Print edition for January 8, 1998

Candidates disclose nearly $5 million in contributions - half for Guinn: Brendan Riley; Secretary of State Dean Heller said the total, released Wednesday by his office, represents "money which the public would not have known about if we had not gotten campaign finance disclosure reform passed" in 1997.

Kaczynski tried to kill himself, lawman says: Indeed, today's court session - which was expected to feature opening statements - instead revolved around the surprise issue of Kaczynski's competency to serve as his own attorney.

The CESspool: Back to the Future: Geoff Carter; The Deluxe staff looked up sleepily.

Friday at Aqueduct: 1st race 6 fur 4YO&up Mdn Clm

Tribal casino technically illegal, but no closure expected: The casino apparently is in no danger of being shut down as a result of the tribe's failure to certify the compact.

IHL recaps for Jan. 7: Houston Aeros 6, San Antonio Dragons 0

Friday at Golden Gate: 1st race 6 fur 4YO&up Clm

Nevada Focus: Whittell estate deal not done yet: Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., says the process will likely occur through several incremental transfers involving exchanges between the Del Webb Corp. and the Bureau of Land Management.

Toxic data at Area 51 ruled confidential: Bob Egelko; Lawyers for five current and former workers at the base, and the widows of two workers allegedly killed by toxic wastes, are not entitled to learn whether hazardous substances exist there or how they are handled, the results of a federal toxics inspection or even the name of the base, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.

As flattened buildings burn, it's school as normal in Lockwood: Dan Piel, superintendent of the Storey County school district, said Gary Hames, the county's chief emergency manager, assured him that a huge black plume of smoke over the plant several miles away didn't pose a threat to the school or children.

Perchlorate levels in Vegas water rise: The state of California has established an advisory level of 18 ppb in drinking water because of concerns that high levels of perchlorate can interfere with the function of thyroid glands. There are no national or Nevada levels for perchlorate safety.

Meeting will address sex offender notification: Adler, D-Carson City, who criticized Las Vegas police at the panel's last meeting for failing to move quickly to implement the law, said good progress has been made since then.

SUN Board: Community events, meetings, classes: Social groups

Councilman pulls in $100,000 in donations after election: The final tally of his campaign contributions totalled $439,876.53 -- at least $38,000 less than his opponent, then-incumbent Matthew Callister, raised for the Ward 4 seat.

More than $4.6 million given to candidates in '97: "This is money which the public would not have known about if we had not gotten campaign finance disclosure reform passed," Secretary of State Dean Heller said Wednesday.

Pioneer Boulder City resident Francis dies: His stories, short and to the point, told of the days he spent working as a truck driver and heavy-equipment operator on the old Boulder Canyon Project and of Las Vegas' rollicking formative years.

Columnist John McCarron: Senior scratch title captured by Leong: John McCarron; TERRY LEONG ($260) has won his first Senior Scratch Bowlers Tour Title at the Showboat. Leong's 1175 bested veteran Roger Johnson's ($125) 1142 total.

Digital imaging system arriving at libraries: On Wednesday, the Vivitar Corp. donated 12 "Home Digital Imaging Studios" to the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.

Clinton's Medicare proposal sparks statewide debate: Art Nadler; "From a needs standpoint, I believe this is a population that needs insurance," Carla Sloan, administrator of the Nevada Division for Aging Services, said Wednesday. "I support the need, but the financing part I'm not sure of."

UMC picked for top 100 in nation: The annual study, to be published this month in Modern Healthcare magazine, was conducted by HCIA Inc. and the William M. Mercer Inc. Health Care Provider Consulting practice.

Letter: Medical profession that earns high wages doesn't get sympathy: Perhaps one good thing about all this is that doctors statistically live shorter lives than their patients, an average possibly attributed to their excessive lifestyles and the ethical conundrums of social parasitism and financial cannibalism.

Leavitt to hear Gates' request to kill subpoena: Jeff Schweers; Her lawyers claim the subpoena invades her privacy by demanding information unrelated to the focus of its investigation -- whether Gates told the truth about her role in securing leases for a frozen daiquiri business at hotel-casinos she helps regulate.

State panel censures LV doctor: At meeting last month in Las Vegas, the board said Robertson, who specializes in pain management, will not be allowed to practice in Nevada until he passes a competency examination in his field. It also ordered the anesthesiologist to pay $1,440 in disciplinary costs.

Letter: Clinton deserves to be taken to task for actions: I air my views on the self-glorification of the man and the family because: he is the epitome of the photo opportunity; he has never held a nonpolitical job; he has a problem surrounding himself with experts without a past; and he has never had a personal view about anything unless someone tells him he has. Those and many more reasons are behind my not liking the person, even though I respect him for the office he purchased.

People in the News for January 8, 1997: Making book

'On a Voiceless Shore': Byron's Attraction to Greece: Richard Bernstein; But, as Stephen Minta writes in "On a Voiceless Shore," his meditation on the role that Greece played in Byron's life, Missolonghi is "the kind of town no famous man would ever die in, except through rotten luck or gross misjudgment."

Big Springs safe from U.S. 95 expansion, official says: On one hand, elected officials and northwest valley residents want a 10-lane expressway to handle 30,000 more cars daily on top of the 120,000 using the present six lanes. And they want it done now, not in 15 years.

Convicted drunken driver gets maximum sentence: Bill Gang; Seven family members, some crying and all angry, told a district judge Wednesday of the loss that will forever stain their holidays. They chastised Michael Allen Thompson for his irresponsible and deadly actions after attending a wedding where he swilled what prosecutors said was more than 20 drinks.

Rally propels Wildcats' win: Matthew O'Brien; It was a highly anticipated matchup between two Southern AAAA boys' basketball powers and Las Vegas and Valley did not disappoint.

Little hope for missing workers: LOCKWOOD -- Gustavo Alcala lies in a hospital bed mourning for four fellow employees who remain missing after massive blasts Wednesday morning that leveled an explosives manufacturing plant about 11 miles east of Sparks.

Recruit learned from his mistake: Steve Carp; Sometimes, a player can learn more sitting and watching than playing.

Supreme Court fails to shrink backlog: The court said Wednesday it had completed rulings on 1,471 cases last year -- 99 more than in 1996. But at the end of the year there were 2,521 cases pending, compared to 2,157 in January 1997.

County personnel director candidates cut to two: Jeff Schweers; The finalists are the aforementioned Doug Spring, currently personnel director for Metro Police, and Beverly Nelson-Glode, the human resources and risk management administrator for the Seattle suburb of Renton, Wash.

Mojave students get 'drilled' on biology: Elizabeth Dutton; In that case, it's a march in the quad.

Letter: Opportunity Village thanks community for donations after vicious vandalism: Staffed entirely by hundreds of volunteers from area churches, corporations, service clubs, and, of course, the Southern Nevada Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the Magical Forest has become a permanent part of the holidays in Las Vegas. A record-breaking 200,000 people visited our Magical Forest this time around. It has become a family tradition for tens of thousands of Southern Nevadans, and it helps us provide a better life for people with disabilities and their families. When a town like this shows its true spirit, everyone wins.

Columnist Jeff German: Brash campaign manager embarrasses Guinn camp: Political experts had predicted that Pete Ernaut, a hot-tempered Republican Assemblyman from Reno, would cause headaches for Guinn as the 1998 campaign season unfolded.

Obituaries for January 8, 1998: He is survived by his wife, Beatrice; one daughter, Anne Kaplan of Los Angeles; one sister, Sally Winkler of New York City; and four grandchildren.

Columnist Joe Delaney: Six decades of magic moments: Joe Delaney; Louis Armstrong was playing his last public engagement, January of 1971; Pops left us that July. ... It happened in the Tropicana Blue Room, no longer an entertainment area. ... Ella Fitzgerald was headlining in the pre-Hilton Flamingo while Duke Ellington and his Orchestra was the first hall of Caesars "Late, Late Show."

Columnist Steve Carp: WAC has lots of work left to meet goal: Steve Carp; The WAC, which has never received more than three bids to the Big Dance, was talking four minimum, maybe five, and possibly even six. But with Selection Sunday two months away, those early prognostications may have to be tempered somewhat.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Young Mexican journalists provide thin line of defense: This writer's treatment of the bullying tactics of Middle East terrorists and governments has drawn several comments. One of the readers, Mohamed El-Bendary, not only read these columns but has submitted an editorial to be published in SUN editorial pages today.

Dozens of people face eviction from dilapidated complex: The area is known for its drug problems, robberies and loitering.

Editorial: Smoke gets in their eyes: Five casino dealers filed lawsuits in Nevada this week against tobacco companies, charging that exposure to secondhand smoke damaged their health. The lawsuits contend the tobacco companies lied about the addictive effect of nicotine, as well as the adverse impact of breathing secondhand smoke.

On the streets where you live: Anne Hosier; It seems that the folks in charge of dreaming up names for Las Vegas streets have a wicked sense of humor.

Columnist Dean Juipe: LV's Mayweather plans to hit airwaves running: Dean Juipe; By Dean Juipe LAS VEGAS SUN

Education study: State grades low: But at least one Nevada official says he doubts that the numbers in the study, which he has not yet seen, reflect major strides that have been made in recent years.