Print edition for February 21, 2000

Sixth San Francisco flight added: The airline announced it will add a sixth flight March 16 between San Francisco International Airport and McCarran International Airport on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Rebels softball team finishes 4-1 in tournament: Rebels softball team finishes 4-1 in tournament

Backers defend plan; opponents will appeal: Boyd Gaming Corp. President Don Snyder says the proposed casino is 1,000 feet from the nearest apartment complex and 1,800 feet from the nearest neighborhood of homes. That's far in excess of the 500 feet called for by state law.

Bricks from foul line sink Bandits: Victoria Sun; There were plenty of opportunities for the Las Vegas Silver Bandits to pull within one game of the division-leading St. Louis Swarm and avenge the previous day's loss.

UNLV swimming teams second in MWC: The women finished the championships with 667.50 points, 48 points behind Brigham Young. The men finished 131 points behind BYU.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Auto racing mystifies its detractors: Dean Juipe; An ad during Sunday's telecast of the Daytona 500 spoke volumes without saying a word.

Problem gambling scars small-town families: David Crary; LAKESIDE, Mont. -- Bob and Robin Cook are empty nesters in their handsome hillside home, with a daughter off at college and an older son in Colorado. The younger son, Rann, lives nearby: They see him during visiting hours at the Flathead County Jail.

Sports book operator ordered to pay $2 million to adviser: The jury in Las Vegas found Thursday that Leroy's Horse and Sports Place, a subsidiary of American Wagering, breached a written contract with Chicago businessman Michael Racusin. The jury found Racusin was entitled to receive $2.03 million in American Wagering stock, plus $150,000 cash.

Kenny shows up at meeting, causes a stir: Adrienne Packer; Clark County staff members say they felt uneasy and intimidated when a county commissioner showed up at a meeting to lobby for a developer's project.

Phone company expansion picks up speed: Rochester, N.Y.-based Mpower Communications Corp. plans to offer its communications services using high-speed, high-capacity Digital Subscriber Line technology to business customers in the 50 largest metropolitan areas of the country.

Longtime banker and civic leader, Sullivan dies at 60: Jace Radke; The former chairman of Valley Bank of Nevada was a major fund-raiser for many Southern Nevada charities, including the Nevada Catholic Welfare Bureau, Variety Club and Bluecoats Inc.

Daytona 500 Winners List: 1960-Junior Johnson

Two sides of Murphy shown: Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com.

Prep playoff results, schedules: 4A SUNRISE REGION TOURNAMENT

Firm reports big position in gaming concern: The company reported holdings of 12.56 million shares, or 9.8 percent of Harrah's outstanding stock. It was the first filing by Putnam.

Witness sought in Tabish alibi plot: Homicide detectives want to question a man identified as "Ishma" in the reported plot by murder defendant Rick Tabish to pay off alibi witnesses in Ted Binion's slaying.

IBL box: St. Louis-Las Vegas: ST. LOUIS (24-10)

Alternatives to school construction offered: Terry Webster; The Clark County School District needs creativity and vision more than earthmovers and carpenters to accommodate the rapid growth in Southern Nevada, according to Gerald Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals in Reston, Va.

Community news briefs for February 21, 2000: KWNR 95.5-FM will host its eighth annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon on Thursday and Friday and will broadcast live from the Boulevard Mall.

Shovels symbolize Elko County antagonism toward feds: David Foster and Scott Sonner; ELKO -- This story can be told the cowboy way: How local folk, bullied for years by the biggest landlord in town, finally seized control of what they believed was rightfully theirs.

Two-time champion Cimarron shows no signs of slowing down: Spencer Patterson; As Cimarron-Memorial's Chris Harris came off the mat following his 135-pound final in Saturday's state wrestling tournament, the Spartan senior was overcome by unexpected mixed emotions.

Man indicted in stolen boxing contracts case: Bill Gang; The theft of contracts for boxing matches involving some of the biggest names in the sport -- which later were marketed as sports memorabilia -- has resulted in the indictment of a Las Vegas man.

Shootings leave two Vegas teens dead in two days: Jace Radke; For the second time in two days, a teenager has died after being shot in a drive-by shooting.

Perkins wins heat, feature on LVMS dirt track: Perkins won his heat race and then took the early lead in the 20-lap feature race. He held the point through the caution-filled race to earn his first win in 2000.

Upcoming business events for February 21, 2000: Nevada Sub-Contractors Association -- Meeting with speaker Michael Montandon, mayor of North Las Vegas. Friday. 435-1908.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Lukas puts together a winning weekend: Ralph Siraco; Team Lukas is at it again.

Fund reports stake in resort operator: The company, one of the largest mutual fund operators in the United States, reported holdings of 12.25 million shares in a Feb. 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is the first ownership filing by Fidelity.

LV homebuilders in merger: Lennar is the fifth largest homebuilder in America, while U.S. Home is the nation's eighth largest homebuilder. Both companies will continue to build homes under their respective names.

Flooding reported after steady rainfall: Winter slammed into Southern Nevada today with steady rain pounding city streets and snow falling in the Spring Mountains west of the Las Vegas Valley, launching a series of storms that could continue all week.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway results: Half-mile dirt oval

Winter storm pounds Vegas: Flooding was reported on many city streets, and the Charleston Underpass west of Main Street was closed after it was swamped at dawn, the National Weather Service said. With today a federal holiday, many people stayed home and no one was trapped in the flooded underpass, which had reached almost 12 feet of water by midmorning.

Obituaries for February 21, 2000: Alfred F. Adams, 56, of Spring Creek died Saturday in Spring Creek. He was born April 5, 1943, in Arkansas. A resident of Nevada for 52 years, he was a retired North Las Vegas Police Department officer with 28 1/2 years of service.

Local news briefs for February 21, 2000: A Las Vegas man was found shot to death this morning in front of an apartment complex in North Las Vegas, and now police are trying to identify the men seen running away from the area.

Bank, finance salaries rising amid worker shortage in LV: Phil Levine; Assets are up, the stock market is booming and the Las Vegas economy is on track for another record year.

Historic grants sought for six county projects: CARSON CITY -- The state Commission for Cultural Affairs has been besieged with $8.7 million in requests to preserve historical structures -- including Kiel Ranch and the Boulder Dam Hotel in Southern Nevada -- but the commission has just $2.1 million to hand out.

UNLV faces tough task trying to halt Utes: Steve Addy; SALT LAKE CITY -- ESPN is showing tonight's game as part of Big Monday, but for UNLV and Utah, it's more like Mental Health Monday.

Busch has eventful start in truck series: The week didn't start well for Kurt Busch, and it nearly turned disastrous midway through Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

Abuse allegations against "Millionaire" groom cause Fox to scrap rebroadcast: The cancellation was ordered by Fox Television Network chairman Sandy Grushow.

High school jam: Terry Webster; It's rush hour at Silverado High School. Better fasten your seat belt.

Slot maker holding reported: Wagner Asset Management L.P. reported holdings of 635,000 shares, or 5.3 percent, of Anchor's stock in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was the first such filing by Wagner.

Flooding closes riverboat: The floating casino was closed early Saturday because floodwater debris might strike the hydraulic system that raises and lowers a ramp linking the boat with the shore. The boat wasn't expected to re-open until sometime today.

Medical condition may have led to fiery fatal, authorities say: Sandra Chereb; The Sunday accident was the third fatal wreck in northern Nevada in three days.

Honeymoon ends for 'Multimillionaire': Ben Fox; Rockwell, 42, returned from his Caribbean honeymoon Sunday night without his new wife, Darva Conger, 34, as Fox TV announced it was canceling a rebroadcast of the show after learning he was accused of hitting and threatening to kill the ex-girlfriend in 1991.

Tahoe resorts report bustling business over long holiday weekend: Sandra Chereb; "We had a great weekend," Monica Bandows, spokeswoman at Heavenly Ski Resort on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, said Monday.

Letter: Candidates need real campaign finance ideas: The second fallacy is their fear of the unions. While complaining about workers not having a say in union advocacy, they ignore the fact that church members have no say in the expenditure of the Christian Coalition to support the Religious Right and the Republicans. Nor do they mention that corporate stockholders have no say in who get political action committee or corporate contributions.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Have some luck with 'Nyuk-Nyuk': A friend made a curious announcement the other day: "I hit three Curlys and won $60."

Like Mississippi's Choctaw Band, Native Americans seeking ways to expand economic foundation: Matt Moore; The casino, an island of entertainment in a sea of rolling hills and woodlands, has been the fulcrum of growth for the Choctaw Indians.

Letter: Elaborate machines have their perils: Unfortunately for an airplane, when the damn thing breaks, one cannot just simply "pull over" to look to see what the problem is. In most cases, the one who drives the airplane is not the one who repairs the airplane. Up in the air, when something mechanical stops, gravity takes over. Gravity, not being electro-mechanical, has no breakdowns.

Former Players Lake Charles consultant to testify in Edwards trial: Natalie Gott; Edwards, his son, Stephen, state Sen. Greg Tarver and four others are accused of manipulating the state's riverboat casino licensing process. Their trial started Jan. 10.

All the trimmings: Neighborhood barbershops have always been popular places to learn about current events.

Letter: Billboards invite gaming opposition: A public relations person hired by anti-gambling forces to give their crusade a boost would surely lose little time in posing two such children in front of that billboard.

UNLV institute director resigns after flawed study: Vince Juaristi left the University of Nevada, Las Vegas last week and was en route to a new job in Washington, D.C.

Teen dies of injuries suffered in shooting: Samuel Larios, 17, died Saturday morning, several hours after he was shot in the head.

Shetler to testify this week in Edwards trial: Natalie Gott; Spectators say the smile is for good reason because Edwards has not been directly linked with working out a deal with anyone or physically accepting money from anyone.

Editorial: Extended patent hurts consumers: Regrettably the New Jersey pharmaceutical company that makes Claritin, Schering-Plough, is acting like a big, bad bully. The company has been flexing its considerable political muscle in an attempt to convince Congress to extend its patent on the drug for three years beyond its 2002 expiration date. But as the Sun's Benjamin Grove reported, an extension of the patent would cost consumers as much as $3.4 billion because it would deprive them of generic medications.

Vegas gets $2.6 million in eminent domain case: Attorney James Leavitt said the jury gave the award to Lawrence and Janet Doull following a four-day trial.

Possible Las Vegas-California train closer to reality: Now, after 17 years of discussions and off-again, on-again negotiations, the project may be moving one step closer to reality. The project is one of seven being considered as a national prototype, with the government dangling a $950 million carrot for the project.