Print edition for June 14, 2004

Public invited to check Enterprise land plan: County staff will review the Enterprise land-use plan and explain changes that were incorporated into the proposed plan based on comments from the community since the update process for the area began last year.

LV might bill Sky-Vue owners for closure costs: Sito Negron; The Las Vegas City Council will consider submitting a $78,418 bill to David and Sandi DiMarco, owners of the Sky-Vue Mobile Park, to cover the city's closure of the crumbling mobile home court.

Fremont Street unveils a new, sharper image: Dan Kulin and Beth Slovic; After the second announcement that the next light show at the Fremont Street Experience was being canceled because of "technical difficulties," Becky Adams was worried she and her friends wouldn't see the dazzling display on this trip.

Local team picks up coveted division win: Michael Petersen of Las Vegas thought he had reached the pinnacle in sports-car endurance racing when he teamed last year with American Le Mans Series rival Alex Job Racing to win the GT class in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Holocaust artwork honored: Coronado High School senior Sheila Brown, 18, won third place in the museum's annual art contest for high school students. Students were asked to portray the challenges of children and parents who were forced to hide out during the Holocaust.

Gaming briefs for June 14, 2004: REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Electronic Arts Inc., whose "Madden NFL" games sell more copies than any other sports video game, said it will stop posting online casino advertisements in its Web site, the New York Times reported.

Monorail a no-go for busy summer holiday: Stephen Curran; During the busy Fourth of July weekend, visitors will have to stick to their regular modes of transportation as the long-anticipated Las Vegas monorail system still won't be running, the man in charge of the company created to run the project said.

Obituaries for June 14, 2004: Dorothea Baxley, 81, of North Las Vegas died Thursday in North Las Vegas. She was born Jan. 10, 1923, in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. A resident for two years, she was a homemaker.

Three more Mongols plead not guilty: Kenneth Dysart, 41, Victor Ramirez, 29, and Benjamin Leyva, all members of the Mongols motorcycle gang, appeared before Mosley.

Insurers receive subpoenas on fees: Helen Stock; Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp., and MetLife Inc. said they received subpoenas from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer amid a widening investigation into possible conflicts of interest over fees collected by insurance brokers.

Harrah's looking to be No. 1 in Tunica: Lynda Edwards; JACKSON, Miss. -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc. sold its Vicksburg casino, a property that boasted 700 slot machines and 117 hotel rooms, but now sees a hot market in Tunica -- and a major venue for World Series poker.

Microsoft targeting small business market more: Allison Linn; SEATTLE -- News that Microsoft Corp. discussed a merger with business software giant SAP AG has focused new attention on Microsoft's limited success in a market it would love to conquer.

Mandalay is weighing sweetened merger deal: Liz Benston and Richard N. Velotta; The biggest merger in casino industry history may be back on.

Rove: Yucca won't be an election issue: Kirsten Searer; The presidential race in Nevada will not come down to the state's feelings on the Yucca Mountain issue, a top presidential adviser said this weekend.

UNLV class will probe popularity of Japan's anime: A new UNLV class will pit Pikachu against Pocahontas.

Birth announcements for June 14, 2004: May 31:

Vitamin makers win round in antitrust case: The justices unanimously threw out a legal theory that non-U.S. customers were using to press an antitrust suit in U.S. courts. The decision returns the case to the lower courts, where the vitamin purchasers will have a chance to pursue a different argument.

News briefs for June 14, 2004: A Las Vegas motorcyclist was killed after apparently hitting a curb and crashing into a light pole at Craig Road and Nellis Boulevard, Metro Police said.

Letter: Bush is dancing around the truth: Bush's approval rating is diving, and the announcement that he is having to round up legal help to answer questions about illegal activities will not help the freefall. So what can they do to get it off the front page? Well, of course, divert the attention to something or someone else.

Inmate sentenced in pot plot: CARSON CITY -- An inmate serving a life term for a murder in Clark County has been convicted of being part of a marijuana smuggling plot that involved a correctional officer at the state prison in Ely.

Pit bull owner fined in fatal attack on dog: Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis found Ruddy Gibbs guilty and ordered him to pay a $300 fine for his negligence. Gibbs voluntarilly gave the dog to animal control officials and had the dog put down shortly after the incident.

Letter: It's tough to be optimistic today: When I think about it, they may have a valid point. When one is witness to the perfidy of our vacuous politicians, it is difficult to maintain a positive attitude about the future of America. Many needs in America go begging for lack of funding, yet hundreds of billions are appropriated for Iraq and various pork-barrel schemes by Congress.

Letter: Today's problems can be traced to Reagan's policies: In his article, "Planet Reagan," William Rivers Pitt, an author and senior editor of truthout.org, points out that most of the problems we have today, including Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, came from Reagan's policies. Reagan would not fund AIDS research because it was a "gay disease." Reagan supported South Africa's apartheid. One of his worst policies was the deregulation of everything, which created the corporate ownership of the media.

Missing woman's body is found at Lake Mead: A Lake Mead visitor on a personal water craft discovered the body of 36-year-old Terri Ann Selden shortly after noon on Friday.

Gaming Hall of Fame induction held: Binion is the son of Benny Binion, who founded Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas. Jack Binion began Horseshoe Gaming Holding Inc., a company recently purchased by Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Group to tackle problem of chronic homelessness: By Timothy Pratt; Nearly three years after civic leaders met to tackle the Las Vegas Valley's homeless problem, another group will take on the same issue Tuesday.

Retail sales rebound; trade deficit sets record: The latest snapshot of retail activity reported by the Commerce Department today comes after a consumer pullback in April, which depressed retail sales by 0.6 percent. May's increase was slightly larger than the 1 percent rise some that economists were predicting and marked the biggest gain since March.

U.K. government to limit expansion of gambling: Gaming analysts say the latest reforms in Great Britain's gambling regulations will make opportunities less attractive to most U.S. operators and equipment companies.

Attorney general sues Gaming Board in casino dispute: The complaint, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, says the board "usurped the authority" of the attorney general by moving forward with portions of a reorganization plan for the bankrupt Emerald Casino Inc. that she opposes.

Mother ordered to trial in death of diabetic girl: By Matt Pordum; The mother of a diabetic 11-year-old girl who died on Feb. 9 because her insulin level was too low will stand trial for murder, Justice of the Peace Douglas Smith ruled on Friday.

Judge to rule on petition extension: Molly Ball; A judge is set to rule today on whether a group that claims its members were harassed while collecting petition signatures can have a deadline extension, a prospect experts said would put the Nov. 2 election at risk.

Another group to tackle chronic homelessness: By Timothy Pratt; Nearly three years after civic leaders met to tackle the Las Vegas Valley's homeless problem, another group will take on the same issue Tuesday.

Oneida tribe to abide by contracts Gov. Doyle signed: Robert Imrie; GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Jeannine Frankenberg plunked nickels into a slot machine at the Oneida Nation Casino on Friday, pausing long enough to say she agreed with the tribe's decision to keep playing new games and pay the state $20 million as scheduled.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Frustrated L.A. looks to have already imploded: Dean Juipe; As meltdowns go, this one is right up there with Chernobyl.

Lack of run production causing letdown for 51s: Nick Christensen; In May, the Las Vegas 51s struggled with pitching, losing close high-scoring games and tumbling into the basement of the Pacific Coast League.

Sports briefs for June 14, 2004: Martina Navratilova doesn't know whether she will play singles at Wimbledon later this month.

Bob Evans to buy Mimi's Cafe restaurants for $182 million: COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Bob Evans Farms Inc., which makes sausage and operates 561 restaurants, agreed to buy the Mimi's Cafe chain for $182 million to add casual-style restaurants in 10 U.S. states.

Wholesale pharmacy has license suspended: The board on June 2 found FMC guilty of failure to provide a true copy of its records to pharmacy board staff and employing workers who redacted or modified records. The wholesaler was also found guilty of failing to provide copies of all of the records requested by board staff.

Brushfire burns 35 acres at Desert Wetlands Park: Heather Rawlyk; Ken Smith was relaxing Sunday afternoon at his home in the Sterling at Silver Springs retirement community when he heard a frantic knock on his door.

No charges filed in new attack by three pit bulls: Officers responded to Sahara and Eastern avenues about 8:30 p.m. after reports that four people had been bitten by the trio of dogs, Metro Lt. Les Lane said.

Community briefs for June 14, 2004: The Las Vegas Juneteenth Committee will hold its fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza at Lorenzi Park.

New CEO of Nevada Bankers Association leading tax fight: Kevin Rademacher; The Nevada Bankers Association is making a few changes as it prepares for another legislative battle over taxes.

Gold's Gym sold: Gold's Gym sold

Two pit bulls killed in attack on four people: The dogs escaped from a residence on St. Louis Avenue and roamed surrounding neighborhoods, attacking bystanders, according to Metro Police Lt. Karen Coyne, of the Field Services Division.

Apartments being rebuilt after fire burn once again: Jennifer Lawson; An apartment building on Tropicana Avenue near Nellis Boulevard that was being rebuilt after a fire last year caught fire again this morning.

School-funding initiative is filed: Kirsten Searer; As they turned in signatures today to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would increase education funding, leaders of the state teachers union said today they hope to make education the top issue of this election.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Las Vegas parties leave best for list: 10. Gaming Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony, Green Valley Ranch Station Casino, Friday night.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Smarty Jones fans cry foul in Belmont defeat: Ralph Siraco; It has been more than a week since Smarty Jones lost the Triple Crown.

MGM Mirage raises bid for Mandalay Resort Group: Mandalay said in a separate release it hadn't entered an agreement but said the new terms would "offer significantly greater assurances of closing" for its shareholders. It said it would present it to its board on Tuesday.

Chesney's show is positively entertaining: Leah Robinson; Chesney delivered his country-fried bohemian musical fare as three wall screens showed the singer walking white sand beaches and sailing crystal blue waters.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Counties counter water talk: "The notion that we have a finite supply of water, and when that finite supply is gone you stop growing, is in the past," the Southern Nevada Water Authority general manager told the Clark County Growth Task Force on Tuesday.

A Gold Mine: 'The Casino' on Fox unearths drama at Golden Nugget: Kirk Baird; There are endless documentaries about the city on cable, including "American Casino" on the Discovery Channel, the original "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on CBS, along with the hit nighttime drama, "Vegas," on NBC.

Fans pay tribute to the late Velvet Revolver: Spencer Patterson; The loud chorus of boos protesting Velvet Revolver's late arrival Friday night begged an obvious question:

Editorial: Pentagon fritters funds while cities go without: This is what's been happening in just one account -- the one for airline tickets -- at the Pentagon since 1997. The General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, reported last week that the Pentagon failed to gain reimbursements for at least $100 million worth of airline tickets it bought but either didn't use, or failed to use completely. The tickets were reimbursable -- all anyone had to do was apply. No one did, however, and the money was wasted. The GAO also reported that millions more were lost through fraud. Some people were being personally reimbursed for tickets ...

Editorial: No excuse for delaying documents: The Internet has changed all of this. Public documents are accessible now from homes, libraries or anywhere there is a computer. Governments at all levels have loaded their records onto Web sites, saving citizens time and money. The system is a godsend, unless public agencies decide to hold some documents back.

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for June 14, 2004: Lisa Ferguson; Sure, silk neckties, fancy watches and rounds of golf at some chi-chi course may be swell Father's Day gifts for some dads. But what to buy padres who like to live on the edge? Whose tough-guy personas and the eardrum-shattering, chrome-plated chopper they ride are enough to scare the sweater vests off Ward Cleaver types?