Print edition for February 28, 2002

Underwriting group urged for physicians in Nevada: CARSON CITY -- The 120 resident physicians in training at University Medical Center will lose their medical malpractice insurance in mid-March, bringing the emergency room to a standstill and impacting other portions of the hospital, state Sen. Ray Rawson said.

Prosecutors won't charge officer in punching of cuffed suspect: Keith Paul; Prosecutors Wednesday declined to file charges against a Metro Police officer seen on videotape punching a handcuffed suspect, claiming the officer's actions were not only not criminal, but also "lawful and appropriate."

Obituaries for February 28, 2002: Janet Altchek, 76, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in a local hospital. She was born Oct. 3, 1925, in New York City. A resident for four years, she was a nurse.

Floyd: 'He's going to get it': Dean Juipe; With a perfect record, a world championship and a widespread belief that he may be the finest fighter in the world, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has earned the right to come across as brash.

Another loss forecast: AMR lost $798 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. The company said it couldn't provide a better estimate of the 2002 losses as business remains weak.

Taxable value for Primm mall owners lowered $3.9 million: County assessors had set the value at about $55 million, but shopping center representatives argued they had only paid $45 million for the property in 2000 and on Wednesday presented the necessary documents to prove it.

Letter: Yucca Mountain bad security risk: Using past waste-shipment history, as homeland security director Tom Ridge did, to predict waste shipments to Yucca Mountain is not valid: Those shipments came from 106 facilities going to 72 storage areas using secret, random shipment schedules.

Las Vegas staff sergeant selected Guard NCO of Year: Dick Benoit; Staff Sgt. Steven Golladay of the Det 5 Medical Unit was named Nevada Army National Guard's non-commissioned officer of the year during ceremonies at Nellis Air Force Base on Saturday.

Editorial: Propaganda office gets a fond farewell: Despite Rumsfeld's assurances, the controversy regarding the Pentagon office with the ominous title -- Office of Strategic Influence -- continued into this week. President Bush also let it be known publicly that he was upset with the disinformation plans that had been under consideration, a situation that hastened the office's demise. The Washington Post reported that White House aides "hit the ceiling" when the proposals were unearthed last week.

Columnist Joe Delaney: Choices for best of century prove debatable: Joe Delaney; My five all-time favorite films were "Citizen Kane," "The Producers," "Casablanca," "The Informer" and the original "Stagecoach" ... Comedian, trumpeter and good friend for 40 years, Peter Anthony agreed with "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca" but preferred "The Godfather I and II," "La Dolce Vita," and "My Dinner With Andre" to complete his top five films.

Letter: How to conserve in face of rising electricity rates: Use candles religiously throughout your home. Either you've become a monk or you just received your latest utility bill.

Equal rights laws under review: By Timothy Pratt; Rights meeting

Mature in motherhood: Kimberley McGee; For Lori Itson, being an older mom gives her an edge.

Community briefs for February 28, 2002: More than 55 local students will compete Saturday in the Southern Nevada Regional Student Model Bridge Building Contest at the Thomas T. Beam Engineering Complex on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. The students built more than 300 wooden bridges, which will be tested to their breaking points under weights. For more information, call 293-8421, 293-8164 or 293-8150.

Editorial: Neighbors, yes; roller coaster, no: As the decades passed so too did the neighborhoods, until middle-class professionals and retirees, beginning about 1990, recognized their potential. They found the old homes and mature vegetation a welcome respite from the monotony of sprawling master-planned communities overtaking the Las Vegas Valley. The new residents persevered against the crime and blight that had grown from years of neglect and quietly worked together to bring back the glory days.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Trend is a pain in the neck: Ruthe Deskin; In a recent front page story WSJ asks: "With Life So Tough Must Clothing Labels Be a Pain in the Neck?"

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: For readers and writers: One paragraph suggests some questions a reporter assigned to cover military affairs during time of war should answer: Are you ready to participate in this war? Are you prepared, physically and mentally, to make the abrupt transition from peacetime reporter to war correspondent? Is your organization prepared to invest the time and money in enabling you and your colleagues to carry out vastly expensive wartime coverage?

Atlantic City casinos move forward with expansions: John Curran; ATLANTIC CITY -- With gamblers returning to the slot machines and capital markets stabilizing, Atlantic City casinos are forging ahead with expansions, some of which were postponed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Letter: Good riddance to 2002 Olympics: All this was predictable a few years ago when Utah was chosen as the 2002 site for this event.

Attorney general opposes casino, supporters pitch project: AP; Vinton Mayor David Riggins said the six-member delegation believes that the Jena Choctaw project will benefit the entire southwestern Louisiana region, already a heavily competitive gambling market.

More charges filed against Mack: Graves on Wednesday amended his original complaint on behalf of the Las Vegas Ethics Commission to include a total of five criminal charges against Mack, alleged to have intentionally violated city code.

Taxable sales in state fell in December: CARSON CITY -- The holiday shopping season wasn't so cheery for Nevada merchants, with taxable sales falling 4.5 percent in December compared to a year ago.

Wall war: City defends project that residents say has been bungled from the start: Diana Sahagun; After calling for a wall they said would protect property values, residents in a West Las Vegas neighborhood say the $1.7 million cinder-block structure the city built is a disaster that actually detracts from the area.

Herrera: Ruling in his favor was no surprise: Cy Ryan and Launce Rake; Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera said he was not surprised by a state ethics board's decision clearing him of wrongdoing in regard to a contentious Dec. 4 vote in support of an ordinance governing billboards.

News briefs for February 28, 2002: The U.S. Conference of Mayors on Wednesday sent a letter to President Bush expressing concern over transporting high-level nuclear waste from reactors across the country to Yucca Mountain.

Exchanges start options trading: The exchanges will allow traders to buy and sell "LEAPS," or long-term equity anticipation securities. These are options to purchase or sell stock, but have a longer term than other publicly traded stock options. Investors have the option of purchasing "call" LEAPS -- which give the investor the right to purchase stock at a fixed price by the expiration date -- or "put" leaps, which give an investor the ability to sell stock at a fixed price at a future date.

Despite loss, Aladdin pleased with progress: David Strow; Despite a loss in January, officials at the Aladdin hotel-casino say the bankrupt Strip property is continuing to operate ahead of expectations.

Debt secured by properties after downgrade: While MGM MIRAGE carried an investment grade rating, its senior debt was unsecured. But a "springing lien" agreement with the company's banks requires the company to "recollateralize," or use its assets as security for the senior debt, if either Moody's or Standard & Poor's removes the company's investment grade ratings, said Jim Murren, president and chief financial officer of MGM MIRAGE.

Planning commissioners OK ordinance on phone towers: Mathis Winkler; North Las Vegas planning commissioners unanimously approved a new law regulating cell phone towers on Wednesday.

Developers settling lawsuit: Developers Raintree Associates Ltd. Partnership, Falcon Engineering Services and Falcon Construction Services agreed to pay $280,000 into a construction fund and $70,000 in restitution to eight condominium owners, the government said.

Nuclear office reorganized: Under the realignment plan, the Nevada Operations Office will become two offices -- the Nevada Service Office and the Las Vegas Site Office.

Players card rollout about to begin: "When people know the value of the card, they will travel from one MGM MIRAGE property to another," Lanni said at a gaming investors conference in New York.

Venetian gains some ground in lien case: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected the petition of the Venetian Casino Resort to remove Senior District Judge James Brennan and a special master from handling more than $300 million in construction liens against the Las Vegas Strip resort.

Security checks may mean longer lines: Jace Radke; Race fans, creeping through traffic at speeds of 5 mph, will meet a giant caution flag when they reach the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.

Reg strikes back: Victoria Sun; There is a steely determination in Reggie Theus' voice as he talks about his desire to be an NBA head coach one day.

Support lacking in Yucca fight: Chris Jones, Grace Leong and Jennifer Robison; A week after they were challenged to join in the fight against storing the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, many nongaming businesses in Southern Nevada say they aren't going to do so.

Columnist Rusty Wallace: New faces may help secure win: Rusty Wallace; We've got a different look this year on our No. 2 Miller Lite team with a new crew chief, Bill Wilburn, and three or four new crew guys. Right now, they're all jelling good and meshing together and I like that; I'm real happy with what I'm seeing so far.

Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Hunters urged to act early: Paula DelGiudice; This is the best time of year to take care of outdoors-related business.

Firm opens LV terminal: The company will open with four employees and expects to add more later. It would not reveal its investment in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas area fishing report: Boaters land some stripers: There have been reports of Lake Mead boaters having good success for striped bass in the Overton Arm while there has been only limited success in recent days in the Boulder Basin.

Developers settling suit: Developers Raintree Associates Ltd. Partnership, Falcon Engineering Services and Falcon Construction Services agreed to pay $280,000 into a construction fund and $70,000 in restitution to eight condominium owners, the government said.

UNLV teams fare well in MWC Championships: The men's team holds second place with 93 points, while the women's team sits in fifth with 80 points.

Busch race attracts household names: When the green flag drops on the Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there will be plenty of racing heritage -- as well as experience -- in the 43-car field.

Busch looks to find winning stride: Kurt Busch has become so accustomed to winning throughout his racing career that he considers his rookie season in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series "terrible" because it didn't include a victory.

Bucks stop here: Geoffrey Bodine finished third in the Daytona 500 but didn't race last weekend and won't be racing in Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

New board member named: Alexander formerly served as a managing director of UBS Warburg, and headed the construction and furnishing group of its corporate finance department. Previously, she served as a securities analyst covering the housing industry.

NASCAR appearances during Race week: Various drivers -- 3:30-8 p.m., NASCAR drivers auction, Sam's Town hotel-casino, 5111 Boulder Hwy. Scheduled to appear: Robby Gordon, Brett Bodine, Jeff Green, Stacy Compton, Shawna Robinson, Jason Keller, Hank Parker Jr., Scott Riggs, David Green, Casey Mears and others. (Tickets $35)

NASCAR Busch Series point standings: NASCAR Busch Series point standings

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Bernstein returns to scene of first 300 mph run: Kenny Bernstein admitted he would be feeling a little nostalgic when the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series heads to Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway in two weeks for the Mac Tools Gatornationals.

Citibank settles with Nevada, others over telemarketing: Melissa Mccord; MILWAUKEE -- Citibank, the nation's largest credit-card issuer, has agreed to pay $1.6 million as part of a settlement with 27 states over the way telemarketing firms sell products and services to the banking company's customers.

Busch's parents keep watchful eye at home: Victoria Sun; Whenever Gaye and Tom Busch can't make it in person to see their oldest son, Kurt, race in the NASCAR Winston Cup series, they retreat to their respective spots at their Las Vegas home to watch on TV.

Special prosecutor quizzes Mosley in ethics hearing: Kim Smith; District Judge Donald Mosley, after being questioned by a special prosecutor for more than an hour Wednesday, was scheduled today to respond to allegations of ethics violations.

Rebel seniors not ready for sendoff: Steve Addy; Five seniors are approaching their final few home games in a UNLV basketball uniform, but they don't care to reminisce about past glories. They're hoping their finest hour is still to come.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: NASCAR's contraction faction: Save for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pinstripe fire suit and paint job that commemorated the baseball All-Star Game last July, NASCAR and the National Pastime wouldn't appear to have much in common. Which probably explains why stock car racing has become the biggest thing since sliced bread, and baseball is more like toast these days.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Botha hopes to parlay Klitschko bout into big bucks: Dean Juipe; While acquiring his promoter's license in Nevada required Sterling McPherson to cut his managerial ties to former heavyweight champ Frans Botha, he still worked behind the scenes to get the South African a fight with Wladimir Klitschko in Germany.

NASCAR drivers, sign in please: Steve Guiremand; You just picked up the newest memorabilia of your favorite NASCAR driver. Now you want to get it autographed.

Names in the game: Linda Frohlich: Frohlich, a Kodak All-America candidate, currently leads the Mountain West Conference averaging a double-double with a team-high 22.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. She is the league's two-time defending player of the year and the school's all-time leading scorer (men's and women's).

Fallout over housing authority contract continues: Adrienne Packer; The upstart public relations company awarded a profitable contract by the Las Vegas Housing Authority won the bid over more established, heavy-hitting firms, according to records obtained by the Sun.

Third municipal judge sought: Jeffrey Libby; Henderson officials are expected consider a plan this spring that would put a third municipal court judge in the courthouse by July 2003, citing high caseloads that are expected to get worse.

DOE official tainted by bias, Berkley says: DOE Undersecretary Robert Card's former firms, CH2M Hill Corp. and Kaiser-Hill Corp., both have contracts with the department for radioactive waste cleanup projects in Colorado and Washington.

Mountain Spa looking to partner on luxury project: Grace Leong; The Mountain Spa luxury home project in far Northwest Las Vegas -- stalled because of litigation, a failed hotel deal and the economic slowdown -- says a joint venture with a major home developer is now among its options.

Call for more downtown bars, clubs creates a buzz: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas officials want to revitalize a rundown downtown neighborhood east of the Fremont Street Experience by bringing more taverns and nightclubs into the area.