Print edition for January 19, 2000

Opposite tactics pursued by big holders of Las Vegas chemical company shares: David Strow; One of American Pacific Corp.'s largest shareholders has unloaded more than half of its stake in the company, seven months after it said it was trying to force a sale of the Las Vegas-based chemical company.

Software giant's stock drops on quarterly earnings report: REDMOND, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp. shares dropped sharply this morning after the software giant reported slowing growth in sales of its flagship Windows operating program and partly tied stronger profits to a big increase in investment income.

Federation of Women's Clubs moves to LV: The General Federation of Women's Clubs of Nevada will hold its chartering ceremony of the GFWC Desert Community Woman's Club 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25, at the Green Valley Library, 2792 N. Green Valley Parkway, in Henderson.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Sordid tale nears legal conclusion: Dean Juipe; He was a beautiful racehorse, a magnificent creature.

Colliers marketing 3,200 acres near Blue Diamond community: Phil Levine; Brokers at Colliers International hope to convert 3,200 acres of sand and rock into Las Vegas' western-most oasis of development.

Governor reports campaign donations: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn, who collected $6.1 million to finance his run for governor, raised an additional $272,756 in the final three months of 1999, which will be used to pay off campaign debts.

Community news briefs for January 19, 2000: A reception to launch two new computer programs at the A.D. Guy Education Center, 817 N. N St., will be held 6-7 p.m. today.

Wild horse slaughter continues: Jace Radke; An anonymous phone call has led U.S. Forest Service investigators to three more slaughtered horses near Lee Canyon, bringing the total number of animals shot and killed during the past two months to nine.

Desert Inn buyer to go private: Sun International Hotels Ltd., the resort operator buying the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, said today its controlling shareholders have offered to buy the 47 percent of the company they don't already own for $378.7 million.

Where have all the students gone?: Victoria Sun; Here are the average student-body attendance figures over recent years at Rebel basketball games:

Presidential candidates duck nuke waste issue: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Most of the candidates for president have ducked the issue of burying the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Broken foot sidelines Kelly: Victoria Sun; Perhaps UNLV basketball player Lou Kelly should invest in a four-leaf clover, rabbit's foot or another good luck charm of his choice.

Builder plans national ad campaign: The company, which has three Sun City communities in the Las Vegas area, will advertise in Modern Maturity, Reader's Digest, Time, Newsweek, New Choices and Better Homes and Gardens magazines. Television ads initially will run in Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles with more cities to be announced in late 2000.

Planning Commission faced with feline frenzy over zoning variance: The Clark County Planning Commission hosted a cat fight Tuesday night.

LV real estate firm laying off 33 workers: Chief Executive Officer James Saxton said the cuts were necessary in order to improve the company's operating performance.

Dog killer to be dealt another blow for crime: Keith Paul; A Clark County corrections officer, who already has to work 400 hours in an animal shelter as part of his guilty plea in the November shooting of his neighbor's dog, now faces punishment from Metro Police.

Land costs beginning to squeeze LV retailers: Phil Levine; A shortage of affordable land -- coupled with continued population and economic growth -- may lead to tougher times for Las Vegas retailers trying to find affordable locations.

Judge rejects Gaule's motion to dismiss: Bill Gang; Unhappy with his lawyer and a felony conviction for chasing and shooting an intruder at his home, Thomas Gaule had filed a motion to dismiss the criminal charge of voluntary manslaughter with the use of a deadly weapon.

Harrah's, Boyd in tribal gaming deals: David Strow; Two Las Vegas Strip casino operators separately announced plans Tuesday to pursue development of tribal casinos in huge population centers on opposite sides of the country.

Rebel football banquet tickets still available: A no-host reception will be held at 7 p.m. with dinner and an awards presentation starting at 7:30 in the Four Seasons Ball Room.

Hendershott steps down as Rebel women's soccer coach: Hendershott, the first and only coach the team has known since UNLV added the program, led the Rebels to a 15-21-1 record in her two seasons, including an 8-10 mark in 1998 that earned the squad a No. 3 ranking among best new programs in the country by Soccer Buzz magazine.

Local tax will help with school repairs in Ely: The increase is required as the county's match for state funds approved by the Nevada Legislature for school district with unsafe schools and no money to fix them.

Reno police make vice sweep: A separate alcohol enforcement effort resulted in citations for 16 bars, taverns and liquor stores for illegal alcohol sales to minors.

Thursday at Aqueduct: 1st race 1-1/16 mi 3YO Fil Mdn Clm: 1 Won Me Over (Gryder) 119; 2 Senorita Diablo (Aguilar) 119; 3 Executioness (Castillo) 119; 4 Mary Nation (Husbands) 119; 5 Here Comes Katie (Gutierrez) 112; 6 Mary'sdixiemelody (Bridgmohan) 119; 7 Speedy Reflection (Luzzi) 119; 8 La Carol's Star (Rocco) 114; 9 Sexy Legs (Lovato) 119; 10 Wee Little Lass (Vergara) 119; 11 Anjiz Princess (Beckner) 119; 12 New Music (Arroyo) 114.

O'Connell collects nearly $90,000 for state Senate race: Other reports from state lawmakers included:

Nevadans seeking lunar eclipse may see satellite flare: Scott Sonner; The satellite in a low orbit around the Earth should flare at 6:08 p.m. PST, about two-thirds of the way up the northeast sky.

Columnist J. Freedom du Lac: We deserve real taste of San Francisco: The streets of San Francisco may soon extend to Las Vegas.

Rosie O'Donnell hosts Reno couple: The couple is scheduled to appear on the broadcast at 5 p.m., on the Fox Network, KRXI Channel 11 in Reno.

Longtime advocate for the blind, Council dies at 89: It was nearly impossible for Ella Council not to develop a strong work ethic early in life.

Harrah's announces plans for tribal casino in Southern California: Harrah's Entertainment said Tuesday it has signed a letter of intent with the Rincon San Luiseno Band of Mission Indians to develop and operate a $100 million casino project north of San Diego.

Investigators find three more wild horses shot to death near Vegas: Federal investigators said a veterinarian confirmed that the three horses were shot to death about the same time as the others.

Reno and Washoe firefighters to join: Supporters say it would save local tax payers about $1.6 million a year.

Columnist Peter Benton: Four new names head Hall ballot: Peter Benton; Four new candidates -- Fred Couples, David Frost, Corey Pavin and Gil Morgan -- are among the 39 players listed on the PGA Tour/Senior PGA Tour World Golf Hall of Fame ballot.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Holmes' show at Harrah's unveiled with splashy party: Elizabeth Foyt; Harrah's celebrated the arrival of its new star, Clint Holmes, with sparkling opening-night festivities. Invited guests enjoyed Holmes' "Takin' It Uptown" show in Harrah's main showroom, an evening filled with Holmes' masterful voice and the 12 talented singer-musicians who appear on stage throughout the show.

Preservationists ask to cancel federal court hearing aimed at saving Mapes: Scott Sonner; In a surprising move 11 days before the scheduled implosion, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Reno-based Truckee Meadows Heritage Trust directed their lawyers to withdraw a request for a hearing Friday before U.S. District Judge David Hagen.

Letter: Petition is effort to discriminate: The supporters of this extremist initiative intend to use it to polarize and divide our state. They want a legal forum to create an atmosphere of fear and intolerance as part of their agenda for our society. We cannot permit our state constitution to be used for such a purpose.

Columnist Jon Ralston: Pettiness again takes center stage at City Hall: Downtown redevelopment is at a crossroads, and growth-related conundrums are multiplying. So were these the pressing issues that catalyzed the first post-millennial imbroglio at City Hall, that monument to vision and creativity?

Thursday at Bay Meadows: 1st race 6 fur 4YO & up Clm: 1 Milling Around (Lopez) 117; 2 Victory Chant (Castanon) 117; 3 Seek a Bargain (Tohill) 117; 4 Classical Slew (Gonzalez) 117; 5 Mr Sunsation (Alvarado) 117; 6 Activate Battle (Radke) 112.

Columnist Victoria Sun: Caring coach helps Bonanza's Monteiro secure a scholarship: Victoria Sun; Once local teaching pro Jim Bullard saw Bonanza High School senior Autumn Monteiro swing a golf club a few times, he knew she had a lot of talent.

Obituaries for January 19, 2000: Maria Luisa Alonzo, 64, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Las Vegas. She was born June 21, 1935, in Havana. A resident for two years, she was a retail saleswoman and a seamstress at the Venetian hotel-casino.

Devilish Angelina: Joshua Mooney; LOS ANGELES -- In 1993, Susanna Kaysen published "Girl, Interrupted," her memoir of two harrowing years spent in a mental hospital as a teenager in the 1960s. The book was an instant best-seller, the kind of story that inevitably attracts the attention of Hollywood. Sure enough, soon after the book's publication, it was being turned into a feature film.

Elton John's Reno show is on: Elton John's Reno show is on

TRPA staff eases up on affordable housing issue: Brendan Riley; The bistate agency's staff proposed that its parent board find that Washoe and Douglas counties have "demonstrated a commitment to assume their fair-share responsibility" to provide low-income housing within their Tahoe Basin areas.

Editorial: President answers gun control critics: But instead of simply dismissing his critics -- and playing into their hands -- Clinton announced Tuesday that he would ask Congress for a $280 million funding increase to crack down on those who break gun laws. If the Republicans fail to find common ground with Clinton after his willingness to beef up enforcement, it will be evident that their opposition has been purely political and nothing more than a favor to a big contributor, the National Rifle Association.

Forbes list includes Harrah's: Forbes list includes Harrah's

Suicide of wounded car thief still a mystery: Police have identified the 21-year-old victim, an Hispanic man from Escondido, California. But they are withholding his name while they try to locate his family.

Cleanup of tainted soil could cost $25 million: The soil, from chemical ponds used by Henderson factories since World War II, will be moved to an old landfill in Black Mountain Industrial Park.

Laughlin SCORE race starts Thursday: The weekend festivities start with Thursday's extremely popular $25,000 Laughlin Leap and Pit Crew Showdown. The Pit Crew battle will begin at 5 p.m. at the Laughlin Special Events Stadium and will be followed by the Laughlin Leap.

Letter: Keyes stands out among candidates: AL DI CICCO

Attorney says Strohmeyer uncertain what happened: Robert Macy; A judge has ruled that Strohmeyer can testify regarding his claim that he was bullied by his former defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, into pleading guilty in the May 1997 slaying of Sherrice Iverson.

Thursday at Santa Anita: 1st race 1 mi 3YO Fil Clm: 1 Winning Genes (Espinoza) 118; 2 Erin's Reb (Flores) 118; 3 Tin Stein (Sorenson) 116; 4 Aly McBear (Pincay) 118; 5 Qui's Fair Lady (Jauregui) 118; 6 Gold N Black (Diaz) 109; 7 Kalihi Maggie (Nakatani) 118; 8 Born to Be Spoiled (Garcia) 118.

Columnist Jeff Haney: Bettors favor the Rams -- but not the 'over': The St. Louis Rams continue to be the darlings of the betting public this season, as evidenced by their 14-3 record against the point spread, their 9-0 mark against the number in home games and their latest cover -- Sunday's 49-37 win over the Minnesota Vikings, which also sailed over the 53-point total.

Letter: Keep Playboy where youngsters can't reach it: The answer is an obvious "no-brainer." Why can't these and other "adult rags" be kept with the piles of old newspapers and provided when requested by library patrons of legal age?

Editorial: Additive in gasoline stirs a fear: The 56,000-member American Water Works Association is calling on the Clinton administration to immediately address the cleanup of MTBE contamination and ways to prevent it in the future. "MTBE contamination presents a real and growing threat to the quality of our drinking water resources and public health," Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association, said Monday. The association of water users, which includes the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Las Vegas Valley Water District, is right to be concerned.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Discounts galore at Canal Shoppes: Locals have an incentive for shopping at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. Pick up one of the attractive coupon packets available at all of the gondola depots and receive coupons, said to be worth $600 in merchandise, services and entertainment -- you must be 18 or older and have a Nevada ID. The current vouchers are good through the last day of February. Stores rotate every two months.

Financier gains creditor support in bid to take over Sands: ATLANTIC CITY -- Financier Carl Icahn's reorganization plan for the bankrupt Sands casino in Atlantic City won some creditors' support over the rival proposal of Las Vegas-based Park Place Entertainment Corp.

Magazine gives high marks to Strip resort: The Venetian was listed among seven "best hotels for business travelers" in the January edition of "American Way," the in-flight magazine of American Airlines.

Key witness in multiple killings released: Bill Gang; Donte Johnson's ex-girlfriend no longer will have to spend her days on house arrest waiting for the day she will have to testify against him on charges he executed four young men during a robbery in 1998.

FBI agent may not run for Commissioner post: Togliatti, a Democrat, has raised less than $60,000 for the race while Malone, a Republican, has raised $371,700 and has another $44,251 on hand from a previous race.

Reid: India, Pakistan are a long way from peace: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Longtime rivals India and Pakistan are a long way from lasting peace and may continue nuclear weapons testing, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after returning from a 12-day trip to the countries.

Officer cleared in other shootings: Keith Paul; One of the Metro Police officers who shot a wanted Utah man after a car chase early Sunday has shot two other men in separate incidents -- both later ruled justified -- including one less than five months ago.

Plea agreement concerns judge: The agreement would require U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben to grant the defendants a departure from federal sentencing guidelines.

Downtown office building project gets extension: Erin Neff; A planned office building downtown was granted an extension to an exclusive development contract Tuesday in hopes that the once-scrapped project can compete with another building sweetened by city subsidies.

More snow in Sierra; avalanche warnings in effect: Chain controls were in effect early today on the Mount Rose Highway from Reno to Lake Tahoe as well as on State Highway 88 in California.

One dead, one wounded in probably shootout: Police were called to the scene late Tuesday night.

Business briefs: Andrea Gale, doing business as Silvergale Media & Marketing, sued Composite Power Corp. of Las Vegas, alleging she is owed an unspecified amount of money for public relations services.

Call for cops: Diana Sahagun; Some North Las Vegas residents believe an audit of the city's police department proves they were cheated out of a promise to put more officers on the street.

Attorney fighting receiver, state agency over Harmon case: But neither of John Netzorg's targets agree with his assessment.

Gabelli increases stake in LV company: A Securities and Exchange Commission filing indicates several funds controlled by Gabelli acquired 36,600 shares of Jackpot stock over the past two months, spending a total of $307,000. All but 5,000 shares were purchased in the last 10 days.

State OKs LV taxi fare hike: More medallions

News briefs: The Clark County coroner's office has identified the body of a man found dead at the bottom of a 40-foot drop in a desert area of Green Valley as an elderly man suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Shooting the third for Metro officer: Police have identified the officers involved as Robert Johnson, 39, and William Wilson, 29.

Guinn not up for election, but collects $250,000 in 1999: Brendan Riley; But most of the money Guinn raised last year, detailed in a report filed with the secretary of state's office Tuesday, will go to pay off campaign debts and personal loans that he made to the 1998 campaign.

Arbitrator: Caterpillar patented another company's diesel technology: At issue is a diesel blend known as PuriNox that Peoria-based Caterpillar has been marketing since August with a company called Lubrizol, a Cleveland-based supplier of chemicals for lubricants and fuels.

$25 million cleanup planned at LV Wash: About 1 million cubic yards of tainted soil from chemical ponds used by Henderson factories since World War II will be moved away from the Las Vegas Wash and buried next to an old landfill in Black Mountain Industrial Park.

High Court rejects appeal by prisoner on death row: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Tuesday rejected the appeal of death row inmate Michael J. Mulder, convicted of the beating of a 77-year-old man at his mobile home in Las Vegas in July 1996.

America West earnings fall: America West Holdings of Phoenix, parent of America West Airlines, the No. 2 carrier at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, today reported a lower quarterly profit.

2000 Auto racing schedules with 1999 results: Feb. 20 - Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla.

El Paso Energy in pact to buy company considering Nevada pipeline: Mark Babineck; It's not clear if the purchase would affect Coastal Corp.'s consideration of plans for a possible pipeline and power plant near Carlin, Nev.

Reno-based Sierra Pacific seeks approval for PGE acquisition: The merger would make Sierra Pacific one of the largest utilities on the West Coast with more than 1.7 million customers in Reno, Las Vegas and northwest Oregon.

Money-laundering suspects look to deal: Kim Smith; A Las Vegas couple indicted on money-laundering charges have entered a plea agreement guaranteeing them probation, but the federal judge presiding over the case may not accept the deal.

Reporter goes to work on troubled state welfare computer: Geoff Dornan; That was my welcome to the Nevada Operations Multi-Automated Data system, started in 1989 with a cost estimate of $23 million. Its $126 million cost in state and federal dollars by the end of 2000 makes it the most expensive project in Nevada state government history.

Defendant in child-sex case skips sentencing: Bill Gang; A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Las Vegas advertising man with a history of sexual misconduct involving children after he failed to appear for sentencing on a current case.

Some Nevadans thought test missile was a UFO: The interceptor missed its target and the Air Force is trying to figure out why.

Nevada Power rate hike issue is still unresolved: CARSON CITY -- Nevada Power Co. threatened but then backed off a plan to put a $40 million rate increase into effect without permission of the state Public Utilities Commission.

Strohmeyer to get rehearing in slaying: Bill Gang; Jeremy Strohmeyer, who pleaded guilty to killing 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson, will return to Las Vegas to testify about the events leading to the plea bargain that put him in prison for life.

New Orleans casino revenue drops to $14.8 million in state police audit: Alan Sayre; But there were different interpretations over an estimated $1.69 million collected on New Year's Eve, but not included in the report as a precaution against possible Y2K computer problems that night.

Cash set aside for fluoridation despite protests: Adrienne Packer; Despite protests from opponents of the state's fluoridation bill and the Las Vegas Valley Water District board's own reservations, nearly a half million dollars was put aside Tuesday for the purchase of fluoride.

Regents cost-cutting measure may trample Open Meetings law: She said support material will be available for review at the libraries of the state's two universities and four community colleges as well as the Reno and Las Vegas system administration offices.

One man dead in shootout: Keith Paul; Two young men apparently had a shootout in a West Charleston Boulevard apartment complex late Tuesday, leaving one man dead and the other injured, Metro Police said.

Harter withdraws bid for South Florida job: Jace Radke; UNLV President Carol Harter decided being a Rebel is better than being a Bull, she's just not telling why.

Defendant sent to juvenile hall: Bill Gang; A shroud of secrecy has been draped over the murder case of 15-year-old Conan Pope, who faces charges as an adult that he shot his father to death.