Print edition for February 26, 2001

Reno daycare worker charged in sexual assault, molestations: Scott Sonner; RENO, Nev. - A daycare worker charged with sexually assaulting a 3-year-old boy allegedly confessed to molesting eight additional toddlers and police investigators said Monday they fear there were more victims.

XFL ratings still in free-fall: Howard Fendrich; NEW YORK -- At this rate, only a handful of people will be tuning in to the XFL by the end of the season.

UNR coach accused of shading the truth: Citing a lack of evidence, prosectors decided last week not to charge the two Wolf Pack players and three other suspects in the beating of a student at an off-campus party.

St. Louis swarms all over Bandits: Byron Houston led St. Louis with 22 points and 17 rebounds, while Derek Grimm topped all scorers with 23 points and pulled down 14 boards.

Outlaws-Demons Statistics: Second Quarter

Television show featuring Ralston debuts in March: "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" will be a 30-minute public affairs show featuring in-depth interviews with community leaders, public officials and residents on the most important issues and people in the news in Las Vegas and Nevada. It will be highly current and topical.

Ruiz likes chances second time around: Dean Juipe; John Ruiz doesn't think Evander Holyfield has learned his lesson.

Western brings home improbable state title: Spencer Patterson; Point guard P.J. Stinnett collapsed at center court in tears as the bench exploded and prepared to pile on. Swingman Brandon Weaver circled the floor pointing to the rafters.

Ex-Mormons connect: Stacy J. Willis; Helena Broadbent wanted out.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Derby hopefuls begin to take the spotlight: Ralph Siraco; This week, the 3-year-olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby will have limited roles in minor stakes and allowance competition while the spotlight turns to the handicap division.

Softball: UNLV loses two games to Penn State: Both teams entered the final day with 2-0 records for the tournament. UNLV beat Mississippi State twice on Friday and Penn State did the same on Saturday. UNLV falls to 9-7 on the year and Penn State moves to 6-4. UNLV will face Southern Utah in a doubleheader at the Rebel Diamond on Wednesday at noon. Next weekend, the Rebels will take part in the Easton Classic at UCLA.

Accelerators for nuclear waste outlined: Scientists at UNLV have come up with an alternative for waste from nuclear power plants that doesn't involve burying it in a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain.

Letter: Notch babies get more than they paid in: Regarding notch babies, I can't understand why people don't get informed before they complain. (In this case, O'Callaghan, too!) Anyone retiring to date will receive far more than they put into Social Security. I, for one, have received more than four times my donation, and still going.

Local news briefs for February 26, 2001: Northern Nevada medical experts ruled out leukemia as the cause of illness in a Fallon boy, leaving 11 cases confirmed in the farming and Navy town.

LV dealerships taking 'Desert' name: The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based retailer, which has more than 400 vehicle franchises in 26 metropolitan markets in 21 states, is gradually implementing the Desert name, developed in 1973 by the owners of Desert GMC, one of the companies AutoNation acquired.

Birth announcements for February 26, 2001: Feb. 14:

Animal Magnetism: By Kristen Peterson; On a recent cool evening, Bjay and Reggie C. Breese parked their Ford truck behind an Albertson's grocery store and watched a half-dozen cats scatter in the headlights.

Steady rain makes for hazardous highways: A winter storm dumped rain and snow on Southern Nevada today, causing two separate accidents on Interstate 15 that injured seven people, three of them critically.

Major audit of university system sought: CARSON CITY -- Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, today called for a major audit of the University and Community College System of Nevada to look into allegations that money is being wasted and there is a lack of inventory of equipment.

State seeks to ban alleged mobsters from casinos: ATLANTIC CITY -- The state Division of Gaming Enforcement has asked that two reputed mobsters be placed on the so-called "exclusion list," banning them from all Atlantic City casinos and casino-hotels.

Gaming people for February 26, 2001: Former Reserve hotel-casino Vice President and General Manager Angie Baker and assistant general managers Todd Stewart and Carolyn Dobbs stayed on with Ameristar Casinos Inc. after it sold the Reserve to Station Casinos Inc.

Columnist Rusty Wallace: Loss of Earnhardt weighs heavily on teams: Rusty Wallace; We always enjoy coming to Las Vegas for the annual Winston Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but this year we come with very heavy hearts in the wake of the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Dale Earnhardt.

Budget crunch unlikely to hurt quest for Pitino: Steve Addy; If UNLV basketball fans are fearful that the school's athletic department deficit will drive Rick Pitino into Louisville or Michigan's waiting arms, they're probably worrying over nothing.

Reid seeks additional investigation of DOE: The senator on Friday requested the General Accounting Office probe issues raised in the letter about qualifications of top government managers of the project, which is studying the mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Scientists warn of quake risks in Southern Nevada: More information about earthquakes is available from the seismic laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno, website (seismo.unr.edu)

Sports book executive sues former employer: In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Sid Diamond, who said he was a former sports book director, sued San Jose, Costa Rica-based online gaming company Go Cash, formerly known as Go Call Inc. and its owner, Michael Ruge, alleging they tried to mislead consumers into thinking Diamond was still associated with them by naming him as part of their "Corporate Team."

NASCAR Winston Cup Dura-Lube 400 Running Order: 1. (92) Stacy Compton, Dodge, running

2000-01 state basketball tournament results: 4A TOURNAMENT

Inquest verdict angers Le Menn's family: Keith Paul; The coroner's inquest into the death of a French citizen inside the Clark County jail did not answer many questions, but it did enrage the man's family, marking not the end but just the beginning of further investigations and lawsuits.

Clashes continue over suspects' secret hearing: District Judge Kathy Hardcastle today chided a defense lawyer representing one of the Bellagio robbery suspects for complaining about the unusual courtroom procedures in the security-heightened case.

Speedo the ultimate fit for sports enthusiasts: Jennifer Prosser; Even if you're not a workout buff, chances are you're familiar with Speedo Authentic Fitness. Whether you have seen it at the gym, the beach or on Olympic athletes, Speedo's exercise gear is distinct in quality and design.

Trends for February 26, 2001: Lisa Ferguson; Lisa Ferguson is the Sun assistant features editor. Her Trends column appears Mondays. Reach her at lisa@lasvegassun.com or 259-4060.

New Frontier dealers vote for organization: Out of 105 eligible dealers, 48 voted in favor of the union while 42 voted against. The union has now triumphed at three Strip properties, including the Tropicana and the Stratosphere.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Gorman lets history slip away: Dean Juipe; Rightly or wrongly, had Bishop Gorman won the state 4A boys basketball championship Friday night in Reno I was going to write today that the Gaels were the finest prep team in Nevada history.

NASCAR Driver appearances in Vegas: Dale Jarrett: 5-6 p.m., The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Lawmakers plan to close pot loophole: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- State legislators find themselves in quite an unusual position this session after learning they inadvertently made it legal to grow up to 100 pounds of marijuana.

Sierra Pacific stock up on big rate hike: The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada has approved a controversial rate increase for Sierra Pacific Resources Inc. that would raise the average Nevada Power Co. residential bill by 17 percent.

Letter: Escaping from the pardon mess: He and Hillary have only one forthright way to get out of this problem. They must publicly refund Denise Rich the $450,000 for the Clinton library, the $500,000 for Hillary's Senate campaign and the $1 million for Clinton's presidential campaign, and return the various presents Denise gave them both.

Editorial: Taking one more crack at privacy: Shelby's bill would prohibit financial institutions from selling and buying an individual's Social Security number. Occasionally this violation of privacy gets attention. For instance, last year U.S. Bancorp settled a privacy lawsuit brought by 38 states (including Nevada) after it was disclosed that U.S. Bank had received commissions for selling private information about its customers to marketers. Some of that information included an individual's Social Security numbers, marital status and account balances. While U.S. Bancorp's privacy violations received some public scrutiny, the fact is that these Social Security numbers get traded and sold constantly -- and the public never knows ...

Energy package unveiled: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- America needs to boost energy production -- including nuclear power -- and launch new conservation initiatives to dig the nation out of an "energy crisis," leading Senate Republicans said today.

Obituaries for February 26, 2001: Frank L. King, 78, of Pahrump died Thursday in a local hospital. He was born Sept. 14, 1922, in Seneca Falls, N.Y. A resident for seven years, he was a retired diesel mechanic for a trucking company and a World War II Army veteran.

Jury selection begins in bizarre murder case: Kim Smith; Jury selection in the Margaret Rudin murder trial began this morning after two attempts to get it halted failed.

Fourth teacher faces charges of having sex with students: Kris Hill; A Clark County School District employee, the fourth in recent weeks to be charged with sexual relations with a student, was arrested by Escondido, Calif., police in a hotel parking lot.

Legendary absence: Last year's NASCAR Winston Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was cut short because of rain.

Jury selection starts in DUI case: Kim Smith; Jury selection was set to begin this morning in the trial of a Las Vegas man charged with drunken driving in an accident that paralyzed Megabucks winner Cynthia Jay-Brennan and killed her sister, Lela Anne Jay.

Mall developer secures parcel: David Frank, principal with New Mark Merrill, confirmed his company has placed the parcel under escrow. The land parcel, now owned by Sahara owner Bill Bennett, is part of the vacant 39-acre tract at the northwest corner of Sahara and the Strip. The 3 acres now under escrow are located south of a 1,500-unit high-rise timeshare project planned by Hilton Hotels Corp., and just north of Circus Circus.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Don't take S&R for granted: Rumblings along the Scrawl crawl:

Grieb guides Outlaws to victory: Anne M. Peterson; SAN FRANCISCO - A week ago, Mark Grieb was a student in the Master's program at Stanford. This Sunday, he was a Las Vegas Outlaw.

Letter: Seniors demand fair treatment: We, the notch babies, have been treated very unfairly just because we were born between the years of 1917 and 1926, and we receive less money from Social Security that is due us. Is this fair?

Guilty plea entered in insurance fraud: District Judge John McGroarty has set April 19 for sentencing of Rory G. Graham, who pleaded guilty to bilking auto insurance companies out of $83,324 by filing false claims in the wreck of a Lexus.

Seven LV Valley residents die in weekend shootings: Seven Las Vegas Valley residents were gunned down over the weekend in four separate shootings, including three family members killed after an argument.

Father of teen killed in crash wants probe of county officials: Kim Smith; The father of one of six teenagers killed March 19 on Interstate 15 while picking up trash has asked the attorney general's office to investigate whether any county officials should be criminally charged in the deaths.

Controversy, suits follow sale of Thunderbird properties: Grace Leong; Flamboyant gambling entrepreneur Bob Stupak's plan to sell a collection of small motels and a wedding chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard has led to a flurry of litigation over allegedly defaulted payments and even the ownership of reputed "moon rocks."

Race week schedule: 3 p.m. -- Gates open at The Bullring

Ensign puts building alliances ahead of rushing into fights: Sen. John Ensign has learned quickly that as a new member of the upper house, he can't go in with guns blazing and hope to change fellow lawmakers' opinions about a proposed betting ban on college sports or a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.

Top seller named: The community in Las Vegas, developed by the Rouse Co.'s Howard Hughes Corp., had nearly 1,000 more sales in 2000 than its nearest rival, Irvine Ranch of Orange County, Calif.