Print edition for April 29, 2003

Columnist Susan Snyder: Breathing fire into boat races: This is the desert. We probably should race camels or dirt clods or rock carts or NASCAR. But in Southern Nevada this spring, all the cool people are racing dragon boats -- 44-foot, hand-paddled vessels adorned with Chinese dragon heads.

Southern Nevadans become Eagle Scouts: Colby Brad Anderson, 17; Peter Kevin Austin, 18; Darryl Carter, 17; Steven Marshall Christman, 17; Daniel Benjamin Garvin, 15; Brian Douglas Graham, 18; Nicholas Lee Green, 18; Blade MacRock Halverson, 18; Kenneth Chad Howard, 17; Rico Andre Roman Jensen, 18; Aaron Turley Lowe, 25; William Edward Lunoc II, 16; Julian Howard Ness, 16; Gregory Brandon Phillips, 18; George Chase Ralphs, 16; Phillip D. Stewart, 16; Kyle William Strong, 16; Raymond Tagliaferri III, 18; John Michael Taylor, 15, and Jacob Riley Yardley, 16, all of Las Vegas.

Love, Honor & Obey: 'Gifted' dogs receive special training, treatment: Wind rattled the training tent. Raindrops pelted it.

Las Vegan wins honor from DRI: Wade is president of the historical foundation and chairman of the Nevada Alliance for Defense, Energy and Business, a group of more than 30 technology companies working to bring new science and technology programs to the Test Site.

Police seeking help in probe of killing: Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said today that police believe the woman was killed late Friday and possibly at the site where her body was found -- Stewart Avenue and 11th Street -- at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Roush: The more races in the West the merrier: If team owner Jack Roush had his way, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series would race twice each year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Six-hour standoff nets rape suspect: Jen Lawson; A six-hour standoff in a Henderson neighborhood ended peacefully this morning when tear gas forced a 38-year-old accused rapist to surrender to police.

Historian Wright dies at 64: Frank Wright forgot more about Southern Nevada's history than many people have learned about Las Vegas. And he didn't forget much.

Senate leader Raggio married: CARSON CITY -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, married Dale K. Checket on Sunday in a ceremony in the governor's mansion attended by about 125 friends and guests.

Aladdin bidder reports loss: WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. today reported a loss for its first quarter, largely because of an impairment charge related to the expected sale of 18 hotels.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Dodgers G.M. tried to do 51s a favor: Dean Juipe; The quotes were there in black and white, but what wasn't seen was the nod and the wink that went along with them.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Jackson could be starting something: The Gloved One has in the recent past met privately with a variety of performers, producers and casino executives to explore his own Celine-type extravaganza.

Gorman moving to southwest: By Emily Richmond; The Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas plans to raise $25 million to help pay for a new Bishop Gorman High School in Summerlin.

Oscar favorite of fans, in books: Dean Juipe; Oscar De La Hoya makes his way to Las Vegas today saying all the right things.

Fire guts Pahrump casino: Jace Radke; PAHRUMP -- Fire gutted the Mountain View Casino and Bowl this morning with flames shooting as high as 25 feet into the air, destroying what some locals in this small town say was one place the whole family could gather.

Venetian profit improves, firm optimistic on Macau: The Venetian hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip today reported improved revenue and net income in its first quarter over the same period a year ago, citing increased casino revenue and steady occupancy rates.

Senators propose purchase of mine: Nevada's U.S. senators are proposing legislation that the two hope will settle the ongoing controversy of land largely surrounded by the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Regents question settling lawsuit by Williams' wife: Jennifer Knight; Regent Steve Sisolak is asking state university system officials to explain why they settled a lawsuit filed by an assemblyman's wife after the system's lawyer advised against it.

Retailer closing two LV stores: The two Eddie Bauer stores are among a list of 60 under-performing Eddie Bauer stores targeted by the Downers Grove, Ill.-based company. The stores are at Desert Passage at Aladdin on the Strip, and the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson. The Eddie Bauer outlet at the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas in Primm, about 40 miles south of Las Vegas, is not on the list to close.

Actor Conaway sues Mandalay Bay: Jen Lawson; In the movie "Grease," actor Jeff Conaway's tough guy character, Kenickie, never hesitated to rumble with his rivals.

Hughes Corp. trimming Vegas staff: Jennifer Shubinski; The Rouse Co. said today it laid off 12 employees at its Las Vegas subsidiary, The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of the Summerlin planned community and the big Hughes Center office park in midtown Las Vegas.

From kicker to card shark: A wire ran from Ben Agajanian's earpiece into his shirt, to some sort of contraption, which New York Giants assistant coach Vince Lombardi dismissed as a hearing aid.

Utility's stock falls on rate ruling: CARSON CITY -- A ruling by a district judge who rejected the plea of Nevada Power Co. to raise its rates another $437 million will probably be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Rouse Co. reports profit in quarter: Jennifer Shubinski; The Rouse Co., the largest developer in Southern Nevada, today reported a profit of $24.1 million, or 24 cents per share for the first quarter ending March 31.

Obituaries for April 29, 2003: Charles Dean Bridges, 65, of Las Vegas died Saturday in Newport News, Va. He was born April 4, 1938, in Oklahoma. A resident for 15 years, he was a retired postal worker, a retired Air Force veteran who served for 20 years and was a member of the National Postal Mail Handlers Local 303.

Labor Department meeting draws employee criticism: A division of the Labor Department is holding a conference in Las Vegas this week, officials say, to explore ways to better protect the American worker.

Second union election set for Mesquite casinos: The union's efforts in December 2001 to represent 1,276 housekeeping, food and beverage workers in an NLRB-held election were rejected by a vote of 640 to 464.

UNLV women golfers receive NCAA regional invite: Adam Candee; With a sense of expectation rather than surprise, the UNLV women's golf team earned an at-large berth to the NCAA regionals Monday.

Lansing, Mich., flights planned: The carrier will use 161-seat MD-83 aircraft on the route, which initially will operate Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays. Allegiant Vacations, the airline's vacation company, is offering packages with rooms at 18 Las Vegas hotels.

Columnist Jeff German: McDonald has time on his side: Secretary of State Dean Heller said Monday there's a good chance he won't decide whether to pursue an investigation into alleged campaign violations by Moncrief and others tied to her campaign until after the June 3 municipal election.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Late position switch costs JT big bucks: If there was one thing that Jason Thomas learned during his checkered UNLV football career, it was how to call a timeout when he was confused at the line of scrimmage.

Mother of victim in child-abuse death testifies against ex: Erica D. Johnson; The actions of a Henderson mother could come under scrutiny as her former boyfriend stands trial a second time for her infant daughter's death five years ago.

Dispute erupts over lottery: "I'm just about at the point of proposing that we need to put up a constitutional amendment to repeal the lottery because the money being generated is being abused," said Matthews, D-Bowman, who originally backed the enabling legislation.

Rebels ink CCSN pitcher: Rebels ink CCSN pitcher

City Hall expansion ahead of schedule: Dan Kulin; The new five-story building that is the largest piece of Henderson's $72.3 million City Hall expansion is six months ahead of schedule and should be open to the public in mid-July, the city's construction manager said.

Tracy admits to using traction control in car: He said the illegal driver aid contributed to "terrible racing" at times in the series.

Rape suspect holds off police in 6-hour standoff: Jen Lawson; Pepper spray blew through a Henderson neighborhood this morning as police ended an almost six-hour standoff with a rape suspect.

Jinks, Gray share honor: Jinks, recently drafted by the WNBA's Houston Comets in the third round, ended her storied UNLV career ranked third all-time in scoring. Gray, who was named MWC defensive player of the year in 2002-03, continuously led the league in steals (99) and assist/turnover ratio (2.18).

Dolphins sign Mandley: Dolphins sign Mandley

Superspeed train gains support from fed agency: A federal agency has agreed to sponsor an environmental impact study of the long-proposed superspeed train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, a move that supporters hope will move the project a bit faster on its planning tracks.

News briefs for April 29, 2003: The Criminal Apprehension Team on Monday arrested an alleged gang member wanted for shooting seven people and killing two in Cathedral City, Calif., in 1997.

Editorial: Dismissing nuke dump concerns: It's still unclear just how serious the flaws were that the review team discovered, but what is clear is that the contractor's actions warrant an investigation by Congress and the Energy Department's inspector general. We should find out if these actions were a warning sign to other employees to keep quiet about problems they uncover at the Yucca Mountain project, a program whose credibility has been tarnished because it has failed to seriously address safety concerns involving the transportation and storage of nuclear waste.

Letter: Smoking can mean death: My wife smokes, and when she gambles she smokes even more. I quit over 30 years ago after seeing a loved one die from a lifetime of smoking cancer sticks, a most horrible death.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: SARS not only threat: How about how not to handle a public health crisis, for starters?

Editorial: Libertarian vision: Crash go the chariots: The "free-staters" -- numbering 3,373 at last count -- are looking at Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and Vermont. Before the year is out, they hope to have chosen one as a destination for 20,000 devotees of limited government. Once settled in, according to their vision, they will unite at the ballot box and succeed in creating the laissez faire land of their dreams.

Mental health budget hike hailed: By Timothy Pratt; Area nonprofits that work with mental illness said the budget increase being proposed to care for Southern Nevada's mentally ill is overdue and sorely needed.

Monday's prep results: Boys' Golf

Panel OKs repeal of school cell phone ban: CARSON CITY -- Students are one step closer to a repeal of the state law that prohibits cell phones on public school campuses.

Firm completes Sega purchase: The company has acquired inventory and license rights to multi-player games primarily for the North American market, including Royal Ascot, Royal Derby, Sega Blackjack, Bingo Party and Roulette Club.

Community briefs for April 29, 2003: The American Society of Landscape Architects and the Southern Nevada Water Authority will present the SNASLA Garden Tour from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. The tour will showcase five private gardens.

Letter: Why hate the Iraqi people?: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, et. al. are actors who play fake characters in fake roles and work daily in a fake environment.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Hollywood Park: Wednesday's card

Drug group loses national charter: Jennifer Knight; Wow, man. Bummer.

D.C. starving for return of baseball: The white seats in RFK Stadium constantly remind Bobby Goldwater, the president and executive director of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, about what the area has been missing for 33 years.

Letter: Bush becomes the new bully of the world: Now the country has joined the ranks of Germany and Japan. We have become an aggressor nation. I feel shame and revulsion for what our nation has become under Bush's leadership. I now realize that my first assessment of Bush was right on. On national television he told America that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and would not hesitate to use them on our troops. When the press asked him for proof, he ignored them and just kept making the same accusations.