Print edition for March 9, 2001

Lawmakers dish the dirt during parade of requests: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- The Legislature on Thursday put aside some weightier issues and turned to some earthy discussion and fanfare.

Proposed Projects: Held Properties, Inc. -- Features a $1 billion academic medical campus by the University and Community College System of Nevada, medical offices, 20-story apartment and office towers, a shopping mall, a museum, art gallery, library and performing arts facility.

Hospital waiting in wings for casino outcome: Kris Hill; A Philadelphia company is waiting to see how a resident's appeal of a proposed casino plays out before it moves forward with plans to build a hospital in North Las Vegas.

Columnist Sal DeFilippo: League needs viewers or it will become ex-FL: Sal DeFilippo; Halfway through its first season, the XFL has suffered quite a few setbacks.

Mold invasion: Church faces renovation; former pastor files suit: Stacy J. Willis; The signs were there: Brown stains on the ceiling tiles, a musty smell and a nagging illness that wouldn't go away.

RTC warned about loss of funds to state: A lobbyist has warned the Regional Transportation Commission that lawmakers in Carson City are eyeing local government revenues as a way to fund state projects.

Woman killed in collision with casino shuttle bus: Harrison County Coroner Greg Hargrove identified the fatality in Tuesday's accident as Ursula Gregory, 65, of Fingerville, S.C.

Strip casino operators check out opportunities in Taiwan: David Strow; Las Vegas Sands Inc., owner of the Venetian hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip, confirmed Wednesday it is examining the possibility of opening a resort casino on an island off the coast of Taiwan.

Cowboys stand tall: Victoria Sun; MWC men's tournament

Lyday comes through for BYU: Steve Addy; BYU's Terrell Lyday felt like the Energizer Bunny on Thursday against Air Force.

Bill would help towns pay for drinking water: A bill that would provide $750 million to help small communities improve water quality and protect public health was introduced in the Senate today.

Letter: Pols across nation disregard ethics standards: Letter: Pols across nation disregard ethics standards

Letter: Remark comes back at Carville: MIKE AND PAMM AULT

Now Appearing: Riviera Comedy Club packed with lots of laughs: Joe Delaney; The Riviera Comedy Club is one of the best in town. This week's lineup contains four names that this critic had never seen before. We usually try to pick a week with several proven names. If there are three acts, one is a true headliner. If there are four, three are there for the cost of two.

Chain plans 10 LV restaurants: Cameron Enterprises Inc., Las Vegas, has been contracted by Eateries Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla., to build the casual dining restaurants, which will compete locally with Chili's and Applebee's restaurants.

Letter: Judicial system has some gaps: So why does he suddenly appear at the Clark County jail (brought there at taxpayer expense, of course), where he pushes another inmate off a balcony? He's here to stand trial for attempted murder. What's going to happen if he's convicted? Will he get a 10-year sentence? Does he have to serve that after he's been executed?

Stiffer DUI laws sought after Morse conviction: One of the state's leading advocates for tougher drunken driving laws says the Clark Morse case screams out for the system to get tougher with first-time offenders and certainly not wait to take serious action when they become 17-time offenders.

Regulator, industry group support state Internet bill: David Strow; When Internet gambling first began appearing on the radar screen, the casino industry was one of its most adamant foes.

Key GOP senators back off Nevada as site for interim waste storage: Republican senators who in the past have pushed an effort for temporary storage of high-level nuclear waste in Nevada before scientific studies of the permanent Yucca Mountain repository are completed now say they will not press for the interim measure.

Post draws first start position for SCORE San Felipe 250: Racing in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division in a Ford F 150, Post will lead the field into the challenging desert in Baja California, Mexico. Round 2 of the 2001 Duralast SCORE Desert Series will be held March 17.

Joe Delaney Remembers 1985: Butera at Four Queens: Joe Delaney Remembers 1985: Butera at Four Queens

Barbara Greenspun Remembers 1985: Sun nuke stance unwavering: Just as recently as last week a story in the Sun related the efforts of our neighboring state of Utah to prevent storage or transport of nuclear garbage there. Anti-nuclear waste bills have been introduced in the Utah Senate and have the blessing of Gov. Mike Leavitt. During the recent rainstorms, a huge semi loaded with gasoline jack-knifed and brought traffic to a standstill on our public highways. What if it had been loaded with hazardous nuclear waste material?

LV firm sues over jump in health insurance costs: In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Mikohn sued Managed Care Consultants Inc., alleging it refused to rescind what Mikohn called "the improper and surprise rate increase" and allegedly stalled for several months on the pretext it was investigating the increase when Mikohn demanded Managed Care honor insurance rates agreed to in October 1998.

Doin' the Hustle: American Bandstand' turns infomercial on Thump!': Kirk Baird; It's "Dance Fever" meets the Electric Food Dehydrator; "The Grind" meets the Torso Track.

Report rips treatment of inmates: Advocates for inmate rights authored a report that alleges widespread abuse in the Nevada prison system, including brutality, inadequate medical and dental care and shoddy record-keeping.

MWC Tournament notebook: Gorman's Roban bows out, or does he?: Victoria Sun and Steve Addy; If this was Jim Roban's last game, it was fitting that it was played at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Police to fight gangs with federal laws: Keith Paul; Police plan to use harsher federal gun and drug penalties as one way to quash a three-week surge in gang violence that left six people dead.

Nevada leaders blast NCAA letter: A war of words has erupted on Capitol Hill between Nevada's House members and two adversaries leading an NCAA-inspired campaign to ban betting on college sports.

Relaxing of licensing for acupuncturists proposed: A bill that would relax the requirements necessary to obtain a license to practice acupuncture or Oriental medicine in Nevada was introduced by Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas.

Swimming pool scam prompts bill: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- A consumer fraud case that is believed to have more than 120 victims of a swimming pool construction scam led lawmakers this morning to ask whether the state can step in to help.

Group backed by Icahn ups bid for TWA: Alan Clendenning; NEW YORK -- On the eve of a bankruptcy hearing at which a federal judge could decide which bidder gets the troubled Trans World Airlines Inc.'s assets, a group backed by billionaire financier Carl Icahn increased its offer for the bankrupt airline to $1.1 billion.

News of the Day: 1985: Story: Thousands of Chinese soccer fans rampaged Sunday through the streets of Peking, attacking foreigners, overturning cars and smashing windows after their national team lost a World Cup zone match to Hong Kong.

Softball: Rebels take two from Southern Utah: UNLV (14-9) will travel to Cal Poly for two games on Tuesday, before traveling to Fullerton, Calif., for the 2001 KIA Klassic the rest of the week. The Rebels will return to the Rebel Diamond on March 31 as MWC play begins with the Rebels hosting San Diego State in a doubleheader at noon.

MWC men's boxes: WYOMING (20-8)

Weekly racing series to open at The Bullring: The NASCAR Weekly racing series runs through September with 16 weeks of racing. There are six divisions: Outlaw Stocks, Late Models, Grand American Modifieds, Legends, Chargers and Bandoleros.

Panel to pick downtown project: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has set no limits. A 2,220-foot tower, which would be the world's largest, is testament to the mayor's commitment to developing 61 acres of downtown land.

Briefs for March 9, 2001: Instead, the jury convicted Barker of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and will go back to court next week to decide if he should get a life sentence with or without the possibility of parole.

Legislative briefs for March 9, 2001: Senate Bill 4 would allow insurance companies to increase or decrease rates on their own, provided the total average premium for all those insured in the state wouldn't be altered by more than 7 percent.

Five UNLV students in NCAA Championships: Lorena Diaconescu, a junior from Bucharest, Romania, will participate in three different freestyle events in next week's competition. Diaconescu qualified in the 100 free (49.43), 200 free (1:46.59) and 500 free (4:49.53). She is the No. 8 seed in the 200 free and the No. 11 seed in the 100 free.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: A book worth reading: ALMOST 12 YEARS have passed since I returned from the jungles of Honduras to write about my views of the Contras. During an earlier trip into that area with a congressional group, one "expert" kept telling us how bad the Contras were. He saw them as CIA mercenaries who were running drugs to pay for their lifestyle and had no chance of winning anything, much less a war. He also implied that most of them were leftovers from the Somoza regime's feared Guardia.

Experts: Widen scope in eyeing leukemia cases: After reviewing the state's preliminary investigation results, the panel called for state and federal scientists to expand the search for more cases, classify all observed childhood leukemia cases, identify potential environmental exposure routes for each affected family and collect biologic specimens, such as blood samples for further investigation.

Bill would aid congressional candidacies of Herrera, Porter: Adrienne Packer; A bill making its way through the state Legislature could clear the way for a congressional race between Democratic Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera and Republican Sen. Jon Porter of Henderson.

Kraft closing Henderson marshmallow plant in June: Kraft Foods Inc.'s Henderson marshmallow factory will close in June, putting 49 local employees out of work.

Shadow Creek house up for sale: The 7,000-square-foot home was previously owned by Marc Schorr, the former president of the Mirage hotel-casino. Schorr left Mirage Resorts Inc. after its takeover by MGM Grand Inc., and is now chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts; Schorr's contract called for MGM MIRAGE to repurchase the home from him if he left the company.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Majerus deals UNLV big setback: Dean Juipe; The shelf life of the column originally written for this space was pitifully brief. It stood for three or four hours Thursday afternoon before it expired.

Tech industry problems not dampening enthusiasm for Las Vegas data centers: Kevin Ferguson; When Las Vegas-area businesses move part of their technology operations into buildings around East Sahara Avenue and Lamb Boulevard, most people would never know it. Most of these nondescript windowless buildings lack company signs or logos.

Rick bows out: Steve Addy; It didn't take Rick Majerus two months to decide the UNLV coaching job wasn't right for him.

Where I stand 1985: Nuke waste poses threat to Nevada: The Latins had a word for it. Literally translated, it means a sound mind in a sound body.

Rudin trial: Conflicting accounts of slain husband presented: Kim Smith; Defense attorney Michael Amador told jurors during his opening statements in the Margaret Rudin murder trial that Ronald Rudin was a tough guy, a volatile man who always wore at least two guns and dressed in black to send a message.

Henderson computer school may reopen by end of month: Kevin Ferguson; Students who were locked out of their Green Valley classrooms when Computer Learning Centers filed for bankruptcy in late January could be headed back to classes by the end of the month.

Supreme Court sides with regents: CARSON CITY -- In a 4-3 decision, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled today that interviews with candidates for the presidency of the Community College of Southern Nevada can be held in private.

Turf-war measure pits police agencies against one another: Siobhan Mcdonough; CARSON CITY -- Nevada's "limited jurisdiction" police would see their authority restricted under a plan prompted, in part, by turf wars between state university officers and local police.

Agency still hopes to get new libraries built: Jace Radke; The Clark County-Las Vegas Library District is not ready to give up on a $46.5 million bond proposal to build new libraries.

Crime briefs for March 9, 2001: David Alvarez, 26, already in custody for a probation violation, has been rebooked on charges of murder and robbery with a deadly weapon and sexual assault, police said.

Regulator: Power players must back up their numbers: The chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada warned participants in upcoming utility issue debates that they had better come armed with statistics to back up their arguments.

Resident taking a last shot at blocking casino: Kris Hill; Deborah Lewis has a final card to play against Station Casinos before the gaming company builds a casino near her home in North Las Vegas.

Columnist Sandy Thompson: Divorce programs play vital role: Sandy Thompson; MARRIAGE may not last a lifetime, but parenthood does.

Letter: Smells like disagreement: Ron@lasvegassun.com; One thing I can say for certain is that I've seen the trash in Las Vegas and I'll take the good folks of Wyoming over the stench of Vegas any time.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Pain still just under the radar: I can't recall her name, but I remember her face.

Editorial: Wide array of bids for land is hopeful: Sure, people will laugh at some of the pitches that -- let's be charitable -- are "inventive," but no one should be discouraged. What's important is for the city to go into this process with an open mind. The city also should ignore the temptation of selecting a proposal that could yield substantial property tax revenues, but does little to better the community. Indeed, one enticing proposal -- at least on paper -- is an academic medical campus, which would include a school of medicine, a cancer institute and other research facilities. In the end, the city should decide what ...

Yucca could be costliest project in history: Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning; For almost 200 years leaders in Britain and France dreamed of digging a tunnel under the English Channel.

Taxpayers bear burden of moms without prenatal care: More than 1,000 women gave birth last year in Clark County hospitals without receiving adequate prenatal care despite the availability of low-cost medical assistance.

Policing mentally ill often requires caution: Stacy J. Willis; Inside his mother's Las Vegas home just minutes before his death, David Herrera spoke to his aunt on the telephone.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Bellagio slips us a Mickki: By the time she was 8 years old Mickki Brown knew she was going to be a singer and live in Las Vegas.

Performing Arts: Love, hatred

Students do more than just think of India quake victims: Angela Soo; The earthquake in India that killed more than 20,000 people in January might have been continents away from Las Vegas, but some local students made that world event come alive at their school.

Thursday's prep results: Cimarron-Memorial 8, Canyon View (Utah) 5: In St. George, Utah, Robert Grana hit a two-run homer to lead the Spartans to victory.

Columnist Joe Delaney: Little-known tale about Vinton and Steel Pier: Joe Delaney; The following story about Bobby Vinton appeared in this space a year ago, but bears reprinting:

Scinta-llating Act: It is Tuesday night at the Las Vegas Hilton's Nightclub. Joe and Frank Scinta, fresh from a week's vacation, are already harassing their audience, a mild-mannered group completely taken by the men's subtle slips of the tongue, "pee-pee" jokes and flawless impersonations of the likes of Mick Jagger, Tom Jones and Joe Cocker.

Letter: Greedy NCAA would never hurt revenues: This, however, will never happen because the NCAA is more greedy than all the casinos!

Columnist Jon Ralston: When politicizing is beneficial: HERE IS a difficult concept for many in the media and public life to understand: Just because something is politically motivated does not render it unworthy of substantive consideration.

On Display: The Contemporary Arts Collective, 103 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite 102, presents its "Un-Themed" juried show through April 21. Call 382-3886.

Letter: Channel 8 not credible: Ron@lasvegassun.com; I hope that Mr. Cavagnaro with all his millions of taxpayers dollars will give Max Good a chance. I didn't like Mr. Good at first, but he has proved himself to be a good coach with a not-so-good group of players.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Saturday's races at Santa Anita: 2nd Race -- J. Harmon - Baze onFrankel trainee, draws good post for the 7-panel outing, respect connections here. Dinnerathepalms - Maiden-breaker getting long in the tooth, Pincay/Spawr team keeps plugging away, adds blinkers for this. Value Play -- Three Guns

Review: Tune in, turn off, walk out: Geoff Carter; 15 Minutes

Obituaries for March 9, 2001: Laretta "Jerry" Birmingham, 90, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in a local hospital. She was born Aug. 19, 1910, in Pittsburgh. A resident for four years, she was a retired retail chain auditor.

Where I stand--Mike O'Callaghan: Power play by Congress: WHEN ALL is said and done about presidential pardons, and Republican Dan Burton has stopped frothing at the mouth, Congress should back off. Yes, back off and quit talking about extending its power to influence Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which, in part, says the president:

Editorial: Winding our way to stability: Previously the utility had said it wanted to sell the plants, noting the boost could give it a much needed infusion of $872 million. Besides, the company noted, it had guarantees with the potential buyers to allow Sierra Pacific to receive low electricity prices for the next two years. But residential customers and businesses justifiably were worried that new out-of-state owners would gouge them just as has happened in neighboring California when that state required its utilities to sell its power plants as part of its deregulation plan. Nevada State Consumer Advocate Tim Hay said divestiture would cost consumers at ...

Letter: 'Done Deal Dave' wrong: Ron@lasvegassun.com; "Done Deal Dave" (McCann) has stepped on it big time with his twisted coverage of the Pitino caper. What a joke the powers that be at UNLV are.

Columnist Kate Maddox: Mum was the word at ShoWest: Kate Maddox; The ShoWest Awards once again brought out the A-listers, but this time around definitely wasn't the happy celeb-fest of last year. Instead, everyone was difficult.

Columnist Jeff German: Gamers getting intense on Hill: THE CASINO industry, bent on snuffing out the NCAA's high-powered campaign to ban betting on college sports, is putting a full-court press on Capitol Hill.

Editorial: Senate bill isn't fair to public: One reason we join unions and women's organizations in opposition to this bill is that individuals who purchase such plans could develop health problems, only to find out they lack the proper medical coverage because they purchased a limited policy. As noted by Mar Monte of Planned Parenthood, 75 percent of women's health issues are gynecological related. SB131 is bad for consumers because individuals who require hospitalization for conditions not covered by their health plans are sure to get stuck with large bills they will be unable to pay. If the hospitals absorb some of those costs, they are sure ...

Witt stays busy with jewelry, acting and, of course, skating: Lisa Ferguson; What: "Katarina Witt's Kisses on Ice."

Letter: Vegas probably a turnoff to Pitino: Perhaps Mrs. Pitino had the pleasure of coming into contact with some of our local high school graduates now in the workplace. That experience would have totally turned her off about moving here with her school-age children.

Colulmnist Muriel Stevens: CCSN culinary team serves up gold medal: Bringing home the gold is getting to be a delicious habit for our culinary community.

Letter: Kudos for columnist: Ron@lasvegassun.com; As a longtime Scholarship Donor and Rebel basketball fan, Ma & Pa Kettle -- Carol Harter and Charlie Cavagnaro -- have shown me nothing in smarts, leadership, or integrity in the entire matter. Max Good earned the job, on class alone. The university should retain him and go shopping for a new AD and president. This would save the athletic department a lot of money on legal suits alone.

Letter: Mourning a champion: Ron@lasvegassun.com; Anyway, thanks for telling it like it is. I agreed with every word. I had followed Dale Earnhardt since his start in racing. He was old school -- there aren't, nor will there be, anyone like him again.

Editorial: Utah gets raw deal from Census Bureau: It's not as if the government refuses to count all Americans living abroad. For instance, states who have residents serving in the military or in the U.S. Foreign Service get them counted. But if you're working in the private sector, or are temporarily abroad for religious or humanitarian purposes, you won't be counted. "It's a clear, clear treatment of one group differently from another," Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt recently told the Los Angeles Times in a story about the dispute. "I think that falls under equal protection." Not only does the federal government's refusal to count missionaries discriminate against religious ...

Letter: Old races were better: Ron@lasvegassun.com; I went to last pre-restrictor race at Daytona and can tell you the quality of racing was much better. NASCAR was terrified of the images of the Richard Petty crash in 1988 and concerned about the average speeds exceeding 200 mph. There were alternatives to restrictor plates that NASCAR could have implemented to ensure crowd safety. Instead the "lords" of NASCAR decided to keep the speeds down at the superspeedways which made for some pretty boring racing.

Letter: President's plans deserve support: Here is a man who knows our generation created much of America's greatness, and he is delivering on his promise to keep Washington from raiding seniors' retirement and health care programs.

Reid to respond to Bush radio address: The topic for this week is the Republican president's proposed tax cuts, and how it will affect Social Security and Medicare.

Veterans home delays criticized: CARSON CITY -- Cost overruns and delays in building the veterans home in Boulder City have legislators upset and questioning the handling of the state's construction program.

School district is not giving up on getting more Legislature funds: Terry Webster; After facing tough questions from lawmakers earlier this week, the Clark County School District is not abandoning attempts to get more state funding.

Prison time results from stock fraud case: Kevin Orton, a former certified public accountant at Teletek Inc. and United Payphone Services Inc., on Wednesday got the longest sentence -- nine years in federal prison -- for his conviction on racketeering and conspiracy charges.

Supreme Court turns down killer's latest appeal: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected the latest appeal of John O. Snow, who was sentenced to death for the contract killing of Las Vegas nightclub owner Harry Wham in 1983.

Mosley may find himself without a test: Dean Juipe; Polished in the ring and out, Shane Mosley comes into his Saturday fight at Caesars Palace in need of a test if not a rival.

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