Print edition for March 16, 1999

Collective bargaining talks begin with American Indian tribe, employees: "This is going to be our first contract in the state with a sovereign Indian nation," said Tony Bixler, vice president of the CWA district covering California, Nevada and Hawaii. "I think this is going to be a long-lasting relationship that will be good for California workers and California tribes."

Las Vegas moving firm vows to defy state regulation: A Las Vegas mover who was fined $12,000 for operating without a state certificate says he'll continue to conduct business, even if he doesn't get a license.

Berkley says House short of anti-nuke votes: She told a news conference she does not see gathering enough veto-proof votes "unless (Rep.) Jim Gibbons can make good on his promise of changing 24 Republican votes, which I think he will have a very hard time doing when his speaker and the chairman of the House Commerce Committee are the ones advocating this in the strongest possible way."

Jury selection begins in trial of woman accused of killing her children: Police said they weren't suspicious of her until the third death. The prior two children were listed as dying from sudden infant death syndrome.

Binion probe seeks out California woman: A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the woman, Linda Susan Carroll, as a material witness in the probe.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Dodgers rekindle spring fever: Dean Juipe; The last time they ran this one up the flagpole, very few people bothered to salute.

Hydrologist: Possibility for flooding is there, but may not materialize: Tom Gardner; "It all depends on what happens during the rest of the storm season," Hydrologist Gary Barbato said on Monday.

Upcoming audit may help solve NLV police woes: Lisa Snedeker; The police officers' union has been unable to negotiate with the city a contract that expired June 30, 1998.

Miller's move good news for Ensign: "We're not discouraged," said Michael Tucker, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington. "We look forward to continuing to work with Sen. Bryan, Sen. (Harry) Reid and Gov. Miller in strengthening the Democratic bench to keep this seat in the Democratic column."

Two anti-gang bills pushed by police: Kiley Russell; When investigating crimes including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, bribery, bombings and child molestation, police can ask for wiretap authority. SB120 would add attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and drive-by shootings to the list.

Tennessee edges UNLV: The 43rd-ranked UNLV men's tennis team lost the decisive doubles point and fell to No. 15 Tennessee 4-3 amid high winds at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Monday. The Rebels dropped to 5-5 while the Volunteers improved to 10-5. UNLV hosts No. 35 Purdue today.

Disclosure forms for municipal candidates reveal little: The forms filed with the city clerks and the state Ethics Commission had to be postmarked by Monday in order for candidates in the upcoming May 4 primary election to avoid fines. The race to succeed outgoing Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones included the following disclosures:

Test site officials ask for help in attracting private projects: Jennifer Coleman; Troy Wade, chairman of the Nevada Alliance for Defense, Energy and Business, said Nevada will be competing for the $1 billion dollar project against 17 other states.

Porter presents growth-related package; Titus not impressed: The recommendations came from the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority, which was created in 1997.

Berkley urges Legislature to change college funding: Berkley, in a speech to the Legislature and later at a press conference Monday, said she's been fighting since she was a student at UNLV to correct the inequities. She was also a university regent.

UNLV women runners earn academic honor: UNLV women runners earn academic honor

Revised bill renews push for nuke waste at Test Site: Robin Brown and Mark D. Preston; The amended Nuclear Waste Policy Act would establish the Nevada Test Site as an interim dump for the nation's spent nuclear fuel. The site would begin accepting the nuclear waste by June 30, 2003.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Old Sports Illustrated cover jinx takes a new twist: It doesn't take a whole lot of athletic prowess to get your mug on the cover of Sports Illustrated these days.

Audit panel to consider changes for new city post: Erin Neff; It's been a full year since former city auditor Susan Toohey was fired without explanation -- leaving a vacancy in the post and leading to creation of the Audit Oversight Committee.

Three Rebels to defect: Steve Carp; By Steve Carp LAS VEGAS SUN

Roller hockey league gives Vegas team another shot: Tim Graham; This time, they claim, it will be different.

Low pollen count expected: For Southern Nevada residents suffering itchy, watering eyes and runny noses, the mulberry tree pollen that reached 11,716 grains of pollen in a 3-foot cube of air may have peaked.

Thunder boss offers pep talk to players: Steve Guiremand; Las Vegas Thunder general manager Bob Strumm met individually with each player Monday morning to discuss the impending trade of star right winger Patrice Lefebvre.

Rebels win slugfest: First baseman Brian Hertel hit two home runs including a grand slam and drove in six runs as the UNLV baseball team outlasted Southern Utah 19-16 Monday at Wilson Stadium. Chris Adolph, Tony DeMarco and Ryan Hamill each had three RBIs as the Rebels boosted their season record to 11-15.

Two women raped in apartment lose lawsuit against complex: Bill Gang; Outside District Judge Mark Gibbons' courtroom, the tears continued despite efforts by companions to comfort them.

Change of venue hearing set for teens accused of murder: Leon Aberasturi, Lander County deputy district attorney, said moving the case to another court would prove costly to the county.

Authorities say Binion was victim of homicide, not drug overdose: Among other things, authorities said, Binion was known as a heroin smoker but the dose that killed him had been swallowed.

Trial begins for three accused of killing cabbie: The defendants are Shawn Harte, 22, and 20-year-old Latisha Babb of Fallon and Weston Sirex, 26, of Reno. Sirex is a former cab driver himself. All three face murder and robbery charges. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if the three are convicted.

Binion's Horseshoe ordered to pay $1.225 million: "The three are all players at the casino...and they have been in possession of the chips," said Keith Copher, chief of the control board's Enforcement Division. "There's nothing to indicate that they obtained them inappropriately."

If Dodgers move, LV is just one possibility: Steve Guiremand; The Dodgers and Las Vegas.

State planning exhaustive tests of gaming machines' accuracy: "We get into every nook and cranny. There are 65 pages of tests," Patrick Leen, a supervisor for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, said from inside the lab where he and three other employees test the slots.

Ethics issue casts cloud over ad bids at airport: Adrienne Packer; The lieutenant governor's involvement in the bidding process for a multimillion-dollar airport contract may have violated Clark County's newly adopted ethics policy.

California inmate admits to robbing Las Vegas bank: Authorities say Hudson conspired with a teen-ager to commit bank robberies, providing the teen-ager with a hoax bomb, handgun and disguises.

UNLV under NCAA review: Steve Carp; The NCAA and the UNLV basketball program renewed acquaintances today with the association's enforcement staff on campus to look into allegations of extra benefits and recruiting violations involving current members of Bill Bayno's team.

Decision on land owner is upheld: The court upheld a decision by former District Judge Nancy Becker that prohibited Nicholas and Eleanor LaMonte from seeking compensation for damages to property adjacent to theirs.

It's back to streets for many homeless: Jace Radke; Don Cipolla, 63, is back on the street today after MASH Village closed the doors on its temporary cold weather shelter this morning.

Beau Rivage opens to grand reception: State Rep. Ed Ryan, R-Biloxi, described the gathering as "a who's who of the Coast. This is the biggest thing that's happened in Biloxi since it's been Biloxi."

Public schools target of Gideons' proselytizing: Stacy J. Willis; Gideons, an international Christian group, has targeted several Clark County schools as plum places to proselytize. Standing on the sidewalk in front of Becker Middle School in Summerlin, members of Gideons offered Bibles to students as soon as the schoolchildren stepped off campus into the public domain.

Cheap Trick: The original still rocks: Geoff Carter; Almost every musician we knew threatened to learn the rock radio staple, but no one ever came to arrest us, oh no.

Hawaii Live-O: Kimberley McGee; Las Vegas, that is.

Casinos' sincerity questioned in war against drunken driving: John Wilen; Proponents of tougher drunken driving laws are wary of a bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature Monday that would lower the legal blood alcohol limit for driving from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent only in cases of injury or property damage.

Guinn unveils ethics suggestions: The commission would grow from six to eight members and it could hire an executive director to supervise investigations and set up hearings. The commission also would have an attorney to advise it and write opinions.

Lakes Gaming wins dismissal: Stratosphere emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization under the control of billionaire Carl Icahn after Grand wrote off its investment in the company that built the Stratosphere Tower.

Women seek casino investment money: Beverly Smith is an NBD Bank executive who leads the Majority Business Initiative that is working to ensure women get a fair share of casino development money. The group's name is derived from women making up a majority of the U.S. population, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Letter: No middle ground in church beliefs: She has it backwards. "The intense opposition" is not of the church, but toward the teaching of the Church. The Bible is God's written word, His manual for all flesh. Catholics believe that, and from the very first He created man and woman and told them to replenish the earth. That makes it the church's business.

Grand jury investigating casino ruling: Avent served as the White House liaison to the nation's Indian tribes in 1995, when lobbyists, backed by large campaign donations, sought to pressure the Clinton administration to reject a proposed Indian casino in Hudson, Wis.

IGT merger partner out of casino project: "We want this Shreveport project, and Hollywood can do it on its own," said Jim Wise, the company's corporate marketing director.

Let's Make a Deal OK'd: Let's Make a Deal OK'd

AMIL merger announced: NevadaCare said nearly all of AMIL's 1,082 HMO providers are under contract with NevadaCare.

Banks shuffle Henderson locations: Silver State is taking over office space that opened up when U.S. Bank moved accounts to its new Eastgate Plaza branch at Stephanie Street and Warm Springs Road.

Gaming Board moves in $5,000 chips dispute: Well-known are Las Vegas gambler and casino developer Bob Stupak's attempts to cash $250,000 in the brown chips. But Binion's has also refused to cash $865,000 in the chips held by Hamid Dastmalchi, a San Diego poker player and former World Series of Poker Champion; and $110,000 held by Wayman R. Moore, a high-stakes poker player from Georgia.

Resort at Summerlin to open June 29: The new opening date was confirmed Monday by Brian McMullan, president of Seven Circle Resorts, builder and operator of the project at Summerlin Parkway and Rampart Boulevard.

Letter: Let supply-demand determine battle over slot machines: Another of his so-called arguments relates to laws in other states. That is, the IGT terms of sale have been outlawed elsewhere. How does he reconcile the fact that other states impose a much greater tax on casinos than does Nevada. Will he strongly support the matching of tax rates?

Letter: Writer paints different picture: Sen. Harry Reid wanted to keep the Social Security fund available to the Congress to spend while his Republican opponent wanted to make it so Congress could not use your money which should be for your retirement. Your union seems to think that Congress should be able to use your retirement account by the ads its members ran.

Obituaries for March 16, 1999: He is survived by his wife, Rose; one daughter, Cindy Grisnik of Las Vegas; one sister, Anita Sherman of Montreal; three brothers, Harold Axler of Montreal and Alex Axler and Lou Axler, both of Las Vegas; and five grandchildren.

Columnist Scott Dickensheets: 'Danke Schoen' and other punishments: Scott Dickensheets; The offenders -- mostly youths but recently including at least one older man cited for listening to Bob Seger (which should be a ticketable offense regardless of decibel level) -- gather once a month for some uneasy listening. The point, says the judge, is that "it's wrong to impose your music or style on someone else."

Editorial: Schools should ensure church-state separation: It's important to note that Power Team didn't mention religion during the assemblies, but at the end of its presentation at Cimarron-Memorial High School the group distributed fliers to the students telling them they could catch the group's next performance at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. It was wrong, though, for Power Team to distribute literature at a public school that in effect encouraged students to attend a specific church.

Editorial: Time is now for fluoride in our water: Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has introduced legislation that would turn this around. Her bill would require fluoride to be used in the drinking water in Clark and Washoe counties, the state's two largest counties. In Clark County, the Las Vegas Valley Water District estimates that fluoridation would result in $4.4 million in start-up costs, which the state would fund under Giunchigliani's plan. The operating costs for the use of fluoride would be $500,000 a year.

Few answers in crash cause: Jace Radke; A lack of adequate training and a breakdown in supervision were partially blamed for a helicopter crash during a training exercise in September that killed 12 Nellis Air Force Base airmen.

Wednesday at Bay Meadows: 1st race 1 mi 3YO Alw: 1 Ice Of Course (Warren) 118; 2 Special Lessons (Castro) 118; 3 El Vencedor (Arriaga) 118; 4 Poor Pilgrim (Perez) 118; 5 Ole By Me (Scott) 118; 6 Northern Call (RBaze) 118.

Monday's Prep Results -- March 16, 1999: Durango 14, Palo Verde 4

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Keeping vigil vs. nukes: But, as long as the focus of the nuclear waste kings is to bury their radioactive problems just a few miles north of Las Vegas and as long as the Congress of these United States is willing to do whatever its powerful sponsors want, then there is little reason to find much joy. There is, however, plenty of reason to be encouraged that someday, somehow this feeling of being put upon by the rest of America will go the way of other monumentally bad ideas that have worked their way through the Congressional labyrinth only to die a legislatively tawdry ...

Execution time frame set for convicted killer: Tom Gardner; Washoe District Judge Steven Elliott issued the execution warrant for Alvaro Calambro four days after a federal judge has denied a mother's appeal to intervene on behalf of her son.

Wednesday at Santa Anita: 1st race 2 fur 2YO Fil Mdn: 1 Miss Dora (Valdivia) 118; 2 Beau's Boullion (Puglisi) 118; 3 Mymoonshiner (Enriquez) 118; 4 a-Continental Affair (Antley) 118; 5 Fire Sale Queen (Stimpson) 118; 6 R Far Out Star (Valdez) 113; 7 a-Fabulous Bet (Gonzalez) 118.