Stories published June 1, 2001Las Vegas Sun

Columnist Dean Juipe: Boxing reformists are falling: Dean Juipe; Hardly a day goes by without news of some governmental agency sticking its nose into professional boxing.

National shutdown would hurt casinos, at least in short-term: David Strow; If National Airlines is forced to shut down, McCarran International Airport would lose its No. 5 air carrier overnight.

Beaming utility boss bids farewell: By Emily Richmond; More than 300 Nevada Power employees gathered Thursday along a modified parade route behind its headquarters on Sahara Avenue to bid farewell to their hero.

Online gaming bill is revived: CARSON CITY -- After being buried four days ago, the bill to allow Nevada casinos to conduct Internet gambling has been revived.

New funding plan could aid teachers: Cy Ryan and Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- A Senate-Assembly budget committee has sweetened the pot for schoolteachers, but the deal depends on the outcome of two bills pending before Monday's adjournment.

Downtown site proposals aired: Diana Sahagun; Four developers are in the running to build a medical center, cultural arts center and sports arena in downtown Las Vegas, promising to bring thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue to the struggling area.

Dramatic increase in Type II diabetes seen: Local medical experts and health officials nationwide are alarmed by the rising numbers of children -- some as young as 10 years old -- being diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes.

Senators offer wide-ranging plans for land: They came to bring a little something for everyone -- land for development, more land for utilities and yet more land for environmental protection.

National saga nears finale: Sale or shutdown possible: National Airlines was poised today to learn whether a judge will grant a motion that would prevent the company from running out of cash.

Energy firms eye Nevada 'green' power: By Timothy Pratt; A bill that has passed the Legislature and is awaiting Gov. Kenny Guinn's signature has energy companies from Florida to California considering investments in Nevada that could total $500 million to $3 billion over the next decade.

Downtown hotel fire causes minor injuries: Keith Paul; Rose Kresyman has not been lucky in Las Vegas.

Daschle high on Nevada's future: Nevada's fight against Yucca Mountain and a betting ban on college sports will gain support on Capitol Hill when the Democrats take control of the Senate next week, incoming Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Thursday.

Court briefs for June 1, 2001: A mistrial was declared Thursday in the trial of a Las Vegas man accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled woman and hiring a hitman to kill her.

Las Vegas readies itself to cash in on convention industry boom: The expansion of the Las Vegas convention and trade show business could be more significant than a new wave of megaresorts to stimulate visitor demand, new research indicates.

Crime briefs for June 1, 2001: A 25-year-old Hawaii man wanted after fleeing before he was sentenced on a sexual assault charge was arrested in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Defects alleged in lawsuits: Monte Vista said it had to pay for repairs and investigate and settle claims from several homeowners who complained their homes had defects including "heaving, cracking, buckling and loss of stability of the walls, slabs and foundations."

High-tech phones delayed: The nation's second largest mobile phone carrier has delayed offering its new phones in Southern Nevada and other markets until later this summer to avoid glitches that may hinder the customer's experience, a Cingular spokeswoman said.

Jail psychiatrist quits under fire: Keith Paul; A psychiatrist who treats inmates in Clark County resigned Thursday before an investigation was completed into allegations that led to him being barred from practicing medicine in two other states.

Deal made in case of sex abuse at boys home: Kim Smith; A Las Vegas man accused of sexually abusing five boys at a state-run home for emotionally handicapped children has accepted a deal.

PurchasePro CFO vows to clean up accounting procedures: Ross Snel; After a series of earnings adjustments that tarnished its credibility and sank its stock price, PurchasePro executives say the Las Vegas company's accounting woes are likely behind it.

Casino opponents say development would jeopardize artifacts: Clayton Bellamy; JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A proposed casino near Kimmswick would endanger prehistoric artifacts buried near the quaint river town, opponents told the Missouri Gaming Commission.

LV coffee shop chain seeks arbitration in House2Home dispute: Grace Leong; A judge has declined to immediately rule on home improvement giant HomeBase Inc.'s request to garnish a Las Vegas coffee retailer's assets to satisfy HomeBase's claims on $1.522 million in allegedly unpaid license fees and unreimbursed costs to build coffee shops in its new House2Home stores.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Saturday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Brooklyn Road -- Draws good post for sprint opener, Delahoussaye on Spawr trainee here, Road to winners circle may lead through Brooklyn. Evening Meeting -- Training at Anita, Baze aboard Baffert trainee for owner Golden Eagle Farm, connections always has them ready. Value Play -- Continental Lu

State Senate moves against Internet gambling: The measure, SB755, passed 57-2 without debate and was returned to the Senate for action on amendments.

PCL Box: Las Vegas-Fresno: DP--Las Vegas 1, Fresno 1. LOB--Las Vegas 5, Fresno 10. 2B--Gilbert, Gil, Melo, Leach. HR--Gilbert (8), Aven (4), Leach (10), Ransom (7). S--K. Johnson, Alvarez. SB--K. Johnson, Mota.

Study finds drug helps control gambling behavior: Seventy-five percent of problem gamblers treated with the drug naltrexone reported a reduction in their urge to gamble, the clinical study found. Naltrexone acts on brain areas that process pleasure and urges, and the study's lead investigator, Dr. Suck Won Kim, theorizes the drug could be effective in the treatment of problem gambling.

MGM MIRAGE adds energy surcharge at some LV-area hotels: Nightly surcharges of $3 will be implemented June 1 for room reservations made at the MGM Grand, Mirage, New York-New York and Treasure Island, the company said. Those charges are in line with surcharges already in place at Harrah's Las Vegas, the Rio, the Riviera and properties owned by Station Casinos Inc. A $2.25 per night surcharge will take effect at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas.

Basketball at casino prompts student gambling worries: Diane Scarponi; MONTVILLE, Conn. -- A new player is muscling into the big-money melee around college basketball: gambling casinos, which want to offer college games as part of their entertainment mix.

Seniors struggle with fine print on credit cards: Erica Johnson; Senior Citizens Project

Alternate cooling process proposed for nuke waste: AMARGOSA VALLEY -- An alternate design of Yucca Mountain believed to do a better job of cooling the nuclear waste that would be buried there received a cool reception at a public hearing Thursday night.

Saturday's horse racing entries: Post Time 1 p.m.

Early voting comes to end: Early voting is running nearly 5,000 ballots ahead of the 1999 municipal election, but Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax says that actually this year is on pace with the previous municipal election.

Builder issues challenge for Camp Fund donors: Schwartz, who recently donated $5,000 to the Camp Fund, has written his colleagues in the home-building industry urging them to donate as well. He believes in giving back to the community, especially when it involves children.

Letter: Marketing not the 51s' strong point: By Ron Kantowski; Which monkey is in charge of marketing? I made an all-day project of finding 51s info. Except for the stupid ads in the paper, it was hopeless.

Rehab program grads seek new start: Rebecca Malone; Fifteen years of drug and alcohol use tore their family apart. They lost their jobs and their home. Their four children went to live with their grandmother.

Voters have say in council's pay: Jeffrey Libby; Boulder City voters decide Tuesday whether the mayor and council members should keep salaries and benefits that already rank them as the lowest paid elected officials in the Las Vegas Valley.

LV doctor prevails in $1 million dispute with IRS: Jerry Moskal; WASHINGTON -- With a court victory under his belt, Dr. James Tinnell returned to concentrating on his first love -- mining.

Bankruptcies: Edmark Enterprises Inc., also known as Jitters Gourmet Coffee, also known as Jitters of Boulder City, 227 Drysdale Circle, filed for Chapter 7, listing assets of $543 and liabilities of $293,857.

Goodman rethinks plan on health cards for outcall workers: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is rethinking his proposal to require escorts and outcall entertainers to get health cards and periodic medical exams after hearing from the Clark County Health District.

McGowan came through in clutch: Spencer Patterson; 1998 -- Kourtney Davis, Galena

Guzman was star at the plate: Spencer Patterson; 1998 -- Mike Nannini, Green Valley

Guzman, McGowan earn Player of the Year honors: Spencer Patterson; The 2001 all-state teams were selected by the Las Vegas Sun, with input from coaches and other media outlets statewide.

Suspect in shooting recent parolee: Kim Smith; One of the six suspected gang members accused of shooting a North Las Vegas man to death in March was released less than a year ago in connection with another gang-related shooting.

Lawsuit settled in death of child: Kim Smith; A 22-year-old Las Vegas woman whose infant son was killed when a Yellow Cab driver veered off the road and struck them three years ago has settled her lawsuit for $10.9 million.

2001 All-State Baseball roster: C: Robert Grana, Cimarron-Memorial, Sr. .358, 7 HR, 11 2B, 40 RBI

Japanese-American veterans honored: Angela Soo; Despite being treated like enemy aliens in a country they considered their homeland, thousands of Japanese-American soldiers still risked their lives for American freedom during World War II.

2001 All-State Softball Roster: C: Teresa Miller, Galena, Jr. .563, 3 HR, 8 2B, 17 RBI

Lake Mead on list of dangerous parks: Lake Mead National Recreation Area is ranked as the seventh most dangerous national park because it does not have enough firefighters, a report produced by park rangers said today.

Lawmaker maps plans should lottery be approved: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Although residents would have to wait four years to play a state-approved lottery, Assemblywoman Kathy McClain has some ideas on how to set it up.

Protection of environment critical to proposal: A proposal by Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign for a new federal land-use bill for Southern Nevada is, for now, just that: a proposal.

51s snap 4-game losing streak at Fresno: Thanks to first baseman Brian Johnson's two-out RBI single in the ninth inning, Las Vegas (23-31) found a way to snap its four-game losing streak with an 8-7 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies (24-29) on Thursday night.

Deal made in sexual assault case: The man, whose name is being withheld by the Sun to protect the identity of the child, will formally plead guilty to sexual assault June 7 before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

UNLV's Barto finishes 10th in 1,500 prelim: Barto finished her race in 4:41.09, failing to claim one of the coveted 12 berths in Saturday's final. The top four from each heat plus the next four fastest times advanced to the final.

Columnist Spencer Patterson: Lacrosse comes to Palo Verde as club sport: Spencer Patterson; Rick Minoski is tired of hearing that lacrosse is an East Coast sport.

Kambala may go undrafted: Steve Addy; The rush of 75 early entry candidates might have pushed UNLV center Kaspars Kambala deep into the second round of the NBA draft.

Union predicts district teacher shortage in fall: Terry Webster; A fall teacher shortage appears inevitable, according to the Clark County Education Association.

Baja 500 draws stellar field: This year's renewal of one of the oldest and most famous desert races has drawn many of the top stars of the sport, including 11 former overall winners: Larry Ragland, Robby Gordon, Bud Feldkamp, Mark and Scott McMillin, Rob MacCachren, Curt LeDuc, Larry Roeseler, Johnny Campbell, Jonah Street and Dan Smith.

Bridge demolition forces closure of U.S. 95: One of Nevada's busiest highways will close this weekend, part of an effort to build a wider, faster road through Las Vegas.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Castroneves to make a run at CART title: Helio Castroneves didn't have much time to celebrate his victory in Sunday's Indianapolis 500.

This week's races: Site: Dover, Del.

News of the Day: 1997: Story: The last time Comet Hale-Bopp swung past Earth, Babylonian astronomers were charting the course of the five then-known planets. Now Hale-Bopp is back, billed as the celestial event of the century.

Where I Stand -- Hank Greenspun: Big oil making out well in gas crisis: The oil companies have a license to rob the public because the elected officials who give them the authority steal themselves.

Joe Delaney remembers 1997: Frankie Valli at the Desert Inn: Joe Delaney remembers 1997: Frankie Valli at the Desert Inn

Letter: 'Price controls' now 'price caps': Mike Allen of the Washington Post reported on May 19 that Bush advisers expected a tough reception for the administration's energy plan. It happened. They were surprised by the negative coverage, particularly on network television.

Letter: Elderly have paid their dues: We are not selfish people -- we have lived here for 30 years and have paid our share of taxes when our children went to school. Now they are married and our grandchildren have completed school.

Letter: Seniors moving here benefit from past taxes: Anyone moving here for retirement should have figured all of these expenses before moving here. So many left places where taxes and cost of living is so much higher. I'm a 46-year-resident of Las Vegas and I'm really tired of so many of these seniors complaining. They should consider moving back to where they came from. Perhaps there are enough schools already and taxes are not an issue for them.

Theater company goes from 'Beach' to the Bard: Kimberley McGee; It's a season of firsts for the Nevada Theatre Company.

Editorial: Mothballing dump would be grand idea: Why the turnaround by W. Kenneth Davis, who was a Department of Energy undersecretary from 1981 to 1983? Davis not only says that he doesn't think a repository can get the needed license to operate, but he also mentions Nevada's strong opposition as to why a repository here should be abandoned. It also bears mentioning that Davis' original proposal was much different. There were supposed to be at least two dumps in the nation, and the repository at Yucca Mountain would only be temporary.

Editorial: Openness is a badge of strength: The intent of Nevada's open meeting law is simple: Backroom deal-making is prohibited. The law seeks to preserve the public's right to know how its government arrives at its decisions. Sometimes to understand the importance of a law, it is necessary to imagine what it would be like without it. If there wasn't an open meeting law, officials could gather in secret and decide the outcome of a matter before a vote was ever taken. The public then would be shut out from knowing why county commissions, city councils or state regulatory agencies took the actions that they did. The ...

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Bryan lost, and so did we: MORE THAN TEN years have passed since then-Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., took to the Senate floor to push his stricter Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. CAFE, as it is called, very simply is a set of fuel-saving standards for automobiles being built in our country. Bryan's recommendations would have saved our nation several years of oil and gas we have used in our vehicles over the past decade.

Datebook: The sixth-annual Las Vegas Bead Show, a retail and wholesale show featuring ancient, vintage and contemporary beads, will be from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at Palace Station's Grand Ball Room. The show is in conjunction with the Las Vegas Mineral-Fossil-Gem-Jewelry Show. Admission is free.

Late-night legends: Wheeeeeeere's Johnny?

Columnist Susan Snyder: North Vegas a tale of two cities: In North Las Vegas this week two groups of residents working about two miles apart prepared for seemingly unrelated events.

Styx and stones fail to faze singer, guitarist Shaw: Kirk Baird; Journey, Styx, Bad Company, Night Ranger, Billy Squier and Molly Hatchet.

Southern Nevada Opera unveils 'Diva, Diamonds': Tonight will mark another milestone in the nurturing of a new opera company in Las Vegas.

NLV festival to spotlight food, community spirit: Southern Nevadans are being invited to North Las Vegas this weekend to sample a taste of what the community has become in recent years.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: LV Philharmonic enjoys note-perfect event: It takes many elements to create an outstanding fund-raiser. Everything was in place for the recent black-tie event on behalf of the Las Vegas Philharmonic: the perfect place -- the elegant Italianate villa and gardens of Susan and Andrew Tompkins, co-founders of the Philharmonic and longtime patrons of the arts; an exciting program and honored guest -- the showing of the 2001 Fall Collection of Oscar de la Renta with de la Renta present (it was the first time he personally presented his collection); a generous co-sponsor, Neiman Marcus with the support of NM's General Manager Terri Mansour; and a ...

Columnist Kate Maddox: Uncovering Shadow's naked truth: Kate Maddox; Apparently the phrase "17 voluptuous young ladies who look good naked and take drink orders," which I used to describe the new concierges at Shadow, was enough to make the brass at Caesars Palace a little miffed at me. Well, miffed enough to offer a private tour of the swank bar, which opens to the public at 11 p.m. today. It was a hanky-panky check. And, yes, the ladies look good, but, no, they are not naked.

Rio has a tiger by the tail with Turner: Putting an entertainer with as much talent as Earl Turner into a room that only seats 180 people is like trying to put a gallon of water into a 12-ounce glass.

Youths bring 'Shivers' to stage: With an open mind and an unusual sense of bravery, a young boy enters a haunted castle to spend three nights in the company of ghosts, gargoyles and demons, hoping to understand the concept of fear.

Columnist Jerry Fink: Frankly, crooner Barrett glad to emulate his idol: Bobby Barrett hated high school and routinely cut classes. His favorite hiding place was the research room of the library in his hometown of Everett, Mass.

Bead artists to show wares: For thousands of years beads have been used as currency, for adornment and for religious ritual. Cultures have woven them into clothing, baskets and onto furniture as decorative accents.

Barber learns to deal with her stage fright, fame: Kirk Baird; When commenting on jazz singer-pianist Patricia Barber's onstage demeanor, critics often throw out the word "cool," usually in reference to her subdued presence and icy vocal style.

Obituaries for June 1, 2001: Raymond Alderete, 70, of Henderson died Thursday in Henderson. He was born Nov. 4, 1930, in Flagstaff, Ariz. A resident for 18 years, he was a retired city government engineer and an Army veteran.

Schimmel finds humor in battle with cancer: Cancer is no laughing matter, unless you are edgy comedian Robert Schimmel.

Harrah's blocked from withdrawing cash from National: Had this fund been established, cash from ticket sales would have gone to help pay off $39.4 million in debt National owes to Harrah's, rather than capitalizing the airline. That could have caused the airline to run out of cash in days, forcing a complete shutdown.

Columnist Sandy Thompson: School problems often start at home: Sandy Thompson; IF CHILDREN entered the classroom as blank canvases, teachers might be able to create educational masterpieces.

Columnist Jeff German: Miller's legacy secure: ONLY STEVE Miller could claim victory after losing a 10-year legal battle with former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones.

Letter: School taxes benefit society: In response, I ask the following questions: Is it fair that my taxes pay for CAT bus service even though I do not ride the bus? Further, is it fair that my taxes pay for CAT Paratransit service, which is largely utilized by seniors? Is it fair that my taxes pay for new crosswalks and light signals outside retirement communities, though I will never walk across one? Why must I, a junior citizen, be burdened with paying taxes toward these services when I do not use them? Why can't seniors pay for them?

Letter: Gas guzzlers are sacred cows to lawmakers: Here we have politicians on both sides of the aisle calling for repeal of the federal gas tax, which funds highway repair and construction. But nobody dares suggest outlawing the gas guzzlers that use them, all in an effort to pander to the spoiled, selfish and ill-informed owners of such, as well as the big auto companies that make them. This is sheer insanity, in my opinion.

Columnist Jon Ralston: Leaders leave a legacy of lunacy: CARSON CITY -- Carole Vilardo is not known for being a cut-up. But the intense executive director of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, who has an encyclopedic and exhaustive knowledge of state tax policy, had to see the humor in the letter she sent to money committee members Friday.

Editorial: Choices in Tuesday's elections: The Sun offers its endorsements in the valley's major ballot questions and the North Las Vegas City Council race: