Print edition for January 8, 2001

Babbitt says overturning Clinton's environmental legacy would be: Babbitt, in an interview with The Associated Press, said, "I think that attempts to undo the gains of the last eight years are going to be very costly, because there's an enormous amount of public support."

Las Vegas casinos lay odds on upcoming "Survivor" show: Lisa Snedeker; The Sahara has Kel Gleason as a 6-1 favorite, while the Stardust hotel-casino down the Strip is listing him at 4-1 to win the televised contest in the Australian outback.

LV pizza purchases over Internet-cell phones tested: The trial, dubbed "Pizzacast Mobile Shopping," will allow the companies to assess whether Web-enabled cell phones can become a new method for reaching new and existing customers. The initiative is part of Motorola's "Mobile Shopping," a service designed to allow customers using cell phones for Internet access to purchase a variety of items from vendors.

Casino has operating loss of $98 million: Kyle, in a brief interview Monday, noted that his report was for a nine-month period. "If you annualize the debt, that $98 million loss becomes $130 million."

South Carolina AG says Internet gambling games illegal: The Keno games were in at least two Li'l Cricket convenience stores in Spartanburg, the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reported recently.

Jermaine says 'Jackson Five' brothers are recording, may tour: Ken Ritter; Jermaine Jackson told a disc jockey from a new subscription radio station that Michael Jackson is among the brothers recording new material for a compact disc to be released in July.

Birth announcements for January 8, 2001: Dec. 26: A boy to Brandi and Keith Nelson; a boy to Victoria Tipton and Desroy Watkis; a girl to Dawn Applegate. Dec. 27: A boy to Jennifer and Brian Spracklin; a girl to Katrina Murray. Dec. 28: A girl to Amber VanEtten and Don Hoffman; a girl to Georgette and Manuel Zambela; a boy to Rosemary and Lance Malone; a boy to Natasha and Timothy Burns Sr. Dec. 29: A boy to Mariana and Ashley Hall II; a girl to Mary and Josef Shrum.

Two Philadelphia men charged in Atlantic City heists: Williams remained Monday in the Atlantic County Jail on $35,000 bail, but Reed has apparently posted bail.

Bid for Indian casinos in Nebraska faces opposition: Opposition remains strong to a proposal (LR6CA) that Schimek introduced Monday.

Business people for January 8, 2001: Brad Peterson and Randy Broadhead are senior vice presidents at CB Richard Ellis.

Vegas firm hopes to cash in on Microsoft's Xbox: An innovation unveiled by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Saturday could lead to more jobs in Las Vegas in the future, a local technology executive said.

National's creditors try to protect themselves: Grace Leong; Big creditors of the bankrupt National Airlines of Las Vegas are jockeying to protect their financial claims in court as the company tries to reorganize its debt.

Court briefs for January 8, 2001: A 52-year-old man suspected of shooting and stabbing his wife to death two days before Christmas will remain in the Clark County Detention Center without bond.

Preps boys basketball standings: CLASS 4A

Guinn tells Bush of opposition to nuke site: Gov. Kenny Guinn said Sunday he voiced his concerns about storing high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain to President-elect George W. Bush during a weekend visit to Texas.

Burton seeking fast start with Dodge: Ward Burton always has been goal-oriented during his seven-year NASCAR Winston Cup career, which poses a problem for the Virginia native as he heads into the 2001 season.

Homeless' lot worsens: Diana Sahagun; In a matter of months more than 400 men who walk the streets of the Las Vegas homeless corridor will find themselves with no bed, no mat, no warm place to sleep at night.

Gaming chairman named: CARSON CITY -- Dennis Neilander, an expert in corporate securities, today was named chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, the agency that polices the gambling industry in Nevada.

Two Boulder City Council seats on line in election: Jeffrey Libby; Key dates

Gaming giant MGM MIRAGE to beat profit expectations: David Strow; Just days after Park Place Entertainment Corp. warned it would not meet fourth-quarter earnings estimates, gaming giant MGM MIRAGE today said it would beat analyst expectations by the quarter by as much as 5 cents per share.

Tribal court ruling gives hope to 14 ousted Paiutes: Jace Radke and Ed Koch; A decision by a tribal court judge may give a group of 14 Las Vegas Paiute Indians the chance to return to their tribe and share in its financial success that includes annual disbursements of almost $100,000 per person.

Pitino: Talk of the town: Steve Addy; Max Good is the Rebels' basketball coach, and will be for the rest of the season.

High court speeds up teachers' tax case hearing: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has agreed to put on the fast track an appeal of the legality of an initiative petition that would impose a 4 percent business profits tax to support schools.

DVDs energize home video market: Lisa Snedeker; While music sales lagged last year, video and DVD sales finished strongly, and video rentals hit record highs, industry experts say.

Newly public LV company gains attention at CES: A high-tech company that went public last week and markets proximity alarm systems is one of five Las Vegas companies exhibiting at the 2001 International Consumer Electronics Show.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Coast's Muniz will be tough to replace: Ralph Siraco; The word started spreading around the race book early Thursday morning. By the time the last race at Santa Anita was official, the rumors had turned to fact.

Lafarge buying rival: LONDON -- Lafarge SA of France has agreed to buy rival Blue Circle Industries PLC in a deal which values the British cement manufacturer at $4.7 billion and would create the world's biggest cement producer.

Columnist Dean Juipe: How about Rick Pitino and UNLV?: Dean Juipe; There are people who think we should give the subject a rest, that we should take a sabbatical when it comes to speculating on UNLV's next men's basketball coach.

Motorola, Domino's try pizza test: The trial, dubbed "Pizzacast Mobile Shopping," will allow the companies to assess whether Web-enabled cell phones can become a new method for reaching new and existing customers. The initiative is part of Motorola's "Mobile Shopping," a service designed to allow customers using cell phones for Internet access to buy items.

Extra $1.2 million headed for Nevada for energy assistance: CARSON CITY -- An extra $1.2 million in federal funds is headed to Nevada to help low-income families pay their energy bills, just as the price of natural gas is skyrocketing.

California Indian casino recruiting workers in Vegas: Casino officials say they need 700 workers in a variety of positions for the Agua Caliente Casino, located in Rancho Mirage. Workers will also be needed for the tribe's Spa Resort and Casino in Palm Springs.

Yucca design raises doubts: An independent scientific board is criticizing a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, saying the Energy Department cannot support its basic design.

Community news briefs for January 8, 2001: United Blood Services, 6930 W. Charleston Blvd., has scheduled blood drives at these locations:

Prep Schedule: MONDAY

Burton scores 34 as Bandits down Slam: Burton, who had 17 points in the first half, scored 32 of his points from the floor. He was only 2-for-8 from the free throw line but hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Local news briefs for January 8, 2001: The Clark County coroner's office continues to investigate the cause of death of a man who died Thursday in Metro Police custody.

Leija looks strong in win: Dean Juipe; With the incentive of landing a bigger fight on the horizon, James Leija came into his Sunday bout with Freddie Ladd at Texas Station with a reason to shine.

Experts: Bush administration will be unfriendly to sex industry: A panel of legal experts concluded that while the incoming Bush administration may be more aggressive in its prosecution of the adult entertainment industry for distributing sexually oriented material, liberalized community standards will make it harder for the government to win convictions.

Rebels to open MWC play vs. Air Force: Steve Addy; The Mountain West tournament begins for the Rebels tonight.

Shopping with Rita: Amy Schmidt; Rita Rudner needs a new pair of shoes. Black ones. I'm joining the buying expedition to see how the other half shops. We meet at the chichi-est of Las Vegas shopping zions, the corridor at Bellagio, because I figure that's where people like Rita Rudner (wealthy, attractive celebrity types) pick up life's little necessities.

Prosecutors consider jealousy as possible motive in slaying: Kim Smith; For years prosecutors have maintained that Margaret Rudin killed her husband to get her hands on his millions. Seven boxes found last month have provided prosecutors with another possible motive: jealousy.

Obituaries for January 8, 2001: Andy Abraham, 75, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was born March 21, 1925, in New Kensington, Pa. A resident for 27 years, he was a World War II Marine Corps veteran.

Goodman speech looks like mixed bag: Erin Neff; Speech

Homestead protection hike sought: CARSON CITY -- Because of the skyrocketing prices of homes, state Sen. Ann O'Connell said she will introduce a bill in the 2001 Legislature to boost the homestead protection exemption from $125,000 to $150,000.

Wells Fargo unveils stock buying program for small investors: Michael Liedtke; SAN FRANCISCO -- Hoping to lure more casual investors into online investing, Wells Fargo & Co. today unveiled a new Internet service that allows customers to buy individual stocks in small batches.

Culinary wins Rio legal battle: David Strow; The Culinary Union won a sudden victory in its bitter organizing battle at the Rio on Friday when a state judge ordered the hotel-casino's parent company to conduct a card count at the off-Strip property.

Life-or-death segment of Butler nears end with closing arguments: Kim Smith; Jurors who must decide if John Edward Butler should die for shooting two anti-racist skinheads to death two years ago will hear closing arguments this afternoon.

Nelson hopes to catch on with Outlaws: Victoria Sun; Corey Nelson's speed almost earned him a spot on U.S. Olympic 4 x 400 relay team.

LV gaming company sues partner over kiosk problems: Players Network sued Netbooth Corp., a computer kiosk manufacturer in Clark County District Court, alleging it lost business because it wasn't able to display gaming instruction information on the kiosks to potential customers.

Carbon monoxide level meets rules: Officials with the region's air-quality agencies said today that they have achieved two straight years without exceeding federal carbon monoxide pollution standards -- an achievement that could provide a breather from threats of federal sanctions.

TWA, AA merger called likely: The proposed acquisition of TWA by American Airlines shouldn't have an immediate effect on Las Vegas passenger traffic, local aviation experts say.

Big Pahrump development sold: Lahaina Acquisitions Inc. said it will have an on-site mortgage office at Mountain Falls once Summit Group Inc. completes its acquisition of the development from Collins. Lahaina said its subsidiary, United Capital Mortgage Corp., will act as a "preferred provider" of mortgages for the Mountain Falls development.

Always On His Mind: Elvis has left the Roadhouse.

Letter: City is slow to help homeless: I lived in the Long Beach, Calif., area for 29 years and the area of Los Angeles for 31 years. Both cities give more help to the homeless than Las Vegas. Los Angeles and Long Beach have places for them to sleep and eat. They also have some programs for them to get back to the working field.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Pondering Presley at age 66: Question: At what point do we stop saying of a famous dead person, "If he had lived, he'd be (insert number) years old."?

Emergency management chief hired: Timothy McAndrew has been appointed as the new chief over the city's emergency operations center, as well as public education programs and earthquake preparedness.

Letter: Urgent need to revamp U.S. voting process: I have a friend who worked as an assistant inspector on Election Day in Scripps Ranch, a financially comfortable section of San Diego. The votamatic machines were stuck and inoperative by 10 a.m., and they had to call the registrar of voters to come and fix the machines. Imagine how the voting machines were operating in the inner city! And how long does it take to get them operable again? This was a problem across the country. These are the kind of machines that caused Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to call the voter "incompetent."

Editorial: County just can't seem to get along: At a City Council meeting last week, Councilman Larry Brown complained about the county's failure to require the construction of sidewalks, flood-improvement projects and traffic signals along a stretch of Buffalo Drive in the fast-growing northwest. What piqued Brown's ire was that a new middle school in the area will be placed on Lone Mountain Road, which doesn't yet have sidewalks or flood control. Brown correctly notes that the lack of needed infrastructure improvements risks the safety of children who attend these schools.

Trends for January 8, 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.