Print edition for November 22, 2004

News briefs for November 22, 2004: An 80-year-old man was killed Sunday morning when his car was hit as he pulled out of his driveway, according to Metro Police.

Rebels' flaws evident in Robinson's last loss: Steve Guiremand; SAN DIEGO --- As UNLV's team bus arrived at Qualcomm Stadium for the final game of the John Robinson era, the driver made a wrong turn and seemed to get lost for a while.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Back in the buffet line main course is a beef: As he sped under the checkered flag to finish fifth and clinch the Nextel Cup championship by the closest margin in history Sunday, it was apparent by the reaction at the NASCAR Cafe at the Sahara hotel-casino that Kurt Busch already was cultivating new fans in his hometown.

Correction: * Because of an error by the Sun, a story in Friday's edition incorrectly spelled the last name of Liberty High School Principal Emilio Fernandez. The Sun regrets the error. The Sun corrects its errors. If you find a mistake, call 385-3111 to report it.

Wheels of fortune: HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- During driver introductions for the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship race Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kurt Busch was greeted with a chorus of boos usually reserved for another Yankee driver, Jeff Gordon.

Winky has an eye for fights that pay: Now that Winky Wright has twice beaten Shane Mosley, he's aiming for the megafights -- and the megabucks.

No one injured as fire destroys Henderson home: Firefighters were called to t 261 Village Court, near Basic High School, around 4:30 a.m., Deputy Chief Doug Stevens said.

Banks planning merger: SouthwestUSA will acquire Nevada Trust, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. The boards of both companies have approved the merger. The deal is expected to close in early 2005, subject to regulatory approvals.

Company to sell junk bonds: Wynn Resorts will use proceeds from the sale of the 10-year notes to pay debt and to help fund an expansion of its Wynn Las Vegas project set to open next year, Standard & Poor's said. The offering is rated B2 by Moody's Investors Service and B+ by S&P, five levels and four levels below investment-grade.

Substitute teachers fail to meet demand: By Emily Richmond; Centennial High School was short another substitute teacher last week, so Principal Gerald Velasquez did the only thing he could do -- he taught the ninth grade biology class himself.

LV area ranked 8th most dangerous: The Las Vegas metropolitan area is ranked as the eighth most dangerous in the nation in a report released today.

Political hopefuls already have eye on 2006: Kirsten Searer; Election 2006 is a little less than two years away, but businessman Steve Hill figures when a rare opportunity arises, time should not be wasted.

DOE to miss its Yucca deadline: Suzanne Struglinski; ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Energy Department will not file the Yucca Mountain project's license application next month as planned, said Margaret Chu, the department official who oversees the project.

Southern Nevada hit by winter storm: Mary Manning and Eric Leake; A powerful winter storm swept through Southern Nevada on Sunday, leaving more than two feet of snow on Mount Charleston, slick roads in the Las Vegas Valley and flight delays at McCarran International Airport.

Reid adviser granted limited role on NRC: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A top aide to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will take a seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission but with significantly limited power to block Yucca Mountain, under a deal struck in Congress during the weekend.

Special prosecutor brings wealth of experience: CARSON CITY -- The man chosen to be the special prosecutor in the impeachment trial of state Controller Kathy Augustine has years of experience handling major criminal cases.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Steve Asmussen breaks win total for trainers: Ralph Siraco; With the Breeders' Cup championship races in the history books, attention is now concentrated on the annual records as the year-round horse racing season makes it into the final month.

Sports briefs for November 22, 2004: The NBA players union said it will appeal the suspensions today given to three Indiana Pacers, including Ron Artest's record season-long ban, for fighting with fans during a brawl that broke out Friday night at the end of a game in Detroit.

Utility files lawsuit: The lawsuit includes as defendants Citigroup Inc., Salomon Smith Barney Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston, Barclays Bank Plc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto Dominion.

Gaughan uncertain of future with No. 77: HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Brendan Gaughan turned in his fourth top-10 finish of the season Sunday in the Ford 400 in what could prove to be his final race in the No. 77 Kodak Dodge for Penske-Jasper Racing.

Trump casino business files for Chap. 11: Jeffrey Gold; NEWARK, N.J. -- Donald Trump's casino empire filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after months of negotiations with bondholders over restructuring a crushing $1.3 billion debt.

System cuts time for construction-defect suits: Molly Ball; The culprit is often stucco.

Dollar stays near record low: Mark Tannenbaum and Rodrigo Davies; The dollar traded within a half-cent of a record low against the euro as finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 largest economies failed to protest the pace of the U.S. currency's slide.

Truckee too much for Moapa Valley: Nick Christensen; Through the postseason, Moapa Valley football coach Brent Lewis lamented that his team hadn't been tested in four quarters since the beginning of the season.

Obituaries for November 22, 2004: Margot Coloma, 79, of Las Vegas died Sept. 10 in Las Vegas. She was born Oct. 24, 1924, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. A resident for 14 years, she was a homemaker.

Liberty students return to dress code: By Emily Richmond; For Liberty High School Principal Emilio Fernandez, this morning was "just like old times," as wave after wave of students clad in khaki pants and red, white and blue shirts rolled onto the Bermuda Road campus.

Racino opens, but work still left: The track itself isn't quite finished -- something that had regulators a bit worried last month. But that was last month. Only a tiny bit of work is left, general manager Mike Howard said Sunday.

Officer cleared in man's death: Jen Lawson; A North Las Vegas Police officer who was cleared in two prior shootings was again found to have been justified in killing a 28-year-old man last month.

Preps scoreboard: 4A Sunset Region final Palo Verde 27...Cheyenne 20 Saturday: McQueen at Palo Verde, 1 p.m., Las Vegas

Palo Verde makes it stand to win Sunset title: Nick Christensen; With 4:25 to play in Friday's Sunset Region Championship, the Cheyenne football team found itself in the same position it was the week before -- down a touchdown and near midfield.

Doughnut maker posts loss: The loss at the No. 2 U.S. doughnut maker was 5 cents a share, compared with net income of $14.5 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased 1.4 percent to $170.1 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, the Winston-Salem, N.C.- based company in a statement today.

Casino workers frequently confused on card counters: By Liz Benston; Jimmy Pine is an animated, stocky former singer with a vague resemblance to Tom Jones and a propensity to gamble.

Sands IPO may net $500 million: By Liz Benston; The owner of the Venetian resort in Las Vegas has boosted its estimated proceeds from an upcoming initial public offering of stock to about $500 million from about $350 million.

Mariachi education included in pork: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Congress approved a $388 billion spending bill during the weekend that included money for a number of Nevada projects, including $25,000 for mariachi music education in Clark County schools.

Aztec calendar featured on new license plate: By Timothy Pratt; Today is Atl.

Caesars sells another casino to Columbia Sussex: By Liz Benston; Caesars Entertainment Inc. has agreed to sell off a second casino to private hotel chain Columbia Sussex Corp. in advance of its acquisition by Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Partnership names planned Strip property: The project has been named the Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino.

Some high-tech groups claim H-1B visas unfair: Alana Roberts; A push by some federal lawmakers to extend a yearly cap on temporary visas for highly skilled foreign workers is necessary to make sure American businesses can attract the talent they need to compete, company executives and immigration lawyers say.

Employer health care costs increase at slower rate: Michelle Swafford; A study released today estimates that health plan costs for employers this year increased at the lowest rate in five years.

Man sought in sexual assault found near school with teen: Terrell Davis, 27, was arrested on an outstanding warrant stemming from a previous sexual assault in Arlington, Texas, Officer Darnell Couthen, a spokesman for school police, said.

Biffle has help to get victory: HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Greg Biffle had the dominant car all afternoon, but he still needed some help to win Sunday's Ford 400 at Miami-Homestead Speedway.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Housing is in Primm location: Brand-new fitness center, winding footpaths and a community center equipped with a giant flat-screen television.

Fight gearing up against new hotel: Southwest Residents for Schools and Neighborhoods First, a citizens group opposed to the casino, will meet at 6:30 p.m. today at Wayne Tanaka Elementary School, 9135 W. Maule Ave.

New books illustrate war that guaranteed more war: Steve Bennett; H.G. Wells, memorably, called it "the war that will end war." Far from it; in fact, it fueled the bitterness of an Austrian corporal named Hitler, whose captain said he "lacked the capacity for leadership," and led to the blitzkrieg of 1939.

Tabish, Murphy jury deliberates for second day: By Matt Pordum; A Clark County jury started its second full-day of deliberations this morning as it continues to wade through roughly six weeks of evidence, testimony and arguments to try to determine how millionaire Ted Binion wound up dead at the age of 55.

Letter: Board should enforce school uniform policy: The board should develop a uniform dress code for all schools and quit demonstrating weakness in developing and enforcing its own policies. A basic premise of the uniform code is that it would eliminate the practice by students of wearing and identifying with gang colors, etc.

Birth announcements for November 22, 2004: Nov. 5:

Editorial: Warning lights on stop signs have potential: Unfortunately, installing a stop light requires many lengthy steps, including a traffic study, a design phase, applying for the funding (about $250,000 a light), a bidding process for the work, providing power to the light and coordinating with the Regional Transportation Commission and local and state governments. Traffic engineers say it's necessarily a tedious process because a traffic light in the wrong place can actually cause accidents. Analysis is also required because traffic lights are not automatically safer than stop signs, they say. This point was proven last month when two people were killed at Hualapai Way and Sahara Avenue ...

Lady Rebels look to regroup after stunning loss: Adam Candee; Work the equation in reverse to explain the Lady Rebels' puzzling 60-58 home loss to Central Florida.

Letter: Election is over: Bush clearly won: Secondly, she states that nearly half the American people will not support the president unless he makes "major concessions" to "placate" them. She did not state what those concessions are, but I'm an old country boy and I'm willing to bet that they are part and parcel of the Democratic platform that a majority of the American people said no to in the election.

Nas has no competition in Vegas: Spencer Patterson; Local hip-hop fans nearly got the chance to judge New York City's longstanding rap rivalry up close this week.

She's Cooked: Former 'Jeopardy!' contestant recalls brief battle with Ken Jennings: Kirk Baird; A few years ago they even auditioned for a couples-only version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" when the show was in Las Vegas to find contestants.

Editorial: Restroom battles: In August the Clark County Health District told the Las Vegas Neighborhood Services Department to clean up the area. Since then the department has been spending $350 a week doing just that. It has also been negotiating with the Rescue Mission over who is legally responsible.