Print edition for September 4, 2001

Hewlett-Packard buying Compaq for $25 billion: Brian Bergstein; SAN JOSE, Calif. -- High-tech giant Hewlett-Packard Co. is buying Compaq Computer Corp. for about $25 billion in a blockbuster merger bringing together two rivals struggling to survive amid the battered computer industry.

City to fund study on baseball team: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas will pay for a study to find out whether a major or minor league baseball team would succeed in Southern Nevada as part of its initial development agreement for 61 acres of prime downtown real estate.

Lawsuit threatened as Yucca hearings near: Environmental activists say they will sue the Energy Department if the agency fails to delay a public hearing on a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Cox, Comcast pull out of Internet deal: Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. said they will exercise the right to exit from their agreements effective June 4, 2002.

Air Force pilot ejects safely as jet crashes: Jace Radke and Ed Koch; A U.S. Air Force pilot who ejected to safety after his plane crashed in the Virgin River Gorge was identified today as Capt. Frederick H. Sellers of Fayetteville, N.C.

Camp Las Vegas buying Ice Garden: Grace Leong; A youth camp operator said Monday it agreed to buy the Las Vegas Ice Garden, an indoor ice skating center with two rinks, for $7.6 million from Players World International Inc.

Review: It's effects alive for Madonna at the MGM: Lisa Ferguson; "Music makes the people come together."

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Problems for Congress: CONGRESS IS GOING BACK into session and by now many Americans have been alerted to some of the damage that was done earlier. We can be thankful that some of the damage done by the House can be corrected by the Senate in upcoming conference committee meetings. It would take several columns to touch on all the upcoming problems, but let's take a look at a couple of them.

Letter: Waiting for bus too dangerous: Sometimes when I sit at a bus stop, I wonder, "If someone crashes into me and my son sitting here, will they come after me for child endangerment?"

Columnist Susan Snyder: Small towns ready for garden party: The Nevada welcome center in Boulder City is easy to miss.

Making the grade: School report cards more parent-friendly: Kimberley McGee; New teachers, crisp new folders and fresh notebooks greeted students as they settled into their desks at area elementary schools and cracked their schoolbooks for the first time.

Signs of economic turnaround seen: The National Association of Purchasing Management today announced that its index of business activity rose to 47.9 from 43.6 in July, much better than the 44.0 analysts had been expecting.

Discovery of artifacts halts road widening: Mathis Winkler; Pieces of Native American ceramic artifacts found near Martin Luther King Boulevard in North Las Vegas have halted the widening of the road.

News briefs for September 4, 2001: Charges have been dropped against the last of four suspects in the May 25 death of a North Las Vegas woman shot during a wake.

51s succumb to streaking Portland in PCL season finale: Landon Hall; PORTLAND, Ore. -- Emil Brown hit a solo home run to break a 2-all tie in the fifth inning as the Portland Beavers finished their inaugural season with a flourish by defeating the Las Vegas 51s 3-2 Monday.

Mayor weighs run for attorney general: Jeffrey Libby; Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson is weighing a campaign for state attorney general, one of the most visible and influential state offices and one that previous politicians have held on their way to the governor's mansion.

MDA telethon raises record amount in Nevada: The local total was up $105,000 from last year's telethon and broke the record of nearly $600,000 from the 1999 telethon, local MDA officials said. More than half of this year's local total came from the firefighter boot drive that collected $347,173, MDA officials said.

Letter: Expand nuke hearings: I live in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where a nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon, operates two reactors. Pacific Gas and Electric, the bankrupt owner of the nuke plant, has its bid in for Yucca Mountain and is suing DOE to get it.

Nero stung by death of Wheeler: Steve Guiremand; UNLV starting wide receiver Bobby Nero had been looking forward to seeing an old friend and high school rival when Northwestern visits Sam Boyd Stadium on Friday night.

Nevada, mountain states optimistic about economy: Dan Elliott; DENVER -- Buoyed by years of good times and rising home equity, residents of Nevada and the mountain states are more optimistic about the economy than most Americans.

U.S. National results: At Indianapolis Raceway Park

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

Obituaries for September 4, 2001: The Rev. J. Kenneth Edwins, 84, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was born Jan. 5, 1917, in Shedrow Honan, China. A resident for 35 years, he was a retired pastor emeritus of Reformation Lutheran Church and a member of the Optimist Club.

Coverage initiated at 'buy': The firm's gaming analyst, David Barteld, set a 12-month price target of $25 for the stock, a 27 percent premium over current levels.

Station reinforcing Fiesta against Summerlin rivals: David Strow; Under the Maloof family, the Fiesta hotel-casino built its reputation among local gamblers as one of the loosest casinos in the Las Vegas Valley. It rode that reputation to become one of the most popular of Las Vegas's "local" casinos.

Residents say rural label too late to do any good: Adrienne Packer; With casinos and convenience stores sprouting up in desert neighborhoods once sprinkled with ranch-style homes, most homeowners in sparsely populated areas of the Las Vegas Valley welcome the label of a rural neighborhood preservation area.

Agassi looks all white in victory: Victoria Sun; NEW YORK -- Sporting a ponytail and baggy red shorts, Roger Federer stood in stark contrast to Las Vegan Andre Agassi, who has a shaved head and continued to wear all white at the U.S. Open.

Aladdin partners in rift: David Strow; The financial situation of the Las Vegas Strip's $1.2 billion Aladdin hotel-casino took a serious turn for the worse over the holiday weekend, when its majority owner yanked its support for a critical deal with the hotel-casino's banks.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Del Mar: 1st Race -- Serene In Seattle -- Desormeaux scales Pinfield trainee, draws good box for full field in turf mile opener, Seattle at Del Mar. Ace's Valentine -- Draws good inner post, Delahoussaye aboard Gallagher trainee, set to get catbird trip. Value Play -- Sibla

PCL box: Las Vegas-Portland: DP--Las Vegas 1, Portland 2. LOB--Las Vegas 7, Portland 5. 2B--Brown (8). HR--Pena (16), Brown (3).

51s' 2001 leaders: Here are the 51s' final leaders this season:

Nuclear waste protesters hit the Strip: Lisa Snedeker; LAS VEGAS -- About 40 protesters wore protective gear and wheeled barrels bearing radiation symbols along the Las Vegas Strip to encourage attendance at hearings on the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada.

Community briefs for September 4, 2001: The following scheduled blood drives are being offered by United Blood Services, 6930 W. Charleston Blvd. Call Michelle Keanini at 228-8400 for more information:

Security workers drop union: Thursday's 60-35 vote came only six months after the guards signed a four-year labor agreement. Some guards were unhappy with the contract's provisions for wages, paid holidays and grievance procedures, the Detroit News reported.

Columnist Dean Juipe: 51s' dismal year comes to close: Dean Juipe; There, it's over.

EPA: Ruling won't slow pollution rules: An appeals court decision that upheld a challenge to local air pollution control measures probably won't have a significant impact on those rules, federal Environmental Protection Agency officials say.

Prep Schedule: TUESDAY

Gay Colombian man seeks political asylum: By Timothy Pratt; The name of the gay club in Cali, Colombia, was "Exile." It was packed with executives from airlines such as Lufthansa and employees of an upscale hotel called the Pacifico Royal.

Trip ends too soon for Thompson twins: Victoria Sun; NEW YORK -- Christian and Catrina Thompson got their first taste of the Big Apple over the weekend and they're leaving with bittersweet memories.

Letter: Where is the justice?: I thought Snyder's column was excellent in reflecting Anya's endurance and strength, her determination to have her case heard in spite of insurmountable obstacles aligned against her. As a citizen, I would have liked to hear more about these obstacles, who and what they are.

Editorial: Red Rock restrictions are overdue: Master-planned communities impose similar restrictions on commercial development, but the new conditions being recommended for the Red Rock area are significantly tougher than can be found in the rest of the Las Vegas Valley. Under the Red Rock area plan, no neon would be allowed, the architectural style of the buildings would have to be a Southwest-type of Spanish Colonial, and the colors would have to be neutral or an earth tone. No building could be taller than 35 feet and no freestanding signs would be allowed, such as those found at fast-food restaurants. Lighting also would be curtailed to ...