Print edition for August 10, 1999

Profit falls for insurer: Sierra said net income increased 6 percent over the year-ago quarter excluding non-recurring charges. The earnings beat analyst estimates of 31 cents per share. Revenue increased from $244.5 million to $315.8 million.

Mine shut down while ruling awaited: Henderson-based Alta said mining, crushing and milling operations were temporarily suspended while the company awaits the outcome of a U.S. Bankruptcy hearing set for Aug. 31.

600 jobs created at LV call center: Ford Credit already has a branch office in Las Vegas employing 32 people and it will remain open, officials said.

Contributions help kids to better summer: Camp would be great for him, she says.

LV Internet firm yanks IPO: David Strow; Amid an increasingly rocky market for Internet stocks, Travelscape.com Inc. of Las Vegas has withdrawn its initial public stock offering -- at least temporarily.

Storm sparks a few problems: A line of thunderstorms skipped across the Las Vegas Valley this morning with rolling thunder and spectacular lightning that started several fires.

Nation's top doctor prescribes more leisure: Art Nadler; Americans today are working longer hours, under more stressful situations. And that's why making time for leisure activities is so important, the nation's top medical physician said Monday.

Threat investigator works to keep judges from harm: Kim Smith; Three federal judges have been assassinated in the last 20 years. Randy Riggenbach wants to make sure none of Las Vegas' judges are next.

Obituaries for August 10, 1999: Joe L. Allen, 70, of Las Vegas died Saturday in a local health care center. He was born Jan. 30, 1929, in Independence, Mo. A resident for 21 years, he was an electronics inspector at a manufacturing company for 20 years.

County manager reportedly will curtail vacation to face detractors: Adrienne Packer; Just days after two Clark County commissioners called for his resignation, County Manager Dale Askew has said he likely will return from vacation early to address the attempted coup that has shaken the board.

Mounting a deal: Adrienne Packer; Just one year ago when Las Vegas developer Allen Nel pitched what he thought was an ideal project for the forest-blanketed Mount Charleston -- a Western-themed village complete with hay rides and a petting zoo -- residents objected.

Casinos to fight ruling on cash shortages: David Strow; A judge has upheld the Nevada Labor Commission's ruling that a casino company can't withhold funds from employee paychecks to cover cash shortages.

IGT making Dick Clark slots: The first new game, based on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," will debut this fall. In 2000, IGT plans to introduce games based around Clark's "American Bandstand" and "Bloopers" television shows.

Reserve owner posts a profit: David Strow; Ameristar Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas broke into the black during the second quarter as the company continued to stem its losses at the Reserve hotel-casino in Henderson.

Company building four LV child-care centers: The 22,000-square-foot centers will be operated by Children's Choice Learning Centers of Dallas. Once complete, they will be the largest on-site, employee child-care centers in the gaming industry, Station said in a statement.

Venetian hopes conventions will help improve slot win: Gary Thompson; Financial results are improving at the Venetian, the company said Monday, but the $1.5 billion Las Vegas hotel-casino apparently still isn't making as much money as it had projected.

Justice Dept. gives up on gaming ad laws: The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled a government ban on casino gambling ads was an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights. The court ruling, however, didn't specify whether gambling advertising was legal even in non-gambling states.

Session set with 'Leaders of Gaming': The keynote speakers are Chuck Di Rocco, publisher of the weekly newspaper Gaming Today; Jackie Gaughan, president of the El Cortez hotel-casino; Leo Lewis, former general manager of the Barbary Coast hotel-casino; and Robert Maheu, former head of Hughes Corp.'s Nevada operations.

Workers at eight casinos get bonuses: The casinos reaching incentive goals for the second quarter were St. Louis, North Kansas City, East Chicago, Shreveport, Bill's at Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Ak Chin and Atlantic City.

Community news briefs for August 10, 1999: Foxtail Camp, the 15-acre year-round Girl Scout camp, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday in Lee Canyon at the Forest Service's Foxtail picnic area.

Local briefs for August 10, 1999: Metro Police are investigating a series of robberies in the gaming areas of valley supermarkets.

Mayor unhappy with New Yorker article: Erin Neff; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is discrediting a new profile of him in the New Yorker magazine as half-truths and vows to be "more careful" when talking to reporters.

Fire grows south of Elko: They were nearing containment of lightning-sparked wildland blazes that have burned more than 1.1 million acres of grass, scrub and small trees since Wednesday, mostly along a 200-mile corridor of Interstate 80.

Governor names two business regulators: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn today named a Las Vegas woman to the state Transportation Authority and a Henderson man as state labor commissioner.

Suspects in fatal shooting named: Sheriff's officers said on Monday they think Jorge Torres-Reyes and Usiel Mora are still in the area and are armed and dangerous.

Families, West LV getting a new start: Erin Neff; Cordelia Freeman and her two children have lived in a house before, but something is very different about the new place they got Monday morning.

Equinox says feds could push company into bankruptcy: Grace Leong; Equinox International Corp. of Las Vegas asked a federal judge Monday for an emergency order allowing it to conduct business while it battles government regulators.

Friend: Tabish discussed murder: Rick Tabish discussed several ways to kill Ted Binion -- including staging a suicide -- with a friend prior to the gambling figure's Sept. 17 murder, police documents show.

Witness in Binion case runs up high phone bill: Steven Kurt Gratzer took advantage of Las Vegas hospitality in March while testifying before a county grand jury investigating Ted Binion's Sept. 17 murder.

Buster Douglas out as Tyson's next opponent: Despite published reports to the contrary, Tyson's promoter said Monday that Douglas would not be Tyson's opponent for his first fight since his release from a Maryland prison.

Up With People stint ends for Las Vegan Cameron Dillard: Kimberley McGee; What: Up With People presents "Roads."

Police: Brother admits to shooting boy: Jermaine Norton, 14, was found dead by police in an apartment in the 3000 block of South Nellis Boulevard around 11:15 p.m.

Minor chemical spill closes Interstate 15 after accident: Jace Radke and Cheryl Miller; An accident involving a tractor-trailer carrying 5,000 gallons of a liquid chemical shut down Interstate 15 near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for more than four hours Monday night.

Curtis sees Rebels as team on the rise: Steve Guiremand; New UNLV tight end Jermaine Curtis doesn't believe in the adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Tyson's handlers have to beat the count: "Yesterday I was lying to you. Today, I'm telling you the truth."

Latham keeps eye on majors: The Minnesota Twins may have given up on Chris Latham, but the Basic High grad hasn't given up on himself.

Columnist Dean Juipe: De La Hoya on display at Big Bear: Dean Juipe; BIG, BARE -- Oscar De La Hoya sees the bus coming and probably would like to hide.

The lowdown on Up With People: Kimberley McGee; And the purpose of Up With People is to inspire the audience to join it on the path of peace in its new musical, aptly titled "Roads," which will be performed at the Sunset Station hotel-casino on Saturday.

Enrollment in kids' insurance falls short: CARSON CITY -- A health insurance program covering children of the working poor won't reach its enrollment goal in Nevada, but the state director says it is doing "really well."

Columnist John Katsilometes: Homeowners Association is big laugh: My life is under the constant and careful observation of my neighborhood homeowners association. Or as we call it, HA!

Where I Stand--Bruce Woodbury: Valley depends on unity: Roads do not simply end as you cross from the city of North Las Vegas to the city of Las Vegas, flood channels aren't blocked off once you hit Henderson, and a pounding rainstorm does not suddenly stop in cartoon fashion because you've entered the Boulder City limits.

Letter: Set priorities for surplus spending: * Develop training and job programs for the impoverished.

Letter: Ireland remains a homeland divided: The Good Friday Agreement offered the hope of illuminating the darkness left by centuries of British occupation, but even in its darkest hours, Tony Blair pampered British-allied-Unionism, and Unionist, in turn eclipsed devolution of the power-sharing executive -- the very soul of Ireland's peace accord.

Letter: Judge's time spent more efficiently at home than in office: There is a lot of work to be done as a judge. I read a study from Northwestern University that indicated working at home was more efficient in the computer age (it is called telecommuting) by some 30-40 percent because of the lack of interruption.

Editorial: Time for new rules on truckers' hours: The government needs to be sensitive to the financial impact new rules could have on trucking companies. And while more rest is needed, it is just as important to make sure that enough rest stops on federal highways are provided to meet any new requirements (one trucking company executive in the AP story noted an alarming trend of stops being shut down in recent years instead of more being opened). Still, new rules are long overdue and should be strengthened. After all, there were 5,302 people killed in 1998 in truck-related accidents; it's estimated that more than 3 percent of ...

Editorial: Report by DOE isn't promising: Along with a failure to deal with such basic issues, the DOE also neglected to address transportation in any serious manner. The DOE did not identify any specific road or rail routes that the nuclear waste might take to get here. One reason for this would seem to be that identifying actual routes the waste might travel could end up being the Achilles' heel for the plan. After all, if residents who lived along these routes knew that man's deadliest waste would be rolling by their houses, they justifiably would be concerned about being jeopardized if an accident occurred. If ...

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Del Mar: 1ST RACE:

Reid to announce update on Whittell agreement: But scattered showers and the threat of heavier rain later in the day forced him to postpone the event.

Infamous Nevada brothel closes: Jennifer Coleman; Amid a crush of media and curious onlookers, the cooks, custodians, cashiers and prostitutes left the pink stucco ranch Monday at 5 p.m. with boxes, suitcases and bouquets of flowers. Some of the working girls drove off in Cadillacs and BMWs.

Wednesday at Saratoga: 1st race 2-1/16 mi 4YO&up Alw: 1 Pinkie Swear (Clancy) 152; 2 a-Muscle Car (Kiser) 156; 3 Commanders Palace (Brown) 152; 4 Devil's Reach (III) 152; 5 Assurance (Wilson) 144; 6 a-Invest West (Kingsley) 146; 7 Hudson (Boucher) 144; 8 Lenape Forge (Miller) 152.

Shirov shines in the fourth round of chess championship: When the Spaniard reached a won position, grandmaster Yasser Seirawan exclaimed, "I have just witnessed one of most exhilarating games I have ever seen."

Wednesday at Del Mar: 1st race 1 mi 3YO Clm: 1 Si Charmant (Alvarado) 118; 2 Marlwood (Pincay) 118; 3 Ordained Power (Valdez) 118; 4 Mr Bulldog (Berrio) 118; 5 Pueblo Peak (Ramsammy) 116; 6 Force of Habit (Gomez) 118; 7 Bold 'n Brawny (Solis) 118.

Box score: Stars 7, Buzz 6: E--Pierzynski, Ortiz, Romero. DP--Salt Lake 3, Las Vegas 2. LOB--Salt Lake 9, Las Vegas 10. 2B--Nicholas, Moriarty, Ortiz, Kirby, Thrower, Rossy, Charles. HR--Rossy (10), Darr (7). SF--Ortiz, Williams, Matthews. SB--Thrower (4), Prieto 2 (17).

Round 4, Game 1 results: Adams (5, England)-Dreev (29, Russia) 1/2-1/2.

More education key to reducing heart disease in women, doctor says: Angie Wagner; "What's so exciting and romantic about cardiovascular disease?" Dr. Carol Wilkerson of Alexandria, Va., asked Monday during the annual convention of the National Medical Association, which represents about 20,000 black doctors.

Focus of fires moves eastward: Thousands of firefighters neared victory Tuesday over the largest wildland blaze in Nevada while to the east, the second largest continued to grow.