Print edition for November 13, 2001

Community briefs for November 13, 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 Visitors Center. To make reservations or for information call 363-1922. Some upcoming programs:

Columnist Kate Maddox: Simpson may be Wayne reliever: Kate Maddox; Simpson was one of the 300-plus entertainers who performed at Sunday afternoon's Mandalay Bay USO benefit concert, which raised more than $200,000.

Riverboat casinos cut workers: Harrah's general manager John Payne said the action was taken due to reduced tourism since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The complex draws a large number of gamblers from Texas.

Professor may pull out of strip club: Mathis Winkler; Bare-all dancers at the Palomino Club may no longer strip for the good of science after a Stanford University medical professor who owns the club said today that he's thinking about selling the establishment because of bad publicity.

LV casino company offering shares: The Las Vegas-based company plans to sell 4 million of the shares, according to its stock-sale filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such a sale would reap about $76 million at latest prices.

New hospital proposed to meet Vegas growth: David Strow; Catholic Healthcare West became the latest company to join in the Las Vegas health care building boom Monday, announcing plans to build a $190 million hospital campus on the southwest side of the Las Vegas Valley.

Oracle CEO taunts Microsoft at Comdex: May Wong; Larry Ellison relentlessly fired barbs at Microsoft Corp. on Monday and highlighted an Oracle Corp. product that pits the arch rivals in a battle over e-mail software.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Casey's Castle -- Pincay on LaCroix trainee for owner Meadowbrook Farms, Inc., needs crafty trip from inner post in 7-panel opener, adds blinkers here. Pick Of The Valley -- Desormeaux atop Abrams trainee, needs prompt start and clean trip from rail post, Valley may Pick off the field. Value Play -- Retirement Gift

State asks circuit court to re-examine Yucca issue: CARSON CITY -- The state of Nevada is continuing legal efforts to deny the federal government the water it needs to develop Yucca Mountain into a repository for high-level nuclear waste.

UNLV Calendar: Tuesday -- Men's Basketball vs. Global Sports (exhibition) at Thomas & Mack Center, 7:35 p.m.

Fantastic finish: Victoria Sun; In her first appearance at the world championships in Ghent, Belgium, less than two weeks ago, 16-year-old Las Vegan Tasha Schwikert pulled off a minor coup by finishing fifth in the all-around competition and leading the unheralded U.S. women's team to a bronze medal.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Rahman lands in a tough spot: Dean Juipe; As an American Muslim with an Islamic name, and with Ramadan due to begin on the exact night of his heavyweight championship fight with Lennox Lewis at Mandalay Bay, Hasim Rahman is not in the most enviable of positions. Likewise, those with a stake in Saturday's promotion are very much aware that an anti-Muslim bias has the potential to impact such items as gate, closed circuit and pay-per-view receipts.

New hotel tower boosts revenue for Stratosphere: David Strow; The Stratosphere's new 1,000-room hotel tower helped push the Las Vegas Strip property's revenues up in the quarter ending Sept. 30, despite a citywide slowdown in tourism.

Punt, pass and kick winners announced: The winners: Girls ages 8-9 -- Karley Herbert of Mesquite; 10-11 -- Emily Hake of Las Vegas; 12-13 -- Kayla Grasser of Las Vegas; and 14-15 -- Elisabeth Gotzmer of Las Vegas. Boys 8-9 -- Aaron Garfinkel of Las Vegas; 10-11 -- Anthony Morris of Mesquite; 12-13 -- Jordan Tait of Mesquite; and 14-15 -- Terrence Wohlever of Las Vegas.

Immunization schedule for November 13, 2001: HENDERSON PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 129 W. Lake Mead Drive, Building A, Suite 10, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Kelly looking to prove himself: Steve Addy; WHAT: UNLV vs. Global Sports, exhibition game

Matchup could have an L.A. flavor: Steve Guiremand; The Las Vegas Bowl held a get-together Monday night at Big Dog's Cafe to kick off its ticket selling campaign for the Christmas Day bowl game. And even though the two teams playing likely won't be officially invited until early December, bowl officials have a pretty good idea of what their matchup will be.

Cortez to referee title rematch: Dean Juipe; At its meeting today, the Nevada State Athletic Commission appointed Joe Cortez to referee Saturday's heavyweight title fight between Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis at Mandalay Bay, and delayed a hearing pertaining to disciplining boxer Zab Judah.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: UNLV needs to bag scrubs, nab 'Trotters: Tonight the UNLV basketball team will play its second meaningless exhibition, this one against a group known as Trans-Global Airlines or North American Van Lines or some such obscure moniker.

Bin Laden song takes world by storm: Lisa Snedeker; A patriotism-fueled parody song written by a Las Vegas radio team is being played on more than 100 U.S. radio stations and around the world via the Internet.

Gephardt cancels visit to Las Vegas: Erin Neff; House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt ironically had to cancel a visit to Las Vegas on Monday to discuss airport security after the American Airlines jet crashed in New York City.

Food drives planned: KOMP 92.3-FM is holding its annual food drive starting today at two Vons grocery stores.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: When terror strikes: "I HOPE TO GOD it was an accident."

Letter: Thrill ride at Stratosphere would aid city: Richard Brown, the operating manager of the Stratosphere, was there to answer questions and give answers to the attendees, which consisted of homeowners and people who live in the area concerning the proposed thrill ride the Stratosphere wants to erect.

Women's health issues focus of three-day LV conference: By Emily Richmond; Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske didn't know heart disease was the leading killer of women in the United States, or that it claimed more lives than the next 16 causes of death combined.

Editorial: Idea for new arena sure isn't promising: This is a bad idea. Other than baseball, minor-league sports have failed in Las Vegas, and in recent years the Triple-A baseball franchise hasn't fared well. Las Vegans have an intense interest in college and professional sports -- visit a sports book on weekends to get an idea -- but they want big-time athletics. Many new residents come from cities with major-league teams and aren't excited by minor-league sports.

Market Center gets land for first phase: Diana Sahagun; Developers of the World Market Center have closed escrow on the first phase of a 56-acre furniture mart.

Chamber backs Brady for state Senate: And in the race for Senate District 9, still a year away, the chamber's endorsement of Bill Brady could prove to be the deciding factor.

Obituaries for November 13, 2001: Juan J. Alamo, 63, of Las Vegas died Sunday. He was born July 17, 1938, in Isabela De Sagua, Cuba. A resident for 27 years, he was a casino supervisor.

Letter: Bush deserves our gratitude: My reason for writing is to show my support for President Bush and to thank him for his handling of the present war. It has been said that we, Americans, are becoming impatient and want this campaign of routing terrorism to be over. It is true that we desire a quick end. But we also, I believe, desire more to live secure in our homes with the ability to regain the continued assurance of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

News briefs for November 13, 2001: Metro Police are investigating an accident between a car and a tractor-trailer Monday that left a 33-year-old Las Vegas man in serious condition.

Letter: Standing up for atheism: I think Mr. O'Callaghan should realize that atheists comprise 10 percent to 15 percent of Americans and 26 percent of Las Vegans. We are professors, lawyers, Nobel Prize winners, scientists, members of the armed forces, common citizens and readers and subscribers to the Sun.

Sierra Club flunks LV on mass transit issues: The Sierra Club's top 15 overall grades for clean-air transportation choices:

Yucca dump draws criticism from international experts: International review panels have criticized a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain as Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham prepares to recommend the site as the nation's nuclear waste repository.

Editorial: Keeping our resolve in adversity: The immediate question: Was this another terrorist attack? Could terrorists have sneaked a bomb on board that caused the plane to crash? As a precautionary measure, federal officials halted flights into and out of metropolitan New York, and the United Nations, where many of the world's leaders have met this past week, was shut down for awhile. Investigators still are searching for clues, but it appears that the worst fears -- that the plane's crash was due to terrorism -- are so far unfounded.

UNLV hit with loss of senior professors: Jennifer Knight; University of Nevada, Las Vegas has lost dozens of senior professors to retirement at a time when a statewide budget crunch allows only enough money to hire teachers with lesser academic credentials to replace them.

Further cuts in state's spending feared: CARSON CITY -- Further cutbacks in state spending may be needed to offset lagging tax collections, Gov. Kenny Guinn says.

Crude rises on Bush decision: The Strategic Oil Reserve, which currently has 544 million barrels of oil, is to be filled "in a deliberate and cost-effective manner" up to its full capacity of 700 million barrels, Bush said in a statement. Officials said the decision was not related to terrorism or the war in Afghanistan.

New Yorkers warm to art revival in downtown LV: Diana Sahagun; Jack Solomon was making final preparations to move his world-class lithography business from New York to downtown Las Vegas when America was blindsided by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Discounters' profits strong despite slowdown: The profit increases come as consumers, wary of the slowing economy, turn to discounters and avoid high-end retailers.

Terror threat left out of Yucca report: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- The final report on whether Yucca Mountain is a suitable place to bury high-level nuclear waste will not contain an analysis of terrorist threats to the site, project chief Lake Barrett said Monday.

Chambers envisions Internet-enabled cars: Kevin Ferguson; Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers envisions a world where people drive Internet-enabled cars, which alert motorists when they need repairs and tell where the nearest repair shop is.

Laid-off workers say rights violated: By Timothy Pratt; The agency charged with enforcing the state's equal rights laws said it has received about 42 percent more complaints from workers after Sept. 11 when compared with the same period last year.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Pedestrians need to be safeguarded: Police noted he was not inside a marked crosswalk.

Resilient New Yorkers unfazed in travel plans: Jack and Nancy Haines retired five years ago from a brokerage firm and now travel a lot. They hopped on a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Vegas Monday shortly before another plane crashed just minutes after leaving JFK.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: All over-the-wall crewmen may need helmets: NASCAR is considering the use of helmets by all over-the-wall crewmen in the wake of Sunday's incident that seriously injured one crewman during the Winston Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Las Vegans to sue Bayer over drug: Grace Leong; A Las Vegas attorney says he has about 150 local clients preparing to sue German drugmaker Bayer AG over the cholesterol-reducing drug Baycol, which has been linked to more than 53 deaths worldwide.

School District honors Ralston, lawmakers: Receiving the awards were Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Reno; Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, and Jon Ralston, Las Vegas Sun columnist and host of the Sun's television news program, "Face to Face with Jon Ralston," which airs on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable channels 1 and 39.