Print edition for April 24, 2001

Education briefs for April 24, 2001: Wells Fargo Education Financial Services has awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Las Vegas High School senior Jonathan Pedersen.

Rebels' shooting guard Lewis sustains serious knee injury: Steve Addy; The Rebels have focused their spring recruiting on big men, and those efforts could result in at least two commitments this week.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Sixth sense not just film fodder: Doreen Virtue says it's not a myth.

Editorial: Don't kill subsequent injury fund: Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, introduced legislation to stop the program this year, but fortunately the bill never made it out of committee in the lower house. But as longtime observers of the Nevada Legislature know, even bills that go nowhere in one house seemingly can have nine lives. In this case, insurance industry lobbyists want to attach Hettrick's failed legislation as an amendment to Assembly Bill 48, which was a routine housekeeping bill dealing with workers' compensation issues that unanimously passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate.

Nevada legislators ranked by money spent on them in February and March: Associated Press; Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, $396.

PCL Box: Calgary-Las Vegas: E--Castro, Lemonis 2. DP--Calgary 1, Las Vegas 1. LOB--Calgary 7, Las Vegas 9. 2B--Gulan, Prieto, Barry. HR--Grijak (1), Prieto (3), Gilbert (2). S--Perez. SF--Gilbert. SB--Prieto. CS--Post.

Legislative briefs for April 24, 2001: By a 25-13 partisan vote, the Assembly Monday approved a bill giving the defendant in a capital murder case a better chance of escaping the death penalty.

Perez making a play to return to Dodgers: Steve Guiremand; Your move, Dodgers.

Columnist Kate Maddox: Rat Pack makes Bon Jovi late: Kate Maddox; The 75 couples who waited anxiously for Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora to show at the Graceland Wedding Chapel on Saturday night had to hang on until almost one o'clock in the morning before tying the knot, so the singer could get a Rat Pack fix.

Restrictions on teen work crews OK'd: CARSON CITY -- In the wake of the deaths of six teenagers picking up trash along Interstate 15 in March 2000, the Assembly Monday approved protection for children in similar situations.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Western Starlet - Part of Dutton-trained coupled entry with Meteor Game, Pincay here, Solis there, double threat for first double on day. Jeds Knight - Training at Anita, Delahoussaye aboard Dominguez trainee, draws good spot for 7-furlong opener. Value Play -- Cafe Del Mar

Letter: Energy 'gougers' should be taxed: The article goes on to state: "Critics say the independent companies (Reliant, Duke Energy, Southern Energy and Dynegy) have bought up enough plants, and held them in few enough hands, to essentially hold California's electricity ransom for the highest price." This is intolerable.

Spinning wheels: Figure roller-skating team members in it for sport, not fame: The waiting skaters roll onto the floor, moving fluidly across the wooden slats, each with their own routine to practice.

Auto registration refunds targeted: CARSON CITY -- The Assembly has voted to kill some refunds on automobile registration, hoping to save state and local governments nearly $4 million annually.

Harrah's buying Harveys in first big gaming merger of 2001: The deal will increase Harrah's market share in Northern Nevada, giving it one Reno casino and three Lake Tahoe resorts. But, perhaps more importantly, it will give Harrah's casinos in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Central City, Colo., both new markets for the Las Vegas gaming operator.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Trainer says ex-champ needs a life: Dean Juipe; While allowing for some discomfort, we take it for granted that professional athletes will handle retirement when the time comes and eventually get acclimated in what is casually referred to as the "real world."

Editorial: Encouraging news on childhood shots: Scientists should investigate thoroughly the possibility of dangerous links posed by immunizations, but this episode also should serve as a cautionary tale: Too often the media overstate the potential risks of immunizations while ignoring the benefits. For instance, there were just 100 cases of measles in the United States in 1999, due mainly to government-mandated immunizations. Yet because the vaccine isn't used in many parts of the globe, measles still accounted for a million childhood deaths worldwide during 2000. It is hoped that the latest review reassures skittish parents about the need for childhood immunizations.

Neverett on radio for UNLV games: Neverett, 34, will team with returning color analyst Tony Cordasco for all 2001 radio broadcasts as well as co-hosting the weekly John Robinson Radio Show.

Prison budget error adds to financial woes: CARSON CITY -- There is more gloomy budget news for the Nevada Legislature, which already faces a deficit of up to $140 million over the next two fiscal years.

Letter: Gaming should be paying more: Am I the only one who sees the disparity of the state's attention?

Producers, CART officials hope moviegoers are ...: Selected movies that have featured auto racing in the plot:

Immunization schedule for April 24, 2001: NORTH LAS VEGAS PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite F, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Community briefs for April 24, 2001: United Blood Services, 6930 W. Charleston Blvd., has scheduled blood drives at these locations:

Where I stand--Brian Greenspun: Don't lower the bar: I LOVE perspective. Especially in these times of instant news cycles and Internet mania, when political or other agendas get promoted well ahead of the facts, leaving the public more in the dark than is healthy in a democratic society.

Letter: Scouting critic is showing his intolerance: Lipman wonders why there is no outcry against endorsement of the Boy Scouts by public entities such as schools, police, etc.

Park Place boosts cross-marketing of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip: David Strow; Park Place Entertainment Corp. of Las Vegas today reported a sizable decline in earnings for the quarter ending March 31 -- but not as much of a dip as analysts expected.

Physicians say laws favor Quick Care centers: By Emily Richmond; A coalition of local physicians are taking issue with the University Medical Center's Quick Care centers, saying that the county hospital treatment facilities are providing unfair competition.

Court briefs for April 24, 2001: Curtis Barker of Las Vegas, convicted of first-degree murder in the Jan. 1, 2000, death of Roy Powell, was sentenced Monday to two consecutive no-parole life terms.

Unions sue over Edison Schools pact: Terry Webster; Union groups have followed through on threats of a lawsuit to fight the Clark County School District's approval of a contract with Edison Schools.

Witness refutes previous testimony about trunk: Kim Smith; A Boulder City antique dealer told jurors in the Margaret Rudin case this morning that the only "trunk" he sold to an acquaintance in 1994 was 12 inches deep.

Law of the land: Jeffrey Libby; No one at Boulder City Hall denies that staff members shaved a city-owned lot to 0.997 acres to avoid having the $171,000 sale go before voters for approval.

Licensing agreement signed with Texas company: Alliance announced the deal with Multimedia Games Inc., Austin. The terms say Bally Gaming will receive a royalty and a guarantee that Multimedia will purchase an undisclosed number of products from Bally over a three-year period.

MASH Village, Las Vegas to discuss land deal: Diana Sahagun; The California-based company that runs MASH Village will meet with city leaders this week to negotiate a contract, after last week's threat that the company would leave if the city did not sell it the land on which the homeless shelter sits.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Playing 'big boys' no longer means UNLV: One of the biggest complaints registered against Rick Pitino in the aftermath of UNLV's failed attempt to land him to be its next basketball coach was that he merely was using UNLV to better his own position.

Profit improves for Las Vegas home builder: Revenue fell from $1.4 billion to $1.33 billion. Del Webb said it squeezed out a higher profit on the lower revenue with higher margins, lower interest costs and lower taxes, including a tax benefit of 11 cents per share.

Monday's prep results: BASEBALL

Hotel now more expensive: Due to upgrades in interior design budgets, the hotel is now expected to cost $55 million to $60 million, instead of the original $50 million estimate. And it's expected to open Aug. 15 -- at least a month ahead of schedule.

Medical firm establishing Las Vegas training center: Varian Medical Systems Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of cancer care systems, plans to develop a training center in Las Vegas that would employ about 85 people.

Trendy N.Y. magazine starts Vegas tourists' edition: Vegas File, a spinoff of Manhattan File magazine, plans three seasonal editions this year and six -- one every other month -- next year, said Cristina Greeven, editor-in-chief.

CFO Reed resigns; Loveman promoted: Harrah's immediately promoted Charles Atwood, vice president and treasurer of Harrah's, to take over as CFO. Atwood has worked for Harrah's since 1979.

Obituaries for April 24, 2001: W.D. 'Don' Battenfield, 75, of Las Vegas died Friday in Las Vegas. He was born Nov. 19, 1925, in Gotebo, Okla. A resident for five years, he was a retired automobile salesman and a World War II Marine Corps veteran.

Legislators aim to restore uranium cleanup funds: Last year Congress gave the Department of Energy responsibility for removing 13 million tons of uranium mill tailings that leak about 16,000 gallons of contaminated water a day into the river, the major drinking water source for Nevada, Arizona and California.

Defense details dad's history of violence: The following are some of the acts of violence Wildeveld found pertaining to Frank Pope:

Suspect in ramming of NHP trooper is parolee: Keith Paul; A 25-year-old man accused of running down a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper during a high speed chase Saturday served only about half of a seven-year sentence for robbery in California before being paroled.

Deal struck in dad's death: Conan Pope, 16, avoids risk of spending life in prison: Kim Smith; A Las Vegas teen who killed his father last year was expected to accept a deal this morning that would send him to prison for four to 15 years.

Report: Trust in Yucca project falters: Public trust in the Yucca Mountain site-selection process is waning, the Energy Department's inspector general concluded in a just-released report.

El Salvador eyes setting up consulate in Vegas: By Timothy Pratt; The 58,000 Las Vegas residents from El Salvador would be well served by a consulate and a bank, local and Los Angeles representatives from the Central American country told a city councilman Monday.

Hit-and-run suspect talks to police on phone, refuses to surrender: Keith Paul; A man wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run accident told police during a cellular phone call that he was involved in an accident, but has refused to surrender, Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.

Black Panther leader to talk with governor: Jace Radke; The Black Panther Party and Gov. Kenny Guinn were scheduled this morning to speak via telephone. The phone conference was slated after Panthers' officials and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman on Monday discussed improving the quality of life in West Las Vegas neighborhoods.

Riviera profit decreases, Ameristar earnings up: Two Las Vegas-based casino companies diversified in out-of-state properties reported mixed earnings results today.

Retailer names chairman, CEO: In Las Vegas, Albertson's operates grocery stores as well as Sav-On drugstores.

NAB president says group will survive competition: Kevin Ferguson; The National Association of Broadcasters president called the growing division between the television networks and their local affiliate stations "unsettling" on Monday.

Atlantic City laundry's expansion helps casinos stay squeaky clean: Lori Hinnant; ATLANTIC CITY -- The cycle has been the same for 15 years: sort, wash, dry, iron and fold.

Las Vegas Senior Classic begins quest for sponsor: Victoria Sun; The white hospitality tents that used to be scattered about the area leading up to the 18th green at the Tournament Players Club at Summerlin were missing when the Las Vegas Senior Classic concluded Sunday afternoon.

Bill may provide leeway to auto insurers: Proposed legislation would allow companies more flexibility in setting rates for car insurance.

Digital viewing impasse persists: Broadcasters meeting in Las Vegas asked for delays and for the government to intervene against cable operators in the massive switch to digital television, saying consumers aren't yet ready and that they may be forced to pay for cable or satellite service to watch shows they now get using an antenna.

LV officials prepare for possible legislative cuts: Diana Sahagun; Recent moves in the Legislature have Las Vegas officials bracing for a $3 million shortfall as the City Council prepares its budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

More water is found in site for repository: Water has moved quicker than expected -- more than 6 feet in two months -- through tiny fractures inside Yucca Mountain's volcanic rock, Energy Department scientists said during a tour Monday.