Print edition for March 20, 2001

Community briefs for March 20, 2001: Detailed explanations of the full range of benefits available to disabled veterans and their families will be presented at Disabled American Veterans meetings.

Immunization clinics: NORTH LAS VEGAS PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite F, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Editorial: Get tough on price gouging: Federal regulators have set the bar so high to determine what's a reasonable price that it's all but certain that the wholesalers will make a financial killing. The regulators have said they are seeking refunds from wholesalers when they charged more than $430 per megawatt hour during February; in January the threshold for refunds was $273 per megawatt hour. As Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., noted last week, before the energy crisis hit California, prices were $30 per megawatt hour. While demand has outpaced the supply of energy, it hasn't outstripped it anywhere near what utilities -- and now consumers -- ...

In Your Defense: Pros and cons to carrying weapons for personal protection: Mix a little cayenne pepper into a pot of stewed tomatoes and kidney beans and you're on your way to tasty chili.

Sun Prep Softball Top 10: Teams ranked jointly by the Sun and Sparks Tribune.

Pioneer in measuring urban air quality wins research award: Seinfeld's early work focussed on the chemical and physical processes occurring in the polluted urban atmosphere. He was one of the first scientists to describe the chemical processes leading to urban ozone.

Letter: Senate resolution on nuke waste needs closer look: Nevada is in the planning stage of informing the citizens of other states on the safety of transporting the waste through their cities. This resolution infers that if a railroad were constructed to remove the safety hazard from the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada citizens would be satisfied. Northern Nevada cities such as Reno are not included. If safety is a serious problem, as the resolution makes it out to be, why are we saying that this Band-Aid approach is the solution? The resolution should state that it supports the governor's approach of putting together a publicity campaign to inform ...

Letter: Mayor couldn't be that naive: Don't tell us that a famous lawyer who defended the likes of Tony Spilotro and others involved in crime, including prostitution, don't know about this. Give us a break, mayor, we are not that stupid.

Columnist Susan Snyder: 'The Other' visits the other side: The Other's finely tuned sense of humor was in fine fettle.

Columnist Kate Maddox: For Rudner, life is a Cabaret: Kate Maddox; Rita Rudner announced her new deal with New York-New York at a Monday press conference. Rudner, who decided sharing an MGM Grand stage with "those naked ladies from France" wasn't her cup of tea, appears to have landed nicely.

Where I stand--Brian Greenspun: Casinos vs. nukes: "AS FAR as you know, has the gaming industry in Las Vegas taken a position regarding the Yucca Mountain project and the nuclear waste shipments through Clark County?"

Letter: Early voting is too expensive: In my ward, I have only one race to vote for in this primary election, which is for municipal judge.

Locals still trying to catch Wooster: Travis Massey and Spencer Patterson; First the good news for Southern Nevada's prep softball squads: As the 2001 season opens, the area features its deepest pool of quality teams in years, with as many as eight squads in contention for regional crowns.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Jealousy at UNLV prompted bogus report: In keeping with the theme of the month, call it nothing but net. Or at least nothing worth reporting on The Net.

Resolution on Yucca sparks feud: CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa says a transportation resolution by Sen. Bill O'Donnell "sends the wrong message that Nevada is willing to accept a high-level nuclear waste repository" as long as the material is hauled by rail outside of Las Vegas.

LV hospital operator settles false claims suits: The settlement includes $104.5 million to resolve civil claims that Vencor knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and the military's health care program, the Justice Department said.

Monday's prep results: SOFTBALL

Columnist Dean Juipe: LPGA Tour sees foreign onslaught: Dean Juipe; The United States is an extremely sports-minded country.

Stock moves to Nasdaq National Market: The company has traded on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market since May 1999. It will move to the National Market on Thursday. The ticker symbol will remain "ALLY."

Nevada exec downplays potential of solar energy: The development of solar energy isn't the answer to Nevada's power woes because the technology hasn't advanced enough to make it economically viable, Nevada's top utility executive said today.

Resorts latest outgrowth of N.M. casino gambling: Richard Benke; ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- When Indian casino gambling started in New Mexico in the 1990s, at least one politician saw money spiraling into "a black hole," a dead star with gravity so powerful that nothing escapes its pull.

Short course on long odds: Students learn gambling woes: Sixth-graders at Thurman White Middle School in Henderson learn that slot machine players get back only $93 for every $100 wagered and that "a penny saved is better than a penny gambled."

Judge dismisses casino executive's lawsuit over yacht work: Primm sued Fairfax, Va.-based audio/video equipment installation company Cello Technologies Corp., Cello Technologies Seattle Corp. and Cello Recordings LLC, alleging he paid them $58,000 for the $222,500 project, but demanded to be reimbursed when they allegedly made no progress towards completing the project.

Attorney pleased mistrial denied: Kim Smith; Defense attorney Michael Amador said he was pleased District Judge Joseph Bonaventure denied his motion for a mistrial in the Margaret Rudin murder trial.

Rhodes levels charges at police: Diana Sahagun; North Las Vegas City Councilman John Rhodes is accusing city police officers of targeting minorities, maintaining quotas and mismanaging funds.

Interest rate cut due today: An announcement was scheduled after the Las Vegas Sun's deadline this morning. However, details of the expected rate cut will be available this afternoon on the Sun Internet website lasvegassun.com.

Sister insists her motivation pure: Kim Smith; Dona Cantrell Robinson, the sister of murder suspect Margaret Rudin, insisted this morning she is testifying against her sister for all the right reasons.

Legislative briefs for March 20, 2001: Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, is looking for money to help the city of Las Vegas celebrate its 100th birthday in 2005.

Rebels encouraged by Thomas' progress: Steve Guiremand; Those around UNLV's Lied Athletic Complex on Monday saw a rather strange and unusual sight.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Santa Anita: 1st Race -- Short On Funds - Part of Dutton-trained coupled entry with Fabulous Lady, Espinoza here, Baze there, entry draws side-by-side for short dash opener. Tricker Sweet - Part of Duncan-trained coupled entry with Mama Lov, Gomez here, Badilla, Jr. there, two-for-one at two furlongs. Value Play -- Past You

Addition to jail behind schedule: Keith Paul; Construction on the $83 million Clark County jail addition is about five months behind schedule and is costing Metro Police about $5,000 per day to continue to house inmates in other facilities to ease overcrowding.

Washington briefs for March 20, 2001: Reps. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Tim Roemer, D-Ind., today planned to introduce a bill that would ban betting on college sports in Nevada casinos. They say the bill would curb gambling on college campuses and prevent game-fixing schemes.

ACLU criticizes checks on ministers: CARSON CITY -- The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a legislative committee to repeal a law mandating background checks on ministers who want to perform marriages.

Obituaries for March 20, 2001: Anthony Antonacci Sr., 71, of Las Vegas died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was born Jan. 26, 1930, in Bolivar, Pa. A resident for 40 years, he was a retired owner-operator of a retail sales company and a Navy veteran.

Secret Witness founder Palmer dies: Longtime Las Vegas law enforcement officer Nage Palmer loved to pull a good joke on fellow cops, and not even the sheriff was immune to his pranks.

Schoolteacher's killer dies of natural causes: CARSON CITY -- A Las Vegas man sent to Nevada's death row twice died of natural causes over the weekend.

Rio workers OK union pact: The Rio contract, covering 2,500 workers, is patterned on the Culinary contract from the Bellagio, and includes health and pension benefits, guaranteed hours and grievance procedures. Average wages under the contract are: cooks, $13.60 an hour; dishwashers, $11.10; food servers, $8.87; housekeepers, $10.70-$11.20; and bartenders, $13.33.

News briefs for March 20, 2001: A convicted felon was charged Monday with the suffocation death of a 33-year-old mentally handicapped woman in her Henderson house last week.

Two groups joining forces to find some order in chaos: Two local groups affiliated with International Training in Communication are teaming March 31 to present a seminar on how to achieve order during meetings even if all present have distinct views and ardently need to express them.

Relaxing of marijuana penalties, distribution methods proposed: CARSON CITY -- Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani is calling for a reduction in the penalty for possession of marijuana and the establishment of a system for distribution of the drug for medical purposes.

Nevada legislators continue quest to block plant sales: John Wilkerson; CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Lawmakers hit more delays Monday in trying to pass a measure that pulls the plug on the sale of Nevada power plants to avoid California-style energy problems.

Meth lab explodes; Regency Towers evacuated: Keith Paul and Ed Koch; A methamphetamine lab exploded late Monday in a condominium of the exclusive Regency Towers, causing a blaze that forced about 80 people from their homes in the middle of the night.

Broadcaster hit hard by demise of IBL's Bandits: Victoria Sun; The demise of Las Vegas' Arena Football League team, the Las Vegas Sting, came at about the same time as the folding of the Las Vegas Dustdevils of the Continental Indoor Soccer League.

Terps coach rejects UNLV: Steve Addy; At least Rick Pitino waited for an actual offer before turning down UNLV's basketball coaching job.

Nevada plant outage adds to blackouts in California: LOS ANGELES -- State power managers ordered rolling blackouts across California for a second straight day today as demand for electricity again exceeded supply.

Clinic owner admits defrauding government, Culinary Union: Grace Leong; A Las Vegas health care clinic owner pleaded guilty Monday to bilking $350,000 from Medicare and a health and welfare fund of the Culinary Workers Union.

Long-term tax solutions are elusive: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Politicians, business leaders and educators agree the state's revenue structure is flawed because of its heavy reliance on the volatile sales tax.

Court briefs for March 20, 2001: A Las Vegas health clinic owner has pleaded guilty to defrauding Culinary Workers Local 150 out of $350,000.

New site found for college in Henderson: Jennifer Knight; After a week of intense negotiations to save a dying deal, the city of Henderson rejected a donation of land for the proposed state college and opted for a new home.

University system grew too quickly, official says: Cy Ryan and Ed Koch; The official who called for an investigation of the Community College of Southern Nevada that has resulted in potential criminal charges says the institution grew too large too quickly and needs stronger leadership.

Top tech leaders talking wired, mobile in Vegas: Kevin Ferguson; While stock in wireless phone companies has been getting hammered in the past year, executives of leading companies from other technology segments still find it essential to join or partner with the mobile or cellular phone industry.

Central Vegas retailers enthused about Wal-Mart, Home Depot: Grace Leong; The few retailers remaining at an old central city shopping center are excited that business will improve now that demolition work is set to make way for a new Wal-Mart supercenter and a Home Depot store.