Print edition for October 10, 2002

Drug czar stumps against Nevada's marijuana question: The nation's drug czar made the rounds today to Las Vegas news media outlets, including the Sun's editorial board, to make a pitch against passage of a Nevada ballot question to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Columnist Ron Kantoski: After Ryder roar, all quiet for Parnevik at TPC: Ron Kantoski; Less than two weeks ago, Jesper Parnevik played head up against Tiger Woods with virtually the entire world watching.

Drug czar says state faces liability: The nation's drug czar today said Nevada could face liability problems if it tries to provide marijuana to those who need it medically, a key component of Question 9.

Invensys Classic: Gamez pleased he gets to skip school: Dean Juipe; With a palatial house just off the third green, Robert Gamez is completely familiar with the TPC at Summerlin.

Arizona firm goes after LV financial adviser: The aerospace, defense and automotive safety systems maker said it was investigating employees who had allegedly violated company policy by posting company information online when it discovered the Las Vegas investment advisor -- Michael A. Sofia -- posting under the name of "MASinVegas" and using at least 13 pseudonyms.

Lobo QB suspended for Saturday's game: McKamey, who got the starting job last week, will miss Saturday's game at UNLV and will be replaced for that game by senior Justin Millea, Long said.

UNLV adds players from Nevada, Colorado: Steve Guiremand; UNLV baseball coach Jim Schossnagle has received verbal commitments from three of the top pitching prospects in Nevada as well as the 4-A Player of the Year from Colorado.

VEGAS.com growth strong: The study was conducted by comScore Media Metrix for VEGAS.com.

Little League to mandate background check of coaches: Dan Kulin; For at least 10 years Little League managers and coaches in Clark County have gone through criminal background checks. Now a new mandate from the baseball league's national office will require managers, coaches and all other volunteers be checked against state lists of convicted sex offenders.

Judge grants Aladdin another extension: The extension for Aladdin Gaming LLC gives the hotel-casino the sole right to file a reorganization plan until Dec. 2. The period for the company to solicit votes on the plan also was extended, to Jan. 30.

Invensys Classic: Golfers go low on first day: Dean Juipe; With ideal weather and pristine courses, the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas was at the mercy of the world's finest golfers and they didn't disappoint.

FCC kills satellite TV merger: WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission rejected today a proposed merger between Echostar Communications Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp., scuttling a $26 billion deal that would have created the nation's largest pay-TV service.

Invensys Classic: Wednesday's first-round scores: 62-c

Wynn debt rating in line with rivals: Standard & Poor's has assigned high-risk ratings to debt that will be used to build Steve Wynn's $2.4 billion Le Reve casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Invensys Classic: Henderson's Barlow happy with the state of his game: Dean Juipe; It's a long way from playing Southern Nevada Golf Association events to successfully competing on the PGA Tour, yet Craig Barlow has made the transition.

Attorney general race takes another ugly turn: Erin Neff; The two main candidates for attorney general have already been going at it for weeks in debates and, more recently, in TV ads.

Valentine picked as assistant county manager: Adrienne Packer; With the Clark County Commission's blessing, former Las Vegas City Manager Virginia Valentine will become the the county's third assistant county manager, replacing Mike Alastuey.

Gibbons' run for fourth term hard to stop: Erin Neff; Brendan Trainor

Waugh named to state board: Guinn said Waugh has more than 20 years' experience in the gas and oil business. The 10-member Agriculture Board sets policies and makes recommendations to the governor and Legislature on livestock and agriculture.

Invensys Classic: Friday's tee times: No. 1 tee Time No. 10 tee

Invensys Classic: Back pain slows May: To the casual observer, Bob May still has the same sweet swing and confident putting stroke that earned him more than $1.5 million and a runner-up finish to Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship two years ago.

Gaming stocks fall again: Harrah's Entertainment Inc. shares led this morning's decline, falling 8 percent after analyst Michael Reitbrock of Salomon Smith Barney downgraded the stock to "in-line" from "outperform." He also lowered his 12-month price target of Harrah's stock to $52 a share from $58.

One Nevada tax break OK'd, another rejected: Commissioners on Wednesday approved a request from Milgard Manufacturing Inc., which applied for $141,330 in sales and use tax abatements, $6,400 in business tax abatements and $53,840 in sales and use tax deferrals. The company also will get a 10-year personal property tax abatement, estimated to be worth $90,000 over 10 years.

Rebel women finish 12th in New Mexico: Only sophomore Hwanhee Lee (78-75-74--227) was able to match her production from Tuesday's best team round of 306. Lee shot 74 on Tuesday to climb back into the top 20.

Task force to recommend gross receipts tax: Jace Radke; The Governor's Task Force on Taxes decided tentatively Wednesday to rely on a business tax to cover the bulk of an estimated $4.2 billion deficit that the state will face by 2012.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: It's Bliss-ful: Mike surprised he's leading: Schedule

Silent heroes: As Cold War secrets emerge, infamous 1955 Mount Charleston crash remembered: Erica D. Johnson; The first time Grace Hatton traveled to Las Vegas from her native New York last year she didn't visit the glitzy Strip landmarks the city is famous for.

Fire chief's diversity class upsets rank and file: By Timothy Pratt; The union representing Las Vegas firefighters will decide on Oct. 16 and 17 whether to hold a no-confidence vote on department Chief David Washington's leadership, Local 1285 President Dean Fletcher said.

Bill for new VA hospital introduced: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., today introduced a bill that authorizes construction of a new veterans hospital to replace the Addeliar Guy Ambulatory Care Center, which has a cracked foundation and other problems.

UNR student's work marked as 'noble' effort: Jennifer Knight; To a UNR doctoral candidate, a dubious distinction garnered by her research may be the highlight of her young career.

San Francisco airport, LV firm resolve payment issues: Douglas Jessop, a Denver-based attorney for the San Francisco airport, said Wednesday that his client and National have resolved payment issues, clearing objections the airport had about the airline's financial plan. The airport was owed $580,000 for rents and landing fees by National, which also had not paid a $1.3 million security deposit.

Company to sell bonds to finance Strip attraction: The Las Vegas-based company will use its products or assets as collateral on the bonds, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Operator sues Fallon store: Churchill Station was accused of capitalizing on Station's reputation when it opened a casino area with slot machines on West William Avenue in the Northern Nevada town of Fallon, and put up signage bearing the Station name.

Security officers lose lawsuit: Nathan Norman and Douglas Meaton, who are both white, sued Jerry's Nugget, claiming they were both terminated in retaliation for complaining about what they alleged was "unlawful race discrimination" to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.

Builder posts strong earnings: The builder, currently No. 3 in the Las Vegas market and on a pace to close on more than 1,000 homes in this market this year, posted net income in the third quarter of $43.6 million, or $1.57 a share, compared to $40.5 million, or $1.48 a share, for the same quarter a year ago.

False alarm shuts down McCarran's D Gates: Passengers were held outside the D Gate checkpoint, and passengers were not permitted to get off planes for about 20 minutes, Debbie Millett, spokeswoman for the airport, said this morning.

Catching up with ... JAMES SIMS JR.: High School: Valley ('01)

Wednesday's prep results: GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Prep Standings -- Football: CLASS 4A

Letter: Use California method to vote: Simply put, amidst all the election advertising "clutter" with no real position information, ask yourself just one question:

Prep Standings -- Boys Tennis: CLASS 4A

Letter: Ills of smoking deadly serious: OK, we have heard this for years. Over the last 38 years the Surgeon General has warned us about the deadly serious nature of smoking. During this time we have been bombarded with notices labeled on every pack of cigarettes, advertising in virtually every state warning us about the ills of smoking, lawsuits galore, and a huge tobacco industry settlement in the billions of dollars given to all of the states.

Prep Standings -- Girls Golf: CLASS 4A

Hawaii expecting a shootout with Nevada: AP; "Their quarterback looks to be the premier player and they got the top receivers in the conference, so we got our hands full," Jones said. "You probably won't stop them. You've got to score more points than they do and not turn the ball over."

Prep Standings -- Girls Volleyball: CLASS 4A

Prep Standings -- Boys Soccer: CLASS 4A

Prep Standings -- Girls Tennis: CLASS 4A

Red Rock Canyon plans 'Freaky Friday': Rangers and volunteers plan a variety of activities each week. Other upcoming events:

Topping Copperfield: Master illusionist constantly tries to top himself: By Jerry Fink; David Copperfield is constantly trying to top himself, to perform a feat more astounding than the previous one.

Editorial: Pensions should be paid in full: It's our strong military that enables President Bush to wage war on terrorism and advocate an overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Yet it's this same president who opposes correcting an obvious flaw in military pensions. Both the House and the Senate have passed bills allowing disabled military retirees to collect disability pay from the Veterans Administration while at the same time receiving their full military pensions. Now, military pensions are reduced by the amount of any VA disability payments. The House bill, limited to veterans 60 percent or more disabled, would cost $18.5 billion over the next 10 years. The Senate ...

Nevada Power plans program on energy efficiency: Nevada Power will spend more than $9 million next year to promote energy efficiency in Southern Nevada, the company and regulatory officials announced Wednesday.

Highlights of August win report on Nevada casinos: AP; -STATEWIDE: $840 million, up 1.8 percent.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Spam scams no phony baloney: Ruthe Deskin; That's the word for all the unsolicited garbage that clutters our e-mail.

Nevada National Guard plane sets altitude record at air races: Dick Benoit; A Nevada Army National Guard C-12 T3 Beech Super King aircraft recently snared an aviation world record for its class. The aircraft, with a crew of soldiers of Operational Support Airlift Detachment 45, set the record on the last day of the 39th Reno National Championship Air Races on Sept. 15 by reaching an altitude of 33,000 feet about 30 minutes after take-off.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Sublime to ridiculous: Allow me to tell you about some of our young people who do know better and are considerate about the feelings of others. Examples of these young people can be found at churches, youth forums, proms and in gatherings at homes.

Obituaries for Oct. 10, 2002: Donald Francis Bennett, 74, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in Las Vegas. He was born Jan. 11, 1928, in New Jersey. A resident for 13 years, he was a retired salesman and a Navy veteran.

Editorial: 'Lie detectors' put under a microscope: In view of all the limitations of polygraph machines, it was encouraging to see that the National Research Council recently concluded in a study that polygraph machines aren't reliable enough to determine if government employees pose security risks. The research council, part of the National Academy of Sciences, noted that overconfidence in polygraph machines could result in agencies failing to use other types of security reviews more often. We believe the federal government should stop its over-reliance on a machine that really is nothing more than a nervousness detector.

Pioneer Strip publicist, journalist Fisher dies: In the early years of the Las Vegas Sun, when the paper was being established as a crusading voice, Publisher Hank Greenspun assigned reporter Lee Fisher to investigate why people were having their homesites challenged by others who were holding mining claims.

Letter: Bush stance on stem cells causes suffering: He has the power and moral obligation to allow it but refuses. This prompted a physician speaking before a recent Senate subcommittee to say "the field of human embryonic stem cell research is in a fragile state at best under the current presidential policy."

Community briefs for Oct. 10, 2002: Home Depot is partnering with City of Hope to present Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the University of Las Vegas to raise breast cancer awareness.

Equal Rights panel fines Republic over complaint: By Timothy Pratt; The agency charged with enforcing the state's workplace discrimination laws decided Wednesday to fine Republic Services of Southern Nevada for impeding the investigation of a former worker's complaint.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Whitaker rid of Goofi nickname for Couser fight: Dean Juipe; Lance Whitaker has gone back to what once worked for him.

Policy against loans clarified: An audit committee voted unanimously to clarify a state law that prevents any state money in university system control to be loaned to outside institutions.

Suspect in killing of girl, 9, will stay in jail: Kim Smith; A 22-year-old man accused of shooting a 9-year-old North Las Vegas girl will remain in the North Las Vegas jail without bail, for now.

Bulldogs gunning for 6-0: Adam Candee; Seated on a bench adjacent to the Centennial football field, injured Bulldogs running back Devin Patterson tossed around the pigskin, shot a few playful verbal jabs at his teammates and even gave a fashion critique of sneakers strewn on the sidelines.

Woman won't back out of her plea agreement: Erica D. Johnson; A Las Vegas woman serving five years' probation for a fatal car accident decided not to ask to back out of her plea agreement Wednesday.

Three judges will stay with criminal cases: Kim Smith; District Judges Joseph Bonaventure, Donald Mosley and John McGroarty will stay on the criminal bench and not have to worry about fitting civil cases into their schedules.

Congressional action may clear way for casino: The year-old lawsuit citing an old treaty has clouded titles and stymied legal transactions for an estimated 1,300 landowners in the Fairfax Industrial District of Kansas City, Kan.

Mixed waste designation questioned: The Nevada Environmental Protection Division is still reviewing how the National Nuclear Security Administration would identify chemicals in shipments of low-level radioactive waste destined for the Nevada Test Site.

Valentine takes job in county: Of the three finalists who made the last round of interviews on Wednesday, Valentine was considered to be the leading candidate to replace former Assistant County Manager Mike Alastuey.

Court briefs for Oct. 10, 2002: A 35-year-old Pahrump man was formally sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with parole possible after 40 years.

System fund runs short: The investment fund of $193 million lost $1.8 million, mostly from stock market fluctuations. The deficit was widened because the system paid out another $18.2 million from the fund for energy costs and other items not funded by the state.

S.C.'s first Powerball produces one winner: Amy Geier Edgar; COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Someone came up with a lucky lottery ticket in South Carolina's initial participation in the Powerball drawing.

Medication cited in murder hearing: Kim Smith; Attorneys for a Las Vegas man accused of beating a man to death with bricks are asking that his statement to police be tossed out as evidence.

Former political activist Catt dies: Virginia Ann Catt, a former Las Vegas Democratic national committeewoman who participated in nearly every major party event locally from the 1950s through the mid-1980s, has died. She was 71.

Fight schedule: Thursday

Sun Prep Athletes of the Week -- John Nixon and Sondia Gogue: John Nixon

Ralph Siraco's selections for Friday's races at Santa Anita: Friday's card

Basic gets nod over short-handed Silverado: Adam Candee; Teams ranked jointly by the Sun and the Sparks Tribune

Friday's horse racing entries: OAK TREE MEETING

Regents strengthen anti-nepotism rule: Jennifer Knight; Rules governing relatives working within the university system were slightly strengthened Wednesday while rules regulating the disclosure of student information remained the same.