Print edition for March 22, 2001

Problems at UNLV library add up to $1 million: CARSON CITY -- More than $1 million might be needed to cure construction defects at the Lied Library at UNLV, and the state is preparing to do legal battle with the contractors and subcontractors who claim they are still owed $6.5 million for extra work.

Trash bag maker may be neighbor to college: Jeffrey Libby; The state college at Henderson could find itself on the south side of the tracks from the country's largest maker of trash bags if a deal aired Wednesday goes through.

Fire greatest threat to meth lab neighbors: Keith Paul; Toxic, flammable chemicals are used in cooking up batches of methamphetamine that can often lead to explosions such as what happened this week in the Regency Towers, but officials say nearby residents should not face any harmful effects.

Snap decisions:Advanced technology has hobbyists shooting like pros: "I was going to title the photo 'Next Generation,'" Parekh said a few minutes later, while looking at the digital image as it appeared on the back of his camera.

Games to showcase top area players: Spencer Patterson; The high school basketball season may be behind us, but that doesn't mean it's too late to see the area's best out on the hardwood. Two upcoming events will give hoops junkies a chance to satisfy their basketball appetites during the month of April.

Catching up with: Mike Esposito: High School: Cimarron-Memorial ('99)

Las Vegas area fishing report: LAKE MEAD: Even though boaters have been locating large schools of striped bass in the Boulder Basin and Overton Arm, the fishing success has been below par as the fish have not been taking bait.

UNLV Olympic Sports Notebook: Rebels tennis team looks to beat injury bug: On paper, the UNLV men's tennis team's 7-6 record may not seem that impressive.

Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Bass fishing grabs spotlight: Paula DelGiudice; Fishing is in the news this week. Not only was there a huge striped bass taken near Cottonwood last Thursday, but the BASSMASTER Western Invitational was held at Lake Mead.

Sun Prep Baseball Top 10: Teams ranked jointly by the Sun andSparks Tribune

Where I stand--Mike O'Callaghan: Our mess in Macedonia: WE BOMBED HELL OUT of the Serbs and forced them out of their province of Kosovo. Despite our knowledge of that area's history we did the heavy lifting for the extension of a greater Albania. Now diplomats and politicians pretend to be surprised that these same Albanian guerrillas are seeking to take over Macedonia.

Getting back to business: Spencer Patterson; Dana Wade's performance at last year's 4A state golf tournament left little to be desired, but it left the Bonanza standout with a bit of unfinished business.

Legislative briefs for March 22, 2001: More than $128 million wrapped up 70 spending bills requested by Gov. Kenny Guinn -- including $57 million for teachers' bonuses -- were introduced in the Senate and Assembly Wednesday.

Prep athletes of the week: Male athlete of the week:

Columnist Dean Juipe: Gatti's quick exit could foreshadow fight night: Dean Juipe; It appeared as if Arturo Gatti and those around him were interested in mastering the art of the quick exit, perhaps in preparation for Saturday night.

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

Fight schedule: Friday

Ralph Siraco's selections for Friday's races at Santa Anita: 2nd Race -- Placerita - Solis again on Team Lukas trainee for owners Bob & Beverly Lewis, draws good post, well spotted in this allowance-claimer, no tag here. Bertsgirl - Draws good box, top jock Pincay on Hess trainee, no tag here either, well spotted. Value Play -- Kipper's Kitten

Wednesday prep results: Durango 8, Pahrump Valley 1: Robbie Martinez hit a two-run double in the fourth, and Danny Kelly and Casey McDonald had two hits apiece for the Blazers. Danny Houston struck out 10 batters in six innings for his first varsity win.

News is nudging us from meat: The other day I heard Bill Maher, on "Politically Incorrect," talking about some folks who observe the Great American Meatout by asking their friends and neighbors to kick the meat habit on the first day of spring and explore a wholesome and nonviolent plant-based diet. They may have something there.

Letter: History has economic lesson to teach us: Ronald Reagan gave us "tickle-down economics," what George W.'s father called "voodoo economics." In this theory giving people with money more money will cause them to either spend more money or invest more money and get the economy out of its slump. Instead we got a larger slump, massive deficit spending and S&L failures.

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

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Sprint has remedy for telemarketers: Ruthe Deskin; At long last consumers will have an opportunity to rid themselves of pesky, unwanted telephone calls.

Letter: Let candidates always be known: JOE GATELY

Editorial: Bush's take on arsenic: Don't worry: The last time the federal government revised its arsenic levels in water was in 1942, when the acceptable level was 50 parts per billion. Since that time scientific advances have found that a wide array of chemicals and other substances, which once were considered benign, actually are dangerous, sometimes causing fatal diseases. That's why it is dismaying that Christie Whitman, the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, said that the administration rescinded the rules to make sure that the best science arrives at how much arsenic actually constitutes a danger to the 11 million Americans whose drinking water would have exceeded ...

Construction to resume on Bonanza Village wall: Diana Sahagun; Construction will begin again soon on a security wall that was designed to encircle and unify a West Las Vegas neighborhood but instead has stood half-completed for almost a year.

Prep baseball standings: CLASS 4A

Obituary: Beloved Governor's Mansion worker dies: Ella Mae Dawson, who worked as a domestic in the Governor's Mansion during the administration of Mike O'Callaghan and in the process became like a member of his family, died Monday. She was 82.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Mid-majors don't dance very long: This is the column I planned to write last week. But when lower seeds began sprouting all over the big boys' gardens during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the timing for an essay on how to make March Madness even better seemed woefully off. Like Shaq-on-a-free-throw off.

UNLV-Louisville still on, for now: Steve Addy; ANAHEIM, Calif. -- If Louisville coach Rick Pitino doesn't want to play the Rebels the next two years, it's going to cost the Cardinals.

AG fighting O'Donnell bid for railroad to Yucca: Nuclear hotline

Castaways owners lose bid for Fitzgeralds: David Strow; Detroit businessman Don Barden has come one step closer to acquiring Fitzgeralds hotel-casino, following a bankruptcy court's approval of his plans to buy the struggling downtown Las Vegas property.

Brugnara vows to sue state if rejected for Nevada gaming license: David Strow; San Francisco businessman Luke Brugnara faces an uphill battle today, as the Nevada Gaming Commission considers his application for a gaming license at the shuttered Silver City casino on the Strip's north end.

Minority enrollment up at Southern Nevada colleges: Jennifer Knight; Enrollment at the community college and university in Southern Nevada has slowed under the weight of an economic slowdown, but an increase in the number of minorities attending institutions of higher education is on the rise, new figures show.

Police report paints bad picture of escort services: Diana Sahagun; The city of Las Vegas has delayed licensing its first escort service following a swarm of neighborhood protests and a scathing Metro Police report, although officials have opened the door to the possibility of the business eventually locating in the city.

Researchers say sales up 29 percent since August: Nielsen//NetRatings, an Internet audience measurement service, and Harris Interactive, an Internet market research company, reported that online travel sales hit $1.2 billion in January, a 29 percent increase over the $943 million spent by travelers in August.

Obituaries for March 22, 2001: Richard J. Baez Sr., 52, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in a local hospital. He was born July 1, 1948, in Las Vegas. A lifelong resident, he was an automotive service adviser and a Vietnam War Army veteran.

Creditor tries to foreclose on Pot O Gold: In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Tracy and Elizabeth Delfante, as trustees of the Delfante Family Trust, sued Pot O Gold of Nevada Inc. and its owner, Terry Ellis, alleging they are behind on a schedule to make monthly payments of $5,000.

Postcard from Anaheim, Calif.: Nice to see a friendly face: Howdy from Anaheim --

Adult businesses hit with tougher licensing regulations: Clark County commissioners passed one new law Wednesday making it tougher to set up adult businesses, but they discussed several other ordinances that might please other area industries.

Green, UNLV might fit this time: Steve Addy; ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Six years ago today, Jerry Green turned down the UNLV basketball coaching job to remain at Oregon.

Rebels' QB has special interest in regionals: Steve Guiremand; Look for UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas to be one of the first players to dash off the field after the Rebels' first spring practice this afternoon.

Carter visit to cover a variety of events: Besides speaking engagements and book signings, Carter reportedly plans to take some time to listen to one of his favorite pianists, David Osborne.

Prep boys golf standings: CLASS 4A

Community briefs for March 22, 2001: The Whitney Ranch Recreation Center is offering participants the opportunity to explore Mexican-style vegetarian cooking in a two-hour workshop scheduled 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Two Las Vegas sailors head to Persian Gulf on Constellation: Dick Benoit; At least two Las Vegas sailors deploy this month as crew members aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation headed for six months of patrol duty in the Persian Gulf.

Brugnara vows to sue state over rejection of Nevada gaming license: David Strow; The state Gaming Control Board, citing numerous concerns with Brugnara's background and business practices, earlier voted unanimously to deny Brugnara a license.

Vegas sports for TV/Radio: Vegas sports for TV/Radio

Prep softball standings: CLASS 4A

Columnist Joe Delaney: Holiday festivities draw to close at Suncoast: Joe Delaney; Las Vegas's St. Patrick's Day observance concludes this evening with Ireland's foremost comedian, Noel V. Ginnity, and Dublin's Irish Cabaret performing at 7 p.m. in the Suncoast showroom ... Singer Emma Walsh and tenor Paul Hennessy, who has appeared in Irish theaters and on television as one of the Three Irish Tenors, and the Dublin Irish Dancers will also perform.

Creator of MGM Grand's lion, Johnson dies at 62: Snellen Maurice "Snell" Johnson, a convicted con man who 12 years ago changed the course of his life to become a sculptor whose works include the massive bronze lion in front of the MGM Grand, died Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 62.

Guinn seeks aid for utilities: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday sent word to the Nevada Legislature that he wants electric utilities to recover full costs when buying higher priced fuel. This means customers of Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co. would be dealt millions of dollars in higher rates.

Youths testify about coach's alleged sex crimes: Kim Smith; Jurors Wednesday began to hear testimony regarding a youth league coach prosecutors say was able to convince young boys to take part in sex games and charm single mothers into sexless romances so he could be near their sons.

Officials go ahead with plan to reroute Hoover Dam traffic: The Federal Highway Administration has decided to build a $200 million highway across the Colorado River a quarter-mile south of Hoover Dam.

Strip merchants learn how to serve Japanese tourists: * Smile -- A smile is an international symbol of friendliness.

Animal rights activists outnumbered by police: Keith Paul; Animal rights activists protesting on the Strip Wednesday and today were outnumbered by Metro Police by a 2-to-1 margin. Police say they were just being prepared in case of trouble.

Water permits issued for power plants: Ricci said he was informed by the water district that it would be able to negotiate for an amount of power produced to remain in Southern Nevada in exchange for the water.

Judge: Issue before court was limited: Erin Neff; District Court Judge Jim Mahan said he was not ruling on whether Las Vegas Councilman Michael McDonald's behavior was criminal, unethical or unseemly.

Severance payouts detailed for state electricity executives: Kevin Ferguson; Two former top executives of Sierra Pacific Resources, whom the company previously said had resigned, in fact had their employment contracts terminated and were paid a combined $6.1 million in severance, the utility disclosed Wednesday.

Vegas passenger counts up 3.2% in February: McCarran reported 2.92 million people used the airport that month, compared with 2.82 million in February 2000. For the year, passenger counts are up 5.1 percent over 2000 levels.

PurchasePro's stock continues slide: Prudential Volpe Technology Group analyst Timothy Getz's report downgraded the stock from "accumulate" to a "hold," citing his expectations that PurchasePro's shares would reach $10 within 12 months, down from his earlier forecast of $25.

Court effectively ends murder case v. man: Kim Smith; A Nevada Supreme Court decision has dealt a death blow to the George Warner arson and murder case after 12 years of legal wrangling.

Police identify Wednesday's shooting victim: Oliveira and two other men were in the 5200 block of Industrial Road near Russell Road when rival gang members were seen, said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit.

Las Vegas news briefs for March 22, 2001: The Clark County Health District reported the presence of very unhealthy levels of mulberry tree pollen this week around the Las Vegas Valley.

Agreement could be at hand in Pope case: Kim Smith; The attorneys in the Conan Pope murder case are "diligently" working toward a plea agreement, and a decision could be made within the next two weeks as to whether the trial should go forward.

Land sale approved for senior housing: Kris Hill; The North Las Vegas City Council Wednesday night approved the sale of land that ultimately will provide low-income seniors with another housing option.

Prep boys volleyball standings: CLASS 4A

Washington briefs for March 22, 2001: Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., is stepping into a debate about which department should administer a program to compensate ailing former nuclear weapons workers. Gibbons is one of several lawmakers who plan to sign a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget, urging that the Department of Labor, which typically runs compensation programs, manage the nuclear workers program.

LV mobile home dealer accused of fraud, files for bankruptcy: Grace Leong; Silver State Mobile Homes Inc. of Las Vegas and its sister company, Galaxy Financial Services Inc., which are millions of dollars in debt and have been the subject of fraud complaints, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.