Print edition for April 3, 2001

LV company buys interest in three Indian casino contracts: The move gives Full House total control of management contracts to operate casinos in North Bend, Ore., Battle Creek, Mich., and Palm Springs, Calif.

Unsolved bombing resurfaces: Felon may have information on '72 killing of attorney Coulthard: By Jeff German; A four-time convicted felon arrested by FBI agents on drug charges last week may hold the key to solving the 1972 car-bombing death of William Coulthard, a prominent attorney who once headed Las Vegas' FBI office.

Area's growth pushes it past older cities: With the nation's top growth rate, the metropolitan area that includes Las Vegas is surpassing some of the country's oldest and largest cities.

Workers with bias charges facing dilemma: Adrienne Packer; Clark County employees who file discrimination complaints have difficulty finding justice between conflicts of interest at the county's equal opportunity division and inefficiencies at the state level, civil rights experts say.

Motive for animal torture unclear: Keith Paul; Metro Police and juvenile officials are trying to determine why a 12-year-old boy allegedly hid in a pet store after closing and tortured and killed animals.

Berkley demands oversight money for Yucca Mountain: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Nevada needs $11 million in federal money from Congress to oversee the Congress-approved plans to establish Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste dump, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., wrote in a letter to a key lawmaker on Monday.

Las Vegas telecom firm NOS accused of fraud: Kevin Ferguson; U.S. regulators on Monday proposed fining NOS Communications Inc. of Las Vegas and a subsidiary a combined $1 million, charging the long distance phone companies' telemarketers deceived some customers.

Nevada gets 'Net new car sales: In seven of those states, the website will quote only the manufacturer's suggested retail price; customers will have to send an e-mail message to a dealer to ask for a lower price. Only in New Jersey and Delaware is the new service, known as FordDirect.com, quoting prices below the suggested retail price.

LV unemployment rate down: The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation report said the February rate of unemployment was up from 4.2 percent in January, when 47,200 people were looking for jobs. The state's figure was higher than the national 4.2 percent jobless rate -- yet lower than the 4.5 percent posted in California.

Growth in nearby Arizona resembles that of Las Vegas: The fastest-growing county in Arizona has a lot in common with the fastest-growing county in Nevada.

Attorney warns of wiretap abuses: Nevada must do a better job informing the public about wiretaps performed by state and local law enforcement agencies to guard against potential abuses, a Las Vegas attorney says.

Williams discusses life since fateful day: Kim Smith; If given the chance to walk out of jail tomorrow, Jessica Williams wouldn't take it.

Guinn may have final say on power: CARSON CITY -- A bill before the Legislature would give Gov. Kenny Guinn, not the Public Utilities Commission, final say over whether Nevada's two major public utilities could sell their generating plants.

Voter turnout light as expected for primary: Diana Sahagun; Turnout was light this morning as voters headed to the polls for the municipal primary election, following the lead of early voting and confirming suspicions that turnout might not reach 20 percent.

Luery again steps down as Regent CEO: Luery will remain vice chairman of the bankrupt Summerlin resort, and will remain an "independent consultant to the company." Luery has been replaced by a three-member executive committee consisting of: Lanis O'Steen, chief restructuring officer; John James, chief operating officer; and Fritz Uebler, senior vice president of hotel operations.

Beanie Baby maker settles suit against casinos: Westmont, Ill.-based Ty sought an injunction in May in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to stop Aztar's "Beanie Babies Giveaway Slots," a Tropicana slot promotion that began around April 1999. It awarded the wildly popular plush toys as awards to its slot machine patrons.

New rule impacts incumbents: Diana Sahagun; The three Las Vegas City Council incumbents running for election are facing a new set of rules that govern how their campaigning coincides with city business.

Teachers threaten suit over contract with Edison: Terry Webster; Union leaders for public school teachers and administrators are threatening legal action over the proposed contract with Edison Schools.

Aladdin investors dig deeper to finance losses: David Strow; The Aladdin failed to produce enough cash flow to service its debt in its first full quarter of operations, the Strip megaresort's parent company reported Monday.

Obituaries for April 3, 2001: Robert Everett Action, 74, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was born Dec. 20, 1926, in Iron River, Mich. A resident for eight years, he worked in sales, was a Navy veteran and a member of the Toastmasters Club.

Anthropologist testifies about charred remains: Kim Smith; In a somewhat surreal moment, the jury in the Margaret Rudin trial this morning watched as a retired UNLV anthropologist displayed several plastic bags filled with charred bone fragments.

News briefs for April 3, 2001: An execution date has been set for April 21 for Sebastian Bridges, convicted of killing his wife's lover in Clark County in October 1997.

Metro pursuit ends with woman's suicide: The woman was fleeing from a reportedly stolen car on Darmak Drive near Valley View and Oakey boulevards about 1:40 a.m. Officers found her on top of a block wall in the back yard of a home on Melville Drive.

Teacher to accept plea deal: Defense attorney Bill Terry said Dylena Pierce waived her right to a preliminary hearing Monday and announced that she intends to accept a deal made with prosecutors.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Santa Anita: 1st Race -- Slew The Princess - Training at Hollypark, draws good middle post for the 2-furlong dash, Solis aboard Sise trainee. Fabulous Gamble - Flores guides Dutton trainee for conditioner's wife, rider and trainer are good with babies, might be right Gamble here. Value Play -- Tonks Time

Loosening of work card rules proposed: Jeffrey Libby; For the would-be cocktail waitresses, busboys, groundskeepers and many other laborers on the Strip, securing a job may no longer mean first spending hours in line waiting for work cards from Metro Police.

Black Panther Party demands city action, threatens marches: Jace Radke; The Las Vegas Black Panther Party, demanding a meeting with government officials to discuss improvements in West and North Las Vegas neighborhoods, is planning protest marches on Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard if it doesn't receive a response.

Threat of Asian gangs growing: Keith Paul; Asian organized crime may not have reached the level the Italian mob once had in Las Vegas, but there have been two recent busts that prove this area is not immune to a growing international problem.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Maybe Spoonhour should follow the son: Some Rebel fans have been complaining that the arrival of new coach Charlie Spoonhour could result in the departure of recruits Marcus Banks, Ernest Turner and Simplice Njoya, who committed early.

King Duke: Steve Addy; MINNEAPOLIS -- Shane Battier and Duke played as if they knew how the story was supposed to end.

Hamed brings potent punch into featherweight matchup: Dean Juipe; His adversaries, both in and out of the ring, see his delicate chin as a weakness. They recite the number of times Prince Naseem Hamed has been down during the course of his 35 fights and they're hopeful someone will come along and emphatically put an end to the highly strung featherweight's heyday.

NCAA Tournament notebook: Wildcats do Bobbi proud: Steve Addy; MINNEAPOLIS -- Deep down, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wouldn't have minded if Arizona won Monday night.

Columnist Dean Juipe: No parity as Duke rules again: Dean Juipe; Sixty-five teams may qualify for the NCAA Tournament every year, but it seems as if 50 or so are simply window dressing.

Bill tightens security for school testing: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- When teachers, parents and students began noticing irregularities with standardized testing in the Clark County School District last year, cheating began to make front-page news.

Bill would take the boom out of auto boom boxes: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- An Assembly committee on Monday passed a measure that would make it illegal to blare music from a motor vehicle if it can be heard 25 feet away.

Guinn rallies GOP to back RX plan: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn sent word to Republicans in the Assembly Monday that he continues to support his lagging senior citizens prescription program, setting up a possible showdown with a rival Democratic measure.

Immunization schedule: NORTH LAS VEGAS PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite F, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Solar park receives Boulder City support: Jeffrey Libby; Nevada Test Site Development Corp. has no hard plans and no money, but the Boulder City Council on Monday all but signed a lease for the nonprofit company to build a solar energy park in Eldorado Valley.

Community briefs for April 3, 2001: Nancy Nash will conduct the Senior Survival workshops 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday at the Fiesta hotel-casino.

Columnist Steve Addy: Let's be like Duke: Steve Addy; So long from Minneapolis,

Monday's prep results: BASEBALL

Where I stand--Brian Greenspun: Saving face in China: JUST WHOSE face is it anyway?

Letter: Perpetuating school violence: The reason, according to experts, is that "most teens cannot reason that their actions can lead to murder." So I guess that means that the kid who brings automatic weapons to school and starts a random or directed annihilation of those in his path can't comprehend the results of bullets piercing people's brains, hearts and bodies? Give me a break. This is just another lame excuse to shift the responsibility and blame of one's actions to others.

Letter: He'll never be my president: Now I'd like to have a show of hands. Who voted for him?

Letter: Bush ignores examples of past policies: Dwight Eisenhower, the only Republican president in our time to balance the budget, stimulated prosperity with a gigantic federal program to build the interstate highway system we enjoy today. It would be nice if the gang of ultraconservatives around Bush would do a little study of the country's economic history for guidance. One thing they should consider:

Editorial: Don't bury danger of quakes: Despite Nevada's high ranking it doesn't appear that local building codes are up to snuff. Scientists and engineers attending the 36th Engineering Geology & Geotechnical Engineering Symposium, which was held at UNLV over the weekend, noted that the Las Vegas area itself needs to do more. For instance, local building codes allow homes and other structures to be built within 5 feet of a fault line. This is better than what it was before -- homes actually were allowed to be built just 1 foot away from fault lines until 1996. For that matter, the change didn't come about until ...