Print edition for November 21, 2001

Mandalay Resort Group earnings fall 21 percent: David Strow; Mandalay Resort Group reported net income fell 21 percent for the quarter ending Oct. 31 -- the least severe decline reported by the Las Vegas Strip's largest casino operators in the post-Sept. 11 earnings season.

Stock downgraded: In a research note, Curtis said the downgrade reflects the fact that Mandalay now trades within 10 percent of his 12-month price target of $25. Curtis also cited Mandalay's history of "inconsistent operating results in Las Vegas (which) will make (stock price-to-earnings) multiple expansion from current levels difficult."

Terror fears hurting Four Queens performance: Elsinore Corp. of Las Vegas posted a loss of $925,000, or 19 cents per share, compared to a loss of $394,000, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Columnist Victoria Sun: Gamez shaken, sidelined: Victoria Sun; PGA Tour professional Robert Gamez had quite an evening the night he and his fiancee Lynn moved into their rental home in La Quinta, Calif., about a month ago.

Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Young hunter takes best shot: Paula DelGiudice; Things are pretty quiet this week in the outdoors as families prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Columnist Peter Benton: Bear's Best to open in Las Vegas soon: Peter Benton; Adam Owen is the epitome of a kid with a new toy these days, and his enthusiasm for this "new toy" is not only well-founded and infectious but genuinely sincere.

Apex hit with new dust rules: Clark County commissioners on Monday formally imposed new dust-control rules on an industrial park and surrounding land about 15 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

State awards contract in grass-roots Yucca fight: CARSON CITY -- A $1 million contract has been awarded to a Las Vegas public relations firm to conduct a grass-roots effort to pressure U.S. senators in other states to vote against locating a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Columnist Jeff Haney: Super Bowl prices can vary, so shop around: The question "What are their odds to win the Super Bowl" does not always have a simple answer.

Thursday's horse racing entries: Post Time 11 a.m.

Nuke firms behind U.S. Chamber's pro-Yucca campaign: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A national alliance of energy companies that includes nuclear utilities led the effort to craft the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's lobbying campaign to promote Yucca Mountain.

News briefs for November 21, 2001: A controversial, long-delayed Henderson project that would build homes farther up the foothills southwest of the city may be withdrawn, Mary Kay Peck, community development director, said Tuesday.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Boat buys out IRL team, moves it to Phoenix: Billy Boat bought out the IRL team he co-owned and drove for this season and has moved the operation to his hometown of Phoenix.

Las Vegas area fishing report: Largemouth bass biting in lake: Boaters in Lake Mead continue to have sporadic success for striped bass in the Boulder Basin while the largemouth bass fishing has been good throughout the lake during the past week.

Youth Forum debates teen pregnancy, marijuana: Daniela Mohor; Young people see the issues that divide America up close. Sometimes people listen to their thoughts on those issues.

Schools get cash awards for test scores: The awards were based on scores from testing materials prepared by the district.

Casino winnings decline: Louisiana's 14 riverboat casinos won $123.7 million last month, down 5.9 percent from September's winnings of $131.4 million. At the same time, Harrah's New Orleans land casino saw a 5.7 percent boost in its take to $20.3 million from September's $19.2 million in winnings, state police reported Tuesday.

Audit: Schools' purchase cards not properly utilized: Terry Webster; Clark County School District employees using purchasing cards failed to follow proper procedures or kept sloppy records while ringing up $17 million worth of spending last year, auditors said.

Stock buyback announced: Riviera said it believes its stock is undervalued, given that the company had more than $12 per share in cash as of Sept. 30. By comparison, the stock closed Tuesday at $3.40.

UNLV Calendar: Friday -- Women's Volleyball hosts Planet Hollywood/UNLV Thanksgiving Classic: Washington State vs. Rice, 5 p.m.; UNLV vs. William & Mary, 7:30 p.m.

Spanish-speaking county workers want extra pay: By Timothy Pratt; As more Hispanic families move to Clark County, more of them use the county's Department of Family and Youth Services -- and more English-speaking employees of the department turn to their Spanish-speaking colleagues to understand what these families need.

VEGAS SPORTS ON TV-RADIO: VEGAS SPORTS ON TV-RADIO

Terrorist attacks dominate discussions by teenagers: Bishop Gorman High School senior Mark Ross paraphrased Thomas Jefferson, saying "We have to give up a little bit of our freedom for the security our government provides."

Ralph Siraco's selections for Thursday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Musaa Ed -- Solis scales Drysdale trainee, draws good spot for route opener, Ed graduation forthcoming. Six G's -- Flores atop this Baffert horse, draws well for this, diploma may be worth Six G's. Value Play -- Jetting Son

Slaying suspect from Henderson jailed in Florida: Keith Paul; A Henderson murder suspect on the run for more than 18 months was grabbed in Miami Beach, Fla., Tuesday after apparently squandering a $70,000 inheritance used to fund his getaway.

Report indicates layoff surge easing: The Labor Department reported today that for the work week ending Nov. 17, new jobless claims dipped by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 to 427,000. That followed a drop of 10,000, an even bigger decline than the government previously estimated, according to revised figures.

Public hearings set on utility issues: The PUC regulates privately owned water and sewer companies and investor-owned electric and natural gas energy services. The hearings are scheduled for Las Vegas, Henderson and Reno.

Thunderbird named Car of the Year at Vegas show: "Ford Motor Co. did an absolutely marvelous job at capturing the essence of Thunderbirds," said Motor Trend Detroit bureau chief Jack Keebler.

Guinn seeks Bush's help to reverse energy policy: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn has asked the Bush Administration to reverse an energy policy that has helped California but has socked it to electric users in Nevada by the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Pitching Nicholls at the Mack: Midway through the first half of Tuesday's UNLV basketball game against Nicholls State, it occurred to me that had I had worn my Converse All-Stars to the game, Charlie Spoonhour might have put me into it for a couple of minutes.

California junior star to play for UNLV: A native of Redondo Beach, Calif., Kurokawa is listed 34th in the latest Golfweek junior rankings. She earned AJGA honorable mention All-America honors in both 2000 and 2001 with nine top-10 finishes and wins at the John Deere Classic Junior Championship and the Tucker Anthony Junior.

UNLV game analysis: Life was easy from the start: First half

Rebels fine-tune skills in easy win: Steve Addy; Dalron Johnson tried to pretend UNLV was playing Cincinnati or Wyoming or some other good team Tuesday night.

Nevada jobless rate hike tops nation: WASHINGTON -- Reacting to the September terrorist attacks, unemployment rates rose in 33 states last month, with the biggest gains in Nevada and Hawaii, the government said Tuesday.

Lack of emphasis on science may hurt Nevada test scores: Terry Webster; A lack of emphasis on science in the lower and middle grades may be contributing to Nevada's mediocre national showing on standardized science tests, the state schools superintendent said today.

Friars setting lofty goals: Victoria Sun; Las Vegas Tournament

Obituaries for November 21, 2001: Lucille J. Apodaca, 77, of Las Vegas died Monday in a local hospital. She was born May 29, 1924, in Algadones, N.M. A resident for 59 years, she was a homemaker, a member of Sweet Adelines and Golden Girls.

Health District eyes strict smoking laws: Adrienne Packer; Two years after Clark County's failed attempt to wrest control over smoking restrictions from the state, health officials are preparing a different strategy to influence lawmakers.

Students sensitive to U.S. image abroad: Ed Koch and Daniela Mohor; Students at the Sun Youth Forum were not so blinded by the glow of patriotism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States that they didn't understand why some people, groups and even nations hate Americans and the U.S. government.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Masterpieces on display at new Wynn gallery: Elizabeth Foyt; An elegant affair, quite intimate in nature, the recent opening party for the Wynn Collection drew a close circle of art enthusiasts and dear friends of hosts Steve and Elaine Wynn and their associates Tom Hickey and Libby Lumpkin.

Residents up against a wall: Diana Sahagun; A block wall, which has been three years in the making, has finally risen around the Bonanza Village neighborhood.

Editorial: Giving thanks in tough times: What a difference a year can make.

Letter: Preserve area's wilderness for next generation: What intrigued me is the vast outdoor recreation potential around the valley. Aside from Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire and Mount Charleston, places like the Muddy and McCullough Mountains have likewise caught my wanderlust fancy.

What defines citizenship?: Attaining citizenship in the United States is not an easy process. You must both speak and read English. Also, you have to know more about this country than most natural citizens.

British tourists face charges in flight disruption: Jace Radke; Two Englishmen who were released from federal custody Tuesday were ordered by a U.S. Magistrate to return to Las Vegas to face charges of interfering with a flight to McCarran International Airport last week.

Green Valley High School junior Ramond White stands while talking during a Sun Youth Forum discussio

Students sensitive to U.S. image abroad: Daniela Mohor; Students at the Sun Youth Forum were not so blinded by the glow of patriotism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States that they didn’t understand why some people, groups and even nations hate Americans and the U.S. government. While no one justified the attacks on civilian targets like the World Trade Center, many Clark County students were not afraid to use words like “pompous,” “greedy” “arrogant” and “imposing” to describe how much of the world — including U.S. allies — views the United States.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: A taste of Thanksgiving leftovers: Dinner at Elements is $45; children under 12, $27. Included are lump crab cake, a salad of baby romaine and frisee, turkey or prime rib and warm apple Tatin for dessert and coffee or tea. Both restaurants will also offer their regular menus.

Supplemental insurance: National Vitamin Co. sets up shop in Las Vegas: They're vitamins.

Community briefs for November 22, 2001: Guided hikes and informative talks are offered by the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Some coming programs:

In Las Vegas, we like butter: Max Jacobson; The remainder is water, milk solids, salt (if it is salted butter) and a coloring agent such as annatto, to give it a deeper yellow cast.

Terror behind 10 percent dip in Clark County sales: CARSON CITY -- Retail business in Clark County dipped by 10.3 percent or more than $200 million in September as fewer gamblers visited the city and consumers curtailed spending after the terrorist attacks, the Nevada Taxation Department reported Tuesday.

LV holiday shopping outlook cautious after terrorism: Grace Leong; Amid industry predictions of slower retail sales growth this holiday season, some Las Vegas retailers and analysts are cautiously optimistic.

Box score: Nicholls State-UNLV: Percentages: FG .353, FT .333, 3P .278.

Vacation Village auctioned for $17.8 million: Grace Leong; Las Vegas developer Capital One LLC won the bidding Tuesday for the bankrupt Vacation Village hotel-casino, agreeing to pay $17.8 million for the property on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.