LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A case out of Southern California is raising new concerns for parents across Nevada as high-powered electric motorcycles grow in popularity.

In the California case, a mother is facing criminal charges after prosecutors said her 14-year-old son hit and killed an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran with an e-motorcycle. She is now charged with involuntary manslaughter after law enforcement reportedly warned her about her son using the device a year ago.

Legal experts said similar consequences could apply in Nevada, depending on the circumstances.

“I think that warning is what’s triggering the criminal liability and this intention of involuntary manslaughter case,” Ray Johnson, a Nevada attorney and former FBI assistant special agent in charge, said. “In Nevada, you would have something similar, but it’s got to be around willful misconduct and delinquency. So, if a mom, the dad, the parent, or the guardian is willfully involved with not teaching them to do the right things, or it’s improper equipment, or they’re allowing them to do things, they could get a criminal charge.”

Across the Las Vegas Valley, electric motorcycles and other high-speed e-devices are becoming more common, especially among young riders. Law enforcement said some can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour, raising safety concerns when used by minors.

Under Nevada law, parents can be held financially responsible, up to $10,000, for damages caused by a minor’s willful misconduct, which results in any injury or death to another person or injury to the private property of another or to public property.

In some cases, parents could also face criminal consequences if they knowingly allow a child to engage in illegal or unsafe behavior involving vehicles.

Officer Luis Vidal with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said those situations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with investigators looking at the circumstances.

“I think it’s very important for parents to understand that when the police department investigates anything that is something that we look at.”

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office would formally file charges in a case. News 3 has reached out to the office and is waiting for a response regarding what prosecutors would consider in a case involving a minor and an e-motorcycle.

North Las Police shared with News 3, “The topic of potential parental liability related to incidents involving e-motorcycles or e-bikes is best addressed by the City Attorney’s Office, as it involves legal interpretation and potential charging considerations.

Additionally, the City of North Las Vegas does not currently have a finalized version of specific e-bike or e-motorcycle ordinances in place. As such, any enforcement or liability would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis under existing laws.”

As these devices continue to surge in popularity, authorities said awareness and supervision are key to preventing serious accidents and potential legal consequences.

With another cup of Turkish coffee poured, the Brewing Better Health series continues, this time turning to a conversation about data, trust and how people make sense of changing information.

In Episode 5 of Brewing Better Health, Matt Strickland, Ph.D., joins Dean Muge Akpinar-Elci, M.D., MPH, to talk about how data, communication and evolving evidence shape the way people understand health and make decisions.

Strickland is a professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health. He studies how environmental exposures, such as air pollution and wildfire smoke, affect population health. That research often relies on large data sets, tracking outcomes like asthma, cardiovascular health and emergency department visits across entire communities.

But, as he explains, the work is never just about numbers.

“We are so used to working with big data sets, we can forget that those entries in the data sets are people,” Strickland said. “These are families.”

That perspective took shape early in his career while working with a birth defects surveillance system. Listening to families helped him see that public health data is not just about analysis. It is about answering real questions, helping people understand what lies ahead and making information useful in their daily lives.

“We are so used to working with big data sets, we can forget that those entries in the data sets are people,” Strickland said. “These are families.”

As they continue talking, Akpinar-Elci and Strickland reflect on how this work connects to decision-making. Much of the research contributes to the evidence used to set air quality standards under the Clean Air Act, helping identify which pollutants pose the greatest risk and where action can make the most difference.

In Nevada and across the western United States, that focus increasingly includes wildfire smoke, dust and other environmental challenges shaped by climate and geography. While the health risks tied to air pollution may seem small at the individual level, Strickland explains that they look very different across a population.

“When everybody is breathing air, those tiny little increases in risk add up day after day,” he said.

As the conversation turns to trust, Akpinar-Elci raises a challenge many in public health are facing right now: how to communicate science as it changes.

“Science is constantly changing right now,” she says. “But when the message is not connected, that creates not trusting the results.”

Strickland sees that shift as well.

“Maybe part of the loss of trust in science is our fault as scientists,” he said. “People often have to rely on authority because they don’t always have the tools to evaluate the information themselves, and who people trust has changed over time.”

With so many voices and perspectives, knowing who to trust is not always straightforward. For both, the challenge is not just producing good science, but helping people understand how and why that science evolves over time.

Even with those challenges, Strickland remains optimistic. Looking at long-term trends, he notes that air quality in the United States has improved significantly over time, even as new issues like wildfire smoke continue to emerge.

For him, progress in public health is not about quick wins, but steady, long-term commitment.

“You have to kind of focus on the long game,” he said.

Brewing Better Health features faculty and public health leaders from the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health and beyond. Each episode pairs thoughtful conversation with the tradition of Turkish coffee, emphasizing connection, listening and shared understanding.

Watch Episode 5 of Brewing Better Health featuring Matt Strickland, Ph.D., on YouTube or listen on Spotify.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Water officials from Nevada, Arizona and California say they will make extra contributions by reducing their use of the Colorado River. Combined with earlier commitments, the proposed cuts add up to a total of about 20% of the states’ water allotments.

The plan, released Friday by the three states, would stabilize the river through 2028, according to a joint news release. It adds an extra contribution of 700,000 acre feet of water to cuts already in place. An acre foot is literally the amount of water it takes to cover an acre of land in water a foot deep. That’s 325,851 gallons, enough water to supply two to three households for a year.

Las Vegas relies on the Colorado River for 90% of its water, but recycling has consistently allowed Southern Nevada to use a lot less water than Nevada’s full allotment. Recycled water is returned to Lake Mead, and that is subtracted from the state’s “consumptive use” of the river. After all the math, Southern Nevada uses about two-thirds of its water allotment. Nevada is seen as a conservation and recycling model for other states to follow.

“This proposal is about moving from ideas to implementation,” John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), said in a statement included in the news release.

“It pairs real measurable water contributions with sensible dry-condition operations at Lake Powell and across the Upper Initial Units. Now is the time for every water user in the Basin to double down on water conservation as we face historically dry hydrology.”

The timing of the announcement comes as the federal government is working on a plan to replace a set of Colorado River rules that expire at the end of 2026. The three states behind the proposal, along with the four states in the Upper Colorado River Basin — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — were unable to reach a consensus agreement. That’s when the federal government said it would put its own plan in place.

The Upper Basin states are asking for mediation, but the new proposal addresses what Lower Basin states see as an urgent need for immediate action — from every state. “The Lower Basin states stand ready to engage in a meaningful process for long-term solutions while encouraging the Upper Basin to step forward now with verifiable water contributions to help stabilize the system and support a near-term, seven-state bridge,” the news release said.

Friday’s plan involves cuts from the Lower Basin states, but those are contingent on actions at Lake Powell and reservoirs farther up the river. Without federal backing, those upstream actions are unlikely to happen. The plan also asks for congressional funding to assist states in making changes.

“I think the scariest thing about this proposal is that we are hearing the top water officials on the Colorado River system talk about elevations of Lake Mead going to depths that we have never seen before,” Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, told 8 News Now on Monday.

“It’s no surprise that the leadership of the Southern Nevada Water Authority played a big role in developing this because it focuses on conservation. And the conservation that we are seeing proposed is the type of thing that Las Vegas is built and ready to handle. It also signals that other communities are getting serious about this as well,” he said.

Roerink said Nevada can handle big cuts that are coming, but other states are far behind in adjusting to the realities of drier conditions.

“They’re manageable because we’ve taken on the challenge of turf removal, watering restrictions, septic tank removal, moratoriums on evaporative cooling and data centers. This is why we have the resiliency,” Roerink said.

While every state is conserving some amount of water, the Lower Basin states are doing the hard work of trying to come up with a plan, Roerink said. The Upper Basin hasn’t been a part of that. Instead, those states are “digging in their heels,” he said.

California is by far the biggest user of Colorado River water, which flows through pipes and channels to metro Los Angeles and farmland in the Imperial Valley.

“With this proposal, the Lower Basin is putting forth real action to stabilize water supply along the Colorado River. We’re putting forward additional measurable water contributions for the system. Without that, the system will continue to decline,” JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, said.

Up to now, Arizona has taken the steepest cuts as the desert Southwest has struggled through a federally declared water shortage since 2022. Farmers in Arizona were the first to have their water supplies reduced.

Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said the proposal reflects the creativity and commitment of water users across the Lower Basin. “We have shown that collaborative, voluntary efforts and reductions that are certain can produce meaningful water savings,” he said.

Roerink, who acknowledges that this year will likely be “one of the worst ever in recorded history in the Colorado River system,” said the plan from the Lower Basin states could go a long way in preventing hysteria. Making changes now could ensure that Lake Mead doesn’t drop to dangerous levels, he said.