Print edition for September 23, 2002

No more 'Animal House': Sororities, fraternities have changed with the times: Jennifer Knight; It is Greek recruitment night at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and young women file into one of five glass-walled rooms to be greeted by sorority sisters clapping and singing sorority songs.

Defect suit settled: Legacy Legends Homeowners Association sued the developers in July 1999, alleging the 264-unit development at Wigwam and Green Valley parkways in Henderson had defects including leaking windows and roofs and faulty electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems.

Sun garners 33 awards in contest: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas Sun reporter Benjamin Grove shared the top reporting prize of the year, and overall the Sun took 33 awards in the Nevada Press Association 2002 Better Newspaper Contest.

National group backs county plan for lands: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A national environmental group today endorsed a Clark County public land use plan pending in Congress that aims to protect undeveloped wilderness.

High schools give students jump on college: By Emily Richmond; Locations All three Community College High School campuses will hold open houses today, tomorrow and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Casino to hire more than 1,000: The $100 million casino will open its employment center Oct. 1 at 4310 Losee Road, Suite 5. The casino is at the corner of Craig and Losee roads.

Las Vegas visitation expected to increase: By Liz Benston; The number of visitors to Las Vegas is estimated to increase by about 8.5 percent from September to December compared to the year before, ending nearly a year of declines and offering further indication that the Las Vegas market is on the road to recovery.

Heller seeks OK to check campaign documents: CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller said today he would ask the 2003 Legislature to give him authority to audit the campaign and expenditure reports of political candidates to determine if they are accurate and if there is any misconduct.

Big expansion set for N. Las Vegas tissue plant: The project is one of the largest industrial, non-gaming investments in the Las Vegas area in recent years.

Result of Iowa gambling vote a no-brainer: Mike Glover; DES MOINES, Iowa -- One of the most consequential elections to be contested this year has turned out to be a no-brainer with the outcome already virtually assured.

Talks continue on Caesars London casino: The bid by the Las Vegas-based owner of major casino brands -- including Caesars, Flamingo, Bally's, Paris, Hilton and Grand -- will depend on government plans to liberalize gambling laws, the paper said. Legislation is expected in the 2003 Queen's Speech, according to the Observer.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Al has silver tongue for the Silver State: Potato. Po-TAY-to.

Miss America slots debut at Harrah's Atlantic City: Sheila Hotchkin; ATLANTIC CITY -- Miss America may have created a winner or two even before Saturday night's pageant.

News briefs for Sept. 23, 2002: A man killed Saturday when he lost control of an all-terrain vehicle and drove into a gully has been identified as a 40-year-old Las Vegas man.

Nebraska measure won't appear on ballot: Doug Alden; OMAHA, Neb. -- About the only thing clear about the effort to expand gambling in Nebraska is that it's not headed for the November ballot.

Nuke fuel route supposed to stay out of LV Valley: The Energy Department has promised Gov. Kenny Guinn to keep nuclear weapons-grade fuel shipments planned for shipment from New Mexico to the Nevada Test Site off Hoover Dam and out of the Las Vegas Valley.

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

Robinson, Rebels set to begin rebuilding: Steve Guiremand; Can you teach toughness in football?

Seattle-Tacoma casino in bankruptcy: The company, co-owned by Seattle restaurateur Gerry Kingen, founder of the Red Robin restaurant chain, cited debts between $1 million and $10 million in a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last week.

Hiring of temporary staff begins for 2003: CARSON CITY -- With the 2003 Legislature set to begin in February, hiring of temporary staff is already starting.

Letter: Drug czar doing his job: If an appointed official's job is to rid our country of illegal drugs, and a state has a ballot initiative to allow its residents to obtain and use a large quantity of an illegal drug, wouldn't it fall under his job description to fight the initiative?

Pop Slots: New slot machines taking on pop images: Kirk Baird; Pop culture.

List of winners at the 54th Annual Prime-time Emmy Awards: AP; Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program: Sting, "A&E In Concert: Sting In Tuscany ... All This Time," A&E.

A&E's 'It's a Living' shows Chopper's chops: Kirk Baird; You don't go from washing cars at 14 to general manager of one of the biggest dealerships in the state (Towbin Dodge) at age 27 without doing something right.

Review: On Saturday night, Las Vegas was Rush, Nevada: Spencer Patterson; If the much-ballyhooed success of neo-garage acts Strokes, White Stripes and Vines truly signals the end of arena rock, apparently nobody bothered to inform Rush and its horde of devoted followers.

Birth announcements for Sept. 23, 2002: Sept. 7:

Immunization schedule for Sept. 23, 2002: HENDERSON PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 129 W. Lake Mead Drive, Building A, Suite 10, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Prep Schedule: Girls Volleyball

Sports briefs for September 23, 2002: Sophomore midfielder Boomer Arbelaez scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute to send the UNLV men's soccer team past Central Florida, 3-2, on the final day of the UNLV / FILA Classic held Sunday afternoon at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

New breed of voters may stir pot of politics: Erin Neff; The politics of pot is usually relegated to the extremes, with libertarians arguing for legalization, liberals asking for lighter sentences and social conservatives viewing marijuana as a scourge on society.

Metro officer involved in fatal shooting ID'd: Police say Pelletier shot 27-year-old Edward Cook of Las Vegas after police Cook pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer. Cook was taken to University Medical Center where he died Friday.

Hispanic parents are urged to be active in schools: By Timothy Pratt; With Hispanic students making up 30 percent of Clark County's school enrollment, a national organization visited Las Vegas seeking to get the parents more involved in education.

Fans embrace black college FB: Victoria Sun; The Silver Dollar Classic essentially was over at halftime as Grambling State led Tennessee State by four touchdowns Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Slow start was Rebels' demise -- again: the numbers; The Man: Quarterback Brian Jones picked apart the Rebel secondary, completing 8 of 9 passes for 66 yards. He also drew the Rebel defense offsides four times with his cadance.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Chuckwagon races ought to be banned: Dean Juipe; It's stupid, demeaning, inhumane and even worse than what I had expected.

Blood found in home may belong to missing woman: Rundle and her husband, William Rundle, were last seen at their home on Aug. 17 and were reported missing by a family member.

Editorial: Court specialization needs more debate: But how far should the specialization of judges go? Gaining support now is the idea of creating a Mental Health Court. We caution against rushing into this. Specialization may very well be convenient and efficient from an administrative point of view. But will justice be served if this theory takes hold and judges are elected who will never look at cases except through the narrow view of their specialty? We'd like to see some earnest debate on this issue.

Editorial: Odor from City Hall, not farm: Today, a high school sits one-quarter of a mile away from the farm and housing developments are inching closer and closer. The city of North Las Vegas, through its zoning decisions, is allowing all of this incompatible development. Instead of maintaining a proper buffer zone while R.C Farms, with its 300 head of cattle and 4,000 pigs, remains active, the city is paving the way for people to move into homes, settle into their urban lifestyles, and turn up their noses at the idea of a working farm family as their neighbor.

Letter: Pig farm was there before newcomers: Now we have more of those educated people who moved in next to a pig farm, and guess what -- they complain it stinks.

Obituaries for Sept. 23, 2002: Leeanne Berger, 47, of Las Vegas died Thursday in Las Vegas. She was born April 26, 1955, in Troy, N.Y. A resident for 28 years, she was a homemaker.

CEO offers $1.2 billion buyout: David Murdock, Dole's chairman and CEO, presented a proposal to the company's board Sunday, offering to pay $29.50 a share for the remaining 43 million shares that he and his family do not own.