Latest news with #TickSegerblom
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Yahoo
Tougher penalties for copper wire theft passed by Nevada legislature
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — It was a unanimous vote by the Nevada Legislature to pass Assembly Bill 503, which would increase penalties for copper wire theft. District E, County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, is a big proponent of the bill. Segerblom is taking steps to stop these thieves and get the lights turned back on for valley residents. 'I'm just so proud of the legislature for stepping up and hopefully the Governor signs it,' Segerblom said. He, along with others, implemented a Copper Wire Task Force last year to be more on top of the issue, and since then, he said he has seen improvements. 'We get daily complaints, but there have been less. I'm not sure if it's because we are more proactive, but we've started putting wire back in with aluminum and we also have solar lights which are good,' Segerblom said. Those caught with less than $500 worth of copper could face a misdemeanor, and anything above that would be considered a felony with up to four years in prison. Over at Broadway Pizza off Rancho and Charleston, Co-owner Mario Perdichizzi said this bill hits close to home. His business was targeted last year after copper wire thieves ripped through his A/C unit. He said it is about time something was done. 'It feels great because they should pay the penalty for stealing it and there also needs to be a penalty for stolen goods,' Perdichizzi said 'We put a camera up on the roof and we want to put a cage over the unit itself. We put lights by the unit and one in the back alley, too.' The next step is for Governor Lombardo to sign this bill into law. Once that is done, the new penalties will go into effect on October 1. Clark County's public works department estimates that nearly 1 million feet of streetlight wiring have been stolen since 2022. In Clark County, sellers must provide documentation that verifies that the wire was not stolen. It's also illegal for businesses to purchase scrap metal from walk-up sellers and accept cash payments for copper wire. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plan for displaced tunnel dwellers not included in flood control project
Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom and LVMPD LVMPD Lt. Erik Perkett talk with citizens at community event Monday. (Photo: Michael Lyle/Nevada Current) Hours before Clark County began removing unhoused people from tunnels under the Flamingo Wash, Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom told nearby residents they might see an influx of people experiencing homelessness in their neighborhoods. Though Segerblom pledged to 'protect you guys and keep them out of your neighborhood,' there are still lingering questions about how many beds and shelter options were available to unhoused people living in the tunnels ahead of the encampment being cleared. The number of people experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada, like across the country, has grown in recent years and there aren't enough adequate shelter options or housing to address the underlying crisis. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials and Segerblom told residents arrests and citations could be an option for those who refuse to move when the encampment is being cleared out. County officials along with LVMPD and HELP of Southern Nevada homeless outreach workers said on Monday that an unknown number of people living in the tunnels beneath the wash would be evicted this week in order to begin a $15 million Regional Flood Control project. 'We are not sure what is going to happen but the concern is a large number of people in the tunnels are going to be forced out' of the tunnels and into the neighborhood, Segerblom said during a town hall Monday night. Officials began clearing out the wash at 5 a.m. Tuesday. In Monday night's contentious hourlong meeting, community residents angrily questioned the county's response to homelessness and worried about an influx of unhoused people coming into neighborhoods. 'Here is the reality,' Segerblom said Monday night. 'We don't have enough manpower. We don't have enough rooms. We don't have enough of anything. But we do have a wash where a lot of people live who come out into the neighborhoods. We are committed to making sure no one can get into that wash and live in that wash. It's not going to happen tomorrow. It's a process.' Southern Nevada's 2024 Point-in-Time Count, an annual snapshot of homelessness on one particular night, identified 7,906 unhoused people — a number officials and homeless providers agree is an undercount. Data showed that the number of people experiencing homelessness grew 20% from the previous year. Addressing underlying causes of the rise of homelessness and housing instability in the state was not the focus of Monday's community meeting. Residents, instead, voiced frustration at the prospect of seeing more unhoused people in their neighborhoods, assuming that once folks are asked to leave the tunnels they will migrate to other areas in town. Community members also pressed for stronger enforcement by LVMPD and more jail time. Criminalization has been criticized by social service providers and homeless outreach workers who warn citations and arrests not only don't address the underlying reasons people are homeless but impede unhoused people from getting connected to services, including housing. Segerbloom said officials will attempt to refer those displaced from tunnels to the noncongregate shelters the county has opened, in particular the Navigation Center, a 70-bed facility that is designed to temporarily house homeless adults without children. During an interview, Segerblom acknowledged that the Navigation Center is typically at capacity. 'Let's see if there is someone who says they want services and I'll find a place,' Segerblom said. Despite not having enough beds or adequate programs to refer unhoused people to in general, Segerblom said the county was ready to deploy another tool on Tuesday: arrest and citation. Clark County's anti-homeless camping ban, which allows a person to be jailed up to 10 days and fined up to $1,000 for camping and sleeping in a public right-of-way, went into effect in February. The county passed the ordinance in November, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities could criminalize those experiencing homelessness even if they didn't have enough adequate shelter space. LVMPD Lt. Erik Perkett told the residents Monday that officers are 'absolutely arresting people and citing' unhoused people for violating the citation. A night in jail is estimated to cost about $135, according to estimates from Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care. 'Nobody wants to pay that for 5,000 people,' Segerblom said. One resident quipped, 'don't be so sure.' Toward the end of the town hall, Lou Lacey, the director of the homeless response teams with HELP of Southern Nevada, tried to explain to the crowd the process of connecting people with services ahead of the county clearing out encampments. The organization had already been into the wash ahead of Tuesday's scheduled abatement to warn residents to be cleared out and offer to connect them to a variety of services, Lacey said. He added that despite early interactions, some residents likely wouldn't take assistance until the morning of enforcement. But if people accept services, Lacey said HELP will 'take them to any substance abuse or mental health service' they request. 'These are still human beings,' Lacey said. 'You can't say 'you're going to go.' We have to reason with them.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plan for displaced tunnel dwellers not included in flood control project
Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom and LVMPD LVMPD Lt. Erik Perkett talk with citizens at community event Monday. (Photo: Michael Lyle/Nevada Current) Hours before Clark County began removing unhoused people from tunnels under the Flamingo Wash, Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom told nearby residents they might see an influx of people experiencing homelessness in their neighborhoods. Though Segerblom pledged to 'protect you guys and keep them out of your neighborhood,' there are still lingering questions about how many beds and shelter options were available to unhoused people living in the tunnels ahead of the encampment being cleared. The number of people experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada, like across the country, has grown in recent years and there aren't enough adequate shelter options or housing to address the underlying crisis. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials and Segerblom told residents arrests and citations could be an option for those who refuse to move when the encampment is being cleared out. County officials along with LVMPD and HELP of Southern Nevada homeless outreach workers said on Monday that an unknown number of people living in the tunnels beneath the wash would be evicted this week in order to begin a $15 million Regional Flood Control project. 'We are not sure what is going to happen but the concern is a large number of people in the tunnels are going to be forced out' of the tunnels and into the neighborhood, Segerblom said during a town hall Monday night. Officials began clearing out the wash at 5 a.m. Tuesday. In Monday night's contentious hourlong meeting, community residents angrily questioned the county's response to homelessness and worried about an influx of unhoused people coming into neighborhoods. 'Here is the reality,' Segerblom said Monday night. 'We don't have enough manpower. We don't have enough rooms. We don't have enough of anything. But we do have a wash where a lot of people live who come out into the neighborhoods. We are committed to making sure no one can get into that wash and live in that wash. It's not going to happen tomorrow. It's a process.' Southern Nevada's 2024 Point-in-Time Count, an annual snapshot of homelessness on one particular night, identified 7,906 unhoused people — a number officials and homeless providers agree is an undercount. Data showed that the number of people experiencing homelessness grew 20% from the previous year. Addressing underlying causes of the rise of homelessness and housing instability in the state was not the focus of Monday's community meeting. Residents, instead, voiced frustration at the prospect of seeing more unhoused people in their neighborhoods, assuming that once folks are asked to leave the tunnels they will migrate to other areas in town. Community members also pressed for stronger enforcement by LVMPD and more jail time. Criminalization has been criticized by social service providers and homeless outreach workers who warn citations and arrests not only don't address the underlying reasons people are homeless but impede unhoused people from getting connected to services, including housing. Segerbloom said officials will attempt to refer those displaced from tunnels to the noncongregate shelters the county has opened, in particular the Navigation Center, a 70-bed facility that is designed to temporarily house homeless adults without children. During an interview, Segerblom acknowledged that the Navigation Center is typically at capacity. 'Let's see if there is someone who says they want services and I'll find a place,' Segerblom said. Despite not having enough beds or adequate programs to refer unhoused people to in general, Segerblom said the county was ready to deploy another tool on Tuesday: arrest and citation. Clark County's anti-homeless camping ban, which allows a person to be jailed up to 10 days and fined up to $1,000 for camping and sleeping in a public right-of-way, went into effect in February. The county passed the ordinance in November, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities could criminalize those experiencing homelessness even if they didn't have enough adequate shelter space. LVMPD Lt. Erik Perkett told the residents Monday that officers are 'absolutely arresting people and citing' unhoused people for violating the citation. A night in jail is estimated to cost about $135, according to estimates from Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care. 'Nobody wants to pay that for 5,000 people,' Segerblom said. One resident quipped, 'don't be so sure.' Toward the end of the town hall, Lou Lacey, the director of the homeless response teams with HELP of Southern Nevada, tried to explain to the crowd the process of connecting people with services ahead of the county clearing out encampments. The organization had already been into the wash ahead of Tuesday's scheduled abatement to warn residents to be cleared out and offer to connect them to a variety of services, Lacey said. He added that despite early interactions, some residents likely wouldn't take assistance until the morning of enforcement. But if people accept services, Lacey said HELP will 'take them to any substance abuse or mental health service' they request. 'These are still human beings,' Lacey said. 'You can't say 'you're going to go.' We have to reason with them.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
$15M project will remove homeless from Las Vegas wash
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Work to remove the homeless from the Las Vegas wash begins early Tuesday morning. 'I wanted to hold this meeting because starting Tuesday morning, we are doing major reconstruction on the Flamingo wash,' Commissioner Tick Segerblom said during a Monday night town hall meeting to address homeless encampments. 'I wanted to turn to dust:' Las Vegas homeless tell of primal life underground, in 600 miles of city's tunnels The $15 million Regional Flood Control project will include construction from Maryland Parkway to Cambridge Street and improvements to the Tropicana and Flamingo washes. Debris and rocks will be cleared from the flood channels. In addition, people living in those channels will also be removed. 'How are we supposed to sleep in fear that we will be pushed out. We can just be sitting on a sidewalk, minding our own business, and then all of a sudden we are forced to move,' Joyce Foster said. She's been homeless for seven years. 'Getting out is near impossible', locals react to homeless crisis in Las Vegas The homeless who live in the washes and tunnels have become a source of frustration and complaints for residents who live near the channels. 'Flamingo Wash will be constructed with a Venetian red-colored concrete channel, maintenance roads and access ramps, fencing, lateral storm drain connections, among other improvements,' Segerblom said. Body found in Henderson wash near search area for missing person The fencing that will surround the washes is designed to keep people from accessing the tunnels, which can become flooded and dangerous during rainy weather. The work will begin at Flamingo and Cambridge roads, with police and firefighters beginning to clear the tunnels starting around 5 a.m. HELP of Southern Nevada will also have teams at the site to help the homeless who are moved out. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Clark County project set to begin in central Las Vegas valley may push out homeless population in area
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — As the homeless crisis continues across the Las Vegas valley, Clark County is set to begin a new project in the central valley that may push some of the homeless population in the area out. 'I wanted to hold this meeting because starting Tuesday morning, we are doing major reconstruction on the Flamingo Wash,' Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom shared. Segerblom introduced the Regional Flood Control project at Monday's Town Hall meeting. The project will include construction from Maryland Parkway to Cambridge Street and improvements to the Tropicana and Flamingo washes. Segerblom noted that a lot of homeless people will be pushed out during the construction process. Joyce Foster, who has been homeless for seven years, told 8 News Now that living on the streets of Las Vegas is a gamble and she is constantly on the move. 'How are we supposed to sleep in fear that we will be pushed out. We can just be sitting on a sidewalk, minding our own business and then all of sudden we are forced to move,' Foster said. This $15 million project will focus on removing rocks and debris and lining the areas with concrete. In addition, access ramps, metal fencing and lateral storm drain connections will be added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
