Print edition for July 31, 1998

Pet clinic project protested: Valerie Miller; Residents of Highland Hills are worried that their neighborhood will go to the dogs -- literally -- if a new veterinary clinic and dog grooming facility is built in their area.

Two innocent men accused of sodomy freed from Nevada prison: The boy, Neal Broam, was 9 years old at the time and is 17 now. He said his mother locked him up and starved him until he testified against his father and his father's co-worker.

Tyson's foul may not count: Dean Juipe; Maybe he doesn't need any damage control.

Ladah tries to lose 2 seconds: Spencer Patterson; To the average person, two seconds goes by in a flash. For Bishop Gorman graduate Ramzy Ladah, it separates him from his ultimate goal.

Youths burned by homemade bomb: The youths apparently filled a plastic soda bottle with black power and then soaked a rag in gasoline to use as a fuse. They lit the bomb and it exploded on them.

Weekend Update: Music, Theater, Etc.: Homegrown talent -- Local musicians will be showcased Saturday at Castlefest, a benefit for the WorldFolk Radio program, which airs at 7 p.m. Sundays on KLAV-1230 A.M. The program is a forum for local musicians to be heard through interviews and live sets. Admission to the event, being held at The Castle, 650 W. Sunset Road in Henderson, is $3. Call 220-9194 for more information.

Arizona Charlie's loan in limbo: A United Healthcare attorney said the loan was not authorized and that the United Healthcare employee who promised the loan has been terminated.

Investigation finds improper gifts in Nevada land swaps: Scott Sonner; A draft audit, excerpts of which were obtained by The Associated Press, says that government authorities have referred part of the case to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Team of bandits who slashed tires of bank victims arrested: The bandits would then offer to fix the tires, police said, then grab the money when the victims were distracted.

Education team responds to 18 deaths at Lake Mead: The program was developed in response to the high number of deaths in the Lake Mead Recreation Area this year. So far, 18 people have died, including 11 who drowned and seven killed in boating accidents.

Jury awards $153.2 million in Ford parking brake defect case: Brendan Riley; The U.S. District Court jury, at the end of a 2 1/2 -week trial in Reno, awarded $150.9 million in punitive damages plus $2.3 million in general damages to Jimmie and Ginnie White, whose son Walter, 3, was killed in October 1994.

Saturday at Saratoga: 1st race 7 fur 3YO&up Mdn

Pacific Coast League Statistics through July 30: CLUB Batting

Reno man arrested in assault of young girls: Ramirez was being held in the Washoe County jail Friday in lieu of a $145,000 bond.

Columnist Joe Delaney: Conversation with impressionist Little reveals a lot: Joe Delaney; "On the other hand," he continues, "you have to go out on the road or the rest of the country tends to forget you. I live in Las Vegas and love living here but prefer dividing time between Vegas and the road. I play a lot of conventions, industrial shows, riverboats and Indian casinos.

Movie Guys: Disney is caught in 'The Parent Trap' all over again: * Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Elaine Hendrix and Simon Kunz.

American Legion -- State Tournament: Saturday's Games

Auto Racing schedule, standings and leaders through July 30, 1998: The 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing schedule, winners in parenthesis, and driver point standings:

'Sin'-sational!: Scott Dickensheets; It's big! That's the first thing they want you to notice about "Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular," debuting Aug. 10 on the fx network: Compared to the smallish desk-and-chair principalities of Letterman, Leno and similar heirs of the variety show tradition, Penn & Teller are tapin' large.

Legion state tournament -- Fast Facts: * WHEN: Saturday through Wednesday.

Tahoe's level starts to decline at last: "It's turned the corner," said federal water master Garry Stone. "It certainly isn't going to get higher."

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Noise and good food mix at Bix's: That said, let me tell you that Chef Steven Zucker and his staff cook well enough to overcome (almost) the noise from the bar that spills into the open dining room.

Tipper Gore leads rally for women's health care: Martin Kuz; That was the message sent by Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, to a crowd of some 200 elected officials, political hopefuls and curious onlookers at a Democratic rally on women's health Friday afternoon at UNLV. Encouraging young people -- especially women -- to flood the polls this fall, Gore emphasized that generating momentum for women's health issues starts at the ballot box.

Las Vegas Bowl wants to cut WAC connection: Steve Carp; With eight of its 16 members intending to form a conference of their own next season, the Western Athletic Conference apparently has lost one of its three bowl game tie-ins.

Box score: Grizzlies 10, Stars 4: Las Vegas

Local teams vie for Legion series: Spencer Patterson; The race to see which local team, if any, will represent host city Las Vegas in the upcoming American Legion World Series officially begins Saturday at the Nevada State Tournament.

Pacific Coast League standings through July 30, 1998: Midwest Division

Bible rips panel over Indian gaming: Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible took an Indian Gaming Commission official to task during a hearing of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

Commission urges hold put on new Indian gaming rules: The nine-member commission, following a motion from Commissioner Bill Bible, voted to urge Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to put a hold on the rules until the panel completes its study of the complex issues facing the $7 billion-a-year Indian gaming industry.

STOP DUI downright mad over MADD'S fund-raising: Diana Sahagun; "MADD is attempting to financially rape the citizens of Clark County," the executive director of STOP DUI said.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Destructive tendencies derail Tyson: Dean Juipe; Mike Tyson cannot stand prosperity. Provide him with good fortune or an opportunity to correct an earlier wrong and he will inevitably make an erroneous decision that reveals a mean and foolhardy streak.

LVMS chief Richie Clyne finally slows down long enough for an in-depth interview: In the 22 months since Richie Clyne opened the $200 million Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his state-of-the-art racing facility has hosted the five largest sporting crowds in the state's history.

Editorial: Majority leader creates impasse: Senators should be offered the chance for a full and robust debate on reforming health care, but don't count on it anytime soon. If Lott gets his way, and it sure looks right now as though he will, it might not be until September before this legislation is even considered by the Senate.

Report blasts Forest Service land deals: An inspector general's report questioned the actions of a former Forest Service supervisor who signed a sworn statement saying he accepted gifts and entertainment from negotiators involved in land exchanges worth $45 million.

District, teachers reach deal: Benjamin Grove; Chief negotiators on both sides declined to offer details of the agreement until an arbitrator approves it, which should come in a few days.

Station stock plummets as merger is jeopardized: Brian Seals; Late Thursday, Station filed suits in federal and state courts here seeking declaratory rulings that it hasn't violated terms of the merger agreement and that Crescent can't back out of it.

Reid twice switches tax code vote: At first he thought it was, and voted for it. Then he was told it was different, so he voted against it. But after looking at the amendment again, Reid decided it was virtually the same as the measure he voted for in April

Mining rebound helps lower Nevada jobless rate: The seasonally adjusted rate is down four-tenths of a percentage point from May and is lower than the national average of 4.5 percent and California's 5.7 percent.

Casinos join forum on responsible gambling: John Wilen; "I think it's incredible progress, that the American Gaming Association is making that kind of an effort to get the whole industry focused on that issue," said Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. "It's a long way from a couple years ago when we could only get a couple of companies to even talk about it."

Senate panel passes bill for 'atomic soldiers': Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., sponsored the Justice for Atomic Veterans Act that adds three new cancers -- lung, ovarian and brain/central nervous system -- to the list for which atomic veterans may receive Veterans Administration benefits.

Editorial: Senator succumbs to capitol sickness: It's not as if the pensions for legislators aren't already healthy. The Associated Press reports that some long-serving members of Congress receive annual pensions of nearly $100,000, dwarfing the annual earnings of all but the wealthiest of working Americans.

Gubernatorial opponent challenges mayor's claims: In new commercials pitching her run for the governor's mansion, Jones appears to take credit for 200,000 new jobs in the Las Vegas area. And she takes credit for putting 550 more police on the street.

Las Vegas news briefs: FUGITIVE FOUND -- A 50-year-old fugitive who walked away from the Southern Nevada Correctional Center in 1987 was located in a California prison yesterday under an assumed name. Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Joseph Carl Mancini walked away from a prison work detail while serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for sexual assault and grand larceny. Mancini's fingerprints were used in locating him at the California State Prison at Corcoran, where he is serving time for grand theft auto under the name Richard Lobb, said the attorney general.

Report raps LV junkets funded by nuclear industry: Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project released a six-page report, "Irradiated Las Vegas Junkets," detailing the 1997 trip to Las Vegas for 74 senators, representatives and staffers who toured Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Big Strip operators shy away from the airline business: Gary Thompson; The new Las Vegas-based National Airlines drew praise from political, tourist and gaming executives Thursday.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Mrs. Gore deserves a Las Vegas welcome: That prompted a column questioning why Americans have a compelling need to make the wife of the vice president of the United States travel coach across this country on scheduled airlines that oftentimes don't make their scheduled rounds.

Columnist Scott Dickensheets: A shortcut through top novels list: Scott Dickensheets; The answer came to me in a flash of inspiration perhaps best summed up by the phrase easy way out: Cliffs Notes! Of course! If exposure to great literature is in some way good for you, then exposure to scholarly summaries of great literature should at least be pretty OK for you. Mere hours after this revelation, I emerged from Borders Book Shop with the Cliffs Notes of four of the Modern Library's top five. My brain swelled in anticipation of all the literary goodness it was about to receive.

New Amtrak service coming: One of the casino companies financing Michael Conway's National Airlines also is on track to help resurrect Amtrak service to Southern Nevada.

Obituaries for July 31, 1998: He is survived by his wife, Charlene; three sons, Michael, Steven and James; one brother, Bill; two sisters, Marilyn Johnson and Evelyn Toy; and four grandchildren.

Forklift driver claims she was stripped of Mrs. Nevada title because she was too fat: "She (Kallay) said I was too fat, that she didn't want me to embarrass her and the pageant after it took her all these years to get her franchise," said Grider, a 37-year-old grandmother and mother of two.

'Party' down at Rio's updated show: Joe Delaney; Regular show times are every other hour, starting at 2 p.m. to midnight, no shows on Wednesdays. The action takes place on the main stage and on a series of manned colorful floats that ride on a 950-foot overhead track 13 feet above the audience. Guests can don colorful costumes and participate by purchasing a ticket for $9.95, 45 minutes before each performance. The preferred view point is on the balcony facing the main stage area. Get there early.

Mismanagement troubles doomed Debbie Reynolds hotel: John Wilen; The Debbie Reynolds hotel-casino in Las Vegas will be sold at auction next week, but there's a chance Debbie Reynolds and the museum of Hollywood memorabilia she hand-picked will be back.

Las Vegas Bankruptcies: Kent Morrill, doing business as Penguin Productions Inc., and Toni Morrill, 4016 W. Vegas Dr., Las Vegas, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing assets of $245,420 and liabilities of $268,498.

NY airline pulls out of Vegas: Leo Devine, a spokesman for the airline in New York, said the company discontinued service earlier this month after flying the route since Sept. 4. It had operated four flights per week.

Animal-rights group targets tryouts for meat ads: Karen Zekan; Their ears and hooves wind up playthings for dogs. Their bodies provide pay checks for men and women working on America's pig farms, in slaughterhouses, for trucking companies and behind grocery store meat counters.

Program pushes energy savings: Lisa Snedeker; The partnership between the utility and the nonprofit housing rehabilitation group was formed through a new Department of Energy program known as Rebuild America.

Stars can't catch up to Fresno: The Stars dropped back to 10 games behind the Grizzlies with just 39 games left to be played after dropping a 10-4 decision here Thursday night.

Rally puts focus on women's health: In addition to the afternoon rally in the Moyer Student Union at UNLV, Gore is expected to attend a fund-raiser for Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is seeking re-election this fall.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Brickyard 400 keeps growing in popularity: The Daytona 500 long has been considered the Super Bowl of stock-car racing. In just four short years, however, the Brickyard 400 already has taken its place as one of the most prestigious races on NASCAR's Winston Cup schedule -- surpassing even the Daytona 500 in some drivers' minds.

Boy drowns in pool at apartment complex: Karen Zekan; Medical personnel at Lake Mead Hospital spent more than an hour trying to revive the boy before pronouncing him dead about 4:30 p.m. His name has been withheld until relatives are notified.

Youths enter plea bargain in attack on abducted teen: Bill Gang; Thursday's guilty pleas by three of the defendants and an earlier plea by the fourth guarantees that they will be imprisoned for years before they will be eligible for parole, Deputy District Attorney Tom Carroll said.