Print edition for September 27, 2002

UNLV graduation rate tumbles to 30 percent: According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Education, the graduation rate for NCAA student-athletes on a national level has reached 60 percent for the first time since the NCAA began tracking figures 18 years ago.

Hoffa orders Teamsters boycott of Park Place: Grace Leong; The International Brotherhood of Teamsters' call Thursday for a boycott of events through 2006 at 19 Park Place Entertainment Corp. properties nationwide may cost Park Place $6 million, the union said.

Roger endorsed by police group: "I think it's a huge boost to my campaign," said Roger, a chief deputy district attorney in the Major Violators Unit. "Voters have a great interest in knowing who law enforcement officers are supporting in the district attorney's race."

Reid questions Bush travel: "Because the scheduling of these trips is largely driven by the administration's political agenda of electing more Republicans, it would seem that political campaigns, not taxpayers, should fund the substantial travel and related costs," Reid said in a letter sent to Mitchell Daniels Jr., director of the Office of Management and Budget. "Why should taxpayers foot the bill for the president's fund-raising and political stumping?"

Rebel woman posts school-record score: Lee shot a 71, equaling the total posted by teammate Erin Borcherts in the final round of last season's Mountain West Conference Championship. Borcherts turned the trick at the par-71 Meadows Course at Sunriver Resort.

Hansens are heart of the IAP: Erin Neff; The signs around town hyping the Independent American Party with just one word practically say everything about Nevada's third-largest political party.

Director resigns, admits lying: The controversy stems from the state's investigation of Walter Criner, a Texas Lottery commissioner appointed by Gov. Rick Perry last year.

Sprint sends clear signal opposing public power: Sprint Corp., the region's largest telephone service provider, has signed on to the effort to fight the public takeover of the privately owned electricity company.

Guinn names Pierce to post: Pierce succeeds Steve Greathouse, a casino executive, who served four terms.

UNLV science building is still not a priority: CARSON CITY -- The controversy over constructing a $75 million UNLV science and engineering building is now in the hands of Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Student enrollment falls short of estimate: By Emily Richmond; Clark County school administrators overestimated the number of students who would enroll this fall by 3,830, leaving the district with a $2.7 million budget shortfall, officials announced Thursday.

LV company investing in Maine project: The Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes will unveil architectural details of a $500 million resort next week.

Community briefs for Sept. 27, 2002: The U.S. Forest Service will be taking part in the ninth annual National Public Lands Day on Saturday.

Marriott, Pinnacle look at bankrupt Aladdin: Marriott International Inc., the hotel giant that has scores of hotel rooms in Las Vegas under various corporate and franchise brands, is negotiating to be part of a three-way partnership that is attempting to buy the $1.2 billion Aladdin hotel-casino out of bankruptcy, a Wall Street financier familiar with the deal said Thursday.

Pregnant moms forced into public health care: Jeffrey Libby; Two weeks overdue, Rita Lahey, 22, sneaked a chicken quesadilla and cheese fries with friends Thursday, as she sat up in Bed 6 on the Labor and Delivery Unit at University Medical Center. An intravenous Pitocin drip, a labor-inducing drug, slipped through a clear tube snaked to her wrist.

Columnist Sal Defilippo: St. Louis offense not 'Ram-tough' in fourth quarter: Sal Defilippo; There was as astonishing, yet definitive statistic that flashed on the screen during Tampa Bay's victory over the former powerhouse Rams on Monday night.

Sierra Health fires some members of OB/GYN panel: Jeffrey Libby; Sierra Health Services, the largest managed care provider in Southern Nevada, terminated at least three members of the Clark County Obstetricians and Gynecologists Society, the group's president said Thursday.

Tribal recognition appealed: The administrative appeal was filed with the U.S. Department of Interior's Board of Indian Appeals. The panel has 30 days to determine whether it has jurisdiction to handle the matter.

Test Site is finalist for nuke bomb plant: The Nevada Test Site is among five finalists to replace the contaminated nuclear bomb plant at Rocky Flats, Colo., administration officials said.

Editorial: 'Bumfights' arrests are good news: In La Mesa, however, police were able to talk with witnesses during the production of a subsequent video and were able to substantiate accounts of injuries. The four men are charged with paying people to commit felony assaults and one is charged with offering a bribe to participants in the film to prevent them from talking to authorities. "Bumfights" features homeless men engaging in a variety of activities, including street fighting and racing downhill in shopping carts, that are potentially injurious to themselves and others. The charges were brought on the information that the filmmakers had paid the participants to ...

Dash of Nash: Spencer Patterson; WEEKEND EDITION: Sept. 29, 2002

Scene Selection -- Geoff Carter: The 'four-headed beast' returns on DVD: George Harrison was my favorite Beatle. I felt his passing more keenly than that of John Lennon's (admittedly, I was too young when Lennon was killed to appreciate his significance) for several reasons, not the least of which was his calm, reasoned performance in "A Hard Day's Night," available this week on DVD (Miramax Home Entertainment, $29.99).

Columnist Erin Neff: Not on ballot, Reid's ads show he has a lot at stake: Erin Neff; After all, as the state's leading Democrat, he's got more than just races to win on Nov. 5. He's got face to save thanks to his role in the direction of the party, and thus, must save his own political future.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Fair DHS law is needed: Meanwhile, news reports coming out of Washington tell us that the bill creating a new Department of Homeland Security is facing the threat of a presidential veto. This bill does exactly what the president asked for last year. That's true, except his demand to have power to ignore many of the civil service protections federal employees have earned over the years. He wants the power to promote, fire and transfer at will the workers in the new department. There is good reason to question why he wants the removal of all protection for employees. Thousands of them now belong to ...

Editorial: Students should be given healthy meals: It's not just junk foods that are at issue, though. There also are concerns whether the federal government's school lunch program, which provides 24.5 million meals a day, is offering meals that are healthy enough. As Hearst Newspapers reported this week, major food producers jockey for position in the school lunch program -- and sometimes an industry's lobbying clout with Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture can affect decisions that are supposed to be based on nutrition alone. Hearst Newspapers noted that the federal government wants the subsidized lunches to contain less fat, but the USDA's two largest purchases ...

Judge orders DNA samples in slaying: Erica D. Johnson; Defense attorneys in the case of a man accused of killing his wife faced a setback Thursday as a District Court judge ordered the man to provide the court with DNA samples.

Columnist Benjamin Grove: Parched ranchers wait for Congress to help: Benjamin Grove; Last year's drought cut into the previous year's slim profits, and then some. Boies and his wife Robin also raise native grass and alfalfa hay to feed their herd, and the dry season forced them to buy more forage for the winter.

Editorial: Who does he think will believe this?: The White House has been circulating a draft document highlighting what it believes are President Bush's environmental successes. Eventually that environmental scorecard will be published, most likely on the White House's website. Nevadans will be taken aback, though, by one of the administration's purported accomplishments -- Congress' approval of the president's plan to bury 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in Nevada.

Key Moments: Spencer Patterson; Twenty-five years later, jazz great Herbie Hancock can still vividly recall the moment his musical career changed forever.

Letter: Democrats deserve apology: One of our valiant Democratic senators, Daniel Inouye from Hawaii, lost an arm in World War II. I feel like Inouye and other brave veterans were very interested in, and sacrificed for, our nation's security and freedom.

Bus drivers have a uniform problem: By Emily Richmond; Belinda Yealy knows that her size 30 trousers and size 19 shirt don't exactly make her an average woman -- that is, unless she's shopping for her uniform as a Clark County School District bus driver.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: 'Road' could traverse Nevada: Ever since Jack Kerouac's classic Beat Generation novel "On The Road" was published in 1957, there have been discussions to bring it to the big screen.

Datebook for Sept. 27, 2002: Robyn Walensky, author of "Covering Catastrophe" will appear 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at B. Dalton in Boulevard Mall, 3528 S. Maryland Parkway. Admission is free. 735-0008.

Moses new Red Cross major gift coordinator: Moses was working at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce for nearly six years as the director of membership development division before joining the Red Cross.

Columnist Jon Ralston: Power debate is already weak: Surprised? No. Disgusted? Indeed. Why? Their reckless disregard for the truth, their shameless dumping of kerosene on a public fire and their absolute reliance on voters' fury and gullibility is pathetic.

Keyes lends moral, financial aid to Boggs McDonald: Erin Neff; Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes brought his conservative message to Las Vegas on Thursday to stump for fellow black Republican Lynette Boggs McDonald.

King of Las Vegas makes belated return: Alan King's career flourished in the desert.

Blood drives scheduled: Tuesday: 2:30-8 p.m., Sunset East High School, 3801 E. Washington Ave.

Letter: Bush comments way out of line: Let us not forget that this same G.W. Bush dodged the Vietnam War with his family's money and influence, which kept him safe in Texas. Let us not forget that Bush was AWOL for a year in Alabama, which has never been adequately explained to us Americans.

Saxe's solo 'V' looks OK at The Venetian: Hype for "V" calls it the "Ultimate Variety Show."

Political notebook: Question 9 enjoys POTpourri of support: Erin Neff; Question 9 proponents unveiled some friends in high places Thursday as the campaign message shifts to argue that the marijuana initiative would close a loophole in Nevada's medical marijuana law.

Columnist Jerry Fink: For a night, Bootlegger is the Fontana room: A roomful of fans at Bootlegger Bistro on Monday night anxiously awaited the arrival of Carl Fontana.

Guardian Angel: then and now: 1961: Las Vegas resort owners and other local business leaders donate land and money to the Clerics of St. Viator, or Viatorian priests, to build a church near the Strip on Desert Inn Road.

Columnist Susan Snyder: This little piggy went to court: This week's air quality hearing for R.C. Farms was a real pig push.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: How Q14 can affect you: The ballot explanation of Q14 is, "This ballot question will serve to advise the Nevada Legislature of the Clark County electorate's position regarding how electrical service should be provided in Clark County. Current state law in Nevada limits the ability of local governments to provide electricity to Clark County residents unless agreed to by Nevada Power Company officials. If this ballot initiative is adopted, the Nevada Legislature will be advised that the people of Clark County would like to have the option to acquire and maintain their own electric utility without the necessary consent of Nevada Power Company. A NO ...

Editorial: Car-pool lanes will backfire: Every rush hour tens of thousands of southbound commuters on U.S. 95 in the northwest must negotiate a curve -- at between 0 and 5 mph. This would be the Rainbow Curve, which brings drivers to a crawl or a stop because of its narrowness as traffic from Summerlin Parkway merges onto the highway. A project to widen U.S. 95 for a 10-mile stretch that includes the Rainbow Curve is under way, and for those who drive that stretch the work cannot be completed too soon.

Letter: California drivers are the worst: Well, my friend, I don't know how much time you have spent driving on Los Angeles freeways. Check with the DMV here on the number of drivers this town has absorbed from the L.A. area compared to other parts of the country. I think you will understand why, if you moved here in the last few years, your car insurance premium has almost tripled.

Spotlight on Santana: Spencer Patterson; With the highly-anticipated follow-up to 1999's smash "Supernatural" set to hit stores in October, Latin rockers Santana kick off a fall West Coast swing with a Las Vegas stopover.

Letter: Bush leading us into world filled with horror: When it was in our self-interest, we dealt with Iraq. We rooted for them, shared intelligence with them and looked the other way when the chemicals we gave them were used against Iranians and Kurds. Once again, in our self-interest, Bush owes it to the country to deal with Iraq.

Columnist Jeff German: We could go up in smoke over this: The 2005 Legislature, you see, would be responsible for setting up a system to grow, distribute and regulate marijuana in Nevada. Lawmakers would be obligated to carry out the will of the people, even though those activities still would be illegal under federal law.

Columnist Susan Snyder: A quick lesson in racing: "You can ask my wife," the 31-year-old bicycle racer said. "I'm competitive. And I have an obsessive-compulsive disorder."

Neighborhood council called key to fighting crime: Dan Kulin; North Las Vegas Police will help residents of a troubled area establish the city's first "neighborhood council," which could represent the community before government officials, and oversee watch groups and citizen patrols, Police Chief Mark Paresi said Thursday.

Cathedral celebrating 25-year anniversary: WEEKEND EDITION: Sept. 28, 2002

Letter: Russia remains key ally of Iraq, Saddam: He hit this theme again in his address before the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 12, stating: "And our greatest fear is that terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions when an outlaw regime supplies them with the technologies to kill on a massive scale."

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Mixing surgery with politics can be bad medicine: This week Gov. Guinn went to UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for the removal of his diseased prostate. This radical surgery isn't uncommon but it certainly can't be treated like an appendectomy or a cold. The governor and his family determined that the surgery should take place in one of our nation's finest medical schools. All reports are that he is doing well and the surgery performed by the chairman of the Urology Department, Dr. Jean B. deKernion, was successful.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Star chefs offer celestial dishes at fund-raiser: An excellent turnout (more than 600) for March of Dimes Walk America annual Star Chefs fund-raiser Saturday at The Rio raised big bucks for the worthy charity.

'Old Time Reunion' will honor Delaney: The seventh annual "Las Vegas Old Time Reunion" Sunday at Stardust will honor longtime Sun entertainment columnist Joe Delaney, one of the event's original organizers, who died Aug. 7.

Important Vegas-Hawaii charter service changing: A Boyd Gaming Corp. subsidiary will change its Hawaiian air charter partner -- a big carrier of gamblers to downtown Las Vegas casinos -- when Hawaiian Airlines shifts its charter operation to scheduled service early next year.

San Diego casino called competition for Strip high-rollers: By Liz Benston; The effort to legalize private gambling salons for high-limit players helps Nevada casinos more effectively compete against destination resorts in Macau, the Philippines and other regions that offer gambling rooms for the wealthy out of the public eye, regulators say.

Jail overcrowding soon to be resolved: Erica D. Johnson; The Clark County Detention Center will hold tours for the public Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

State's colleges make a pitch for new students: Jennifer Knight; Nowadays, if a university or community college wants to attract more students, it can't just open its doors and wait for them to arrive.

Local concerns raised in Internet debate: By Liz Benston; The prospect of allowing Internet gambling by Nevada residents may conflict with state actions to slow the spread of convenience gambling in neighborhoods, a top state casino regulator said Thursday.

News briefs for Sept. 27, 2002: Two men were charged with the shooting death of a 20-year-old Henderson man early Thursday, Metro Police said.

Vargas tests positive for banned drug: Dean Juipe; Boxer Fernando Vargas is facing a possible suspension and fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid, NSAC executive director Marc Ratner confirmed today.

Prix conceptions: It wasn't the oppressive heat or the first-lap run-in with eventual race winner Michele Alboreto that Eddie Cheever remembers most about the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix -- the last of two Formula One races held in Las Vegas.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Injury info blocked by tangled law: Dean Juipe; If I were a college athlete I couldn't admit to this, but I picked up a cut over my left eye playing basketball Thursday at Desert Breeze.

Airline cutting 1,500 jobs: Delta officials said the Atlanta-based airline will try to make this round of jobs cuts, representing 9.4 percent of its flight attendants, through voluntary offers. Last fall, about 3,200 flight attendants accepted leaves, early retirement and other offers as part of 10,000 job cuts.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Herrera campaign run to end in a tie: Especially with the relentless flow of attack ads flooding the airwaves, sometimes back-to-back.

Columnist Barb Henderson: Retrievers fetch 'em up in local hunting club: Barb Henderson; Huddled in a hunting blind on a cold brisk morning, a waterfowler begins to make those distinctive sounds from a birdcall that imitate real waterfowl echoing off the water.

Columnist Steve Guiremand: Fresno coach likes Ducks to have 'Fiesta': Steve Guiremand; If misery likes company, UNLV coach John Robinson should hang out with Fresno State coach Pat Hill this week.

Thursday's prep results: BOYS SOCCER

Keller: Center badly needed for mentally ill: CARSON CITY -- Sheriff Jerry Keller said today there is a desperate need for a one-stop triage center in Southern Nevada to handle the mentally ill who are filling up hospital emergency rooms and jails.

Loan guarantee conditionally approved: The Air Transportation and Stabilization Board unanimously agreed to provide federal backing on a loan of $165 million subject to certain conditions. The airline must, among other things, pay the board additional fees and stock warrants, details of which were not disclosed.

Rebel woman records school-record score: Lee shot a 71, equaling the total posted by teammate Erin Borcherts in the final round of last season's Mountain West Conference Championship. Borcherts turned the trick at the par-71 Meadows Course at Sunriver Resort .

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Las Vegas boy on track toward future in F1: When the Formula One cars roll off the starting grid for Sunday's United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there won't be one American driver among the field.

Obituaries for Sept. 27, 2002: Stella K. Begin, 84, of Las Vegas died Thursday in Las Vegas. She was born Feb. 7, 1918, in Lawrence, Mass. A resident for eight years, she was a retired solderer in the communications industry.

Most coastal casinos to reopen as storm retreats: Jason Straziuso; BILOXI, Miss. -- The state Gaming Commission has given the go-ahead to Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos to open for business two days after thousands of customers were sent packing by Tropical Storm Isidore.

Columnist Adam Candee: CCSD trying to put trainers back on fields: Adam Candee; Today's prep football games

Bellagio agrees to pay $25,000 fine for cash violations: The resort and the state Gaming Control Board filed a stipulation Thursday with the state Gaming Commission. The hotel admitted the facts alleged in the complaint. The fine could have been up to $250,000.