The College of Southern Nevada's Desert Garden will close its doors to the public in October citing declining sales.

The desert garden has been around for 12 years and employed CSN students and made money through the sale of plants to the public.

A massive inventory clearance sale will take place at the Desert Garden Center from now until Oct. 30, 2008. The center is open on Tuesday to Friday from 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center is located at 6221 W. Charleston Blvd.

CSN will continue its education events associated with the garden so Southern Nevadans can learn about desert horticulture.

An old Las Vegas school that is on the National Register of Historic Places is re-opening its doors with a whole new look. The historic Fifth Street School will serve as a downtown hub for arts and for architecture.

When this school opened in 1936, it was known as the Las Vegas Grammar School, serving the Las Vegas community of just 12,000 people. But with this re-opening, it will serve a new purpose as a cultural oasis to the hundreds of thousands who now call Las Vegas home.

The renovations began last April.

Among the new tenants are the UNLV fine arts program, including the Downtown Design Center for the School of Architecture, the Nevada School of the Arts, the American Institute of Architects and the City of Las Vegas Cultural Affairs Division.

Nearly $13.5 million for the project was provided by the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency. City leaders say will only help to revitalize downtown.

There are several common areas that will be available for public or private functions. There is a 400 seat auditorium, gallery space, a conference room and a courtyard for outdoor activities.

It's been four years since a community in west Las Vegas had a local grocery store, but this week that's all changing when the Buy Low grocery store opens its doors. Now residents don't have to travel miles away to shop.

The store brought new jobs and they are hoping the Buy Low market will help bring more businesses to boost their struggling community.

When the last grocery store left the community, it took hundreds of jobs with it. Residents are hoping the Buy Low market is a sign that things are about to turn around for this troubled community.

This grand opening is also a celebration that signals new beginnings for Anthony Hunter. He was unemployeed and the sagging economy made it even tougher to find and job. Then he was hired by Buy Low market, “Now that the city is putting money and business to revitalize the community, it's needed and long over due. So I know residents here will be appreciative and thankful for that.”

Councilman Ricki Barlow says the new store is up lifting the communities morale, “Not only bring goods and services to the community, it brings employment and hope that these residents will have an opportunity to put back into the economy.”

The city's redevelopment agency give Buy Low market huge incentives and grant money to open the store in a struggling community. Ccouncilman Barlow hopes more businesses take advantage of the incentives and open businesses in the neighborhood as well.

At Wednesday's grand opening, business owners can look at the other retail spaces available and learn more about why the heavily traveled area is a good place to open a business.

Police are investigating a body that was found in dumpster.

The body was found by a homeless man looking for cans on Carson and 8th Street late Wednesday afternoon.

Officers say the body was of African American descent, but they won't give an approximate age or gender.

Police are checking video cameras in the area for any footage that may be helpful.

Residents living on a historic golf course here in Las Vegas may have to say goodbye to its lush green lawns and sand traps. Investors bought the property last year and want to build houses on it.

But people who live they they'll fight the developers tooth and nail before they let that happen.

Many of the neighbors bought the home because of the great view. Now they say they'll do anything to keep the bulldozers from coming in and taking it away.

It all happened right here. The beautiful backdrop for DeNiro's movie “Casino.” He's golf's biggest icon today, but in 1996, a then 20-year-old Tiger Woods won his first pro tournament here.

Scores of other big names like Arnold Palmer and Tom Kite have also chipped a tee or two right on the pristine greenbelt at the Las Vegas National Golf Club.

“The history that's behind this course is amazing.” Dave Caldwell lives near hole 9. “I was used to living 20 years in a one bedroom apartment with a beautiful view of Manhattan. But it was such a small space – that when I moved here, I traded a one bedroom apartment for a lovely home on a beautiful golf course.”

Caldwell is one of hundreds of residents who are angry with the course's new investors who could turn the historic golf club into a 485-home development.

“To me it's like buying an ocean front property, and they take away the ocean. Or you buy a lakefront home and they decide, somebody comes in and says, 'I'm taking out the lake,' ” said Caldwell.

One of the investors, John Knott, says the golf course isn't making enough money. Although he does have some ideas to try to bring in cash, if it fails, the National Golf Club could replace the carts with bulldozers.

“I mean, could you imagine bulldozers and 500 homes going back here. I can't imagine that. I don't think we would live here if that happened,” said homeowner Cab Bennett.

Hundreds of neighbors who line the course are doing everything to save it — from making signs pleading to save the course to a website – SaveTheCourse.com.

Caldwell says they won't go without a fight. “I will handcuff myself to a tree and live there until the authorities come and throw me off. Not just for myself, but for the whole community.”

Besides its historic value, residents also say there are disclosure issues because they were never told the golf course could be replaced by homes.

The community is meeting Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Community Center to talk about how to save the course and plans to raise money for what they believe may be a long legal fight.

Investors are going to try and keep the course and bring in money. If that doesn't work, they will go to Plan B, which is to build the homes. However, the slumping housing market could put those plans on hold at least for a while.

Email your comments to Reporter Tedd Florendo.

Local businesses are capitalizing on the worldwide attention given to the O.J. Simpson trial.

The Courthouse Bar and Grill in particular has been seeing a lot more patrons, and have drink and lunch specials that reflect what all their regulars are talking about.

SLIDESHOW: The O.J. Simpson Trial Begins

“We have an O.J. special. It’s orange chicken over rice with two cuffs and a shot of O.J.,” Bartender Renee Fountain said.

She explained where most of her extra business this week is coming from.

“Bystanders, people that are possibly going to be on the jury, people just down here trying to get in front of the courthouse for media attention,” Fountain said.

If there’s one thing running rampant downtown right now, it’s the attention grabbers — locals who are promoting their websites, their products, and themselves.

For example, Joe Pepitone has been walking the streets of downtown for 11 years wearing a barrel and carrying a tall sign outlining his own battle in the courts. He makes sure cameras see him at every big event he can get time off for.

“For years I’ve been trying to get the media and the media never really gave a story.  It’s been in the news and all, but I had to seek my own (publicity). So the last O.J. case is when I came and got national news, and everybody started coming to me wanting to know what happened,” Pepitone, also known as ‘Big Pep’ said.

The beginning of O.J.’s trial was quiet compared to the preliminary circus, but people like Connie Boules of Flip My Lidz, handicapped entertainer ‘Moondog’ and Cathy Mulbihill (cleverly disguised as Wonder Woman) got the attention they wanted anyway.

Investigators here are working to figure out what caused a fire that happened just after 2 a.m. Thursday at the Landrover Dealership on Sahara and Decatur.

Two trailers were fully involved by the time firefighters got there.

It took 26 firefighters a little more than an hour to put the fire out. No one was hurt.

The Las Vegas City Council voted to approve new tougher penalties for graffiti vandals.

The new rules mean several changes. First, fines will increase for first, second and third offenses. Also parents of vandals under the age of 18 will be responsible for paying those fines.

And anyone over the age of 18 will lose their drivers license for anywhere from six months to two years. The new penalties should take effect sometime next week.