Print edition for December 12, 2000

Richardson calls for investigation of Yucca contractors and DOE study: Bart Jansen; WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Bill Richardson called Tuesday for an investigation of allegations that contractors compromised the scientific study about whether to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

State senator seeks to ban death penalty: "The state should not be in the business of killing folks," Neal said. "We should be in the business of protecting lives. The death penalty is not a deterrent to killing; it's only a deterrent to those who have killed."

Wednesday's horse racing entries: Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Deal them in: Atlantic City casino employees seek roles in "Ocean's Eleven" remake: John Curran; ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Hoping to get lucky, hundreds of starry-eyed casino dealers, cocktail waitresses and actors turned out Tuesday at a casting call for "Ocean's Eleven," a movie to be shot on location here next year.

Former basketball star gives deposition in lawsuit: Gloria Chapa claims Rodman pinched and grabbed her breasts while he was seated at a gambling table in June 1998. She filed the lawsuit in July 1999 against Rodman and her employer.

'Nutcracker's' history as storied as the ballet: Kimberley McGee; It debuted more than 100 years ago to an unimpressed audience.

Soldiering On: 'The Nutcracker' conjures up holiday memories, spirit: Kimberley McGee; It's back.

Barden keeping Fitzgeralds', other Vegas options open: David Strow; Under most circumstances, the sale of Fitzgeralds Las Vegas would not be considered a huge deal in Las Vegas circles.

Day trading exec sues over dispute at Hard Rock casino: Robert Bright, owner of the stock and securities day-trading business Bright Trading, said Hard Rock paid him only $2,000 of $19,000 he allegedly won in June because it claimed there was a $1,000 limit at the craps table.

LV resort sues alleged copycat website: In a U.S. District Court suit Monday, Bellagio alleged Denhammer began in September to offer online hotel reservations at his website, bellagiolasvegas.com.

Huge fireworks show set for Strip: Adrienne Packer; Las Vegas promoters are expected to hatch grand plans, but after being accused of laying an egg in planning last New Year's Eve, they insist they have outdone even themselves this year.

Monday's prep results: Durango 81, Green Valley 60: Martrel Johnson scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Frank Brown added 14 points and six steals for the Trailblazers.

Letter: Realize where food comes from: The head was only a reality check that the chicken wings are the body parts of an animal that had a face. An animal that experienced pain and suffering, just as we do. An innocent animal condemned to death after a lifetime of imprisonment in a filthy, toxic shed, so that her wings could be served up to a McDonald's customer.

Bayno fired: Steve Addy; NCAA sanctions

U.S. photography giant to miss forecasts again: ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- For the second consecutive quarter, Eastman Kodak Co. lowered its earnings projections to reflect a sharp slowdown in film sales it blamed largely on a slowing U.S. economy.

Letter: Yucca Mountain issue is boring: Now we all know Yucca Mountain is evil; why not write about some of the good things going on here in Nevada and get off that kick?

Jurors hear words of dead thief: Kim Smith; A convicted car thief spoke to jurors from beyond the grave Monday during the murder trial of an admitted racist.

Rebels' Glaser named MWC player of week: Petra Glaser, a 6-6 freshman from Amtsberg, Germany, earned the honor after posting career highs with 21 points and eight rebounds in UNLV's 91-74 loss to Arizona. She also scored 17 points in the Lady Rebels' 81-72 win over Eastern Washington.

State legislators join outcry against DOE: Cy Ryan and Jeff German; CARSON CITY -- Nevada lawmakers are condemning the Energy Department's behind-the-scenes efforts to promote Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump.

Community news briefs for December 12, 2000: The Society for the Preservation of Arts, Culture and Environments and the Community College of Southern Nevada Performing Arts Center, will host a Christmas festival on several days throughout the month at the CCSN Cheyenne campus, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave.

Teamsters win round in health insurance battle: CARSON CITY -- Teamsters Local 14 in Las Vegas has won a round in its fight to lure state workers to sign up with the union's health insurance plan.

McDonald recall group says signature total reached: Erin Neff; Residents attempting to recall Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald from office say they obtained the required number of signatures Monday night.

NLV Golf course owner ready to try again on gaming permit: Diana Sahagun; After a month's delay, the owners of the Craig Ranch Golf Course will appear before the North Las Vegas Planning Commission Wednesday to ask for a gaming permit -- this time with the necessary paperwork in hand.

LV mall, tenant sued by builder: In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Nevada Building & Development Corp. sued Caviar Royal LLC and Beluga Bar's manager, Barry Katcher, to foreclose on the Beluga Bar, alleging it defaulted on "payments for supervision, overhead profits and scope of work payments due based on the percentage of work completed at the time of billing."

Editorial: Remove disparity in testing: Students taking the reading portion of the exam in October had to get at least 82.4 percent of the questions right in order to have passed. Yet one year earlier, in October 1999, the passing score was 74.5 percent instead. Such a significant change obviously troubles students and parents. Clark County School District officials also expressed their uneasiness with this testing method during a state Board of Education meeting last week. "I've never particularly liked having to worry about scale scores," Leonard Paul, the school district's assistant superintendent of secondary education, said. "It causes more anxiety for everyone involved." State ...

City hopes for big bang with big New Year's Eve: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced Monday that fireworks will be fired from 14 sites above a four-mile stretch, from the Mandalay Bay casino-resort on the south to downtown's Fremont Street Experience.

Editorial: Drug treatment plan is important: The program will take nonviolent state prisoners with substance abuse problems -- and who are within two years of their release -- and place them under the control of the local drug courts. There the inmates will receive intense counseling, training and drug testing. If, for any reason, the inmates don't follow the rules, they can be sent back to prison immediately. Lehman notes that in the local drug court system already in place only 14 percent of those who graduate from the program end up becoming repeat offenders. Lehman adds that this percentage is far less than those who ...

Nevada on verge of having first home-grown attorneys: Jeffrey Libby; Grad facts

Local news briefs for December 12, 2000: Repairs to UNLV's intramural sports field began Monday after the National Finals Rodeo left Las Vegas.

Rodriguez signs record 10-year, $252 million deal with Rangers: Ronald Blum; A-ROD, TEXAS RANGER

Obituaries for December 12, 2000: Karen Jean Batemon, 42, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in Las Vegas. She was born Aug. 31, 1958, in Newark, N.J. A resident for more than 25 years, she was a cook.

Vegas stores ready for last-minute shoppers: Jennifer Prosser; The Forum Shops at Caesars and the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian will observe their normal hours of 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This is great news for those in a pinch. The Desert Passage at the Aladdin will alter its hours to 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Each mall has more then 100 stores and the selection of merchandise is plentiful.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Matter of perspective: TWO FUNERALS, a wedding and an election. Sounds like a movie.

Travel agency commissions cut: The Dallas-based carrier, the busiest airline at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, will pay an 8 percent commission on ticketless transactions issued by travel agencies and 5 percent on paper tickets.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Bayno fired in stunning move today: Dean Juipe; Never in anyone's wildest dreams, or nightmares, was it expected that Bill Bayno would be fired -- as he was today -- as an outgrowth of the UNLV basketball program's troubles with the NCAA.

Suit targets Nevada electoral votes: All electors nationwide cast their ballots the same day.

Still time to bid in Sun auction: It's not too late to bid on the merchandise in the annual Las Vegas Sun Holiday Auction benefitting the Shade Tree Shelter.

District may get 6 magnet schools: Terry Webster; Six new magnet schools -- among them an advanced academic program for elementary and middle schools -- may come to the Clark County School District, depending upon the success of a federal grant application.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Ms. Hearts N Arrows - Flores rides Baffert horse, draws good post for sprint opener, dangerous combo for maiden-claimer. Search For Triple - Training at Anita, draws just inside top pick, Nakatani on Lukas horse. Value Play -- Sabulous

Wells Fargo to ban cards for Internet gambling: David Strow; Nevada's largest bank is moving to prohibit its customers from using Visa and MasterCard accounts for Internet gambling.

Letter: Hand count only way to ensure votes recorded: Forget the automatic machine recount. It is over and done with. I am talking about a hand count that tries to pick up votes the machines missed for various reasons. It seems to me the paramount issue here is upholding the right to have your cast vote recorded.

State casino win up modestly; LV locals market strong: Cy Ryan and David Strow; Nevada casinos showed modest gains in October, as winnings rose 1.98 percent to $811.2 million, the state Gaming Control Board reported today.

Website sued over Golden Nugget name: MGM MIRAGE owns the Golden Nugget hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas.

Lawmakers order audit of UNLV library: CARSON CITY -- The Legislative Commission Monday ordered an audit to find out what went wrong on the construction of the Lied Library at UNLV, which is behind schedule and plagued with cost overruns.

County strips employees of emergency vehicles: Adrienne Packer; Nearly half of the Clark County vehicles assigned to employees for 24-hour emergency use were deemed unnecessary by an administrative committee that interviewed department heads in the last month.

UNLV signs high school star from Phoenix: King was named all-conference and all-region last season in Arizona while helping her team to the state playoffs. Her high school team was ranked nationally in the preseason top 10.

Judge: Del Papa required to allow deposition on tape: Kim Smith; Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa will be required to submit to a videotaped deposition, but only those involved in the lawsuit against her will have access to the tape.

Corrections: Corrections

Former UNLV interim police chief receives promotion: UNLV Police Chief Jose Elique has promoted to lieutenant a woman who at one point this year ran the beleaguered department while a national search was conducted to find a permanent leader.

Exec predicts a revival of nuclear power: A top nuclear power executive says the industry is on the verge of a renaissance, whether or not a permanent high-level radioactive waste repository is built.

LV gaming, real estate operator in settlement: Executives with a Canadian company with substantial retail and gaming interests in Las Vegas said they expect a rival to acquire a greater stake in the company after raising its takeover offer.

Guinn offers glimpse at $3.7 billion state budget: CARSON CITY -- Foster parents may be getting more money, there will probably be pay raises for state workers and university faculty but not for schoolteachers and there will be renovations in the state park system.

Wright attitude: Victoria Sun; While much of America celebrated the success of the St. Louis Rams' victory over the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 Super Bowl, Las Vegas Outlaws safety Toby Wright couldn't bring himself to join the party.

Reid joins effort to create public shooting range: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has formally joined the effort to create a public shooting range for Southern Nevada gun owners.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Taking a new twist on Dickens: The Center Stage Inc. production of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" won't be the most traditional version people have seen.

Triple-A World Series won't be played in 2001: For the past three seasons, the champions of the International League have played the champions of the Pacific Coast League at Las Vegas' Cashman Field.

Columnist Kate Maddox: Sahara hopes to keep Pack men: Kate Maddox; Even if he's on the outs with the cast of "The Rat Pack is Back," David Cassidy still has some business decisions to make regarding the future of the tribute show.

Federal appeals court doesn't buy argument of Las Vegas' 'wig bandit': CARSON CITY -- A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of the so-called "wig bandit," who claims he was framed in the robbery of three Las Vegas banks within two months in 1998.