Print edition for February 20, 2000

The Dominator of Daytona: Jarrett wins 500: Mike Harris; Defending Winston Cup champ Dale Jarrett won his third Daytona 500 in eight years, passing surprise contender Johnny Benson for the lead four laps from the end.

Casino plan puts secretive family into spotlight: A secretive and powerful family that controls a worldwide development empire, including some of the largest and most well-known malls in North America, has quietly been acquiring an extensive real estate portfolio in the Las Vegas Valley.

Columnist Kate Maddox: Murphy moves to Regency Towers: Kate Maddox; With the trial just weeks away, Ted Binion murder suspect Sandy Murphy is hoping a new address will help her keep her distance from the press and the public eye.

Editorial: NLV gets it right on ambulance issue: If local government decides that private companies are better suited to provide certain essential services, it makes sense to permit competition as long the public is not adversely affected. Open competition is good for consumers because it often leads to lower prices and greater efficiency.

Gordon's bad run keeps on running: Dick Brinster; Except this time the defending Daytona 500 champion was way back in the field, not up front by himself.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Conditions are problem for nurses: Theresa Morrow says not to believe the hype.

Nine Democratic county chairs support Gore: The eight other chairs haven't publicly endorsed a candidate yet in the race.

Columnist Sandra Thompson: Program helps parents give infants best care: Sandra Thompson; The weeks-old baby cried and cried. The father was trying to study in the next room; the mother was at work.

Road rage shooter sought by police: No injuries were reported in either incident.

Getting what they want: Steve Kanigher and Erin Neff; When Republic Silver State Disposal won lengthy garbage contract extensions last year worth billions of dollars, it was merely the latest example of the local company getting what it wants.

Citizens Mortgage to close last offices: But in a January interview with the Gardnerville Record-Courier, company executive vice president James W. Gibbs Jr. cited a slump in home-loan refinancing due to higher interest rates.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Power shift continues: No matter how you cut it, when all is said and done about legislative reapportionment by the 2001 Nevada Legislature, northern and rural areas will have less power. When the 2000 Census is completed, almost 69 percent of the state's population will be in Clark County. This is a jump from the almost 62 percent of the state's population reflected in the 1990 Census.

Columnist Jeff German: Mattsen's window to strike deal is closing: It's crunch time for David Mattsen.

Repeat DUI offender may be free by 2003: Colfer has at least three prior felony DUI convictions.

Letter: Sports betting ban would be mistake: I would like to remind the NCAA of another stupid mistake in lawmaking in our past history -- remember Prohibition? I always thought that we were educated by the mistakes we made; could I be wrong?

Morales escapes with split decision: Tim Dahlberg; Morales escaped a bruising fight and a 12th-round knockdown to beat Barrera by a split decision and add the WBO version of the 122-pound title to the WBC crown he brought into the ring.

Internet ads unlock cell doors: Kim Smith; Shannon Grillo's personal ad doesn't give her measurements. It also doesn't mention her favorite color, her sexual fantasies or her description of the perfect man.

Of bull trout and bulldozers: Nevadans' ire spooks federal workers: David Foster and Scott Sonner; Or it can be told the government way: How veiled threats and naked hostility have made northeastern Nevada one of the toughest spots in America to be a federal employee.

Columnist Jon Ralston: Welcome to Las Vegas, but why are you here?: Or imagine arriving at Disneyland only to come face-to-face with a billboard emblazoned with this admonition: "What are you doing here? Legoland is much better."

Charges reduced for defendants in Carson City murder: Fondi took the action at the request of defense lawyers, who said the first-degree murder charge should not be applied to the case.

Editorial: AG records should be unsealed: That is one of the reasons why we urge Clark County District Judge James Mahan to grant a motion from the Sun and KLAS Channel 8 to unseal documents that may show that the Nevada attorney general's office secretly probed gaming regulators. We believe the motion, scheduled for a Thursday hearing, must be approved because the public has a compelling right to know whether our dominant industry is being properly regulated.

Letter: Let D.C. know to correct 'notch': The Social Security "notch" was created in 1977 when Congress revised the computation formula for Social Security benefits. This took vital benefits from those of us who were unfortunate to have been born between 1917 and 1926. This discrepancy will continue until we do something about it. Remember this is an election year. Reid can only do so much. He has been trying for a long time.

Letter: System is unfair to witness in Zane Floyd case: Now she can't work. That leads to an outcall service. That leads to Zane Floyd who beats, rapes and brutalizes her. That leads to her being a material witness in Floyd's murder trial and all the legal pressures that go with it. That leads to her being a fugitive wanted by the law. That leads to her return (voluntarily) when she finds out she's wanted. That leads to her being thrown in jail where she now sits.

Reno officer arrested for drunken driving: Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jeff Bowers said Mussell was northbound on Highway 395 near Mill Street when his pickup slammed into the rear of a vehicle ahead of him.

School district settles wrongful termination case: Her lawsuit claims former cafeteria manager Johanna Albrecht was the one who identified students enrolled in the federally funded, free-lunch program.

Paul Laxalt's now a writer - but keeping his day job: Brendan Riley; He's just finished "Nevada's Paul Laxalt - a Memoir," 393 pages about his youth and rapid rise to political prominence in Nevada, his years as a U.S. senator, Ronald Reagan confidante, presidential aspirant and, now, legal adviser and lobbyist.