Print edition for January 17, 2002

Nevadans urged to call Bush: Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has notified Gov. Kenny Guinn that he intends to recommend the site, probably next month. Bush is expected this year to approve the recommendation.

Heavies take center stage: Dean Juipe; Boxing fans will have a choice of two cards to choose from Friday night in Las Vegas, and in each case the 10-round main event offers an experienced heavyweight who has met some of the best fighters in the division. The trouble, however, for Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Danell Nicholson is that they have continually lost upon reaching the national stage.

Sun Girls Hoops Top 10: Teams ranked jointly by the Sun and Sparks Tribune. Records through Tuesday's games.

Man gets 5 years in death of daughter: Kim Smith; An elderly Las Vegas man accused of strangling his daughter in May was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday.

Councilman says Nevadans have paid their nuclear dues: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese offered a unique perspective to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's decision to recommend Yucca Mountain as the burial ground for 77,000 tons of the nation's nuclear waste.

Pair of teams to call arena home: Diana Sahagun; A proposed 7,500-seat downtown arena will be home to a pair of sports teams, developers are expected to announce today.

Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Youngsters invited to waterfowl hunt: Paula DelGiudice; Some of the best opportunities for families to take their young hunters afield are Nevada's youth hunts.

Sun Boys Hoops Top 10: Teams ranked jointly by the Sun and Sparks Tribune. Records through Tuesday's games.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Forrest vows to beat Mosley -- as a pro: Dean Juipe; The last man to defeat Shane Mosley says he'll do it again when they fight Jan. 26 in New York.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Dunn, done as driver of Yankees' racer, joins ESPN: Mike Dunn, who inexplicably left the Gwynn/Steinbrenner Racing NHRA Top Fuel team earlier this month, will spend this season in the television booth as an analyst on ESPN's telecasts of the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Call this Rebel squad 'ordinary': It's a good thing that back in 1688, when the French moralist Jean De La Bruyere said, "There are certain things in which mediocrity is intolerable: poetry, music, painting, public eloquence," that peach baskets were used mostly for collecting peaches.

Tax panel still diagnosing woes: Erin Neff; After six hours of economists, projected numbers and hundreds of computerized presentations, the Governor's Task Force on Tax Policy seemed so spent it was gleefully anticipating a road trip to Elko.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Firefight to remember: Today, American troops, in much greater numbers in a larger area, are searching for terrorist Osama bin Laden and his Taliban host Mullah Muhammad Omar in and around Afghanistan. Heavy and accurate use of airstrikes have kept our casualties down, but at the time of this writing, neither of the scoundrels have been caught. Are they dead or alive? I don't know, and the Pentagon doesn't have the answer.

Prep girls basketball standings: CLASS 4A

Las Vegas council briefs for January 17, 2002: A new topless club could soon be open near downtown Las Vegas. The council approved plans for The Board Room, a 24,093 square-foot topless club on Westwood Drive south of Sahara Avenue that will be housed in an office building once owned by powerful political consultant Sig Rogich.

Editorial: Don't let spin get in the way of facts: We couldn't agree more with the family's sentiments about the presumption of innocence, but the reality is that it has been Lindh's family and their attorney who have tried to sidestep the facts, minimizing Lindh's involvement with the Taliban while playing up the image of a loving child who wouldn't hurt a soul. Others have expressed compassion for Lindh, suggesting that he was just a kid who somehow got caught up in a fanatical religion.

High court says defendants can't decide witnesses: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that defendants in criminal trials cannot tell their attorneys which witnesses to call or not to call.

Fingerhut to be sold or closed: Federated, a $15 billion-a-year retailer whose stores include Macy's and Bloomingdale's, said Wednesday it will list the Minneapolis-based Fingerhut unit as a discontinued operation, effective with the fourth quarter of 2001.

Sun Athletes of the Week: Kevin Marshall and Yolonda Johnson: School: Foothill

Air Force Reserve creating engineering unit at Nellis: Dick Benoit; The Air Force Reserve is looking for more than a few good men and women, preferably the hard-hat types.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Wade no stranger to Sun: Ruthe Deskin; A case being tried in local courts has one Morris Wade accused of trying to find a hit man to kill his wife because she wouldn't hire a hit man for him.

Reid leads fund-raising field: Erin Neff; With more than 10 months to go until Election Day, the Clark County Commission races are already poised to be among the most expensive in history.

Editorial: Negotiating for benefits a bad deal: Remember that the federal government reneged on many promises it made to New Mexico regarding the Waste Isolation Pilot Project, a radioactive waste disposal site opened in 1999 near Carlsbad, N.M. For example, the state of New Mexico was promised that it would receive $190 million for highway upgrades, but it only received $20 million. Besides, why should we trust the same federal government to keep its word that year after year has ignored all the scientific warnings that show how dangerous it is to ship and store 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in Nevada?

EPA says perchlorate may cause more harm: Perchlorate, a rocket fuel booster found in Southern Nevada's drinking water, causes more harm to human health than scientists believed, a draft Environmental Protection Agency report says.

Obituaries for January 17, 2002: Eunice Banham, 72, of Las Vegas died Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. She was born Feb. 14, 1929, in England. A resident for 10 years, she was a bar and grill owner-operator.

North Las Vegas council briefs for January 17, 2002: The money would come from federal funds and help the authority get the $3.6 million project off the ground. Bonds are expected to cover the bulk of the costs.

Maximum sentence ordered in stabbing: Kim Smith; The stabbing death of Michelle Welch, 27, at first looked like a sad case of domestic violence.

Letter: Doing our part, and then some: He has a good point. However, he is looking at it from the wrong perspective -- but I'm sure money is blocking his view.

Community briefs for January 17, 2002: Red Flag 02-2 starts Saturday when 50 military aircraft from around the United States arrive at Nellis Air Force Base for intense combat training.

Kicking's a habit for Soder: Spencer Patterson; As Katherine Soder took down their team's leading scorer with a physical tackle on Tuesday, Eldorado fans might have wondered if the soccer match they'd been following had suddenly turned into a football game.

Prep wrestling standings: CLASS 4A

Columnist Spencer Patterson: Durango basketball team enduring tough times: Spencer Patterson; How badly have things gone for Durango's boys basketball team this season? Try this on for size: Last week the Trailblazers finished a game with four players on the floor.

Letter: Younger Bush lacks courage of his father: When confronted with the conflict between his political promise and necessary fiscal policy, the senior Bush chose the latter and knowingly suffered the political consequences of his actions. I don't believe this President Bush has the courage of his father.

Catching up with: Jayme Connors: High School: Silverado ('01)

Letter: Nuclear waste's silver lining: Newscasts are scaring the daylights out of many by warning about lower property values. The cloud over Yucca Mountain may have a silver lining. Lower values means lower taxes! None of us old fogeys got a $5,000-plus cost-of-living adjustment like our servants on the Hill!

Prep boys basketball standings: CLASS 4A

Columnist Joe Delaney: The saga of the MGM MIRAGE entertainment scene: Joe Delaney; Alex Shoofey was recruited from Sahara to head the Kerkorian team for the pre-Hilton period ... Al Benedict and Bernie Rothkopf joined Kerkorian in the early 1970s to build the first MGM Grand, later sold to and renamed Bally's ... This was followed by the construction of the present MGM Grand ... Bob Maxey was one of the top executives for this Kerkorian project.

Del Papa protests extradition policy: CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has joined 28 other states in protesting extradition practices by Mexico, which does not extradite a criminal suspect to the United States if the person faces a life term in prison without possibility of parole.

Director, union agree not to talk in public: CARSON CITY -- Richard Kirkland, director of the state Department of Public Safety, and the union that represents Nevada Highway Patrol troopers have agreed to stop airing their dirty laundry in public.

New blood center opens: The new blood center's first donors watched in amusement.

Developers seal deal on 1,900 acres: Mathis Winkler; Applause, a group photo and hugs involving developers and North Las Vegas City Council members on Wednesday sealed an agreement for a $1 billion master-planned community on 1,900 acres at the northern end of the city.

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

Regents vote to bail out fire academy: Jennifer Knight; The troubled University of Nevada, Reno's Fire Science Academy will reopen in May with a multi-million dollar debt that officials say will continue to grow.

Higher yields hoped to be squeezed out of investments: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn wants the state to work with the Clark and Washoe county school districts to determine whether they can increase the return on their investments to help offset pending budget shortfalls.

Armey visit spurs call for boycott: Erin Neff; When House Majority Leader Dick Armey strolls into town today to raise money for the GOP, he'll also see plenty of Democrats.

The business of learning: Community support grows in local schools: Terry Webster; First graders at Fitzgerald Elementary School in North Las Vegas are learning the difference between a seven of hearts and a two of spades.

Las Vegas area fishing report: Rainbows are biting at Lake Mead: Good fishing continues to be found at Lake Mead for rainbow trout following the Nevada Division of Wildlife's weekly plants. The better action has been taking place at Hemenway Harbor and B-5 (Pumphouse) Cove. This week's stocking will take place Friday at those two locations and Horsepower Cove and South Saddle Cove.

A real character: Actor Ernie Sabella sets up shop in Southern Nevada: He is character actor Ernie Sabella, who has been the voice of Pumbaa the warthog in two animated feature films, "The Lion King" and "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride," and he is working on a third, "The Lion King III: Hakuna Matata."

Prep girls soccer standings: CLASS 4A

Glitch fuels Vegas gasoline shortages: Chris Jones; A software glitch at a Las Vegas-area gasoline and diesel fuel depot Tuesday and Wednesday left scores of truckers with empty tanks for about 36 hours and prompted temporary shortages at some local truck stops and service stations.

Veterans home completion date set: CARSON CITY -- Construction on the long-delayed state veterans nursing home in Boulder City is scheduled to be completed by the end of March.

LV companies dominate finalist list: The Macau government announced it is meeting with nine of 18 qualified bidders this week "for further understanding on their tenders." Listed among the companies meeting with Macau officials are MGM MIRAGE Macao, Asian American Entertainment Corp., Lucky 9 Casino Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MP Entertainment.

WCHL by the numbers: WCHL by the numbers

Study says casinos siphoning money out of Kentucky: They calculated that gambling by Kentuckians translated to nearly $95 million in taxes for Indiana and Illinois. That was $19 million more -- a 25 percent increase -- from two years earlier.

Goodman, council may sell space for City Hall ads: Diana Sahagun; In its run for the money, the city that's considering leasing its logo to an Internet casino -- and whose mayor would love to be the spokesman for Beefeater Gin -- now is looking at selling advertisers space on public buildings including City Hall.

Wal-Mart labor trial under way in Vegas: Grace Leong; Wal-Mart Stores Inc., charged with labor law violations in its fight against a union organizing drive at 14 Las Vegas stores, accused the union Wednesday of being more concerned with "protecting its market share than vindicating workers' rights."

Residents air doubts about plans to revive downtown: Jeffrey Libby; About 60 residents of downtown Henderson listened quietly to a short presentation that was more than a year in the making. It detailed the final draft of plans to revitalize business on Henderson's downtrodden main drag -- Water Street.

Police probe allegations of beating: Internal Affairs detectives are investigating allegations that officers beat Michael Nicholas, broke his arm and caused other injures Monday about 11:50 p.m. following a traffic stop on Center Street at Burkholder Boulevard.

Ralph Siraco's Santa Anita selections: 1st Race -- Frankie Eyelashes -- P. Val. aboard Abrams trainee, draws good rail post for mile opener, should get the trip here. Fancy Begining -- Eddie D. scales Peterson trainee, draws good box as well, fits this claiming heat. Value Play -- Syn Can Do

Culinary, Turnberry apparently settle fight over picketing space: Florida condominium developer Turnberry Associates had wrangled with the Culinary Union over the design. The union appealed the design in November, forcing the issue to the full commission after an earlier approval by the county planning commission.

Kenny, Reid lead fund-raising: Erin Neff; With more than 10 months to go until Election Day, the Clark County Commission races are already poised to be among the most expensive in history.

Hockey returning to LV: Ron Kantowski and Steve Guiremand; Local hockey fans anticipating a fix with the arrival of the West Coast Hockey League in 2003 won't be seeing any Mario Lemieuxs or Patrick Roys.

Return of some flights delayed: An airline spokeswoman today said JAL would return two flights March 1, a third flight April 1 and two more July 15. The airline's return flights to Tokyo will be one-stop flights through Los Angeles International Airport. One of the two flights to be reinstated July 15 will have its return routed through San Francisco.

District graduate rates see modest increase: Terry Webster; Clark County School District graduation rates have risen by about 4 percent over last year, but officials say the number of students who don't finish high school is still too high.