Print edition for April 5, 2001

Father's death thrust maturity upon Earnhardt: Mike Harris; The maturing process for Dale Earnhardt Jr. accelerated rapidly with the death of his father in the Daytona 500.

Defense tries to help credibility of state witness: Kim Smith; A former Israeli intelligence officer denied Wednesday having anything to do with the death of Ronald Rudin or the disposal of his body. He also denied having an affair with prosecutors' No. 1 suspect -- Margaret Rudin.

Visitor wants to say thanks: My father has a bad heart and was coming out of the Suncoast hotel-casino when he staggered out on to the road and fell to the ground. He probably looked like he was drunk that night, and you might think someone would be coming out of a casino. But when my mother explained his condition to the strangers they were most helpful.

Good interviews for Division II job: Steve Addy; After two years in the desert, Max Good might be returning to New England.

Prep boys golf standings: CLASS 4A

Moore readies college's sales pitch for legislators: Jeffrey Libby; In 12 days founding college president Richard Moore will present legislators with preliminary site plans for the proposed Nevada State College at Henderson.

Proposal seeks lump-sum payment of tobacco deal: By Emily Richmond; State Treasurer Brian Krolicki wants Nevada to take a lump-sum payment for its share of a $206 billion tobacco settlement rather than wait for yearly allotments that could decrease if sales of tobacco products decline nationwide.

Scissors loses to Caesars in trademark infringement dispute: Caesars World's Las Vegas Strip Caesars Palace, which operates the Venus Salon offering the same types of salon and spa services as Scissors Palace, alleged in a lawsuit that Scissors' similar name, signs and brochures infringe its Caesars Palace trademark.

Father of gaming exec Baldwin dies: By Ed Koch

Prep baseball standings: CLASS 4A

Editorial: Indigent care study is overdue: As it works now, hospitals only are eligible for county funding if 20 percent of their in-patients are either uninsured or have low incomes. The study released this week found, not unexpectedly, that the county-run University Medical Center's amount of indigent residents was almost 75 percent. In a mild surprise, the for-profit Lake Mead Hospital's indigent-care rate was 36 percent. Sunrise Hospital's in-patient rate of indigents was at 17 percent.

Ethics complaint dismissed: The panel cited insufficient evidence in its decision not to have the full commission conduct a hearing on the complaints against Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid and parks police chief Chester Broderick.

Partners pumping extra $20 million into GV resort: David Strow; The estimated cost of Station Casinos Inc.'s third Henderson hotel-casino has escalated, the company said in its annual report.

Where I stand--Mike O'Callaghan: Smoke from Carson City: THE SAD PART of Nevada's legislative history appears to repeat itself every two years. If Assemblyman Bob Price, D-North Las Vegas, finally gets the opportunity to have annual meetings, it will give a few of the clowns an opportunity to put on a show every year. Until now the wiser legislators and the majority of voters have mentioned that once every two years is enough. Some critics would say that it's more than enough.

Veteran driver missing in action this season: Keith Parsons; Dave Marcis, the last of the independent drivers, has a unique presence in the NASCAR garage, with his no-frills cap slightly askew and his trademark wingtip shoes adorning his feet.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Open-palm policy may be the best: Ruthe Deskin; Teachers afraid to go to school.

Sentencing date set for fraud defendant: The state attorney general's office said Duna, 43, of Chicago, conspired with Bryan C. Ballog in a scheme in which Ballog claimed he slipped on water and was injured in the men's restroom at the J.C. Penney store in the Meadows mall. He submitted a claim to Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which is the insurance carrier for J.C. Penney Co. Inc.

Animal advocates leery of packing pistols to protect pets: Erin Neff and Cy Ryan; CARSON CITY -- A bill designed to prevent abuse of an old law that gives Humane Society officers police power ran into some opposition Wednesday from an unlikely source.

Auto racing schedules, winners and points standings: Feb. 18 - Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Michael Waltrip)

Moody's downgrades $620 million in Aladdin debt: Moody's lowered the rating on the Aladdin's senior secured credit facilities from B2 to B3, affecting $410 million in debt. Also downgraded were the Aladdin's senior discount notes, which were lowered from Caa2 to Caa3. Moody's said further downgrades are possible.

Marnell rebuilds: Through his Las Vegas-based masonry business, George Marnell has been intimately involved in building most of the mega-resorts that have sprouted along The Strip during the past two decades.

Community group benefits from Tiger Jam: The Nevada community group works with AmeriCorps members in encouraging youths to volunteer their time to disadvantaged students with literacy problems.

Would-be Caesars owner loses Sex.com domain name: SAN FRANCISCO -- A fugitive cyberporn czar who once offered to buy Caesars Palace must pay a record $65 million and relinquish all assets of Sex.com because he stole the coveted Internet domain name, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Brockovich boss urges study of contaminant: Attorney Ed Masry, the boss of legal aide Erin Brockovich, encouraged the Senate on Wednesday to launch a study to determine the maximum contaminant level of chromium 6, suspected of causing cancer.

Sun Top 10 Baseball Poll: Records through Tuesday

Obituaries for April 5, 2001: Hugh Bovingdon, 85, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in a local care center. He was born Dec. 14, 1915, in Massachusetts. A resident for two years, he was a purchasing agent in the machine tool industry and a member of the Masons.

Las Vegas fights a pair of tax-diverting measures: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas City Council members showed their opposition to two bills in the Legislature that would divert tax revenue from the city's coffers to help pay for teachers' salaries and to subsidize other jurisdictions.

Longtime educator Beitz dies at 77: Services for the Las Vegas resident of 46 years will be 1 p.m. Friday in Christ Church Episcopal, 2000 Maryland Parkway. Burial will be in Palm Valley View Memorial Park.

Prep boys volleyball standings: CLASS 4A

Community briefs for April 5, 2001: The Southern Nevada Mentoring Coalition is presenting a recruitment drive at a reception 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday at University United Methodist Church, 4412 S. Maryland Parkway.

Columnist Joe Delaney: Brokers are driving up show ticket prices: Joe Delaney; Las Vegas, which had the correct formula in the first place with entertainment seven days a week, twice a night, plus extended lounge action, sent some of our best creative people to help develop Atlantic City in our image. What they learned was that the South Jersey seashore resort town was a very different proposition, a weekend area except for the summer months.

School management firm's approval is expected Friday: Terry Webster; The Clark County School Board is expected Friday to give Edison Schools final approval to take over seven schools.

Editorial: Voter turnout was a miserable showing: Sure, primaries typically don't generate the same voter interest or excitement as do general elections, but high school student council races result in better turnouts than did Tuesday's real-world elections for adults. Granted, in some Las Vegas wards, residents could only vote in one contest -- a municipal judge's race -- because either their council member's term wasn't up yet or their ward's incumbent didn't have a challenger. But failing to vote in even a single race is a lame excuse for those who live in a democracy.

Diminutive Brazilian heading for American stardom: Mike Harris; LONG BEACH, Calif. - Little Cristiano da Matta is quickly becoming a big man in CART.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: 51s' success could be alien concept: Isn't this new affiliation for Las Vegas' triple-A baseball team supposed to be a good thing?

Homeward bound: Workers at home need same tools as in traditional office setting: Thousands of industrious Las Vegans aren't merely taking their work home with them from the office these days they're taking their offices home from the office.

Not all council pay issues settled: Jeffrey Libby; Boulder City Councilmen during Tuesday's primary lost their bid for unprecedented mid-term salary raises. The question June 5 will be whether current salaries will be cut in half.

Experience is in Barrera's corner: Dean Juipe; Without having stepped into the ring with Prince Naseem Hamed, Marco Antonio Barrera already sees one advantage he holds over his flamboyant counterpart.

Review: 'Blow'- heavy acting, diet coke: Geoff Carter; Grade: Two and a half stars

Letter: Bush quick to forget promises: No need to enumerate -- if you are at all concerned you know what they are. Imagine what he can do in the remaining 1,388 days of his term.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Botile has Prince in his sights: Dean Juipe; Featherweights will be on display this weekend in Southern Nevada, and not just Saturday night at the MGM with Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Marco Antonio Barrera.

Eldorado High graduate trains for world hotspots in Air Force school: Dick Benoit; Lawrence Dizon Jr. didn't believe he was in Oz, but he knew he wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Stratosphere bondholders lose suit against Lakes: A federal judge in Las Vegas last week ruled against IBJ Schroder Bank, the indenture trustee representing holders of $203 million in Stratosphere mortgage bonds. IBJ had been seeking damages for breach of contract from Grand Casinos Inc., Lakes' predecessor company.

Business briefs for April 5, 2001: Three Elkhorn Springs homeowners sued their builder Rhodes Homes and Rhodes Design and Development Corp., alleging they were penalized by their homeowners' association for failing to complete landscaping of their property after Rhodes' construction work allegedly caused their property to be flooded.

Legislative briefs for April 5, 2001: Four bills -- two of them that would provide state money to special projects in Clark County -- were killed by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee Wednesday as it started to deal with a long list of requests from local governments or private groups for finances.

Prep softball standings: CLASS 4A

Council OKs city project: The Las Vegas City Council Wednesday approved moving forward with the Lewis Street Corridor pedestrian and streetscape enhancement project.

Letter: Monied forces work against hope for reforms: Follow the news and see it happen over and over. An industry needs regulation? It won't happen, because that industry paid to elect the official with the power to regulate. Legislation is passed and taxpayer-funded that has nothing to do with fairness or common sense. And is it any mystery that politicians fight campaign finance reform? They fear a limit to their power and influence; pure self interest.

'New' schools travel different paths: Spencer Patterson; Ask a visiting softball coach to identify Southern Nevada's three newest programs, and he'd be awfully hard pressed to correctly identify Centennial, Foothill and Desert Pines.

In the long run, deregulation still advocated by experts: While lawmakers are debating legislation that would put the brakes on the deregulation of the electrical industry in Nevada, experts still say deregulation is the best way to reduce utility prices.

Catching up with: Jason Van Meetren: High School: Bishop Gorman ('98)

Columnist Spencer Patterson: Tournaments abound locally during Spring Break: Spencer Patterson; High schools will be off for spring break next week, but you won't find the area's top prep athletes resting on their laurels. To the contrary, Southern Nevada will play host to a plethora of tournaments to keep even the most diehard high school sports fan busy.

Hospitality executives recognize privacy concerns: Kevin Ferguson; Hospitality executives and analysts see mobile phones, the Internet and other techno-gadgets as a way to better track their customers' habits in order to better serve them. But they also agree there is a sliding curve where too much data-collecting of the customer could appear intrusive and make them "flee for the exits."

UNLV notebook: Rebels' Janus honored as MWC Player of Week: UNLV notebook: Rebels' Janus honored as MWC Player of Week

Tech firm opens LV office: The company's NiceVision, a high-definition security camera system, has been used in correctional centers, corporate office buildings and hospitals.

Sun Athletes of the Week: Mat Ellis and Aja Sherman: School: Mojave

Wednesday's prep results: BASEBALL

Merger mania seen as bypassing Southwest: David Koenig; Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport, today announced it's beefing up service between Las Vegas and Tampa,Fla., and between Las Vegas and Austin, Texas. Southwest, which offers a Saturday flight serving Tampa, said it will begin offering daily Tampa-Las Vegas flights beginning Aug. 5.

News briefs for April 5, 2001: Metro Police detectives arrested an operator of senior care facilities, charging him with 22 counts of felony elder exploitation and allegedly taking more than $450,000 from one victim.

Dairy giants in merger: The deal announced today pairs the two biggest U.S. dairy processors. The new company will be called Dean Foods but will be based in Dallas, where Suiza is headquartered. Suiza stockholders will own 65 percent of its shares.

Guinn pushing power plants: Erin Neff and Launce Rake; They could be years from a reality, but two applications for new power plants have joined at least another dozen proposed to ease power woes in Southern Nevada and California.

Thomas expected to play in scrimmage: Steve Guiremand; Jason Thomas' injured right foot is feeling a lot better. And so is UNLV head football coach John Robinson.

McCain shifts focus to gaming: Arizona senator plans April 26 hearing on betting-ban bill: Jeff German and Benjamin Grove; Arizona Sen. John McCain, riding high from his campaign finance reform win, was gearing up today to introduce his bill on Capitol Hill that would ban betting on college sports in Nevada.

Spoonhour hires 2 assistant coaches: Steve Addy; Born: Sept. 6, 1966

Sun Top 10 Softball Poll: Records though Tuesday

Venetian hit by bad luck, must rely on Adelson: In its annual report, Las Vegas Sands Inc. said it will be "challenged to meet certain covenant tests in the first quarter of 2001 due to an extremely low win percentage" in recent quarters. Those credit agreements require the Venetian to maintain minimum levels of cash flow over the trailing four quarters. Cash flow is a crucial measure in determining whether a gaming property will be able to meet its debt payments.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Friday's races at Santa Anita: 1st Race -- Flair And Square - Flores scales Baffert horse for owner Golden Eagle Farm, good post for short 2-furlong run, look at the connections. Pick Of The Valley - Part of Dutton-trained coupled entry with Earth Pleasure, Blanc here, Steiner there, double dash threat. Value Play -- Gummies Symph

Columnist Larry Dixon: Early part of the season packed with drag action: Larry Dixon; While this weekend's NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is just our fourth event of this year's 24 national event season, there has already been a lot of drag racing action in the pits, on the track, and in the administrative offices.

Pit bulls remain in custody: By Emily Richmond; The last time was when she entered her Las Vegas home to find his bloodied body on the white tiles of her living room floor. Three growling pit bulls stood nearby.

Three council members enjoy new status as elected officials: Diana Sahagun; Three Las Vegas City Council members on Wednesday cast their first votes as elected representatives of their respective wards.

Tiger that killed trainer will not be destroyed: Jace Radke And Ed Koch; A Bengal tiger that last month killed its trainer was given a clean bill of health today by veterinarians with Clark County Animal Control and will not be destroyed.

Increased amounts of nuke waste to travel through state: The amount of low-level nuclear waste shipped to the Nevada Test Site is expected to increase about 60 percent this year, according to the Energy Department.

Pair of measures would ease medical licensing: Two competing bills that would ease the licensing requirements to practice acupuncture or Asian medicine in Nevada appear headed for a successful merger.

Relocated resident may lose NLV home: Kris Hill; A resident moved by the city from his sinking Windsor Park house to a home in Walker Park may lose the new residence.

Union wins right to represent LV casino mechanics: Tropicana sued the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 501 in 1999, alleging it breached agreements by filing a petition with the NLRB seeking certification of a representative among mechanics employed in Tropicana's slot repair department.

Strip lounge, casino claim vacant land hurts business: Adrienne Packer; Often new business is tough to cultivate among the world's most famous and most flashy resorts.