Print edition for February 17, 2004

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Vegas' best on 'View' at Caesars Palace: Nothing like a trip to Vegas to bring out one's inner funkster.

Officials: Title I school aid isn't enough: By Emily Richmond; Nevada will receive $6.7 million in extra education funds for its poorest students thanks to a new federal formula for calculating aid, but the increase won't provide enough money for the Clark County School District to help every school that qualifies, officials said.

Columnist Jeff German: Deskin was hero to many: Every time you talked to Ruthe Deskin, you left with a feeling that this was a woman of integrity.

Boulder Highway in line for upgrades: Boulder Highway is almost as old as Las Vegas, and has as many honky-tonks, weekly apartments, casinos and used-car lots as any stretch of road in the urban area.

Nuke security study could affect Yucca fight: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- An ongoing study examining the security of nuclear waste stored at power plants could support Nevada's arguments against Yucca Mountain or it could give the Energy Department more reason to move nuclear waste to Nevada faster.

Trails park to be built on 1,200 acres in southwest: Jace Radke; Twelve hundred acres of desert southwest of the Las Vegas Beltway and Russell Road will become a system of trails from which hikers will be able to look down on Las Vegas -- someday, Clark County officials say.

"All Bets Are Off" campaign launched to kill Maryland bill legalizing slots: Gretchen Parker; ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Gambling opponents this month kicked off a re-energized campaign with a splashy news conference that assembled more than 100 public officials, ministers, community group leaders and lawmakers to renew a vow to fight against legalizing slot machines.

Mountain lion seen at Mount Charleston school: A school teacher who lives across the street in the small community along Kyle Canyon Road saw the animal about 7 a.m. and notified school officials and local police. School begins at 8 a.m.

Nevada judges struggle to keep up with backlog: CARSON CITY -- District Court judges in Clark County lost a little ground last year in their battle to keep up with a backlog of cases.

Resident gets into gunbattle with thieves: A 29-year-old North Las Vegas man said he got into a gun battle with men he caught stealing rims and tires off his truck in his driveway early this morning.

Agencies reimbursed for holiday security: Jace Radke; Nearly $100,000 has been reimbursed to local agencies for money spent on extra security during the high terror alert level over the holidays.

Cop dedicates book to 9-11: Jen Lawson; Having a gun pointed at you can change your life.

Cingular wins bidding to gain AT&T Wireless: Cingular Wireless won the bidding war to acquire AT&T Wireless Services for nearly $41 billion in cash, a deal that would create the nation's largest cell phone company.

Up in smoke: DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- What had the makings of a very successful Speedweeks for Kyle Busch went up in a puff of smoke -- literally -- Monday at Daytona International Speedway.

Berkley joins critics of subpoenas for abortion records: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., joined 35 other Democrats in opposing the Justice Department's attempts to get medical records of doctors who have performed abortions.

Romanian politics' gain called loss to Nevada: Nevada's Republican Party chairwoman announced Monday she will run for president in Romania, the country where she was born.

LV tourism industry busy for weekend: Despite every security checkpoint lane being staffed at McCarran International Airport on Monday, long queues of passengers waited up to two hours in line to get to their flights as the three-day Presidents Day weekend closed on a sour note for Las Vegas.

Man freed after being stuck in rock crusher: Tim Pratt; Clark County firefighters, a heavy rescue team and a helicopter were sent to a quarry on Sloan Road, west of Interstate 15 near milemarker 25 about 8:30 a.m. this morning to help a man who was stuck in a massive rock sifter.

Caesars confident ruling won't derail N.Y. tribal deal: Caesars Entertainment Inc. executives don't believe a Friday decision by a federal judge ordering the Bureau of Indian Affairs to review its decision to recognize the government of a New York tribe will block the company's deal to build and manage a tribal casino in the Catskill Mountains.

Recreation center in Henderson given defibrillator: Kathy Deuel of Project Heartbeat sponsored the donation in memory of her 13-year-old son, David, who died of sudden cardiac death four years ago.

Ex-Rebels star Richardson gets to trot the globe: During his first year as a Harlem Globetrotter, Chris Richardson met lord mayors in Scotland, and he signed autographs for adoring fans in Belgium, England and Ireland.

Moscow Ballet gives double dose of entertainment: Marilyn LaRocque; What: Moscow Festival Ballet performing "Carmen Suite" & "Paquita."

Letter: U.S. must have strong border: And they will if immigration laws are changed. Don't let this happen.

Man beaten, robbed in motel: The suspects beat the man, tied him up and gagged him before stealing his wallet and his 2002 gray Monte Carlo, police said.

Editorial: Remarkable legacy left by Deskin: Ruthe, born 87 years ago in the Northern Nevada town of Yerington, almost never made it to the Sun. Hank Greenspun originally offered her $50 a week to join but she refused, finally telling him that she would do it for $100 -- a princely sum back then in journalism. To her surprise, she got the job at her asking price. Hank definitely got his money's worth as Ruthe was instrumental in the Sun's rise as an important voice in Las Vegas, a newspaper that wasn't afraid to take on institutions and people that were out of line or, worse, ...

Mikulich, member of longtime motel family, dies: By Timothy Pratt; Talking to people who knew Joseph Mikulich -- whose family has been in Las Vegas almost 100 years -- you hear about a city where doors were unlocked and sand overtook the buildings rather than the other way around.

Columnist Dean Juipe: NHL meetings may suggest interest here: Dean Juipe; Without trying to read too much importance into the location of their meetings, maybe there was something symbolic about the general managers of the 30 National Hockey League teams gathering at Lake Las Vegas, as they did last week.

Civil rights in the West topic of conference: Historians, legal scholars and activists will descend upon the Boyd School of Law Friday and Saturday to discuss the diverse past and future of civil rights in the West.

Cotton Blossom choir plans local performances: The 40-member choir is composed of students in grades nine through 12, from The Piney Woods School, the largest of the nation's four historically black boarding schools.

LV City Council to consider future of abandoned homes: Sito Negron; The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday will consider ways to put teeth into efforts to turn abandoned homes into affordable housing.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Another celeb couple implode: Ken has been tossed out on his perfectly plastic keister.

Earnings news briefs for February 17, 2004: TOKYO -- Strong sales in flat-panel TVs and digital video recorders sent Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s profit up 8 percent for the October-December quarter, and the Japanese electronics maker behind the Panasonic brand raised its full-year profit forecast.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: A strong lady leaves us: "IF YOU FEEL uncomfortable with something in your column or news story, then take it out. Trust your instincts and past experience," Ruthe Deskin advised me. I had told her about my negative gut reaction to a bit of information sent in by a usually reliable newspaper source. Her advice was followed then and still remains as a guide when writing.

Arts and Kroffts: Sid and Marty's indelible legacy celebrated by TV Land, Rhino: Kirk Baird; "H.R. Pufnstuf." "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters." "Land of the Lost." "Donny and Marie."

DEI serves up another plate win at track: DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Inc. continued its dominance in restrictor-plate races with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s victory in Sunday's Daytona 500 and renewed whispers in the garage area of possible cheating.

Constitutional amendment proposed on N.Y. casinos: Mark Johnson; ALBANY, N.Y. -- State leaders are considering an amendment to the state constitution that would allow non-Indians to open casinos.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Shot at Saturn rattles Rebels' universe: In that the last remaining Pinto has been blown up in a rear-end collision, Yugos have gone the way of the Edsel and that I totally forgot about Hyundai, comparing the Rebels' problems on the basketball court to a Saturn owner seemed like the thing to do last week.

UNLV golfers open season in Hawaii: Adam Candee; The UNLV men's golf team is living out one heck of a guy's fantasy vacation this week in Hawaii, where spectacular courses are as common as flower leis and fish dinners.

Deflated Rebels desperate for a win: Steve Guiremand; The way point guard Jerel Blassingame sees it, things can't get much worse for the UNLV Rebels.

Officers involved in shooting ID'd: The Clark County corner's office today identified the dead man as Mateo Carlo Machella, 30, of Las Vegas.

Letter: School police's plea was callous: But more so, I am appalled and outraged that the head of the school district police officers' union, Paul Gervasi, would use this tragedy as a political agenda for increasing his budget to further line his pockets. School safety is an important matter, but putting school police at every corner will not produce that safety. Somewhere children, and especially teenagers, have to take personal responsibility for their behavior and decisions, whether they are on school property or not.

Scholarships available for study in Japan: To qualify, applicants must hold U.S. citizenship, be current undergraduate students majoring in one of the above fields of study and have studied for more than one year as of April 1.

Daily business briefs for February 17, 2004: Disney Store Inc., part of the Walt Disney Co., closed its Disney Store at the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson on Monday. The Disney Store at the Fashion Show mall on the Las Vegas Strip is scheduled to close Monday.

Obituaries for February 17, 2004: Norma L. Adams, 58, of Las Vegas died Saturday in a local hospice. She was born April 7, 1945, in the Philippines. A resident for 30 years, she was a blackjack dealer.

Partch off to fast start with LV: Nick Christensen; When Darren Partch was 15, he went off to boarding school.

Letter: Americans are much worse off now than in 2000: And then there was the outright lie that the government would use only sound science to approve Yucca Mountain. And all the government can say is, "But the stock market is holding its own."

Sports briefs for February 17, 2004: The letter is dated Jan. 26 and was sent to Notre Dame's board of trustees.

Community briefs for February 17, 2004: Southern Nevada law enforcement personnel will trade in their handcuffs for serving trays Wednesday at all area Applebee's restaurants.

News briefs for February 17, 2004: Human skeletal remains were recovered from a desert area east of Jean on Saturday after a hiker discovered them while walking with his dog the night before.