Print edition for February 29, 1996

Don't give HIV-infected personnel special treatment: I also get sick of you printing liberal letters from Orville Goplen, running down the Republicans and especially Ronald Reagan. The Democrats controlled Congress during his tenure. Evidently, they went along with everything.

Corrections: Corrections

Elderhostel program has plenty of food for thought for education-hungry students: Merilyn Potters; Professor Stephen Rowland began his lecture with a slide presentation featuring Frenchman Mountain. One of the many curious students asked if radiocarbon dating was used to determine the age of the 1.6 billion-year-old mountain base, which borders the valley to the east.

Commentary: Big West didn't plan on this mess: And so mediocre.

Northern Ireland aims to show IRA benefits of a truce: Alexander MacLeod; On the day the British and Irish premiers launched a new peace plan for Northern Ireland, the parents of Edward O'Brien, an IRA member killed 10 days earlier by a bomb he was carrying in London, buried their son.

20th Century's abstract art: An expression of the inner self: Carol Strickland; NEW YORK -- "The modern painter cannot express this age - the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio - in the old forms of the Renaissance," said painter Jackson Pollock.

Chaparral girls get optimistic message about the work world: Lisa Sciortino; Not Debra Love. The Metro detective rose within the ranks of the male-dominated police field and came out on top.

School bands in jazz show: Admission is free. Call the CCSN Performing Arts Center, 651-4117.

Doomsayers missed mark on speeds: Whatever the cause, the death toll has not risen on Nevada's highways since speed limits were increased in December. In January, it actually dropped from 13 fatalities in 1995 to eight this year.

Oh those pesky plastic peanuts: Clinton Trowbridge; "Help," I cried in pathetic despair.

Economic forecasters' finger-crossing time: David R. Franics; "The economy is muddling along a little below the trend rate of growth," says Mr. Blinder, now back at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. That puts real growth this year at less than 2 percent, using the new "chain-weighted" basis for measuring gross domestic product, the output of goods and services in the nation.

Steve Yetiv: An ironic catalyst for peace: By enhancing US credibility, the war put Washington in a position to spearhead the peace process. It reinforced America's ability to convince Arab states that it could influence Israel to make serious concessions for peace, and made peace potentially more rewarding for Arab states.

Bullish market on Strip: If there is any question that professional bull riding has hit the big time, one need look no further than the corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue.

Ed secretary plugs reading as Congress eyes cuts: Laurel Shaper Walters; The speech, which was delivered in St. Louis, also provided an opportunity to promote the education ideas President Clinton is likely to emphasize during the presidential campaign. Mr. Riley criticized Republicans who want to slash education funding and abolish the Department of Education. "This is the wrong time to cut education funding," he said, calling Congress "out of touch with the American people."

Who IBF champ fights next still undecided: Dean Juipe; Everyone should have been happy.

Picket's suit charges Frontier with beating: Bill Gang; He admits having been a thorn in the Frontier's side since before the strike began in September 1991 and having had his share of standoffs with the resort's security staff.

Youth classes available: CONCERT OF MUSICS -- Spectrum, Las Vegas High School's pop group, presents its annual spring production at 7 p.m. March 7-9 in the Las Vegas High School Brusa Theater, 6500 E. Sahara Ave. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for students. The Las Vegas High School Jazz Band will also be featured. The Spectrum show will feature many styles of music, including rock 'n' roll oldies, country, pop, jazz and musical theater. Call 799-0180, Ext. 260.

Vegas briefs: * OFFICER CAN RETURN -- A Metro Police SWAT officer has received a doctor's OK to return to full duties after being shot by a fellow officer during a standoff last month. Paul Dapra, 29, was hospitalized for several days with a bullet wound under his left arm after the Jan. 19 incident between police and a gunman at Apex Road and Las Vegas Boulevard North. Authorities have ruled that the seven-year Metro veteran was shot accidentally by a teammate whose name has not been released.

Fired cops want Dersch suit delayed: Rachael Levy; Former officers Robert Phelan and Brian Nicholson and Sgt. James Campbell contend that they may incriminate themselves should they testify at the civil-rights trial.

Binion siblings bicker about control: The May 8 license agreement, which has raised concerns among state gaming regulators, was submitted in court papers by Binion's brother, Horseshoe Club President Jack Binion, earlier this month in his battle with his sister, Becky Behnen, for control of the casino.

Guinn to run for governor: "For the last 20 years, this issue has been brought up in the media and the community, and I have not been ready to step out," Guinn says. "But at this time, I am prepared to make a commitment, and so is my wife."

Nevada briefs from Tahoe, Reno, Sparks, Ely and Elko: If approved, the bond issue would add about $2 to the property tax bill of the owner of a $100,000 home.

Prosecutors' bias? Some say it's as plain as black and white: Daniel Sneider; Police found 5 grams of crack cocaine in a car he was riding in. The driver escaped, leaving Mr. Green facing up to 40 years in prison, even though he had never been charged with anything more serious than failure to pay a traffic ticket.

New Head of Council On Compulsive Gambling Says Information First Priority: The Mississippi Gaming Association, an organization of the state's 29 casinos, presented the council Wednesday with $100,000,.and the non-profit, gaming-neutral council hopes additional funding is on the way.

Tickets on sale for exhibitions: The Angels and Athletics will play 1 p.m. games on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10. All seats are being sold on a reserved basis for $12.50 per game and are available at the Cashman Field ticket office, the Stars & Thunder Store in the Meadows Mall and at all TicketMaster outlets.

South cleans house: Tim Graham; The Northern Zone is dust.

At first asia-europe summit, talk of trade may quell cry for rights: Cameron Barr; The United States has worked hard in recent years to ensure a major role in Asia. The US has supported a loose-knit trade organization called the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. And American defense officials are struggling to make sure that American troops stationed in Japan do not wear out their welcome.

Rebels find reason to keep believing: Steve Carp; It took nearly the entire season, but the Rebels have indeed cracked double digits, sparing them the embarrassment of joining the inaugural 1958-59 squad as the lone team to fail to win 10 or more. That first Rebel team went 5-13.

Why a man who knows racism fights affirmative action: Daniel B. Wood; In college, he saw blacks and foreign students with dark skin excluded from the main residential neighborhood across from his university campus.

U.S. Bank offices headed for stores: U.S. Bank and Albertson's announced an agreement that will result in the addition over the next four years of as many as 170 U.S. Bank Financial Markets in Albertson's stores throughout the West.

20 years of hard work eases impact of financial fiasco: David Mutch; That may not seem to be the case, in light of three financial episodes that have been in the news.

Hagen leaving the Rebels: Steve Carp; Steve Hagen, who has been in charge of UNLV's offense and has coached the Rebels' quarterbacks the last two seasons, resigned to become the head coach at Wartburg College, a Division III school in Waverly, Iowa. His replacement may be former Rebel assistant Brian White, who is currently coaching the defensive backs at Wisconsin.

Bob Shemeligian: Celebrating children not a bad idea: The Japanese term for Girls' Day is Hina Matsuri, which means "chick" or "doll" festival. Interestingly, over the years in cynical America, these words have degenerated into slang for a young woman.

O'Callaghan 8th-grader wins county spelling bee: Moses, in his third attempt in three years to become Clark County Spelling Bee champion, accomplished that goal Wednesday night before a public television audience by correctly spelling "tsunami."

Commentary: Little-known facts about well-knowns: Purists may question Louie's natal date, but July 4 is an appropriate date and 1900 a proper starting point for the man who was the most profound influence on popular music and jazz, instrumentally and vocally, during this century. ... He was an original source.

DAR's state conference in Las Vegas: The conference will include a special visit by the national society's president general, Dorla Dean Eaton Kemper.

Nevada sales up as nation stays flat: Taxation Director Michael Pitlock said the retail categories that indicate Christmas shopping showed a 4.3 percent increase in sales.

Shoppers flock to new Henderson mall: Ken McCall; The Disney-frosted, balloon-festooned, pyrotechnics-topped grand opening enticed thousands of parents and children to the new mall Wednesday morning to play stroller derby.

V-chip requirement another example of federal meddling: See, the fallacy of the V-chip is, someone has to program it to eliminate what he or she doesn't want his child to see. So the parents who discipline their children now are the people who will take the time to program the chip, and the people who don't care about what their child watches now won't take the time to program the chip, assuming they'll buy a TV with the chip in it.

Williams life achievements: BORN: Dec. 10, 1919, in Texas.

O'Leary plans to keep alive Yucca Mountain waste site: The Department of Energy is trying to build a civilian radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, but has run into numerous scientific and political obstacles.

504424679.html: Kirsten A. Conover; The genetically modified tomato has not exactly died on the vine. But some are questioning its longevity.

Nellis sued over birth of baby with disabilities: Rachael Levy; Denny and Dyiann Tate blame their daughter's disabilities on mistakes allegedly made before and during the February 1993 birth.

Details on supermarket banking: * First Interstate is being acquired by Wells Fargo Bank and the continued partnership with Lucky hasn't been finalized.

AIDS display an important teaching tool for children: The time has come for the parents and educated people of our community to take a stand. Statistics have proven that good sex education does not increase, but indeed decreases promiscuity, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The fact that the members of the board did not even have the courtesy to see the exhibit, approved all over this country by educators, shows their disregard for any educational process and that they do not have our children's interests and health in mind.

Henderson man's death suspicious: The mother, who was not identified, arrived home from work about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at 348 Keating St. and found her son, Michael O'Rourke, wounded and lying face down on the kitchen floor.

Fear of unknown intimidating during tournament: Tim Graham; With all of the excitement that goes along with playing in the state basketball tournament, one element can make the event particularly nerve-racking: not knowing anything about the opposition.

Coast Resorts Inc. earnings: Coast Resorts Inc. earnings

RTC riders need better placement of bus shelters: There is another discontinued bus shelter in front of the property. I still see people waiting there, even though this shelter has a sign, stating that this bus route was re-routed.

Judge treds slowly with redevelopment case: Bill Gang; So District Judge Don Chairez said Wednesday that he wasn't going to rush his part of the job.

Benin: A model of openness in turbulent Africa: Jennifer Ludden; COTONOU, BENIN -- In this tropical port city, Beninese still talk about the seaside building - now the government spokesman's office - in which former Communist autocrat Mathieu Kerekou is said to have had dissenters tortured during his 17-year regime. But they no longer fear the knock on the door that will take them there.

Students reap awards: Carleen Hall's "Explorers in America -- Juan Ponce de Leon" came in second in the local competition. Chad Didas' essay on Lewis and Clark came in third in local. Both are seventh-graders at Roy Martin.

Nevada Indian passes away at age 112: A lifelong Nevadan, Bill, a Whiteknife Shoshone-Paddy Cap Paiute, died at 11 p.m. Tuesday at the Ruby Mountain Manor convalescent center, her home since 1985. Although she never lived in the Las Vegas area, Bill was an inspiration to Indians throughout the state, and her deeds were legendary.

Satellite to put on a show: Bob Shemeligian; ANSWER: The Italian Space Agency's satellite, which broke loose from the shuttle Columbia on Sunday.

Cost of living to take a jump for UNLV students: The Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada will be asked Friday to approve a variety of increases at the various schools starting with the fall semester.

Guinn Community Center offers classes: Do you want to learn the fundamentals of in-line skating and get in shape doing it? Guinn now offers an in-line skate class on Tuesday for all ages for just $18.

Upstate girls go 4-for-4: Tim Graham; After just one round of play at the NIAA/U.S. Bank girls' state basketball tournament at Nevada-Reno's Lawlor Events Center Wednesday, all four of the Southern Zone teams were eliminated.

Sun City tax revolt will go to state level: Jeff Schweers; "We're getting ready for a lawsuit ... we're not going to stop until we win this thing, because we're right," said Leonard Gross, a homeowner and leader of the tax protest. "We have been overtaxed. That's it in a nutshell."

LV Cubans remain united against Castro: Art Nadler; "I believe the honeymoon between the Clinton administration and the Cuba regime will never end," Aleyda Hernandez said. "I look at Cuba as the mistress of the Democratic Party. We should do the same as we did with Haiti -- a total blockade. Let nothing in."

Boss at Nellis eyes promotion: Bethurem, who has been at Nellis since July 1994, also has been nominated for a promotion to the rank of lieutenant general.

Worth noting on television this week: Judy Nichols; Space Cases (Nickelodeon, 9-9:30 p.m.): The latest addition to SNICK (Saturday Night Nickelodeon) is this "Star Trek" clone for kids. Two centuries in the future, five Starcademy students from different parts of the galaxy are stranded on a mysterious ship, of which they become the crew. The live-action series has humor and refrains from violence.

China military thumps chest at more agile, potent Taiwan: Jonathan S. Landay; More than 1,600 years later, China's Communist leaders are trying to adhere to their forebears dictum in a mounting confrontation with Taiwan.

A ring on her finger wherever she goes: Susan LaPlant; My mother didn't seem to care whether I got married or not. But she did care passionately about what kind of life I would make for myself someday, and even before I entered kindergarten, she was proclaiming that she would "scrub floors" if necessary, in order to see that I went to college.

An uncle's advice on customer relations: John Gould; The other two weeks I came under the influence of my Uncle Ralph, who kept a country store and thought the nicest thing he could do for a favorite nephew had to do with trout brooks. I shared this opinion and was joyful every summer when his letter came asking if I would care to join him "for a week or so" before school resumed.

Williams, chronicler of World II tales, dies at 76: Last June, he organized a national reunion in Las Vegas for the highly decorated Company I, 30th Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry -- his outfit.

High on Dogipot: Pauline Bell; American retailers sell nearly 3 billion pounds of dog food a year. Once consumed and digested by about 52 million hungry hounds, it has the potential of creating more than 20 tons of doggie dung a day.

Many classes tailored for mature students: Merilyn Potters; Many continuing education classes are tailored for mature students, with shorter time periods and staggered scheduling to make them more accessible, said Tup Tupper, coordinator of Programs for Older Students.

TV industry problem: rating 400,000 shows: Alexandra Marks; Politicians have long lobbied for a rating system on grounds that it will prompt Hollywood to think twice about the amount of violence in programming. But designing a workable system - one that helps parents wend their way thought the ever-expanding dial - will be far from easy. The industry must find a way to rank more than 400,000 programs, compared with the 1,000 films rated each year by the motion picture industry.

Carolina vote tests role of religion in Southern politics: Linda Feldmann; Inside of this vast charismatic church, Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan holds forth like a preacher, decrying abortion, the Department of Education, and free trade. The hall is about two-thirds full and the response is warm but not overwhelming. A man in the back yells "Go Pat Go." Others, afterwards, say they're still undecided.

Today's Vegas business news: MAIN STREET STATION -- Boyd Gaming Corp. plans to open Main Street Station by the end of 1996 after an expansion, renovation and re-equipping of the 404-room property in downtown Las Vegas, company officials said today. The company has owned Main Street Station since December 1993, but has been using only the hotel rooms to satisfy customer demand that could not be met at its other two downtown properties, the California and the Fremont hotel-casino. The renovation will include a 500-seat buffet, a 130-seat restaurant, a 100-seat cafe and a 200-seat brew pub and oyster bar.

Hotel guard won't be charged in shooting: Assistant District Attorney Charles Thompson said Wednesday the office has closed the case over the Feb. 18 shooting by Lawrence Motti, 26, that killed 56-year-old Gordon Bishop.

Fired DMV employee loses appeal: State Hearing Officer Gary Lang said there is substantial evidence to justify the dismissal of Lorie Like, a technician with the driver's license division.

Tahoe shooting suspect faces drug charge: A man who was removed from Harvey's Resort Hotel-Casino on Feb. 19 after causing a disturbance allegedly fired one round through a plate glass window in front of the building.

Daniel Schorr: Pakistan and the bomb: Holocaust, maybe, but there are nuclear perils short of holocaust. Until recently, aside from reports of nuclear materials smuggled out of Russia, attention focused mainly on North Korea. But North Korea has signed on to a "framework agreement" that should freeze its nuclear program. And now threatened by famine and needing Western help, North Korea is hardly in a position to aggressively pursue a nuclear bomb.

Philly flower show celebrates spring in its new 'digs': Laurent Belsie; "We really needed the room to spread," says Lisa Stephano, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which sponsors the annual event. After 30 years displaying flowers and plants in an aging hall on the edge of the city, the show's exhibitors this year have been able to take advantage of the new location's higher ceilings, better lighting, and expanded space.

Henry Cisneros: Safer, saner, stronger communities: While the federal budget debate has occupied the nation's headlines, my thoughts have often returned to Michelle and her world. Balancing the budget is a national priority, but so too is the task of renewing America's communities - of ensuring that Michelle and those who follow her grow up in safer, saner, and stronger neighborhoods.