Print edition for December 13, 2004

He's Got Mail: Kids find that e-mailing Santa is more fun than using snail mail: Kirk Baird; No worries. Santa Claus has stayed up with the times and can be reached via e- mail -- even on Christmas Eve.

Obituaries for December 13, 2004: Joseph M.G. Chang, 77, of Las Vegas died Dec. 6 in a local hospital. He was born Feb. 5, 1927, in Honolulu. A resident for seven years, he was a retired dentist, a World War II Army veteran and a member of Central City Optimists, Los Angeles.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Entrepreneur dreaming deeply: Yamashita, manager of a Las Vegas-based tour service for Japanese visitors, has been hiking or riding mules to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for 20 years. But he says too few of his countrymen and women follow his lead.

Community briefs for December 13, 2004: The Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society, now celebrating it 42nd season, will present "Christmas with the Musical Society" 3 p.m. Sunday at the Horn Theatre at Community College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave.

Birth announcements for December 13, 2004: Nov. 30:

Oracle's sweeter $10.3 billion offer persuades PeopleSoft: Michael Liedtke; SAN FRANCISCO -- Ending 18 months of bad blood, Oracle Corp. raised its takeover bid for bitter rival PeopleSoft Inc. by 10 percent to seal a $10.3 billion deal that will create the world's second largest maker of business applications software.

Final battery of tests slated for LV Monorail: Stephen Curran; The final battery of tests that will determine if the Las Vegas Monorail reopens by the end of the year will likely begin Wednesday, Clark County's top building official said this morning.

Court clerk charged with identity theft: Jen Lawson; A clerk at the Las Vegas Municipal Court and an employee of the Clark County Health District are charged with using the identity of a Metro Police sergeant's wife to steal from a department store.

McCarran in world's top 10 in customer satisfaction: McCarran International Airport ranks ninth in the world among 22 large airports in a customer satisfaction study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates.

News briefs for December 13, 2004: Metro Police were searching for several armed robbers this morning, including one who robbed a change booth in the casino at the Orleans.

Test Site may be center for U.S. documents: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The Nevada Test Site may become home to a new branch of the Government Printing Office that would handle secure documents as early as 2006.

Lottery Commission could be appointed by end of month: "We're spending time recruiting and reviewing applicants," Henry said. "I believe it's better to take time and find the right person for the job rather than rush into it."

More flu vaccine expected: People at least 50 years old, day care workers, health care workers, school nurses, emergency medical services workers, and household contacts of high-risk individuals will be eligible for vaccines beginning Wednesday, the health department announced.

Sherer not concerned with loss of morning assignment: Kirsten Searer; Assemblyman Rod Sherer, R-Pahrump, said he doesn't think he lost his prestigious morning committee assignment because he campaigned against Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson.

High court ruling may affect state's foreign inmates on death row: CARSON CITY -- Nevada is among the states that have numerous citizens of other countries slated for execution, so people within or connected to the justice system here are mulling over the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to take up the matter.

Casino plan could spark other efforts: Charles E. Beggs; SALEM, Ore. -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski may be close to allowing the first American Indian casino on nontribal land in Oregon, a policy shift that could prompt other tribes to consider building gambling facilities on non-reservation land to stay competitive.

Ethics ruling believed to have gone mayor's way: The state Ethics Commission ruled on Dec. 3 that a public official, believed to be Mayor Oscar Goodman, can discuss and vote in Las Vegas City Council decisions over downtown land, despite his partnership in a nearby building.

This Week's Women's Top 25 Fared: AP; 2. Stanford (7-0) beat Pepperdine 85-49; beat San Francisco 80-51.

Brokaw sees Nevada playing a growing role in elections: Venerable newsman Tom Brokaw said he sees Nevada and other Southwestern states as being a battleground in future presidential elections, especially as the region continues to grow.

Group to watch White House: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., today was expected to announce a new Democratic investigative team to act as a watchdog of the White House.

LV hosts key water meetings: Las Vegas will host three discussions on water issues this week that could signal -- even dictate -- how Southern Nevada and the West respond to years of drought.

General Motors, Daimler plan joint hybrid systems: The carmakers expect to form a joint venture early next year, Detroit-based General Motors and Stuttgart, Germany-based DaimlerChrysler said today in a combined statement. They intend to develop a common technology, highlighted by a smaller electric motor than those currently available, for use in General Motors, Chrysler group and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

College Basketball Schedule: AP; Wake Forest at Temple, 7 p.m.

Women's Top 25 Fared: AP; 2. Stanford (7-0) beat San Francisco 80-51. Next: at Missouri, Saturday.

Sands raises IPO estimates: By Liz Benston; The owner of the Venetian resort in Las Vegas has again raised the amount of money it expects to get from its initial public offering of stock, saying the company could be worth an estimated $8.2 billion instead of earlier estimates of $6.8 billion.

Warm weather nears Las Vegas record: Eric Leake; The National Weather Service forecast a high today of 67 degrees. The average high is 58, and the record, set in 1952, is 70 degrees, said meteorologist Barry Pierce.

Mandalay owners OK merger: By Liz Benston; At a shareholder meeting that lasted all of a few minutes Friday, a majority of Mandalay Resort Group stock owners approved the company's merger with larger rival MGM Mirage.

Sports briefs for December 13, 2004: Free agent third baseman Corey Koskie has reached a preliminary agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a $17 million, three-year contract.

State college graduation becomes a family affair: When Metro Sgt. David Lewis steps across the stage Thursday to receive his diploma from Nevada State College, he won't just be thanking his wife for her support, he'll be graduating with her.

State workers seeking bigger raises: CARSON CITY -- After receiving only a 2 percent cost-of-living raise in the past two years, the state employees' union is going to push for a 5 percent raise in each of the next two fiscal years.

Sales tax deduction on federal returns welcome news for Nevada residents: Kevin Rademacher; Break out the shoe boxes, it's time for Nevadans to start saving receipts.

Regulators question sentence: Karleen Warnick, 60, of Northrop, was convicted of the theft of $44,000 in prizes from pulltabs she sold on behalf of the Fairmont Youth Hockey Association. She got four days in jail, 20 days of community service and three years of probation. Restitution was not ordered, but could be in the future.

Internet database to show U.S. judges' finances: Benjamin Grove and Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The two Las Vegas-based judges who sit on the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals own a number of mutual funds with a diverse group of company stocks, according to financial records.

Bank company opens trading: Bank company opens trading

Group that tried to win Expos wants in on next Vegas move: ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Some of the key figures in a private attempt to coax Major League Baseball into moving the Montreal Expos to Las Vegas want to be involved in the city's next attempt to land its first major-league sports franchise.

Rebels bound to grab big win: Steve Guiremand; AUBURN, Ala. -- It's not every day you see UNLV bully a team from the mighty Southeastern Conference in basketball. But that's just what happened Sunday afternoon at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Letter: Smoking should be banned from all buildings: Clearly many Nevadans are at risk of getting these diseases through no fault of their own. It's time for our legislators and Gov. Kenny Guinn to ban smoking in all buildings.

Letter: Shipping plans deserve praise: Neither the meeting of the board held in Salt Lake City, to which the letter refers, or the letter itself was as negative as your article infers.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Horse racing officials make plans for coming year: Ralph Siraco; The future of horse racing was the focal point of two year-end industry confabs far away from the action on the track last week.

Oscar's dash for home: ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As promised, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman arrived at Major League Baseball's winter meetings Saturday with a showgirl on each arm, an Elvis impersonator trailing his every step and a sound bite for anyone who asked.

Brazile enters an elite circle: Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, put himself on quite an impressive list of cowboys Sunday at the 46th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Bikers' attorneys argue against conspiracy charges: By Matt Pordum; Lawyers representing motorcycle gang members who allegedly participated in the deadly riot at the 2002 Laughlin River Run contend that charges of conspiracy against the bikers should be dismissed because, technically, the charges allege that rival gangs conspired together to hurt members of their own gangs.

Editorial: Preserve ancient site: Unlike in past decades, though, development pressure is a factor today. At least 5,000 acres in the area are being eyed as sites for master-planned communities. So far the archaeological sites have been protected by the Bureau of Land Management, but increasingly there is pressure from developers upon the BLM to sell some of the sensitive land at auction.

For holidays, Green Valley takes Journey: Spencer Patterson; That's the environment the veteran rock band found itself in Friday night, when Green Valley Ranch's Grand Events Center staged its first ticketed concert.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: The only dirt in this sport is just cushion for a cowboy's fall: By now, the 46th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo has packed up and is heading back to Colorado Springs and other destinations in the red states and across the Canadian prairie. So the next foul odor you smell at the Thomas & Mack Center will be UNLV's half-court offense.

King wants a tournament and Klitschko is the key: A tournament of heavyweight title fights would satisfy the public's hunger to see a unified championship -- but only if it includes WBC champion Vitali Klitschko, flamboyant promoter Don King believes.

Corrections: * Because of an error by the Sun, a story in Friday's edition incorrectly reported that candidates in the recall election of Las Vegas Councilwoman Janet Moncrief are planning to debate this Friday. A forum is being planned and event organizers were working to invite the candidates. The Sun regrets the error.

Editorial: Ethics reform has priority over rivalries: The Henderson Democrat's proposals include suggestions that have been made in the past by other legislators. Perkins said the Augustine matter played a large role in his decision to put ethics in the spotlight after the Legislature convenes in February. One rule he advocates is automatic removal of any public official found guilty of three "willful" violations of state ethics laws. Under this rule, which we believe has merit, Augustine would never have undergone impeachment in the Assembly and a trial in the Senate. The law would have required her immediate ouster.

Big-league stadium could find a home on city's 61 acres: Dan Kulin; One version of preliminary development plans for the Las Vegas-owned 61 acres downtown includes a baseball stadium, Mayor Oscar Goodman said Sunday.

Preps: Results: Bishop Gorman 5, Spring Valley 0: G: BG -- Kelly Gaudhen 2, Tiffany Bombard 2, Cassie Romeo. Shutout -- Alle Zaher.

Dollar falls again: Dollar falls again

Letter: School no place for fashion show: Not long ago I was having a meal in my car at a fast-food establishment. In front of me was a vacant lot. To my entertainment I watched a teenage boy trying to run with a backpack over his right shoulder and trying to hold up his over-sized pants with his left hand. I'm sure some day he will become a leader of something. If male and female students decide to wear thongs to school, I guess that would be all right -- it's really freedom of expression.