Print edition for September 19, 1999

Ground rules being set for new Nevada scholarship program: The board approved a resolution on Saturday asking the university system's Board of Regents to agree to at least two criteria:

Letter: Real 'ecoterrorists' not often unmasked: By this corrected definition, one would have to consider Mitsubishi and Dupont to be among the most egregious ecoterrorists on Earth. Mitsubishi has worked assiduously to turn the world's oldest rain forest into a wasteland, while Dupont continued full-scale manufacture and distribution of CFCs despite compelling evidence that they were destroying the ozone layer.

Carson City's Fourth of July fair may sue carnival manager: The money was due Sept. 15 and the RSVP board now will consider pursuing a lawsuit at a meeting on Tuesday, Ayres said.

Letter: DMV made some bad decisions: My conclusion is derived from the DMV's decision to implement their new Genesis computer system (1) after a major holiday (when many people choose to buy cars or move to town), and (2) without having adequately tested the new system for bottlenecks and bugs (which a DMV spokesman said in midweek was nearly cleared up but obviously was not). A staff member mentioned to me that she was sure no one who had designed the system had actually sat down behind one of the computer monitors to simulate assistance to a customer.

Nevada nurses allowed to use 'healing touch' on patients: The Nevada State Board of Nursing gave its formal approval Friday based on the recommendations of its Nursing Practice Advisory Committee.

Letter: 'Special interest' saga continues: Neal and people who support the initiative petition to raise gaming taxes for educational purposes (i.e., teachers union) are not special interests, Dix indignantly asserts, they are public interests, pure and unassailable. Dix has a point: How could they be not be public interests when virtually all of them are on the public payroll?

Letter: Union's got it all wrong in Wal-Mart fuss: First, they try to con County Commissioner Erin Kenny into barring Wal-Mart with a law. When the draft is finally read, it was so laughably stupid, it had to be withdrawn. So now they go out and "find" six workers who allege violations of the labor laws. Get real!

NASCAR Dura-Lube 300 Results: 2. (5) Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 300, $114,790.

French driver wins China Rally: Makinen, seeking his fourth straight world title, pulled out of the China Rally after his rear suspension failed Saturday, the second of the race's three legs.

Arum cries foul: Steve Carp; It didn't take long for cries of foul to emanate from the Oscar De La Hoya camp in the wake of his first defeat as a professional.

Sierra Pacific will pay after all: The McCauleys and their two sons have been living in a trailer and a motel room since the fire destroyed their home in southeast Reno on July 1.

Residents want air races moved after second fatal crash in two years: The pilot, Gary Levitz, 61, Grand Prairie, Texas, was killed. A young girl on the ground was treated after she was hit in the finger by flying shrapnel, said Tom Medland, a spokesman for the county's airport authority.

Fernley reaches for full status: Once it's taken, the Fernley Incorporation Committee will have 90 days to gather enough signatures on a petition to put the issue to a vote.

Computer lab fee considered for NV college students: "I have friends who are working 40 hours per week to support themselves now," said University of Nevada, Reno sophomore David Boyer. "If they increase costs, (my friends) will have to work even harder -- it's going to hurt them even more."

Wallace wins twice, wants big one: Dick Brinster; Wallace's Ford was the class of the field - the fastest in practice and qualifying for Sunday's $2 million Dura Lube 300.

Seniors pass high school--again: School districts in Eureka, Mineral, Pershing and Storey counties report that no 1999 senior failed to graduate solely because of failing the test.

California parachutist dies near Nevada border: The victim and two companions had chartered a plane from the Nervino Airport in Beckwourth to spend the day sky diving. They were on their fifth jump of the day when the accident occurred about 6 p.m.

Pilot killed when plane goes down during air races: Gary Levitz, 61, of Grand Prairie, Texas, was flying in the last heat of the 36th annual National Championship Air Races when structural damage in the tail of the P-51 Mustang plane caused it to break apart in the air, Medland said. Federal authorities still were investigating the crash in Lemmon Valley, about 12 miles north of Reno, he said.

Nemechek gets first win in New Hampshire: Dick Brinster; "This is for my brother, John, I love you," he said Sunday shortly after crossing the finish line at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Columnist Jeff German: Del Papa goes after Anzalone's attorney: IT'S A CLASSIC trick of the legal trade. When you're constantly being bested by your opponent in court, you look to disqualify the adversary.

Neighborhood Services may become McDonald's legacy: Erin Neff; Michael McDonald's political legacy will likely have nothing to do with his "youngest ever" councilman status or his role as mayor pro tem of Las Vegas.

All locked up and nowhere to go: Kim Smith; Thinh Adrong has spent the last two years interpreting for his fellow Vietnamese and rubbing elbows with people from Yugoslavia, Cuba, Thailand, Russia, Cambodia and Armenia.

Editorial: Better planning is essential for parks: But there still is a way to go in achieving harmony, as was evidenced by a flap reported by the Sun's Adrienne Packer last week. Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown and Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone got into a dispute over plans to build a 40-acre park in the northwest. Malone, who represents a district that also contains city residents in Brown's ward, charged that the city of Las Vegas was holding hostage the plans to build a park. Malone was upset that the city wanted Durango Drive leading to the park to be widened from four lanes to ...

Editorial: It's time to tackle pollution: The county should be doing better, but its task isn't easy, as the valley's economic prosperity -- and its corresponding population growth -- contributes to our pollution woes. For instance, it's estimated that 90 percent of the valley's carbon monoxide is generated by motor vehicles, and the thousands of new residents moving here every month with their cars doesn't help matters. And construction, which is driven by growth, is believed to account for about two-thirds of airborne dust.

Political uprising - Councilman surprises critics: Erin Neff; Five years ago Michael McDonald was a 29-year-old cop living with his parents and concerned more about where to party on his nights off than with civic issues.

Columnist Sandra Thompson: Youngsters demanding choice in custody: Sandra Thompson; AT 12, "MARY" fears her father. He drinks, she says, and verbally abuses her and her younger sister.

30,000 volunteers expected for biggest-ever National Public Lands Day: What began in 1994 as a low-key event with 700 volunteers at three locations has become a major undertaking.

Music on the Internet has been a godsend for many Vegas bands: Kimberley McGee; Now Web users can turn on and tune in to their computers on such sites as MP3, MusicMatch and Spinner (all dot coms) and download music from, say, a garage band in the Kremlin or big, bad music phenoms such as David Bowie, who is scheduled to release his album, "Hours ..." on the Internet Tuesday, two weeks before it is available in record stores.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Casino museum awash in LV gaming history: A year ago it was a basement bingo room with adjoining cafeteria, where low-stakes bettors could cut away for a $2 ham sandwich served on a Styrofoam plate placed on a plastic tray.

'Killed by my recklessness': Bill Gang; William Rouw gets up every morning and slips on a slender silver bracelet that's inscribed with "In memory of Theresa Schroeder, killed 1-1-98 by my recklessness."

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Getting serious about 2000: A NATIONAL television talk program told me last May that the 2000 race for the White House might not be nice. The clue came from a lady commentator who was probably in junior high school when the Vietnam War was being fought. "Well," she sniffed, "neither Bush or Gore have much to talk about" when military service is discussed. She then went on to point out that Gov. George W. Bush only served in the Texas National Guard and that Vice President Al Gore was in Vietnam as an Army journalist and therefore never in danger.