Print edition for August 22, 1999

Former fugitive to be sentenced Wednesday for 1996 robbery: Sonja Barisic; Weakland faced hard time, even though he and prosecutors had reached a deal for him to spend no more than three years in a youthful offender program.

Ex-restaurant manager sentenced for credit card scam: Wu, 38, was arrested in August 1998. Prosecutors said he also used credit card information to counterfeit new credit cards.

Nearly half of classic car festival arrests involved minorities: Of the 245 arrests made during the Aug. 4-7 event, 49 percent were Hispanic, black, Asian or American Indian, the analysis of arrest records shows. Up to 200,000 visitors attended the car show.

Outdoor Retailer trade show avidly sought: The show, which generates about $15 million for the local economy, moved from Reno to Salt Lake City in 1996.

Chain reaction crash leaves one dead: The victim's name wasn't immediately released.

Claims of harrassment muddy union battle: Operating Engineers Local Union 3 was successful in organizing Washoe Med nurses in July, but maintenance and service workers narrowly rejected the proposal earlier this month.

Holocaust library educating Las Vegans: Stacy J. Willis; More hate news tonight.

Mother draws life prison terms for killing 2 children: "I can't understand crimes like this ... There is a dark cloud that hangs over a case like this," Breen said.

Murder-suicide ends in flames: The man doused himself and the woman with gasoline, then set both on fire, police said. The fire destroyed two trailers.

Letter: Democrats fudge Reagan's numbers: After adding all of President Reagan's and Congress' budgets together for the Reagan years, the final total was that the Democratic Congress spent $249 billion more than President Reagan proposed. Also, President Reagan's budget was lower than Congress' every single year. Who pawned America's future in the 1980s?

Reno gay pride event draws few protesters: About 20 members of the irreverent San Francisco street theater group joined about 150 other marchers who walked four blocks from the landmark Reno Arch to a downtown park for Reno's third annual gay pride festival.

Plane catches fire before landing in Hong Kong: Witnesses said the plane was on fire before it came down, with the right wing hitting the runway first before the rest of the jet flipped over and burst into flames.

Letter: Doctors' union good for patients: Unions were developed to eradicate oppression of workers, to improve unhealthy, even dangerous working conditions, and obliterate unfair practices. I must opine that "health care reform" has produced in many cases "unhealthy, unsafe, and even deplorable conditions" for both patients and doctors alike. At the present time physicians are desirous of reversing this trend by being allowed to legally, collectively bargain, thus "leveling the playing field" somewhat.

Columnist Jeff German: Binion case gets a boost: ELEVEN MONTHS after Ted Binion's murder, authorities have a new theory of what led to his death.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Doo-bee Doo-bee don't sue!: It's common for David Cassidy, suit neatly pressed and hair carefully Vitalis-ized, to hop onstage during a "Rat Pack Is Back" performance at the Desert Inn and croon the Bobby Darin song, "Mack The Knife."

Clashing commissioners: Adrienne Packer; Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny pushed her chair back, announced she was leaving Tuesday's meeting and -- without hesitation -- handed the gavel to colleague Lance Malone.

Men involved in gun fight sought: No one was hurt in the 5:37 p.m. shootout. But one bullet struck a passing vehicle, and another bullet went through the open windows of another car, police said.

New laws reduce frivolous inmate lawsuits in Nevada: The reduction follows the 1995 Legislature's passage of a bill calling for inmates to lose good-time credits for filing frivolous lawsuits.

Editorial: Hypocrisy doesn't stop this candidate: One of those capitalizing on term limits fever was Republican George Nethercutt, who beat Democratic House Speaker Tom Foley, D-Wash. But now Nethercutt and some others from that 1994 freshman class are reneging on their commitments, saying they were mistakes. This has made for some amusing moments, such as a fund-raiser Wednesday in Seattle for Nethercutt.

In two years Las Vegas has lost half of its discount movie theaters. What's happening?: A young child ---all of about 3 years old -- has fled the men's restroom. He's scrambling at a pretty fast clip for a kid who has, tragically, forgotten to pull up his pants. He waddles at a furious pace in his Fruit of the Looms while older sister gives chase, mercifully corralling him near the front entrance and hiking up his trousers.

Turkish soldiers arrive in quake-devastated areas: Patrick Quinn; The official death toll from Tuesday's quake has surpassed 12,000 and some officials predicted as many as 40,000 could be dead. But amid the tears Sunday an astonishing ray of hope: A 45-year-old invalid woman was found alive after nearly 5 and a half days trapped in the town of Golcuk, about 110 miles southeast of Istanbul.

Editorial: EPA offers balance on repository: The EPA, which is responsible for setting radiation standards at a proposed repository, found that the exposure of radiation from a repository should be no more than 15 millirems a year. This would be in addition to the 330 millirems we would normally receive every year through all sources of radiation. The EPA calculates that the extra 15 millirems a year likely would cause seven cancer deaths in a population of 1 million. Along with exposure to radiation by air, the EPA also is curtailing the amount of radiation that can escape through ground water over the next 10,000 years. ...

Letter: Straw poll no big deal for W.: It was interesting to note in his speech that Bush said nothing and when it came to tough questions about his wild early life, he refused to answer whether he used cocaine or not.

Where I Stand -- Jim Gibson: A new college is needed: EDUCATION IS critical to the future of our state and to the future of Southern Nevada, but we have a major challenge to meet. We cannot put our children in college if we do not have room for them, nor can we prepare them for college if we are unable to meet the growing demand for qualified teachers to teach them.

Letter: Homeless have right to use Las Vegas parks: The challenges our homeless citizens present should not just be the responsibility of the city of Las Vegas or any one government entity, service provider or charitable organization. But the question remains, which community official from government, charity, entertainment or the private sector will offer leadership to help pull together a valley-wide, long-term comprehensive plan?

NOMADS wandering lost, confused: CARSON CITY -- When the name "NOMADS" is mentioned in state government circles, people usually cringe. One top official even calls it "the poster child" on how not to implement a computer system.

Arsonist who victimized mother to be sentenced: In exchange for his plea, prosecutors will dismiss a second arson charge against him stemming from a subsequent fire at the house of his mother's boss.

Columnist Sandra Thompson: Court's guardianship order confusing: Sandra Thompson; A NEVADA Supreme Court order could have far-reaching effects on guardianship cases in the state.