Print edition for November 10, 1998

Panel narrows lists of tribes to review: Concerned that the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, or ACIR, keeps changing the number of Indian gambling operations it plans to survey, subcommittee members asked research coordinator Donna Swartz to decide how many tribal operations will be included in the survey by Thursday morning at the latest.

Nevada tip leads to telemarketing arrest in Canada: The man, of McGill, whose identity was not released, notified the state Bureau of Consumer Protection that he had sent a $1,000 cashier's check to a company identified as "Capital Premium Center" in North York, Ontario, Canada. He said he had been notified by the center he had won a new Ford Taurus and $25,000 in sweepstakes.

Editorial: Churches find tough going in getting land: Nonprofit groups, such as churches, provide a great benefit to Southern Nevada. With government providing fewer services, religious organizations are playing an even greater role in providing valuable programs, whether it's helping the needy or feeding the homeless. Without the continued support of this law assisting nonprofit groups, many churches may never be built, a loss to Southern Nevada that no dollar amount could adequately describe.

LV delays vote on regional planning: Erin Neff; The city's planning department struck an item from Monday's council agenda to vote on an interlocal agreement authorizing the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition to advise the city and other local governments on growth issues.

Role of citizens oversight panel on audits questioned: Erin Neff; Larry Brown raised his concerns after reading news accounts and minutes from the newly-created committee's Oct. 20 meeting, at which members discussed a salary range suitable for hiring a new city auditor.

Registrar: Reid's victory to stand: After about 30 hours, the manual tally of the votes was completed at 2:30 a.m. Results will not be released until they are processed by a computer, which is expected to be finished by this afternoon.

Costas testifies against sports betting: NBC Sportscaster Bob Costas told the nine-member panel how a gambling addiction turned his own father's life "upside down."

San Jose woman in line for airport job: She received the unanimous endorsement for the new job Monday from the Washoe County authority's executive search committee.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Santa Anita: Post Time 12:45 p.m.

Weber returns home to success at UCLA: Steve Guiremand; LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Horton and his wife, Teri, were in the midst of a short cruise to Catalina Island two years ago when the UNLV head football coach decided to check his voice mail for messages.

Letter: Cigarette smoking is individual's choice: Some of their parents smoke and do not care if their children do. How can our country keep controlling people? It should be their right to smoke and no one else's business, if parents don't care.

Wednesday at Bay Meadows: 1st race 1 mi 2YO Fil Clm: 1 Smashin Miss (Matias) 116; 2 Te Quera Mucho (Lopez) 116; 3 Western Cloud (Schvaneveldt) 116; 4 Atlantic Miss (Tohill) 114; 5 Madeleine Robin (Arriaga) 116; 6 My Doreen Hajji.

Letter: Show of support for commissioner: I feel he has the foresight to avoid future gridlocks in transportation, housing and people. Gridlock means some of the people on the streets some of the time, not all the people on the street any time.

Letter: Religious concept contradicts itself: For Baha'i to accept the existence of other religious prophets but reject their teachings (reincarnation), shows Baha'i to simply contradict itself. If one accepts other prophets, but rejects their teachings, then one has rejected those prophets.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Running up the score is simply part of the game: Kansas State coaches and players are feeling all sensitive about running up the score on Baylor last Saturday, which is strange, considering they've done it all season long.

Water experts baffled by increase in Lake Mead radiation levels: What is most puzzling is why radiation levels are higher in treated water than either the surface of Lake Mead or the intake pipe 150 feet below the surface.

Wednesday at Aqueduct: 1st race 1 mi 3YO Fil Clm: 1 Cascade Halo (Bridgmohan) 112; 2 Arctic Gold (Lovato) 116; 3 Mi Elegancia (Diaz) 111; 4 Hightshift (Migliore) 116; 5 Jet Black (Chavez) 112; 6 Frankly Scarlet (Espinoza) 121; 7 Cold Stare (Molina) 106; 8 Brenda's Abby Girl (Cruz) 105; 9 Skywick (Zimmerman) 111; 10 Exuberant Slew (Castillo) 116.

Officials meet to discuss bear problem: The Nevada Division of Wildlife handled about 80 calls about problem bears last year. Carl Lackey, a biologist with the state division, said there seem to be even more problems this year.

Reno mayor's pay raise on hold: The extra $14,600 apparently would violate a city charter ban on pay increases within a year of being elected.

Taxi drivers have mixed reactions to new rules: They address everything from age limits on cabs to the visibility of meters and use of two-way radios.

Brief: Detroit casino developments stalled: Other problems threatening the proposed year 2000 opening of the new casinos include the slow pace of both licensing investigations and the building permit process and ongoing opposition by a group called the Citizens Coalition.

Brief: Smith's grocery chain to pay $650,000 fine for child labor: The Utah-based grocery chain, with 172 stores in eight western states, illegally employed 745 teenagers in Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Idaho New Mexico and Nevada, the labor department said. Smith's is a subsidiary of Fred Meyer Inc. of Portland, Ore.

Brief: Hilton spinoff starts debt buyback: The tender offer, which expires Dec. 9, is part of the refinancing related to Grand's pending merger with a wholly owned subsidiary of Park Place. Park Place will acquire Grand's three Mississippi casinos, but not its Indian management contracts, which will be spun off into a separate company called Lakes Gaming.

Brief: Reno getting three Texas flights: Southwest started the Saturday-only concept in April with flights between Las Vegas, Spokane, New Orleans and Tulsa; and between St. Louis and Ft. Lauderdale.

Brief: Air tour operators lose rulings: Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the government's goal of restoring natural quiet to the national park and approved the methods federal agencies use to measure aircraft noise.

Former casino owner sues Horseshoe over chip dispute: The suit claims the dispute between Stupak and the casino lasted for weeks and eventually deteriorated into a confrontation that led to his ejection from the Horseshoe on Oct. 24.

Deal in works for businessman to pay back casinos: A judge set another court date of Dec. 10 to check on progress in the case.

Tribal chief may return to Nevada to face charges: The charges stem from an accident that occurred in March 1997, while Ahdunko was Washoe tribal police chief. He was driving a pickup truck owned by the government and made available to Washoe police, and had a collision with a private vehicle owned by a tribal probation officer.

State urged to shell out for school repairs: Benjamin Grove; Those findings were discussed Monday by a panel created by the Legislature last year to study school maintenance.

City Council briefs: Councilman Arnie Adamsen called Hauck a "very sweet lady" whose efforts "make our city a better place to live."

Hearing pits Metro against officer fired for '95 beating: Karen Zekan; Metro attorney Al Marquis even mentioned the possibility of calling Andrew Dersch to the witness chair. Dersch is the convicted criminal and drug abuser whose videotaped beating by police inside a security office at the Fremont hotel-casino in 1995 led to jail time and department termination for Campbell and his former subordinate officers, Rob Phelan and Brian Nicholson.

Miller shifts focus to Internet, Indian gaming: In opening remarks to the nine-member panel this morning, Miller touted Nevada's gaming industry as the "most refined" and "the safest in the world.

Clark County to get $3.9 million in federal funds for class-size reduction: The money represents the largest share of $5.6 million that will be distributed to Nevada's 17 counties.

Public airs concerns raised by training of pilots: That was the general tone of comments Monday as Air Force officials came to this small community about 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas for the first of seven public hearings. The officials are traveling around Nevada to hear the pros and cons regarding the environmental impact of keeping 3 million acres out of public hands.

Fire-safety funding put in hands of voters: Erin Neff; The City Council on Monday unanimously approved placing the bond on the June 8 municipal general election ballot after city Fire Chief Mario Trevino outlined the citywide need.

City Council spending: Awarded $1.66 million bid to Las Vegas Paving Corp. for West Service Center survey addition.

Grand jury to consider shootings of two intruders by resident: Bill Gang; Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot said Monday the case will be presented to the grand jury Dec. 3. That route was chosen rather than having prosecutors in the district attorney's office decide alone whether to file charges against Tom Gaule in the deaths of Jason Lamb and Rick Tripp.

Nevada Power merger hearings off to rocky start: On the first day of the Public Utilities Commission's three weeks of hearings on the proposed $4 billion merger of the state's two largest electric service providers, regulators asked about plans to sell power plants. But executives for both companies were short on specifics and sometimes provided answers PUC representatives didn't want to hear.

Nevada attorney unhappy with settlement: Geoffrey White of Reno said Monday the settlement means the average payment will be about $30,000, which in most cases is not enough to pay the victim's medical bills.

State agency cites health care facility: Art Nadler; The nursing home, at 2035 W. Charleston Blvd., agreed to make all necessary corrections uncovered during the Oct. 6-8 survey. They included, in part:

Indians say gaming brings them money, pride: John Wilen; That was the message delivered to a subcommittee of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission by a seemingly endless stream of tribal representatives Monday evening in Las Vegas.

Alliance Gaming posts quarterly loss: The year-ago loss included $77.6 million of one-time financing charges, Alliance noted.

Attorney survey: Do you believe that the civil-criminal split has benefited most litigants? Yes: 54%, No: 41%, Undecided: 5%

Judges argue benefits of specialization plan: Bill Gang; The issue is whether the 16 District Court judges who handle civil and criminal cases should continue a pilot program in which some judges hear nothing but criminal cases while the others preside over only civil cases. The system is designed to allow judges to specialize.

Making homes energy efficient: Art Nadler; The solution is equally simple, said internationally recognized home-defects expert Joe Lstiburek: block the opening. Lstiburek (STREE-beck) was in Las Vegas Monday with a message for Southern Nevadans: A properly engineered house can be healthy and energy-efficient too.

Killer bees are here to stay, will become more docile: But he says the number of encounters they will have with humans and pets will probably taper off as the bees settle in and people become more aware of them.

Registrar reports 'cleanest election' to county leaders: Ferguson said that of the 257,601 ballots cast in 807 precincts, only 82 were unreconciled because people who registered may have left without voting or people voted without signing the register.

Binion figure sells businesses: Brian Seals; Las Vegas businessman Rick Tabish sold the assets to the Los Angeles company.

High school students given sobering lessons: They weren't allowed to imbibe then get behind the wheel. Rather, the Neon Drunk Driving Simulator made an appearance at their campus.

Rebels focused on grabbing high school prospects during early signing period: Steve Carp; The recruiting game is a funny one, and somewhat unpredictable at that.

Man who impersonated cop, body guard sent to jail: Mannarino was sentenced to 60 days in jail this week after he pleaded guilty in October to impersonating a police officer.

Herod has perfection on his mind as season approaches: Steve Carp; No matter what Desmond Herod does tonight in UNLV's exhibition game with the California All-Stars, it won't be enough.

Computer problems force further delay in Senate recount: Scott Sonner; Despite the problems, Reid, D-Nev., remained confident his 459-vote margin would hold up against Republican Rep. John Ensign and the top election official in the county was sticking with her prediction that only a few tallies would change.

Wyoming looks to wrap up berth in championship game: Steve Guiremand; With just two weeks to go in the final year of the 16-team WAC Conference, six teams are still alive for berths in the Dec. 5 WAC championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Voting registrar says Reid's victory likely to hold up: Scott Sonner; With more than two dozen Washoe County employees counting ballots by hand, Republican leaders were holding out hope the skewed margins on some mail-in ballots could reverse the Democrat's 459-vote advantage and turn Republican Rep. John Ensign into the victor.

Little joy for Grand Canyon air-tour industry in recent decisions: Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the government's goal of restoring natural quiet to the national park and approved the methods federal agencies use to measure aircraft noise.

Brief: Primadonna sees up to $10 million in savings: "What bothers me is that people will think we're going to cut a bunch of employees and that isn't the intention at all," he said.

Copper concern reassures employees: Although they have recovered to 76.00 cents per pound this week, the declining prices over the past several months have raised concerns for White Pine County's largest industry.

Brief: Casino to modify buses, building areas: As a result of related negotiations, the Hard Rock agreed to make architectural changes to its bar, ticket sales area and front desk.

Elko police investigate car-jacking: The woman, whose name has not been released, works at First American Title Co. She was parking her car at the business lot about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday when a man approached, police said.

St. Louis police confirm former LV resident is suspect in rapes: "We conducted new DNA tests, and it's a 100 percent match," St. Louis Police Chief Ronald Henderson said Monday.

Washoe County completes recount; votes announced today: Scott Sonner; About 200 county workers and volunteers finished counting the questionable ballots by hand about 2:30 a.m. today - about 30 hours after the effort began Sunday night.

Columnist Tim Graham: Everything is just fine in Pleasantville: Tim Graham; Instead, it comes from that town straight out of a black-and-white 1950s sitcom, the very Utopian setting of the hit movie with the same title.

Brief: LV company downgraded: The ratings were lowered because of additional debt Sierra took on for its $145 million purchase of Kaiser Permanente's money-losing health operation in Dallas.

Ambulance rates to drop in Douglas County: The county currently has just one rate, $435. It's the same one assessed to advanced life support ambulances, which are staffed by paid paramedics.

Brief: Union vote results in a draw: Brief: Union vote results in a draw

Indian casino officials leery of gambling commission: Angie Wagner; "I don't want to see this turn into a 'let's get the Indians' deal," Apesanahkwat, chairman of the Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wis., said Monday.

Columnist Scott Dickensheets: Playboy not much of a literary playmate: Scott Dickensheets; One hates to see one's beloved cultural institutions wither and lose their bite with age -- getting longer in the tooth while getting shorter on teeth, as it were -- but it's worse to see them go senile. Playboy -- once a cultural force and a fine magazine -- has gone soft in the head on both counts. Such pronouncements as it's made on the most pressing sexual issue of the time, the Lewinsky affair and the Starr investigation, are -- well, does anyone recall what they are? They certainly haven't made their way into the larger debate.

Long live the Glitter King: By John Katsilometes; A decade after his death, the gowns still dazzle. The pianos still glitter. The rings -- dozens of them, encrusted with baubles the size of jawbreakers -- still illuminate a room.

Obituaries for November 10, 1998: He is survived by his wife, Bobbie Ann; one daughter, Lou Ann Boone of Las Vegas; one sister, Raye Bendel of Arlington, Texas; and one brother, Troy Boone of San Antonio.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Nevada's Indian casinos: I say some casinos, because not all of them participated in the battle. Some of the casinos, Harrah's for example, probably had good reason to contribute money to help in the passage of Proposition 5. This is the way it has been since the big boys saw the need to take casino gambling into Atlantic City 20 years ago. That's when we heard all of the chatter about how good the spread of gambling would be for Nevada. Nevadans who opposed the move were shouted down as getting in the way of interstate commerce and penalizing holders of gaming stock.

Mirage, Hilton downgraded: Gary Thompson; The shares of Mirage and Hilton fell in late-morning trading after BancBoston Robertson Stephens and Goldman Sachs & Co. cut ratings. Mirage was off $1.1875 to $17.50 in heavy trading, while Hilton slipped 25 cents to $20.125.

Editorial: Budgeting to require innovation: The Sun's Cy Ryan reported Friday that the agencies are requesting $4.1 billion in spending over the next two years, a 41 percent increase. State Budget Director Perry Comeaux said he may have to reduce the total agency requests by $800 million to $900 million, a substantial reduction, to say the least.

Computer problem delays many Nevada Power bills: The customers, all in unincorprated parts of Clark County, received their October bills about a week late, because the county franchise tax fee had not been added to the billing forms.