Print edition for October 4, 1997

Letter:Ordinary people have difficulty fighting greedy, malicious suits: I know now what Judge Learned Hand said is true: "The Constitution (and Bill of Rights) is just a piece of paper." The struggle to defend our rights in the real world is an unending battle, as many Americans have long known.

Reno to beef up fire codes after casino fire: Reno's regulations cover main casino walls but don't deal with facades, which can be constructed of a variety of materials.

Rocket malfunctions, crashes near Goldfield: Scammell said search efforts for debris began after sunrise Saturday and parts of the rocket had been recovered. The DOE and Sandia National Laboratories, which planned the launch, were investigating the cause of the crash.

Columnist Bill Hanlon: Test scores don't go up when state takes over a school: Bill Hanlon; States such as Colorado and Wyoming clearly believe in local control. Coloradans really are an independent people; not only can't the state go in and take over schools, the state cannot select textbooks or set graduation requirements. That's left to local communities. That's independence Nevadans don't share, so the next time some politician tells you how independent Nevadans are, tell him you buy your fertilizer at the nursery.

Crash kills one, injures five near Indian Springs: "The vehicle went into a broadside skid and then into the desert off the right side of the road where it flipped at least five or six times," Harney said.

Liberace items to be auctioned: For sale are a 9-foot monogrammed Baldwin concert grand piano that Liberace played for the British royal family at the Albert Hall in London, and a van that the entertainer used to move the instrument. Nye paid $25,000 for the piano.

Power play goals by Ice Dogs ruin Thunder opener: Patrik Augusta didn't waste time, scoring at 1:33 into the game and twice for the Ice Dogs in the opening period.

High winds thwart racers in land speed attempt: Winds kicked dust on the dry lake bed up to 300 feet in the air and obscured visibility.

Skilled work force target for training classes: With nearly 6,000 new casino jobs opening up over the next two years, finding trained personnel will be more difficult.

Alien invasion: Parts of Nevada overwhelmed by non-native vegetation: Phil Hagen; While we search the skies for invaders, another life form has been here for years, attacking right under our noses. And it has hit the desert where it hurts the most: our parks, our wetlands, our water supplies.

Cost, new faces doomed spring training camp: Jeff Schweers; For nearly four years the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority methodically studied and planned the construction of a Major League Baseball spring training camp.

Chairwoman says she's silent partner in venture: MGM Grand Chairman Terry Lanni has said Atkinson Gates and her partner Ed Nigro personally approached him early this year about a lease for their frozen-daiquiri store called Fat Tuesday's. That lease agreement is near completion, awaiting only a letter from the ethics board about when the commissioner can vote on agenda items affecting the resort.

Got milk? But what kind of milk is best for babies: Lisa Ferguson; So why is it that 1990s mothers are having to be reminded that breast-feeding their babies is a natural, healthy alternative to bottle-fed formula?

Letter: SUN writers praised for courage, sincerity, talent: The first two appellations are evident, the Dickensheets effort perhaps more subtle. Dickensheets handled a subject less than compelling with unbiased creativity and with an accuracy that reached behind facts. I've never met Lewis or Jensen. Now I feel I know them better than I know my next-door neighbors.

Columnist Jeff German: Keller riding high on voter popularity: Sheriff Jerry Keller, with more than a year to go in his first term, may rank at the top of the Teflon meter.

Letter: Junior League makes valuable contributions to the community: The Junior League of Las Vegas has developed more than 60 community projects, including D.A.R.E., Project Lead, HELP of Southern Nevada, Lied Discovery Museum, Read Aloud Nevada and JLLV Education Grants. Our advocacy efforts have led to legislation directed at improving the lives of children in the state of Nevada. I'm most proud of our advocacy efforts that produced legislation giving single parents the legal avenues to collect court-ordered child support.

Guest opinion: Daughter stood tall in face of harassment: Her troubles began in the patrol academy when she asked her sergeant what to do about a cadet hitting on her. She obeyed an order to bring a sexual harassment charge and was branded a troublemaker. Despite her troubles, she led her district in drunken-driving and felony arrests for years.

Editorial: All talk, no action on computers: An 11-member Commission on Education Technology created during the legislative session months ago finally held its first meeting last week in Carson City.

Where I Stand: Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley stays on the health care scene: Buckley's strength as an advocate for people who need protection has made her a popular figure in the political world. Will she follow the pleas that she seek a higher office? "No, there's much more work to be done in the rapidly changing field of health care," she told me. Patients, nurses and doctors need her and her seniority in the Assembly where she has been so effective.

Bailiff wins sexual harassment suit: "It's just a closing of a terrible experience," Morsovillo said tearfully after hearing the verdict Friday.

Columnist Sandy Thompson: No one listened to grandmother's plea: Sandy Thompson; Her name was Barbara, and she spoke with a soft Southern drawl.

Hunting the tamarisk: Phil Hagen; When a park in the Southwest has a problem with the exotic species, it calls Deuser at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Boulder City. And the phone does ring. "Some are begging me to get scheduled," says the resource management specialist.

DEA not talking about NLV probe: "The results are nothing that we can give you," said Van Quarles, Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman.

Durango picks up volleyball victory over Moapa: Ray Brewer; Durango senior setter Sarah Gubler and outside hitter Blair Wilkes have given opponents havoc all season in leading the Trailblazers to a 22-4 record atop the Sunrise Division.