Print edition for August 2, 1999

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Real Quiet, Victory Gallop could meet again: Ralph Siraco; The last time Real Quiet and Victory Gallop met, the second largest attendance in Belmont Park history turned out and there was $5 million and a Triple Crown championship on the line. At the end of the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont Stakes on that beautiful spring day in Elmont, N.Y., just inches separated the two in one of the most dramatic and exciting finishes in Triple Crown history.

Driver of car in fatal crash may face charges: The driver of a car that police say caused an accident that killed three members of an area family Saturday probably will face manslaughter charges, North Las Vegas Police Officer Phil Hicks said this morning.

Condition of casino stab victim improves: The 64-year-old Tennessee resident was listed in fair condition at University Medical Center this morning. His 60-year-old wife, who was slashed across the face during the robbery, was released from the hospital Friday.

Comdex touts lower room rates, easier navigation: Gary Thompson; Organizers of the Nov. 14-19 Comdex trade show are banking on increased room inventories, larger convention centers and lower room rates in Las Vegas to draw more attendees to the huge convention.

Upcoming business events: Starting a small business -- Workshops offered by Service Corps of Retired Executives Association and the Small Business Administration. Ongoing. 388-6104.

LV company buying riverboat for $42 mil.: Sodak is selling the Miss Marquette boat because it's being acquired by International Game Technology of Reno. Lady Luck did not say how it will finance the deal, revealing only that the financing method is still pending.

Bassett building a LV store: This is the first store in the West for Bassett, which is considering building additional stores in Henderson, other undisclosed Nevada locations and Denver.

Obituaries for August 2, 1999: He is survived by his wife, Marsha E.; three daughters, Cheryl A. Norton of Atlanta, Rhonda K. Norton of Los Angeles and Jaimie S. Feaster of Las Vegas; one brother, Carl Feaster of Philadelphia; and two grandchildren.

Councilwoman moves to plug loophole: Erin Neff; Drawing on her past experience as an assistant city manager, new City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald will propose a change in a disclosure law this week to close what she said is a loophole she first discovered when she worked for the city.

Casino opening in North Korea: With no direct flights to the Rajin region, getting to the Seaview Casino Hotel isn't easy. Visitors must fly to Beijing, then to Yanji in Jilin province in China, and then take a four-hour drive across the border to Rajin.

Proposed ban on floating casinos hits opposition: Laurence Arnold; WASHINGTON -- Shipbuilding and cruise industry supporters are trying to torpedo an effort to ban floating casinos that take gamblers on "cruises to nowhere."

Tourists report quake tremors: Las Vegas high-rise casinos were jolted by two moderate earthquakes 130 miles northwest of Las Vegas on Sunday, the strongest since 1992.

Chicago Title sold for $1.2 bil.: The purchase, announced Sunday, more than doubles the size of Fidelity National Financial to about 1,000 offices throughout the country. The combined company will retain the name Fidelity National Financial, but will be run separately, First National said in a news release.

Man gets 15 years for role in mob hit: Kim Smith; A U.S. District judge sentenced a central figure in the 1997 mob hit of Herbie Blitzstein to 15 years in prison Friday.

Storey County considers outlawing brothels: Federal cases in the past year involving all three Storey County brothels may prompt it to rescind its law allowing "houses of ill fame," Storey County Commission Chairman Chuck Haynes told the Nevada Appeal.

Estate tax repeal could leave hole in state budget for education: CARSON CITY -- Repeal of the estate tax may seem like a good idea to Congress, but it could spell cutbacks for the state's schools and slow goals such as achieving financial equity between southern and northern campuses of the university system.

Venetian files lawsuit, builder to retaliate: Gary Thompson and David Strow; The battle between the Venetian hotel-casino and its construction manager boiled over today after negotiations broke down Friday over who is responsible for delays and cost overruns at the Las Vegas Strip resort.

Between a house and a hard place: Sonya Padgett; For Robert and Georgie DeBerry and their neighbors, the choice was a difficult one: support a housing development they didn't want in their quiet neighborhood or protest it and take the chance of ending up with something much worse.

Judge sides with county in denying pedestrian bridge: Bill Gang; There will be no fifth pedestrian bridge near the intersection of the Strip and Flamingo Road to accommodate customers of Caesars Palace and the Flamingo Hilton hotel-casinos.

Attentive mayor inaugurates open-door public meeting: Erin Neff; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman presided over the court of public opinion Friday, attentively listening to the good, bad and ugly side of concerns and keeping a campaign promise to keep City Hall open to everyone.

Agencies eye complaints by dealers at Summerlin resort: David Strow; The Nevada Casino Dealers Association asked state regulators to launch an investigation into the tip pooling practices at the new Resort at Summerlin after company officials rebuffed a request to change their current policy.

LV man nominated to Black Book: The state Gaming Control Board meets Wednesday and will consider the nomination of Michael Balsamo, who has used 12 other names.

Resort sues contractor over power outage: Power was knocked out at the MGM on May 11, 1998, when a waterline ruptured near the hotel's primary power plant. The outage stranded more than 20 people in elevators and effectively shut down the casino.

Boaters stopped, reminded of safety: Jace Radke; Boaters were scrambling to find fire extinguishers and life preservers as they pulled into Lake Mead's Callville Bay Marina Sunday afternoon.

Security czar sees Nevada DOE sites: Eugene Habiger has been transformed from the top general in charge of the U.S. Strategic Command to a content retiree to nuclear weapons security czar for the Department of Energy in less than a year.

U.S. champ falls in chess tournament: One American advanced and three were eliminated, including the current U.S. champion, during weekend action in Round 1 of the World Chess Championships at Caesars Palace.

State reinstates nursing home: Art Nadler; The state Medicaid division has reinstated its contract with the Cheyenne Residential and Nursing Center.

'Runaway Bride' debuts at No. 1, despite witch scare: DAVID GERMAIN; "The Blair Witch Project" also cast a spell on audiences as it hit wide release after two weeks of packed houses in a handful of theaters.

Las Vegas bank expanding to Reno: Former Bank of America and Sierra West Bank executive John Shively will run the Reno operation, Sun West said. The bank said it has more than $57 million in assets and $46 million in deposits.

Rumors swirl around Del Papa: Cy Ryan and Jeff German; Nevada's congressional delegation was buzzing in Washington all weekend with speculation that Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa was getting ready to bow out of the U.S. Senate race in 2000.

Local news briefs for August 2, 1999: One year after the shooting death of a 16-year-old, the boy's family has doubled a reward for the capture of the man accused in his killing.

School PR official resigns: Ray Willis, who was hired as the school district's public relations officer in 1978, will become assistant superintendent of communications for the Yonkers school system in mid-August.

LV's Adler wins U.S. Open: Adler won the third major pro title and 11th overall of her career and took home $35,000 for her victory at the Mohegan-Sun casino-resort.

Binion opened accounts just prior to death: Two days before his Sept. 17 murder, Ted Binion conducted large banking transactions from his home, including opening a $1 million investment account.

Courses can help Nevadans deal with volatile situations: Kim Smith; The sad truth is, no one can predict when an irate and dangerous person will walk into an office and start shooting. But there are steps that can be taken to minimize the risks, Larry Dizon said.

Candidate seeks gaming moratorium: Bauer, speaking over the weekend, said challenges to legalized gambling in Louisiana have made it fertile ground for his anti-gambling crusade.

Editorial: FAA should ground its canyon cap: The Federal Aviation Administration has gone too far, however, by proposing a cap on the number of flights air tour operators could make each year over the canyon. The proposal could hurt Southern Nevada's economy to the tune of more than $100 million a year, according to the Grand Canyon Air Tour Council.

Community news briefs for August 2, 1999: The city of Henderson Parks and Recreation Department is hosting two beginner's scuba diving workshops 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday and on Aug. 31. Both workshops will be held at the Lorin L. Williams Indoor Pool, 500 N. Palo Verde Drive.

Nevada quakes startle Las Vegas residents, visitors: Robert Macy; No damage was reported and there were no injuries from Sunday's quakes.

Vegas headliner moving to Mirage: Gans has been the headliner at the Rio Suite Hotel and Casino since January 1997.

Two suspects held in stabbing death at Ely brothel: Scott Sonner; One of the victims died from multiple stab wounds to the upper torso and the other was seriously injured in the attack about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, White Pine County Sheriff Bernie Romero said in a telephone interview from Ely.

Letter: Candidates disdain use of 'soft money': Bradley made the proposal that, if nominated by the Democrats, he would forgo the use of "soft money" in the general election provided his Republican rival agree "not to raise nor spend 'soft money' in the general election."

People slow to show for annual event: "I think some of the properties are definitely hurting," said David Saville, executive director of the event celebrating America's love affair with classic cars, poodle skirts and vintage rock 'n' roll music.

Drag racing not cause of wreck that killed family, police say: "It was just kids driving stupid, clowning around," he said.

Teacher education program caters to those with degrees: For the past 10 years a private liberal arts college at Incline Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe has been teaching teachers -- training people with degrees to qualify for teaching credentials.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Stars need to get away from Padres: Dean Juipe; There has been some discussion on the subject of the Las Vegas Stars and their flat-line attendance figures since moving here in 1983. Despite the valley's rapid population growth, the Pacific Coast League baseball team has not added to its basic yearly attendance ceiling of approximately 330,000.

American Legion Tournament results, schedule: At UNLV's Wilson Stadium

More police planned, but some staying clear of Hot August Nights: The presence of Reno police will be double what it was on Aug. 8, 1998, when 208 people were arrested during a Saturday night melee and riot-gear clad cops fired tear gas and rubber projectiles at revelers.

'Deep Blue Sea' star Samuel L. Jackson goes swimming with the sharks: Jeff Howard; We discovered new depths to this acclaimed actor that we couldn't even begin to fathom. OK, we know the ocean metaphors are a little shallow, but we promise this interview is really something to sea.

Upset victims fight back to force playoffs in chess championship: Each had lost or drawn in Saturday's first game, the first of two in a mini-match that comprises each round. The seven-round elimination tournament runs through the month at Caesars Palace hotel-casino.

Estate tax repeal could leave hole in Nevada's education budget: The tax, which Nevada has collected since 1986, raises about $28 billion a year for the federal government - a small percentage of its budget. Under the current law, the state is able to collect a share of the tax that would have otherwise gone into federal coffers.

Reform Party quiet in Nevada: Voter registration statistics show just 400 people have registered as members of the Reform Party with the bulk of those - 286 - in Clark County.

Results of second game of Round 1: Kotsur (Kazakstan) lost to Dolmatov (Russia); tied 1-1

Classic cars return to Reno for Hot August Nights: Jennifer Coleman; The official kickoff party in the parking lot of the Peppermill Hotel featured hundreds of retro cars, a live band and dancing. More than 70 booths were hawking everything from t-shirts and photographs to saddle shoes and, of course, fuzzy dice.

Letter: Airport planners missed some things: Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent in the construction of this technological wonder. There are landing strips large enough to handle the Space Shuttle, super speed trams that transport you to gates so far away one expects to see "Welcome to Utah" signs, upscale shops and restaurants that put most malls to shame, and parking structures large enough to handle Super Bowl crowds.

Son of Traditional Values Coalition founder took casino cash: Sheldon, 34, is a legal consultant with his father's group, a conservative religious organization that has offices here. He declined to be interviewed by the Register.

County to bury Marine who faked his death: Robert Macy; Bennett faked his own death in February 1994 when he faced court-martial charges for sexually assaulting children of fellow Marines. Family members turned out then to bury the remains of a man found in a burned trailer, a man thought to be Bennett.

Basic making a name for itself in tournament: Spencer Patterson; Throughout the 1990s, the Henderson area has been home to some of the best high school baseball in Nevada, with Green Valley a six-time state champion and Silverado a perennial playoff contender.

'Show' time is almost here for Hermansen: Steve Guiremand; Has it really been four years already since Chad Hermansen was USA Today's national High School Player of the Year after leading Green Valley High School to its third state title in four years?

Three killed in illegal drag racing crash: "Drag-racing previously hasn't been a problem for us, but it obviously has become one for us today," North Las Vegas police Lt. Chris Larotonda said after Saturday's crash.

Letter: Governments made bad flood decisions: This was further exacerbated by the wonderful flood control district after its one-quarter cent sales tax increase did not work to alleviate the situation in known flood areas. Two of the best examples are the Flamingo Wash and the Charleston Boulevard underpass.

Nevada stays cool while much of the nation bakes: Tom Gardner; "The episode in Clark County brought up to one-half of the normal annual rainfall in little over an hour at some locations," state Climatologist John James said on Monday. "One gauge recorded 2 inches in 75 minutes."

Letter: Interfaith Center is thriving, not failing: Unfortunately, Willis must have been misinformed because the article continually intertwined the reported fate of one group of the Interfaith Center, Protestant Campus Ministry, with the survival of the center itself.

Earthquake sign that nuclear dump shouldn't be in Nevada, official says: Angie Wagner; "In our minds it sort of speaks to the fact that DOE nor anyone else can really predict with confidence what's going to happen in the future," said Bob Loux, director of the state Nuclear Projects Office.