Print edition for July 3, 2000

Ordinance would close car dealers on Sundays: Adrienne Packer; Clark County residents can spend their Sundays tugging at slot machines, bellying up to bars or even ducking into a cabaret for a quick show.

Shoen family fight erupts over Las Vegas hotel: In a June 28 lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court, companies controlled by Samuel Shoen, Michael Shoen and Cecilia Shoen Hanlon requested a freeze on the distribution of all assets from the auction of the World Trade Center, now scheduled for Sept. 14. The plaintiffs also requested a freeze on $1.3 million they claim is held by Amerco Entrepreneurial Institute Inc., the current owner of the property. Leonard Shoen was president of AEI.

Las Vegas is ripe for ATM swindles: Greg Tuttle; Three years ago Esther Bader and her longtime friend and roommate, Irene Taub, thought they had found a safe way to make a little money by investing in automated teller machines.

Ex-UNLV tennis star Smith triumphs in Calif. tourney: Smith, who won the 1997 NCAA singles and doubles titles, is attempting to regain his form after years of physical setbacks and health problems.

Last-minute legal wrangling fails to save video gambling in S. Carolina: Dan Lewerenz; COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A prominent South Carolina video gambling operator kept an ace up his sleeve but despite the last-minute legal maneuvers, the high-stakes battle ended with the industry folding.

Venetian marks first anniversary: Robert Macy; Gondoliers and minstrels sang Italian favorites and thousands of tourists gawked as actress Sophia Loren paid a return visit to the Las Vegas Strip's Venetian resort Saturday night.

Burger King, Bellagio team up to give offenders a chance at jobs: Angie Wagner; Darrell Hankins knew he was wasting his life. He was dealing drugs, belonged to a gang and had fathered four children by four different mothers.

Proponents say casinos would create 15,000 jobs: Few job hunters turned out Saturday in Little Rock, Ark. for the Arkansas Casino Corp.'s sixth and final job fair held across the state.

Teachers fire back as new allegations emerge: Terry Webster; As a group of Robert E. Lake Elementary teachers rally against her, a former fourth grade teacher is now alleging she witnessed cheating on standardized tests in her own classroom last year.

Obituaries for July 3, 2000: Vincent J. D'Amico, 85, of Henderson died Saturday in a local hospital. He was born Sept. 14, 1914, in Chicago. A resident for two years, he was a retired supervisor at a sheet metal factory and a member of Knights of Columbus.

Charges may hinder plans for charter school in LV: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A man planning a charter school for Las Vegas is involved in two financial controversies with his fledgling charter school in Washington, D.C.

Las Vegas news briefs for July 3, 2000: The Department of Justice will award Nevada more than $2.6 million to help support the crime-victim compensation program.

Dean of medical school plans to increase professional base: Aaron Clemens; We've got a problem, and he wants to solve it.

Southern Nevadans join Shovel Brigade: A handful of Las Vegas Valley residents are traveling to Elko County today to join Shovel Brigade members who plan to reclaim a tiny, dirt forest road outside of Jarbidge.

Land sales will help environment: When Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt comes to Las Vegas on Wednesday to announce protection for sensitive lands in Nevada, a local committee's recommendations on critical wetlands and mountain habitat will top his list.

Companies square off in bid for Yucca contract: Ed Koch and Mary Manning; The battle lines have been drawn on Yucca Mountain as two companies that have long held the major contract are splitting up and have formed other alliances to secure a $3.1 billion, five-year pact to design and build a nuclear waste dump.

Players burn the race card: Victoria Sun; Bill Duffy and Lee Fentress are powerful agents responsible for negotiating multimillion dollar contracts for professional athletes.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Fryatt, May in position for tour win: Dean Juipe; It's a streak that has now run 10 years without interruption and it withstood another test Sunday.

Pollution control plan offered by power plant: The EPA estimates that the plant releases more than 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxide a year, one of the largest sources of that pollutant in the West.

Barstow wants visitors to get their kicks at Route 66 museum: Chelsea J. Carter; BARSTOW, Calif. -- Gloria Darling ran her hand across black and white pictures, reliving childhood memories of her travels on Route 66.

Lawmakers to reconsider marijuana laws: CARSON CITY -- While the 2001 Legislature doesn't start for seven months, there are already 242 requests for bills to be drafted, including one to make possession of small amounts of marijuana in some circumstances a lesser crime than a felony.

Fed panel to pick train projects: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A finalized proposal to build a high-speed train between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif., is now in the hands of the National Railroad Administration.

Jack Binion found unfit to hold a gaming license in Illinois: The Nevada Gaming Control Board will examine the report that led to Jack Binion's denial of a gaming license in Illinois to determine if action against Binion's Nevada license is warranted, a Nevada gaming regulator said today.

New Sprint talks reported: Deutsche Telekom already owns 10 percent of Sprint, and full acquisition would cost more than $120 billion.

Pension fund eyed for economic growth: Former Congresswoman Barbara Vucanovich was named a co-chairwoman of the campaign for passage of Question 1, a November ballot measure that would allow the state to invest in startup companies.

AG weighs in on airline mergers: Del Papa said that while the United-US Air deal alone may not have much affect in Nevada, it could lead to more mergers that could stifle competition.

Swedish builder opens LV office: Beers is a division of Skanska USA, which is among the Top 4 general contractors in the United States and is a subsidiary of an international construction and industrial group based in Sweden.

Holiday closings: * SAFETY: Police and fire emergency services as usual. Administrative offices closed.

Roskos' visit to 'the Show' ends with an early curtain: Steve Guiremand; A weekend in San Diego is not a bad way to beat the Las Vegas heat this time of year. But John Roskos was hoping he would get to spend a lot more of the summer enjoying the sea breezes of the Pacific Ocean.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Catch up with some of racing's biggest names: Ralph Siraco; While we're putting the coals on the grill and tuning in racing on the tube, we thought we would do a "Where Are They Now" list of horses we've been following as we march through the heart of summer on the way to the Breeders' Cup this fall.

Conviction returned in '96 killing: Kim Smith; Three and a half years after a native Cuban was gunned down in the parking lot of a Las Vegas restaurant, the man accused of driving the getaway car has been convicted.

Tuesday's horse racing entries: Post Time 1 p.m.

Nevada's largest wildfire of season still out of control: Martin Griffith; The Kelly Creek fire 200 miles northeast of Reno was the latest in a series of lightning-caused wildfires that have blackened more than 45,000 acres across northern Nevada over the last week.

Shovel Brigade gathers for rally to reopen disputed road in Nevada: Martin Griffith; The protesters spent Sunday night at a makeshift camp near Rogerson, Idaho, and were to be bussed today to nearby Jarbidge to begin reopening the washed-out road with shovels.

PCL Box: Buzz 10, Stars 7: E--Pierzynski, Milliard, Curl. DP--Salt Lake 2, Las Vegas 2. LOB--Salt Lake 13, Las Vegas 5. 2B--Mientkiewicz, Valdez, Buchanan, Pierzynski, Moriarity, Darr. HR--Milliard (3). S--Moriarity, Milliard 2. SB--Pierzynski.

6 injured in freak accident at carnival: The woman was listed in serious but stable condition at Washoe Medical Center.

LV airport among nation's busiest: The study, produced annually by Airports Council International, included 597 airports worldwide. The study ranked airports based on total landings and takeoffs by private and commercial planes.

Girl found day after leaving campsite: Search and Rescue personnel found Elizabeth Jones in the Macks Canyon area near state Route 156, about nine miles from where her family had been camping, according to Metro Police.

Letter: Nepotism not only in schools: Co-workers wonder whether they are being treated equally, paid equally, and given promotions and positions fairly. Yes, the federal government has rules against management influencing the hiring of relatives and friends, but BLM in Nevada is full of these "hires," and management always has a "justification."

Letter: Fourth of July a reminder of our freedoms: Another great date to remember, celebrate and give thanks for, is July 8, 2000.

Editorial: Shuttles restore quiet: Four national parks were selected to develop pilot projects in which access by private vehicles would be limited, replaced instead by free bus shuttles. Zion National Park in Utah, which is a popular destination for Las Vegans, is the first national park to have its shuttle running. And as the Sun's Susan Snyder reported June 25 in a story about Zion's shuttle, the early indications are that it is a success, restoring a measure of tranquillity to the park. "This is the way it was supposed to be," hiker Barbara Pavlick told Snyder.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Our lives are a bit vagueish: I did it again last week. I told my boss I was leaving to interview a clown (insert your own County Commission joke here) and announced, "I'll be back around noonish."

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, July 3, 2000: Lisa Ferguson; So, how will you be spending Independence Day? The U.S. Census Bureau has some pretty good guesses as to what you'll be doing.

Reef madness: Kirk Baird; What: Shark Reef.

Board wants more disciplinary powers: The state Board of Medical Examiners plans to ask the 2001 Legislature to give it more power to discipline errant doctors.

City signs mutual assistance pact with federal hospital: In case of an emergency that taxes North Las Vegas' medical capacity, the city has signed an agreement with the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base stating that it will assist with medical care.

Blaze hints at worse fire season than '99: Martin Griffith; RENO -- Steep, rugged terrain hampered firefighters Sunday in their battle against a 30,000-acre wildland fire near Winnemucca -- the state's largest wildfire of the season so far.

Immunization schedule: NORTH LAS VEGAS PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 3262 Civic Center Drive, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

At UNLV's Pavilion, it's ready, set ... pour!: Steve Addy; The hole is dug, the cement is ready to pour. Finally, after a year's delay, UNLV's $13.5 million Cox Pavilion will soon become the newest jewel of the university's athletic complex.

Discover Card gives scholarships: In addition, a Meadows School student was awarded a scholarship from a national veterans group.

Doctors ready to battle with homeopath physicians: RENO -- The board that regulates 4,000 doctors in Nevada is going to war in the next Legislature against the less than 30 homeopath physicians.

Community news briefs for July 3, 2000: More than 100 UNLV students directed the food and beverage service for this year's U.S. Open, marking a decade of university participation in golfing event s at Pebble Beach.

Some city employees wind up with a five-day weekend: Diana Sahagun; Trying to reach your city officials this week?

Unsightly businesses to get help with rehabilitation: Diana Sahagun; The used cars lined up at the corner of Lake Mead Boulevard and Belmont Street in North Las Vegas shine brightly in the afternoon sun, but the car lot presents a dreary picture for shoppers.