Print edition for February 3, 2004

Columnist Susan Snyder: EcoJam has run aground: Clark County Parks and Community Services officials have canceled the annual April Earth Day celebration, citing a lack of money and community interest.

Bus route would offer monorail users a low-cost ride downtown: The Regional Transportation Commission is planning a reduced-fare bus route from the north end of the Las Vegas Monorail to downtown Las Vegas.

School Board to review raises: By Emily Richmond; The Clark County School Board will hold a special closed-session meeting Thursday to discuss whether Superintendent Carlos Garcia overstepped his authority by giving 10 percent raises to two top administrators.

DOE earmarks $23 million to study nuke transportation: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department plans to spend $23 million to study how to move nuclear waste through Nevada, but it also made clear Monday that finishing the license application for the Yucca Mountain repository by the end of the year will be its first priority.

Conventions fail to get tax break: CARSON CITY -- Convention officials from Las Vegas and Reno lost their bid Monday to gain tax exemptions for merchants who sell their wares at convention centers.

One Vegas case proceeds, another dropped: Terry Srsen, vice president of labor relations for Wal-Mart, said the company is pleased with the administrative law judge's decision to dismiss one complaint in its entirety. That complaint alleged that managers unlawfully interrogated and threatened workers at a Las Vegas store.

Lethal ricin detected in D.C. office: Jesse Holland and Eileen Putman; WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said today that a white powder found in his office tested positive for the deadly poison ricin, forcing closure of Senate office buildings and close scrutiny of congressional mail. It was the second such scare from a lethal toxin to hit the nation's capital.

News briefs for Feb. 3, 2004: An 11-year-old girl was seriously injured when she was was hit by a car about 7:15 a.m. today while trying to cross Lake Mead Boulevard in North Las Vegas with her 13-year-old sister.

Gaming briefs for Feb. 3, 2004: MGM MIRAGE of Las Vegas today said it and British Land Co. may build a casino complex in Sheffield, England, for as much as 250 million pounds ($459 million) as the British government considers easing gambling rules.

Hardesty campaigns for high court: Kirsten Searer; Washoe County Chief District Judge Jim Hardesty said he hopes voters casting ballots in November realize that the Nevada Supreme Court is facing some serious decisions in the near future.

Columnist Jeff German: Las Vegas, NFL need a timeout: Those arrogant you-know-whats.

Stock of HCA down on profit report: HCA Inc., the biggest U.S. hospital chain and operator of two Las Vegas hospitals, today said it had a fourth-quarter profit of $317 million, less than some analysts expected, as more patients failed to pay bills. The company also increased its dividend.

Report on Yucca economic benefit paid for by Energy Department: The Energy Department is building the nuke dump and overseeing its operation.

Task force on growth to focus most on county: Three Clark County commissioners on Monday proposed appointing a group of citizens to recommend strategies for dealing with the region's population boom.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Gaughan drives into the Guinness record book: You now can add "World Record Holder" to Brendan Gaughan's growing list of accomplishments.

Penalties on taxes might be waived: CARSON CITY -- An emergency regulation is on its way to Gov. Kenny Guinn that will waive penalties and interest for Nevadans who are still trying to figure out the new taxes imposed by the 2003 Legislature.

Budget proposal seeks trim of $23 million for Test Site: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department has requested a decrease of more than $22 million for the Nevada Test Site and its state office as part of its reorganization of nuclear weapons activities.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Palms' race, sports book is Rose garden: Pete Rose was spotted at the Palms on Sunday afternoon, but he wasn't paying that much attention to the little football game that everyone else was tuned to.

Boxers tell FBI about fixed fights: South Carolina journeyman heavyweight Samson Cohen has not seen a lot of action in a Las Vegas boxing ring.

Rebels ground Falcons: Steve Guiremand; What's that old saying about turnabout being fair play?

Columnist Dean Juipe: Rebels had the right formula against Air Force: Dean Juipe; This shocking news just in: Air Force has lost its stealth capabilities.

Widows pay tribute to victims of AC accident: John Curran; ATLANTIC CITY -- It was a study in contrast: On one side of the Tropicana Casino and Resort's collapsed parking garage, police officers were preparing to open a stretch of Pacific Avenue that had been closed since the accident.

More rain expected through rest of the day: Heather Rawlyk; Las Vegas Valley residents may need to dust off their umbrellas today, the National Weather Service said.

Cousineau still on the attack: Nick Christensen; In mid-January, Wranglers rookie Dave Cousineau traveled to the ECHL All-Star Game in Peoria, Ill., as one of the highest scoring defenseman in the league. So it was only natural that Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan moved Cousineau to forward when the team was hit with a slew of injuries.

Sports briefs for February 3, 2004: French yachtsman Francis Joyon completed his round-the-world voyage today in less than 73 days to beat the world record for a solo journey by 20 days.

LV council waits for AG's ruling on elected officials: Sito Negron; The Las Vegas City Council once again is slated to wrestle with a policy that specifies whether and under what circumstances a municipal employee may serve in the Legislature -- but at least one council member believes the discussion set for Wednesday will be postponed again.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: MWC standings turned upside down: They ought to rename the Mountain West Conference "Bizarro World," and not just because it thinks that adding Texas Christian to its membership is a good idea.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Report chastises BBC: I first became interested in the BBC attacks on Blair last summer after returning from the Middle East. Gilligan's stories and the BBC defense of them were especially interesting because of my own growing disappointment with the slanting of BBC reports about what is happening in Israel and surrounding areas. It became even worse when both British and U.S. troops entered Iraq last spring.

Three injured as accident sends car into side of fire station: Three people were injured early today in a two-car accident at Russell Road and Spencer Street that ended when one of the vehicles careened into the side of a Clark County fire station, waking sleeping firefighters.

Obituaries for Feb. 3, 2004: Evelyn Grace Adolf, 74, of Henderson died Thursday in Las Vegas. She was born Dec. 27, 1929, in Scranton, Pa. A resident for three years, she was retired and was a homemaker.

Editorial: Nuke dump study omits real world: Would more Energy Department jobs be created if the Yucca Mountain project gets the final go-ahead? Certainly. But this simplistic analysis, for which the Energy Department paid $100,000, doesn't adequately take into account what happens when -- not if -- a deadly accident occurs in the transportation and the burial of high-level nuclear waste. These relatively few Yucca Mountain jobs (more than 830,000 people are employed in Clark County) could ultimately put Southern Nevada's economy entirely at risk.

Letter: Can't use taxes for religious discrimination: Let me remind Mr. Perna that we live in a constitutional republic rather than a pure democracy. That means in the United States minority views are not subject to what has been described as a "tyranny of the majority."

Edwards' contributions to health in Nevada remembered: The work Dr. William McEwen Edwards Jr. did 30 years ago is still being felt statewide.

Letter: GOP serves only the privileged: I'll stay registered with the party awhile longer, hoping it will come back to middle America and stop serving the privileged classes. But I won't vote for Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney or anyone sympathetic with their moral rationalizations and pseudo religious posturing.

Immunization schedule for Feb. 3, 2004: NORTH LAS VEGAS PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite F, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

James' sister to run for state Assembly: CARSON CITY -- Cathylee James, the sister of Clark County Commissioner Mark James, is going to run for the state Assembly in Northern Nevada.

Letter: Rights eroding under Bush rule: Republicans control all three branches of the federal government and they allow these questionable business practices without any investigations.

Community briefs for Feb. 3, 2004: Montara Meadows retirement residence is hosting a senior information meeting from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Representatives from Reps. Jon Porter and Jim Gibbons' offices will be on hand, as well as AARP, the Nevada Division for Aging and Disabled American Veterans.

As if by magic: Hobson continues ascent as host of Money and Madness': Comic Jeff Hobson will run around the 400-seat room at the Excalibur for 70 minutes like Rip Taylor on speed, but instead of confetti he will be tossing greenbacks into the air.

Tortoise is a better weather forecaster than groundhog: Jennifer Knight; While that famous groundhog was busy on Monday doing his thing in Pennsylvania, kids in Clark County were pinning their hopes on a little-known tortoise named Mojave Max.

Results improve: Georgia-Pacific benefited from a $42 million credit for environmental reserves and a gain of $30 million from the sale of railroads. Housing starts last year had their biggest gains since 1978, helping to almost double the price of plywood in the quarter from a year earlier. Lumber prices rose 52 percent.

Man wounded as shotgun fired in club: The boyfriend of a dancer had carried the shotgun into the club in a bag, and as he pulled it out, he was tackled by club security guards, a club manager said.

SEC halts fraudulent Vegas casino scheme: A California man has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission claims that he defrauded investors in a bogus celebrity-themed Las Vegas resort and casino.

Sprint in satellite TV deal, profit off: Sprint Corp., the dominant local telephone service provider in the Las Vegas Valley, today reported a 2.6 percent decline in fourth-quarter net income on higher expenses at its wireless-phone unit.

Ameristar profit up on coinless slots: Fourth-quarter net income for Ameristar Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas nearly doubled from a year ago, with the company implementing coinless slot technology and using more efficient, targeted marketing programs.

Desert fertile ground for crashed aircraft: Jace Radke; Except from the few reptiles who might use it for shade, a 50-year-old piece of burnt metal in the middle of the desert doesn't draw much notice.

Venetian profit falls; cash flow, revenue improve: But net income of $2.6 million was down from $6 million in the 2002 quarter because of unlucky play by the casino at its table games, increased depreciation expense and interest expense associated with placing in service its new Venezia Tower at The Venetian and increased pre-opening and developmental expenses for the Sands Macau casino in China.

Plan to divert land money to horses criticized: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Members of Nevada's congressional delegation said they will block the Bureau of Land Management's proposal to use $2.3 million of public land auction money for its wild horse and burro program in Nevada.

BLM to auction Mesquite land: The Bureau of Land Management's Ely Field Office in a few months is to try again to auction more than 6,000 acres in southern Lincoln County.