Print edition for April 28, 2004

Murder with deadly weapon charge levied against teen: Jean Reid Norman and Ed Koch; A bail hearing was set for 10 a.m. Monday in the case of a 15-year-old who shot his best friend while playing with a gun he thought was unloaded.

Nevadans bracing for milk prices to top $4: Jennifer Shubinski; While gasoline prices are inching up in penny increments, another daily commodity for many is expected to take jumps in dollar amounts.

GAO report criticizes Yucca methods: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department has failed to fix "persistent" problems in the way it backs up its science, which could cause a delay in the Yucca Mountain project, according to a draft copy of a General Accounting Office report.

Judge delays Sky-Vue closing: Sito Negron; Depending how one looks at it, residents of Sky-Vue either received a temporary reprieve Tuesday, or they were given more time to spend in an environment rife with fire danger and raw sewage that the park owners simply will not fix properly.

Man killed as police serve search warrant: Jen Lawson and Heather Rawlyk; A 44-year-old man was shot and killed by a North Las Vegas Police officer Tuesday afternoon as police attempted to serve a search warrant for drugs inside a Las Vegas apartment, police said.

LV bank operator expanding in California: USDB Bancorp, founded in 1897, operates 19 Union Safe Deposit Bank branches in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties and had $1.2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, Honolulu-based BancWest said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Schools plan fewer cops on campus: By Emily Richmond; Confronting a budget crunch and a small applicant pool for police officers, Clark County School District officials plan to rely less on its cops to secure its campuses and increase reliance on specially trained security guards.

Sports briefs for April 28, 2004: The NBA is reviewing a pregame skit by the Dallas Mavericks to determine if it was demeaning to the Sacramento Kings.

Business briefs for April 28, 2004: INDIANAPOLIS -- Anthem Inc., which is buying WellPoint Health Networks Inc. to become the biggest U.S. health insurer, said today first-quarter profit rose 54 percent as it added customers and controlled rising medical costs.

Screen test: Officials at McCarran concerned about staffing for security checkpoints: Jace Radke; A revamped layout that will give McCarran International Airport seven more security checkpoints for its C and D gates is scheduled to be completed in two months, but an additional 300 screeners needed to staff the expansion have yet to be hired.

Columnist Jeff German: Peace in Justice Court once again: In the spirit of Gilda Radner's "Saturday Night Live" character Emily Litella, the clueless news correspondent who shot her mouth off without thinking, Las Vegas justices of the peace have said "never mind" to the harebrained idea of breaking a collective bargaining agreement with about 100 court employees.

Courts side with government in dispute over LV retirement fund: Alana Roberts; The former owner and president of a defunct Las Vegas-based food delivery company has been ordered by both a federal judge and a bankruptcy judge to pay $11,500 to the company's retirement plan.

Gaming briefs for April 28, 2004: The Center For Political Accountability, a Washington, D.C., group created in the fall of 2003 to bring transparency and accountability to corporate political giving, is calling on Harrah's Entertainment shareholders to vote at Harrah's annual meeting Thursday for a resolution that would require the company to disclose its political contributions.

State delays release of EOB report: By Timothy Pratt; A state official on Tuesday refused to publicly release the results of a federally funded investigation into the embattled Economic Opportunity Board, despite providing a copy of the report to one member of the agency's board of directors.

Case of boy left in car a 'gray area' for police: Jen Lawson; Lawmakers and police are pushing for a law addressing children left unattended in cars, but the suggested legislation would not have applied to a case Sunday in which an 11-year-old boy was left in a car at the Stardust.

Growth panel studies past efforts: Clark County's new growth task force met for the second time Tuesday, and this time received an overview of state and local efforts to deal with the issue.

Stink bomb scare forces closing of shopping center: Stephen Curran; Usually the bomb squad doesn't roll out for a stink bomb.

Letter: Gasoline deal wouldn't surprise: The cost of gasoline has continued to rise on a daily to weekly basis. And the rises are not simply a penny or two, they are, at times up to 10 cents or more a gallon. Yet, when we hear there is gas price relief on the way, we see maybe a one- or two-penny drop at a time.

News briefs for April 28, 2004: A man accused of sexually assaulting his former girlfriend's 7-year-old daughter entered a plea agreement with prosecutors Tuesday in order to have more than 140 related charges dismissed.

Community briefs for April 28, 2004: The Jewish Community Center is offering a trip Tuesday and Wednesday to the Grand Canyon that will include traveling aboard a luxury coach to and from the canyon, an overnight stay at Yavapai Lodge, tours to the South and East Rim and a stop at the Wahputki Indian ruins.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Comic Leno a big winner on star search: But it is not an exaggeration to say that Jay Leno has booked perhaps the most impressive guest lineup in talk show history when he broadcasts from Paris Las Vegas the week of May 10.

Minnesota coalition emerges against casinos: Ashley H. Grant; ST. PAUL, Minn. -- An anti-tax group and a coalition of religious groups joined forces Tuesday against casino proposals floating around the Capitol.

Columnist Peter Benton: Texas' Burke honored with USGA award: Peter Benton; It has been announced by the United States Golf Association that 80-year-old, Jack "Jackie" Burke Jr. is the recipient of the 2004 Bob Jones Award.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Museum opens art exhibit with grand gala: Elizabeth Foyt; Presented by the Las Vegas Art Museum board of trustees, the party, held at the museum, unveiled the celebrated collection, organized by the Asian Cultural Exchange Association, with the patronage of the Consulate General of Japan and others.

Obituaries for April 28, 2004: Brenda Caplan, 59, of Las Vegas died Monday in Las Vegas. She was born July 13, 1944, in Philadelphia. A resident for 37 years, she was a counselor, a member of the Junior League and the sisterhood of Temple Beth Sholom.

Toast of the Town: UNLVino celebrates 30th anniversary as top winetaster: UNLV alumni often plan vacations around UNLVino. This year some of the grads will meet for dinner Friday. They'll meet again for lunch before going into the 30th Grand Tasting on Saturday. Graduates the world over "come home" for this annual hotel college event.

Ensign, Reid back LV air tour operators on Lake Mead issue: The biggest worry Southern Nevada's air tour operators had when they learned that a new set of air tour rules was being established for Lake Mead National Recreation Area was whether the new regulations would somehow affect existing flights to the Grand Canyon.

51s Notebook: Spoonhour does radio stint: Nick Christensen; No need to adjust your dial -- that was Charlie Spoonhour on the 51s radio broadcast Tuesday.

Letter: Priority must be health insurance, not the Internet: Shouldn't this be, instead, that Bush wants every household in America to have health insurance by 2007?

Danny Tarkanian plans Senate bid: Kirsten Searer; After looking at several political offices up for grabs in November, former UNLV basketball player Danny Tarkanian has decided to run for the state Legislature against Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas.

Suits filed against Harrah's over biker fight in Laughlin: A local attorney has filed three more lawsuits against Harrah's Laughlin alleging the hotel knew there was a fight brewing between Hells Angels and Mongols motorcycle club gang members during the April 2002 Laughlin River Run and did nothing to stop it.

New York senator criticizes state 'addiction' to gambling: Joel Stashenko; ALBANY, N.Y. -- With state-sanctioned gambling a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week proposition in New York, the Legislature's most outspoken opponent of gambling is asking where the saturation point is for New Yorkers' wagering dollar.

Editorial: Yucca talks should not be closed: Whenever public officials are asked why they aren't following the open-meeting law, one of these excuses is sure to be heard: Citizens would interrupt our meetings; We make no policy decisions; We're only a working group; Our meetings are held in various, oftentimes remote, locations; Our group does not represent a quorum of any elected body.

Parraguirre plans high court bid: The race for retiring Justice Deborah Agosti's seat on the Nevada Supreme Court has a new contender as Clark County District Judge Ron Parraguirre announced his intention to run Tuesday.

Letter: Workers deserve $1 an hour raise: While corporations claim that their executives deserve their multi-million-dollar bonuses, let's not forget who does the hard, often backbreaking, work that allows those companies to turn handsome profits.

CEO fired, financial reporting postponed: The telecom equipment maker also said its audit committee was reviewing its previously reported financial results for the past three years. The company said it would restate 2003 earnings, reducing the year's profit by about 50 percent.

Funding OK'd for kids leaving state foster care: Dan Kulin; Nearly $1.3 million in additional money to help youth leaving foster care would pay for dental and eye care, subsidize rent and utility bills and be used to establish a mentoring program under a plan endorsed by a committee hoping to ease the transition for the roughly 100 Clark County youth who leave foster care every year.

Potential for huge ID theft averted: Jen Lawson; Employees of a self-storage complex on Craig Road near Nellis Boulevard are being credited for averting what could have been a major case of identity theft involving hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting people from around the country.

Editorial: State is failing children: After the 1997 Legislature closed the Southern Nevada Children's Home, reasoning that foster care was cheaper even though it would mean separating siblings, the Sun began a two-month investigation into child welfare services. Sadly, many of the same problems we pointed out then were contained in the Children's Bureau report. Included among the problems cited in the report were a lack of legal representation for the children, long waits to get into foster homes, a backlog of parental-rights cases (which leaves children in limbo) and a system that varies radically from region to region. While the system remains broken, children ...

Supreme Court reinstates lawsuit against hospital: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Tuesday reinstated a medical malpractice suit against Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in the case of a baby that was born with irreversible brain damage.

Strip hotel guests evacuated as coffee pot gets too hot: A Sterno-style coffee-pot warmer caused the fire, which started about 10:45 a.m. in a meeting room and prompted the evacuation of hotel guests on the 25th, 26th and 27th floors, said Bob Leinbach, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Tillman's death renews war debate: Dean Juipe; The Arizona Cardinals looked upon Pat Tillman as a catalyst, a tough but undersized defensive back who set a franchise record for tackles three seasons ago and was worthy of a $3.6 million contract.

Winds prompt air quality warning: For more information about current air quality conditions, visit the monitoring section of Air Quality's Web site: www.accessclarkcounty.com.

Jackson getting into swing of things as AAA star: Nick Christensen; Edwin Jackson has started to fit back into the role of the minor-league star under the Southern Nevada sun.

Campus cop's complaints of bias spur investigation: By Emily Richmond; Clark County School District officials confirmed Tuesday they are investigating complaints by a campus police officer who says her superior officers played favorites among the staff, creating a hostile work environment.

Comcast bid for Disney withdrawn: Chitra Somayaji; PHILADELPHIA -- Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Brian Roberts today withdrew his $54.1 billion unsolicited bid for Walt Disney Co., shelving his attempt to create the world's largest media company.

Uranium planned for Test Site: Suzanne Struglinski; Critics of security at department facilities had been worried that only half would be moved, but Linton Brooks, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration said at a House Government Reform hearing: "It is our intention to move all of that."

Prominent Strip casino host Chandler dies: Dan Chandler's heart never drifted far from his native Kentucky, where his father was governor in the 1930s.

Expos 'cut-down' nears: The groups that are trying to buy the Montreal Expos and move the Major League Baseball franchise to Las Vegas will have no interest in other teams, according to multiple sources involved in the project, should their Expos bid fail.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Felipe Giaffone replaces Buhl in No. 24 Purex car: When Robbie Buhl announced last Friday that he was retiring as an Indy Racing League driver to concentrate on his ownership in the Dreyer & Reinbold team he co-owns with Dennis Reinbold, Buhl and Reinbold knew exactly who they wanted to hire to drive the No. 24 Purex Dallara/Chevrolet.