Record numbers of hikers, climbers at Red Rock causes temporary closures

Wednesday, March 29th, 2017, 11:02pm

It's Spring, so the visitation numbers at national parks across the country have been record breaking, including right here in southern Nevada.

At Lake Mead, visitation increased 13 percent last year. The national recreation area is ranked seventh highest in attendance across the United States. But the busy season is even more pronounced by overcrowding at smaller parks like Red Rock conservation area.

In just the past five weeks Red Rock National Conservation area has had to temporarily close six times! Officials at the Bureau of Land Management call it "Red Rock Season," which means thousands of people are coming out before the summer heat hits.

When the 8 News NOW crews drove into Red Rock to report on this issue, there was even a back up along the side of the scenic route loop.

"This is the most crowded I've ever seen it," said Bereket Michael, Las Vegas resident. It's hard to get parking in fact."... Read More

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Tuesday, March 14th, 2017, 4:11pm

Development of Summerlin's newest village is officially underway.

It's located on 300 acres at the base of the mountains west of the the 215 between Cheyenne and Lake Mead.

It's been in the works for years, but was stalled by the recession. The fact they're finally moving forward is another sign our economy is getting back on track.

"Lots of different views, some canyon, some mountain, some city views, depending on your lot," said Jason Demuth, PulteGrouup

Perched at an elevation of 3,200 feet, future residents of Summerlin's newest village will have a view of the Las Vegas valley to the east and the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area to the west.

"It is Red Rock Recreation Area, so there will not be development up that canyon, so homeowners with those lots, they've got that great view," Demuth said... Read More

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Wednesday, February 15th, 2017, 7:05pm

Scammers are preying on the kind hearts of Nevada residents, and they're using the Nevada Highway Patrol to do it.

NHP said it had received several complaints from citizens who said they were being solicited for donations on behalf of various police charitable originations.

NHP said the scam artists use a local phone number to conduct the con, and according to some callers, they were solicited from someone posing as a representative of the American Association of State Troopers, along with the Officer Down Charities for the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Nevada Highway Patrol itself.

When a person refuses to donate, NHP said witnesses told them the scammer would threaten unfair treatment from Troopers in the future.

"We want the community to be aware of this fraudulent activity and be sure to protect their personal information," NHP said... Read More

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Friday, January 20th, 2017, 10:34pm

Republicans in Las Vegas gathered Friday to celebrate the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

There was a lot of excitement among the local GOP members who said they had been waiting for this day for eight years. They said they're confident change is on the horizon.

Trump's inauguration was an emotional day for some, but Melissa Gokmogol said her tears were tears of joy.

"I worked for the campaign during the election cycle, and I worked so hard for this," said Gokmogol. "I am so grateful for this opportunity."

The Nevada Women for Trump hosted the event in Downtown Summerlin. It was filled with "Make America Great Again" merchandise.

All of the attendees seemed to have their own take on what the phrase meant... Read More

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Wednesday, January 4th, 2017, 5:05pm

2017 promises to be a big year for the master-planned community of Summerlin.

The community which is already home to more than 100,000 people will add nine new neighborhoods, 2 new schools and it's 20th community park.

It's all part of the Howard Hughes Corporation's master plan.

One of the centerpieces is Downtown Summerlin. Since it opened in 2014, Downtown Summerlin has been a hit. Now get ready for the area around it to expand.

"It's only the beginning, the rest of Downtown Summerlin will be another 180 acres of high-density urban environment. There could be 10,000 people living in urban homes there," said Tom Warden, Howard Hughes Corporation.

Warden is talking about the area surrounding the Vegas Golden Knights new practice facility just across the street from Downtown Summerlin... Read More

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Thursday, December 1st, 2016, 8:35pm

For the first time, Metro is asking valley homeowners to notify them if they have a home surveillance system.

It will make it easier for them to look for video when a crime is committed.

Currently, when officers respond to a crime scene, they have to look around for any cameras that might have picked something up. It takes time to find the owners and look at the video.

If people with security cameras register with the department, police will have a list of addresses and contact numbers so they can quickly ask permission to see video that often helps solve crimes. The new program is called Vegas SafeCam and is already in use in Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Salt Lake City.

Registering your surveillance system with the department is completely voluntary. However, the more privately owned cameras they have on record, the more effective the program will be... Read More

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Monday, November 28th, 2016, 4:42pm

Metro Police are looking for a suspect in the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl that happened on Thanksgiving afternoon.

It happened outside, in broad daylight, in a gated condominium complex near Lake Mead Boulevard and Buffalo Drive.

It has residents on edge.

"It's just unfortunate, you know, it looks like a peaceful area, it's something you have to be concerned about, I guess it could happen anywhere," said condo resident Cesar Munoz.

Police say a man approached the 8-year-old girl and her younger brother and told the boy to go inside, leaving the man alone with the girl.

The suspect is described as a thin white man with light-colored or salt and pepper hair. Police say, he took the girl behind a building and assaulted her. The attack happened around 1:30 p.m. The suspect was wearing a blue tee-shirt and black jeans at that time.

The girl was able to get away a short time later and told her mother what had happened... Read More

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