Print edition for May 31, 2001

Hard-working boy deserves trip to camp: He hasn't earned enough to go to Boy Scout camp this summer.

California bill targets companies offering Internet gambling: A bill making Internet gambling a crime both for Californians and for online companies targeting them was approved Wednesday by the California Assembly in Sacramento.

Crayton's prayers answered: Dean Juipe; Two men, one bit of news, two entirely different reactions.

Plea agreement made in teen girl's slaying: Kim Smith; A Las Vegas man arrested along with three teenagers in the Jan. 20 gang-related shooting death of a teenage girl took a deal Wednesday and agreed to testify against the others.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Mayweather camp to address hand woes: Dean Juipe; It was an admission that Floyd Mayweather Jr. couldn't avoid.

Daschle to speak at LV fund-raiser for Reid: South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle, who will become the Senate's new majority leader next week, was expected in Las Vegas today.

England leaves job at consumer health: CARSON CITY -- Laurie England, the first director of the state Office of Consumer Health Care Assistance, has resigned her $92,000 a year job for "personal reasons."

Errors in DOE plan raise questions: Errors found in the Energy Department's plan for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain have raised questions about the agency's ability to oversee the scientific work that will determine whether the dump is built.

Bill to shift child welfare services OK'd: CARSON CITY -- A bill that starts to shift some of the child welfare services of the state to Clark and Washoe counties was approved by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee Wednesday.

Critics: Casinos' cash-back programs of little benefit: David Strow; Giving cash back to a casino's gamblers has become one of the most popular enticements used to draw players into Las Vegas casinos.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Friday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Pacific Gold -- Training at Anita, Berrio aboard owner-trainer Garcia charge, draws well and fits the heat. Ol Charlie Boy -- Solis atop Truman trainee, needs prompt start and clear sailing from rail post in sprint opener, trip the key here. Value Play -- Mean Bean King

Reid says Bush has been all talk about bipartisanship: Scott Sonner; "Bush has done a lot of talking about bipartisanship. He's constantly talking about it, but he is not bipartisan," said Reid, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate.

51s plan tribute to Belinsky Friday: Victoria Sun; When former major league pitcher Bo Belinsky was told the Las Vegas 51s wanted to honor him with a Bo Belinsky Night, he balked at the idea.

Suspect arrested, another sought in killing: Jeremy Buckles, a Henderson resident, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged in the slaying of Norman Edward Byers.

New software launched: Called Office XP, the program will sell for $239 as an upgrade. For users who don't own any other version, the program will cost $479.

Crime briefs for May 31, 2001: A 19-year-old man was charged early today with the slaying of a 64-year-old Las Vegas woman in her apartment.

Springer gets battered in his return to Fresno: The 36-year-old knuckleballer, a Fresno-area native who starred at Fresno State University before going on to a successful major league career, was hammered for 13 hits and eight runs in just 5 1/3 innings and picked up the loss as the sputtering 51s (22-31) dropped their fifth straight game, 12-5, on Wednesday night at Beiden Field.

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

Cost of smog tests up in the air: By Timothy Pratt; Air quality in Clark County may suffer in the short term if the Assembly is successful in halving a proposed increase for smog tests, the director of the county's Air Quality Division says.

Alleged California-Las Vegas swindle probed: Federal authorities and Metro Police are hoping to make additional arrests in an unusual caper that allegedly involved the illegal wire transfer of $373,000 from California bank accounts to Las Vegas casinos.

Insurer to miss profit target: PacifiCare had projected 2001 profits of $99 million or $2.94 a share. The new projection is $56 million-$59 million, or $1.65 to $1.75 a share.

Analyst upgrades Park Place, lowers Mandalay: At the same time, CS First Boston gaming analyst Brian Egger downgraded Mandalay Resort Group, saying the company's outlook leaves little room for improvement in the company's short-term stock price.

Cantaloupes linked to salmonella cases: By Emily Richmond; Clark County Health District officials have removed imported cantaloupes from grocery store shelves after an outbreak of salmonella, and at least five people may have contracted the disease from the infected fruit.

Las Vegas' new Catholic leader takes reins today: Stacy J. Willis; Bishop-elect Joseph Pepe has a box in his hands -- fairly large, perhaps books -- and he's standing outside the Las Vegas Catholic Diocese office facing the door.

PCL Box: Las Vegas-Fresno: E--Springer, Santana, Branson. DP--Las Vegas 1, Fresno 1. LOB--Las Vegas 7, Fresno 5. 2B--McGowan, Mota, B.Johnson, Zuniga, Santana, Aven, Melo, Torrealba. 3B--Melo. HR--Zuniga (8), Hiatt (11). CS--Powell, Melo.

Obituaries for May 31, 2001: Lynn R. Boka, 49, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in a local hospital. She was born May 11, 1952, in Pennsylvania. A resident for six years, she was a management assistant at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

Big changes expected for education bill: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- One of two key bills designed to raise money for education this session could be headed for major changes.

Reno land still for sale: Rob Stillwell, a spokesman for the Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp., which has Sam's Town franchises in Las Vegas and Tunica, Miss., said the company is seeking $8.75 million for the land, which was acquired in the mid-1980s and was approved for a new casino in the mid-1990s.

Well-wishers greet new coach at Cox reception: Steve Addy; There is no Rick Pitino hangover at UNLV.

Crackdown nets more arrests: Authorities said the suspects are tied to the Genovese crime family.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Anthem just wasn't what Indy needed: Patriotism took a big hit over Memorial Day weekend.

Paige: Math teachers needed: Terry Webster; Ensuring that all children receive a good education and improving math and science skills are two of the most important issues facing public education throughout the nation, Education Secretary Rod Paige said Wednesday.

Suspect: Killing was self-defense: Kim Smith; A Las Vegas man who claims he killed a man in self-defense early Monday morning had fought with the victim several hours earlier, a witness has told police.

Court briefs for May 31, 2001: A Las Vegas woman was sentenced to four to 10 years in prison Wednesday for her part in a restaurant robbery that resulted in a Metro Police officer losing the sight in one of his eyes.

PurchasePro gets old symbol: For the past week its shares were trading as PPROE, wIth the "E" reflecting the firm's delinquent filing of its 10-Q financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The financial document was filed Tuesday.

Las Vegas beefing up marketing efforts overseas: British travel agents aren't too thrilled with learning about Las Vegas in a seminar setting.

New law to force boards' majority vote: Adrienne Packer; During the last three years some of Southern Nevada's most significant projects and controversial measures were approved by local governments with less than a majority vote, frustrating residents who opposed the action.

Fight schedule: Friday

Vegas loses tech firm's headquarters to New York; technical operations to stay: Kevin Ferguson; A Las Vegas-grown technology firm with a staff of 150 people has shifted its headquarters to New York -- saying that's a city more receptive to financing high-tech companies, an official said.

French exile: Victoria Sun; Surya Bonaly didn't want to give up her amateur status to turn professional in 1998.

Consensus on maps elusive: Reapportionment may end up in court: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Amid threats of lawsuits, reports of secret maps and revised proposals, reapportionment appears to have no endgame in sight.

Would-be Vikings owner indicted: Jace Radke; A Las Vegas man who gained national attention in 1998 as a result of a failed attempt to buy the NFL's Minnesota Vikings was charged Wednesday with wire and securities fraud as part of a 22-count indictment.

Rise in homicides reverse of LV trend: Keith Paul; Las Vegas is bucking a nationwide trend that shows violent crime in 2000 remained relatively the same as the previous year, halting an eight-year downward trend, according to FBI figures released Wednesday.

Nevada Senate OKs electric measure: CARSON CITY -- Assembly Bill 661 allowing big users such as casinos and mines to leave the current power system in Nevada survived its first test on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: A studious look at Sen. Reid: Ruthe Deskin; Good things do happen to good people.

All jazzed up: Founder has high hopes for LV festival: The festival is scheduled to get under way at 3 p.m. Friday at the Fremont Street Experience, with 25 jazz bands performing on five indoor and five outdoor stages sponsored by various downtown venues.

Letter: Fairness often is in the eyes of the beholder: She ends by saying that she believes in fairness, but that taxing seniors isn't fair.

Senate votes for tougher regulations for limousines: CARSON CITY -- The state Senate voted Wednesday to put more teeth in regulations of the Southern Nevada limousine industry.

Plans for special atomic license plates revived: CARSON CITY -- It might be a mushroom cloud, a Geiger counter or some other symbol of Nevada's atomic past.

Naval Academy grad from LV: Dick Benoit; Leon and Kari Coburn of Las Vegas report that their son John graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., with the class of 2001 and received a commission as an officer in the Navy.

Community briefs for May 31, 2001: Volunteers are needed for a morning of work and afternoon trail adventures to celebrate National Trails Day Sunday at the old ranger station at Cold Creek.

Where I Stand--Mike O'Callaghan: Rogich spins Chinese: NEVADAN BOB GOODMAN, now with offices in Hong Kong and Beijing, must have been surprised to see Sig Rogich, an old friend of his, and Don King walking down a Beijing street together. Sig took Bob to dinner later in the day.

Homeowners need to vote: They instead choose to spend millions of dollars on extravagant city buildings, city redevelopment, street beautification, top-of-the-line extravagant vehicles for city employees, and millions and millions on other public works projects that could have waited if they really thought that the public safety was top priority. Now they're asking the homeowners to cover for their mistakes by raising our taxes to pay for additional public safety.

Editorial: There's no room for error: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which ultimately will decide whether to grant the Department of Energy a license to build a high-level nuclear waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, has discovered a number of errors in computer models and hand calculations by the DOE. While DOE officials assert that the errors shouldn't impact their assessment of how Yucca Mountain would stand up over time, the fact is they're troubling. In one example, the DOE mistakenly calculated the chemistry inside the waste packages. As the Sun's Mary Manning reported, if there is a higher acid content inside the buried containers than the ...

Letter: Sleazy Clinton politics goes on: It is evident that this type of sleazy politics is systemic to Democrats, both politicians and journalists.

Editorial: Temporary price cap on electricity needed: Davis has pleaded with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Bush White House to impose temporary price caps on the wholesale costs of electricity. This would stop Californians from being gouged until more power plants are built to meet the increasing demand. Unfortunately, Bush reiterated Tuesday that he doesn't believe the government should intervene, arguing that lower prices might actually spark more demand, which in turn could create more blackouts. But this is nonsense. Electricity rates already are so high that demand won't be altered appreciably by a temporary cap. It's not just California that's hurting, either. The West, ...

Police don't object to marijuana as misdemeanor: CARSON CITY -- Police representatives told a Senate committee Wednesday they had no objections to lowering the penalty for possession of a small amount of marijuana to a misdemeanor.

Trial starts in sexual assault case: Angela Soo; A trial began Wednesday for a man charged with sexually assaulting a mentally challenged 21-year-old woman, then allegedly hiring a hit man to kill her.

Eliason trails Rhodes in fund raising for council race: Diana Sahagun; North Las Vegas City Council candidate Robert Eliason has raised less than half the money garnered by his opponent, according to campaign fund-raising reports.

Report: Animals are vanishing quickly: The Sierra Club, Red Rock Audubon Society and Tortoise Group released the report, "Conservation in Action: Safeguarding Citizen Rights Under the Endangered Species Act," at a media conference in Las Vegas.

Assembly upholds boom box bill veto: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning is vowing to continue her fight to restrict loud music emanating from vehicles, even after her colleagues voted Wednesday to uphold Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto of her boom box bill.

Clarification: The Sun corrects its errors. If you find a mistake, call 385-3111 to report it.

Reid addresses truck-bypass issue: Jeffrey Libby; Sen. Harry Reid in a meeting last week assured Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro that federal funding would be found to build new highways that accommodate Western growth without destroying this small town's quality of life.