Print edition for August 28, 2000

Magician sues insurance firm: Kim Smith; Magician David Copperfield filed a $4 million lawsuit against Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. Friday because the company has refused to reimburse him for money he spent freeing property held hostage in Russia last year.

DI is shut down with little fanfare: David Strow and Jace Radke; The Desert Inn's casino quietly shut down this morning, the first step in the final closure of the historic 50-year-old property on the Las Vegas Strip.

District Judge Gary Redmon dies at age 65: Kim Smith; The flags at the Clark County Courthouse, Government Center and Family and Youth Services building were lowered to half staff today as those who knew District Judge Gary Redmon mourned his death.

Police, ACLU view officers' acts differently: Keith Paul; Two Metro Police training officers and two recent graduates of the police academy were captured on Hard Rock hotel-casino surveillance tape acting rude and belligerent while arresting a woman. But police officials deny that the officers' actions rise to the level of misconduct as charged by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Potential conflict seen in lawmaker's vote: Steve Kanigher And Erin Neff; Assemblyman Morse Arberry Jr. voted to give a $2.8 million state grant to an affordable housing development that could financially benefit his mortgage company.

Hundreds nabbed in INS sting at airport: Greg Tuttle; The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Third Bellagio suspect arrested: Keith Paul; A 35-year-old man, who is accused of being the third robber of a trio that held up a Strip casino, is now the target of a Henderson Police investigation trying to link him to the gunning down of two armored car guards.

Man dies after shooting near Strip movie theater: Police and paramedics arrived at a parking lot near a Denny's restaurant in the 3700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South at about 11:15 p.m. and found Juan D. Gonzalez shot in the neck.

Bryan: College sports betting doomed: By this time next year it will probably be impossible to bet on college sports in Nevada casinos.

Las Vegas students return to classroom: Terry Webster; One minute before the start of classes on the first day of school this morning, dozens of parents and students were still standing in the registration line at Clark High School.

Obituaries for August 28, 2000: Patricia Fielder, 73, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in a local hospice. She was born March 17, 1927, in Indianapolis. A resident for 10 years, she was a retired accountant.

Nevada unemployment steady at 3.5 percent: CARSON CITY -- Unemployment in Nevada remained at 3.5 percent in July, the same as the previous month, but it was down from the 5.1 percent registered in July 1999.

State jobless rate 3.5 percent in July, just under 1 million working: July unemployment in the metropolitan Las Vegas area was 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in June. In the Reno area, the rate was 2.6 percent in July, down from 2.8 percent a month earlier.

Highway trash piles up after programs halted: Cy Ryan and Ed Koch; The Nevada Department of Transportation, facing mounting complaints of increasing trash along the highways since the suspension of two major cleanup programs six months ago, is developing a plan to mop up the problem.

Washoe police search for slot thief: A surveillance tape shows the suspect to be a white male adult wearing blue jeans and a light-colored shirt.

Anti-gambling forces upheld in New York ruling: Joel Stashenko; ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gambling opponents have legal standing to challenge a casino compact Gov. George Pataki reached in May 1999 with Mohawk Indians, a state appeals court decided.

Fremont Street Experience sues casino owner over noise: A Clark County District Court lawsuit alleges Pastor's Mermaids and La Bayou casinos repeatedly refused to comply with Fremont Street's policy of not amplifying their sales pitches.

Cell phone operator sold for $5.8 billion: West Point-based Powertel said it has about 727,000 subscribers as well as licenses in 12 states covering 25 million potential subscribers. Powertel's customer base is in the southeastern United States, where Bellevue, Wash.-based VoiceStream is currently weak.

Meth arrests made at three Reno homes: They said the operations were unrelated.

Correction for Aug. 22, 2000: Correction for Aug. 22, 2000

Guinn warns deregulation won't cut Nevada electricity costs: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn plans to decide by the end of September when to open the electric market to competition, but he cautions that deregulation may not mean lower power rates.

Letter: Democrats will oppose dumpsite: NADEAN LYNN

Price of living on Tahoe shores rises: Assessor Barbara Byington said dramatic increases in land values over the past four or five years have led to a need to reassess all properties.

Air Force looks to rebound from off year: Steve Guiremand; Facts and figures on the Air Force Falcons:

Homeopathy regulations approved by state board: RENO -- A regulation for licensed doctors to follow when using "nonconventional methods" of treatment such as acupuncture or homeopathy has been approved by the state Board of Medical Examiners.

Rhode Island group continues casino fight: West Warwick 2000 co-founder Robert D'Uva said the new group is meant to channel "the outrage of people who don't understand why they can't vote on this in November."

Ceremony greets Millennium Scholars at UNR: The students are part of the first Millennium Scholar class. The statewide scholarship program was established last year by the Nevada Legislature and paid for by tobacco settlement money.

Letter: Mirage should combat PETA 'money machine': If PETA wants a celebrity animal, let it go and buy one. Too bad all of the public can't see through this bunch. I love when it said it got "a handful of letters complaining about Gilda." So is that any reason to upset an animal who's been fine for 20 years to please a handful of "nuts." Let's hope the Mirage sticks to its guns and doesn't award them with a big check just to get it off its back, which is really what it wants (in my humble opinion).

Truck crash leads to Icee roads: Basques was taken to Washoe Medical Center in Reno, where he was listed in fair condition with head injuries and a punctured lung.

Court upholds receiver for body fat company: CARSON CITY -- A Las Vegas accountant should continue to act as temporary receiver over a company that markets a medical device to remove body fat, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Frankel's magic carpet weaves through Del Mar: Ralph Siraco; This time last week, trainer Bobby Frankel had just won his first Arlington Million after what seemed a lifetime of attempts. Though it was his initial victory in that race, Frankel carries a saddlebag filled with championship trophies earned during more than four decades of competition.

Dahlquist to leave Rebels for post in Europe: Steve Guiremand; Less than two weeks before his team's 2000 season opener, UNLV head football coach John Robinson is losing one of his top offensive assistant coaches.

America West faces federal maintenance deadline: A warning issued Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration expressed concern about deferred maintenance and poor oversight of heavy maintenance overhauls conducted by outside vendors.

Blackout doesn't stop the slots: A 14,000-volt circuit that feeds the gaming halls' electricity malfunctioned around 3 p.m. The downed circuit kept the casinos and a handful of Stateline residents with partial power for a more than two hours.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: This time, Nike got a bad rap: Having defended (sort of) omnipotent boxing promoter Bob Arum for his part in the International Boxing Federation bribery trial in this space a couple of weeks ago, you might be asking whose cause will I champion next?

Former merger partner wants damages from Southwest Gas: David Strow; ONEOK Inc. announced the death of Larry Brummett, chairman and chief executive, of cancer at age 49.

LV movie studio launched: Two Las Vegas women with a combined 62 years of experience in the entertainment industry are unveiling plans today to open a movie studio here.

School delay an issue in commission race debate: Adrienne Packer; Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone's platform thus far has focused on the parks and roadways he has brought his fast-growing District C.

Community news briefs for August 28, 2000: Lake Mead Hospital

Editorials: Forecast for gaming worrisome: Currently there is a dispute as to how many slot machines will be allowed. The California governor's office insists the maximum permitted will be 45,000, but Eadington told a meeting of the Association of Gaming Attorneys that California legislative analysts believe the tribes are entitled to 113,000 machines. Other analysts contacted by the Sun still believe that the Las Vegas Strip, in particular, would be able to weather the additional California slot machines given that the Strip's billion-dollar casinos easily offer much more than the tribes possibly could. That view may ultimately prevail, but Eadington's insight should be taken seriously.

Emergency closures isolate Burning Man site: BLM spokesman Les Boni said the closure of the southern end of the Black Rock Desert playa is intended to provide for public safety in and around the festival's airstrip.

Local news briefs for August 28, 2000: A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty in Clark County District Court over a fatal accident two years ago.

Duran Duran plays role of wily veteran: Geoff Carter; "I'll take my chance, 'cause luck is on my side or something," goes Duran Duran's 1982 hit "Rio."

Las Vegas RealCentric executive offers tips for Internet business ventures: A Las Vegas expert says the biggest challenge to establishing a useful Internet site for a business is to stay focused on the original business plan and not let the technologists steer it off course.

Prep Schedule: MONDAY

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, August 28, 2000: Lisa Ferguson; Now that the little ones are back in school, it's time they get busy -- being creative.

Cleanup under way at site of massive fish kill: "It's pretty slow and it's not something you would want to do every day," McMasters told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Historic Desert Inn closes its doors after 50 years: Lisa Snedeker; Despite changes to the property over the past 50 years, the doors never closed - until Monday.

Baseball standings: ateb At A Glance

Columnist John Katsilometes: Here's to the true survivor: A few days ago I witnessed what had to be one of the greatest performances in game-show history.

13 attorneys battle for 3 new Family Court spots: Kim Smith; Efficiency, consistency and courtesy seem to be the buzzwords this year in the race for three wide-open Family Court judgeships.

PGA official tells backers of new RTO dates: Be careful what you wish for: Scott Sonner; Duke Butler, the Tour's vice president for tournament business affairs, suggested Sunday that Reno-Tahoe organizers should be pleased with what they've got.

Country legend tries something not so new: When: 8 p.m. Saturday

RB Jackson fuels Sundevils offense: Spencer Patterson; A look at Steven Jackson:

Attorney says Cash will testify during Iverson civil trial: David Cash was not charged in the May 1997 slaying for which his friend Jeremy Strohmeyer is serving four life terms in prison.

TV sports/Radio for Aug. 29-Sept. 2: TV sports/Radio for Aug. 29-Sept. 2

Greektown Casino announces Nov. 10 opening date: Lisa M. Collins; Casino spokesman Roger Martin said Sunday there is a ninety-five percent chance Detroit's third temporary casino will open on the second Friday in November.

PCL Box: River Cats 10, Stars 4: E--Alvarez. DP--Sacramento 1. LOB--Las Vegas 7, Sacramento 12. 2B--Roskos (27), Ortiz (32), Valdez (27). HR--Faggett (5), Nicholson (6), Alvarez (9), Porter (13), Belhorn (22).

Marquez triumphs at Plaza: Marquez triumphs at Plaza

After problems a year ago, coyote-human conflicts on decline at Tahoe: Last summer, seven people were bitten by coyotes in Stateline. Officials said the coyotes had become dependent on humans for food, a habit that can bring out aggressive behavior in the normally shy animals.

River Cats pound Stars: River Cats pound Stars

Soccer: UNLV men win, tie; women lose: Soccer: UNLV men win, tie; women lose

Suspect arrested in shooting on Strip: Another 20-year-old, Juan David Padilla, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of murder with a deadly weapon, Las Vegas Police said.