Print edition for April 1, 2003

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Gergen hails the chiefs at UNLV talk: That was the audience reaction after hearing former presidential advisor David Gergen deliver a wide-ranging two-hour address as part of the Edward Barrick Lecture Series at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Friday night.

Program would aid military families: Dan Kulin; Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., unveiled a new page of his website Monday that will help Nevada's military families get immediate and comprehensive information during the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reports indicate economy stumbling: The Institute for Supply Management's factory index last month fell to 46.2, the lowest since November 2001, about the time most economists say the economy started to emerge from recession. In February, the index was 50.5. A reading less than 50 means business is contracting.

Schools survey: Taxes OK, program cuts not: By Emily Richmond; Higher taxes to pay for public education? Absolutely, said the more than 14,000 parents, students, teachers and administrators who took part in a Clark County School District survey.

Glitch delays new policy to limit moves by teachers: By Emily Richmond; A new regulation intended to reduce turnover at Clark County's at-risk schools by requiring all new teachers to wait three years before seeking transfers was supposed to take effect today, but it won't.

Columnist Jeff German: Sandoval applies heat to big oil: With motorists up in arms, it generally has been the politically expedient thing to do.

Testimony bolsters case for hike at Nevada Power: Kevin Rademacher; Nevada Power Co. defended its business practices Monday in testimony filed with the state Public Utilities Commission, setting the stage for the company's nearly $200 million rate hike case.

Panel recommends five slots per supper club: Judy Odierna; A proposal to add slot machines to restaurants classified as supper clubs in Las Vegas has been modified to allow a maximum of five machines at those establishments.

Assembly OKs bills limiting death penalty: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- The Assembly gave overwhelming support Monday to three measures that take steps to reform Nevada's death penalty by limiting who can be executed and by giving defense attorneys some additional tools for the courtroom.

McCarran carrier bankrupt: Shares in Canada's dominant airline hit a new 52-week low Monday.

Justices ponder tribal powers: Mark Sherman; WASHINGTON -- Indian tribes could derail local criminal investigations unless forced to comply with search warrants for tribal property, a lawyer for a California county told the Supreme Court Monday.

NAB says most will show up for Vegas convention: Organizers of the next major convention to visit Las Vegas say they never gave a thought to canceling or postponing the event because of the war.

Troops leaving pets behind: Jennifer Knight; In the aftermath of troop deployment, pets can be the smallest casualties of war.

Casino operator buys back shares for $100 million: Mandalay said it was is buying the shares for about $30.67 each as the contract expired Monday. The Las Vegas-based company made the agreement with Bank of America in September 2000 as a way to buy back its stock without spending its own money, Mandalay President and Chief Financial Officer Glenn Schaeffer said.

Venetian loses appeals round in liens case: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court on Monday dismissed appeals of The Venetian Casino Resort in Las Vegas and its insurance company involving liens totaling millions of dollars sought by four subcontractors.

Short-term tax plan snubbed: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Despite attempts to rally support for Gov. Kenny Guinn's short-term tax plan, lawmakers abandoned the idea Monday without even bringing the matter for a vote.

Legislative briefs for April 1, 2003: The Legislature would be able to meet outside Carson City under a resolution introduced Monday in the Senate.

Crash near NLV Airport revives residents' fears: By Timothy Pratt; Sunday night's plane crash near North Las Vegas Airport wasn't the first in the area and neighbors fear it won't be the last. They're worried that it won't be long before someone on the ground is killed by an aircraft.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Showalter's discipline out of line: Dean Juipe; Youth coaches are routinely advised to treat their players as adults. Turn your boys into men, so to speak.

Execs leave Park Place 'Net unit: Liz Benston and Richard N. Velotta; Park Place Entertainment Corp.'s Internet commerce division has been redeployed and the head of the division has left the company, a move that comes a few weeks after the company announced that it would hold off on developing an online gambling site for non-U.S. bettors.

Advocate may challenge new policy on utility's exit fees: Kevin Rademacher; The state Bureau of Consumer Protection on Monday criticized the Public Utilities Commission's move to allow eight major electricity users to leave the Nevada Power Co. system without paying exit fees.

Tribe opposes new agreement: The Colorado River Indian Tribes would prefer to keep running its BlueWater Resort & Casino in Parker under its current agreement, which expires in August 2004, said Michael Mandell, a Phoenix lawyer for the tribe. That agreement doesn't call for revenue sharing.

Laughlin power plant faces closure in 2005: A power plant near Laughlin owned in part by Nevada Power Co. could be closed by 2005 because of pollution issues and fuel and water supply problems.

Cabbies hold rally on Strip: Ed Wright, an active military man and a Yellow Cab driver, is anxious to ship out to Iraq so his children won't have to follow him some day.

News briefs for April 1, 2003: A Las Vegas man who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the stabbing death of his roommate last year was sentenced to prison Monday in District Court.

Medicaid suggested for teens leaving foster care: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- While there isn't any money to spare for extras in this year's legislative process, one piece of child welfare reform may actually get a green light from a committee holding the purse strings.

Lobbyist questions mayor's judgment: Judy Odierna; The gaming industry's top lobbyist says Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's friendship with a person in the state's Black Book is making protection of Nevada's primary industry more difficult in the nation's capital.

Security personnel hit training course at Nellis: Jace Radke; Air Force Staff Sgt. Larry Davidson is going through ground combat training at Nellis Air Force Base for the fourth time in his nine-year military career -- but this time it's different.

More security sought for police armories: CARSON CITY -- State and local law enforcement agencies would have to boost security to guard against the theft of firearms under a bill heard by the Senate Committee on Government Affairs Monday.

Mohave power plant may close in 2005: The plant faces an uncertain supply of coal and water, Edison officials said in Monday's SEC filing. The utility consortium that owns the plant also must make more than $1 billion in pollution control improvements if the plant is to operate past 2005, the company said.

Proposed Pentagon changes might not affect perchlorate cleanup: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A sweeping Pentagon proposal that would exempt military bases from some environmental rules would not affect perchlorate cleanup in Las Vegas drinking water, an Environmental Protection Agency official told Congress today.

Attorney: Drugs had a role in fatal beating: Erica D. Johnson; Drugs and money played a major role in the 2001 beating death of a Las Vegas man by two women in a downtown apartment, a defense attorney said Monday.

38 percent of local grads need remedial help: The testimony even surprised Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, who sponsored Assembly Bill 426 to make school districts pay for the cost of remedial classes and services offered at the state's college campuses.

Airline may seek bankruptcy: Airline may seek bankruptcy

Shareholder files suit over casino complimentaries: Shaefer is a Las Vegas attorney who calls himself a "shareholder advocate" and has sued several casinos over personal issues and on behalf of casino customers. Any person who gambles enough to be entitled to complimentaries shouldn't be discriminated against, he said Monday.

Fire officials warn of security bar dangers: Jen Lawson; The three generations of a family that lived on Luning Way in Las Vegas were well protected from criminals, as they had security bars covering their windows -- but fire officials said they were not protected from fire.

Editorial: Sports-betting ban is misguided effort: Big-time college sports does have its problems, but betting on the games isn't one of them. The supporters of the betting ban should instead devote their energy to cleaning up all the scandals involving corrupt athletic departments, academic cheating and criminal activity by athletes. All a betting ban would do is drive wagering underground, allowing offshore operations to set the betting line on college games. Betting on sports can't be stamped out. The money wagered on office pools for the NCAA Tournament -- an estimated $2.5 billion in 2002 -- puts to shame how much Nevada's sports books received in ...

After two third places, Nixon hungry for title: Dean Juipe; At 125 pounds, Lyle Nixon wouldn't seem like a football player.

Smallpox vaccination plan delayed: Nevada on Monday became one of nine states suspending a voluntary smallpox vaccination program while federal health officials investigate side effects.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Some of our best at war: Critics of news reporters assigned to combat units in action have shown their own ignorance about the realities of war. Yes, only a small slice of the war is seen and reported by each embedded reporter. This is exactly the picture viewers should be seeing because ground combat is a personal experience of soldiers and their comrades in a squad, platoon and company. This is their small slice of deadly combat that too often has been ignored as reporters sat around command centers and the Pentagon being fed war stories and hot coffee.

Denial of Utah nuke dump to be appealed: The consortium of companies, Private Fuel Storage, on Monday announced it would appeal directly to the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The commission's licensing board on March 10 denied the group a permit because the board said the above-ground waste storage site would be vulnerable to a crash from military jets that fly overhead.

Community briefs for April 1, 2003: The Friends of the Desert Wetlands Park has scheduled an open house from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the temporary visitor center near Las Vegas Wash to discuss plans for the future of the park.

Obituaries for April 1, 2003: Shelby T. Baird, 14, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Las Vegas. A resident for two years, he was born Jan. 3, 1989, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Letter: War protesters have legitimate points to make: There is a legitimate need to talk about the other side of the argument as the media has almost universally shown the administration side.

Editorial: Numbers must trump ideology: After bids from five rental car companies had been analyzed earlier this month, the state announced it would continue with its own motor pool. The lowest bid was $4.2 million. The state ran its own numbers and determined it could provide the same service -- without the confusion of changing over to a new system -- for $2.8 million. The state's figure even includes the cost of moving from its current site. "This is a no-brainer," Comeaux told Cy Ryan, the Sun's reporter in Carson City.

Mother of slain girl won't be charged with selling fake drugs: Jen Lawson; Investigators have decided not to pursue drug-related charges against a mother whose two daughters were stabbed in Mesquite two months ago.

Car stolen with toddler inside: The baby's mother, who lives in the 1700 block of Toltec Circle, pulled her cream-colored 1994 Isuzu Rodeo into her driveway shortly before 9 p.m. and went inside for a moment. She went back outside to get her baby and saw her vehicle pulling away.

Talented running back has high hopes at UNLV: Steve Guiremand; Compton (Calif.) College coach Cornell Ward called Alvin Marshall "the Marshall Faulk of junior college football." But Marshall, a first team JC All-American running back, brings back memories of another talented runner for UNLV assistant coach John Jackson.

Playing the Fool: Vegas comics have turned pranks into an art form: By Kristen Peterson; Several years ago a group of colleagues at Bell Labs in New Jersey told their boss Arno Penzias a 1978 Nobel Prize in physics honoree that they were working on a highly advanced voice recognition system.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Music's future hits a sour note: Stout, of Las Vegas, is a 45-year-old father of four and a trombone player. It's his job, not his hobby.

Letter: Oil industry exerts influence: Recently, the Senate turned down the Bush administration's proposal to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. No sooner had the Senate acted when Secretary of Interior Gale Norton said the administration will continue the fight.

Inmate arraigned in killing: CARSON CITY -- The state will seek the death penalty for Paul Derischebourg, accused of stabbing to death a cellmate at the Ely State Prison, the attorney general's office said Monday.

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

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: LVMS Winston Cup race could get later start: Las Vegas' annual Winston Cup race could be affected by NASCAR's desire to realign its schedule in 2004 and beyond.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Orleans Arena could house prep title games: I guess this Brooks and Dunn concert that is going to help the Orleans Arena officially open its doors May 25 is a big deal, although I didn't know that baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson and ex-Alabama basketball star T.R. Dunn could sing.

Prep Schedule: TODAY

Rebels fall to ninth in Arizona tournament: UNLV was not the only team to struggle on the second day at Tucson National Golf Course (Par 72, 7,094 yards), but none of the 14 teams in the field improved as much as host Arizona. The Wildcats blistered the course for a 10-under 278 and carry an eight-stroke lead into today's final round.

Minnesota recruit commits to UNLV: Andy Hannan, a 6-foot-6 swingman from Minneapolis, has orally committed to UNLV and basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour.

Third man sentenced in shooting: Erica D. Johnson; Perry Macklin on Monday became the third alleged gang member sentenced to probation in connection with the drive-by shooting that killed a 35-year-old North Las Vegas woman in May 2001.