT SERVICES is also linked to a so called organization called The JAVIS Foundation. In part two of our Infinity investigations we revealed several problems facing JAVIS. (We even corrected the spelling on the JAVIS web site and it seems someone at JAVIS/INFINITY saw our story and made the appropriate changes) INFINITY'S CFO, ROBERT HERMAN (photograph on the right) appears to have a difficult time answering questions and explaining what JAVIS is all about.

The JAVIS website is down. Disappeared.
What happened?

The NEWS 3 INVESTIGATORS has also uncovered 3 names appearing on the articles of incorporation for INFINITY INVESTMENT SERVICES. This documentation is filed with the state of Nevada. The names of 3 people, who until we called them, had no idea they were listed as managing members on the paper work. They are clients. In their own words they are not a part of this corporation and were never asked to be. It appears these documents were filed without their knowledge or permission.

If you are a victim of INFINITY INVESTMENT SERVICES click here.

Telephone Update

2008-08-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

The check has arrived! The Rowley's let me know Cox did in fact cover the cost of those fraudulent collect calls that showed up on their bill. $173 worth! If you check the earlier post, you'll see the story. After seeing what they went through, I called my phone company and put a block on all collect calls. It made me think .. when was the last time I received a collect call? I don't think I ever have. Also, after our story aired Steve Schorr emailed to say ... Cox is, by law, forced to put those charges on a customer's bill from third party companies. They simply have to pass them along, even if they seem fraudulent. Again .. if you notice something unusual, or suspect calls have been fraudulently applied to your bill, call your phone company and let them know. Write down the name of the person you speak with and call them back to make sure it's taken care of.

A Few Reminders .....

2008-08-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

If you saw our story on the “Phony Phone Calls”, you know you can prevent this type of thing from happening to you. If you didn’t see the story, click here. Any phone provider, (Cox, Embarq) can block third party billed calls from being applied to your account. (Third party calls are collect calls, calls from correctional facilities, many 900/976 numbers, etc.) After you place a block on your account, these types of calls won’t come through. These calls are billed by a third party, and your phone company has to put them on the bill. I just had this block placed on my own home phone. It’s free with Cox, Embarq charges 50 cents a month for a collect call block.

Help! I've Got An Abandoned Car In My Neighborhood

2008-07-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

We heard from two viewers about the trouble they had getting someone's attention when it came to abandoned cars in a neighborhood, or near a workplace.
We're watching our for you .. and we're saving you the steps of trying to find the appropriate agency.

The first step is to determine if it is parked on public property (most streets and neighborhoods), or private property (most vacant lots).

If it's private property, most often you'll need to call the Code Enforcement Department in your city .. Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, or if not in a city .. Clark County.

If it's public property, call your local police agency or check with the Constable's Office if you're in the City of Las Vegas or unincorporated Clark County.

**No matter who you call, please know the Make, Model, Color of the vehicle. Get the license plate number and location of the vehicle.

North Las Vegas
(if on public street)
North Las Vegas Police
702-633-1390

(if on private property)
North Las Vegas Code Enforcement
702-633-1677

on-line

Las Vegas
(if on private property--vacant lots, etc.)
Neighborhood Services
702-229-6615 (24 hour number-leave message after hours)

(if on public property--which is most streets)
702-455-8697 (Constable's Office)

on-line

Henderson
(private property)
Code Enforcement
702-267-3950

(public property)

Parking Enforcement Hotline

702-267-3950 or 702-267-5099

Clark County
(private property)
Public Response
702-455-4191

(public property)
Constable's Office
702-455-8697

Metro
(on line complaint form for public streets. You'll need to find which "Area Command" you live in within Metro's jurisdiction. All commands have area maps to show you the boundries. Each command has an Abandoned Vehicle Report.) You may also want to call the Constable's Office. It handles the much of the towing duty for Metro after recent changes to existing law.

Las Vegas Township Constable's Office

702-455-8697 (455-TOWS)

Once it receives a complaint of an abandoned vehicle, the Constable's office will send a deputy within 10 days. Already, the Constable's Office says it has towed 1000 abandoned vehicles.

Which Companies Have The Most ID Theft Complaints?

2008-07-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Find out below*

But first … Teenagers are a lot of things. Increasingly they are targets for ID theft. In fact the younger you are, the better victim you make. That’s because if someone has obtained your social security number, you probably won’t know. Older folks will find out someone has used their credit when they try to get a loan and are turned down, or they’ll get a call from a credit card company reporting suspicious activity. But, say, you’re 12 years old. You aren’t getting a car loan and it could be years before you find out there’s a problem.

You can see our story on Kate here.

Anyone with a social security number should be checking their credit report at least once a year. Young kids and teenagers should also do this, as our story illustrated. Just because young kids and teens don't have credit cards, car loans or home mortgages .. doesn't mean someone won't try to use their credit to do so. Half a million teenagers were victims of id theft. Many never thought to check their credit report. They should.

You can get an annual copy of your credit report, for free, from all three credit reporting agencies, once a year. If you're smart, space it out. Get one copy from one of the credit agencies. Wait four months, get another copy of your report from a different credit agency, etc. That way you won’t go a whole year in between reports. If you have them sent to you at home. Don’t leave them lying around. And don’t throw them in the garbage. Shred them!

Here's where you can get your annual credit report.

Here's how to contact each of the individual credit reporting agencies:
Equifax

TransUnion

Experian

*****If you want to see which companies get the most ID Theft/Fraud complaints, read this article.
Companies don't like to divulge this information. It turns out UC Berkeley's Center for Law and Technology, using a Freedom of Information Act request, got a small sampling of information from the Federal Trade Commission, which collects ID Theft/Fraud complaints from companies.

Gregory Cook, Evofi One, Inc. the mortage loan officer who appeared in our story "Kate's Identity Theft" told us about Evofi's new weapon to fight fraud and identity theft. The company just incorporated newly developed software they call FRAUD FREE ZONE. Evofi has spent 3 years developing this software. FRAUD FREE ZONE will analyze every loan application and will prevent most common types of fraud as well as mistakes in loan applications.

Read how the U.S. contradicts itself
over its ID theft advice.

Drink More Water!

2008-07-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

With the temperatures well into the triple digits, I hope you’re drinking lots of water! I came across this article on the Associated Press wire and thought it made an interesting point. I know lots of people who drink soda and assume they’re getting their needed amount of water. Not so ... if you read below.
Just so you know .. I like a soda every so often just like the next guy. But this is something to think about in our hot climate.

The study synopsis:

"Even though these beverages are proclaimed to be mostly water,
in a first
of a kind beverage trial it was demonstrated that they cannot
sustain
life. Since the outcome of such trial was unknown and since death
was
expected in absence of water, no humans or animals took part of it.
Instead, each beverage was given to a house plant, which depends on
water
for survival as people do. The results were stunningly sad.

(The plant on the left before the study started, the plant on the right was given only regular soda during the study.)

The plants failed to grow and develop, and most of them died.
However, the plant that was given plain water flourished.

(The plants above were given water only. The picture on the left was before the study, the picture on the right after the study was completed.)

"This is a good indicator that people quenching their thirst
with
beverages other than water might be making a catastrophic mistake
since
the beverage trial showed that no beverage can be a substitute for
water," said Steve Dimeck, the lead author of the study.
To raise the awareness in people about the benefits of drinking
water,
several dozen studies, research material and clinical trials were
reviewed. There was clear evidence that water indeed can help with
headaches, blood pressure, weight loss, ulcers, mental performance,
constipation, kidney stones, cancer and more.
"This study was not done to discourage people from consuming
the
modern-day beverages, but to encourage them to drink more water
since
water, as the beverage trial confirmed, means life," stated Steve
Dimeck."

The full study is available by going to this link. However, you have to sign up as a subscriber to read the whole thing.

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T14:46:00.001-07:00

Let's Talk About Garbage ...

2008-07-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

It's the landfill that keeps on going and going and going. No, you can't take garbage to the Sunrise landfill anymore. But it's still there, and still not permanently closed and capped, as the Environmental Protection Agency says it should be.
Sunrise landfill stopped accepting trash back in 1993. It "closed" in 1995. In 1997 Republic Services decided to buy Silver State Disposal, which included the Sunrise landfill. Now Republic owns it. If you weren't around in 1998, it was a bad flood year in the Las Vegas Valley. So bad, the water forced contaminants from the Sunrise Landfill ... downstream. The EPA came up with a plan to cap and seal and monitor the landfill, so it wouldn't happen again. Republic says the estimate to do that work was originally $36 million. Now, about 10 years later, it could cost another $30 million. So, Republic wants help. The county has been cool to the idea of raising rates to pay for the cleanup. It did agree to extend Republic's franchise agreement in the county until 2035, in exchange for cleaning up the landfill. See our original story on the situation here. Republic says that isn't enough. Republic also gets a rate increase every July 1, based on how much the consumer price index has gone up. That's not enough.

On June 20th, Republic sent a letter to the county saying if it didn't allow for a rate increase, Republic would increase something called "tipping fees" on its own. "Tipping Fees" are what Republic charges to get rid of garbage at its landfills and transfer stations. Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani doesn't think Republic can do that without county approval. So the standoff begins. Commissioners will take up the issue July 15th.

Some other information you might find useful. Republic owns a lot of landfills .. 58 in 21 states, so it should be familiar with the cost of capping and closing landfills. As part of the franchise agreement, Republic has to release its financials to the county every year. In 2007, Republic had revenue of just about $274 million dollars for its operation in Southern Nevada. It shows $34 million dollars in profit.

No Such Thing as International Driver's License!

2008-06-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Heads up to all of you who might be thinking of getting an International Driver's License. First of all, there's no such thing! There is something called an International Driving permit .. more on that in a moment.

The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division says a company is advertising on radio, in emails, and on websites. It promises "A license that can never be suspended or revoked". Folks, it's a scam. Those are not my words, that's what the State of Nevada found. Especially at risk for this .. Hispanics. Many of the ads are put in foreign-language newspapers that direct consumers top websites or local storefronts.

If you've been approached to by a bogus International Driver's License, report it to the Nevada Division of Motor Vehicles by going here or by calling 702-486-4368.

Part of the reason this scam is so successful is that there is a legitimate International Driving Permit (IDP). However, an IDP is not a replacement for a valid U. S. state license.

BRAKE TEAM target of INVESTIGATION

2008-06-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Customer complaints got Nevada Attorney General, Catherine Cortez Masto, to launch an undercover investigation into practices at the auto repair chain BRAKE TEAM.

On BRAKE TEAM's own web site they claim to be "the largest brake repair center" in Las Vegas.

But now BREAK TEAM will pay the largest settlement to date involving an Attorney General undercover investigation into the Nevada automotive repair industry.

$45,000.00 in fines and penalties.

BRAKE TEAM has agreed to:
- Revise employee compensation structure to reduce any incentive to sell unnecessary parts and services.
- Obtain membership in Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association.
- Train store personal in the Motorist Assurance Program Uniform Inspection & Communication Standards.
- Mandatory ethics training seminars for its sales and management.
- Hire a Technical Quality Assurance Manager.
- Test all brake repair technicians to ensure that they have practical, basic brake repair proficiency.
- Pay for technicians to test for Automotive Service Excellence certification.
- Implement and maintain internal quality assurance controls.
- Perform an annual cost of goods sold audit at each of its Nevada locations.
- Provide a "whistle-blower" or "fraud" hot-line for its employees.
- Implement a quarterly technical mystery shopper program.
- Perform a free brake service for 2,500 consumers
- Pay fines and penalties.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Click below to fight fraud or file a complaint...

Fight Fraud

FILE A COMPLAINT

Warning for Cox.net Customers

2008-05-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

Everybody wants your private information. We've warned many of you about it before. Since Cox is such a dominant player in the valley, I thought I'd pass this along. A viewer, who has a cox.net account, received the email below. I confirmed this with Cox officials, this is not something they would do! Cox will NEVER contact you asking you to give them this information. (log in name, mother's maiden, password,etc)

Here's the fraudulent email:

____________________________________________________
Dear Cox.net Email Account Owner,
This message is from ADRIAN.EDU messaging center to all COX.NET email
account users. We are currently upgrading our data base and e-mail account
center. We are deleting all unused COX.NET email account to create more
space for new accounts.
To prevent your account from being dormant,there is need for you to verify
your details below so that we will know that it is in used.
It is just routine, safe, secure and for everyone's security.You can
change your settings 72 hours after verification is concluded.
Email Login ID :
EMAIL Password :
Mother last Name:
Attention!!! Account owner that does not update his or her account within
a given period of time after receiving this Notification will lose his or
her account permanently. It will show that the person is not using this
services.
Thank you for using COX.NET!
Notification Code:BC1G43TRJ
Sandra Dubois
COX.NET SUPPORT TEAM

____________________________________________________

The above email is simply a way to get you to give up your personal information. Don't do it.

You can get more information on this particular scam at the cox.net site here.

BEWARE OF THAT "FREE" GIFT

2008-05-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

The next time your phone rings, know who is calling you.
That's the advice from the Federal Trade Commission.

Operation "Tele-PHONEY" is underway. It is the largest sweep ever conducted by the FTC on suspected fraudulent telemarketers.

The FTC unveiled the “Who’s Calling?” consumer education campaign, which encourages consumers to:
1) Recognize the signs of telemarketing fraud.
2) Report fraud to the FTC and state attorneys general.
3) Register phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry if they want to receive fewer telemarketing calls.

The campaign features a new Web site – in both English and Spanish – and two short videos. See the here.

Beware of that "free" gift offer...
Telemarketing magazine subscriptions, these defendants allegedly disguise their sales pitch as a survey, at the end of which they offer “free” or low-cost magazine subscriptions. They send a bill weeks later, stating that consumers agreed to pay several hundred dollars for the subscriptions. When consumers complain or attempt to cancel, the defendants tell them that they are obligated to pay the bill and may not cancel because they entered into a “verbal contract” during the survey call and the defendants have already paid the magazine publishers for the subscriptions. The defendants then attempt to extort payment by harassing the consumers at work, threatening to initiate collection actions, or threatening to submit derogatory information about them to the major credit bureaus.

“The caller asked for my bank account information. I cannot remember everything he said. I just thought that I needed to confirm my account information in order to avoid losing my Medicare benefits.”
Juanita Tortella, 77

William Cushing, Where are You?

2008-05-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened.

Nevada's Gaming Control Board did nominate William Cushing to be placed on "List of Excluded Persons". That's only part of the process though. The nomination has to be approved by the state's Gaming Commission. In order to do that, Cushing has to be served with papers notifying him of the nomination, so he can appeal it, if he chooses. Jerry Markling, Chief of the Gaming Control Board's Enforcement Division, says now investigators have to find Cushing. In the past, some people have avoided being served with papers to appear before the Commission. If that happens in this case, the Gaming Control Board can also put a notice in the newspaper which will accomplish the process of him being "served". It'll be a couple months before Cushing's case comes before the Commission.
So what happens when someone on the "List of Excluded Persons" goes into a Nevada Casino? It is not a felony, as has been reported elsewhere. It's a gross misdemeanor. As for the casino, it's a regulatory issue, not a criminal action if it happens.
A question from one of our viewers asked if there is facial recognition security software to tip off casinos if any of the 35 people on the list enter a casino. Markling told me there is software available to do that, he is not aware if any of the casinos use it.

if you're interested in the people "wanted" by the Gaming Control Board click here.

Stay tuned!

2008-05-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

If you didn't see the News 3 Investigators piece on problem landlords, click here to see it. We profile 3 landlords who own properties in Las Vegas. The properties are the top 3 in terms of city code violations. By the way, if you there's a chronic problem at a property where you live, the city of Las Vegas would like to hear about it. 229-6615. The neighborhood services department pretty much is complaint driven. That means they won't know about a problem, unless you notify them. If you don't live in the city limits of Las Vegas, contact Henderson, North Las Vegas, or Clark county, depending on where you live.

I spoke with Jerry Markling with the Nevada Gaming Control Board's Enforcement division about cheaters. The Board will decide whether to forward a new name for the "List of Excluded Persons" to the Gaming Commission. Some also call this the "Blackbook". William Cushing, according the Gaming Board, has had a long history of cheating casinos. If Cushing is put on the "List" he won't be allowed in most casinos. This "List" is pretty interesting. There are just 35 people on it. (34 men 1 woman) Once you're on, you're pretty much on their for life. You can request a judge to take you off if you can prove your case. According to Markling, that's never happened.
If you to check out the "List of Excluded Persons" click here.

10 Steps to find out if your rental home is in foreclosure

2008-05-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

We originally posted this information back in January 2008. It's still accurate, and still the "gold standard" since it takes you right to the county websites!

We get many, many phone calls from people who need to rent a home, but wonder if the rental they're looking at is in foreclosure or soon will be. The county recorder's office says on a daily basis, renters are learning the home they're living in went into foreclosure. The scary part is that the renters only learn this when they find a notice on their front door telling them they have a few days to move out! Unfortunately, there is no quick 1-800 number to call and get an answer.

Instead you have to do a little detective work. The Watchdog is watching out for you. We've made this as simple as possible and have put a step by step list on how to see if the home you're renting, or want to rent, is currently in foreclosure. It would make a lot of sense to check this on a monthly basis.Here we go!

1. Get the address of the rental property. If it's not in the rental ad, call and get it. Or better yet, set up an appointment to look at the house. That way you'll be sure the address you're given is accurate.

2. Go to the Clark County Assessor website here.

3. In the top left corner, click on address search and then enter the address. Keep in mind you enter the house number, the street name, the type of street (court, circle, road, etc) on separate lines. If you don't know what city or town the rental is in.. just leave that unspecified. Even though the rental home is in Las Vegas, it could show up under another town, such as Spring Valley, etc. Anyway, enter the address information and hit submit..

4. You should see a listing with the exact address. It's probably the first one on the list. Click on the parcel number.

5. Under general information you should see the homeowner's name and address, and also the parcel number again. Write that parcel number down .. you'll need it.

6. Go to the the Clark County Recorder website:

7. The second listing on the upper far left side of the site is "search records" .. click on that.

8. In the middle of the page you'll see several options to search on. Simple, Advanced, Instrument ID and Marriage.

9. Click on "Advanced Search".

10. The only thing you want to concern yourself with on this page is "legal descriptions". There are four lines under legal descriptions .. you want to use the first line which shows parcel number. In the blank space NEXT to parcel number, you want to enter the parcel number you wrote down.

*Do not enter the dashes between the number .. just the numbers*.

Then click on the button below that says "Detail Data".This should take you to the "Web Services Detailed Data Results."You'll notice each entry has an instrument number and a document type. If default paperwork has been filed with the recorder's office, it should be listed here. The most recent actions are listed first. If it's not listed now .. you may want to check back on a weekly or monthly basis. If you see something that might be a default, or you want more information, write down the instrument number and take it with you to the county recorder's office. They are there to help you and that instrument number will prevent you from going through all these steps again.

Some detailed documents are ONLY available at the county recorder's office. Employees there will help you find what you're looking for.Where is the County Recorder's office? It's inside the big stone-looking building at 500 S Grand Central Parkway known as the Clark County Government Center. It's across from the Premium Outlet Mall and near the World Market Center. The recorder's office is on the second floor. The phone number is 455-4336.

Water Rebate Update!

2008-04-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

Not long ago we did a story about Barbara Owen and her yard. She decided to do the right thing and save water. She pulled out her grass and replaced it with rock and artificial turf. It was all going to plan until the Southern Nevada Water Authority reminded her that in order to receive the rebate, she had to have at least 50 percent plant coverge on the area she's replacing. (It's spelled out on the back of the rebate form you have to sign.)
Well, after a few changes, Barbara got her rebate! All 1134 dollars! She also sent along some pictures of the cactus in her backyard which are blooming, which we'll share! She even caught a hummingbird checking out her backyard.

If you didn't see the story we did you can see it by going here.
Then scroll down to the story titled "Water Rebate Warning"

Way to go Barbara!

Scam, Scam, Scam!

2008-04-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

We've had many reports recently about phishing. So here's the reminder again. Be cautious.
Phishing is when you receive an email using some ploy to get your personal information. It'll say "We've updated our records and want to make sure our information is up to date", or "A deadline is fast approaching, without your attention you could be putting your accounts in danger" etc. I've heard people getting emails that appear to be from your bank. They are not .. but they may look very close. People can steal logos from a well known company and use them in an email. A Channel 3 employee got an email, allegedly, from the IRS.
We are pleased to inform you that upon reviewing yourfiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible toreceive a tax refund of $270,25.To access the online form for your tax refund, please click here
Of course, the employee was suspicious. Think about it. Doesn't the IRS already have all your information? Why would they contact you via email? If you are not sure, don't reply to the email. Call the Bank, IRS, credit card company or whoever is asking for the updated personal information. Don't call any phone number on the email. Call the established phone number you have for the bank, IRS, credit card, etc and ask them why they are trying to get updated information. In almost every case, it's a fraud!

Also ... if someone tells you you won a lottery from a foreign country .. it's a lie.

Buffalo Jim's Rolls Royce

2008-04-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

These are never before seen photograph’s of Metro Police inspecting Buffalo Jim’s Rolls Royce.

No news on what Metro discovered – if anything.

However, that doesn’t stop the conspiracy theorist from working overtime since the sudden death of James “Buffalo Jim” Barrier. Perhaps their theories will one day be proven true – maybe not.
Was he murdered? Why some believe we will never know?
Like Ted Binion this death is bound to end up
in the pages of Las Vegas folklore.
What we do know is that the Clark County Coroner has
listed this death as “natural causes.”
However, all that could change depending on the results of the toxicology report.
We could be waiting weeks for those results.

Metro has looked into this death at the request and urging of family members.
There is no “murder” investigation.
Homicide detectives are not investigating.

So, we wait.

Credit Scam, Religion & Recycling

2008-04-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week so far. It's only Wednesday!
Hope you caught the story about Kyle Kimoto. He's the Las Vegas man found guilty of conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud.

The U-S Attorney's office says his company, registered in Nevada, but operating out of St. George, Utah did business under several different names. Advantage Capital, Capital First, Premier One, Bay Area Business Council and American Leisure were some of them.
A Federal Grand Jury found his credit card scheme victimized more than 300-thousand people, costing victims 43 million dollars.

We also learned a little bit about his wife. She is a former Mrs. Nevada. A viewer brought this news release to my attention. It's interesting how often she talks about helping those in the community. Even more interesting when you compare it to what her husband was convicted of doing.

Recycling. It appears the "test" neighborhoods are all lined up. We talked about this months ago. Republic Services wanted to try several different plans to see which increased recycling. The biggest change is that you would no longer have 3 bins to put recyclables in. Just one big can for all recyclables. No separating paper and plastic. Republic and the County wanted to test this out for about a year to see which works best. Although early recommendations by a recycling task force appeared to suggest cutting back our garbage service collection to just one day a week, along with the changes to recycling service, we're told that is no longer the case.
We'll have more on this soon.

Helping the Little Guy, or Big Business?

2008-04-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

We’ve done many stories about how the housing crisis has affected people in the Las Vegas Valley. Unfortunately, people are still losing homes to foreclosure in Nevada, more so than in most other states. Renters are still learning the home they’ve been paying to rent, is in foreclosure.

Washington is trying to do something, but it may not be what most people expect. Consumer groups says it's a big government handout to big business.

The Foreclosure Prevention Act is supposed to help lots of folks stay in their homes. But it turns out there are just modest steps in the bill to do that. There is much more when it comes to the billions of dollars in tax breaks for businesses. The benefactors include automakers, airlines, alternative energy producers and home builders.
You can read the full story in the New York Times.

Doctor Website Changing?

2008-04-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of attention on the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners in light of the Hepatitis/HIV crisis.
At its quarterly meeting in March, the board announced it will be considering changes to its website, including the possibility of adding more information about doctors. That could include information about malpractice lawsuits doctors have faced. Apparently, some of that information used to be on the website, it's not anymore. We won't know until June if the board decides to study changes to its website. In the meantime, you can see the latest doctors to be disciplined by the Board here.

Read the Fine Print!

2008-04-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

We all need to save water, right? Many people have taken advantage of the Southern Nevada Water Authority Water Smart rebate. It allows you to remove grass from your yard and get a rebate from the authority, provided you switch to a low water use landscape. Literally, thousands of people have taken advantage of this, and we're saving water. It's a good thing.
But, the authority wants you to use less water, not NO water. One of our viewers found that out. Even though her neighborhood association says it was fine with her idea, the water authority told her she would have to add some plants to her landscaping. Essentially, use more water than she planned. It has to do with the "50 percent rule". By accepting the rebate, you agree that at least half of the area being converted will be covered with live, low water use plants. Just something to keep in mind if you're considering the rebate.
You can see the story here.

An Island of Garbage?

2008-03-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

There's another reason to re-use those plastic grocery store bags, or better yet use the canvas reusable ones. In fact, this story should encourage all of us to use less plastic. I was listening to the Bryant Park Project on NPR this morning and they were talking about a huge problem in one part of the Pacific Ocean. It's a huge plastic garbage mass. It is nearly TWICE the size of Texas! The mass can be found halfway between Hawaii and Los Angeles. Earth Day isn't until next month, but this is definitely something to think about. The garbage mass deposits in this particular area due to the ocean currents and lack of wind. 80 percent of the garbage comes from land based areas, about 20 percent from cruise ships, according to the man who has made 8 trips to this area. It takes about 6 months for plastic garbage to make its way from Asia to this particular spot, and about 5 years to make its way from the United States.

Find out more here

Earth Day is April 22!

Attention Renters!

2008-03-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

We had a story Wednesday night about a couple who found out the home they were living in was in foreclosure. It went into foreclosure in October of 2007, but the renters, Jennifer and Travis, didn't find out about it until January! What tipped them off? Not the owner of the home, I did.

You can see our story about Home Foreclosure by clicking here.

In the interest of helping other renters who may not know there is a problem with their rental home, I'm reprinting the "10 steps" to find out if the rental home you're living in is in foreclosure. I've seen ads that some companies are charging $200 to get this information. It's free here.

Originally posted January 2, 2007

We get many, many phone calls from people who need to rent a home, but wonder if the rental they're looking at is in foreclosure or soon will be. The county recorder's office says on a daily basis, renters are learning the home they're living in went into foreclosure. The scary part is that the renters only learn this when they find a notice on their front door telling them they have a few days to move out! Others will find a padlock on their rental home. Not only do these folks have to move out, if they paid first and last month's rent, plus a security fee, they likely won't get that money back.Unfortunately, there is no quick 1-800 number to call and get an answer. Instead you have to do a little detective work. The Watchdog is watching out for you.

We've made this as simple as possible and have put a step by step list on how to see if the home you're renting, or want to rent, is currently in foreclosure. It would make a lot of sense to check this on a monthly basis.

Here we go!
1. Get the address of the rental property. If it's not in the rental ad, call and get it. Or better yet, set up an appointment to look at the house. That way you'll be sure the address you're given is accurate.
2. Go to the Clark County Assessor website below:

http://www.co.clark.nv.us/ASSESSOR/Disclaim.htm

3. In the top left corner, click on address search and then enter the address. Keep in mind you enter the house number, the street name, the type of street (court, circle, road, etc) on separate lines. If you don't know what city or town the rental is in, just leave that unspecified. Even though the rental home is in Las Vegas, it could show up under another town, such as Spring Valley, etc. Anyway, enter the address information and hit submit..

4. You should see a listing with the exact address. It's probably the first one on the list. Click on the parcel number.

5. Under general information you should see the homeowner's name and address, and also the parcel number again. Write that parcel number down .. you'll need it.

6. Go to the the Clark County Recorder website:

http://www.co.clark.nv.us/recorder/recindex.htm

7. The second listing on the upper far left side of the site is "search records" .. click on that.

8. In the middle of the page you'll see several options to search on. Simple, Advanced, Instrument ID and Marriage.

9. Click on "Advanced Search".

10. The only thing you want to concern yourself with on this page is "legal descriptions". There are four lines under legal descriptions .. you want to use the first line which shows parcel number.
In the blank space NEXT to parcel number, you want to enter the parcel number you wrote down. Do not enter the dashes between the number .. just the numbers. Then click on the button below that says "Detail Data". This should take you to the "Web Services Detailed Data Results." You'll notice each entry has an instrument number and a document type. If default paperwork has been filed with the recorder's office, it should be listed here. The most recent actions are listed first. If it's not listed now .. you may want to check back on a weekly or monthly basis.

If you see something that might be a default, or you want more information, write down the instrument number and take it with you to the county recorder's office. They are there to help you and that instrument number will prevent you from going through all these steps again.

Some detailed documents are ONLY available at the county recorder's office. Employees there will help you find what you're looking for.

Where is the County Recorder's office? It's inside the big stone-looking building at 500 S Grand Central Parkway known as the Clark County Government Center. It's across from the Premium Outlet Mall and near the World Market Center. The recorder's office is on the second floor. The phone number is 455-4336.

Kessler Report

2008-03-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Clark County Commissioners are talking about changes now that the Kessler report is out.
The report, looks at the handling and mishandling of complaints, inside the Clark County Building Division and Clark County Fire Departments. If you want to see some of the examples .. page through it.

http://www.co.clark.nv.us/Public_communications/news_releases/Kessler%20Final%20Report%200308.pdf

The County is already taking steps to increase fees (fines) for not getting the proper permits from $4,000 to $50,000. It also wants employees better trained to spot concealed work. By the way, Harrah's, a major part of the report, did not let its employees talk to Michael Kessler for his investigation.

And one more thing. One of our watchdog investigators asked me .. Where was the public? The commissioners dealt with the Endoscopy crisis, and the Kessler report today. They were expecting a large group of citizens to attend. The place was nearly empty ... two people showed up. Granted, a lot of them work, but you would think enough people have been affected by this to attend. Just sayin! There is a hearing scheduled for March 24th, a Monday, at 5:30pm at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, near Las Vegas Boulevard North and Washington. Members of the state health and human services committee want to hear from the public about the hepatitis and HIV scare. Specifically how were things handled, what should change?

An apology from the Governor!

2008-03-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

It wasn't aimed at me specifically, but to the media in general. The governor apologized for using the word "buffoonery" while describing media coverage of the health care crisis. The news release hasn't been posted on the Governor's website yet .. so here is what the release says on this "buffoonery" issue:

"The governor also said he regretted using the word “buffoonery” while describing media coverage of the health care crisis. “My intention was to be sure that people were not fearful of seeking medical care because of the intense media coverage, it was a poor choice of words and I regret it,” Gibbons said.

On Sunday, the Governor also said he will ask three members of the Board of Medical Examiners to resign. This came two days after the three doctors said they would recuse themselves from any decisions on discipline, or the investigation, regarding the doctors involved in the hepatitis/hiv scare.

It turns out the President of the Board of Medical Examiners, Javaid Anwar, MD, The Vice President, Sohail Anjum, MD, and board member Daniel McBride, MD all have financial, professional or personal ties to some of the doctors in this scare, including Dr. Dipak Desai. Desai owns the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Desai, as we've written about before, was also involved in the effort to limit malpractice damages in Nevada, which was approved by voters.

Will the three doctors resign from the Board? A spokesman for the Governor says they can't be fired. They were appointed to the position. The executive director of the Board of Medical Examiners, Tony Clark, has also been asked to resign by the Governor. The Gibbons spokesman says since Clark works for the Board of Medical Examiners, the Governor can't fire him either.

Gibbons does plan to name replacements to the board very soon.

UMC "Held Hostage" by Desai contract

2008-03-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Dr. Dipak Desai is not getting any more money from UMC. He'd been involved with the county operated hospital for years through its gastroenterology department. He, and his clinics, had a contract with UMC for nearly a million dollars a year. In return, Desai would accept UMC referrals regardless if the patients had insurance. Many UMC clients don't.

The interesting part of the story is how he got the contract. He did it by cancelling an earlier contract with UMC which paid him and his clinics about $200,000 a year. He cancelled suddenly, putting UMC in a bind. It solicited new proposals and only two groups responded. Guess what .. Desai got the contract .. but this new one paid him and his clinics about $800,000 more! UMC spokesman Rick Plummer says UMC was held hostage by the tactic. The story in the Las Vegas Sun spells it all out.

Fraud Alert! If anyone claiming to be from Metro asks you for some kind of donation. Don't believe it. And don't give out any personal information .. checking account numbers, banking information. That goes for anyone selling something on ebay or craigslist. Lots of complaints from people who are trying to sell something, but those who want to buy are asking for banking information. Sounds fishy to me.

It Just Looks Bad ... Real Bad.

2008-03-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

Obviously, Dr. Dipak Desai has a successful practice. He's the majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Although no formal charges have been filed against Dr. Desai at this time, or any of the other doctors in his group, investigators reported that syringes were re-used in an effort to save money. (The fluid used to sterilize some of the endoscopy equipment was also re-used.) News 3's Hetty Chang found similar syringes at medical supply stores selling for 7 cents a piece! A patients health compromised to save 7 cents? Many have called the action simply .... greed.

When you compare the cost-cutting allegations to the extravagant 3.4 million dollar, almost 9-thousand square foot home that Dr. Desai owns in the Red Rock Country Club, it's obvious he didn't cut corners at his home. News 3's Hetty Chang found those 7 cent syringes, multiplied by the 40-thousand people who may be affected by this, probably saved the doctor $2800. I'm guessing that's not enough to make the monthly mortgage payment on his Red Rock home. From all we've learned, not re-using syringes is a basic part of medical school education. If you want to see what else we've learned about these doctors, you can check out the story here.

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7936239

More about Water

2008-02-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

Since we aired our story on water, and what our Las Vegas Valley Water District board members have been doing to save it in their own yards, we've been thinking about where our water comes from. Did you know 90% of the water the Southern Nevada Water Authority receives comes from the Colorado River? The other 10% comes from aquifers and wells. The SNWA only gets 300,000 acre feet from the river per year. Sounds like a lot huh? But look at this. Arizona gets 2.85 million acre feet. California gets 4.4 million acre feet. Colorado gets 3.9 million acre feet, Utah 1.7 million acre feet, Wyoming(!) (and all its 515,000 people) gets 1 million acre feet and New Mexico gets .85 million acre feet. Even the country of Mexico gets more than we do! 1.5 million acre feet.
The Colorado River Compact was signed back in 1922, long before the Las Vegas Valley was at 2 million people. Still ... seems like we aren't getting our fair share.
By the way, an acre foot of water is 326,000 gallons. That's roughly enough water for two families in Las Vegas for one year.

Just something to think about.

And if you didn't see our story on "Practice what they Preach" you can see it here:
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7936239

The emails we got after the story aired, were all quite similar. If water is in such short supply, why don't the water experts get elected officials to stop approving new housing projects?

Here's what one woman emailed:

I wish you would have asked Pat Mulroy and the commissioners why they haven't pushed for a halt to growth in the valley to save water. They all have the ability to stop issuing building permits to developers.
It's all well and good to conserve water but more people means more water being used.
Stop the growth or at least slow it down and we will save water.

Here's another:
I wonder though, when we are in such a water 'conservation' mode that these Commissioners continue to embrace every developer that just 'has' to build another shopping center-housing development-parking lot- CASINOS and on and on. It isn't rocket science-that if you quit building-and halt growth to a degree, you alleviate some of the pressure.But no- that wouldn't be 'cost-effective' I suppose.

Practicing What They Preach??

2008-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

February 26, 2008

We've all been told to use less water. In fact, for most of us, water rates are going up next month. Part of the increase is to provide incentive for people to use less. But what about the people who make the water rules? Who checks on them? We do! Tune in Wednesday for News 3 at 4pm and 11pm to see "Practicing what they Preach?". We look at the people who make the waters rules to see what they've done at their own homes. Do they have full lawns? Desert landscape? Fake grass? The Clark County Commissioners also act as board members for the Las Vegas Valley Water District. We took our cameras to see what these board members have done at their homes. We even had to employ Sky 3 to get us shots of homes that are in guard-gated communities. Do they pass or fail? Watch News 3 at 4pm & 11pm on Wednesday to see!

The Filthy House .. Viewers respond!

2008-02-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

February 15, 2008

We've received a lot of feedback about our story on Sally, the landlord and her filthy house.
Sally called us when she saw the condition of her rental home after a mother and four children had lived in the home for about 5 years. For many of those years Sally depended on a property management company to keep an eye on the place, as Sally lived out of state. She ended firing the management company and is now expecting to spend 30-thousand dollars to get her rental home in decent condition. As you'll see in the story, the renters received section 8 assistance from the Housing Authority of Clark County. The renter paid about 380 dollars a month, housing assistance (federal tax dollars) made up the rest. About 780 dollars a month.

We got many emails about the story, most of them positive. A few questioned why Sally never inspected the place herself. Some wondered why the renter's information should be kept private. (The Housing Authority says client information is confidential, and they won't tell us if this person is still receiving assistance) One person assumed that Sally was somehow related to me ... otherwise, this person asked, why else would I do such a slanted story? (I'm guessing they didn't like it) For the record, Sally is not a relative. Never met her, but glad we were able to bring her circumstance to the airwaves. The story got a lot of people talking and just today I've heard from three people who have rented to clients of the Housing Authority of Clark County. All tell me they've encountered similar problems. One woman told me she asked the Housing Authority to come and inspect the condition the renters had left the home in. They wouldn't. She was told the agency used to do that, but stopped several years ago.

Anyway. Here are some of the comments we received.

1.
I for one do not feel sorry for the land lord in your story about section 8. I have section 8 home in my area and the people are filthy too. If the owner cared about the home she would have checked on the condition of it on a regular basis. So for her to be surprised shows she did not care since we was getting payed. Now that it is going to cost her so much money is good, hopefully other landlords (slum lords) will take an interest in there homes and check on the section 8 people to ensure they are maintaining the property.
(This is the one asking if I'm a relative of Sally's. This person also says Sally is "playing the system" . I think most people would assume the renters "played the system" as they messed up Sally's house and didn't have to pay a thing to fix it!)

2.
In the real estate boom of the last 5-6 years, people were greedy and would have sold their souls to the devil to squeeze an extra dollar out of a deal. The mere fact that woman was qualified for Section 8 tells me she was a savvy investor. Section 8 is very hard to get and they are limited. Some investors had to do deals to get them transferred from property they owned in California. Long story. People that do this are savvy...they do it for the guaranteed rent from the Housing Authority and take the risk for the guaranteed rent. Everyone in the world assumes a Section 8 renter will destroy their home. This is no surprise to anyone.
I would understand you doing this story for her if she is a relative or friend and you want to help her, but otherwise, remember, there are three sides to every story, his side, her side and the truth. You only showed one side. I would like you to show the other side. She is not a poor woman against the government and I hate to be rude but your story sort of displayed ignorance on your part for not realizing she is playing the system as a savvy investor and may have used you to get help when in fact, she is part of the "investor" system that screwed many other in the real estate boom of late.
Except for you, I am not sure anyone feels sorry for her.
I apologize for saying that, but I do not think you looked very smart doing that story :)
She was a savvy investor and I think she played you.

3.
After reading the article on the landlord/nasty tenant situation, it just raises more questions about the whole "government assistance" programs. Why aren't recipients of such programs held accountable or, better yet, held at a higher standard? Now, this homeowner is burdened with cleaning up after an adult who has no respect for others or their property. And this is teaching the kids what? That it's ok to behave this way? Without regard to other people?

4.
I read the story on "filthy renters". I know the feeling. My partner and I owned rental properties in LV for yeras. We were out of state owners. Moved to LV 7/2006. Looked at one property. Found out tenant was a sec 8. Tenant had 12 natural children, 5-6 dogs. No doors on bedrooms. Cupboard doors torn off. DW full of garbage. 2nd Bath plumbing broken off wall. Outside backyard full of dog feces. Front yard full of garbage. We learned police had been called many times in four years. Neighbors in cul-de-sac fearful because tenants had gang affiliation. Tenants did mid-night move after I sent a letter to raise rent and charge $200.00 per animal. Cost to repair $26,000. ... just to put in shape to sell. By the way house a formal model .. in prestine condition when we purchased.

5.
I watched with interest your Section 8 story regarding the home that was left filthy and in shambles. I too rented to a Section 8 renter about seven years ago and found the agency difficult, at best, to work with. I did have some questions as to why the owner did not do random walk through, which is allowed but not always encouraged. With an investment as large as what she had it only makes sense to check on it and not just occasionally. While it is possible to work with the Housing Authority I do feel that my rental experience as an eye opener. The filth and destruction left our rental vacant for two months while we redid the entire interior and exterior. Even though I checked on it each and every month and advised the renter when and how it needed to be cared for the lack of concern for others property was incredible. When I contacted the Housing Authority regarding some concerns I was informed of the renters rights never mine. It was a total learning experience for us. I do think that the Section 8 Housing Authority needs to do a better job of "partnering up" with the owners, as well as the receivers of Section 8. I think that more people within the valley would be willing to allow Section 8 renters if the Housing Authority was more direct on what the owners rights are and how to enforce them. Also, when we did the repairs on our home I turned in an itemized bill for the amounts spent, including our labor. It took three months to get reimbursed from them and then we had to apply pressure. It is indeed a government abyss.

It turns out we heard from several other Section 8 landlords who've encountered similar problems. Some plan to take their complaints striaght to the top, when the Director of HUD comes to Las Vegas!

Announcing the Please Don't Call Me list

2008-02-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2007

So .. here it is! A link to the Secretary of State's site to try and cut down on campaign phone calls.
Even the Secretary of State, Ross Miller, admits this won't stop ALL campaign calls, but hey, it's worth a try. You can place yourself on the "Please Don't Call List" by going to this site:
http://www.silverstate08.com/
Keep in mind, this list is voluntary. That means it's up to the campaigns on whether they honor this list, or not. When the popular "Do Not Call List" was introduced back in 2003, political groups were exempted from it!! (You knew politicians would keep for themselves the option of calling you at home!)
Here's something else you may want to try. The Clark County Election Department allows you to permanently withhold your address and telephone number from voter registration records ..(although any prior address and phone number may still be available). Print the form, fill it out, and then mail it, fax it or drop it off.
Go to this site:
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/election/forms.asp#conf
Under the confidentiality header, click on one of the two options (do you have a printer, or not?) and fill out the required information and send it in.

Foreclosure Scam

2008-01-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

A giant foreclosure scam CONTINUES to sweep across the valley hitting home owners and renters.
Take a look at the picture of Matt Marlon.
Each time we broadcast his face...investigators get calls from potential victims.
According to the Secretary of States office, Matt Marlon goes by various names. (Also known as....JOHN OLSON, MR. MORRIS, ANDREW "ANDY" JOHNSON, ROBERT CROCKER, AND PETER BARTOLI)
If you have dealt with Marlon on foreclosure issues call the AG's office immediately....
TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL:Consumers may contact the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection about home foreclosure "rescue" scams at (702) 486-3194 in Las Vegas or (775) 684-1180 in Carson City.
HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE NEVADA MORTGAGE LENDING DIVISIONIf you feel you have been the victim of a foreclosure rescue scam, you may contact the Nevada Mortgage Lending Division at 775-684-7060.
New victims come forward each day. Early this week, the victim count was 63. We were told that number is almost guaranteed to climb as investigators look into new complaints.
With Nevada leading the nation in home foreclosures, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto warns constituents to beware of fraudulent foreclosure rescue schemes. Be aware of companies offering foreclosure relief which require consumers to sign contracts which involve turning over home ownership to the company and leasing the home back to the consumer with a buy back option at a future date. Many companies prey on consumers' fears of losing their homes. Many of these schemes are designed to fail so that consumers will lose their homes to the foreclosure rescue company.

10 steps to see if your rental home is in foreclosure

2008-01-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

January 2, 2008

We get many, many phone calls from people who need to rent a home, but wonder if the rental they're looking at is in foreclosure or soon will be. The county recorder's office says on a daily basis, renters are learning the home they're living in went into foreclosure. The scary part is that the renters only learn this when they find a notice on their front door telling them they have a few days to move out! Others will find a padlock on their rental home. Not only do these folks have to move out, if they paid first and last month's rent, plus a security fee, they likely won't get that money back.
Unfortunately, there is no quick 1-800 number to call and get an answer. Instead you have to do a little detective work. The Watchdog is watching out for you. We've made this as simple as possible and have put a step by step list on how to see if the home you're renting, or want to rent, is currently in foreclosure. It would make a lot of sense to check this on a monthly basis.
Here we go!
1. Get the address of the rental property. If it's not in the rental ad, call and get it. Or better yet, set up an appointment to look at the house. That way you'll be sure the address you're given is accurate.
2. Go to the Clark County Assessor website here.
3. In the top left corner, click on address search and then enter the address. Keep in mind you enter the house number, the street name, the type of street (court, circle, road, etc) on separate lines. If you don't know what city or town the rental is in.. just leave that unspecified. Even though the rental home is in Las Vegas, it could show up under another town, such as Spring Valley, etc. Anyway, enter the address information and hit submit..
4. You should see a listing with the exact address. It's probably the first one on the list. Click on the parcel number.
5. Under general information you should see the homeowner's name and address, and also the parcel number again. Write that parcel number down .. you'll need it.
6. Go to the the Clark County Recorder website:
7. The second listing on the upper far left side of the site is "search records" .. click on that.
8. In the middle of the page you'll see several options to search on. Simple, Advanced, Instrument ID and Marriage.
9. Click on "Advanced Search".
10. The only thing you want to concern yourself with on this page is "legal descriptions". There are four lines under legal descriptions .. you want to use the first line which shows parcel number. In the blank space NEXT to parcel number, you want to enter the parcel number you wrote down. Do not enter the dashes between the number .. just the numbers. Then click on the button below that says "Detail Data".
This should take you to the "Web Services Detailed Data Results."
You'll notice each entry has an instrument number and a document type. If default paperwork has been filed with the recorder's office, it should be listed here. The most recent actions are listed first. If it's not listed now .. you may want to check back on a weekly or monthly basis. If you see something that might be a default, or you want more information, write down the instrument number and take it with you to the county recorder's office. They are there to help you and that instrument number will prevent you from going through all these steps again. Some detailed documents are ONLY available at the county recorder's office. Employees there will help you find what you're looking for.
Where is the County Recorder's office? It's inside the big stone-looking building at 500 S Grand Central Parkway known as the Clark County Government Center. It's across from the Premium Outlet Mall and near the World Market Center. The recorder's office is on the second floor. The phone number is 455-4336.

Yucca and Gayle

2007-12-11T17:16:00.000-08:00

December 11, 2007

In Henderson we attended the monthly Chamber of Commerce breakfast that put the spot light on the Yucca Mountain project.
Bob Loux, who heads up Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects did the speaking.
It's his belief the Department of Energy (DOE) is trying to speed up the process of getting it's Yucca Mountain license application turned in by June of 2007. DOE will turn its application in to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). That, he says, is so the license can be in the works before a new president is elected. Loux said every Democratic presidential candidate is against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Loux also mentioned a General Accounting Office (GAO) report which showed that the DOE owns or operates 127 facilities around the country which hold radioactive waste or some sort. The GAO found that 124 of those facilities failed for one reason or another. Loux also said new federal legislation would exempt the Federal government from all Federal, State and local transportation regulations when it comes to moving nuclear waste through our state. The legislation would also exempt DOE from all existing hazardous waste laws. Although the DOE prefers to haul the nuclear waste to Nevada by rail, some shipments may come by truck, possibly those from southern California. In other scenarios, during bad weather/winter weather situations, rail lines that run right through Las Vegas may have to be used.
Here's another interesting point Bob Loux made. The 319 mile rail route DOE is proposing to haul the waste from Caliente, NV (a proposed transfer site) to the repository would cross land on the Nevada Test Site. That means the DOE would be able to tell Nellis Air Force Base when and where it could fly when those shipments happened to be on the tracks. Obviously, DOE would want to prevent any jet training while the tanks were being taken to Yucca Mountain to avoid a possible crash/target practice/etc.
Interesting things to think about. We're going to do more on some of what Bob Loux talked about, and also talk to DOE in the New Year .... so stay tuned.

Gayle Gonsalez update...
And for those of you following the Gayle Gonsalez story (see below), she's now out of jail. We've got more coming up on her story as well.
SHE'S CAUGHT!
Remember our EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION from November about Gayle Morrill aka Gayle Gonsalez? (She's the local book keeper that according to former companies where she was employed at - Gayle helped herself to their cash!)
It came as a BIG relief to past employers our investigation profiled that this past Friday, (12/7) the law caught up with Gayle. She was caught, handcuffed, and hauled into CCDC.
According to court records, Gayle faces various charges of theft, burglary and forgery.
As of Tuesday (12/11) she remains locked-up at CCDC. On Wednesday Gayle will make another early morning appearence before Judge Abbi Silver.
Will Gayle be released pending trial? Or, will Gayle be considered a flight risk and remain behind bars? We will let you know.
If you do not remember our investigation or wish to see it again - See the storyby clicking here: http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7300337
During our long investigation, it proved difficult to capture a clear shot of Gayle. Thanks to CCDC and Metro for providing us with this clear shot of Gayle. It's Gayle's most recent mug shot taken 12/7 upon being booked into the dentention center:

Follow the Money!

2007-12-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

December 6, 2007

Want to know who or what company has donanted to which candidate?
How much did they give? Easy to find out. Look up by zip code, last name, employer or by the candidate.
Go to DONOR LOOK UP ..... http://opensecrets.org/pres08/search_donor.asp

Testing new ways to boost recycling

2007-12-04T17:15:00.000-08:00

December 4, 2007

The WATCHDOG reported a few months back about the 3 pilot programs on "Recycling/Curb Side Trash Pick-Up" the Clark County Recycling Committee will start testing on voluntary home owner associations.
One of the programs or bits-and-pieces from each program could eventually affect the way your curb side trash gets picked-up.
Today, (12/4) the Clark County Commissioners approved the go ahead to start the testing of the pilot programs. The following sites expressed interest to participate:
Hillside View
Lexington
Millstream
Nellis Air Force Base
Pueblo Del Sol
Red Rock Country Club
Sage Creek
Sapphire
Spring Valley Highlands
Winterwood Ranch
Turning Point
Villas At Blue Diamond
The 3 test pilot programs are:
- Once-a-week recycling and once-a-week trash pick-up.
- Once-a-week recycling and twice-a-week trash pick-up.
- Every other week recycling and twice-a-week trash pick-up.
Side note: Both Commissioners Chris G and Chip Maxfield voted in favor but not before going on record to state that neither endorse any changes to trash pick-up that would reduce it from the current twice-a-week pick-up to a once-a-week pick-up schedule.

Your monthly water bill .. is it correct?

2007-11-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

November 28, 2007

During this same time last year our average water bill was about $15, so imagine our shock when last month's bill showed an amount due of $195.33.
What a HUGE increase.
Was this a costly price hike? Were we careless water hogs? Could there be a mistake? Did the house have some unknown water leak spewing gallons of water by the minute?
The bill stated 66,000 gallons of water was used in a single month.
That seemed nearly impossible for a single occupied home with (a) desert landscaping, (b) water saving shower heads, (c) water saving toilets, and (d) plenty of bottled water to replace drinking out of the tap.
Customer service at the Water District suggested we read our meter and compare that number to what was printed on our last statement.
We did ...and guess what?
The number on our meter and on our bill were completely different.
In fact, the current meter read was less than the previous read 2-months ago.
It turns out the electronics that spit out our water usage information into the readers the water district uses to measure were defective.
Not only was the $195.33 not due, but after an examination by the water district a $70 credit was issued for previous months where usage was miscalculated.
It paid to read our meter.
How often do errors with meter reads occur? Not very.
The water district told us they have a 99% to 99.2% accuracy.
About 200 to 280 residential bills get kicked-out of their system each month for examination because water usage was either unusually high or low. (Somehow our $195.33 sneaked by.)
About a year ago the water district replaced our meter. That's something they do as meters reach the age of 20 years. There's something else to know that could be helpful in detecting unknown water leaks on your property. These new meters have a small red triangle on the face of them, and when water is being used the triangle will rotate. So if all your faucets are turned off and no water is being used inside or outside your home, the triangle should not rotate - that's one way to see if you have an unknown leak somewhere on your property.

Taken for Big Bucks!

2007-11-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

November 26, 2007

Received yet ANOTHER call from a local resident who received in the mail "a hefty sized check" made out to them.
The enclosed instructions explained that they were to deposit the check into their personal checking account and then withdraw some cash. Next they were instructed to Western Union that cash back to the sender.
They did!
And what happened?
The results is something we have reported on and blogged about many times.
Let's all say this next line together..."The check they deposited bounced and the money they sent out is gone for good."
It's now an old scam but one that continues to work. There may be a variety of bogus reasons given in the instructions for the receiver of these checks to send cash back to the sender; it's to cover the cost of shipping or handling of a prize you've won, lottery fee's on a contest you have won, application fees to become a secret shopper....
If you get a check in the mail and you do not know the sender or why they have sent it to you? Call: PHONE BUSTERS 1-888-495-8501

Update on the way

2007-11-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

11/15/2007

Hello from the Watchdog unit!

News 3 viewers will remember our report on Gayle Gonsalez. She is the bookkeeper who was hired by many valley businesses. They accuse her of fraud, forging checks, ID theft, etc. Those companies say she took them for thousands of dollars. If you didn't see the story, click on this link. There's also a link to see the story on video.
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7300337
It turns out an employer we didn't include in our story contacted News 3 this week to say they've found some unusual transactions. Thousands of dollars in misappropriated funds that appear to be from checks made out to Gayle Gonsalez. Police are working the case, and so are we. Stay tuned, we're working on an update!
Also, we're continuing to get many complaints about car repair. Frankly, there's not a lot we can do. I would suggest calling the Better Business Bureau BEFORE you take your car in to a company you've not dealt with before. The BBB can tell you how many complaints were lodged against the company, and how many of those complaints were resolved. If the company doesn't care to resolve the case, why would you take your car there? The BBB's number is 320-4500.

Feedback from Las Vegas Veterans .. and their experiences with the VA.

2007-11-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

November 9, 2007

These are portions of emails we received after our story about the VA healthcare system:

Both of my parents were recipients of VA benefits from WWII. My mother passed away from damage done to her heart by chemotherapy in 1987. She told me that the nurse had mixed too much of the therapy she was on, and basically shamed her into taking the excess that treatment. That was in July of '87 and she was gone by mid-September. She had her leg amputated and was treated for bone cancer (which getting a specialist to do a biopsy took forever - they told her it was arthritis before she pushed hard enough). 5 years later they found lesions on her lungs on her x'rays and began treatment again. The rest is history.
To add insult to injury, when she began to fail my father called the VA (they retired to Southern Utah) and he was told to take her to the nearest emergency facility. That was the hospital in St. George. They eventually transferred her to Salt Lake, then sent her home when they could do nothing, After her death my Dad received a hospital bill that the VA declined to pay as she wasn't treated at a VA hospital. There was no VA hospital in S. Utah, and they traveled to the clinic in Vegas for regular treatment. It took numerous letters and the intervention of a Senator before the VA paid her hospital bill.
I lost Dad on Valentine's Day two years ago. This time Dad did his homework ahead of time and called the VA when he began to fail. Again he was told to go to the nearest emergency facility to be stabilized, then they would transfer him to Salt Lake. His lungs gave out before they could transfer him, but this time all the arrangements had been made ahead of time, so the system took care of everything.
I didn't tell you all this for sympathy - I told you because even though the system has made strides towards accommodating the needs of the Vets they still have a long way to go. I still don't understand why, after spending the money to build it, that the O'Callahan Fed. Hospital outside Nellis could not be used. Toward the end of Dad's life he was being shuttled all over town for his appointments (after driving from Toquerville, UT) and then had to drive 2 hours home again. While getting mileage reimbursement, it wasn't enough to cover travel expenses AND a hotel room. When the nearest VA hospitals are in California, Arizona or 400 miles away in Salt Lake, it makes no sense to tell these Vets to go to a VA hospital if the system cannot provide for them.
______________________________________________________________________________________
I watched your news segment on VA healthcare tonight and I must disagree. I am also a disabled vet under VA care here in Las Vegas valley and I have never been treated better in my life. The VA healthcare is based on a rating system. To be rated you must turn proper VA paper work to be service connected. All military members are briefed before separating the service. Most vets do not turn in the required VA paper work, if the gentelman did he would not be waiting for his required surgery. You never asked the gentleman if he was service connected. If you are not rated you are on the bottom of the list. I am service connected and I never had to wait longer than 1 day for any appointments. I am sick of hearing all the negativity on the VA healthcare system. If the vets weren't so lazy to complete the paperwork in the first place they would not have to wait for medical appointments. You must know the whole story and just not one side. I am very pleased with the Las Vegas valley VA medical system. __________________________________________________________________________________________
I saw your story tonight on the care of the Veterans in Nevada. Boy did this hit home. My husband is a 100% service connected disabled Vet, exposed to agent orange in Viet Nam and boy have we had a difficult time getting the items he has needed and the care he has needed. It took 45 days and letters and calls to Senators Reid and Ensign's office to get the Fee Base PT and OT care approved because the VA's PT department is not equipped to handle my husband because he cannot walk or stand. His disability is a result of prostate cancer which has moved to his bones caused by agent orange. I have spent so many hours on the phone trying to follow up on services and supplies that he is entitled to. We have even gone so far as to pay for additional insurance in order to be able to go outside the VA to get the care he needs; and why should we have had to do this. I have been told a number of times that if we lived in Texas or even Arizona that due to the fact that my husband in confined mostly to the bed and does not walk or stand that we would be entitled to much more, including having someone come in the home to assist me and him and someone to sit with him while I work. I have had to stay home more in order to stay with my husband or I would be responsible for paying someone at a cost of 18.00 to 20.00 an hour to stay with him. I think that care for Veterans should be the same, no matter what state they live in. We have an extremely large population of Veterans in Las Vegas and I listen all the time to how they are not getting the care they need. I have even had to write John Bright to get services for my husband. I think you should not stop at the story today but continue you investigation into the care of our Veterans and how they are treated in Las Vegas. It can truly be a nightmare.
___________________________________________________________________________________
I am a local veteran here in Las Vegas, while I have to say that the VAMC here in Las Vegas may have some of it's problems, I have to say that it is one of the best centers that I have ever delt with. I do have private insurance, and have used it on occasion, I prefer to use my VA benefits. The media concentrates so much on problems, it does not tell people about the GREAT care that it does give. Just as an example, I had cancer in my abdomen and saw at least 4 or 5 doctors on the "outside", through Blue Cross. I was told that I had to wait 3 months to get an appointment with an oncologist, because I had a history of cancer in the past and it was considered "pre-existing". None of them were willing to do the surgery that I needed. My cancer was considered terminal and the surgery was EXTREAMLY delicate. It was then that I went to the VA, who, not only was willing to do the surgery, but SAVED MY LIFE, and I did not have to wait 3 months. It is the GREAT doctors, nurses and technicians that I owe my life to.
____________________________________________________________________________________
First of all ... thank you very much for doing such an excellent report on the plight of the local veterans. I am one of those veterans who has been promised something I cannot get. However, that is another story.
Are you aware of the fact that one of the major problems with getting treatment is the fact that we, the veterans, have to give way to the active duty personnel? This applies whether or not you have an appointment. In addition, that nice new hospital that is allegedly coming is something of a farce. Ms. Berkeley caved in but did NOT tell us that the only way she could get the hospital for the VETERANS is to agree to share it with the active duty personnel .... once again, we are second in line in what is supposed to be OUR hospital. This news was dropped very quietly by Nicholson at the ground blessing ceremony ... not many of the veterans picked up on it. It doesn't take an Einstein to see what is coming .. the new hospital will take over and the hospital at Nellis will be closed and we, the veterans, have gained nothing. In addition, the new hospital will be much too small to accommodate the veteran population by the time it is finished to say nothing of the fact that the "state of the art equipment" now contracted for will be obsolete by then.

VA Healthcare--The good, The bad, The ugly

2007-11-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2007

From Investigative Producer Mark Whitehead--

A critical eye takes a look at the VA health services here in southern Nevada - as seen by Vietnam Vet, Raymond Ritter, who waits day after day for urgent surgery that was supposed to have taken place last July.
As the waiting hours tick, Raymond wonders when time will run out for his leg. Raymond fears without immediate surgery his leg will be amputated.
On October 24th we received this note from the VA regarding Raymond, "patient has been seen, scheduled for pre-op and surgery."
Yet, weeks later, after a November 8th visit to the VA, Raymond tells us there has been no pre-op and no date set for surgery.
Where does this leave Raymond? We contacted the VA and explained the latest.
The VA response? "During his pre-op evaluation, additional healthcare issues were identified and are being addressed prior to his surgery. Once these matters have been addressed, his surgery will be rescheduled. I apologize for not providing additional information, but due to HIPAA (patient privacy) we are not able to elaborate. I will say that the delay is appropriate and in the best interest of the patient."
The WATCHDOG called Raymond and read this note from the VA to him.
WatchDog: Raymond, we're you told anything about additional healthcare issues?
Raymond: No.
WatchDog: So, you have not had healthcare issues identified and explained to you?
Raymond: No.
WatchDog: You saw a doctor today?
Raymond: They called her one. All she did was tell me what I had to do to get the operation.
WatchDog: What did she tell you?
Raymond: She just told me I had to take these tests but I have already done these test.
WatchDog: Why are you having to redo them?
Raymond: She said they were not recent enough.
WatchDog: When is your next appointment?
Raymond: I don't have an appointment.
WatchDog: How is your leg doing?
Raymond: Very bad. It's getting worse.
WatchDog: In what ways?
Raymond: The pain. Swollen more. Popping out more. And, the fact of it is I can not get out of bed. Then, it will go numb. My foot goes numb all the time.
WatchDog: What's next for you?
Raymond: Redo test that I have already had done. January before I could have surgery.
WatchDog: Has your doctor explained more about your leg and potential amputation?
Raymond: Said I have to get it (surgery) done. She said, eventually, they are just going to take your leg off.
WatchDog: And explain the problem with your leg in simple terms?
Raymond: There's no blood going through the bone so it will start rotting inside.
CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES ON RAYMOND - MORE TO COME.....

The Do-Not-Call List update you need to read.

2007-11-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

11-6-2007
Do you miss those annoying telemarketing calls? I didn't think so.

Well, there's a new ploy to get you to accept those calls again. The Nevada Attorney General's office says telemarketers are getting around the do not call list by promising free "consumer information". Sneaky, huh?
Here's how it works: You may get a card or document in the mail that asks you to sign and return it so you can get "free information" about a particular product. But those mailers, according to the AG's office, also include language that could allow companies to by-pass the Do Not Call list and make unsolicited telemarketing calls. Chances are it'll happen just when you're having dinner.
Senior citizens are often targeted. Some mailers claim "certain government benefits" are going to change, or that consumer groups encourage people to have their medical, retirement, or probate plans reviewed. It's a scare tactic to get seniors to fill out the card and send it in. Often these mailers are made to look like they are from a government or consumer group. Watch out! Once you send that card in, expect to get calls from businesses selling investments, insurance and other financial products. By sending in that card, you're agreeing to get these calls.
Speaking of the Do Not Call List, Congress has not made the registration permanent, yet. That means you have to renew your phone numbers every 5 years. The majority of phone number registrations were done when the list was created in June 2003. You can renew at ANY time, you do not have to wait until the 5 years are up. Registering your phone is easy and always FREE.
You can renew one of two ways:
http://www.donotcall.gov/
1-888-382-1222
If your number is registered on the Do Not Call List for at least 31 days, and you're still getting calls from a non-exempt telemarketer, file a complaint! You can do that at www.donotcall.gov, just look for the "File A Complaint" button. Or by phone, 888-382-1222. Either way, you'll need to provide the telemarketer's name or phone number, the date the telemarketer calls, and your registered phone number.
The bad news. There are some exemptions to the Do Not Call List. The following groups are allowed to call people on the Do Not Call List:
Political Parties (You knew the people who passed the law would include themselves on this list!)
Charities
Those companies you have an existing relationship with
Those companies you've given written permission to contact you
Telephone Surveyors
More information about this? http://www.ag.state.nv.us/

The 411 on Free Directory Assistance!

2007-10-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

October 29, 2007

"I can't believe this!"

Do you call 411 from your cell phone? If so, have I got an idea for you!
This may seem more like a "Saving You Money" idea, but frankly, we're all family here at News 3, and I think this also qualifies under the "Watching Out For You" umbrella. As the Watchdog, I'm always thinking about our viewers. Plus, I just wanted to tell people about it because I think it's so cool.
When I call 411 from my cell phone, it costs me $1.79. (I have AT&T service) I was reading the Chicago Tribune this weekend and noticed this article:
www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-mon_techbuzz_1001oct01,0,5337402.column
In a nutshell, here's how it works:
Use your phone to send a text message to this number: 466453
Before you send it, in the "text" portion of the message, type the words "set location" and then enter your zip code. (Example: set location 89114)
Send the text message.
You should receive a text that says "your default location has been set to Las Vegas", or wherever your zip code is.
I entered Google into my address book as a contact so I don't have to keep typing the number in. (466453 spells out Google-at least it does here on the work phone at my desk.)
Now, you can search on the name of your favorite eatery.
Again, put 466453 as the number you want to text message.
Then enter, say, Chipotle in the area where you write the message.
Hit Send.
It should show you a couple of options and it didn't cost a thing! Plus if you scroll down to the phone number, hit the send key, it should connect you. I have no idea of Google is keeping track of this information, but if they really want to know where I eat ... have at it.
This also works for sports scores. Same number, 466453, then enter a team name (where you normally would write the message) and hit send.
Try typing in the word "weather"
Try typing the word "movies"
Try typing in the name of a stock.
You can also get flight information. If you're flying USAIR, flight #320, you would type this: US 320. If it's Delta 320, DL 320.
If you're charged for each text message, this will cost you. 10 cents maybe, versus $1.79.
The news isn't all good. Mark, the watchdog investigative producer, who has T Mobile phone service, says he can't access the service!

Lied Animal Shelter Update

2007-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

october 25, 2007

We were first to bring you the highly critical and gruesomely graphic 300+ page United States Humane Society Report that made Lied Animal Shelter look so horrific even Mayor Oscar Goodman told us that this report, "Makes Michael Vick look like St. Francis of Assisi."
If you can stomach it, check out the complete report (pictures too) at: http://www.liedanimalshelter.org/HSUS/Las%20Vegas%20FINAL%20REPORT.pdf
We had sent a copy of the report to the Mayor's office, and it was not long before Mayor Goodman announced that Las Vegas City Marshalls would investigate into any criminal wrong doing. Now we learned that City Marshalls could not substantiate allegations made in the report because the Humane Society cited confidentiality with sources and documentation.
Last Thursday at the Mayor's weekly press conference we asked the Mayor about his next step. Asked if he would pressure Lied and the Humane Society for full disclosure, Mayor Goodman told us that full disclosure is what he wants to see. Because the Lied Animal Shelter contracts with the city, the Mayor stated that this issue of full disclosure would be brought up the next time Lied stands before the city council asking for a renewal. "I think the next time I discuss this is when the Humane Society (what he meant to say here is "Lied Animal Shelter") comes before council and then be able to ask some pointed questions." Pointed questions? The new administration stock answer seems to always be "that was then, this is now." If you attended any of the public meetings Clark County held where Chris Robinson, Lied's new director, addressed current improvements, you no doubt witnessed the skeptism and anger some in the public expressed toward the animal shelter. Does it not seem likely that someone on the the Lied board, or any volunteer or employee of Lied would speak-out and be able to validate and confirm allegations in the Humane Society report? Goodman also stated at his press conference that he would read the City Marshalls final report over the weekend. That begs for a follow-up. Mayor Goodman called on everyone in southern Nevada to spay and neuter. More to come.....

Illegal Dump Update

2007-10-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

October 18, 2007

We've got a great update on that illegal dump outside a southwest valley neighborhood.
Early this week crews with the Bureau of Land Management were at the site near Arville and Windmill to clean it up.
They took away the couches, mattresses, chairs, etc. We heard from some of the neighbors on Thursday that crews are also taking away some of the concrete chunks dumped by contractors and others who simply didn't want to make a trip to the dump. Signs which say no dumping should also go up. It's going to take neighbors to keep this place clean.
The BLM says you everyone has to get involved. Report it if you see someone dumping something onto a vacant lot. Get the license plate number and a description of the vehicle. A photo wouldn't hurt either. While putting our original story together, we talked with some of the neighbors who say they called their county commissioner about the dumping problem, but say they never heard back, so they let it go. You can't if you want it cleaned up. If you make a phone call to your county commissioner, or the BLM , or the city, and you don't hear back. Keep calling! Let them know your phone calls are not being returned and that as a voter or citizen, it's unacceptable. Be nice, but firm. If you really want to get their attention, attend a county commission meeting or a city council session. They always have a time for public comment. (First find out if the land is in the county, or a city boundary) Tell them about the mess and that it needs to be cleaned up. If you need information on how to report illegal dumping on line, we've put that information on this blog. Just page down a few entries and you'll see it. We've got dump reporting links for the city of Las Vegas, city of Henderson and Clark county.

The check in the mail could cost you!

2007-10-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

October 12, 2007

On Thursday, during News 3 at 5pm, we showed you how some unscrupulous businesses are taking advantage of Las Vegans. They are promising you're the winner of a sweepstakes, a lottery, extra funds leftover from some rich person overseas. It's crazy!
If you didn't see it, you can click here:
Watch out! Since the story aired, we've heard from several viewers who say they've received these kinds of checks in the mail. Some didn't know it was a scam and actually wired money to these people, then saw our story! At least one person has lost $2,000. Please keep these things in mind. The checks may look real, they may have your name and address on them, don't send any money! Most of these checks are from out of state. It will take SEVERAL days for your bank or credit union to clear the check. By then, you've wired money to the bogus company and they get to keep it. In fact, the check you received will never clear, because it's bogus! We called the company who sent one of these checks to a News 3 viewer. We posed as the winner and provided the claim number. They wanted us to cash the check and then call back. Then they'll ask you to wire the money to someone right away. They want you to do this before you find out the check won't "clear". Think about this, if all the people who are told "they are the winner of the lucky sweepstakes", or the "South African Lottery" or whatever agency they're using, were actually winners, we'd have new, multi millionaires walking all over this town.
If you still don't believe us, cash the check and wait for it to clear. Beware, your bank or credit union will probably charge you a fee when the check is returned!! If you're unsure, show the check to a manager at your bank or credit union and let them know your concerns.

Dumping Info

2007-10-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

October 10, 2007

If you see dumping, and you believe it may be Bureau of Land Management land, you can call the 24/7 Lake Mead Dispatch center at 293-8998.
Be prepared to provide some information about the vehicle and what was dumped.

Illegal Dumping Update

2007-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

October 9, 2007

An update on our "illegal dumping" story from Monday night. If you haven't see it yet, click here for the story.
Since our report, one caller offered up the following website from the Southern Nevada Health District where you can report illegal dumpers and perhaps receive $100. Fill out the complaint form at: http://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/complaint/index.htm
Witnesses may be entitled to a $100.00 reward pursuant to NRS 444 if the information provided leads to an assessment of an administrative penalty by the Hearing Officer or a conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction. A reward cannot be paid until the administrative penalty or court ordered penalty has been paid in full to the Health District.The Environmental Health Supervisor, Amy Irani, says the Health District wants to hear from anyone who sees dumping of solid waste in an inappropriate area. (Basically, any place that is not a dump or transfer site.) Irani says you've got to get the license plate number of the car or truck, a good description of the car or truck, and be willing to sign a witness statement. If you'll do that, then the county can go after the illegal dumper. The Health District operates a 24 hour line to report any health issue, which includes the dumping of solid waste. The number is 759-1000.

Taking on Neighborhood Eyesores!

2007-10-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

October 4, 2007

Who doesn't like a nice, comfy couch, or a lazy-boy recliner? But when that couch and recliner are abandoned in a vacant lot across from your house, it's a much different story! It becomes an eyesore, it brings down your property value, and it tends to invite others to dump as well.
It's a scenario one Channel 3 viewer brought to the WATCHDOG'S attention. Once we saw the property in question, even we were a bit surprised. It's amazing the problem was allowed to go on for so long!
We found out who actually owns the property, we've confronted the owners about the problem as well.
Along with a couch, reclining chairs, mirrors, desks, and garbage, some contractors were dumping chunks, of concrete and other garbage from construction sites. Apparently they didn't want to waste their time going to the dump.
For those of you who have a problem with trash and junk stacking up on a vacant lot, or on a neighbor's property, we've got some information that could be helpful. If you live in the city of Las Vegas or Henderson, call the city in which you live and talk to someone in code enforcement. If you live in Clark County, and not in an incorporated city, contact the county's code enforcement division.
Here are some code enforcement options on line.
Clark County
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/administrative_services/pro/Code_Enforcement.htm
City of Las Vegas
http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/RequestHelp/neighbor_issues.htm
City of Henderson
http://www.cityofhenderson.com/buildsafe/php/buildsafebody_files/Code%20Enforcement/codeenforcement.php