Print edition for June 5, 2002

Mushroom cloud rejected for proposed license plate: In a letter to the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation, which will benefit from specially designed license plates, DMV director Ginny Lewis rejected the design because of current events.

Aldred helps put halt to losing skid: Victoria Sun; Two games were decided by one run.

Review: Poison show hardly hair-owing event: Lisa Ferguson; Their hair isn't as long as it used to be -- and some of them are losing what little they have left.

Savvy wine buys: '00 Francis Coppola Bianco: Available at Wild Oats Markets, $8.99.

Biographical information on new UAW president Ron Gettelfinger: AP; AGE: 57.

Bowling: Suncoast Senior World: At Suncoast Hotel

Competition for the best hot dog heats up: Max Jacobson; Virtually every one of the larger sports books in town has the type of seating that makes eating while betting an option. A few sell dogs off carts directly adjacent to the book.

Commissioner refutes expansion speculation: Steve Addy; Outsiders have renewed their campaign for Mountain West Conference expansion, but it's still just wishful thinking, commissioner Craig Thompson says.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Flying in truly good company: Sitting inside the 18-wheel Virgin Atlantic trailer that was recently parked at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's Visitor Center, with the hot desert sun streaming through the open hatch, was a bit surreal but it was a super marketing ploy.

PCL box: Las Vegas - Tucson: Time -- 2:18. Attendance -- 1,817. Umpires: HP-- Horton, 1b-- Barron, 2b -- Riley, 3b-- Drake.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Food and beverage directors enjoy Epicurean Gala: Elizabeth Foyt; Rarely do these hard-working professionals have the chance to gather as one, yet remarkably they are among our community's most generous residents. Since its inception 11 years ago, the Food and Beverage Directors Association of Nevada has donated $200,000 in scholarships for those seeking careers in the resort industry and have been equally generous with funds and man hours to worthy causes including Opportunity Village's Magical Forest.

Disclosure issue sparks debate: Adrienne Packer; Community activist Steve Small infuriated Clark County commissioners Tuesday when he questioned the propriety of their vote to allow a land deal between the airport and developer Jay Bingham, a former commissioner.

Senate panel passes Yucca: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A key Senate panel approved Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository today, leaving one final congressional hurdle for the project: the full Senate.

Las Vegas area soccer tryouts: Las Vegas area soccer tryouts

Columnist Peter Benton: Tight competition in women's SNGA: Peter Benton; Things are definitely heating up in the Women's Southern Nevada Golf Association's Team Match Play Competition, as it appears that every month there is a new leader in the standings.

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

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

Gaming accusations found to be libel-proof: CARSON CITY -- A person who holds or is applying for a state gaming license in Nevada is protected from libel or defamation lawsuits on the information provided to state regulators, even if it is false.

Board frowns on Guinn plan for obstetricians: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn's plan to lower the standards for admission of obstetricians in Nevada received a cool reception Tuesday from members of the state Board of Medical Examiners, including one who called it "shortsighted and dangerous."

Water-waste fines approved: Clark County commissioners, operating as the board of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, approved new rules Tuesday designed to discourage water wasting.

Obituaries for June 5, 2002: Leonard Ambrosino, 81, of Las Vegas died Monday in a local hospital. He was born Jan. 16, 1921, in Ozone Park, N.Y. A resident for four years, he was a retired employee services worker and a World War II Army Air Corps veteran.

Panel told of patient abuse: CARSON CITY -- A legislative committee has been told that patients with Alzheimer's disease sent to out-of-state facilities under the Medicaid program have been victims of mistreatment, which may have led to their deaths.

Super Show sued over canceled conference: The suit alleges the Super Show violated an agreement to occupy a specified number of rooms for a Jan. 17-25, 2001, conference. The defendant has not responded to the allegations.

News briefs for June 5, 2002: An 85-year-old Las Vegas woman died from injuries after a three-car accident about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday on Flamingo Road near Bruce Street.

Vestin details accounting problems: Vestin Group Inc.'s former auditor Grant Thornton LLP informed the Las Vegas company that its internal controls failed to ensure some related-party transactions were appropriately documented and approved by its board, said a regulatory filing Tuesday by Vestin to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

S&P raises outlook on Coast after IPO announcement: S&P has a BB- corporate bond rating for the company. Low debt ratings can hamper companies' ability to raise capital to fund future projects.

Democrats offer changes to senior prescription plan: Erin Neff; Assembly Democrats announced a prescription drug package Tuesday they said advances the state's existing Senior Rx program.

Homeless advocate backs property tax hike: Adrienne Packer; One of Southern Nevada's most outspoken homeless advocates applauded Clark County commissioners' decision Tuesday to craft an advisory ballot question asking for a one-cent property tax increase to help the homeless.

Car wars: Desert summer heat hard on autos: Jeffrey Libby; Motorists may not notice it, but our cars do.

Suspect accused of jail escape attempt: Kim Smith and Keith Paul; Jose Vigoa, alleged leader of a deadly robbery gang who faces the death penalty if convicted, is accused of methodically chipping away at the window in his Clark County jail cell, creating a small hole in an attempt to escape, Clark County jail officials told the Sun.

Nevada third in foreign-born growth rate: By Timothy Pratt; Nevada ranked third in the nation in the growth of its foreign-born population during the 1990s, according to census figures released today.

Junk food sales fatten local school coffers: By Emily Richmond; Faced with record rates of high cholesterol, obesity and even diabetes in their students, dozens of school districts nationwide are considering banning junk food and soda machines from campuses.

Letter: Dealing with life and death: We are there to save lives and to follow the patients' wishes as best as we can determine. We are not Jack Kevorkians running around trying to snuff people out because we are infatuated with death. People are encouraged to make a choice to determine what end-of-life measures they want: Some choose to have everything done and others want to just pass away quietly and as comfortably as possible. Others pick and choose what procedures they want or do not want.

Editorial: Be flexible but meet deadlines: Randy Walker, who manages McCarran International Airport, was one of the top officials of 39 airports who signed a letter to the Transportation Department, seeking postponement of the deadline. The airport managers cited the lack of clear direction from the federal government and the time and cost involved in renovating their facilities to make room for the biggest and best explosive detection machines, which are the size of minivans. At McCarran, Walker says, it will cost $2 million and take three years to expand the ticketing area so that it can accommodate the machines.

Teen happy to be SADD ambassador: By Emily Richmond; When Ashley Conners was in the sixth grade, students were required to sign up for extracurricular clubs and activities. Unable to decide which group to join, Conners asked her teacher for advice and was steered toward SADD -- Students Against Destructive Decisions.

RTC tries to get drivers, CAT managers together: Regional Transportation Commission officials said Tuesday that they are working behind the scenes to try to push together drivers and the system managers to end a bus strike now in its third week.

County will take over control of some state routes: Fixing potholes or getting permits for developments on the Strip will soon be a one-stop deal.

Letter: 'Home cooking' served up on waste transport: Over the next decade, government contracts dealing with nuclear waste projects will be in the neighborhood of about $300 billion. Of this, the number of contractors now set up to receive this work can be counted on one hand. Of those includes Undersecretary Card's alumnus CH2M Hill and Kaiser-Hill.

Five indicted in takeover robbery at Sprint office: Sofi Darrell Donat, Sean Cory Miller, Harvey B. Reese, Charles Rogers and Larry Sanders are named in the indictment that charges conspiracy, interference with commerce and transportation of stolen goods used in interstate commerce.

Majority fail proficiency test: By Emily Richmond; On average, it's a failing grade for the more than 1,000 Clark County School District seniors who took the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam late last month, their last chance before graduation.

UNLV coach plans camp on campus: The clinics are for players of all levels age 6-17. Each of three sessions will run weekdays from 8 to 11:30 a.m. The dates are June 11-14, 17-22 and 24-28. The cost for each session is $145 except for the first week, which will last only four days and cost $116.

Concerns raised over state's powers during emergency: CARSON CITY -- A handful of citizens urged the Legislative Committee on Health Tuesday not to strip away the constitutional rights of citizens in drafting a proposed law giving government officials more power in times of emergency.

Republic faces monopoly claims: Grace Leong; Republic Silver State Disposal Inc., which was accused in April by two small construction debris recyclers of monopolizing the Las Vegas waste recycling market, is denying the allegations.

Insults fly in discussion on judges: Adrienne Packer; A conversation about how justices of the peace should be appointed erupted into accusations of racism Tuesday when Clark County commissioners discussed who should serve on a selection committee.

Vegas sports on TV/Radio: Wednesday

Las Vegas man injured in shootout with police: A 22-year-old Las Vegas man was in the Clark County jail this morning, charged with attempted murder of a police officer and felony resisting arrest after a shootout Tuesday at a senior citizen apartment complex, Metro Police said.

Class action in medical waste disposal case OK'd: A lawsuit filed by Nevada Heart Consultants alleges Republic's fees for disposing medical waste -- which the company does through a subsidiary called Environmental Technologies Inc. -- have been in excess of rates set in municipal and county codes since 1990.

Store owner sues City Council over loss of his liquor license: Diana Sahagun; A West Las Vegas convenience store owner is suing the Las Vegas City Council, saying the members' decision last month to revoke his liquor license was based on unsubstantiated allegations.

Editorial: Arafat is incapable of enacting reforms: Despite Arafat's overture, Hamas turned him down on Monday as did the Islamic Jihad earlier. Arafat's followers have suggested that to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian Authority's Cabinet would give Arafat a better chance to rein in these groups. But who did they think they're fooling? Arafat hasn't shown any desire to clamp down on those terrorist groups and another outfit, Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, which has ties to Arafat and has been responsible for suicide bombings in the past year.

Closing arguments set: Defense attorneys wrapped up their case Tuesday. They and prosecutors will have up to four hours each to present closing arguments today.

County briefs for June 5, 2002: Southern Nevada voters will have a say over whether they believe local governments should have control over tobacco regulations.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Paul Tracy expects to get fair Indy 500 hearing: Despite the acrimony that exists between Championship Auto Racing Teams and the Indy Racing League, Las Vegas' Paul Tracy said he believes he will receive a fair hearing in his appeal to the IRL over the finish of the Indianapolis 500.

Clark County to seek more controls on contractors: Adrienne Packer; Clark County commissioners agreed Tuesday to seek permission from state lawmakers during the 2003 Legislative session to adopt more stringent pre-qualification standards for general contractors.

Former Tyco CEO pleads innocent: Dennis Kozlowski surrendered to authorities Tuesday, just a day after resigning as CEO of the troubled manufacturing company that makes everything from coat hangers to underwater fiber-optic cable.

President of examiners board says not enough time given for teleconference: CARSON CITY -- The president of the state Board of Medical Examiners says there was no time to arrange a teleconference or telephone meeting to Las Vegas to allow Southern Nevada physicians to testify on a plan to grant a special waiver for new obstetricians.

Five urologists will no longer serve ER at UMC: The specialists cited the ongoing medical liability crisis as the reason for their decision.

Graphic designers will be honored: Friday marks the date for submissions for designers to showcase work for the year. The awards show will be July 20 at the Guggenheim Las Vegas inside The Venetian.

Choctaws ready to open next phase of Miss. resort: John Porretto; PHILADELPHIA, Miss. -- The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians marked an important milestone a few weeks ago in the creation of its massive, $750 million resort in the rolling red clay hills of Neshoba County.

Community briefs for June 5, 2002: The Clark County Fire Fighters Burn Foundation will host the second annual Festival of Fire from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday at Texas Station's Event Center.

Mental health grants available: The funding will be available in 10 grants over the next three years. One grant will be for $1.4 million to fund a national technical assistance center and others will be for $400,000 to build infrastructure for programs.

GV grad Jensen gets the call -- again: Spencer Patterson; At this rate, David Jensen will be running the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft before long.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Fans anxious to see how battle evolves: Dean Juipe; It'll be terrifically exciting and the fans won't spend a minute in their seats.