Print edition for January 19, 2004

LV entertainers remember pioneer comic Allen: Ed Koch and Jerry Fink; Comedian Bernie Allen, eager to watch some of the biggest names of the era perform, attended a 1966 Friars Club dinner honoring entertainment legend Joe E. Lewis.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Seinfeld throws Wallace a line in debut: About 15 minutes into his 10 p.m. set, Wallace was mumbling "Auld Lang Syne" ("Nobody knows the lyrics to that song, do they?" Wallace said.) when Seinfeld suddenly appeared, stage right.

Phillips, longtime Strip violinist, dies: Max Phillips, a violinist who backed up Las Vegas Strip headliners including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley, died Saturday at Valley Hospital Medical Center. He was 87.

Domestic terrorism still major concern in LV: Jace Radke; While international terrorism gets most of the headlines domestic terrorism remains a top priority for the FBI and local law enforcement.

Fight panel nixes Butterbean bout in Alabama: Dean Juipe; Before push literally came to shove, the Illinois boxing commission representative who was overseeing the scheduled fight this past Friday in Birmingham, Ala., involving Eric "Butterbean" Esch stepped in and determined there would not be a bout.

Stiffer penalty in construction zones created: Heather Rawlyk; Gov. Kenny Guinn on Friday dedicated a new law to a 42-year-old Boulder City woman who was killed on the job in Las Vegas by a drug-impaired driver.

Rebels face another uphill climb: Steve Guiremand; SAN DIEGO -- Oops, they did it again.

Practice pays off: Robinson finds the mark: Contrary to what you might have heard, practice doesn't make perfect.

Croom does it again -- scores a TD in Hula Bowl: Former UNLV tailback Larry Croom scored his team's only touchdown in a 26-7 loss at Saturday's Hula Bowl Maui. However, that meant Crooms, who transferred to UNLV from Arizona, got in the end zone at least once in all of his school-record three all-star game appearances.

Rogich: Gambling a roadblock to major leagues: Sito Negron; A major league baseball franchise in the Las Vegas Valley is possible from a market standpoint, but it will be difficult to overcome the perceived stigma of gambling, said Sig Rogich, who is supporting the effort.

Tennessee businesses bank on lottery launch: Amber McDowell; CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- For years, Tony Kim watched as customers looking to buy gas, snacks or cigarettes bypassed his store here and crossed the state line into Kentucky in search of one thing: lottery tickets.

Sports briefs for January 19, 2004: Kobe Bryant lost his sponsorship deal with McDonald's, costing the NBA star another endorsement while his sexual assault case proceeds in Colorado.

Stars come out for scouts and empty seats: Nick Christensen; Despite attendance more fit for a high school football stadium, organizers of Saturday's Las Vegas All-American Classic said they plan on returning with a better game next year.

Artifacts thief is sentenced: Jace Radke; A Moapa Valley man has been sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and ordered to pay $80,085 in restitution for his part in taking thousands of American Indian artifacts.

Tribes attack plan allowing non-Indian slots: Chris T. Nguyen; PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Tribal leaders, alarmed at a movement to end their statewide monopoly on lucrative slot-machine gambling, say they are determined to fight a proposed ballot measure that would add the slots to racetracks and non-Indian card clubs.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Nick Zito loads up for the Kentucky Derby: Ralph Siraco; The new year is already 19 days old. And, it's less than 15 weeks until the 130th Kentucky Derby. And, there have already been seven races contested for the newly turned 3-year-olds with at least that many winning owners dreaming about Louisville on the first Saturday in May.

Els works overtime to win another Sony trophy: When Ernie Els comes to Hawaii, he makes far more money than he spends.

MacCachren has a weekend to remember: While MacCachren, 38, was earning his third and fourth class wins in Laughlin, Gary Dircks of Anthem, Ariz., and Las Vegas' Troy Herbst both won their classes and finished first and second overall out of the 100 finishers in the two-day event.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Big-league baseball in Las Vegas? That bet is a long shot: Dean Juipe; Not too many years ago, a report that Major League Baseball was in Las Vegas and examining the city's credentials in regard to landing and supporting a team would have elicited a great deal of response from the media.

Rules would restrict air tours: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Tourist flights over the Las Vegas Strip and the Grand Canyon could be subject to new, stricter rules proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fee hikes in rich parts of LV eyed: Dan Kulin and Sito Negron; Residents of affluent neighborhoods would pay more for some municipal activities than people in less wealthy areas, under a proposed fee increase scheduled to go before the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday.

Fines failing to curb commercial fountain use: Fountains at businesses across Las Vegas continue to run, despite the efforts of the valley's water agency to enforce conservation rules that require water features to be shut off.

LV hospital in referral deal: Terms weren't disclosed. The Beryl Cos. is also in referral deals with two other HCA hospitals in Las Vegas, Sunrise and MountainView.

Mortuary industry offers more personalized services: Michelle Swafford; The role of the funeral home is changing and the options for caring for the deceased are increasing, Las Vegas Valley morticians say.

Water conservation program cutting usage: If you think you've seen a lot less green and a lot more crushed rock lately, you would be correct.

Crash called suicide try: Dan Kulin; A Las Vegas man threatening to commit suicide led police on a 30-minute chase Sunday that ended when he drove into a rock-lined wash along the Las Vegas Beltway near Rainbow Boulevard, police said.

Gaming briefs for Jan. 19, 2004: The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers will move its AWFS Fair to Las Vegas in 2005, ending a relationship the event has had with Southern California since 1957.

Four Vegas flights added: The Tempe, Ariz.-based company also will operate new daily round trips between Las Vegas and San Francisco, Boston and Phoenix. The Burbank service, which will compete with rival Southwest Airlines, will begin April 23, and use a twin-engine Airbus A319 jet configured to hold 124 passengers.

Pioneer comic Allen remembered: Ed Koch and Jerry Fink; Comedian Bernie Allen, eager to watch some of the biggest names of the era perform, attended a 1966 Friars Club dinner honoring entertainment legend Joe E. Lewis.

LV man sentenced in penny stock scheme: Dan Kulin; One Las Vegas man was sent to prison and another received six months' home detention plus probation after pleading guilty to securities fraud and aiding and abetting for their roles in a "pump and dump" penny stock scheme that netted at least $70,000, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

Nevada Power profit level at issue: Kevin Rademacher; The staff of the state Public Utilities Commission and an economist for the state Bureau of Consumer Protection on Friday recommended pruning Nevada Power Co.'s $142 million rate increase request.

E-mail threat detailed Nevada targets: Jace Radke; An anonymous e-mail sent to the White House around New Year's Eve predicted the death of "the leader of Nevada" and referred to 10 suicide bombers on Las Vegas streets, according to sources close to a federal investigation of the threat.

Teacher empowers students with speech: By Timothy Pratt; When 8-year-old Jake Rooney first learned about Martin Luther King Jr. two years ago, he was confused to hear that police arrested the civil rights leader, a good man doing the right thing.

Test dates could hurt year-round students: By Emily Richmond; New testing requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act could put students at year-round schools at a disadvantage, state and local education officials say.

Company cutting jobs in Idaho, Nevada: The decision to cut back in Lewiston, Idaho, and in North Las Vegas is part of Potlatch's plan to control costs in a competitive market by streamlining production and expanding marketing, said Michael Sullivan, spokesman for the Spokane, Wash.-based paper and tissue producer.

News briefs for Jan. 19, 2004: A pedestrian struck by a car on East Charleston Boulevard near 27th Street Saturday morning was in critical condition Sunday night.

Regents to study in-state tuition rate issue: Heather Rawlyk and Ed Koch; The Nevada Board of Regents at its next meeting Jan. 29-30 will re-examine its in-state tuition policy, which has resulted in threats of lawsuits against the university system. The meeting will be at the Community College of Southern Nevada's Henderson campus.

Official: Binion's deal progressing: As negotiations for the sale of the shuttered Binion's Horseshoe Club continued through what was a three-day weekend for many, dozens of laid-off employees took advantage of training and employment placement assistance today.

Volunteers sought for mental health disaster-response team: CARSON CITY -- The state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services is looking for volunteers to become part of a mental health disaster-response team.

Editorial: On wings of ... sloths: Clark County, which manages the airport, should start demonstrating to the citizens that it's listening. A plan for managing the growth should get under way, with regular progress reports to the residents. Frustrated with the lack of response to the residents, state Sen. Ray Shaffer, R-North Las Vegsas, is proposing a bill that would shut the airport down at night and limit yearly takeoffs and landings to 65,000. In our view, such a bill would be extreme. There is a balance somewhere between the needs of the airport and the demands of the residents. Before the chance to arrive at ...

Leno extends monologue: If you like his kind of humor, which is largely geared toward middle America and void of anything truly salacious or edgy, then you would enjoy over dosing on his rapid-fire 90-minute act that leapfrogs from topic to topic with hardly a transition.

Letter: Mental hospital is better than more homeless: I don't know the exact numbers but there are many middle-income families where both adults are working full time and still can't afford health insurance. Where would they go in time of need? Where would they go in case they or a family member needed help for a mental illness? They would go to the state mental health facility.

Birth announcements for Jan. 19, 2004: Dec. 29:

Columnist Susan Snyder: Can liberty and security coexist?: This is because we have traveled somewhere five of the past six weeks. And if I had been forced to toss my toothbrush into a suitcase one more time, I'd be writing this from a cell.

Community briefs for Jan. 19, 2004: Sponsored by the Henderson Interfaith Coalition, the 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be at 7 p.m. today at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 130 N. Pecos Road.

'Butler' is a real farce: Marilyn LaRocque; The two-act comedy was written in 1967 by British playwright Joe Orton (1933-1967). That year he was hammered to death by his longtime lover, Kenneth Halliwell, who was jealous of his partner's literary success.

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Jan. 19, 2004: Lisa Ferguson; How's the fit on that shiny, new engagement ring you received over the holidays? Now that the excitement (or sheer terror) of getting engaged has subsided, it's time, of course, to start losing sleep and testing your sanity while obsessing over every ridiculously minute detail involved with planning a wedding.

Exhibit A: Evidence shows Las Vegas Natural History Museum has some staying power: By Kristen Peterson; As the Las Vegas Natural History Museum opens its new whale exhibit Saturday, the staff says a tearful farewell to "The Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Eggs."

Mental health facility given national accreditation: CARSON CITY -- The state's mental health hospital in Southern Nevada and its outpatient programs have received national accreditation, signifying the hospital offers safe and quality care to its patients.

Eagle Scouts build trail to Southern Nevada history: Heather Rawlyk; Visitors to historic St. Thomas can now hike their way to the formerly submerged Moapa Valley town through a new trail, cleared and built by volunteers and local Eagle Scouts.

Letter: Local jobs outlook is bleak: Obtaining and paying for the numerous work cards is confusing and a financial burden. Employers often treat their employees poorly and fire them at will. Why not, when there are dozens waiting to take their place? Apply for just about any advertised job and you find yourself among many others as desperate as yourself; the competition is fierce.

Obituaries for Jan. 19, 2004: Robert T. Anderson, 66, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in Las Vegas. He was born April 18, 1937, in Yonkers, N.Y. A resident for 20 years, he was a retired NASA mechanic and a Navy veteran.

Editorial: Program deserving of support: Teach For America, as the Sun reported last week, is talking with the Clark County School District about placing 100 students here in at-risk public schools at the beginning of the next school year. The successful program already operates in 21 school districts in the nation. Represented are major cities -- such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, St. Louis and New York -- and rural areas, such as the Mississippi Delta. What's also impressive about the program, which requires the teachers to make a two-year commitment, is that it's highly selective. Last year about 16,000 college graduates applied but fewer than ...

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