Print edition for October 17, 1999

Letter: School district needs firm hand in discipline: Would this help our schools? Judge for yourself. Ask any teacher, administrator or your own child, what wastes the most time during the school day. Almost without exception they'll say habitual discipline problems. Ask your child what they fear most at school. It's not being called to recite from memory in front of the class or passing the final exam; it's being hurt by those students with discipline problems.

Columnist Kate Maddox: Oscar and Wilt: The mayor remembers 'The Stilt': Kate Maddox; Wilt and the mayor down by the schoolyard: Mayor Oscar Goodman was especially saddened by the sudden death of basketball great Wilt Chamberlain. The mayor and "The Stilt" grew up in the same West Philadelphia neighborhood and used to meet on Saturdays with other basketball wannabes for a little pick-up in the park.

Editorial: State must beef up construction safety: The laws are in place to ensure a safe workplace, but there aren't enough inspectors to enforce the statutes. The 1999 Legislature did increase the number of safety inspectors, but the next Legislature should add even more to guarantee that safety laws are followed at construction sites.

LV: No place to hide: Jace Radke; Strip showrooms have long packed in tourists with magic acts, and now Las Vegas is becoming a haven for another kind of vanishing act -- fugitives looking for the perfect place to disappear.

Las Vegas' 11-year-old Monopoly champ heads for a showdown at the national championships: Kimberley McGee; When: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday; 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Columnist Jeff German: Departure of Lanni leaves gap: TERRY LANNI'S decision to resign as chairman of MGM Grand Inc. leaves a big void in the casino industry.

Several remain hospitalized following pit road accident: Crew member Tracy Hash was in serious condition with a broken leg, speedway officials said. Fellow crew members Jeff Howerton and Thomas Bose also were recuperating. Howerton was in stable condition with a broken leg, and Bose was in fair condition with broken ribs, according to hospital officials.

Furyk wins again in Las Vegas: Furyk becomes the first player to win the same tournament three times since Nick Faldo won the Masters for the third time, in 1996.

Dismore wins Mall.com 500; Ray captures IRL championship: Dismore earned his first Indy Racing League victory Sunday in the Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, but Ray coasted to a third-place finish and clinched the series championship.

Columnist Sandra Thompson: Boy unloading burden of sexual abuse: Sandra Thompson; But what he says happened to him last year is far from normal. He kept it a secret until he felt like he was going to "explode." Then, just before his 11th birthday, he broke his silence. He told his parents he had been sexually molested by his baseball coach over a six- or seven-month period.

Letter: Wal-Mart's real concern is money: Full-page newspaper ads, broadcast mailers and prime-time radio spots are costly. What if Wal-Mart invested that money in its employees? As a spouse of a union member whose wages and benefits have improved our lives, I wonder why Wal-Mart won't pay its employees a living wage with a benefit package? Why does it believe the community has the duty to support Wal-Mart's employees?

Columnist John Katsilometes: Employees remember the old Maxim: Donna Dixon has been a cocktail waitress at the Maxim for 22 1/2 years, since the day it opened. Her hair is blond and locked in a branched-out bouffant by a few blasts of hair spray.

Letter: Whatever it shows, art is still art: The real question lies in whether the government's intent is to improve or dumb down society. Controversial art is not bad; controversy isn't bad. America is about different opinions and ideas. The beautiful ideal of this country is its ability to make room for creativity and freedom. There is no need to baby-sit the people of the United States. Restricting what art we see or telling us what is pornographic is like installing a V-chip into our brains.

Major quake likely once every 300 years in Reno area: Such major earthquakes are capable of widespread, heavy damage. The magnitude-6.7 Northridge temblor in 1994 killed 67 people and caused $20 billion in damage in the Los Angeles area.

Earnhardt wins again in Talladega: Mike Harris; Earnhardt, who started 27th in the 43-car field, got to the front in a hurry, roaring into the top five in just five laps around the 2.66-mile oval.

Sheriff solidifies political foundation: Martin Kuz; Sun reporter Jace Radke contributed to this story.

An ethical makeover: Additions to panel aim for more efficiency, clout: But while there is hope that a new executive director and full-time attorney will help make the commission more efficient, lawmakers say they wouldn't be surprised if the state Legislature took another stab at ethics laws in 2001. State Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, is one of the legislators taking a wait-and-see approach.

Franchitti wins Gold Coast for CART lead: Dennis Passa; Franchitti led nearly the entire race Sunday in capturing his third victory of the season and sixth of his career. He earned 22 points for the weekend - 20 for the victory and a point each for winning pole and leading the most number of laps - to give him 209 points for the season.

Monopoly minutiae: Does landing on "Go" seem to happen more frequently than passing it?

Editorial: Character that really does count: Privately most of them believe the waste should come to Nevada because no other state wants it. Yet not seeking to offend their Nevada hosts, who have just given them generous contributions, they offer vague platitudes about scientific solutions. For those seeking the presidency, there is no political advantage in advocating evenhanded treatment for Nevada when so many large states that have nuclear power plants want to rid themselves of deadly waste.

Franchitti wins Gold Coast Indy: Dennis Passa; Franchitti, the pole winner, trailed Montoya by 12 points going into the next-to-last race of the CART FedEx season. Montoya did not finish.

Twelve people injured in pit road wreck: Jaime Aron; None of the injuries were considered life-threatening. Jonsson sustained a slight concussion and was among 10 people who were hospitalized. Carlson wasn't injured, but his father, Richard Carlson, who has a heart problem, was hospitalized as a precaution.

New DMV computer also causing delays for dispatchers, police: "This is a totally new system for the dispatchers and a comfort factor has been violated," Sparks police Sgt. Tom Carson said. "It is the learning curve and the situation where dispatchers are having to do extra work."

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: A new homeless policy: MORE THAN 10 YEARS have passed since I first joined Julia Occhiogrosso and her volunteer Catholic Worker crew feeding the homeless down by the railroad tracks. Less than a year later the city asked us to move from that area because of the growing number of cardboard shelters and the desire of a business to build warehouses there. So the breakfast feeding program, with city approval, was moved to Ethel Pearson Park where it remained until last month.