Print edition for January 29, 2001

Detroit adult club feud may be settled in Vegas: Adrienne Packer; A feud that has been brewing for years between competing topless cabaret owners along Detroit's club-ridden Eight Mile Road has moved west to Las Vegas, where it soon could be settled by Clark County officials.

Computer school employees finally paid: For the 27 employees of a computer school that closed its doors a week ago, yesterday was more than just Super Bowl Sunday -- it was payday.

Court briefs for January 29, 2001: A Clark County jury convicted a Las Vegas man of first-degree murder Friday evening.

Nevada using power crisis as tool to recruit: Gary Gentile; Bob Shriver, whose job is to attract business to Nevada, held back when California was rocked by earthquakes. He bit his tongue through fires and floods. But California's power crisis is just too good an opportunity to resist.

Study: HMOs in Nevada are below average: Nevada health maintenance organizations as a whole perform below the national average in nearly every quality and performance category, a state study says.

Accused killer of girl found dead: Sandra Chereb; MINDEN -- An autopsy was expected to provide some clues into the death of an accused pedophile on trial for the rape and killing of a 9-year-old Lake Tahoe girl.

Communications giant posts $1.7 billion loss: NEW YORK -- AT&T Corp. closed out a dismal year with a fourth-quarter loss of $1.7 billion and a 50 percent drop in operating profits, mostly due to costs from its ExciteAtHome and MediaOne cable units.

Hospital owner plans regional office in Las Vegas: Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA-The Healthcare Co. is expected to lease space for an administrative office to oversee billing and purchasing operations for the company's 18 hospitals in the West.

One felony fraud case against Rhodes dropped: Kim Smith; One of four felony insurance fraud-related charges against North Las Vegas City Councilman John Rhodes has been dismissed on a technicality.

Obituaries for January 29, 2001: Thomas Alessandra, 87, of Las Vegas died Sunday in a local hospital. He was born Dec. 18, 1913, in Brooklyn, N.Y. A resident for 26 years, he was a retired federal government shipfitter.

Counties may control child welfare: A bipartisan plan backed by Gov. Kenny Guinn would transfer state-run foster care programs to Clark and Washoe counties, a move aimed at improving the lives of abused and neglected children.

Super day for Ravens, Stern's fans: Jace Radke; For the thousands of fans who gathered at the Hard Rock hotel-casino Sunday, the Super Bowl was only the warm-up to four hours with radio shock jock Howard Stern.

Study: State lags in drug help: A Columbia University study released today ranks Nevada in the bottom quarter among states in spending on substance abuse prevention and treatment.

Tribe starts construction of $65 million casino: TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Pascua Yaqui Tribe broke ground Friday for a new casino that's intended to cater to a different clientele than does the tribe's nearby Casino of the Sun.

Bush concerned energy shortage is spreading in West: Power plan

Deadly gunfire may be linked to drugs: Keith Paul and Jace Radke; An ambush on Sunday night that left a suspect dead and two Metro Police officers and a security guard wounded may have been drug-related.

Union splits in dealer elections: However, the TWU missed out on the biggest prize yet of the campaign, when the 743 dealers of the MGM Grand voted 542-189 against representation in a Saturday election.

Bail raised for suspect in fatal DUI: Kim Smith; An Illinois woman indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter and DUI charges in connection with a fatal accident has until Friday to come up with another $150,000 in bail.

Memorial held for man who died in county jail: Andrew Bridges; LOS ANGELES -- Family and friends gathered Sunday to remember Philippe Le Menn, a 33-year-old French citizen who died after struggling with guards in the Clark County Detention Center.

A year after Mapes implosion, Reno asked to toughen historic preservation ordinance: Martim Griffith; RENO, Nev. - A year after the implosion of the historic Mapes Hotel, the City Council is being asked to toughen the city's historic preservation ordinance.

NLV voters will be asked to OK tax hike for library: Diana Sahagun; North Las Vegas residents will be asked again in June to raise their taxes to pay for a new library in the city's northwest.

UNLV football team moves up home opener one day: Steve Guiremand; UNLV football fans who are eager for the Rebels' 2001 home opener against Northwestern won't have to wait quite as long to watch Jason Thomas and company at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Super Bowl Summary: First Quarter

UNLV shows closing kick against Aztecs: Steve Addy; At the end of a long week, the Rebels' tank wasn't empty after all.

Gamblers not 'over'-joyed with results: Las Vegas sports books chalked up a win Sunday.

Trends for January 29, 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.

Editorial: Look under every rock for truth: It is understandable that Berkley wants more than a probe of TRW Environmental Safety Systems, an investigation that began after the Sun obtained a document suggesting that Yucca Mountain is safe to store high-level nuclear waste -- despite the fact that the DOE hasn't finished its inquiry yet.

Birth announcements for January 29, 2001: Jan. 13: a boy to Melissa and James Dutter. Jan. 15: A girl to Georgia and Martin Hessen. Jan. 17: A boy to Scarlett and Christopher Allison; a girl to Ronda Meyer and Billie Froyd. Jan. 18: A boy to Sarah and Kenneth Medina; a boy to Tracie McGrath and Michael Rodriguez. Jan. 19: A girl to Marisol and Andres Coronado; a girl to Jillyn and Claude Fowler. Jan. 21: A girl to Nancy and Mario Arseno.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Conflicting trends mark NFL season: Dean Juipe; Through the first two months of the National Football League season, the central theme was offense.

Nevada Power parent seeks big 17% rate hike: Walt Higgins, chairman and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Resources Inc., Reno, said the company's comprehensive energy package proposes long-term contracts to purchase power, financial assistance for low-income customers and conservation and tiered price increases.

Community news briefs for January 29, 2001: Becker Middle School will hold its fifth annual One-Act Festival at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: One man's Eclipse thoughts ...: Ralph Siraco; On Tuesday night at the Sanger Theatre in New Orleans,the hardware will be handed out for thoroughbred racing's annual Eclipse Awards.

Ravens are Giant killers: Michael Madden; TAMPA, Fla. -- All the New York fans could muster was a weak chant of "Let's go Yankees" as they meandered down the ramps of Raymond James Stadium Sunday night after a thrashing the likes of which a Gotham team seldom has endured.

Local news briefs for January 29, 2001: A Las Vegas man was found dead Saturday from apparent gunshot wounds on State Route 170 near Mesquite about 80 miles north of Las Vegas.

Robinson impressed by secondary: Steve Guiremand; UNLV football coach John Robinson's analysis of Super Bowl XXXV was probably similiar to that of the many millions who watched Baltimore's 34-7 victory on Sunday.

Letter: Nevada may be next to suffer electricity crunch: They're building some new power plants but not nearly enough to offset growth. Typical lack of effective action by government agencies and politicians, who saw it coming but chose to ignore the warning signs in order to cater to those in power. Unfortunately, California isn't an island unto itself and its pain may soon be our pain. In many ways, Las Vegas is headed down the same path with our city officials and politicians promoting pro-growth policies (zoning changes, limits on developer fees, etc.) all the time insisting that our water and power supply is good enough to support growth ...

Dogs' lives are made more comfortable by tough bedding: Kris Hill; Sheri Spurlock arrived home one day recently to find that the new dog beds she had spent $600 on the day before for her Labrador, Dalmatian and Labrador-Chow mix had been destroyed by her pets.

Prep Schedule: MONDAY

Obituary missed nice opportunity: What has happened to the once respected Las Vegas Sun?

Meat truck plunges off Spaghetti Bowl: Jace Radke; Shifting sides of beef may have been at least partially to blame for a tractor-trailer falling from one of the Spaghetti Bowl's flyover ramps and crashing onto a dirt area in the interchange Sunday afternoon.

Pet owners and their pals show off 'stupid' tricks: Kimberley McGee; Before reality shows made prime-time television a voyeuristic playground, David Letterman created a comedy bit that has stood the test of time.