Print edition for September 26, 2002

Fines increase for late reports: CARSON CITY -- Fines start increasing to $100 daily today for the seven political candidates in Clark County, including Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Wendell Williams, who have failed to submit their campaign contribution and expense reports that were due in August.

Letter: Get facts straight on Question 9: Opponents of Question 9 would rather engage in personal attacks than talk about the issues.

Community briefs for Sept. 26, 2002: The Henderson Chamber of Commerce, Fiesta Henderson and Marketing Results Plus will present "Taste of Henderson," an event that promotes local businesses, from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Fiesta hotel.

U.S. bank buying fraud-tainted unit of Allied Irish Banks: The deal announced today came seven months after AIB chiefs discovered an alleged $691 million fraud at Allfirst by its senior foreign-exchange dealer there, John Rusnak. Rusnak was charged in June with seven counts of fraud.

Prep Standings -- Football: CLASS 4A

To the Pointe: Size, scope of project impresses arts community: Jeffrey Libby; The amphitheater is expected to provide a much-needed venue for performing artists.

Panthers to keep GV out of win column: Spencer Patterson and Adam Candee; Sun Statewide Football Top 10

Cliff dwells on opportunity: Dean Juipe; Cliff Couser has so many stories, so many anecdotes, that sometimes the difficulty in talking with him or about him is figuring out where to start.

Prep Standings -- Girls Golf: CLASS 4A

Catcing Up With ... JAMAR GLASPER: Where he is now: Utah State

Slots key in governor's race: Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said she will do everything within her power to keep slot machines out, while Republican Robert Ehrlich has made slot machines a centerpiece of his budget policy, arguing that it could generate $385 million to help fill the state's $1.7 billion shortfall, the newspaper said.

Prep Standings -- Girls Tennis: CLASS 4A

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Propensity to sue is nothing new: Ruthe Deskin; Is it lawyers who advertise for clients with ads that read: "If you took (name of medication) in the past 10 years you may be entitled to join a class action suit, etc. etc."

Correction: The Sun regrets the error.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Oscar's win among top all-time moneymakers: Dean Juipe; The numbers are in and the Sept. 14 fight at Mandalay Bay between Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas drew a live gate of $8,871,300, making it No. 7 on the list of greatest revenue-producing fights in the history of the State of Nevada.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: '99 Rookie of Year still seeking first win: Walk into the pits at any NHRA national event and Funny Car driver Scotty Cannon immediately stands out from the rest of the competitors with his Mohawk haircut and funky Oakley sunglasses.

Ex-UNLV star Riley honored by Founders: Victoria Sun; During a cocktail party thrown by the Las Vegas Founders to honor PGA Tour professional Chris Riley at the TPC at Summerlin Wednesday night, older brother Kevin Riley was eager to discuss his sibling.

Casinos shut down as Isidore hits Gulf Coast: Jason Straziuso; GULFPORT, Miss. -- The house knew a bad bet when it saw one, and with Isidore holding the high cards, the casinos had to fold.

Prep Standings -- Girl's Volleyball: CLASS 4A

Letter: Bush's domestic policies are one big disaster: They watch Republican candidates leave skid marks as they try to distance themselves from the GOP platform plan to link Social Security to the stock markets, which have dropped some 40 percent since George W. took office.

Bush orders fraud crackdown: Jennifer Loven; WASHINGTON -- In a fresh show of resolve against corporate abuses, President Bush told federal prosecutors today to crack down on dishonest business executives "for the sake of our free market."

Carson City soldier assumes Las Vegas Battalion command: Dick Benoit; Lt. Col. Michael Carlson of Carson City recently took charge of the Nevada National Guard's 1st Battalion, 99th Troop Command in Las Vegas.

Discussion about pot initiative becomes heated: Erin Neff; A televised discussion between the man backing the marijuana initiative and a representative of the district attorney's office Wednesday ended just shy of a screaming match.

Battle of the unbeatens: Adam Candee; For Cheyenne's triple-threat backfield of Travonte Darby, Ramone Cooper and David Peeples, Friday night's home game against Desert Pines presents a chance to right a simmering wrong.

Prep Standings -- Boys Tennis: CLASS 4A

News briefs for Sept. 26, 2002: A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper who suffered back injuries Wednesday after his motorcycle collided with a car is resting at home today.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Israel may return fire: Some nights, when sitting in a sealed room with Israeli children who had lost their homes to Scuds that had landed earlier, I questioned the wisdom of the agreement. The missiles only came in after dark, so during the daylight hours I had the opportunity to visit with large numbers of military people and civilians. They often remarked that their military had the ability to seek out many of the Scuds before they were fired. The U.S. answer to their concern was the deployment of some Patriot antiaircraft missile batteries.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Shocker: Wranglers may succeed: As you may have read or heard or completely ignored by now, minor league hockey will be returning to Las Vegas in 2003.

Regulators halt work on AC casino resort: John Curran; ATLANTIC CITY -- New Jersey casino regulators ordered a halt to a subcontractor's demolition work on a Resorts Atlantic City expansion Wednesday while "significant allegations" of mob ties are investigated.

Wednesday's prep results: GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Goodwill helps kids go to school: Participating PTAs will receive 50 percent off coupons valid for clothing and school supplies to distribute. The campaign kicked off last week with a luncheon.

Henderson Pavilion launches with gala events: Marilyn LaRocque; Grand opening ceremonies will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Two hours later, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Nevada Ballet Theatre and Opera Las Vegas launch the new performing arts facility with a gala celebration blending music, song and dance.

Illegal slot machines seized: Macon police Sgt. Duncan Matthews said five machines were sold before police seized the 56 machines Tuesday night.

UMC to get Medicaid funding: The hospital lost $9 million in fiscal year 2002, which ended on July 1, attributed to the growing number of uninsured patients. Hospital officials also blame the loss on insufficient reimbursement from the Medicaid program.

Prep Standings -- Boys Soccer: CLASS 4A

Editorial: President looks bad in his partisanship: For that matter, in an election year most Democrats have been reluctant to criticize the war on terrorism and Bush's policy on Iraq because they fear Republicans will label them as being soft on defense -- a fear that is turning out to be prescient. The irony is that it has been prominent Republicans, both in and out of government, who have raised pointed questions about a military invasion of Iraq and how it also might negatively affect the war on terrorism. Why isn't the president singling them out for not caring about U.S. security?

Editorial: Focusing on the wrong offenses: In expunging a record, the court must trust that the person involved will learn from his close call. And the person must trust that his career can indeed go forward undamaged. This is why we disagree with the Clark County School District's bill draft proposed for the 2003 Legislature regarding background checks on potential employees. The school district wants to gain access to police records on drug offenses that have been officially expunged.

Sun Prep Athletes of the Week: Brandon Hawkins and Natasha Wicks: Class: Senior

Obituaries for Sept. 26, 2002: Frances Baum, 66, of Las Vegas died Monday in Las Vegas. She was born Jan. 24, 1936, in Palmyra, Maine. A resident for 29 years, she was a retired paralegal and a member of Daughters of the Nile.

Guinn returns to Nevada: Gov. Kenny Guinn, hospitalized for prostate surgery Monday, is back in Las Vegas and ready to resume work.

Jurisdiction debated in effort to halt hog odor: Residents seeking relief from odoriferous swine at a North Las Vegas hog farm may have to wait until at least January for a ruling from a county air pollution agency.

CCSN President Remington treated for prostate cancer: Jennifer Knight; Community College of Southern Nevada President Ron Remington said Wednesday that he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer -- the same disease Gov. Kenny Guinn had surgery for this week.

Latin chamber to endorse candidates starting next year: By Timothy Pratt; The Latin Chamber of Commerce, one of the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic business organizations, voted in a board meeting Wednesday to move into politics.

Storm dampens companies' profits: By Liz Benston; The closure of all Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos due to Isidore may have a negative, though short-term, effect on some of the industry's largest casino companies, some Wall Street analysts say.

Woman sued over jackpot payments: Grace Leong; Alicia Clark-Bradley, a Nevada casino jackpot winner, may have collected more funds than she should have received from a $1.1 million jackpot she won in 1998, a lawsuit by a lender alleges.

Reform bill could affect Nevada law: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A plan pending in Congress to limit medical malpractice awards nationwide could imperil pieces of the fragile compromise state lawmakers, doctors and lawyers in Nevada forged this summer, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.

Water board renews offer for utility: The Southern Nevada Water Authority is awaiting response from Sierra Pacific Resources to a letter that the authority hopes will shed more light on its bid to purchase Nevada Power Co. for $3.2 billion.

Colony to bid for Aladdin: Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles-based equity firm that has long been eyeing the Aladdin hotel-casino, is expected to make a bid for the Las Vegas Strip property in the next few weeks, sources familiar with the deal said.

Candidates for AG stumble over pot questions: Erin Neff; The state's marijuana initiative tripped up both candidates for attorney general during a debate Wednesday at UNLV's Boyd School of Law.

Makers of homeless video charged in California: By Timothy Pratt; Criminal charges were brought in California this week against four Las Vegas men involved in the making of a reality video with the homeless -- after three Nevada agencies closed investigations on the same video without results.

County's sensitivity training program supported: Adrienne Packer; Whether Clark County's ratio of white male employees to minorities is due to discrimination or the makeup of Southern Nevada's work force, supporters of both theories support the county's new training program.

Wells names top Nevada managers: Kirk Clausen, currently working in Reno, becomes regional president and will move to Las Vegas.

Analyst lowers estimate for online gaming industry: By Liz Benston; A prominent Internet gambling analyst has scaled back revenue estimates for the multi-billion dollar Web casino industry by as much as 10 percent on concerns that credit card companies are blocking online bets.

Improving Nevada hosts No. 25 Colorado State: AP; Off to their best start since 1995, the Wolf Pack (2 (1)- played three tough quarters in a 31-7 loss to Washington State before notching the program's first back-to-back wins in three years, beating Brigham Young and Rice.

A major mess: State's biggest cleanup could take 10 years: Jeffrey Libby; Eventually the view could be of 7,000 homes overlooking the Las Vegas Wash, but for now, when engineer Ranajit Sahu surveys the hundreds of acres of old wastewater evaporation ponds, he sees years of soil and groundwater tests ahead of him.

Bingo scandal extends to more states: GameTech International Inc. of Reno said Wednesday it voluntarily shut down its fixed-base electronic bingo units in Texas and Mississippi and is working closely with gaming officials in both states to ensure the integrity of the machines.

Guinn to weigh health issues during recovery: Gov. Kenny Guinn, released from the hospital Wednesday after prostate surgery, said today he intends to start working "on the strategy of Medicaid and health care," which are facing budget overruns.

U.S. 95 project may pass on car pooling: While the $370 million widening project along U.S. 95 continues, a controversy over one aspect of the effort is quietly simmering. Some fear that plans to add car pool lanes will undercut the project's objective, which is to reduce traffic congestion on the freeway.

Chairman's ouster pushed: The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at Scrushy's July sale of 2.5 million HealthSouth shares. That makes him a liability for the biggest U.S. operator of rehabilitation hospitals, said investors holding the company's stock and debt.

Clark County posts best month in a year for taxable sales: CARSON CITY -- Clark County merchants, spurred by the purchase of new cars, posted their best month in nearly a year in taxable sales in July.