Print edition for August 17, 2004

Assembly District 5: Two Democrats square off in the Assembly District 5 primary with the winner set to take on incumbent Republican Valerie Weber in November.

U.S. House District 3: The candidates are running in a congressional district that was formed two years ago and has a similar number of Republicans and Democrats.

Assembly District 6: Dan Kulin; Munford, who unsuccessfully ran for Las Vegas City Council in 1998, also lost to Williams in 2000, when Munford took 34 percent of the vote compared with Williams' 66 percent.

Firm buys stake in nine malls: Arlington-based Mills, a real-estate investment trust, today said it is purchasing the 50 percent stake "because of their high quality, attractive yields and potential for increased productivity."

Obituaries for August 17, 2004: Kevin J. Cowger, 45, of Las Vegas died Monday in a local hospital. He was born March 24, 1959, in Wayne, Mich. A resident for 16 years, he was a manager in the communications field.

County commission to vote on Las Vegas Walk of Stars: Honoring people in this way would not cost county residents a dime, said Robert Alexander, the foundation's president, who was scheduled to appear today at the county commission meeting to discuss the project.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Danny White wouldn't have meant much: Those of you standing in line for Expos season tickets can only hope Major League Baseball's relocation committee didn't read the paper or watch the local news last weekend.

Simms sharp in Bucs win vs. Bengals: The sharpest young quarterback on the field was Chris Simms, not Carson Palmer.

Sports briefs for August 17, 2004: Former boxing champion Robert Quiroga was found stabbed to death on Monday, police said.

Broker alleges breach of contract in LV hotel deal: Southern Nevada-based Hotel Financial Strategies (HFS) filed the suit last month, naming Louis Habash, Hotels Nevada LLC, Inns Nevada LLC, AIPA Partnerships Inc. and APH Inc., all of which have interests in the Alexis Park and the Americana Inn Apartments, which were acquired by Alter's Financial Capital Investment Co.

Maryland governor rejects slot referendum: Tom Stuckey; ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Gov. Robert Ehrlich rejected the House leadership proposal for a referendum on slot machines Monday and asked instead for a special session of the General Assembly next month to consider a slot machine bill.

Alcohol, painkiller blamed for casino executive's death: Jen Lawson; A medical examiner concluded Monday that a 33-year-old Green Valley Ranch Station executive's death last month was caused by an overdose of a powerful painkiller and alcohol.

Taxpayers' group files suit against referendum: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Taxpayers Association filed a lawsuit to stop the proposed referendum to repeal the $833.5 million tax increase, saying it "is a potential disaster waiting to happen."

Rebels want to find breathing room for best hands: Steve Guiremand; UNLV senior wide receiver Earvin Johnson has proved that he can catch passes in a crowd with the best of them.

News briefs for August 17, 2004: A 37-year-old prison inmate from Clark County escaped from the Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City Monday.

Gaming briefs for August 17, 2004: LEWISTON, Idaho -- A Lewiston woman accused of forging signatures on a pro-gambling petition will serve at least six months in jail.

Two killed as flood forces Death Valley closure: DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- A fierce storm triggered flooding that killed at least two people, forcing the closure of Death Valley National Park.

San Remo converting to Hooters brand: By Liz Benston; Skimpy shorts and tight tank tops already are ubiquitous on the Strip but will be making another debut of sorts at the Hotel San Remo, which has signed a management deal with the Hooters restaurant chain to rebrand the Las Vegas hotel-casino into a Hooters Casino Hotel.

Consumer prices fall 0.1 percent in July: WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly declined in July, underscoring the Federal Reserve's view that accelerating inflation earlier this year may prove temporary. Industrial production rose and home construction increased more than forecast.

Panel backs right of disabled to sue over fees: CARSON CITY -- A legislative committee recommended Monday that disabled persons using service animals be given the right to sue if they are required to pay additional fees for access to public transportation or public accommodations.

Many voter registration forms turned in late: Molly Ball; If you recently signed a canvasser's clipboard and thought you were on your way to voting in both the Sept. 7 primary and the Nov. 2 election, you might want to double-check, Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said on Monday.

League bosses come to Vegas; is the ArenaBowl far behind?: Adam Candee; Both locally and nationally, Las Vegas will be the center of the action in the Arena Football League today.

Disaster relief possible because of drought: CARSON CITY -- Farmers and ranchers in Clark County will suffer an 18 percent to 35 percent loss in production because of the continued drought, a state emergency board says.

Vegas organizations earn national marketing honors: Two Las Vegas tourism entities -- the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and VEGAS.com -- won prestigious national marketing awards Monday.

Letter: WMD skeptics deserved better: Then I looked up and shook my head when I saw that the Sun's editors had decided to run this article on page 18A.

Alcohol, painkiller blamed for hotel executive's death: Jen Lawson; A medical examiner concluded Monday that a 33-year-old Green Valley Ranch Station executive's death last month was caused by an overdose of a powerful painkiller and alcohol.

Hospitals postpone decision on funding of triage center: Area hospitals want time to crunch the numbers and look at WestCare's books to make sure they are getting the most for their money before voting on whether to provide the funds to keep the nonprofit organization's Community Triage Center open at least through March.

Rogers signs agreement to end Remington lawsuit: Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers gave up his quest on Monday to get a majority of the Board of Regents to approve a settlement for demoted CCSN president Ron Remington.

Board to move on rural water: The Southern Nevada Water Authority board is expected to move forward this week with the application process to open up vast parts of Nevada to new wells to bring water to Las Vegas.

Dispute over parking at Venetian is revived: Stephen Curran; Drivers looking to park at The Venetian on Monday afternoon likely spent a little more time walking, as traffic from one of Las Vegas' biggest conventions forced the hotel to turn away those looking to use the resort's parking garage.

$2.5 million discount dangled to lure California company: Dan Kulin; Hoping to lure a California company to Henderson, the City Council will consider cutting more than $2.5 million off the price of 28 acres city officials hope will become the new home for the company's headquarters.

Quick, powerful storm sweeps through valley: Mary Manning and Heather Rawlyk; Clark County Fire Department heavy rescue crews plucked six people out of waters rushing across the valley Monday afternoon during the height of a short but intense storm, fire officials said.

Columnist Jeff German: Media got it wrong on terrorism: Young was fuming over the hatchet job the media did on Las Vegas law enforcement authorities last week in their rift with Detroit federal prosecutors over a high-profile terrorism case.

Jury begins deliberations in 13-year-old killing: By Matt Pordum; A Clark County jury Monday began to deliberate whether a man was wrongly accused of a murder 13 years ago because of police investigators' incompetence or whether the memories of four eyewitnesses are enough to prove his guilt.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Taking in a live Elvis show: The 69-year-old Las Vegas woman was among about two dozen who filed into the Greek Isles hotel's Celebrity Showroom Monday for a seance in which the King's spirit would return.

Clark County Family Court, Department F: Family Court Judge Bob Gaston believes his 16 years experience in the field of education coupled with his 12 years experience as a judge are strong points in his re-election bid for another six-year term in Department F.

Clark County School District, B: By Emily Richmond; For Clark County School Board's District B seat, incumbent Ruth Johnson faces three challengers: Troy Bulloch, Lester Lewis and Marian Umhoefer.

Assembly District 17: By Timothy Pratt; Early August Clark County Election Department numbers showed that the district had 8,792 registered Democrats, versus 6,132 Republicans -- and 2,917 with no party affiliation.

Clark County Family Court, Department D: Family Court Judge Gerald W. Hardcastle faces three challengers for his Department D seat.

Immunization schedule for August 17, 2004: HENDERSON PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 129 W. Lake Mead Drive, Building A, Suite 10, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Eclectic Avenue: Painted Couch blends art, furniture in Arts District: By Kristen Peterson; Inside, Deborah Fagan, the store's artist-in-residence, is setting up shop in the boutique full of funky reupholstered vinyl furniture, accessories, antiques and art by Dray, Mark Zeilman and Fagan.

State Board of Education: By Emily Richmond; Hawk unexpectedly resigned his seat at a special state Board of Education meeting July 28. He is currently being investigated by the Nevada Ethics Commission about Nevada State High School, a charter school co-founded by Hawk and his wife that is being sponsored by the state board. The commission ruled in November that Hawk would have to resign his seat if the state board sponsored the charter school.

Clark County Family Court, Department E: Family Court Judge Robert W. Lueck is being challenged by three opponents for his Department E seat.

Assembly District 7: Dan Kulin; Lewis, 35, is a teacher and family aide in a Clark County School District pre-school program, but has been on medical leave from that job since a car accident in November.

Assembly District 3: The district has about 2,200 more registered active Democratic voters than Republicans.

Assembly District 18: Dan Kulin; In Assembly District 18 primary, two Republicans will face off for the chance to battle Democratic incumbent Mark Manendo in the general election.

Clark County School District, C: By Emily Richmond; Of the four incumbents, Clark County School Board's District C member, Shirley Barber, faces the most challengers, with five seeking to unseat her.

Editorial: Just sign right here: There are two notable exceptions to the court's reasoning, though, that can be found in our political system -- both perfectly constitutional. Each state has two U.S. senators, no matter how large its population, an effort to protect small states from the tyranny of the majority. And our electoral college system that elects the president furthers that notion. When people vote for president they're casting a ballot for a state's electors, a system not based solely on population, but on a formula that is the sum of each state's two U.S. senators and its total number of representatives in the ...

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace, Department 7: Incumbent Justice Court Department 7 Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron is facing one opponent who thinks she's stretching ethical boundaries and favoring defendants on bail decisions and another opponent who tried to remove himself from the ballot, failed, but doesn't consider himself a candidate.

Huge casino set for Bay Area: The compact is expected to be signed Thursday between the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians and the state allowing the tribe to build a casino with 5,000 slot machines -- compared to 3,200 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas -- in San Pablo, across the Bay from San Francisco and 15 minutes north of Oakland.

District Court Department 11: Elizabeth "Betsy" Gonzalez, appointed by Gov. Kenny Guinn in July to succeed Douglas, is one of the candidates. Her challengers are former Assistant District Attorney Mike Davidson, private attorney Bruce Gale, former contract attorney for the Clark County public defender's office Matthew Paul Harter, private attorney Robert Kurth and past Nevada Trial Lawyers Association President Tim Williams.

Wednesday's horse racing entries: Post Time 2 p.m.

Assembly District 11: Molly Ball; The Assembly District 11 Democratic primary is likely to give you a feeling of deja vu: the same candidates who ran two years ago are going at it again.

State Supreme Court, Seat E: CARSON CITY -- Four judges and lawyers from Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe have jumped into the race to succeed Nevada Supreme Court Justice Deborah Agosti, who is stepping down because of health reasons when her term ends.

Senate District 5: The focal point in Senate District 5 has been taxes, with both candidates trying to portray themselves as fiscal conservatives.

NABE says terrorism is biggest economic threat: Martin Crutsinger; WASHINGTON -- Terrorism has replaced weak employment growth and the ballooning budget deficit as the biggest immediate threat to the economy, the National Association for Business Economics said today.

Web site wants free speech for foreign gambling ads: Alan Sayre; NEW ORLEANS -- The operator of a gambling news site on the Internet has asked a federal judge to declare that advertisements in U.S. media for foreign online casinos and sports betting outlets are protected by free-speech rights.

Senate District 7, Seat A: Dan Kulin; Two Republicans face off in the Senate District 7 primary, vying for the chance to take on Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus in the general election.

Editorial: More troopers needed: In a more perfect world, drivers on I-15 in that area would see a trooper every few miles. Enforcement at that level would ensure that many more people reach their destinations, instead of the hospital or morgue. Unfortunately, neither California nor Nevada properly fund their highway patrols. Troopers in both states are understaffed in proportion to traffic flows.

Letter: Money laws must be changed to get better candidates: Americans wanted campaign financial reform. They got McCain-Feingold, which promised to limit the amount of money in politics. Actually, all it did was to eliminate the huge personal contributions to political parties. A loophole in the tax code allows wealthy donors such as George Soros to fund their own political advertising with millions of dollars as long as they don't "coordinate" with the candidate.

Judge to review tape of store robbery: By Matt Pordum; District Judge John McGroarty on Monday said that sometime after Sept. 27 he will review videotapes with prosecutors and the lawyer representing a man who claims NASA technology can prove he was too tall to have been the robber of a convenience store.

First man sentenced in racketeering case: Jace Radke; The first of 22 alleged members of the Rolling 60s street gang indicted last year was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to federal racketeering charges in connection with murders, robberies and drug operations that date back to 1992.

Community news briefs for August 17, 2004: Tai Chi Tuesdays will be taught from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday through September at the District at Green Valley Ranch.

Settlement of lawsuit considered: Dan Kulin; Another case alleging abuse by Henderson Police officers could be settled by the City Council tonight.

Clark County District Court, Department 1: He faces in the September primary two attorneys, Gregory DeNue, a longtime local resident, disabled veteran and youth sports coach; and Bill Henderson, who has served as a truancy master and alternate hearing master in Clark County Family Court.

Students warned of aid scam: The university's financial aid office received three complaints Friday and Monday from students who had encountered the illegitimate solicitors, said Peter Hurley, interim director of student enrollment and student financial services.

Assembly District 15: The winner, either Bob Anderson or Lou Toomin, will face Democratic incumbent Kathy McClain, who is unopposed in the primary in a district that has about 3,300 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

SEC to recommend civil action: The SEC staff alleges that company proxy statements for fiscal years 1997 through 2003 did not fully describe or disclose about $1.7 million in perquisites enjoyed by former senior chairman Don Tyson and the company failed to maintain adequate internal controls on the personal use of company assets and the disclosure of perquisites and personal benefits.

Senate Central District: CARSON CITY -- Republican John O'Connor says he can't beat Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, in the upcoming primary election in the Central Nevada Senate District that covers 20,000 square miles.

Assembly District 10: Jace Radke; Goldwater, a Democrat who has served in the Assembly since 1995, is running for the Clark County Commission resulting in the open seat.

Assembly District 9: Jace Radke; The winner of the Sept. 7 primary will go on to face Independent American candidate Lee Wayne Hayes in the general election with no Republican challenger.

U.S. House District 2: Angie has lived in Nevada for more than 50 years; Bennett moved to the state three years ago from New York.

Ralph Siraco's Del Mar selections: 1st Race -- CONSPIRING -- Draws good inner box for grass route opener, Desormeaux astride Drysdale trainee, fits this allowance outing well. NOYAC -- Irish-bred draws good post for two-turn turf outing, Valdivia atop Cassidy trainee, a factor throughout. Value Play -- JAZZ YA

Letter: Major crises need U.N.'s attention: The Sudan would be a proper conflict for the United Nations to get involved in. But since there is no Saddam/United Nations kickback style "Oil for Food" program for the U.N., the French, the Germans, the Russians, etc., to reap millions in profits from, I do not see them getting involved any time soon.

State Supreme Court, Seat A: CARSON CITY -- After 12 years in office, Chief Justice Miriam Shearing has decided to retire from the Nevada Supreme Court, and four candidates have stepped to the plate to succeed her.