Print edition for September 17, 2002

Big gaming convention opens in Vegas today: The four-day show represents a merger of two competing gaming events last year.

Students given $1,500 scholarships: The announcement was made by Michael O. Maffie, Southwest Gas president and chief executive officer, and William M. Laub, Laub Foundation trustee and former Southwest Gas CEO.

Time stands still: Family portraits a chilling reminder of Auschwitz: In the photograph the daughter is smiling. She is standing in front of her parents, leaning into them, holding their hands. Her father is dressed in a suit coat and tie. Her mother, Regina, is wearing a skirt and coat.

Rebels to host exhibition tourneys: The Rebel Fall Classic I will begin Saturday and will feature the Long Beach Fire, Loyola Marymount, Utah and UNLV in eight games over two days.

Columnist Susan Snyder: They will miss piggy in long run: The North Las Vegas owner of R.C. Farms is facing $69,000 in fines because his pigs stink -- just as they have for the 40 years his family has raised them on the property that lies in the unincorporated area northwest of Ann and Losee roads.

Governor appoints Elko judge: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn today named Elko attorney Andrew Puccinelli to succeed District Judge Jack Ames in the 4th Judicial District, which has jurisdiction over Elko County.

Sheriff candidate's college degree fails him: Keith Paul; Sheriff candidate and Metro Police Capt. Randy Oaks won't be getting a $750 annual bonus for having a college degree. Officials have determined the Louisiana university where he got his diploma is not a properly accredited school.

Bunkers to receive national honor: Bunker Mortuary is one of 126 funeral homes receiving the Eagle award during NFDA's 121 annual Convention & Expo in San Antonio Oct. 20-23.

Community briefs for Sept. 17, 2002: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area offers hikes, walks and programs free of charge. To make required reservations or for more information on the following or upcoming programs, call 363-1922:

News briefs for Sept. 17, 2002: A 29-year-old Las Vegas man was killed Monday night when his motorcycle struck a parked car in the parking lot of apartments in the 6200 block of Smoke Ranch Road.

Vegas company in deals with Rank, Multimedia: The stud poker progressive initially links three casinos in Manchester, England, with a rollout to Rank's remaining 30 casinos planned over the next few months.

Letter: Planning board shows disdain for the public: I was one of more than 100 people who attended the commission meeting because the proposed Blue Diamond Hill housing development was an agenda item. It had been scheduled since before Aug. 1. Many of the people attending came directly from work; 55 people came to the meeting on a charter bus from Blue Diamond and Calico Basin.

Obituaries for Sept. 17, 2002: Elaine V. Beecroft, 78, of Henderson died Sunday in a local hospice. She was born Oct. 13, 1923, in St. Paul, Minn. A resident for 35 years, she was a homemaker.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: More Pentagon nonsense: During the past several months I began to think that common sense had again become the rule of the day. Pictures of Special Operations troops riding horses in the backcountry and bearded troops in Afghan garb on the streets of Kandahar have been coming out of Afghanistan.

UNLV remains steady in U.S. News' national ranking: Jennifer Knight; The University of Nevada, Las Vegas remained at the same level of achievement in the new U.S. News & World Report college rankings that it attained last year.

Cox adding, deleting channels: Cox Communications, the dominant cable television provider in Las Vegas, will add 14 premium channels, delete eight and shift 20 to different locations on the dial in a series of sweeping changes that takes effect Nov. 15.

Fed screeners take over at airport: Jace Radke; Minutes after midnight this morning federal screeners took over security checkpoints at McCarran International Airport's D gates.

California firm opening Las Vegas branch: The firm tapped Kevin Higgins as its first broker. Higgins was previously with CB Richard Ellis, where he was the top-producing CB Richard Ellis broker worldwide in 2000.

Only one held in shooting death of girl, 9: Kim Smith; The Clark County District Attorney's office has approved charges against only one of four alleged gang members arrested in the shooting death of an 9-year-old girl.

Customer satisfaction survey ranks Pulte at top: The customer satisfaction survey ranked Del Webb Communities, a subsidiary of Pulte Homes, second and Greystone Homes third, out of 27 valley home builders included in the study. Criteria for ranking include customer service, home readiness, design, quality of workmanship and materials and price and value.

Letter: Fighting war from a distance: BOB HANSHEW

Editorial: Law should govern any transfer of park: If the city continues to pursue ownership of the park, there is only one way to ensure the permanence of its current character. Because City Council members come and go and spoken promises they make are forgotten as the years roll by, any transfer of the park must be governed by state law. The Legislature, before any transfer of the park to the city, should hold public hearings and then, by law, guarantee its rural character for all time.

Guardrail project on deadly stretch of U.S. 95 is complete: A $700,000 project to install guardrails along a 2.5-mile length of U.S. 95 between Craig and Ann roads is complete, state transportation officials said Monday.

More lights could make beltway safer: Intersections along the Las Vegas Beltway, including sites of fatal crashes, could soon get new signs warning drivers of upcoming red lights.

Mogul buying DeLorean land: The New York real estate developer and Atlantic City casino owner is buying the 505-acre Lamington Farm Club in Bedminster, the Courier-News said, citing Trump and Ashley Cooper, managing member of a partnership led by National Fairways, which is the seller.

Correction: The Sun corrects its errors. If you find a mistake, call 385-3111 to report it.

Sonoma casino quietly opens: Don Thompson; SACRAMENTO -- A temporary Indian casino quietly opened over the weekend in a tent overlooking the Alexander Valley vineyards and the Russian River in Sonoma County, despite objections from state and local officials.

Senators consider limits on Indian gaming: Donna Tommelleo; NEW LONDON, Conn. -- U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd said Monday he's hopeful a congressional push to reform the federal recognition process for American Indian tribes can draw nationwide support for an issue hotly contested in Connecticut.

Amber Alert part of RTC proposal: The $2.7 billion tax initiative backed by regional transportation officials would pay for more than just new and improved roads throughout Southern Nevada.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Eager Beavers show Rebels aren't for real: Leave it to the Beavers to show what Wisconsin couldn't -- that UNLV is closer to being a bad football team than an improving one.

Time to pass the meatball at Greek Isles: When: 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Reid says Iraq war would crush airlines: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Airline officials are quietly telling lawmakers in Congress that a war with Iraq likely would deal a crushing blow to their hobbled industry, lawmakers said.

Ex-Laughlin man suspected in death of girl, 12: Kim Smith; Oklahoma authorities have found the skull of a missing 12-year-old girl and are building a murder case against a former Laughlin man serving a life sentence in the 1991 murder of his girlfriend.

Judge rules advisory questions will stay on ballot: Adrienne Packer; Barely out of the courtroom Monday, Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax phoned in the go-ahead to print general election ballots after District Judge Mark Denton tossed out a challenge to two advisory questions.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Texas Speedway suits Gaughan's style: The results weren't always pretty, but Brendan Gaughan used his four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as hands-on learning experiences.

New state college chief goes to work: Jennifer Knight; On his first day as president of the Nevada State College at Henderson, Kerry Romesburg was greeted with some unfinished business regarding accreditation.

Program plans for Head Start in a reluctant neighborhood: By Timothy Pratt; Meeting The Economic Opportunity Board, a community development nonprofit agency, will hold a public meeting today from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd. The meeting will be on plans to build a HeadStart program at the corner of Lindell Road and Edna Avenue and other programs.

Letter: Don't take risks with lands bill: Prior articles in the Sun have made it clear that environmentalists will seek to kill the bill over this water rights deviation in the House bill, a point reiterated in a Sept. 12 article, "Compromise may be near on public lands bill."

Smith's to close three LV Raley's stores: Three Raley's supermarkets are targeted for closure as part of Kroger Co.'s acquisition of Raley's 18 stores in the Las Vegas market.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Is Dele alive? Don't give up the ship: Dean Juipe; It's a story that has a little bit of everything, from eccentricity to fraud to the possibility of pirates. As such, foul play immediately comes to mind.

Toledo RB playing through the pain: Steve Guiremand; As the starting tailback for the University of Toledo's football team, William Bratton takes his share of hard hits. But the senior from Lima, Ohio, who enters Saturday's game against UNLV averaging almost 100 yards per game, isn't complaining.

Editorial: Free speech applies to campaigns: It's the state's responsibility to oversee elections and therefore the state has a right to impose standards, argued those who supported laws setting the boundaries for what could be said about candidates. This argument prevailed and laws were passed outlawing malicious lies about candidates and setting an expedient timetable for the Nevada State Ethics Commission to hear complaints and issue rulings. Violators could be fined up to $5,000.

Mistaken ID leaves police still searching: Jace Radke; Metro Police homicide detectives are starting over in their investigation to identify a woman found dead in a desert area in east Las Vegas earlier this year.

Students to be graded with new scoring system: The system, adopted by the state Board of Education Saturday, will not affect whether students are promoted to the next grade.