Print edition for March 20, 2000

Silver Bandits sneak past San Diego, 84-80: Victoria Sun; Despite holding the International Basketball League's worst record, the San Diego StingRays gave the Las Vegas Silver Bandits a scare on Sunday night -- which was no surprise to Silver Bandits head coach Rolland Todd.

LV company shelves debt offering: The company had planned to sell $400 million in 10-year senior subordinated notes. Bloomberg News, citing sources close to the deal, said the company didn't want to pay yields as high as prospective buyers were demanding.

Proposed gas station fuels residents' ire: Valerie Miller; A gas station, no matter how pretty, is still a gas station -- and residents near Horizon Ridge Parkway say that they already have too many.

Tahoe official recommends hefty fine for illegal logging: A former congressman, Waldie presided over an evidentiary hearing on the alleged violations in late January and concluded a $160,000 fine is justified.

Reno woman dies of accident injuries: Brown was a passenger in a car driven by 35-year-old Debra Hall. Washoe County sheriff's deputies said Hall was traveling at a high rate of speed when her car drifted into oncoming traffic.

LV network marketer sues FDIC: The Rocky Mountain News of Denver reported that Equinox lost $982,000 in payroll funds when BestBank, a Boulder, Colo., bank, failed on July 23, 1998. The bank failed two days after Equinox electronically transferred the funds to BestBank. Equinox later agreed to cover all losses suffered by its representatives.

Murphy is in jail until hearing: Attorneys were tight-lipped today on whether Sandy Murphy will be forced to remain in jail during her trial on charges of killing Ted Binion.

Group seeks Nov. 7 recall vote against Reno mayor: Once it files the notice, the group would have 60 days to gather the signatures of 11,316 registered voters to force the recall vote.

Slaying suspect finally back in Vegas: Keith Paul; Indicted murder suspect Margaret Rudin this morning was in the one place she's been trying to avoid for nearly three years -- the Clark County Detention Center.

Math still puzzling high school students: Sample tests

Air travelers put out by pair of problems: A normally busy weekend at McCarran International Airport was made busier by a pair of incidents that had the potential for disaster but turned out to be just aggravating inconveniences for passengers.

Rebels know improvement a must for next season: Steve Addy; NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Amid the wreckage, at least one positive came out of UNLV's season-ending humiliation by Tulsa in the NCAA Tournament.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Favorites advance in Derby 'tournament': Ralph Siraco; Fewer than seven weeks remain until this year's Kentucky Derby, and March Madness will soon turn into Derby Fever. And some sophomores bound for Louisville on the first Saturday in May reached their own version of the Sweet 16 over the weekend with efforts that eliminated some others in the Derby field.

Tulsa wins intimidation battle against short-handed Cincy: Steve Addy; NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- These WAC dudes from Tulsa are some bad hombres. UNLV found out Friday, and it was Cincinnati's turn Sunday.

Easy access, sophisticated sites create potential for compulsion: Tom Verdin; The following organizations offer information about Internet gambling:

School candidates names to be released: Superintendent search consultant William Attea was to produce three national candidates this morning who are experienced in leading districts with 70,000 or more students. Clark County has 217,000 students.

Terminal evacuated after man flees security check point: "It was prudent for us to go ahead and evacuate the terminal to see if we could locate this individual," said Scott Russell, spokesman for McCarran International Airport.

First candidate for superintendent named: Terry Webster; Timothy R. Jenney has been superintendent of the Virginia Beach, Va., city school district since 1996, a school district of 78,000 students and an annual budget of $464 million.

Ousted leaders want to 'solidify' Reform Party: Angie Wagner; "Today is for cleaning up our own house," Gargan said.

LV firm in Internet deal with AOL: Announcing a competing B2B (business-to-business) marketplace today was AOL rival Yahoo! Inc.

CFO out, more workers laid off: Scott Schweinfurth, Alliance's CFO, resigned "to pursue other interests," the company said. Schweinfurth was immediately replaced by Robert Saxton, senior vice president of Alliance and president of the company's casino group and Louisiana slot route operations. Saxton will retain both positions.

Obituaries for March 20, 2000: Robert Ashton, 74, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was born Dec. 17, 1925, in England. A resident for 42 years, he was a retired newspaper distributor for the Las Vegas Sun and served in the British Army during World War II.

State Benefits administrator says claims caught up: Reed says there are now no claims in the system more than 90 days old. But she adds that means 90 days from when the system got the claim, not from the date service was provided by a doctor.

Major funding needed to help clean up Lake Mead: So many sources of pollution slip into Lake Mead that it will take a host of federal, state and local funds to protect Southern Nevada's major water source, officials said.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Program has lost its luster: Dean Juipe; The glory days are gone, just as many have suspected.

Buyer of Fatburger hopes to see chain go national: Phil Levine; Restaurant Teams International Inc. said Friday it acquired FB Holding Corp., parent company of the Fatburger restaurant chain.

Upcoming business events for March 20, 2000: Commercial Marketing Group -- Breakfast meeting with speaker Jon Ralston, Las Vegas Sun columnist. Wednesday.

Nukes near?: The House of Representatives this week will consider a controversial Senate bill that would bring nuclear waste to Nevada by 2007, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said in Las Vegas Sunday.

More problems hit UNLV cops: In the wake of another incident involving questionable actions of the UNLV Police Department, a pair of meetings today were expected to help determine the direction of the embattled force.

Largest shareholder sells huge block: A recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicates Morgens Waterfall now controls 485,000 shares of Riviera stock, a 10.72 percent stake. In February, Morgens Waterfall reported holdings of 1.12 million shares, a 24.9 percent stake.

Council to make the grade -- chambers getting retrofit: Erin Neff; Workers waited only a few hours late Wednesday after the Las Vegas City Council adjourned before ripping into the floors, walls and ceilings of the chambers.

County won't pursue casino: County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury said he does not want the county to appeal a state panel's denial of a casino planned for the Spring Valley area.

Nevada officials delay hearing on rail safety: CARSON CITY -- A new law designed to protect small businesses from burdensome government rules prompted the state Public Utilities Commission to delay a public hearing on increased railroad safety regulations.

Board OKs money to reduce special education class size: RENO -- Lowering class sizes for some of the estimated 35,000 handicapped students in Nevada will start this July.

Sanchez links education, representation for Latino community: "Educating our community is the way power will be in their hands," she told a crowd of about 300 people. "Education means empowerment."

Sixth victim dies in I-15 accident: Jace Radke; A sixth victim died this morning from injuries sustained Sunday when a driver ran off Interstate 15 and plowed through a group of students picking up trash alongside the roadway.

Benefit basketball raises thousands for accident victim: Firefighters who helped rescue the boy after the Feb. 20 accident on the Pyramid Highway just north of Sparks gave his mother a $1,000 check during a break in Saturday's action at Pyramid Lake High School.

City, developer fine-tune college land deal: Valerie Miller; Henderson may be trading close to 135 acres of city-owned land to acquire the site proposed for the Nevada State College, the owner of the property said Friday.

Some airlines serving LV reject hike in air fares: The preponderance of discount air carriers flying to McCarran International Airport has kept fares to Las Vegas in check for now -- but airlines may be making money here in a different way that's harder to track.

Local news briefs for March 20, 2000: WASHINGTON -- The White House confirmed Friday that President Clinton will be among those national political leaders coming to Las Vegas to raise money this election year.

Only minor injuries in Navy plane crash: The cause of the crash is under investigation by a Navy team. High winds prevailed at the airport when the crash occurred.

Officers say man pointed his gun at them: Keith Paul; The two Metro Police officers who shot a gun-wielding man Saturday were identified this morning as Samuel Solorio and Michael Maloof.

Internet gambling grows into billion-dollar industry: Tom Verdin; LOS ANGELES -- Playing slot machines at the nearby Indian casino was always more about fun than money for Beverly Richard.

Special education class size to drop: After a two-hour debate, the board voted 9-2 Saturday to spend $4 million in federal funds starting in July to reduce the workload of special education teachers.

Reduced charges for beating death are under appeal: Fondi's ruling reduced charges against 10 people accused of killing Sammy Resendiz, 25, at a Carson City motel from first-degree to second-degree murder.

UNR has new student body president: Last week's election featured a record turnout of undergraduate voters. The 1,387 voters exceeded by nearly 400 the number last year.

Fire captain faces drunken driving accusation: He's accused of committing several traffic violations and failing a field sobriety test.

Body of missing Lake Tahoe girl found: The little girl was reported missing Sunday afternoon by her mother, Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Lance Modispacher said.

Portuguese Rally Results: 2. Marcus Gronholm, Finland, Peugeot 206 WRC, 6.5 seconds behind.

F2000 Results: 2. (2) Tony Buffomante, Van Diemen Ford, 50.

Five juveniles cleaning up highway killed when van swerves: Robert Macy; The six were among a group of 45 juvenile offenders, ages 14 through 17, who had been sentenced to pick up trash for the Clark County Youth Services Department.

Mallcom 400 Results: 2. (17) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 293, $90,905.

Strong winds topple crane at casino construction site: The crane's base buckled about 1 a.m. Monday and the 250-foot tall crane collapsed at the Sahara Hotel and onto the adjacent Wet 'n Wild water park, hotel and construction officials said.

Gambling, tourism increasing sales of condos along the Gulf Coast: "We're going out and marketing in the same areas that the casinos market for people looking for secondary homes," said Richard Landry, a spokesman for the New Orleans-based Beau View development, which is planned between Eisenhower Drive and DeBuys Road. "We want to come in this market before it gets priced out."

Casino group blasts Neal plan: Earlier last week, Gov. Kenny Guinn called on Neal to abandon the effort, branding it as divisive and destructive.

Lazier starts last, finishes first in Phoenix: Mel Reisner; "I just kept telling myself, 'You haven't won yet. Something's going to happen,"' Lazier said after his spectacular victory in the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 on Sunday.

Phoenix Indy 200 Results: 2. (7) Scott Goodyear, Dallara-Oldsmobile, 200, $81,050.

Seeing not always believing for Davis, Ward Burton: Pete Iacobelli; His cars don't win races. They take poles, break track records, even hold leads late in races. But win, no way.

Gatornationals Results: Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Mich., 4.614 seconds, 313.58 mph def. Tony Schumacher, Park Ridge, Ill., 4.679, 314.97.

Author's got trouble over 'You've Got Male': America Online is suing the author in federal court, claiming that her book's title infringes on its "You've Got Mail" logo, which is used to announce the arrival of e-mail for the service's subscribers.

South African Grand Prix Results: 1. Arnaud Vincent, France, Aprilia, 41:35.310.

Kennel owners take in millions thanks to electronic gambling: At Lincoln Park, wagering on greyhounds fell for the 11th straight year in 1999. But owners of 15 kennels that operate at the track split more cash than they had in at least a decade: $10.4 million.

Editorial: Another useless study: Meanwhile, Reps. Asa Hutchison, R-Ark., and Jim Moran, D-Va., introduced legislation last week that would create a Privacy Protection Commission. Hutchison said the bill would establish a bipartisan, 17-member commission that would take 18 months to investigate privacy issues and fashion legislation that could offer a comprehensive approach to dealing with questions involving online privacy, identity theft, and the protection of health, medical, financial and government records. Privacy advocates, though, question the effectiveness of a privacy commission, suggesting that this could be a delaying tactic. "It's a little late in the day to have a study commission," Marc Rotenberg, who ...

Three's Company: What: Trilogy with "The Great Radio City Spectacular," starring the Radio City Rockettes, with guest stars Rip Taylor and comedic jugglers Nino and Romano Frediani.

Seminar planned on use of Robert's Rules: For the 31st straight year, ITC's two local chapters are holding a seminar on how to run meetings according to Robert's Rules of Order.

Nevada scores don't add up: If 25 percent of the students pass each of the math tests as expected, more than 2,000 students still won't get diplomas - almost three times more than last year's 709 failures.

Community news briefs for March 20, 2000: The Nathan Adelson Hospice will host an open house to introduce the Bonnie Schreck Memorial Comfort Care Program 5-7 p.m. Friday at the hospice, 4141 Swenson St.

Tapes portray DeBartolo-Edwards friendship: Natalie Gott; That's because the former governor and six others have been on trial for 11 weeks now, accused of carrying out a series of schemes to manipulate the riverboat casino licensing process. The alleged schemes occurred before and after Edwards left his last term in office in 1996.

Letter: What happened to fat fighter known as Olean?: The potential is enormous for uses of this substance -- from pastries to deep-fried foods that are so popular with the fast-food companies. The only argument I have heard of so far is that Olean can cause digestive tract discomfort and/or diarrhea in some people.

Betting, revenue up as Woodlands officials deny closure speculation: General manager Allan Meyers said betting was up 15 percent on dog races and 17 percent on simulcast horse races.

Public officials join women's groups to study lifestyle issues: More than 300 people, including Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., and a dozen state legislators attended the all-day conference at the Riviera hotel-casino.

Columnist John Katsilometes: These dates are on the clock: It's date night and the man of the hour struggles to smile -- and speak -- through numbing pain.

Race opens for Bernstein, Ensign: Democrat Bernstein chose a mobile home park with about 60 people when he announced March 13. He was introduced by injured worker David Emerick, in efforts to demonstrate his willingness to fight for the little guy.

Letter: Milk is worst thing to drink: More and more doctors and nutritionists are recommending that we banish milk from our diets altogether, because it's loaded with fat and cholesterol and has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and even osteoporosis, the very disease it's supposed to prevent.

Casino gambling debate heating up in Rhode Island: One bill before the committee would ban gambling within a mile of a school. The Narragansett Indians want to build a $250 million casino within 500 feet of the Greenbush Elementary School.