Print edition for July 16, 2003

Reid panel cuts Yucca budget: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., today unveiled a dramatically slashed budget proposal for Yucca Mountain next year -- $425 million.

Columnist Peter Benton: It's not hard to like the Big Easy's chances at Sandwich: Peter Benton; Unless no one has sat down and endeavored to handicap a golf tournament -- let alone a major -- you cannot imagine just how difficult this exercise can be.

Regents propose new panel to oversee UNLV athletics: Jennifer Knight; Several regents are exploring the formation of a committee that would exercise tighter control over sports programs within the state university system.

Gaming revenue flat in Louisiana: Alan Sayre; NEW ORLEANS -- Louisiana's state-licensed casinos saw their winnings from gamblers last month drop slightly from June 2002, despite the first full month of operation of the state's second slot-machine casino at a race track.

Meeting set on nuke routes: A committee of the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council is planning to examine the risks involved in shipping radioactive waste and identifying options for addressing key technical and social concerns.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Combatants find their weigh at Bally's: Noted Paris Las Vegas/Bally's oddsmaker Johnny Avello was there to make book on the bout.

Bunker mentality exists at Royal St. George's: Clifton Brown; SANDWICH, England -- Tiger Woods won the British Open in 2000 at St. Andrews, never once hitting into a bunker.

Golf schedule: Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Ralph's Siraco's selections for Thursday's Hollywood Park races: Thursday's card

Prices increase modestly, industrial production up: Jeannine Aversa; WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices increased by a modest 0.2 percent in June as the cost of energy, clothes and airline fares rose. Big industry boosted production for the second straight month.

SEC moves to expand investor democracy: Marcy Gordon; WASHINGTON -- Shareholders would be able to nominate company directors under a proposal being considered by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but they first would have to demonstrate that the company had resisted legitimate requests by groups of investors.

Thursday's horse racing entries: Post Time 10 a.m.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Lake Mead deserves attention: Dean Juipe; The tendency of Las Vegas newcomers is to visit the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, see its many amenities, maybe return a time or two for an outing or a paddleboat dinner cruise, then all but forget it's really there.

Meeting en banc not unusual decision: Jace Radke and Will Oremus; The seven judges of the U.S. District Court of Nevada may have been looking for consistency and confidence in their opinion on the state's constitutional crisis by meeting en banc, or as a single body, this morning, several legal experts said.

Traffic at McCarran up in June: McCarran reported 3.1 million passengers used the airport in June compared to 3 million in June 2002. For the first six months of 2003, McCarran reported 17.7 million passengers, a 1.9 percent increase over the six-month total of 17.3 million passengers in 2002.

Gaming briefs for July 16, 2003: Three new faces were among six appointees who took seats on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors last week.

Beating the heat: Homeless seek relief out on street: By Timothy Pratt; It's all about the sun. And shade. And water. Less sun. More shade. A place with a/c. More water. Less walking.

Pipeline accident disrupts gasoline flow to Las Vegas: By Timothy Pratt; Local service stations should receive deliveries today of gasoline to ease a temporary shortage caused by a hole in a pipeline that delivers fuel from Southern California to Las Vegas.

Banking, casino executives get first look at new $20s: It only took a few seconds for a machine that is standard at most Las Vegas casinos to spit out a few phony $20 bills hidden among a stack of 100 authentic twenties. And casino workers are often even better at finding them -- though not quite as quickly as the machine.

Water rates to rise in September: Among the measures that go into effect immediately:

Bank opens prototype store in LV: The Las Vegas building program will produce 19 new local branches by 2005 and is designed to capitalize on the rapid growth in Southern Nevada. It will also coincide with a $2 billion national effort to build 550 new branches in the next three years.

Gymnast files complaint against Cirque du Soleil: By Liz Benston; An HIV-positive gymnast who was denied a job with the Cirque du Soleil show "Mystere" at the Treasure Island resort filed a federal discrimination complaint against Cirque on Tuesday.

PurchasePro buyer merges with e-commerce company: Perfect Commerce Inc., Palo Alto, announced today that the company has agreed to merge with eScout LLC of Lee's Summit, Mo.

Business tax abandoned; payroll tax likely fading: CARSON CITY -- Plans for a broad-based business tax on either the profits or the gross receipts of companies have been abandoned, legislative leaders said Tuesday.

Gibbons trails Reid in funds: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., posted a meager second-quarter fund-raising report Tuesday compared to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the man he may challenge in next year's election.

Bechtel studies reports of flaws: A Department of Energy contractor is studying 22,000 documents linked to the high-level nuclear waste Yucca Mountain repository program in an effort to find the root of numerous flaws detected by reviewers.

Vivendi rejects bid by MGM: MGM had offered earlier this week to sweeten its all-cash bid by $300 million to $11.5 billion -- on the condition that Vivendi reveal more financial information about the companies it is selling by July 21.

Columnist Jeff German: No heroes in a town without pity: Where's the compassion among our elected officials these days?

No violation seen in board meeting: The five-member Las Vegas Housing Authority board probably will not violate the state Open Meeting Law when it meets behind closed doors next week for a mandatory training session, the Nevada Attorney General's office said Tuesday.

Federal jurisdiction questioned: Erin Neff; Federal judges questioned this morning whether they had jurisdiction to wade into the state's legislative budget impasse by ordering a permanent restraining order against the state Legislature.

Top hotels boast some of the area's top food courts: Max Jacobson; Following is a look at some of Las Vegas' top hotel food courts:

Columnist Muriel Stevens: A cool time can be had in San Diego: It had been a long time since my last visit to San Diego, and I was ready to play tourist. My travel companion was willing and ready. Our first stop was to the San Diego Convention & Visitor's Bureau (call 619-232-3101 or visit sandiego.org) for maps and such.

News briefs for July 16, 2003: Metro Police suspect that an elderly man and woman found dead in their home Tuesday died as a result of murder-suicide stemming from despair over health and financial difficulties.

Plague to kick off terrorism test: Key local and state players in an upcoming terrorism preparedness exercise that will include a mock plague attack in Clark County gathered for an hourlong presentation to learn more details about "Determined Promise '03."

Editorial: Gibbons' misplaced attention: Gibbons believes that if his "Education First" initiative passes, education would not become the victim of political gamesmanship as happened in the Legislature this year. He says education would get the priority -- and the funding -- it deserves. Currently Nevada ranks near the bottom in education funding compared to other states. Gibbons, a former state assemblyman, says it's a "disgrace." Indeed, public schools have been woefully underfunded for years now, but the reason for this is the resistance by some business groups and right-wing legislators who have opposed tax increases to pay for education spending. The real problem this ...

Metro honors officers for their service to community: Officer Joel Cranford was awarded a Medal of Honor, and Officer William Guesman was awarded a Medal of Honor and Purple Heart for capturing two men who were sought in the robbery of a Bank of America on New Year's Eve last year.

Letter: Watchdog asleep before Iraq war: Where was the media before the war? While the British press found the flaws in Prime Minister Tony Blair's dossier within days, major U.S. media outlets didn't report on the flawed intelligence until after the war in Iraq.

CEO named: Douglas Foshee, 43, resigned from Halliburton Wednesday to become El Paso's chief executive beginning Sept. 2.

Savvy wine buys: Beyerskloof '00 Pinotage Stellenbosch: Available at Lee's Discount Liquors, $5.99.

Letter: Raising business tax shortsighted: What kind of incentive is this going to be for big companies to come to this town? In addition, there are large numbers of businesses who have a high gross and very little net profit.

Obituaries for July 16, 2003: Delores P. Armstrong, 86, of Las Vegas died Monday in Las Vegas. She was born March 23, 1917, in Massachusetts. A resident for eight years, she was a retired administrative assistant in the medical industry.

Letter: Let's leave Iraq before more die: I retired a long time ago but I still remember my buddies 18 and 19 years old who are not here now to tell their stories. I can hear their voices right now telling me to tell you they didn't want to be there, of how senseless the Vietnam War really was.

More laughter than tears secret to 72-year marriage: Malia Spencer; Duke Inghram stared at a small yellowed photo he has carried in his wallet for 73 years. A young woman in a bathing suit poses gracefully in front of a brick house in a small Pennsylvania town.

Letter: Compromise is discouraged by two-thirds vote: There is no motive for the anti-tax people to compromise. If they don't get their way, the government can't raise taxes at all. So what if they shut down the government? I can hear them saying with a snicker: "Don't throw me in the briar patch!"

Movie producers relying on the selling power of television: Kirk Baird; Believe it or not these TV classics, along with other boob-tube fare such as "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Bewitched" and "Father Knows Best" all have been earmarked at one time as potential film adaptions.

Council approves water rates, rules: Dan Kulin; The water bill for the average single-family home in Henderson will increase by almost $5 a month beginning in October.

Reunited Duran Duran has a view (to a kill): Spencer Patterson; Eighteen years ago, music fans around the world rejoiced as the Live Aid benefit concert raised money to help famine-stricken Ethiopians.

As seen on TV: Movies made into TV shows: Kirk Baird; For every "M*A*S*H" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," films more closely idendtified with television, there is a "My Big Fat Greek Life" and "Dangerous Minds," box-office hits-turned small-screen disasters. A partial list of some TV shows based on movies:

Former bouncer gets prison time in nightclub beating: Erica D. Johnson; A District Court judge chose prison time over probation Tuesday for a bouncer who was videotaped beating a man and woman outside a Las Vegas nightclub.

Budget delay holds up UNLV planning: Jennifer Knight; Students attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will likely be taught by more visiting professors and part-time instructors than originally planned -- and they have the Legislature to thank.

Letter: Children lose as big business wins: Even if the decision is reversed I'm fairly certain the same individuals in the Legislature would still place the budget in crisis because they are afraid they might step on the toes of "Big Business."

Letter: Only voters can change provision: "Constitutions work ... because they change and ... are interpreted," Neff condescendingly informs us. What's more, if not for such changes, "women still wouldn't have the ... vote and slavery would still be just fine."

Henderson briefs for July 16, 2003: The Henderson City Council on Tuesday accepted $43,733 from the state, then turned it over to a nonprofit group that will use the money to help low-income residents pay their rent and utility bills.

Community briefs for July 16, 2003: North Las Vegas will hold a community meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Holy Trinity AME Church, 700 Lola Ave.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Wedding at Caesars a highlight of summer society events: Elizabeth Foyt; Mary, the daughter of Tower of Jewels owners Jack and Nancy Weinstein, was wed to Michael Fredericks, son of Susan Sullivan and Buzz Fredericks, in nuptials officiated over by Rabbi Mel Hecht.

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