Print edition for March 12, 2003

Plenty of options in Vegas for fans of Asian food: Max Jacobson; An amazing array of packaged and imported Asian products are available at large outlets, such as 99 Ranch Market and International Marketplace. But ready- made foods, from an ever- increasing variety of Asian cultures and cuisines, are sold in various local markets and restaurants in convenient deli sections.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Knight's night brings out a host of power players: Elizabeth Foyt; Knight is the head coach of the UNLV men's golf team and is enjoying his 16th year with the program. He guided the Rebels to their first NCAA golf title in 1998 and has the distinction of having coached more than 30 All-Americans in his career.

Seven vie for vacant judge's seat: Judy Odierna; Lillian Davis, Bill Gonzalez, Bill Henderson, Stefany Miley, Gary A. Pulliam, Abbi Silver and Larry J. Weinsteen.

Oklahoma House OKs bill calling for lottery vote: Tim Talley; OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma House reversed itself Tuesday and passed legislation voted down a week ago that asks voters to decide whether a create a statewide lottery to help fund public education.

Obituaries for March 12, 2003: Tessa Rose Basciano, 17, of Las Vegas died Sunday in Overton. She was born March 10, 1985, in Cedar City, Utah. A resident for seven years, she was a student.

Fast food giant's sales slip again: Worldwide sales at its restaurants open at least 13 months dropped a worse-than-expected 4.7 percent in February.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: CART drops Wisconsin race, cites lack of payments: CART has dropped the Grand Prix of Road America from its 2003 Champ Car schedule because the series claimed the race organizers failed to make required payments for both of last year's and this year's events.

Letter: Red Rock high on voters' lists: I have had the privilege of living in several countries as well as in a number of states in this beautiful land. While each place has its own beauty, we are immensely blessed with having Red Rock in our back yard. When one is in Red Rock it is hard to escape the feeling that one is witnessing a marvel of nature. It is also a crying shame to learn that our own local officials are blind to this.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: In book, McManus plays with full deck: His engrossing new book talks all about it. VegasBeat got a sneak peek.

Nevada officials push for full-scale tests of nuke-waste casks: Nevada government and environmental representatives have long urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that any cask used to ship high-level nuclear waste to Nevada is able to withstand the most severe accidents.

Letter: Fundamentalists ban research: Science often conflicts with religion. Several states passed laws making vaccination illegal. The Catholic Church opposed vaccination. It took more than a century to overcome religious prejudice, but eventually everyone was vaccinated and smallpox was eliminated worldwide.

Legislative briefs for March 12, 2003: A bill that would permit the state Department of Motor Vehicles to begin a pilot program for registering vehicles every two years instead of annually has been approved by the Senate Transportation Committee.

Feds probe Storey cop cars deal: Storey County in turn sold some of the vehicles to other law enforcement agencies.

Gambling figure pleads guilty: Adolph "Junior" Williams, 69, of Scott Township, on Monday acknowledged his role as organizer of an illegal gambling racket and also pleaded guilty to charges of violating federal tax laws.

God in Me ministry trusts LV to allow it to stay open: By Timothy Pratt; Anthony Mosley trusted in God to help him keep the doors open at his Las Vegas ministry and shelter for homeless men while trying to resolve zoning problems.

No. 18 Rebels defeat No. 32 Texas A&M: UNLV won its sixth straight, including the last three over ranked opponents, to improve to 8-1 overall while the Aggies fell to 8-5.

'Other commitments' stop Red Flag exercises: Air Combat Command has canceled the Red Flag exercise scheduled for Nellis Air Force Base from March 17 to April 11. It was the second time this year that the aerial combat training has been canceled.

Letter: Seniors suffer at Bush's hand: Well, as a senior citizen, this is one guy who will not sit still for any such chicanery for one New York minute, especially after the warmongering baby starver and granny dumper Bush has given $3 trillion in tax cuts to rich guys like Greenspan and himself, which very few seniors are rich enough to qualify for.

News briefs for March 12, 2003: A Las Vegas man has been jailed and charged with damaging government property after rocks were thrown at the glass door of the George Federal Building downtown.

Letter: Armed forces fight for all of us: If you have strong anti-war opinions, please don't allow them to cloud your vision with disrespect when it comes to our troops. These "killers" are in harm's way for you, experiencing sacrifices and hardships at this very moment for you; ready to lay down their lives for you; to protect your freedoms. And I believe you've mistaken committed patriotism for stupidity.

MWC Men's Capsules: Compiled by Sun staff writer Steve Guiremand

Letter: Give peace a chance -- again: All we are saying is give peace a chance! We gave it a chance after the Cuban missile crisis and and after 11 years of war in Vietnam. Guess what? It worked.

Letter: Constitution guarantees freedom for all: The separation of church and state is one of the cornerstones of our republic (we do not live in a democracy, but in a republic.)

Thursday's horse racing entries: Post Time 1 p.m.

Changing charter rules no easy task: Dan Kulin; Changing the Boulder City Charter may become as difficult as amending the state constitution.

UNLV loses on road to UC Irvine: The Rebels (13-7) managed only five hits in the game, two from Brent Johnson. Ryan Ruiz, Eddie Gill and Robert VanKirk contributed a single hit each. Patrick Dobson's 14-game hitting streak came to an end after going 0-for-3.

Community briefs for March 12, 2003: Nominations are being sought for the 33rd annual Clark County Mother of the Year Awards.

Town eyes Indian casino: The developer has said the casino and bingo hall would anchor an entertainment site to include restaurants, a hotel and a golf course.

Town board OKs new plans for Walters' project: A Clark County advisory board moved a long-running feud over a development project in southwest Las Vegas one step closer to resolution Tuesday.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Last hurrah for Rebels in tournament: Dean Juipe; It's an advantage that UNLV has enjoyed, yet one that's about to come to an end.

Tuesday's prep results: Baseball

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

Task force's tax plan put into bill: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- The first of what is expected to be half a dozen alternatives to Gov. Kenny Guinn's tax plan was introduced Tuesday.

Editorial: Rate Yucca the same as Skull Valley: Well, surprise surprise. The licensing board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission turned down the proposal because the desert, or at least the sky above it, is more than just a wasteland, after all. Pilots at Hill Air Force Base north of Salt Lake City use the sky above the proposed site for training. Members of the licensing board feared what would happen if a plane crashed into the stockpiled waste. Of course, it would be a disaster of the first order. Any breach of the spent fuel's storage casks could send radiation to the four winds, endangering the lives of ...

Cleveland Clinic doesn't have the money for LV site: Judy Odierna; Cleveland Clinic officials say they are flattered by Las Vegas' interest but any funding for a Las Vegas project will not come from the clinic.

Trade gap narrows, imports decline: The trade gap in goods and services was $41.1 billion, trailing only December's revised $44.9 billion deficit, the Commerce Department said. In 2002, the deficit reached a record $435.7 billion.

Panel OKs transit tax proposal: Erin Neff; CARSON CITY -- The Senate Transportation Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would allow Clark County to conduct hearings and institute its portion of a $2.7 billion transportation proposal already approved by the voters.

Editorial: Update state's lab to handle bio scares: There was one problem, unfortunately, and it was beyond the control of the emergency responders. A small container with a substance suspected to be ricin inside was confiscated from the man's home and taken to the Nevada State Health Division Laboratory in Reno. The lab, however, was not equipped to test the substance and it was forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. It wasn't until Monday, 10 days after the incident, that the substance was positively identified as ricin. The next incident might require a much quicker identification. In this day and age of bioterrorism fears, the ...

Health screenings set for nuke workers: Health screenings are scheduled this week for former nuclear workers at the Nevada Test Site who could be eligible for federal compensation for illnesses related to their jobs.

Savvy wine buys: Regaleali Rosso '00: Ruby red with a mouth-filling, lingering bouquet, this wine is made mainly from the little-known Nero d'Avola grape, a grape native to Sicily, and is an excellent value.

Study on race criticized for lack of depth: By Timothy Pratt; A report on the role of race in the Las Vegas Valley was released last week to mostly lukewarm reviews.

Reno coach Sellers to be inducted in national prep hall: AP; Sellers coached football for 23 seasons at Wooster High (1976 (1998)- and will start his third year at Bishop Manogue in the fall. He'll be inducted in late July into the 8-year-old Hall of Fame in Tulsa, Okla.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: A search for airport efficiency: This is not a complaint. I like the professionalism of the Transportation Security Administration people. The ones I've encountered have been courteous and informative. I've learned to pay attention to the information posted all over airports giving advice on how to speed up the time it takes to go through security lines.

Panel urges overhaul of Edison-run school: By Emily Richmond; Calling Edison Schools Inc.'s management of Lynch Elementary School "confining" and "restrictive," a panel of state educators has recommended an overhaul of the struggling northeast Las Vegas campus.

Indebted gambler placed on probation: Erica D. Johnson; A Las Vegas man who failed to pay back millions of dollars in markers to Strip casinos was sentenced Tuesday in District Court.

Judge blocks beltway bid: A District Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring the county from accepting a low bid on a major road construction project.

$100 million transfer from rainy day fund is approved: Cy Ryan and Erin Neff; The Assembly Ways and Means Committee this morning unanimously authorized the transfer of $100 million from the so-called rainy day fund to the state's general fund as a way to keep the state from going into the red.

Pit bulls to be euthanized: North Las Vegas detectives and animal control officers have not been able to reach the owners.

AOL revenue probe widens: A probe of America Online Inc. is widening to investigate whether the company was "aiding and abetting" schemes by other companies to inflate reported revenue, The Washington Post reported today.

American Airlines shares fall sharply: David Koenig; DALLAS -- AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, will be removed from the Standard & Poor's 500 index this week as the company's stock price and market value continue their long slide. Investors sent shares in the company down another 14 percent this morning.

Bail lowered for couple charged with extortion: District Judge Jackie Glass lowered bail for Kyeong Yun Sung and her husband, Ae Hoe Kwon, from $100,000 each to $10,000 each.

Citizens committee named to tackle new rules for water use: The Southern Nevada Water Authority has named 26 people who will collectively write new water-use rules if the region moves into the third and most severe stage of an ongoing drought.

Expect the unexpected: Steve Guiremand; Tournament schedule

Crowds grow as schools rally for state funding: Eric Leake; Christine Paris acknowledged that she was nervous speaking before about 1,200 people in Green Valley High School's packed gymnasium Tuesday.

Murder trial of transient begins: Erica D. Johnson; A transient from Ohio is on trial for his life, charged with killing a kitchen worker in a downtown motel with the help of his 15-year-old girlfriend.

Area eyes plan to curb crime: Jen Lawson; Louis Conner remembers West Las Vegas before the Rodney King riots 11 years ago.

Nevada Power, legislators weigh action on exit fees: Kevin Rademacher; Nevada Power Co., and possibly state lawmakers, will challenge a recent state Public Utilities Commission ruling allowing big power users to leave the Nevada Power grid without paying exit fees.

Metro official backs mental health court: CARSON CITY -- In a 17-year span, 25 mentally ill people were arrested in the Las Vegas area a total of 8,113 times for mostly minor offenses.

Juvenile cases raise competency concerns: Erica D. Johnson; Monique Maestas. Mark Ford. Justin Porter.

Developer sues over land sale: Lake Las Vegas said it had agreed to obtain some 1,340 acres of land in 2000 for development of high-end homes, businesses and two golf courses through a two-phase land exchange with the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management.

Columnist Jeff German: This is no two-bit operation: That's because the industry already has moved past the colorful days of the state's first and most famous house of prostitution, run by the notorious Joe Conforte, who fled to Brazil in 1991 to avoid paying millions in back taxes.

Certified court interpreters graduate: By Timothy Pratt; When 15 men and women graduated from a new program Monday afternoon, Nevada reached the same level as 29 other states in court assistance for people who speak only Spanish.