Print edition for February 27, 2003

Nursing homes fall short in state survey: CARSON CITY -- Most nursing homes in Southern Nevada need to improve their patient care, according to an annual state inspection report.

Poll: 91 percent say state shortfall is serious: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is weighing in on the tax debate once again -- this time with a poll showing acceptance of the need for new taxes but disagreement on which ones should be opposed.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Splashy office mishap is no secret: Even for law enforcement.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Being told how to fight: Prior to WWII, thousands of Filipinos served and many continue to serve in our armed forces. Also, military service was a quick way to gain United States citizenship. Today some of our finest citizens add to our culture by knowing and displaying their Philippine heritage. Our nation spent large sums of tax dollars keeping the Philippine government afloat and insurgents suppressed for several decades. The U.S. also quietly returned all of our military bases or closed them down in the Philippines except Subic Bay Naval Base. In 1991 that country's Senate refused to extend our lease on Subic Bay for ...

State cautiously enjoys lower welfare figures: CARSON CITY -- The number of welfare recipients in the state dropped to 30,231 in January, the lowest point in more than a year.

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Drug issues can be a real drag: Ruthe Deskin; How many times have you heard, or read, this line?: "Only your doctor can tell you if (fill in the blank) is right for you."

Talk 'n' Roll: Rock pioneer Rollins gives spoken-word performance Friday: Spencer Patterson; From the moment he jumped onstage during a Black Flag concert in 1981 earning an invitation to join the seminal punk rock band Rollins has made a career of taking chances and speaking his mind.

Supreme Court called behind technology curve: CARSON CITY -- In her State of the Judiciary Address on Wednesday, Chief Justice Deborah Agosti said the Nevada Supreme Court is behind the curve when it comes to technology.

Worldwide hunt for telemarketer leads to LV arrest: Jen Lawson and Jace Radke; A man wanted in a $4.8 million telemarketing scam was arrested Tuesday at his apartment near the Strip after a four-year worldwide manhunt that included an international case of mistaken identity.

Jury looking at life without parole and death sentence: Erica D. Johnson; Jurors deliberating Timmy Weber's fate are considering giving him separate sentences for the murders of his girlfriend and her 15-year-old son, which could set a precedent in Las Vegas for sentencing double murderers.

Lawmakers hear grim details of LV's water future: Southern Nevada Water Authority officials took their message of mandatory conservation to Carson City on Wednesday.

'Panel on Jewish Humor' returns to Vegas: Kirk Baird; Oy vey!

Union warns airline faces bankruptcy within months: An analysis of AMR's finances by the Allied Pilots Association found the Fort Worth-based company has just three months' worth of cash reserves, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Obituaries for Feb. 27, 2003: Patricia Ann Arellano, 67, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in Las Vegas. She was born Aug. 1, 1935, in Sellersville, Pa. A resident for 13 years, she was a retired licensed practical nurse.

News briefs for Feb. 27, 2003: A woman died in a crash about 5:40 a.m. today at Sunset and Park roads when the Jeep she was riding hit a light pole, Henderson Police said.

'West Memphis Three' history: Less than one month later, three teens Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley were arrested and charged with the murders, which police and prosecutors claimed stemmed from the three older boys alleged interest in the occult.

Neal tries again with bill to abolish death penalty: Neal said Wednesday the bill has little chance of passage this session.

Community briefs for Feb. 27, 2003: A mega-garage sale is being held to benefit Street Teens, a local nonprofit group that helps homeless and at-risk teenagers, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Commercial Center, 900 E. Karen Ave.

Editorial: Look in the mirror for answer: Despite Abraham's angst, the Yucca Mountain budget should be reined in because of mismanagement and incompetence. For that matter, if so many members of Congress didn't want nuclear waste out of their states, this project would have been killed outright years ago based on scientific findings -- downplayed or ignored by the Energy Department -- that show how dangerous it is to ship nuclear waste cross-country and bury it in Nevada. That is also why it would be outrageous if Congress went along with the Energy Department's recommendation to allow Yucca Mountain supporters in Congress to restore any cuts to ...

New head of military panel named: Dick Benoit; Dixie Sue Allsbrook, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's southern area director, was recently appointed chairwoman of the Nevada Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Alsbrook is serving a three-year term on the board that encourages employers of guardsmen and reservists to support their workers.

Letter: President taking a page from 'The Prince': This coming from a president who has arrogantly rejected any involvement in the formulation of an array of international treaties and conventions, which have been years in the making and, at least in terms of process, have virtual unanimous support. No one has worked harder than Bush to undermine the U.N.

4A State boxes: (SS-1) Cheyenne 77, (N-3) Hug 40

Jones still laying low: Dean Juipe; With Roy Jones Jr. virtually in seclusion, World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John Ruiz has taken it upon himself to do the bulk of the promotional work for their fight Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Winky's winning, but Oscar's dodging: Dean Juipe; Of the three legitimate world championships at 154 pounds, Oscar De La Hoya owns two of the belts and Winky Wright the other. But it appears as if they'll never fight.

Objections raised over terrorism bill: CARSON CITY -- An anti-terrorism bill could be used by ambitious district attorneys to prosecute people who take part in a large labor union strike or against lawyers who defend those accused of terrorism, critics said Wednesday.

Anti-war calls flood Reid office: Many callers trying to reach the Washington office of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., got busy signals. Four exhausted Reid staffers fielded 3,000 calls by day's end, spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. About 10 percent of the calls were from Nevada, she estimated. Typically two aides in Reid's office answer about 250 calls a day.

Redshirted Amundson will miss trip 'home': Steve Guiremand; This weekend's journey to the chilly Front Range was the road trip that UNLV sophomore Louis Amundson was looking forward to the most at the start of this season.

Senator's testimony sent innocent man to prison: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Flawed forensic dentistry testimony by state Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, sent an innocent man to Arizona's death row, according to a magazine article published nationally last week.

Casino company using diversity strategies in marketing campaigns: By Liz Benston; When the nation's largest black-oriented Greek society was scouting for a site to host its biannual meeting, it was approached by a group of "diversity relations" employees at MGM MIRAGE.

Suspect left juvenile home days before stabbing: Erica Johnson and Eric Leake; The 15-year-old charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a 56-year-old man in his western Las Vegas home withdrew from the county's juvenile offenders school four days before the slaying, county records show.

Top-seeded Cheyenne rolls: Adam Candee; Thursday's 4A Nevada State Basketball Tournament capsules:

Report disputes claims of physicians leaving state: CARSON CITY -- A new study contradicts claims that doctors are closing their offices en masse in Nevada because of rising medical malpractice insurance rates and it says that more than 300 new licenses were issued last year for physicians.

Johnson eyes success in sophomore season: LVMS weekend race schedule

Slot maker responds to manufacturer lawsuit: The suit, filed this week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, claims that WMS' slot unit, WMS Gaming Inc., infringed on a patent for Shuffle Master slot machine bonusing software system.

Focus on diversity: MGM MIRAGE recruits partners for program: By Liz Benston; In the three years since MGM MIRAGE launched a formal program to track and improve minority representation at the company, it has demonstrated percentage increases in three major categories -- managers, vendors and contractors.

Builders teaming to bid on BLM land: Jennifer Shubinski; Four major Las Vegas-area developers said Wednesday they're teaming up to bid for undeveloped federal desert land at upcoming Bureau of Land Management auctions.

Nevada sees deadline pass for student database: Jennifer Knight; Nevada's higher education institutions failed to meet the deadline for setting up a computer system that is supposed to track immigrant college students, and it is unclear when the system will be fully operational, officials said.

Strip club won't get computers back for awhile: Jace Radke; The government has agreed to return some of the items taken from the Crazy Horse Too topless club during an FBI raid last week, but will provide only copies of certain documents, according to a motion filed Wednesday in federal court.

Editorial: Let schools decide cell phone policies: Becker Middle School students this week testified in favor of Assembly Bill 128, which would repeal the ban on cell phones and pagers in schools. We agree with the students, who had some good arguments. Schedules for parents and students alike are hectic these days and cell phones allow for coordination between them. If there is an emergency at school, cell phones can mean quicker responses and less anxiety. If a student must walk home alone, cell phones add security. Cell phones today are so affordable that the business and social worlds are evolving on the assumption that nearly everyone ...

Goodman, Weekly to visit medical clinic in Cleveland: Judy Odierna; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and City Councilman Lawrence Weekly will spend two days next week in Ohio, touring the Cleveland Clinic.

Casino operator sending care packages to troops: The videotape will be included in care packages with dice, cards and Station logo merchandise the company is sending overseas, the company said.

Letter: Increased taxes will hit all of us: The best known of these "tax acts" was the Tea Act of 1773. The battle cry of that time was "no taxation without representation." Well, we know what the outcome of that was. Unwanted taxes did more to create the United States of America than any one event in our years as a British colony.

Teams back on the road: NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series transporters were on the move again Wednesday after warmer temperatures in Arkansas and Texas helped melt icy roadways that left many of the trucks stranded Tuesday evening.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: LVMS: One race is plenty: As a steady Tuesday rain threatened to turn their place of employment into something more suitable to duck hunting than major league auto racing, two frantic Las Vegas Motor Speedway workers paused to catch an elevator in the administration building.

Guinn presents short-term plan to boost taxes: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn introduced his first tax bill to the Legislature on Wednesday with a key provision to help make it easier for lawmakers to support new and increased taxes.

Slot route operator closes on expansion deal: The price was approximately $61 million, Herbst said.

Lawmakers urged to be aware of racial profiling: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Lawmakers were urged Wednesday to order police to continue collecting data from traffic stops to monitor for possible racial profiling.

Columnist Rusty Wallace: Teammate Newman helped open our team's eyes to laws of physics: Rusty Wallace; I'm real lucky to have a teammate like Ryan Newman on our Penkse Racing team. In addition to being a real nice guy, he's a heck of a racecar driver. Last year, Newman won a race, had a whole bunch of top-10 finishes and won the Rookie of the Year.

Megabucks jackpot expected to reach record level: Late today there should be a new world record slot jackpot available in Nevada, officials said.

New home sales fall in Las Vegas, nationwide: Home sales dropped to a 914,000-unit annual rate, the slowest in a year and down 15.1 percent from December's record 1.077 million-unit pace, the Commerce Department said today.

Police seek evidence in pit bull attack on boy: Eric Leake; Police are trying to gather enough evidence to charge the owner of two pit bulls for the dogs' mauling of a 7-year-old boy in North Las Vegas on Sunday.

Lady Rebels to play two games at home: UNLV (14-9, 5-5) is ranked No. 99 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index, meaning it likely will have to win the Mountain West tournament to return to the NCAA tournament.

Fire forces evacuation at Reno hotel-casino: One Reno firefighter was sent to the hospital with a cut hand but no other injuries were reported.

Woman found; left voluntarily: Jen Lawson; A 26-year-old mother who was reported missing a week ago has been found and had apparently left on her own accord, Metro Police said.

Nevada debris doesn't look like Columbia parts: It is doubtful that any of the more than two dozen pieces of debris found during a search of the Nevada desert last weekend came from the space shuttle Columbia, an official said today.

Higher education could be hit with major cuts: Cy Ryan and Jennifer Knight; CARSON CITY -- Capped enrollments, layoffs throughout the university system and severe program cuts will be a likely outcome if legislators do not support Gov. Kenny Guinn's budget for higher education, university system officials told legislators Wednesday.

Scam artists impersonate gaming officials: By Liz Benston; Nevada regulators today warned consumers of a scam in which victims are told that they are finalists in a drawing for a significant cash prize and are deceived into thinking they are talking to gaming agents.

Southern Nevada teams sweep semifinal berths: Adam Candee; Prep Schedule

Schools expected to ban graduation prayers: By Emily Richmond; The Clark County School Board is expected tonight to ban benediction and invocation prayers at graduation ceremonies, following a federal court ruling that said such activities amounted to forced participation in religion.

Driver Appearances: Today

Local governments want voice in Calif. casino talks: Erica Werner; LOS ANGELES -- As the state of California and Indian tribes prepare to renegotiate their gambling compacts, city and county government officials are seeking a voice in the talks.

Senate panel OKs ex-UNLV law professor for judge post: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel today approved Nevada law professor Jay Bybee, setting up a full vote in the Senate on his nomination to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.