Print edition for April 27, 1999

Record spawning run possible in fifth wet spring: Along with the ample amount of Sierra snowmelt gushing along the Truckee River into Pyramid Lake, this year's migration will find it easier to get around Marble Bluff Dam, thanks to a $2 million fish passage.

Letter: Reid's status good, but not unique: Not too long ago my grandfather told me he remembers that in 1933 Sen. Key Pittman, a Nevada Democrat, was president pro tempore of the Senate. Wouldn't that make him the highest ranking Nevadan ever in the Senate?

Extra police sent to one Vegas high school as rumors run rampant over violence: "There's a great deal of uncertainty and unrest throughout the district," district spokesman Ray Willis said. "There are rumors everywhere, but we have not found anything tangible so far."

Senate hears batch of mobile home bills: Kiley Russell; AB195 would require local governments to authorize police patrols even if the parks are on private land.

Caesars sold for $3 billion: Gary Thompson; Park Place Entertainment Corp. of Las Vegas said today it signed a definitive agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. to buy Caesars World Inc. for $3 billion cash.

Rebels' catcher Betts honored: Rebels' catcher Betts honored

NLV candidates, constituents miss City Council campaign forum: Lisa Snedeker; Staunch supporters of individual candidates outnumbered independent citizens in the crowd of about 50 residents who turned out at Monday's forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Las Vegas Valley.

Wednesday at Golden Gate: 1st race 1 mi 4YO & up Clm: 1 Validator (Linares) 119; 2 Briar Tuck (Arriaga) 119; 3 Gingerboy (Delgadillo) 119; 4 Bob Walker (Dieguez) 119; 5 Dr Blitzkrieg (Radke) 112; 6 Glowing Review (Castanon) 119; 7 Ki Az (Warren) 119.

Summerlin hotel-casino begins hiring: Jim Fonseca, the resort's senior vice president, said the property seeks "individuals who are committed to the hospitality industry as a career."

Employees: Park Place will bring stability: John Wilen; Tom Pilkington, vice president of entertainment and special events, believes Park Place is committed to entertainment and to marketing the Caesars brand.

LV company turns a profit on higher sales: EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $5.6 million was up from $1.1 million in last year's first quarter.

Kids' access to guns cause for concern: Even President Clinton got into the act, unveiling today new gun-control legislation.

City Council briefs: The amendment -- sponsored by Councilman Michael McDonald -- allows tattoo parlors to open in either industrial or commercial-industrial zones. Tattoo parlors can also open in general-commercial zones by means of a special-use permit.

Letter: Undisciplined kids can create problems: The reason the above scenario didn't take place then is simple. If a kid showed signs of disrespect or disobedience, he was taken to the woodshed! Too bad it's illegal today to give an unruly child a good tanning. No, today's authorities would rather charge the parents with child abuse and excuse the child's bad behavior.

Boulder City: Objection to nuke shipments considered: Lisa Snedeker; Years ago, Boulder City passed a resolution opposing any nuclear waste passing through town or over Hoover Dam. Now, Mayor Bob Ferraro, who is running for re-election, is asking for an update to the resolution in light of recent proposals by waste carriers.

Adelson has gone from campaign contributor to political player: Adelson wrote in a newspaper column last year that he "was never involved in the political process" before taking on Clark County commissioners whom he believed were controlled by special interests.

Editorial: Partisan jabs won't help Social Security: But Lott knows better. The president already has made concessions on allowing Social Security to be invested in the stock market. Lott should stop pointing fingers and start searching for common ground on this critical issue. The time to address Social Security reform is now -- not when it is at a crisis stage. It's a shame that Lott has yet to grasp that the Social Security blame game, which has been playing for years, is getting stale for Americans.

Justices question casino ad ban: Richard Carelli; WASHINGTON -- A Clinton administration effort to protect compulsive gamblers from the lure of some casinos and games of chance ran into rigorous Supreme Court questioning today.

Spaghetti Bowl ramp to open: Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Bob McKenzie said motorists will be able to use the ramp sometime after the evening rush hour, when final striping and removal of barriers are completed.

Wednesday at Hollywood Park: 1st race 6 fur 3YO & up Mdn Clm: 1 Lord Hansel (Steiner); 2 My Antonino (Solis) 122; 3 Hardonyou (Pulido) 120; 4 Vichim (Pincay) 122; 5 Kalaharison (Ramsammy) 122; 6 Refine (Black) 122; 7 Apieceofthepuzzle (Scott) 122; 8 Showgun (Puglisi) 120; 9 Speaking Of You (Garcia) 122; 10 Leakborne (Valdez) 117.

Letter: Bomb-crazed U.S. needs spiritual lift: It seems the people there are worse off now than when we got involved. The president or his Cabinet know nothing about the military.

Judge won't block the opening of Venetian: Gary Thompson; District Judge Stephen Huffaker refused Monday to grant a whistle-blower's bid to block next week's scheduled opening of the Venetian hotel-casino due to alleged fire-safety concerns.

Jurors to get education on mob in Las Vegas: Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Johnson is the main prosecutor in a case against reputed Buffalo mob members Robert Panaro and Stephen Cino. The men are among 19 people charged in a huge racketeering indictment that is connected to the Jan. 6, 1997, murder of Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein, a reputed high-ranking member of the Chicago mob.

Senate considers appointing board of education: Jennifer Coleman; Board members, school administrators and teachers opposed SB466, telling the Senate Finance Committee on Monday that the current 11-member elective board should be retained.

Obituaries for April 27, 1999: He is survived by his wife, Ann; one son, Russell Baxter of Glendale, Calif.; one daughter, Carla Leas of Castroville, Calif.; and three grandchildren.

Seminar set on cash handling rules: The seminar is at 2 p.m. in room 1217 at the Main Building, Community College of Southern Nevada, Cheyenne Campus. Prices for the two-hour seminar are $30 for CMA members and $60 for non-members. There is a $5 surcharge for door registration.

To All the Songs he's Sung Before: Lisa Ferguson; What's it like to be a new father at age 56? Don't ask Julio Iglesias.

Henderson ordered to reconsider its decision on casino expansion: The court said this limitation may be an "inequitable and oppressive restriction" on the owners' use of their property.

Public defenders criticize bill giving jail time for probation: Kiley Russell; Critics of SB148 said Monday the bill will lead to higher costs and pack more prisoners into already overcrowded lock-ups around the state.

Community briefs: The job fair is open to ages 16 to 24. Participants should be dressed and ready to interview. For more information, call 486-5300 or Phyllis Duran of Nevada Partners at 399-5627.

Aztar refinancing debt: If the sale proceeds, Aztar will join a host of gaming companies that have cut interest expenses by refinancing debt issued during periods of higher interest rates.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Not all of Stickneys' teams are struggling: Given the Thunder hockey team is on its deathbed and that the triple-A Stars need to have all the planets in line and a fireworks extravaganza scheduled to make the turnstiles sing, you might surmise that co-owners Hank and Ken Stickney are as clueless as actress Alicia Silverstone when it comes to running a minor-league sports franchise.

Wednesday at Aqueduct: 1st race 6-1/2 fur 3YO & up F&M Mdn: 1 Sai Gone (Bravo) 113; 2 Concorde's Holiday (Molina) 106; 3 Angel Of My Dreams (Teator) 113; 4 Worlsigold (Gryder) 113; 5 Eve's Obligation (LaBoccetta) 122; 6 Three Is he Charm (King) 113; 7 Red Knickers (Espinoza) 122; 8 Love My Neighbor (Chen) 106.

Box score: Trappers 10, Stars 6: Edmonton

Controller again asks for larger role in state debt collection: A legislative auditor's report issued a year ago charged that agencies lack consistent collection policies and at times the statutory power to collect debts. As a result, auditors estimated that $50 million of the $103 million owed as of June 1996 was uncollectable.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Talking us out of tragedy: When life gets you down a bit or the news of the day gets more depressing than you'd like to think about -- take the tragedy in Littleton, Colo., for example -- some of the best therapy is visiting a Clark County junior high school. I chose the school in the middle because it is between the time when young minds are just starting to form ideas for the future, and the high school years when too many of the students are well on their way and don't have time for "adult" input.

Editorial: Withering schools in rural areas: A case in point is White Pine County in mideastern Nevada. The Sun's Martin Kuz reported Sunday that engineers two years ago inspected Lund High School and found the school was structurally unsafe and that a new school should be built to replace it. Officials also want to build an elementary school in Pleasant Valley so that 75 students will no longer have to take a 90-minute ride (each way) to a school in Utah. In addition a deteriorating, 89-year-old middle school needs to be replaced. The price tag for three new schools is $25 million, a staggering amount for ...

Ralph Siraco's Hollywood Park selections: Northern Call - Close 5th in Bay Meadows allowance race in last, returns to southland and drops back to claimer, broke maiden in only try at this distance three races back, fits here. No Stone Unturned - Six--length winner in Golden Gate mud in last, sprint runner up while claimed before that, bullet work at the Gate since raced, ships back south and steps up in class off the win. Value Play -- Pueblo Peak

State bank regulator to join mortgage firm: Whiteaker, who will join Del Mar on May 10, had 11 years of banking experience prior to his state service.

Letter: Las Vegas drivers refuse to give pedestrians a break: But if you think cars will stop to let you go, forget it; it won't happen. Finally a nice man came to give me a hand, and a car finally stopped to let us go. So you can imagine that when he put on his brakes so we could cross, all those morons behind him blew their horns.

Lake Mead cruise operator sued Named in wrongful death of Calif. woman: Barbara Banks, a Clark County resident who is special administrator to the estate of California resident Sally Fourmy, and surviving children Patrick and Christian Fourmy, named Travel Systems Inc. in the suit filed earlier this month.

Senate panels considers grandparents' rights and interstate custody: Jennifer Coleman; Senate Judiciary members voted for AB436 after hearing Bonnie Wilson, a Reno grandmother of 17, tell how her relationship with her 5-year-old grandson suffered because of the problems between the boy's parents.

Stars' Sullivan on submarine mission: Steve Guiremand; Brendan Sullivan turns over his Las Vegas Stars cap and points to a small notation made on the upper right bill.

Gaming panel haggles over language as deadline nears: WASHINGTON -- Less than two months before its final report is due, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission is struggling to meet its deadline.

Monday's prep results -- April 27, 1999: Bonanza 7, Cheyenne 2 Cheyenne 011 000 0 -- 2 5 1 Bonanza 202 102 x -- 7 14 1

Fine switches gears from developments to focus on all of Las Vegas' problems: Erin Neff; First there's talk of the two master-planned communities, Green Valley and Summerlin, that Fine helped develop over the past 25 years. Then there's his vision for the entire Las Vegas community.

Bill would juggle roles of transportation regulators: State workers are anxiously awaiting word of what their roles will be following debate on a bill in the Legislature that would redefine the regulation of transportation in Nevada.

Woman gets probation in Drug Court embezzlement: District Court Judge John McGroarty, noting that the 36-year-old woman had never before been in trouble with the law, on Monday granted leniency by sentencing Hampton to five years probation and ordering her to pay back the money over the next four years and six months.

Doctor suspected abuse in girl's death: Dr. Jay Fisher, who helped establish the pediatric emergency services unit at University Medical Center, was on duty Dec. 13, 1997, when Yazmine Dorum was brought into the emergency room showing no signs of life.

Junket airline Casino Express expands: Warde was hired by American Airlines in 1940 as an apprentice mechanic and worked his way up to become chief operating officer. He left American in 1974 when he took a job with Airbus Industries of North America.

Nuke Hearing too late for comment: Clark County officials have scheduled a public hearing at the County Government Center from 5:30 to 9 p.m., allowing the public to comment on a study done by the federal agency, but the commission's deadline for comment is today.

Mayoral campaign ads turn negative: Erin Neff; With T-minus seven days and counting before the mayoral primary, the campaigning has lifted off for an explosive and negative stretch run.

Manson cancels another Las Vegas show: Tickets for the concert will be refunded at the point of purchase. The show will not be rescheduled.

Southern Union unhappy with decision: Las Vegas-based Southwest announced on Monday that it was taking the ONEOK deal despite the richer offer from Southern Union because of fears that a Southern Union deal would have gotten bogged down in regulatory delays. Two additional state utilities commissions would have had to approve any deal with Southern Union.

Man accused of operating without a license: Dychter could not be reached for comment.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Uncle Sam wants say in boxing: Dean Juipe; Boxing reform, as mandated by the United States Congress, is like a train that's just chugging along, sometimes picking up speed and sometimes slowing to a crawl.