Print edition for January 14, 2002

Leavitt ends long career of helping abused children: Rebecca Malone; Peggy Leavitt calls her career helping children a blessing.

Birth announcements for January 14, 2002: Jan. 4:

Petition proposed for hiking gaming taxes: CARSON CITY -- Barry Michaels is following in the footsteps of state Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, in an effort to boost taxes on the gambling industry.

Honored LV doctor ends year of travel: By Emily Richmond; Las Vegas has been known for many things, but pioneering microsurgery wasn't one of them. Now, thanks to Dr. William Zamboni, it is.

Letter: No reason to reward China: Free trade and entrance into the World Trade Organization for China are part of the utopian goal of "trade expansion will bring peace." It hasn't worked yet in the last 40 years. Maybe I missed it.

News briefs for January 14, 2002: An unidentified pedestrian became the fourth fatal accident victim in Las Vegas this year.

Letter: Bolster security at all airports: One would have assumed that the safety measures at smaller airports would have already been stepped up in the wake of Sept. 11. Given the details of the attackers' flight-school training and the easy access to flight simulators and other flight-training documents, one would think that smaller airports and training facilities might be a reasonable breeding ground for further terrorist activities.

Letter: Post Sept. 11 attitudes need an adjustment: Return to the normal complacency "business as usual" attitude of before Sept. 11 is not what I feel would be in the best interests of the country, either. The tragedy brought out incredible compassion and generosity in the vast majority of us, and an emotional desire to stand up to the enemy.

Seminar scheduled on identification: Jewelry professionals will learn how to properly identify gemstones during the hands-on demonstration using the GIA identification process.

Editorial: Higher tuitions in store?: With that information in hand, it was interesting that last week Bruce James, the chairman of the board of the private Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe, actually called for a tripling of the tuition at Nevada's public universities. James, who made his remarks during a roundtable discussion on the University and Community College System of Nevada's master plan, noted that Nevada ranked low nationally on tuition rates for public universities. That may be the case, but that begs a more important question: If the tuition already makes it hard for low-income students to attend school, why would you want ...

Main Vegas carrier still dealing with long lines: New security procedures at McCarran International and other airports served by Southwest Airlines have created some unexpected problems in boarding procedures for the Dallas-based discount carrier.

Schools' exec will develop college's teacher program: Jennifer Knight; The new Nevada State College at Henderson has hired a top Clark County School District administrator to develop its program to train teachers.

Las Vegas thrift operator's earnings jump: That's up 45 percent from the $24.5 million, or 42 cents the Seattle-based thrift earned in the year-ago quarter.

Area hospitals planned: Area hospitals planned

Columnist Dean Juipe: Ice skating is cracking its barriers: Dean Juipe; If there's even one female living in your home, you know that watching figure skating on TV is unavoidable.

Sparse crowd greets Venetian fights: Dean Juipe; A busy weekend of boxing in Southern Nevada ended with something of a dull thud Sunday night at the C2K nightclub within the Venetian, as a small crowd took in a fairly lackluster fight card that marked the debut of promoter Johnny McClain.

Mayor's remarks concern homeless advocates: By Timothy Pratt; A growing chorus of homeless advocates is voicing concern over Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's blunt remarks about the homeless in his state of the city speech last week.

Rebels get commitment from speedy back: Steve Guiremand; Ronnie Smith didn't even start for his high school football team this past season. But there are some scouts who believe he may be as good as any prospect in the Los Angeles area.

Nevada insurers file to hike auto rates: CARSON CITY -- Farmers Insurance Exchange, one of the largest car insurers in Nevada, has applied to increase rates by a statewide average of 0.8 percent starting March 1.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Pincay, Sir Bear make seniors proud: Ralph Siraco; Reviewing some notes across my program early in the new year:

New hospitals face staffing woes: By Emily Richmond; A critical shortage of nurses plagues the Las Vegas Valley at a time when hospital construction is booming, and projections show that the shortage may continue at a crisis level for at least five years.

Public to get first breakdown of Guinn's campaign sources: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn has collected $1.9 million in his bid for a second term and the public will get its first glimpse Tuesday of where the money came from.

Tribe moves to shut down Detroit casinos: David Strow; Detroit's billion-dollar casino industry was in legal limbo this morning, as a Michigan Indian tribe launched an effort to shut down all three of the city's gaming properties.

Billionaire's ex-wife wants $320,000 a month in support: In court documents, Lisa Bonder Kerkorian lists monthly expenses for daughter Kira including: $144,000 for travel; $14,000 for parties; $7,000 for charity; $4,300 for food, plus $5,900 to eat out; $2,500 for movies, theaters and outings; $1,400 for laundry and cleaning; $1,000 for toys, videos and books; and $436 for care of Kira's bunny and other pets.

Judge will rule whether topless clubs obeying order: Kim Smith; District Judge Sally Loehrer will decide Thursday if employees of the topless club Pussycats are guilty of violating her order not to tip cab drivers.

Analysis: Abraham decision prompts political finger-pointing: Erin Neff; Nevadans immediately decried politics as the reason behind Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's decision to recommend Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste dump.

Nevada lacks clout to stop dump: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- If President Bush endorses the plan to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and Gov. Kenny Guinn files an official objection as expected, both the House and Senate likely would have the votes to override the Nevada objection.

Trial begins in slashing death of North Las Vegas woman: Kim Smith; Jury selection was scheduled to begin today for a homeless man accused of slashing the throat of a North Las Vegas woman during a robbery.

Proposed system could boost LV-area natural gas supplies: Malcolm Hall; An open season has been declared for customers interested in buying natural gas from a proposed new pipeline spanning 300 miles from Goodsprings in Southern Nevada to Southwestern Arizona.

Track adding slot machines: The West Virginia Lottery Commission must approve increasing the number of machines at the track, which now has about 1,000.

Teen pregnancy rate reduced: The agency said Nevada had the fourth highest rate in the nation in 1999. But in 2000 Nevada ranked 10th highest nationwide.

Bank hurt by Enron loans: Net income fell to $102.4 million, or 45 cents a share, from $125.5 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier.

Judge to rule on City Hall expansion: Jeffrey Libby; After a short hearing by telephone, a U.S. District Court judge said today he will issue a decision later this week on the contested award of a $39.5 million expansion of Henderson City Hall.

Vegas casino supplier posts another loss: Paul-Son Gaming Corp. reported a loss of $329,000, or 10 cents a share, for the second quarter of the company's 2002 fiscal year, compared with a loss of $466,000, 14 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

Sununu says he is not calling for boycott: Benjamin Grove and Jeff German; Leading Yucca Mountain project lobbyist John Sununu today backed away from published reports Saturday and said that he is not encouraging tourists to avoid Nevada if the state will not accept the nation's nuclear waste.

Obituaries for January 14, 2002: Michael Thomas Dippolito, 59, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in a local hospital. He was born Jan. 22, 1942, in New York. A resident for 20 years, he was a casino boxman and a Marine Corps veteran.

Rice will develop teacher program for new college: Jennifer Knight; The new Nevada State College at Henderson has hired a top Clark County School District administrator to develop its program to train teachers.

Letter urges Bush to bounce Yucca: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera were sending a letter today to President Bush urging him to reject Yucca Mountain as the site of the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump.

Mayor's remarks concern homeless groups: By Timothy Pratt; A growing chorus of homeless advocates is voicing concern over Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's blunt remarks about the homeless in his state of the city speech last week.

CES shows its own fashion trends: Kirk Baird; Although some men ogled the skin on the runway at the Consumer Electronics Show, just as many conference-goers were checking out the slim and sexy cell phone clipped to her waist.

Teched out: Latest in home technology paraded at CES: Kirk Baird; It was the almost fully automated kitchen that helped select what type of meal to prepare. Or a living room with a TV that was voice-activated. Even a coffee maker could be turned on by a switch in the bedroom.

Trends for January 14, 2002: Lisa Ferguson; So you've made a New Year's resolution to get yourself into shape, lose a few pounds and ditch that weird flab of skin that dangles from the underside of your arm. (How did that get there, anyway?)

Review: Aerosmith still a force as live act: Kirk Baird; If only every rock act composed of fiftysomethings played like Aerosmith.

Pair to be tried for attempted murder: Kim Smith; A Las Vegas justice of the peace Friday ruled there is enough evidence to try two Las Vegas men on multiple charges in connection with an alleged kidnapping and attempted murder involving two sisters.

UNLV's loss to Utah was all too predictable: Steve Addy; Midway through the season, it's getting tougher for the Rebels to dismiss repeated mistakes as quirks, or claim that their many shortcomings can be cured by simply working harder.

Environmental group criticizes track record of mining company: AP; The Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin researched spills at three mostly copper mines owned by BHP Billiton, the parent company of Nicolet Minerals Co., which wants to develop a mine near Crandon.

Bayno quits ABA team for Philippines league: Bayno quit Thursday after leading the Eclipse to a 3-1 start, saying the Philippines job would triple his ABA salary. He said he heard good reports about the quality of the league, where he will coach three three-month seasons.