Stories published July 19, 2002Las Vegas Sun

County reviews Apex residential development plan: A proposed 3,000-acre development 13 miles north of downtown Las Vegas moved a step closer to reality Thursday.

Officials see new water line as key for growth, security: Jeffrey Libby; As of July 29, new pumps will push millions of gallons of raw lake water to Boulder City along a $34 million pipeline, giving the city the capacity for the first time to deliver its full Colorado River allotment.

Puerto Rico factory under investigation: The investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration is tied to a whistleblower's lawsuit filed by former employee Hector Arce, who was fired in 1999, the paper said, citing court documents and unidentified people.

Earnings briefs for July 19, 2002: ARLINGTON, VA. -- US Airways Group Inc.'s second-quarter loss widened to $248 million as the carrier tries to avoid bankruptcy amid declining air travel and fares.

Self-defense is claimed in Laughlin killings: Kim Smith; An Arizona man who, until Thursday, faced multiple murder charges in connection with a biker shoot-out was clearly acting in self-defense, his attorney said.

Columnist Benjamin Grove: Ground zero is ghastly, but also a sacred place: Benjamin Grove; Posted signs direct visitors to the viewing area. So do the unfortunate, inevitable World Trade Center souvenir vendors.

Company expected to file for bankruptcy: The bankruptcy filing would be yet another stage in the disintegration of WorldCom, the nation's second-largest long-distance carrier and operator of the largest Internet data network. WorldCom disclosed last month it had improperly accounted for $3.8 billion in expenses.

Letter: Our Founders' devotion to God made U.S. great: If these people would do some research on what our Founding Fathers wrote and believed in, I think they would be surprised. John Adams wrote, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion ... Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Copters keep watchful eye on other potential hot spots: As fire crews appear to have the bulk of the Lost Cabin Fire under control, officials are watching for lightning strikes and conditions that could set off a similar blaze elsewhere.

The Strip at LVMS point standings: SUPER QUICK

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Unser headed for drug rehab: Al Unser Jr., a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and part-time Henderson resident, said Thursday he will immediately enter a rehabilitation center for treatment for alcohol abuse.

On Display for July 19, 2002: "9.11.01: The Day that Changed the World," tasteful photographs from New York City, Washington, D.C., and the countryside of Pennsylvania, Monday and Tuesday at Northern Trust, 1501 S. Martin Luther King Blvd. 304-6840.

Editorial: Buyout of utility is enticing: Nevada Power's customers have been hit hard during the past few years because of skyrocketing increases in their electric bills. At the same time, Nevada Power's stock and credit ratings have been hurt because of its bad business decisions and adverse rulings on rate cases by state regulators. There even is speculation that Southern Nevada's electric company may have to declare bankruptcy.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Sisters have positive state of mind: Lilina and Analise Lucchese have culled something sweet from the lemon that is Yucca Mountain.

Letter: Rural Nevada ready for waste: The politicians did the right thing; they have allowed the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make the decision on Yucca Mountain, and that's what we all want -- the decision to be based on sound science.

RTC tax question criticized: Adrienne Packer; Civil liberty activists are challenging Clark County's appointment of committee members assigned Tuesday to write the opposing argument to a $2.7 billion transit initiative to be placed on November's ballot.

Columnist Jerry Fink: In fifth decade, Checkmates still going strong: The Pussy Cat A Go Go was one of the hottest nightclubs in Las Vegas in the '60s. It was located on the Strip, south of where the defunct Desert Inn now sits.

Doctors' issues pose numbers game for state lawmakers: Stacy J. Willis; WEEKEND EDITION: July 21, 2002

Western wildfires limited resources to fight Lost Cabin: The number of wildland fires coast to coast, especially in the West, limited the resources that could be brought in during the early days of the Lost Cabin Fire.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Chefs honor their own at annual dinner: Congratulations to Caesars Palace Executive Pastry Chef John Hui. He was named ACF 2002 Chef of the Year by The Fraternity of Executive Chefs Las Vegas at the annual dinner held at The Orleans in June.

Columnist Sandy Thompson: Visitation ruling misses the mark: Sandy Thompson; Tell that to a Massachusetts probate judge who recently granted "virtual visitation" to a divorced father of three. Twice a week the father will be allowed to read and talk to his children (a 5-year-old boy and twin 2-year-old girls) via videoconferencing. According to The Boston Globe, the judge granted the mother sole custody of the children and approved her moving with them to New York, while the father lives in Massachusetts.

TV forums planned on marijuana laws: CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller will conduct televised public forums in Las Vegas and Reno next week to take comments on the proposed softening of marijuana laws.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Sprawl's blight overcoming neighborhood: Not that there are any real woods along Clarkway Drive. But there are some older trees, and likely there were more, once upon a time.

Letter: Don't expect to be compensated: Even if the federal government wanted to pay compensation, it would have to borrow the money to do it. Has anyone noticed the budget surplus has turned into a deficit?

Court briefs for July 19, 2002: The Nevada Supreme Court has reinstated the appeal of Dr. Joseph Rojas, who was hit with a $250,000 medical malpractice judgment in Las Vegas in a case involving the removal of the wrong ovary of a woman.

News briefs for July 19, 2002: Andrew Clinger, who has worked in state government since 1997, has been named deputy state budget administrator, succeeding Don Hataway, who retired from the $79,000-a-year job.

Forever Fabian: WEEKEND EDITION: July 21, 2002

Polished Jewel: Break from performing has revitalized songwriter: Kirk Baird; When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Legislature now must act: Nobody should believe that all of the trauma unit doctors are bad people or don't have deep ties to this community. Gus Flangas, a Nevada native who has few, if any, peers as a soldier and attorney, called and asked for a meeting. He brought with him two trauma doctors who are also local high school and Nevada Medical School graduates. Dr. Michael Daubs and Dr. Robert McBeath both are respected in their medical fields of orthopedics and urology, respectively. Gus has a personal relationship with both doctors, who attended medical school with his brother, Dr. Gary Flangas.

Columnist Jeff German: Saving Las Vegas from dirty dancing: If Clark County passes an ordinance later this month barring strippers and patrons from touching private parts during lap dance routines at topless clubs around town, it sure will be.

Fernandez rallies at Founders: Victoria Sun; Forgive Foothill High grad Christine Fernandez if she seemed distracted during the Las Vegas Founders Junior golf tournament.

Columnist Jon Ralston: Businesses insist on free ride: The date was May 22, 2001, and the Legislature was wheezing to a close and McMullen and a bunch of other business lobbyists were applying the coup de grace to a new tax plan by state Sen. Mark James but promising to come up with a package of their own by mid-2002. This from the same free riders who for years have had the chutzpah to whine about a $100 annual head tax on employees but have never cared a whit that many of their members pay a pittance into a state government that increasingly cannot fund education, social services ...

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: It could be a VIP ringing your doorbell: Believe me, your doorbell may ring several times during the summer months of an election year. Nevada still has people seeking office who go out in this lousy weather and ask for your vote. Many do it because they want to meet and listen to the voters. There are many times the person asking for your vote doesn't have the money for slick colored campaign brochures or expensive time on radio and television. Nevertheless, they are willing to put their names on the ballot and then go door-to-door meeting potential voters.

Group backs tribe's plan for Conn. casino: Matt Sedensky; BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A decision on the Golden Hill Paugussetts' federal recognition petition is months away, but Dino Benedetto was already picturing himself tossing dice and playing slots in his hometown of Bridgeport.

Columnist Joe Delaney: Head for The Orleans for an Orlando vacation: Joe Delaney; Multifaceted Tony Orlando, the best party-giver since the late Elsa Maxwell, is holding forth in the performance- and audience-friendly Orleans Showroom through Sunday ... Orlando had his first hit record at age 16 with "Halfway to Paradise," written by Carole King, whose "Tapestry" album is a record-setting, longtime Billboard chart rider.

Fab Four brings Beatles to life: Who: The Fab Four.

Obituaries for July 19, 2002: Jack Allen, 70, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in a local care center. He was born Dec. 3, 1931, in Miami. A resident for 12 years, he was a machine operator in the dairy industry and a Veterans of Foreign Wars past commander.

Up in smoke: Nevada's teen smoking rate among highest in nation: WEEKEND EDITION: July 20, 2002

Datebook for July 19, 2002: The West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., presents its Poets Corner, an open-mike session hosted by Keith Brantley and Pendelita Toney, at 7:30 p.m. today. Admission is free. Call 229-4800.

Kids gain confidence at camp: The parents of three children say their meager income does not stretch for such luxuries as camp. They say they recognize the benefits of camp and hope their children will be able to attend this year.

Blood drives: Tuesday: Noon-6 p.m., Art Institute of Las Vegas, 2350 Corporate Circle Drive; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Levi Strauss & Co., 501 Executive Airport Drive, Henderson; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Ford Credit, 2445 St. Rose Parkway, Henderson.

Homeland reaches out to Salvadorans: By Timothy Pratt; A high-ranking Salvadoran government official visited Las Vegas Thursday with a simple but important message for an estimated 35,000 immigrants from her country living in the valley: if you crossed the border before Feb. 13, 2001, Washington can help you.

Editorial: Legislature nearing its moment of truth: Politicians hate offending powerful interest groups, so in instances of conflict they almost always tell the warring parties to settle it themselves and bring back a compromise that can be rubber-stamped into law. But now that a nine-member panel of lawyers, doctors and insurers has failed to arrive at a compromise to solve the crisis associated with medical malpractice insurance, Gov. Kenny Guinn and the Legislature can't pass the buck. Guinn had hoped the panel would offer up a compromise that legislators could vote up or down during a special session beginning July 29. Instead, the elected officials will be ...

Officials hold breath over dental school: CARSON CITY -- Before construction has even started, members of the state Public Works Board have begun worrying whether the proposed University of Nevada, Las Vegas dental school can be completed within the $6.3 million budget.

Editorial: There's a sucker born every minute: Hatch and Bennett should have been more circumspect about the White House's word on nuclear waste storage. After all, it was during the 2000 campaign that Bush issued a statement in Nevada that he would base his Yucca Mountain decision on science, not politics. But that lie was exposed earlier this year when he approved Yucca Mountain even though unanswered questions remained about the site's suitability. If Bush was willing to dupe Nevada's voters, Hatch and Bennett should have realized that the administration would try to hoodwink them, too.

Letter: Parochial schools do a better job: The decline of our democracy is being handled nicely by liberals, lawyers and lobbyists. Every president, both Republican and Democrat, before he gets into office says the same thing: "My top priority is going to make the public school system better."

Political notebook: Democratic caucus pushes registration in West Las Vegas: Erin Neff; A simpler sign is emerging from the election-year clutter lining Martin Luther King Boulevard in West Las Vegas: "Exercise your power."

Writing institute eyed for school: Diana Sahagun; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is in talks with a hotel executive to house an international writing program in the historic Fifth Street School downtown.

Letter: Sometimes politics just isn't humorous: Boy we've been needing somebody to poke fun at Washington political hypocrisy the way Will Rogers used to, I thought. Maybe here was a comic to fill Will's shoes. He used to walk out on the stage with a big grin, twirling a rope, and keep us in stitches, dropping one liners about pompous politicians who claimed to represent all of us common folk, while they catered to fat cats who kept them in money bags. I was in my early teens then, but Will was easy to understand.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Is bankruptcy baseball's best solution?: Dean Juipe; It's a discussion being held and overheard at any number of sites these days, as befits a topic that gets a baseball fan's blood boiling.

Review: 'La Femme' remains a tasteful and artful adult revue at MGM Grand: Joe Delaney; "La Femme," performed in the renamed and redecorated MGM Grand's La Femme Theatre, is the only true representation of Paris' famed Crazy Horse.

2002 Peep Show Saturday: When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Does public control hold water?: WEEKEND EDITION: July 21, 2002

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Example for Middle East: DURING THE PAST 12 DAYS observers of Middle East governments got a clear view of the differences between a democratic Israel and its neighbors. There is no one Israeli or group of them who can make an executive decision that can't be successfully challenged by the people or its courts. That little nation is the only one among all of those many countries which also has a free press.

Medical malpractice crisis: Doctors, lawyers continue PR assault: Erin Neff; WEEKEND EDITION: July 21, 2002

Columnist Erin Neff: Porter, Herrera equally guilty of avoiding issues: Erin Neff; It didn't take long for the party to get an answer as Republican Jon Porter on Wednesday and Thursday willingly came out to discuss his favorite issue -- the troubles facing his Democratic opponent. The race for Nevada's 3rd Congressional seat is supposed to mean something. It's the first time the state has ever had three congressional representatives, it's a district whose crafting stymied the Legislature and forced last year's special session, and it's being eyed nationally for its importance in the political balance of power.

Performing arts for July 19, 2002: Tears of Joy

Editorial: Policy OK, but avoid groupthink: The theory is so enticing that Policy Governance has the potential of being the biggest thing for board meetings since Robert's Rules of Order. That potential, however, depends on boards not carrying things to extreme. The School Board is in danger of doing just that with a new self-policing plan members have devised under the guise of Policy Governance. Still in draft form, the plan would have the board members evaluating each other in respect to how well they were subordinating themselves to Policy Governance. Each would send their colleagues written critiques about the level of politeness they exhibit at ...

Community briefs for July 19, 2002: The North Las Vegas Development Services Department is offering a three-month amnesty program to its residents who attend a construction seminar.

Lady Luck sold: By Liz Benston; Casino operator Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. announced an agreement Thursday to sell its money-losing, 792-room Lady Luck hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas to AMX Nevada LLC.

S. Nevada economy likely to rebound slowly, says expert: Southern Nevada's gaming industry-dependent economy has begun to rebound, but probably won't be as robust in the next year and a half as local business people have been accustomed to.

School board's 'one voice' plan draws criticism: By Emily Richmond; If Clark County School Board members move ahead with plans to evaluate their own job performances, they better be prepared to share all of their findings with the public, the attorney for the Nevada ACLU said Thursday.

PUC to rule if hotels can bolt power company: The state Public Utilities Commission opened its hearing on a request by five large customers of Nevada Power Co. who want to buy their electricity instead from a Houston company.

Talks fail for doctors, lawyers: Doctors and lawyers conceded that talks aimed at trying to produce a compromise they could take to Gov. Kenny Guinn to help solve the medical malpractice insurance dilemma have collapsed, with both sides blaming each other.

Stock up after loss of investor: Bay Harbour, an investment firm headed by Douglas Teitelbaum and Steven Van Dyke, ceased to own any Trump Hotels stock as of the end of December, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bay Harbour, which had owned a 6.3 percent stake, or 1.4 million shares, used an SEC form for passive investors that doesn't require transactions to be detailed.

Las Vegas chuckwagon races may be off to slow start: A rift between rival Canadian cowboys won't stop the first Las Vegas Stampede chuckwagon races from being staged near downtown in September.

Big-time concerns for Big Time: Spencer Patterson; When the 2002 adidas Big Time Tournament tips off Monday, local basketball fans shouldn't expect to rub shoulders with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski or Kansas' Roy Williams, a common occurrence in the event's first seven years.

Dow tumbles 307 points: The losses were compounded by selling due to a reconfiguration of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, as well as the expiration of some index and stock options.

Saturday's horse racing entries: Post Time 1:15 p.m.

Sticky business: Dry heat? Not this time of year: Most Las Vegans can stand the 110-degree temperatures because at least it's a dry heat -- dry as a blowtorch, but dry nonetheless.

18 million pounds of beef recalled: WASHINGTON -- A recall of contaminated hamburger linked to E. coli bacteria illnesses among 19 people is being expanded to 18 million pounds and 21 states, the Agriculture Department said today.

Lovell Canyon blaze is nearly contained: Stephen Curran; Where there were 30-foot flames just days ago in Lovell Canyon there are now only ashes and smoldering brush.

Nevada jobless rate steady: The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today the rate was below both the national rate of 5.9 percent and California's rate of 6.4 percent.

Backpay issued to ex-Sands workers: The Culinary Union sued Las Vegas Sands in federal court in 1996 following the June 30 closure of the property to make way for the building of The Venetian. The suit alleged the workers received 45 days' notice of the hotel-casino's closure instead of the 60 days required under federal law.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Saturday's races at Hollywood Park: Saturday's card

Vegas firm tied to AOL revenue inflation: America Online, which entered a partnership with PurchasePro in 2000, gave the software company $9.5 million in cash for $30 million in stock warrants, the paper said. America Online then booked the difference as advertising and commerce revenue in its December 2000 quarter and another $7 million in the March 2001 period, the paper said.

Companies eye Chicago area: A handful of the nation's biggest casino companies, local officials, developers and middlemen are combing the landscape for possibilities that might win over state regulators.

Monday's Big Time schedule: 9 a.m. -- New Orleans Jazz (LA) vs Emerald City Pioneers (WA)

Business briefs for July 19, 2002: Eryn Rice has been appointed public relations manager for the business operations of the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal, their VIEW community newspapers and other publications associated with the Review-Journal.

Prolific Nora Roberts just keeps writing and writing ...: Helen Holzer; Title: "The Villa"

Berkley's father has surgery: Levine called 911 after he had what doctors believe was a mild stroke. They performed tests and recommended immediate surgery at Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center.

Vegas timeshare firm plans $450 million renovation: A Las Vegas-based timeshare resort developer announced today it will renovate its flagship local resort with $450 million in improvements during a 10-year period.

Water board to pursue purchase of Nevada Power Co.: Clark County moved a step closer to having a publicly owned and operated power system Thursday as the Southern Nevada Water Authority board unanimously approved a plan to explore the purchase of Nevada Power Co.

'Sex slave killer' dies of cancer in prison: CARSON CITY -- Gerald A. Gallego, sentenced to death for the slayings of two 17-year-old girls in the Nevada desert, which became known as the "sex slave killings," died Thursday night of cancer at the state prison in Carson City.