Print edition for May 25, 2004

Nevada's Johnson going to Stanford: AP; Groth announced Johnson's hiring at a news conference on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. Johnson was not immediately available for comment, but was scheduled to appear at a news conference later Tuesday at Stanford.

The Twang Gang: Montgomery Gentry highlights star-filled ACMA lineup: Spencer Patterson; The Kentucky duo will have the honor of opening the televised three-hour event, which kicks off at 5 p.m. at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

U.S. recycling push launched from LV: Stephen Curran; Nevada's recycling programs may be years behind most of the country, but that didn't stop the Bush administration's top environmental official from using a Las Vegas convention to pitch a national push to bring recycling to the nation's malls and shopping centers.

Police forces counting on sales tax hike: Jen Lawson; Metro Police along with the Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite police departments stand to receive funding for 1,686 additional officers if voters approve a ballot question to raise the sales tax in Clark County, officials said.

Sunrise trauma effort set back: Dan Kulin; Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center's effort to open a high-level trauma center was dealt a setback Monday when a consulting firm told a Clark County task force that opening a center there would hurt nearby University Medical Center.

Property crime up sharply in valley: Jen Lawson; Nationally property crime declined 1 percent last year from the previous year, but during the same period property crime in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County jumped 20 percent, according to a preliminary report of the FBI's crime statistics.

Letter: Gays marrying in Massachusetts, world not ending: PATRICIA DUCHARME

Regulator recommends approval of rate hike: The increase would raise rates by about $43 million annually to accommodate higher costs the company is incurring for the purchase of natural gas.

Online skill games flourish, skirt ban: Bob Tedeschi; For U.S. companies locked out of the lucrative global industry in Internet gambling, there is still money to be made -- as long as they don't call it gambling.

Letter: Seniors need roads to explore: The problem I have is with organizations such as Friends of Nevada Wilderness that advocate closing roads in these public lands. I believe that I have a right to enjoy these places as much today as I did 50 years ago when I was a young man in robust health.

Adidas attraction set for Strip: Jennifer Shubinski; A three-story adidas store under construction at the Showcase mall on the Las Vegas Strip is scheduled to open this summer, and the mall's co-developer has more expansion plans for the mall and its Henderson property.

LV-based bank ordered to pay credit card patrons: Kevin Rademacher; The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday ordered the First National Bank of Marin -- a Las Vegas-based credit card bank -- to make restitution to customers harmed by alleged unfair practices.

Wednesday's horse racing entries: Post Time 1:20 p.m.

LV firm penalized by Iowa authorities: Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller barred Continuity Partners Inc. from doing business in his state after it solicited Iowans to try its products and services such as gas coupons and a calling card. Miller said in a statement that the customers would provide their bank account numbers to cover the $1.95 shipping and handling charge, but would reject the other offers.

Letter: Abuse is product of sick culture: As for the suspected jailers' families who are interviewed on our television stations, they would do well to say nothing and hang their heads in shame.

Editorial: Chaos grips drug plan: Companies offering the cards have complained that the prices on the government-run Web site often are inaccurate, registering too high in most cases. Also, the prices that companies charge for drugs can vary from week to week, rendering comparisons meaningless. Seniors, especially those who haven't had to deal with managed care's complexities on this scale, have been frustrated by the misleading information and overwhelmed by the number of choices, making it impossible to make an informed decision. Add to all of this the pressure to make the right decision; once the seniors select a card, they can only switch one ...

Sports briefs for May 25, 2004: Maurice Clarett lost yet another court decision in his attempt to play in the NFL next season.

Editorial: Bush fails to deliver: The most important question is whether the president's strategy for Iraq will work. Unfortunately, the administration's bungling of the war, and its failure to get enough international support early on to secure and rebuild that country, doesn't inspire much confidence today. It's unclear that the White House really has learned from its mistakes and truly understands how important it is to listen to Congress, many of whose members on both sides of the aisle have been trying to offer constructive criticism to the administration. A growing number of Republican senators, in particular, are getting nervous, a situation that has accelerated ...

Homeless veterans event set: Numerous local agencies are organizing the stand down for the estimated 3,000 homeless veterans in Clark County, who represent 38 percent of the 7,800 or more homeless people identified in the April count. There are more than 190,000 veterans in the county.

Buckle Up Campaign cracks down on unbuckled motorists: Caitlin Hudgins; If you didn't buckle up before, you better start now.

Immunization schedule for May 25, 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.

Doughnut maker reports loss: The Winston-Salem-based chain said today it lost $24.4 million, or 38 cents a share, for its first fiscal quarter ended May 2, in contrast to a profit of $13.1 million, or 22 cents a share, a year ago.

Columnist Jeff German: Hard Rock must play by the rules: The First Amendment does come into play here. But the state's ability to enforce gaming regulations also is at stake, which is why Gaming Control Board member Bobby Siller said Monday he isn't backing away from his push to punish the Hard Rock.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Rewards are in cycle recycling: Paul Rognlein sees independence.

Community briefs for May 25, 2004: The annual Policemen vs. Firemen Charity Golf Tournament will be held June 3 at Angel Park Golf Club. Proceeds support the University Medical Center Burn Center and the Police Athletic League of Southern Nevada.

Preseason accolades begin to roll in for Brimmer: Steve Guiremand; It's the time of year that college football magazines begin making their way into supermarkets and bookstores. And with them comes an array of preseason All-America squads.

News briefs for May 25, 2004: Two men were charged Friday with murder in the death of a 19-year-old Las Vegas man and attempted murder of another man during a confrontation inside a Las Vegas home in February.

Knight doles out credit to Davis on men's team: Adam Candee; First, the good news: Dwaine Knight feels Ryan Moore has become the best golfer in UNLV's history.

Oh opts for pros: Adam Candee; Sunny Oh would love to play another year of college golf at UNLV.

Three building fires leave minor damage: An elderly man who fell asleep while smoking in bed in his first floor apartment sparked a fire in a three-story concrete senior citizen apartment building at 2525 W. Washington Ave. about 7:30 p.m. Monday.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Warren pieces together a dream gig: Walker Warren, 18, graduated early from Green Valley High School to take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime: to tour with the hot new band Trust Company as the bass player. Warren has been playing guitar and writing music for the past four years with his own garage band, Maladapt.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Stewart has second thoughts about racing in Indy 500: After his whirlwind tour Sunday of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart might be rethinking his decision last summer to sign a long-term contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

Commission rejects plan for allocation of limousines: CARSON CITY -- Despite reports of a Las Vegas-area limousine oversupply, a panel of state lawmakers declined to ask the Transportation Services Authority (TSA) to create a limousine allocation system.

Home resales near record; consumer confidence steady: Resales rose from a 6.48 million pace in March, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The rate first topped 6 million in July and has held at or above that level for ten consecutive months, including a record 6.68 million in September.

Lawmakers will look at regents, open meeting law: CARSON CITY -- A legislative committee is going to look into whether the regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada violated the open meeting law when it demoted two top officials of the Community College of Southern Nevada, including its president.

Business briefs for May 25, 2004: BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- HealthSouth Corp., sued by U.S. regulators for accounting fraud, today said a group of bondholders sent it a default notice because the company hasn't filed financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

State board called to task: CARSON CITY -- A legislative committee wants the board that regulates the state health insurance system to explain why it won't allow Nevada Highway Patrol troopers and other certified peace officers to get their own insurance coverage.

Golden, former head of bowlers tour, dies at 79: Harry "Goose" Golden, a fixture in pro bowling for four decades, who helped make the Showboat Professional Bowlers Association event one of the highlights of the tour, died May 11 in Las Vegas after a lengthy illness. He was 79.

Gaming briefs for May 25, 2004: HOBBS, N.M. -- The state could see millions of additional dollars pumped into its coffers thanks to a horse track and casino under construction here.

Ensign delays TSA choice until McCarran has enough screeners: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., will wait to see if the additional security screeners expected at McCarran International Airport are adequate before lifting his hold on the nomination of the director of the Transportation Security Administration.

Probation given in case of attempted hit on dog: By Matt Pordum; A man accused of being part of a murder-for-hire plot to kill a Rottweiler in a Summerlin neighborhood was sentenced to three years' probation on Monday.

'Minor' guys in Las Vegas rooting hard for Calgary: Nick Christensen; When the Las Vegas Wranglers signed on as the Double-A affiliate of the Calgary Flames last summer, some wondered about the impact of being affiliated with a "minor" team in the "major" leagues.

New store opens at Mandalay Place: New store opens at Mandalay Place

Aztecs caught a cold break: COACH: Tony Gwynn, second season.

State says Yucca shields too costly: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The state wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ignore the Energy Department's plan to install drip shields over nuclear waste storage containers inside Yucca Mountain.

Two drown at Lakes Mead, Mohave: Two men apparently drowned in separate incidents at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave over the weekend, heightening authorities' concerns about the crowds expected for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

Cory quits county race, backs Boggs McDonald: A Republican challenger to Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald dropped out of the race Monday and pledged his support to the incumbent.

Grants help conservation projects: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Nevada received $2.2 million Monday from the Interior Department and cooperating organizations for conservation projects throughout the state.

Bellagio power outage tied to material failure: By Liz Benston; A county investigation into the power failure that shut down the Bellagio for more than three days and led to the displacement of thousands of customers and employees last month hasn't turned up an explanation for what caused material to degrade, leading to the failure, the county's top building official said.

Obituaries for May 25, 2004: Anastacio R. Alvarez Sr., 59, of Las Vegas died Sunday in Las Vegas. He was born June 27, 1944, in Hayward, Calif. A resident for one year, he was a retired security officer and a Vietnam War Army veteran.

Slot maker's first-half outlook improves: SYDNEY, Australia -- Aristocrat Leisure Ltd., the world's second-biggest slot machine maker, forecast a return to profit in the first half after last year's record loss, boosted by sales of its new game in Japan. The shares soared 14 percent today.

I-15 widening in hands of residents, businesses: Residents and businesses that could be affected by a Las Vegas highway-widening project will have one more opportunity to give their thoughts to the state and the roadway builders.

Registrations questioned in Stupak campaign probe: The district attorney's office investigated Nevada Stupak's unsuccessful 2002 bid for the Clark County Commission after the Election Department turned over a stack of suspicious voter registration forms, prosecutors and county officials said this morning.

Nevadans' work at Abu Ghraib overshadowed by scandal: Christina Almeida; In a dusty caravan of Humvees and 2 1/2-ton trucks, the 72nd Military Police Company set out from Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of May 24, 2003.

Bail delayed in death of diabetic child: Smith said that without knowledge of the home life or mental state of Cheryl Botzet, accused of murder in the Feb. 9 death of her 11-year-old daughter, he could not set bail.

State parcels out homeland security funds to counties: Jace Radke; The Nevada Homeland Security Commission beat a Friday deadline to allocate about $26.5 million in federal funds, as the commission's outgoing chairman again denied allegations that he used his position to help a communications company in its bid for a government contract.

Nevadans see speech differently: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Nevada's congressional delegation had mixed views on President Bush's five-step plan to transfer power of Iraq back to its citizens.

High pump prices prompt government conservation: Kirsten Searer; You're not the only one cursing the gas pump these days -- local governments are scrambling to cover rising gasoline costs, too.