Print edition for June 28, 2001

A long but fragile life ends: Peart's family cherishes strength that she provided: On the living room wall of the Las Vegas home where Virginia Peart lived since 1956 is an embroidered artwork that warns: "Life is fragile, handle with prayer."

Community briefs for June 28, 2001: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area offers hikes and walks free of charge, but reservations are required for all programs, which begin at the Visitor's Center. To make reservations or for information call 363-1922. Some coming programs:

Fountain Plaza still dry, but city wants college: Jeffrey Libby; The Henderson Redevelopment Agency will likely offer $250,000 in rent money to the Nevada College of Pharmacy in exchange for an agreement from the college to move downtown.

Pair charged in arson at Child Haven: The indictment alleges that Richard J. Kravetz and Cynthia Key went to the Child Haven offices at 701 N. Pecos Road on Dec. 29, 1998, and set fire to a number of vehicles owned by the county facility for abused and neglected children.

Lawmaker sues to block expansion of lottery: Sen. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, claims Powerball violates the state constitution, which specifies that all lottery games must be supervised by the state.

Letter: Perform a real miracle on Strip: The only miracle would be if anyone actually could appreciate the plight of an endangered species after reading this glowing fan letter to a couple of circus entertainers who exploit genetic mutants for entertainment. It's not about conservation; it's about money.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Allen led as community servant: Ruthe Deskin; "This card entitles the bearer to pass through all police lines for the purpose of obtaining news for the press."

Letter: Time for action, not just talk, on air pollution: With all the recent bad statistics reported in Las Vegas, one would think that our elected public officials would all pull together so that we can at least breathe deep and receive federal highway funds. I say, quit talking and studying and shut down those who are responsible!

Store owner sues city over loss of license: Diana Sahagun; The owner of a convenience store whose application for a new liquor and gaming license was denied is suing the city of Las Vegas and the City Council.

Fight schedule: Friday

Obituaries for June 28, 2001: George Adams, 44, of Las Vegas died Friday in Las Vegas. He was born Aug. 18, 1956, in New York. A resident for many years, he was a car salesman.

Editorial: Sports betting isn't the devil in this case: The fact is college sports is being demeaned because it has become a big business that exploits athletes. At many universities, officials don't care whether their athletes graduate. For that matter, the term "student-athlete" has become a misnomer. If the coaches and the universities wanted to be taken seriously on restoring integrity to college sports, it would help if they were to get their own house in order first.

UNLV notes: Rebels' Lander helps U.S. in Palmer Cup: UNLV notes: Rebels' Lander helps U.S. in Palmer Cup

Nellis airman honored with Air Combat Command award: Dick Benoit; A Nellis Air Force Base troop has won the first command-level award presented by Air Combat Command.

School district goes after retirees: Terry Webster; With a teacher shortage looming for the fall semester, retired teachers are being recruited to return to classrooms in the Clark County School District.

West jury won't be told about husband's death: Kim Smith; The jurors who will decide the fate of a woman accused of killing her mother and placing her remains in storage will not hear prosecutors' belief that she may be responsible for one other death and an assault.

Where I Stand-- Mike O'Callaghan: City hassles homeless: SO TOMORROW, FRIDAY, is the big day when the city of Las Vegas can celebrate running homeless people from what little comfort they have found north of the downtown area. This time it is the Neighborhood Services Department that has pulled the trigger on people who can't defend themselves.

Pulliam Ruby, a fighter through life, claimed by cancer: Rena Pulliam Ruby faced life's challenges with a strong determination to succeed, especially when the odds against her seemed too great.

PCL box: Nashville-Las Vegas: 2B--Peterson, K. Johnson, Hiatt, Pena, Stankiewicz. 3B--Hermansen. HR--Hiatt (19). SB--Prieto (14). CS-Prieto.

Celebrity photos for sale in deal with hotel: Through the partnership, guests and visitors of the MGM Grand will be able to purchase limited-edition reprints of the celebrity photos displayed throughout the MGM Grand. The MGM Grand will place Stingray catalogs in all 5,000 of its guestrooms and in the property's Art of Entertainment retail store. Sales over the Internet will begin in July. Prices for the framed photos of nearly 100 celebrities range from $250 to $400.

Letter: Use nuke waste fund properly: Setting aside the shots you take at the delays in program progress since 1982, some of which were caused by Nevada opposition and more due to Congress cutting the budget each year, there is a budget problem that Congress needs to address if Yucca Mountain is selected for the repository and is licensed for construction and use.

Business briefs for June 28, 2001: Las Vegas-based software firm PurchasePro said it licensed its software to Frankfort, Ky.-based GovernmentFirst, which plans to build a marketplace for government and educational agencies to buy supplies online.

Local Americorps programs get federal funding: Americorps, under the Nevada Commission for National and Community Services Inc., was given $956,342 by the Corporation for National Service for its six statewide programs.

Plans for new hospital are delayed: Universal Health Services of Delaware, the company proposing to build the hospital, did not submit an impact statement necessary for approving a special use permit, planners noted.

Awards announcements for June 28, 2001: Andy Katz, president of Manpower Inc. of Southern Nevada, was honored with the From the Heart Award from Family and Child Treatment of Southern Nevada, which provides services for families affected by abuse, neglect and violence.

Editorial: Patients deserving of fairness: In 1999 a patient's bill of rights passed overwhelmingly in the House with strong support from many Republican members, which means that the odds are good that a patient protection bill could be sent to President Bush. The president has said he would veto the Democratic patient's bill of rights in the Senate, but he also understands the legislation is immensely popular, so he desperately is trying to find a bill that he can support. In response, Republican leaders quickly have drawn up an alternative that they are touting as a bipartisan compromise -- and one that Bush backs. The ...

Ralph Siraco's selections for Friday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Sulaymondo -- Flores scales Moger, Jr. trainee, draws well for sprint opener, good spot for action. Heaven Came Down -- Training at Anita, Gomez aboard Carava trainee, Heaven may Come Down with another victory. Value Play -- Brass Support

Nevada regulators approve big hike in gas price: David Strow; The Nevada Public Utilities Commission this morning approved a $75 million rate hike for Southwest Gas Corp., a move that will raise the average Southern Nevada natural gas bill by more than 21 percent.

Gators look surprisingly green in 16-5 loss to rival Silverado: Spencer Patterson; The last two high school state champions squared off Wednesday, but a casual baseball fan would have been hard-pressed to identify Green Valley as the team that captured the 4A title just last month.

Las Vegas area fishing report: LAKE MEAD: Anglers are all smiles as the action for striped bass dramatically improved during the past week with the fish being caught on lures as they feed on the lake's surface.

UNLV might have shortchanged student government: Jennifer Knight and Ed Koch; Administrators at UNLV are digging through 15 years of documents to determine whether school officials inadvertently shortchanged the student government of about $359,000 this year.

Sun Boxing Rankings: (with WBC, WBA and IBF champions indicated)

LV passenger counts up again in May: The airport announced today that 3.21 million people used the airport in May, up from the 3.09 million reported for the same month a year ago.

MWC honors Rebels' Greer: Greer, a native of Apple Valley, Calif., closed out a stellar career as an offensive lineman for the Rebels by becoming the only football player to earn 2001 first-team All-MWC and academic All-MWC in the same season.

Nevada may join new antitrust suit: But the state may get involved in a potential new antitrust lawsuit involving Microsoft's new Windows XP software.

More arrests in FBI probe: Jeff German and Jace Radke; The FBI's secrets-for-sale scandal widened Wednesday with the charging of eight more people, including a Nevada attorney general's investigator and a Las Vegas Municipal Court employee.

Columnist Peter Benton: Pros tee off in Smith Brothers: Peter Benton; A large field of area professionals teed it up last week in the Las Vegas Chapter of the Southwest Section of the PGA's Smith Brothers Championship.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Tapia wants to make up lost ground after recent LV losses: Dean Juipe; Despite having a home in Las Vegas, Johnny Tapia may feel like something of an outsider after losing his last two fights here.

Merrill Lynch hired to market Las Vegas' Hughes Center: Owners of the Hughes Center office, restaurant and residential complex in midtown Las Vegas have hired a broker to sell the 115-acre development at Flamingo and Paradise roads.

Former Rebel center Kambala left undrafted: Steve Addy; One by one, the names were called in the second round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: New crew chief sparked Bernstein's stellar season: Kenny Bernstein started his impressive run to the top of the NHRA Top Fuel standings with a victory at the SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in April.

County considers confining outcall services: Advertisements for "escorts" and "dancers" blare out all over the Las Vegas area -- on the Internet, from billboards, in weekly news magazines, in telephone books and in graphic fliers distributed free on the Strip.

Former Caesars exec named Nevada tourism director: Former Caesars Tahoe executive Bruce Bommarito was named the new executive director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism by Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday.

American Legion baseball standings: (Through June 25)

Fingering fraud: Businesses' increasing use of fingerprinting checks draws claims of privacy invasion: Erica Johnson; Before long, many Las Vegans won't have to be suspected of criminal activity to be fingerprinted. They'll just have to cash a check, as local banks and casinos move toward using fingerprinting to put an end to check fraud.

Residents express fears over nuclear dump issue: More than 160 people, most of them opposed to a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, told Clark County officials to fight the federal project, but some supported it and begged officials to negotiate for benefits.

Five arrested in home-invasion robberies: Jace Radke; Metro Police have arrested five people, including two juveniles, in connection with a series of home-invasion robberies.

Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Bass, trout fishing heats up in area: Paula DelGiudice; The fishing has been good at several locations in both Southern Nevada and Southern Utah, according to local anglers.

Truck maker cutting jobs: The firings will take place at plants in North Carolina, Mexico, Ontario and British Columbia, spokesman Othmar Stein said. The Stuttgart, Germany-based company's North American truck business now has 15,800 employees and has eliminated about 8,000 jobs since December 1999, he said.

State sues EPA over radiation rules at Yucca: Nevada filed a lawsuit Wednesday opposing radiation standards set at Yucca Mountain, the first legal salvo in what Gov. Kenny Guinn hinted could become the state's strategy in fighting a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository.

Two top county workers bow out: Adrienne Packer; Two longtime Clark County department heads, one of whom is embroiled in an ethics investigation, submitted letters of resignation Wednesday.

Pena, 51s slip past Sounds: Victoria Sun; Nashville second baseman Chris Petersen dives for a bad throw as Las Vegas' Angel Pena slides into second base Wednesday at Cashman Field. Nashville committed two errors on the play and Pena ended up scoring.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Ousted Cavagnaro clams up: If there was any doubt that Charlie Cavagnaro was pushed out of UNLV's revolving athletic door, rather than not let it hit his backside on his own terms, it was erased Tuesday.

Friday's horse racing entries: Post Time 3:30 p.m.

State college official resigns: Jennifer Knight; A top administrator has resigned from the Nevada State College at Henderson because there is no more money left to pay him, officials said Wednesday.

Entrancing entrances: Hotel lobbies in Las Vegas have wide appeal: Strolling into the lobby at the Paris Las Vegas hotel recently, Lisa Flair and Lori Scardina, both from Louisiana, stopped to survey the ostentatious splendor of the sparkling room inspired by the Palace of Versailles.