Print edition for April 3, 2000

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, April 3, 2000: Lisa Ferguson; Diva dance

Former pro ball players team up for complex in NLV: Diana Sahagun; While the city of Las Vegas tries to woo a professional basketball team, North Las Vegas is making strides of its own by attracting a prominent developer and two former professional basketball players to build a state-of-the-art sports complex.

Report to SEC: New Orleans casino may never be profitable: Alan Sayre; JCC Holding Co., which opened Harrah's New Orleans Casino in late October, recorded sharply lower revenue than expected and sustained a loss of $5.88 per share in 1999, according to the company's annual 10-K report filed late last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contaminated soil removal is planned for Henderson: The state has ordered property that held evaporation ponds used by the Basic Management Industrial complex east of the Boulder Highway to be cleaned up. LandWell, the real-estate arm of BMI, plans to build Provenance, a master-planned community with two golf courses, once the cleanup is complete.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Motorists flock to free fuel: Siquian and her husband, Juan, co-own the Chevron gas station and convenience store on the corner of Charleston and Rancho. During a dizzying two-hour period Friday morning Siquian gave away gas.

Prep Schedule: MONDAY

Drunken driver sentenced to 20 years for killing boy: Kim Smith; Before Tempie Louise MacDonald, said to be in her 40s, was sentenced in District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski's courtroom, she first had to hear the heart-rending statements of six members of the boy's family, some of whom were involved in the October 1999 accident. Packing the courtroom were more than 50 other sobbing family members, many of whom were wearing T-shirts bearing a picture of "Baby Erik" Quintana.

Reno officer fighting layoff: Mike Langton, lawyer for the Reno Police Protective Association, said he will appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Carlos Garcia: A man of the people: Terry Webster; FRESNO, Calif. -- A Mexican band playing violins, guitars and trumpets began the celebration to honor a hometown hero.

Sierra Health to expand military operations: The TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a Phoenix-based management service organization that is contracted with the Department of Defense to provide managed health care through its TRICARE program. Sierra has been affiliated with TriWest since 1997 and the break is effective immediately.

Obituaries for April 3, 2000: Charles R. Alford, 42, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in a local hospital. He was born Nov. 18, 1957, in New Orleans, La. A resident for five years, he was a woodwork craftsman.

Radio show host Bell retires -- again: Bell announced Saturday his retirement from radio. He said his last show, "Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell," which deals with such subjects as conspiracies, mysteries and space aliens, will be April 26.

West Sahara neighbors fight used-car lot plan: Twice the group has defeated proposals and zoning amendments for 10-acre used-car lots along Sahara that would have held hundreds of cars. Now they are fighting a smaller proposal for a seven-car used-car dealership at the corner of Sahara and Belcastro Street.

Political notebook for April 3, 2000: The first quarter reports for the 2000 election aren't due until April 15, but Ensign will report that he has raised about $2.5 million. Bernstein, a Las Vegas attorney, has raised $1.1 million. That includes $700,000 over the past three months, $500,000 of which came from his personal accounts.

Planners reject larger apartment complexes: Valerie Miller; As about a dozen residents turned out against increasing the density of the proposed apartment complex at Horizon Ridge Parkway and Carnegie Street, the Planning Commission on Thursday voted against the request to raise the number of apartments per acre from 14 to 16.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Derby hopefuls to square off at Santa Anita: Ralph Siraco; It is hard to believe that the next first Saturday of the month will be Kentucky Derby day.

Defendants admit to romance: "It's not going to shorten our case one bit," Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger said Sunday.

Man arrested in counterfeit cab operation: Donald Hatch, 37, was booked on charges of theft, possession of stolen property, possession of stolen license plates, driving an unregistered vehicle and ownership of altered license plates. He was apprehended by Nevada Taxicab Authority enforcement officers last week. Metro assisted in the investigation.

Radio networks moving from Boston to Las Vegas: Talk America Radio Networks, which syndicates 60 talk show hosts to 430 affiliate radio stations in 50 states, also plans to take the company public with a stock offering when the move to Nevada is complete.

Former exec sues over options: Winick -- who alleged the restructuring efforts he led helped Paul-Son to "report its most profitable annual earnings in fiscal year 1997" and "its stock price to climb to a record high of $26 a share in September 1997" -- accused Eric P. Endy, the trustee of the Paul S. Endy Jr. Living Trust and Laurence A. Speiser, the company's legal counsel, of conspiring to strip him of his alleged rightful compensation.

Attorney general fights for gambling on college sports: CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa feels a national report that recommends limitation of collegiate sports betting is way off base.

Former CompuServe exec takes Vegas post: Louden replaces Kerry Nicponski, who resigned as chief operating officer March 9. Nicponski, one of the co-founders of StockUp.com Inc., the predecessor of Las Vegas-based Preference Technologies, left the company for other opportunities. He could not be reached for comment.

'Stott Program' has grabbed interest of baseball community: Steve Guiremand; Many a major league baseball pitcher has had his career saved by what is commonly referred to as "Tommy John" elbow surgery.

Sexual assault may be solved with DNA: Both father and son are scheduled to appear Wednesday at Tahoe Justice Court.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Gary, not Jack, could win Masters: Dean Juipe; It's a resplendent notion, albeit a bit too fanciful for reality.

Dismissal of charges sought for teen in slaying of father: Kim Smith; Special Deputy Public Defenders Kristina Wildeveld and Dayvid Figler hoped to convince District Judge Mark Gibbons that prosecutors acted inappropriately during grand jury proceedings in the Conan Pope case.

Kitty haven: At 7 p.m. Tuesday Lyss and other supporters of FLOCK -- For the Love of Cats and Kittens -- will ask the Clark County Planning Commission for a variance that will allow the no-kill cat shelter to operate on five acres in Sloan. The property is zoned for farm animals, but not for a kennel.

Tearful ex-wife details Murphy affair: Sandy Murphy, Binion's live-in girlfriend, and her lover, Rick Tabish, are standing trial in the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Bonaventure in the Sept. 17, 1998, slaying.

Millions may be wasted on failed bank merger: Phil Levine; The rejection of a merger between First Security Corp. and Nevada State Bank parent Zions Bancorporation may cost the companies millions of dollars and do little to stabilize the shifting sands of Nevada's banking industry.

Internet gambling firm invades LV with bus ads: David Strow; Nevada casino operators and regulators have spoken out against it. Nevada law specifically forbids it.

President's visit a profitable one: Jace Radke; After attending two fund-raisers Clinton's motorcade was headed south on Interstate 15 at about 2 p.m. when heavy smoke began pouring from the rear of his limousine.

Company dismisses auditor: The dismissal was effective Friday, Park Place said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company replaced Arthur Andersen with Deloitte & Touche.

Police set up bogus Internet gambling site for NCAA title game: The Internet Crimes Task Force will watch especially closely for large sums of money wagered by college and other students in Michigan, Ficano said.

Quest for a championship: Steve Addy; INDIANAPOLIS -- The often contentious marriage of man and machine is woven into the very fabric of this city, where the wail of "Taps" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is more than a Memorial Day salute to fallen veterans.

Council takes first step toward expansion: Valerie Miller; Henderson City Council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Henderson City Hall, 200 Water Street.

Georgia group challenges findings of national gambling panel: The group was created last year to respond to the report by the congressionally-created National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

Community news briefs for April 3, 2000: The 7th annual Clark County Children's Festival, sponsored by Clark County Parks and Recreation, will be held 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Winchester Community Center and Park, 3130 S. McLeod Drive. Admission to the festival is free. The festival is co-sponsored by KVVU Channel 5. For more information, call 455-7340.

Local news briefs for April 3, 2000: Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and several other members of Congress were scheduled today to introduce a bill aimed at improving technology education in schools. The bill would provide $100 million in its first year to provide teachers with bonuses up to $5,000 if they receive training in information technology.

Life with Louie: Kirk Baird; Who: Louie Anderson.

Racers giving accolades to 'The Strip': Here is this week's schedule for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Final Four notebook: Gators' Miller could be heading for NBA: Steve Addy; INDIANAPOLIS -- Win or lose, Florida forward Mike Miller could be bidding goodbye to the Gators after tonight's NCAA championship game at the RCA Dome.

UNLV football team loses starter: One week after star defensive tackle recruit Kawika Sagapolu dropped out of school, UNLV's rebuilding football team has lost a second returning starter to academics.

Rebels drop 2 softball games: Rebels drop 2 softball games

Fans soak up 'Big League' aura: Victoria Sun; Of the thousands of men, women and children of all ages who descended upon Cashman Field to watch the five major league baseball games that made up Big League Weekend, hardly any seemed to mind the changing weather conditions.

Defense's turn in Edwards trial: Natalie Gott; Defense attorneys had not said who they plan to call as their first witness and it was unclear which of the seven defendants would even put on a case.

Letter: Long version of census a waste of time, money: A longtime friend called me recently after he had researched the cost of the first census in 1790. His findings: The first census cost 11 cents to tally 10 people. (Yes, we know today's dollar is but a shadow of its 1790 counterpart, still ...) This year, for every 10 people counted, it would cost over $164! Maybe for 2010, we should put the census crew back on horseback and equip them with quill pens!

Editorial: Cleanup prompts a dispute: The Army Corps might not seem initially to be the natural candidate for this job, but the Army Corps does more than just design, build and operate civilian and military public works projects. The Army Corps also has tackled environmental restoration, including the Everglades and wetlands across the nation. In addition, the Army Corps has cleaned hazardous waste sites and even created an experimental program in 1998 to repair environmental damage from hard-rock mining.

"Trees Are Terrific" wins poster contest: As the state winner, Seth received a $100 savings bond awarded by the Nevada Division of Forestry's Urban Forestry Program, the Nevada Shade Tree Council and the U.S. Forest Service.

Half-mile dirt oval results: IMCA Late Model

Clinton may be asked to protect Nevada's Black Rock Desert: Martin Griffith; Now he might be asked to do the same for northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert, hailed as "one of the great sights of Western America" by a 1962 National Park Service report.

Regents will seek broadcast license for students: UNR students have been seeking their own broadcast outlet for at least a decade.

Douglas County mulls step toward open space tax: Backers of the plan are calling for a quarter-cent increase in the local sales tax.

Reno High is Nevada's rep in National Science Bowl: The championships are scheduled May 5-8 at the National 4H Center in Chevy Chase, Md. The questions cover chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, astronomy, earth science and computers.

Plea agreement in entertainer's death falls apart: Kim Smith; John Flowers said he understood and agreed with everything that was in his plea agreement, but when Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane told District Judge Michael Douglas he also wanted Flowers to admit that the state could prove that Flowers acted with malice and forethought, premeditation and deliberation in the death of Ginger Rios, Flowers responded "No way."

Group challenges findings of national gambling panel: The group was created last year to do its own study in response to a report by the congressionally created National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

Reno woman hit by truck, killed: The truck driver, Antonio Gonzalez, 41, was driving into a setting sun about 6 p.m. Saturday and that may have played a role in the accident, police said.

Letter: Bryan's stance on flag commended: Let us preserve our freedom to honor the flag in our own special way, not because the Constitution mandates it.