Print edition for July 10, 2002

Wet 'n Wild sold for fourth time in four years: Jennifer Robison; The Wet 'n Wild theme park on the Las Vegas Strip has a new owner -- its fifth since 1998.

Brokers predict no dip in home values: Jennifer Robison; Las Vegas real estate professionals don't see the Yucca Mountain dump approved Tuesday by the U.S. Senate as laying waste to the valley's booming economy.

Tourist plans won't be affected -- yet: Yucca Mountain may strike terror into the hearts of locals, but many of the tourists on the Strip Tuesday hadn't even heard of the proposed nuclear waste site just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Analysts raise, cut ratings: Separately, analyst Daniel Davila of Hibernia Southcoast Capital downgraded casino software supplier Acres Gaming Inc. from short-term "strong buy" to short-term "buy" and has cut the company's 12-month target price from $8 to $5 per share.

Circus Circus wins award for RV park: Circus Circus wins award for RV park

Ralph Siraco's selections for Thursday: 2nd Race -- IF BY MAGIC -- Training at Santa Anita, Smith sits Gonzalez trainee for owners McCaffery & Toffan, adds blinkers for this. PURE ADRENALIN -- Draws good post for route maiden outing, Delahoussaye on Baffert trainee, graduation a Pure Adrenalin rush for backers. Value Play -- DESTINATION

Nevada gamblers lost less in May, mid-week casino activity still soft: CARSON CITY -- Nevada casinos won $838.9 million from gamblers in May, a decrease of .6 percent from a year ago. It was the third month this year the clubs reported lower gross revenue, as the industry continues to recover from the 2001 slowdown.

Chairman McDonald has confidence of board: Diana Sahagun; Michael McDonald's love-hate relationship with the Las Vegas Housing Authority came full circle last month, when the city councilman who once asked for a major overhaul of the agency was handed the reins to become the leader of the board.

Event center planned for historic building: Eliezer Mizrachi, president of Old Town Inc., which operates the Huntridge, said he has applied for a banquet license for the property and plans to renovate and rent it for events including comedy shows, plays, private parties and company banquets.

Prominent businessman accused of defrauding casinos: Court records in Las Vegas allege Simonini, known as a high-stakes gambler, passed bad checks totalling $385,000 at the Mirage and Bellagio hotel-casinos in March and April of 2001.

Partisanship ensues after state suffers stinging loss: Erin Neff; Although the state's political fight against a proposed nuclear waste dump officially ended Tuesday, the politics of Yucca Mountain will remain a key issue in Nevada this election year.

Thursday horse racing entries: Post Time 1:15 p.m.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: IRL takes no immediate action against Unser: Al Unser Jr.'s arrest early Tuesday on preliminary domestic battery and domestic violence charges apparently will not affect his immediate future in the Indy Racing League, according to team owner Tom Kelley.

Nevadans look ahead: Obstacles remain for government to proceed: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., took a quick phone call Tuesday from Gov. Kenny Guinn in the middle of the Senate debate on Yucca Mountain, a few hours before the state lost its epic battle to keep the nuclear waste dump out.

Columnist Spencer Patterson: Schnurstein takes step toward pro career: Spencer Patterson; When Basic High School baseball star Micah Schnurstein passed up a Division I scholarship at UNLV to sign with the Community College of Southern Nevada last January, it raised more than a few eyebrows around town.

SCORE entries: Pro Cars and Trucks

Golden Gate strike ends; workers keep free insurance: By Jeff German; The Culinary Union signed a new five-year contract with the Golden Gate late Tuesday, ending a nine-day strike downtown.

Energy Dept. will use in-house attorneys to handle legal work: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Faced with the complex task of applying for a license to dump nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, the Energy Department is relying solely on its own lawyers to oversee the sophisticated legal work involved.

This week in golf: Greater Milwaukee Open

Terrible 250 event schedule: 4-5:30 p.m.: Charity bowling tournament, Terribles Town Henderson Bowl

Plant dispute may be resolved: Aladdin and Northwind Aladdin, which operates the plant, have sued each other over ownership of the facility.

Notable quotes from the Yucca debate: "It's very difficult for a senator to fight the president." -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Ensign.

Columnist Peter Benton: Phoenix volunteer places Southwest golf on the map: Peter Benton; Congratulations to a golfing neighbor of ours, 72-year old Bill Dickey of Phoenix, who has put our Southwest Section of the PGA on the map by being selected by the U.S. Golf Association to receive the prestigious 2001 Joseph C. Dey Award.

Yucca decision could aid UNLV research: Jennifer Knight; UNLV officials didn't dare to speculate Tuesday about any financial benefits the $58 billion Yucca Mountain project could bring to the university, but they did say expansion of the school's research facilities is likely.

PETA complains about inmate's diet: An animal rights organization is asking the Clark County Detention Center to provide a different diet to a former teacher accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old boy and having sex with him.

Nevada's fight moves to Washington courts: CARSON CITY -- Nevada's fight against Yucca Mountain now moves from the U.S. Senate to the courts in Washington, D.C., where state officials feel they will get a fair shake.

Columnist Victoria Sun: Turuc, Edwards make Junior field: Victoria Sun; The fifth time was a charm for Bishop Gorman golfer Jonathan Taruc.

Battle over licensing looms: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Now that the Senate has approved Yucca Mountain, project managers at the Energy Department have shifted their attention to winning the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

RTC defends proposal to cut CAT system fine: Regional Transportation Commission board members lined up to defend a proposal to trim thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars from the potential fine against the operator of the Citizens Area Transit system.

Session may not resolve trauma crisis: Erin Neff; Political leaders are trying everything to get surgeons to return to work at the shuttered University Medical Center trauma unit.

Daughters to Work Day spurs a debate: By Emily Richmond; Terry Hickman's daughter never showed particular interest in her father's career as a school counselor in Carson City -- that is, until she traded a day of grade school for a chance to see him on the job.

Sports briefs for July 10, 2002: Three new assistant coaches will join the UNLV women's basketball program for the 2002-03 season, head coach Regina Miller announced Tuesday.

Stock boosts pay for Station execs: By Liz Benston; Executives of Las Vegas locals' casinos giant Station Casinos Inc. dominated the top of the list of the 50 highest compensated Las Vegas executives in 2001 -- beating out some international casino chiefs -- mainly due to large awards of restricted stock.

Homeless coalition backs property tax: By Timothy Pratt; A coalition of public and private agencies that works with the homeless polled its members Tuesday on whether or not to back a property tax that would raise money for affordable housing, shelters and other services. A formal vote will be taken in the coming weeks.

Civil rights leader Kellar dies at 93: Las Vegas civil rights leader and attorney Charles Kellar believed a man should have a purpose.

Court rejects killer's appeal over judge's Bible quote: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the petition of death row inmate Donald W. Sherman, who complained that a District Court judge in Las Vegas improperly quoted from the Bible to show a juror that the death penalty is permitted.

Conference helps aspiring screenwriters: Kirk Baird; Film producer Frederick Levy has a theory about would-be screenwriters.

Residents to vote on motocross park: Jeffrey Libby; A proposed 50-acre motocross park wending its way through the El Dorado Valley will minimize dust pollution, not increase it, proponents say.

Council changes policy on leasing public land: Jeffrey Libby; A September ballot question has already changed the way Boulder City leaders lease city-owned land -- at least in principle, if not in practice.

Auto pilot: Norton harvests a career at 'car ranch': The 57-year-old former film splicer for 20th Century Fox recalls the Christmas he received a new 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe. He was 5 years old.

Two teens charged in Henderson shooting death: Keith Paul; Two teenagers are in jail this morning, accused of shooting a man to death with an assault rifle during what was supposed to be a fistfight.

Las Vegas students featured at Shakespearean Festival: Lummis Elementary School students will perform a 50-minute adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" this summer in Cedar City, Utah.

Oversight tightened on state contracts: CARSON CITY -- The state Board of Examiners Tuesday voted to keep closer tabs on the private companies awarded hundred of millions of dollars in state contracts.

Letter: Bush's image is tarnished: If it were Bill Clinton, instead of George W. Bush, a special prosecutor would have already been appointed.

Highlights of May win report on Nevada casinos: AP; -STATEWIDE: $839 million, down 0.6 percent.

Valley just misses heat record: The Las Vegas Valley flirted with a record high temperature Tuesday, but missed it by a degree. Still, local power use set an all-time high.

Savvy wine buys: '00 Domaine du Salvard Cheverny: Available at Lee's Discount Liquors, $9.99.

Events slated to promote Henderson SCORE event: Three charity events today, including a bowling tournament, silent auction and slot tournament, will benefit the Henderson Allied Community Advocates organization. Racing-related activities begin Thursday evening at Terrible's hotel/casino with a live drawing for starting positions. The poolside event will include a concert and fireworks.

Kids' pennies add up for leukemia: The elementary school was the top fund-raiser for The Leukemia and Lymphona Society national campaign "Pennies for Patients," raising $3,604.80. The Las Vegas branch raised more than $27,000 through local kids donating their spare change to help fight leukemia.

Community briefs for July 10, 2002: Nevada Association of Fashion Design and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Continuing Education Certificate Program presents "A Touch of Fashion, Preview to a Premier," a fashion show at 6 p.m. Monday in the Clark County Library's Amphitheater, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Organization celebrates 100 years of goodwill: Elizabeth Foyt; The annual reception honors those who are served and the individuals and businesses who support their efforts in Southern Nevada. Nate Tannenbaum, master of ceremonies, kept the mood uplifting and introduced special guests, magicians Penn & Teller, stars at The Rio.

RTC staff seeks service cuts: The Regional Transportation Commission will consider cuts to the countywide public bus system during its regular meeting Thursday.

Court briefs for July 10, 2002: An 18-year-old Las Vegas man was sentenced to four to 20 years in prison Tuesday in connection with a February accident that killed two men.

Obituaries for July 10, 2002: Josephine A. Amundson, 75, of Las Vegas died Sunday in a local hospital. She was born July 29, 1926, in Los Angeles. A resident for five years, she was a homemaker, a member of Beta Sigma Phi and Order of the Eastern Star.

Arena plans move ahead to keep hockey team onboard: Diana Sahagun; Plans are moving forward for a downtown arena as developers edge closer to a fall groundbreaking that must take place to secure its anchor tenant.

Judge: Detroit need not rebid casino licenses: John Flesher; DETROIT -- The city of Detroit does not have to reopen bidding for operators of its three casinos despite a flawed selection process, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Lewis' future may hinge on Johnson: Dean Juipe; Lennox Lewis holds all the cards in boxing's heavyweight division, and rightly so. When he decides what he wants to do next, everyone else's plans will fall into place like so many dominos.

Tarkanian upbeat after treatment: Dean Juipe; Judging by his reaction and outlook after the first day of what will be eight weeks of radiation treatments, Jerry Tarkanian might come through his prostate cancer ordeal just fine.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Getting our fill of full service: What the station charged for so-called full service was legal (I call it gouging), but in my eyes it was excessive. It's not my usual practice to use full service, but I was in a hurry and it was the only pump open. No wonder.

Letter: Death penalty opponents try to stall executions: If Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, the Egyptian who murdered the two innocent Jews at Los Angeles International Airport had survived and been sentenced to execution, you could be certain that Mr. Pescetta, or people like him, would be ready to launch appeal after appeal to prevent his death, all the while complaining of the tremendous court costs to the public, as they did everything possible to prevent the completion of the sentence.

Neighbors contribute to planning of park: Clark County plans to plunk a park down in the midst of asphalt and concrete between Maryland Parkway and Paradise Road.

Editorial: Yucca vote imperils the nation: Kyl's remark was directed at such senators as Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., who criticized the vote as irresponsibly premature because there is no transportation plan; John Ensign, R-Nev., who pointed out that a terrorist attack could puncture the canisters containing the waste; Mark Dayton, D-Minn., who reminded his colleagues that just "one accident" could have "devastating effects"; Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who warned that "transportation is a disaster waiting to happen" in population centers such as Sacramento and Los Angeles; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who said the people of Washington have learned the hard way about following the "trust me" approach; Debbie Stabenow, ...

Fraud defendant's website takes prosecutors to task: Kim Smith; Franklyn Perry, who is sitting in the Clark County Detention Center awaiting trial on charges of bilking 1,100 people out of $40 million, is making waves with his website again.

Man shot to death downtown: The man, who was not identified this morning, was shot on Ogden Avenue at 18th Street about 10:40 p.m., police said.

Letter: Man cannot change God: God, according to Genesis, first book of the Bible, is the Creator of heaven and earth. What man writes or decides is irrelevant.

Pioneer women's clothier Soss dies: Before the Fashion Show mall, Las Vegas had Fanny's. Its stores on Fremont Street and on the Strip were among the first women's clothing stores in town to purchase top designer clothes from New York and to display their fashions on mannequins.

Fists of fury in Las Vegas: Steve Guiremand; John Paul Obena was a few weeks late with a birthday present for his father, Nelson. But considering the circumstances, it was more than worth the wait.

Ethics complaint cites Williams' water message: Adrienne Packer; A campaign manager representing one of Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams' opponents said he hopes the incumbent is publicly chastised for appearing in a recent brochure about drinking water.