Print edition for October 13, 2003

Estefan a sound machine at Caesars Colosseum: Maybe it was because "Live & Unwrapped" at Caesars Palace started almost 30 minutes late and the older members of the mostly Hispanic crowd had other things to do. Like go to bed.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Short putts continue to plague Mickelson: Dean Juipe; Then look no further than the par-5 third hole at the TPC at Summerlin.

Dozens turn out for second vigil for Horn: Mary Manning and Alana Roberts; Friends, family and fans raised candles toward illusionist Roy Horn's hospital room Sunday night in a tribute to the animal trainer who remains in critical but stable condition.

Mining change praised, panned: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON-- While Nevada mining companies will be able to expand or move forward with new business ventures based on a change to federal mining law handed down by the Interior Department on Friday, critics are opposed to the decision, including environmentalists and a former Clinton administration official.

Letter: Kudos to Reid for land vote: The senator cast a vote in Congress opposing a proposal which severely limits the public's ability to challenge logging projects in the Tongass National Forest, our nation's largest public forest. While ultimately the vote wasn't enough to stop this ill-advised policy, I applaud the senator's position on this important issue. Like all national forests, this Alaskan rain forest belongs to every American.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Legend Shoemaker left his mark on sport: Ralph Siraco; The world of horse racing lost a legend and icon on Sunday. The world lost another great human being as well.

Hemp: It's not for smoking: Kirk Baird; "It would give you a headache and that's about it," said David Bronner, a board member of both the California-based trade group Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and the political action committee Vote Hemp.

Gaming briefs for Oct. 13, 2003: The refurbished Commercial Casino intends to reopen at the end of the week, 10 months after suffering heavy fire damage, Full House Inc. officials said.

Tracy, Gaughan make strides toward titles: Embroiled in tight championship battles in their respective series, Las Vegas residents Paul Tracy and Brendan Gaughan made the most of their race weekends.

U.S. Supreme Court to hear North Las Vegas search case: The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday in a North Las Vegas case that could have far-reaching effects on the way police conduct searches.

Embattled assemblyman returns to city job: Sito Negron; Assemblyman Wendell Williams returned to his Las Vegas city job this morning after weeks of controversy over excessive city cell phone use, collecting pay for weeks of time he did not work, and a relationship with a young woman who has applied for whistle-blower status with the Community College of Southern Nevada.

Second proposal seeks slots at harness tracks: Glenn Adams; AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine voters may be surprised to find more than one gambling question on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Costly free fall for Flesch: Adam Candee; As he walked to the seventh tee with a huge smile after draining a 30-foot birdie putt seconds earlier, Steve Flesch held the outright lead of the Las Vegas Invitational by one stroke over Stuart Appleby and Scott McCarron.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Austin radiates with memories: They didn't understand what, exactly, the Atomic Energy Commission was looking for. They just donned a little badge for a week or so whenever the government officials asked.

Davis wields pen to help Indian tribes: Lisa Leff; SAN FRANCISCO -- Wielding the influence he still has in the waning days of his administration, Gov. Gray Davis signed four bills Sunday broadening the reach of Indian casinos in California.

Obituaries for Oct. 13, 2003: James L. Bowers Sr., 57, of Las Vegas died Thursday in a local hospital. He was born Oct. 6, 1946, in Howe, Okla. A resident for seven months, he was a gardener at a country club.

Coroner's jury rules killing by Metro officers justified: Jace Radke; The actions of two Metro Police officers who shot and killed a man who allegedly came at them with a knife were found justified by a jury during a coroner's inquest Friday.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Comics carpet TV with shoddy material: Last week "Fox NFL Sunday" grad and Las Vegas native Jimmy Kimmel was criticized for doing a puppet skit on his late-night ABC show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," that satirized the serious tiger-mauling injuries suffered onstage by Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy.

Rebels put loss behind them, eye tough Utah: Steve Guiremand; So much for that glossy 4-1 non-conference record.

Harridge's second option too much for Rebels: As Meatloaf said, two out of three ain't bad, but then he never had to defend Air Force's triple-option offense.

Taylor makes Mandalay Bay his own comfort zone: Spencer Patterson; Not that I don't enjoy his music. But after spending the day helping a friend lug furniture into his new house, I worried that two-plus hours of Taylor's mellow brand of music might lull me to sleep right in my seat.

Officials formalize pact on water: The Interior Department, master of the Colorado River and Lake Mead, will conduct a formal signing ceremony Thursday for an agreement that preserves access to billions of gallons of Lake Mead water for Las Vegas.

Palo Verde victory a work of pop art: Adam Candee; Teams ranked by the Sun and Sparks Tribune.

L.A. firm buys North Las Vegas warehouse: In Business Las Vegas, a sister newspaper to the Las Vegas Sun, reported the buildings total about 410,000 square feet of warehouse space at the southeast corner of Craig Road and Flossmoor Street near Lamb Boulevard.

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Oct. 13, 2003: Lisa Ferguson; Employees everywhere, commence puckering: Thursday is National Boss Day. Time to kiss up to "The Man" (or "The Woman," as the case may be) by flattering them with gifts, or at least a little more respect than is displayed during a typical work day.

Bridesmaid no more: Adam Candee; Allow Charlie Baron to script a perfect Sunday at the Las Vegas Invitational, one taking place in front of discerning potential title sponsors, and the tournament director probably offers something like this:

Century Bicycle Ride scheduled Saturday: Century Bicycle Ride scheduled Saturday

Sports briefs for October 13, 2003: "An 11-team league can work, but does it work in the best way you would like to it to work from a number of different angles?" ACC commissioner Swofford said. "We found the answer to that to be no."

News briefs for Oct. 13, 2003: Metro Police officers witnessed a fatal shooting about 2:30 a.m. Saturday as they patrolled an area in the 3100 block of West Sahara Avenue, police said.

Goodman calls for Yucca cuts: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman wants to make sure Congress does not fully fund the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage site and other nuclear projects in the pending energy spending bill.

Editorial: Dealing with the challenges: Budget cuts made during the early 1990s did serious damage to the state's mental health programs, but in recent years the Legislature and Gov. Kenny Guinn have made improvements, including during the recent legislative session. For instance, the go-ahead was given for the construction of a $32 million, 190-bed psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas. That decision was all the more important because state mental health officials say that a total of 90 beds in private facilities have been lost since 2000.

IGT stock rises on big Harrah's order: International Game Technology Inc. of Reno, the world's largest slot-machine maker, today said Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas agreed to purchase at least 11,000 slot machines that let gamblers wager with tickets instead of coins.

UNR fails to pack it in, stuns Washington: It would appear that last week's 16-12 loss to UNLV wasn't as devastating as some of us down here thought it would be for the Nevada-Reno football team.

Birth announcements for Oct. 13, 2003: Sept. 28:

Early birds: Social service director wants to change ideas about his office: By Timothy Pratt; When the front door at Clark County's main Social Service office opened onto a line of about 80 people starting to feel the rising sun's heat at 6:30 on a recent morning, Ron Howard knew exactly what to do.

Residents are upset over city plans to add land: Dan Kulin; North Las Vegas is planning to annex 1,093 acres near Nellis Air Force Base and Interstate 15, a move that has some property owners upset over the higher taxes they would pay, while others say the annexation would have happened sooner or later anyway.

Four die in weekend crashes: A driver who ran a red light at a Las Vegas intersection early Saturday caused a crash just after midnight that killed himself and woman whose car was struck, police said.

LV alters tactics in fighting sex-slave trade: By Timothy Pratt; Metro Police Sgt. Gilbert Shannon says he can always tell by the fear in their eyes.

Stores remain open despite strike: Thousands of grocery employees waved picket signs and chanted pro-union slogans while three of the region's major supermarket chains hired replacement workers to keep stores open, staffed and stocked.

Nevada offficials seeking direct flights from China: RENO -- Nevada's trade delegation had a productive meeting with Chinese aviation officials in Beijing in a bid to revive direct passenger service to Las Vegas and begin air cargo routes to Reno, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said Sunday.

Letter: Positive events in Iraq are going unreported: Media representatives have also offered their opinion that our American troops have failed and could never win a war against a worthy opponent. Recently they reported a list of our troop failures from start to now. Is this fair and responsible journalism, to constantly attack our own troops in the press? Why are they trying to turn us against ourselves? They have done more to create fear in this country than any terrorist could hope for. Even some in the public think the Iraqi people don't want us there. How wrong they are!