Print edition for February 5, 2004

NLV fire captain owes colleagues 800 hours: Dan Kulin; State Assemblyman John Oceguera, a North Las Vegas fire captain, owes almost 800 hours to fellow firefighters who worked shifts for him since 1999, according to city records obtained by the Sun.

Lender hires new auditor: The firm succeeds Ernst & Young LLP. Vestin disclosed Wednesday that Ernst & Young has chosen not to seek re-election as Vestin's auditor.

Nevada caucus effort begins: Kirsten Searer; He leads, he cares, he looks good in sweaters.

Homeowner fires shots at burglars: Ed Koch and Jen Lawson; A homeowner on Del Monte Avenue near Decatur and Oakey boulevards fired shots this morning at two burglars as they drove away in a car, according to Metro Police.

Cities on county's growth study: Been there, done that: Dan Kulin and Sito Negron; Leaders in area cities say the growth issues to be addressed by a new Clark County task force will involve the same questions they have considered as their cities have grown over the years.

Las Vegas awaits attorney general's opinion: Sito Negron; Because an attorney general's opinion on whether public employees may serve as state lawmakers in Nevada is expected within a month, the Las Vegas City Council postponed a discussion on the issue for 30 days.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: 'Hairspray' could keep Mirage in style: According to an acquaintance of VegasBeat who has appeared in several John Waters movies, Waters said that his Tony Award-winning Broadway hit and a Cirque du Soleil production, thought to be "Yellow Submarine," are the finalists to take over the vacant Mirage showroom.

Hospital groundbreaking set: The San Francisco-based hospital operator will build St. Rose Dominican Hospital-San Martin Campus, which will be CHW's third Las Vegas-area hospital. The hospital will be on Warm Springs Road between Durango Road and Buffalo Drive and will have about 140 beds when it opens in 2006.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Only time will tell with football recruits: If you listened to the rhetoric being spewed by college football coaches on national signing day for high school recruits Wednesday, even Whoer U. and Disco Tech got their men. I have yet to hear a coach -- not even at some place like Baylor -- open a news conference by saying he had a worse recruiting class than the Iraqi Army.

Fugitive scam suspect arrested: Jen Lawson; After being wanted for a decade, a Las Vegas man suspected of carrying out an elaborate scam that forced Merrill Lynch to pay $17 million to as many as 30 duped investors was taken into custody Tuesday.

Council to change yard sale law: Dan Kulin; North Las Vegas City Council members agreed Wednesday that yard sales should be allowed in front yards, only months after a nuisance ordinance banned the practice.

Boxing schedule: At Sheffield, England, Clinton Woods, England, vs. Glencoffe Johnson, Jamaica, 12, for vacant IBF light heavyweight title; Sebastian Rothmann, South Africa, vs. Carl Thompson, England, 12, cruiserweights.

Lady Rebels look to bounce back vs. BYU: If you have to be smarting about a loss at this stage of the season, you'd rather it be just one instead of four.

Plants' construction likely regardless of rate results: Kevin Rademacher; As Nevada Power Co. continued to defend its $133.5 million rate increase request on Wednesday, executives maintain that a plan approved last year to build new power plants will move forward regardless of the fate of the request.

Promotion granted: Adam Candee; Cohesiveness and continuity are buzzwords for Coronado coach Paul Berg, whose team spent the summer playing together to prepare for a state title run.

Accusations pile up against Calugar: Gavin's lawsuit details the latest in a series of allegations against Calugar. He was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission in December with fraud for allegedly making $175 million in profit from improper trades. That lawsuit, however, only listed questionable trades with Alliance Capital Management and Massachusetts Financial Services.

Business briefs for Feb. 5, 2004: Travelworm Inc., a Las Vegas-based vacation packaging company and travel broker, has been sold to an investor group led by two New York companies.

6 locals among CCSN signees: "The lucky six," said Chambers. "The smallest amount (of locals) we've ever signed."

Panel: Calif. casino growth still not hurting LV: By Liz Benston; The explosion of tribal casinos in California continues to hurt Nevada's second-tier markets, such as Laughlin, Reno and Lake Tahoe, but does not appear to be significantly cutting into business in Las Vegas, a panel of experts said at a conference in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Commissioners may try to limit future billboards: An attempt to modify a much-debated ordinance governing billboards in unincorporated Clark County was defeated Wednesday, but the debate is far from over.

Edwards builds on big week: Steve Guiremand; It was a weekend to remember for UNLV senior center J.K. Edwards ... on the basketball court, anyway.

New Hilton Grand Vacations Club opens: New Hilton Grand Vacations Club opens

Harrah's, tribe target Connecticut casinos: Michael Mello; WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- The Narragansett Indian Tribe on Wednesday released plans for a resort casino it says would create thousands of jobs and generate more than $100 million in annual revenue for the state.

Sports briefs for February 5, 2004: The United States will fly four Iraqi wrestlers to Colorado and fund their training ahead of their possible participation at the Athens Games this summer, U.S. and Iraqi officials said today.

Condo popularity growing: Jennifer Shubinski; As Las Vegas land supplies dwindle developers and investors are looking up -- and some are seeing green.

Group that helps youth is burglarized: The Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, a nonprofit organization with more than 100 members statewide, lost three laptop computers in the burglary, Director Kathleen Boutin said.

Quarterly numbers mixed for Boyd: By Liz Benston; Profit at Boyd Gaming Corp. more than tripled in the fourth quarter because of an easy comparison to losses incurred in the same quarter a year ago, the company reported Wednesday. Excluding those one-time expenses, profit fell 22 percent as casinos in Illinois, Indiana and Nevada were hit by higher taxes and cash flow fell at most of the company's casinos.

Robinson gets defensive with '04 recruiting class: Steve Guiremand; John Robinson summed up his sixth UNLV football recruiting class in one sentence.

Gaming briefs for Feb. 5, 2004: CARSON CITY -- The state Gaming Control Board on Wednesday recommended approval of the application of Alliance Gaming Inc. of Las Vegas to acquire Sierra Design Group of Reno, which makes electronic gaming devices for Indian reservations.

News briefs for Feb. 5, 2004: A woman was in critical condition with possible stab wounds this morning at University Medical Center after police found her at a car wreck at 10th Street and Oakey Boulevard early today, police said.

Burglars hit organization: The Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, a nonprofit organization with more than 100 members statewide, lost three laptop computers in the burglary, Director Kathleen Boutin said.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Pedregon successful after tough decision to leave Force: Tony Pedregon acknowledged that he took a gamble by leaving John Force Racing to start his own NHRA Funny Car team.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Protecting our water: Just to refresh your memory, the problem is the toxins and radiation from the tailings entering the Colorado River, which is our water supply. Bill Hedden of the Grand Canyon Trust told us in a 1997 briefing paper that "At low water levels, the river is about 750 feet from the pile, but in moderately high water years (about every five years), the river floods against the tailings pile itself. Water levels in Atlas' shallow wells show a strong hydraulic connection to the river level. The base of the pile is in intimate contact with the alluvial aquifer, and is ...

Letter: Does NFL's reach extend to Tikrit?: I wonder: Did the NFL send them a letter warning them not to watch it on a screen larger than 55 inches?

New ordinance prohibits test drives on residential streets: The Las Vegas City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to pass the ordinance that will enable the city to take action against auto dealerships' business licenses, including levying fines of up to $1,000 for each offense of allowing customers to test drive automobiles on streets narrower than 80 feet.

Residents hear pitch for new golf course team: Heather Rawlyk; Residents got an opportunity to hear proposed plans and speak out about the fate of the Boulder Creek Golf Club Wednesday night, during a Boulder City Council workshop.

Complaint filed against Perkins, Henderson with AG's office: CARSON CITY -- A complaint has been filed with the office of Secretary of State Dean Heller alleging that Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins and Henderson violated the law by failing to file campaign finance reports.

Editorial: Fuzzy math's zenith: It's clear that the president's efforts to shore up his conservative base is causing him to resort to this budget deception. But this is failing miserably as people from all ideological stripes see through the charade. One of the areas where the president is given decent marks by the public, even among some of those Americans who disagree with his policies, is for sincerity. His budget, however, shows that he is far more worried about being re-elected than leveling with the American people. All of this calls to mind one of Bush's claims during the 2000 presidential campaign. Bush accused ...

Community briefs for Feb. 5, 2004: The Las Vegas Employment Guide is hosting a job fair from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Dallas Ballroom at Texas Station.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Yanko Diaz on the road to becoming Cuban superstar: Dean Juipe; It requires sneaking off the island, but Cuba -- even with its political isolation -- has produced a number of excellent athletes and professional fighters. Among the pro boxers who are active are junior lightweight star Joel Casamayor and junior middleweight contender Julio Garcia, who lives in Las Vegas.

Neighborhood Services chief named: Williams, an administrative officer in the department, was fired, and former director Sharon Segerblom reassigned to a different city department, following an investigation that determined Williams was overpaid by the city while he was serving in the Legislature. Segerblom allowed it to happen, the investigation determined.

State argues against combining lawsuits against Board of Regents: District Judge Jackie Glass heard arguments Wednesday to consolidate the attorney general's lawsuit against the Board of Regents with the individual lawsuits in relation to alleged open-meeting violations Nov. 17 and Nov. 20.

Welfare cases drop, but Medicaid rises: CARSON CITY -- A rebound in the economy in Nevada and the creation of new jobs are combining to keep the number of welfare recipients below projections.

Allen, pioneer Las Vegan, civic leader dies at 93: In 1929, high school sweethearts Margaret Gifford and Harry Allen eloped to Las Vegas.

Catching up with...Antione White: Where he is now: Minnesota State-Mankato

Police probe sleepovers for possible sex assaults: Jen Lawson; Detectives with Metro Police's sexual assault section are trying to determine if a 38-year-old man accused of molesting a teenage girl might have victimized other children he met through his coaching of a girls' soccer team.

Union sues school district over health care costs: By Emily Richmond; The union representing the Clark County School District's support employees has filed a lawsuit alleging the district hasn't complied with an earlier order to turn over data related to its health insurance plan.

Seat vacant on Lower Kyle Canyon board: Citizens Advisory Council members are appointed by the County Commission and serve in an advisory capacity to the board.

Left Wing: Exhibits at Left of Center gallery trumpet diversity: "I painted it more than a year ago," he said. "I rolled it up and it was laying on my floor and I felt bad every time I walked by."

Editorial: On the size of classes: Obey the law: Fast forward to 2004 and what do we have? In the Clark County School District, kindergarten classes average 24.4 students, first and second grades average 16.5 students and third grades average 19.9 students. For district superintendents around the state, such numbers have brought up a dilemma each year -- they don't have enough state funding to provide the 15-student classes, so what do they do about the law?

Prominent accountant Moe dies at 88: Kermit Allen Moe, who co-founded one of Las Vegas' first major accounting firms and played key roles with the Better Business Bureau and Nevada State Board of Accountancy, died Jan. 30 at a Las Vegas hospice. He was 88.

Nominations open for employer award: Dick Benoit; The Defense Department began accepting nominations Feb. 1 for the 2004 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, which recognizes significant contributions and sacrifices made by employers of National Guard and Reserve members.

Letter: No Fun League's edict hurts fans: The fact is the NFL's decision to close down parties like the one at the Palms is anti-fan. More important to the NFL should be the demographic of fans they are shutting out. These are people who have money to buy advertisers' products and are willing to travel far distances to watch a game that is often a dud. Furthermore, they are the people who stay to watch games until the bitter end (keeping ratings high) to see if their team will cover the spread or if the total will go over or under.

Letter: Catholicism and Democratic Party are compatible: Might I suggest that the Democratic Party is exactly the right place for people who feel as Mr. Bauman does, precisely because the party acknowledges and embraces the fact that we are a diverse nation of people with different religions, philosophies and cultures? Democrats are for freedom of religion. A pro-choice position is not a pro-abortion position. Pro-choice means you can be either for or against abortion according to your own conscience. Republicans, on the other hand, feel decisions of conscience should be made for you by the government.

13-year-old girl admits stabbing her classmate: Erica D. Johnson; A 13-year-old girl on Wednesday admitted to stabbing a 14-year-old classmate at a Summerlin golf course and said she routinely carried a pocket knife for protection.

ACLU: Prostitution claims not relevant to handbill suit: Jennifer Knight; A federal civil trial challenging the practice of handing out advertisements on the Strip for outcall services took a few detours Wednesday after two Metro Police officers discussed actions they took that ACLU leaders called illegal.

Obituaries for Feb. 5, 2004: Dan Angstadt, 73, of Las Vegas died Tuesday in a local hospital. He was born Oct. 10, 1930, in Pennsylvania. A resident for 10 years, he was a retired sales representative for a boat company and an Air Force veteran.

Fewer state berths awarded: Nick Christensen; Tough competition is the talk of the Las Vegas prep wrestling community heading into this weekend's Sunset and Sunrise regionals.