Print edition for August 2, 2000

Harrah's to build hotel at East Chicago, Ind., casino: Construction on the 292-room hotel is scheduled to begin in September, with completion set for fall 2001.

Las Vegas phone company alleges Sprint violating law on competition: Grace Leong; Mpower, the largest of Sprint Corp.'s local telephone industry rivals in Las Vegas, filed another antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court accusing Sprint of monopolizing the local telephone and high-speed data service markets.

Education board proposes 21 percent budget increase: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn has been pushing state agencies to hold the line on their proposed budgets, but the state Board of Education is sending him a request for $1.7 billion to support the public schools during the next two years, an increase of 21 percent or more than $300 million.

Carson citizens express concerns about nuclear shipments: CARSON CITY -- As a full-sized mock nuclear waste canister rolled through Chicago, St. Louis and other cities on its way to Nevada recently, it prompted tough questions from citizens along the way, a scientific panel learned Tuesday.

LV hospital owners vulnerable: Hospitals would have to spend at least 25 percent more next year on a patient's care, or roughly $3,500, before qualifying for extra Medicare payments for the most expensive cases, the rules say.

Lightning sparks Reno-area fires: "It's highly visible all over town, with lots of smoke," Frady said. "We're still working on structure protection although the threat at this time has been minimized."

County appoints task force on park safety: Adrienne Packer; Less than a week after northeast residents celebrated the opening of their newest park, neighborhood children were afraid to play in it.

Man says he was fired for wage claim: Thomas Abbott, who started as a customer service representative in 1996 and was promoted in 1999 to superintendent, a salaried supervisory position, alleged he was "routinely and regularly required ... to perform duties that were not part of his job description ... including working as a laborer beyond the normal eight-hour work day."

NAACP rally calls for Garcia probe: Terry Webster; The racial slur made last week by Clark County School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia has not died down in the black community, as evidenced by an NAACP rally Tuesday at the Zion Methodist Church in North Las Vegas.

Miss America pays visit as center for homeless veterans breaks ground: Miss America Heather French grew up in a household that barely survived on a 30 percent disability check that her father, a disabled Marine Vietnam War veteran, received.

Two still sought for questioning after shooting of officer: Keith Paul; Metro Police are searching for two people in connection with a June restaurant robbery that resulted in a police officer being shot in the face.

Berkley raps choice of Cheney, Porter's speech: Lee Scrivner; Calling the GOP's vice-presidential nomination of Dick Cheney a "nonstarter," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., Tuesday suggested a Democratic vice-presidential candidate that she said "would be trailblazing."

Shareholders OK Wells Fargo merger: More than 90 percent of the 65 percent of the shares voting by proxy favored the merger, the Deseret News reported. Wells Fargo shareholder approval was not required because the deal is relatively small for Wells.

Republican convention briefs for August 2, 2000: PHILADELPHIA -- Viewers watching Tuesday night for network news coverage of Nevada's roll call vote for George W. Bush at the Republican National Convention's didn't see it.

Personal calls on city cell phones common: Erin Neff; Some city of Las Vegas employees make personal calls roughly one-third of the time they use their city-issued cell phones, according to billing receipts.

Durango continues run in legion baseball tourney: Spencer Patterson; Expected to be a competitive eight-team battle when it opened four days ago, this week's American Legion State Baseball Tournament is looking more like a two-horse race with every passing minute.

Nevada Bell hit with complaint: AT&T and WorldCom said Nevada Bell, with 375,000 customers in 13 of the 17 counties in Nevada, is ignoring a 1999 state law that it must reduce its rates to long-distance carriers. Nevada Bell doesn't offer local service in Las Vegas, but has applied to do so.

Failed church bomber charged again: Greg Tuttle; One day after he was ordered released from a mental hospital, James Carbullido was back in front of a federal judge facing new charges related to a string of failed attacks on Mormon churches.

Las Vegas homeowner goes to court in fight against homeowners association: In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Cuthbert Mack, an attorney, sued the Bonanza Village Homeowners Association, alleging the defendants' demands violate his "right to quiet enjoyment and peaceful ownership of his property and cast a cloud on the title to (his) property."

Las Vegas' XFL management group may have NFL flavor: Steve Addy; The new XFL has begun to fill its management and coaching jobs. Here is a list of who has been hired:

Hearing set for ambulance service: If the commission approves the ordinance that allows the franchise to move forward, Southwest may offer nonemergency service in Clark County by Sept. 20, county franchise manager Jim Spinello said.

Police officers save lives of five starving puppies: Jace Radke; By opening a closet door in a vacant apartment Friday afternoon, Metro Police saved five lives.

Firms sued over death -- company says worker was under the influence: In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Matute's wife Lucia and son Fabiola alleged the defendants' failure to implement safety procedures at a worksite at Canyon Creek West Homes caused him to fall 10 feet to his death on July 4, 1998.

Local news briefs for August 2, 2000: A driver who fled from police crashed into a sport utility vehicle Tuesday afternoon injuring two people, one critically.

Letter: School Board should be booted along with Garcia: In reading the initial article in your paper, I felt he should be fired simply because he lacks remedial skills in the English language. But racial slurs must not be allowed to go unpunished.

Sprint officials meet with police over murder warrant: Keith Paul; Sprint officials met with police officers Monday to discuss the company's refusal to give detectives the work location of an employee wanted on a murder warrant.

Internet rape victim settles suit with city of Sparks: ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Grossman returns to UNLV: Grossman returns to UNLV

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Great deals abound in summer: Summertime is sale time, so if you're in the market for housewares, linens or home furnishings this is the time. Right now Macy's home store on Spring Mountain Road is filled with name-brand small appliances at greatly reduced prices. Cuisinart coffee makers with built-in coffee grinders, normally $175, are $99.95.

Columnist Jeff Haney: Race fans betting on the Brickyard: By Jeff Haney; The Daytona 500 and the annual NASCAR Winston Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are still the two most popular motor sports events among local gamblers.

American Legion playoff results, schedule: Saturday's Results

Use of pro-tem judges resumes: Kim Smith; Las Vegas township justices of the peace have resumed using temporary judges after researching the practice.

Gas tankers explode, shut down highway: The fiery wreckage closed U.S. Highway 95 in both directions and snarled traffic for miles. Thick black smoke poured into the air over the city.

Kanawha County woman sues gambling machine distributor, retailer: She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Jerry W. and Barbara Derrick, individually and doing business as Derrick Music Co., and Clay Holding Co., doing business as Clay Mart Food Stores.

PCL Box: Rainiers 7, Stars 5: E--Williams, LaRocca, Flores, Machado. DP--Tacoma 1. LOB--Las Vegas 13, Tacoma 6. 2B--Radmanovich 2, LaRocca, Snopek, Flores, Machado. HR--Sanders (15). SB--Newhan, Snopek, Alexander, Gipson.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Thursday's races at Del Mar: 1st Race -- Da Hot Affair - Hustling Espinoza on Mitchell trainee, good post, well placed, Da Hot could be too hot here. Kristen - Draws inside for the opener sprint, hustling bug boy Cedeno here, need clean trip after prompt start for chance to win. Value Play -- Tuta Niche

Columnist Jon Ralston: Oliver Stone is missing a good plot here: Hollywood couldn't produce a movie with a script this delicious. Joe Eszterhaus in his most creative ferment, Preston Sturges at his most screwball could not concoct the comedy/drama now playing down on Stewart Avenue. City Hall has become stranger than celluloid.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Free speech on hiatus in Cincinnati: Dean Juipe; Free speech has been an inalienable and protected right in America since 1776 and outspokenness has been in vogue for at least the past few decades.

Editorial: So much for equal treatment: "We talked with the city attorney's office, and they said that as long as the bill was paid by the employee and that releasing the number would be detrimental to someone's safety, it is OK to block them out," David Riggleman, the city's communications manager, told Sun reporter Erin Neff. "It's a personal safety issue," added Cassidy, who took a leave of absence from his City Hall job to work as a private investigator for the defense team in the Ted Binion murder trial.

Chefs cook up quality recreation time: Max Jacobson; These men and women know good food; in fact, their lives revolve around it. Many of them also keep tabs on their culinary peers, so on the rare occasions when they have the opportunity to escape the kitchen, they love checking out the competition. After all, who makes a better audience?

Editorial: Homeless suffer in sweltering weather: For most Las Vegans, the soaring temperatures are an inconvenience. But for those who are homeless, severe temperatures that can crest above 110 degrees are more than an annoyance, they can be dangerous.

The Strip at LVMS point standings: Sportsman 1.Robin Harris 340; 2. Neil Evans 307; 3. Bill Muller 306; 4. Chris Lentz 297; 5. Dan Reaume 296; 6. Dwight Machael 290; 7. Nick Ariotti 286; 8. Barron Dowdy 285; 9. Michael Jackson 267; 10. Phil Doughty 264; 10. Samantha Rudder 264; 12. Rob Anderson 254; 13. John Phelgar III 253; 14. Scott Palmer 244; 15. John Farnum 243; 16. Scott Horsley 242; 17. Bob Coulter 234; 18. Kevin Adler 232; 18. Dennis Evans 232; 21. Mark Meier 224; 22. Ken Paulson 221; 23. Richard Price 211; 23. Tim Fogarty 211; 25. Kim Clover 200; 25. Denise Sasser ...

Results from The Strip: Super Quick

Picking a winner: GOP delegates hit Atlantic City for gambling: John Curran; Spotting a lull in GOP convention activities, a busload of Kentucky delegation members trekked to Harrah's Atlantic City casino Tuesday to try picking another kind of winner.

Tanker crash closes down highway: Keith Paul; The accident happened near the Harmon Road overpass, between the Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue exits. U.S. 95 was closed between Boulder Highway and Sunset Road following the fiery accident.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Breakfast fetes Opportunity Village benefactors: Elizabeth Foyt; Offering a new perspective, Opportunity Village for the first time hosted its annual Awards Breakfast at its West Oakey Boulevard campus.

Speedway could snag CART race for 2001: Las Vegas Motor Speedway general manager Chris Powell raised more than a few eyebrows last weekend when he visited Chicago Speedway for the second running of the Target Grand Prix CART race.

Nevada mummy figures in fight over ancient history: Frank X. Mullen Jr.; In a few weeks, the Bureau of Land Management is expected to decide if a partially mummified skeleton will be given to a tribe Indians for secret burial, or if scientists can retain the remains - called Spirit Cave Man - for more scientific testing.

Former gambling parlor owner charged with possession of machines in South Carolina: Arrest warrants show that Moore had parts and two machines in his garage when deputies went to the home based on a tip. Moore was not there, but his son allowed deputies into the garage, according to police reports.

Columnist Peter Benton: Holley captures PGA Pro-Pro event: Peter Benton; Jerry Holley of All World Sports won low individual honors with a 3-under-par 69 in the Las Vegas Chapter, Southwest Section of the PGA Pro-Pro, played last week over Paiute's par-72 Sun Mountain course.

Columnist Victoria Sun: Local teaching pro mystified by ex-student Begay's actions: Victoria Sun; Before Notah Begay III ever thought about playing golf, and long before he began racking up victories on the PGA Tour, he was busy conquering the high-tech world of arcade games.

Letter: Remove profit from health care: As for-profit private entities, their only reason for existence is to make a maximized profit, and if they can't do this and maintain decent affordable and necessary care, don't blame them.

Border Patrol agents to be moved from Nevada, California to Washington state: Ten agents would go to the Blaine sector on the Canadian border between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, and 15 would be reassigned to the Spokane sector, which covers the Canadian border between the crest of the Cascade Range and the Rockies.

Intricate planning goes into illuminating Vegas: Lisa Ferguson; You might not pay the least bit of attention when someone carrying a tray walks through a crowded coffee shop crying, "Keno!" And do you even give costumed casino mascots a second look anymore?

Rex Hill '98 Pinot Noir: Max Jacobson; American soil isn't ideal for growing this volatile grape, except, perhaps, in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Rex Hill is one of the oldest and best producers in that region. This wine is a beautiful deep red ruby color, and has a juicy, spicy character not typical of Pinot Noir. It's slightly tannic, but the acids are well balanced and the flavors -- Oregon blackberries, violets and a touch of oak -- are lovely on the palate. Renowned wine maven Steve Tanzer gave this wine 90 out of 100, an outstanding score.

Singer weathers speed bumps on a wild ride: Tom Gardner; She recorded four songs for the film, which opens Friday, against her doctor's orders to rest her voice.

Garcia names LV hotel executive to school post: Orci, who received a doctoral degree in education administration from UNLV in 1980 and currently works for Bally's and Paris hotel-casinos as executive director, will serve as assistant superintendent of elementary education.

Community news briefs for August 2, 2000: A free checkers tournament is set for 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Whitney Ranch Satellite Center, 1661 Galleria Drive. The event is open to youths ages 6-12, who will receive certificates for their participation. The event is part of the Henderson Parks and Recreation Department's "Let the Games Begin" series, which features a different board-game tournament each month. For more information, call 450-5885.

Lack of DH hurts Stars: For the second straight night the slumping and short-handed Stars (55-53) had to shun the designated hitter in an American League park because they had only eight healthy position players available. And the lack of even one pinch-hitter came back to haunt Tony Franklin's squad in a 7-5 loss to the Tacoma Rainiers on Tuesday night at Cheney Stadium.

Changing times: Steve Guiremand; LaVell Edwards turns 70 in October, so it wasn't surprising at Tuesday's Mountain West Conference football Media Day that the dreaded "R" word came up.

Wireless deal launched: DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. and Qualcomm Inc. have formed a joint venture to snag a share of what they hope will be a lucrative market for wireless services such as Internet access in cars and trucks.

Murphy, Tabish lawyers to get jurors' documents: Kim Smith; Defense attorneys in the Ted Binion murder case want a new trial because of alleged juror misconduct, and the documents they hope will prove it were saved from possible destruction Tuesday.

Nevada small businesses exempted from new railroad safety rules: CARSON CITY -- The staff of the state Public Utilities Commission retreated Tuesday from a proposed regulation that could have cost some small Nevada businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade railroad spurs on their property.

Woman claims heir assaulted her in Las Vegas: Keith Paul; A woman has come forward claiming an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune sexually assaulted her in Las Vegas, a California prosecutor told the Sun this morning.

County Commission briefs for August 2, 2000: The Clark County Commission agreed to a revised ordinance regulating bathhouses Tuesday, but it isn't likely to affect any bathhouses since there are none in unincorporated Clark County.

Few Nevadans in protest scene: Benjamin Grove; PHILADELPHIA -- A search for Nevadans among the throngs of protesters at the Republican National Convention revealed only a glimpse of this historic city and a suggestion on where to get a decent cheesesteak -- but not one Silver Stater.

Obituaries for August 2, 2000: William D. Baruffi, 41, of Las Vegas died Monday in Las Vegas. He was born April 20, 1959, in Philadelphia. A resident for 16 years, he was a truck driver owner-operator.

Name change becomes official: The name change was first proposed in June, following MGM Grand's $6.4 billion acquisition of Mirage Resorts Inc. Company officials said the name would better reflect the portfolio of brands and assets held by the Las Vegas gaming concern. The stock ticker symbol remains "MGG."

Harrah's investing $47 million in Chicago-area casino: "The hotel will help us capitalize on the projected double-digit growth of the Chicagoland region, the third largest gaming market in the nation," said Chief Operating Officer Gary Loveman.

Sale of Mesquite Star falls through, NevStar in bankruptcy again: David Strow; NevStar Gaming & Entertainment Corp., just months after voluntarily dismissing its bankruptcy petition, has once again asked for bankruptcy protection as a legal battle continues for control of its defunct Mesquite hotel-casino.

Thursday's horse racing entries: Post Time 2 p.m.

Rio hotel-casino announces cutbacks: Harrah's plans to cut about 100 jobs from the 5,000-employee payroll through a combination of layoffs and voluntary acceptance of severance packages, said Gary Thompson. Jobs will be cut as the operating hours of four restaurants are reduced, a fifth is closed and some table games are removed.

Special committee to examine state gaming compact with Choctaw Nation: The compact allows the tribe to operate off-track betting facilities that allow wagers on simulcast horse races in several Oklahoma towns.

Henderson city council briefs for August 2, 2000: Just how much damage would the failure of the Pittman Detention Basin cause area properties?

Revenue, profit increase for Horseshoe Gaming: JOLIET, Ill. -- Embattled casino operator Jack Binion's Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp. today reported a second quarter profit of $20.8 million vs. a loss in the year-ago quarter of $3.2 million.

Annexation adds another 5,500 acres to Henderson city limits: Greg Harman; Henderson's western fringe expanded by almost 5,500 acres Tuesday night as the City Council gave final approval to the city's largest land acquisition in 29 years.

Plan would give health district funds previously sent to schools: Adrienne Packer; A controversial legislative bill draft approved by Clark County commissioners Tuesday would strip the school district of penalty funds collected from emissions violators and return them to the Clark County Health District.