Print edition for March 3, 2003

Murder-suicide is suspected: A man called 911 and said that Adalberto Hernandez, 59, had walked into a home in the 1600 block of James Street in North Las Vegas and shot Arely Saucedo, 20, police said. Hernandez then shot himself, the caller told police.

Another Roush hour: Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials are naming a new addition to the grandstands to honor the late Dale Earnhardt.

Strip now home to 9-11 tribute: By Liz Benston; New York-New York's latest addition wasn't unveiled with a crowd of reporters or photographers on hand or even trumpeted with a press conference.

Johnson homers again, but Rebels lose to UNR: Johnson homers again, but Rebels lose to UNR

Armour, son, father of pro golfers, dies: Prominent Las Vegas surgeon Dr. Thomas Armour, the son of legendary golfer Tommy "The Silver Scot" Armour and father of veteran Professional Golfers Association competitor Tommy Armour III, died Sunday. He was 81.

Guinn fine-tunes his tax increase proposal: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn has tweaked the linchpin of his $1 billion tax proposal, and will submit a bill to the Legislature this week with changes to a credit for businesses paying the gross receipts tax.

Busch's car, points lead crumble in Turn 2: As Kurt Busch prepared to take the green flag for Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he radiod his hopes for the day to his crew.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Field is chasing Chevys: It didn't take long for NASCAR's alleged level playing field to start leaning toward one side during Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Doctors to decide whether to leave: Doctors at a Henderson OB/GYN clinic will meet today to decide whether increases in malpractice insurance premiums will cause them to leave Southern Nevada.

UNLV women defeat Oklahoma to win title: The 17th-ranked Lady Rebels improved to 7-1 while the 44th-ranked Sooners suffered their first loss of the season in nine matches.

Forum Shops partner to sell: Simon Property Group Inc. will pay $174 million in cash to buy out its partner in The Forum Shops at Caesars -- a move that will keep the Las Vegas mall out of the hands of Simon competitor Taubman Centers Inc.

Legislature has little time to tackle tax proposals: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- Nobody expected lawmakers to start Day 1 of the session on Gov. Kenny Guinn's $1 billion tax proposal, but with a quarter of the session completed, little has been done in the Legislature.

Dual roles: Lawmakers juggle personal, political lives: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- A casino formerly called The Senator each night illuminates a symbol of political opulence appropos to a state capital -- a neon figure depicting a heavyset, suspender-wearing elected official complete with Nevada-style cowboy hat and a fist full of cash.

News briefs for March 3, 2003: The body of a man was found about 5:30 a.m. today in an alley at California Street and Casino Center Boulevard, and Metro Police were investigating the death this morning as an apparent homicide.

Las Vegas to decide on pay for planners: Judy Odierna; Two companies chosen to help develop a master plan for Las Vegas' 61-acre parcel downtown could get paid more than $600,000 for the job.

Firm reports quarterly loss: Vestin Group Inc., owner of Vestin Mortgage, reported a loss of $1 million, 15 cents per share, on revenue of $9.2 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with earnings of $1.9 million or 27 cents on revenue of $7.7 million for the same period a year earlier.

Incident puts emergency responders to test: Mary Manning and Jace Radke; A Las Vegas man's apparent creation and lethal use of ricin put Southern Nevada's emergency responders to the test and highlighted one problem the area has in dealing with biological agents that could be used by terrorists.

30 area schools need to improve: By Emily Richmond; Rankings of Clark County Schools

Big trials draw out young assault victims: Erica D. Johnson; The testimony by teen rape victims in recent high-profile trials in Clark County is encouraging more young victims to speak out against their perpetrators, victim advocates say.

Forum discusses who should pay and how much: Raising taxes is not the question, participants in a tax forum Sunday agreed. Who should pay and how much, however, is still an issue for debate.

Pumping pistons music to NASCAR fans' ears: Eric Leake; When asked to explain the difference between watching NASCAR on TV and heading to the racetrack, Steve Garner had two words: "The noise."

Roy wants to play the heavy against Holyfield: Dean Juipe; Roy Jones Jr. is 34 years old and could justifiably retire after his finest night as a professional fighter and a $10 million payday. Having become the first man in more than 100 years to have been a middleweight champion and later a heavyweight champion, he would be within his rights to step aside at this dizzying peak.

Man killed by police was a five-time felon: Police said Orlando Barlow made sudden movements toward his waistband before the police shot him at about 3:45 a.m. Friday in the front yard of a Spring Valley home.

Community briefs for March 3, 2003: These churches will incorporate the topic of HIV/AIDS into their services from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in recognition of The Black Church Week of Prayer for Healing of AIDS:

Obituaries for March 3, 2003: Ann Hopkins Armstrong, 76, of Panaca died Feb. 24 in a local hospital. She was born Aug. 4, 1926, in Atwater, Calif. A resident for 20 years, she was a homemaker and a World War II Army veteran.

Editorial: Bill would help fight meth deals: The Assembly last week passed a bill sponsored by Las Vegas Assemblyman William Horne that would provide the courts with a little more muscle in the war on meth dealers. Horne's bill, which has gone to the Senate for hearings, would double the penalty for convicted meth dealers if their crime was committed within 500 feet of a home, business, place of worship, school, park or other public facility. The penalty would also double for anyone convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of anyone under 18, or if the production can be be shown to have placed someone in ...

Consumer spending down in January: Jeannine Aversa; WASHINGTON -- Consumers worried about a possible war with Iraq and their own financial prospects trimmed spending in January -- the first such rollback in four months -- and manufacturing slowed in February, sending a pair of trouble signs for an already struggling economy.

New GOP chair to focus on raising funds, recruitment: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- A woman once trapped by the Communist regime in Romania was unanimously elected state Republican Party chairwoman during a party meeting this weekend.

Tight set at Boulder pleases Yoakam's faithful: Leah Robinson; Throughout Dwight Yoakam's rockin' riffs, beautiful strumming and yodeling vocals Friday, the burning question remained: "How did he squeeze into those jeans?"

Letter: County needs its own shelter: The wasteful program of using taxpayers dollars to build shelters that contractors own or will own must stop. If the county had built a shelter with the rent paid over the years it would now own its own shelter and not be in its dilemma. Most people are unaware the building referred to as Dewey is owned by a developer who for years has been receiving $30,000 a month rent for the building. The same mistake should not be repeated. If the county does not own its own building, it has very little bargaining power when problems develop with the ...

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Wait -- I'm stuck behind greatness: Fortunately, the guy in front of me on line, one Budd Schulberg, had some pretty good boxing stories.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Bijak delivers cold truth: But it rained all last week, which pretty much barred anything short of combing the desert for a guy building an ark. We didn't need to travel for a change of scene. It seemed as if Seattle came here.

Birth announcements for March 3, 2003: Feb. 16:

Tapia says rehab worked, wants to fight again soon: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Johnny Tapia says rehab worked this time, he followed the rules and is straightening out his life, which took a bizarre turn in January with a police confrontation.

Letter: Bin Laden, not Saddam, should be top priority: All the anger and tough talk directed at bin Laden subsided in less than a year and a half after 9-11. Somebody has to explain to me why almost all of America's military resources have been redirected toward a supposed threat when someone much more treacherous still walks the earth. I can't help but think that if all of our technology and "intelligence" were put to use, the larger threat could be apprehended -- alive.

San Jose deals Gladiators an ugly loss: Adam Candee; The biggest wreck in the Valley Sunday did not occur in Turn 2 of the NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Bill targets schools without discipline plan for children: Assembly Bill 218, sponsored by Wendell Williams, D-North Las Vegas, would withhold a principal's pay for each day his or her school fails to comply with a law requiring schools to enact a plan for the progressive discipline of pupils.

NLV firefighter's suit rejected by court: CARSON CITY -- A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a claim by a North Las Vegas firefighter that he was disciplined for exercising his right of free speech to criticize city officials.

Appeal opposing Williams' new trial to be filed: Erica Johnson; Prosecutors will file an appeal opposing a district judge's decision to grant Jessica Williams a new trial, District Attorney David Roger announced Friday.

Editorial: Plan provides help for disabled workers: Gov. Kenny Guinn has added enough money in his Medicaid budget to generate more than $10 million when combined with federal matching funds. The money will be used to allow disabled people to continue on with their Medicaid insurance even if they do work a little longer. In some cases, disabled people will have to pay a premium to continue with Medicaid, but at least they won't lose their coverage. Guinn's proposal, now before the legislative budget committees, would be a godsend for disabled people.

Phone(y) Calls: 'Crank Yankers' walks the prank in Las Vegas: Kirk Baird; The phone rings. And rings again. Finally, what seems to be a younger woman answers.

Sun Lite for March 3, 2003: Looking forward to chowing down on corned beef and cabbage later this month in honor of St. Patrick's Day? Why not buck tradition this year (while staying in the green spirit of the holiday) and instead opt for a piping-hot bowl of spinach fettuccine? It is, after all, National Noodle Month.

Columnist Rusty Wallace: Man, maybe our luck will change in Atlanta: Rusty Wallace; Needless to say, I wasn't too pleased with our 40th-place finish in Sunday's race. We started off with a car that was too tight and ended up getting wrecked out about 175 laps into the thing.

Big crash wrecks Gordon, Busch: It wasn't exactly "The Big One" that NASCAR drivers fear at Daytona and Talladega, its so-called "restrictor plate" tracks where the cars run in tight bunches at high speeds.

Town in pact with casino giant: Under the terms of an agreement approved last week, Harrah's is to pay the town for studies of the local effects of gambling, such as zoning and planning, police and fire protection, and legal costs, the Providence Journal Bulletin reported.

Memorial held for workers killed in nightclub fire: That fire killed 98 when pyrotechnics from the performing band ignited the sound stage at The Station club in West Warwick.

Pension fund to be dissolved: The ruling, which could have wider implications in the struggling airline industry, was issued late Saturday by Judge Stephen Mitchell in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va.

Newman battles from 2 laps back: Steve Park started 39th and finished 10th in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 but he didn't have the most impressive run Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Rebels ride into Wyoming for a huge one: Steve Guiremand; NEXT UP

Man arrested in death of girlfriend's son: It was the second case of death from child abuse in Southern Nevada in a week.

State supports Las Vegas taking over Lamb Park: CARSON CITY -- A bill that would open the door for Las Vegas to operate Floyd Lamb State Park has been endorsed by the state Division of Parks.

City Council to hold hearing on supper club slot machines: Judy Odierna; The Las Vegas City Council will hear arguments for the first time on Wednesday on whether slots and supper clubs are a good mix.

Walters is one of nation's highest-paid library chiefs: By Timothy Pratt; The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District board of trustees granted a 5 percent pay raise to the district's executive director, bringing his salary to nearly $160,000, one of the highest in the nation.

Historic district fight to be decided: Judy Odierna; A hotly contested battle over creating the first historic district in Las Vegas could culminate this week before the City Council.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Santa Anita Handicap remains compelling: Ralph Siraco; Saturday's Grade I Santa Anita Handicap reaffirmed its reputation as the hardest handicap race to win in the world -- just once, not to even entertain the unthinkable, twice.

Reilly pitches elimination of recorder's office: CARSON CITY -- A plan that could eliminate the office of Clark County Recorder Frances Deane when her term expires in four years is being pushed by County Manager Thom Reilly in the name of efficiency.