Print edition for September 28, 2004

Builder plans equestrian park: The 4.8-acre park, near the corner of Horse Drive and Bradley Road in Centennial Hills, is slated for completion in about six months, city of Las Vegas officials said.

Gaming briefs for September 28, 2004: Mandalay Resort Group is seeking shareholder approval to adjourn the company's annual meeting to solicit additional proxies if there aren't enough votes to approve its merger with MGM Mirage at the time of the meeting.

Officials consider third intake for Lake Mead: Dan Kulin; Southern Nevada Water Authority officials are considering spending tens of millions of dollars on a third intake pipe to draw water from Lake Mead.

Book lays McCarthyism blame on Sen. McCarran: A new book about U.S. Sen. Pat McCarran of Nevada paints McCarran as the leader of the 1950s' communist witch hunt and says Sen. Joe McCarthy, whom history credits as being the leading force in the red scare, did McCarran's bidding.

Giant ad appears on Luxor: Giant ad appears on Luxor

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Second place feels like win to Bodine: Shane Hmiel earned his first victory of the season and Steve Park climbed into the top 10 in points with his best finish of the year, but the most impressive performance in Saturday night's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was turned in by Todd Bodine.

Effect of Hispanic vote muted: By Timothy Pratt; The growing Hispanic population in the Las Vegas Valley failed to have a major impact at the polls in the Sept. 7 primary, numbers released by a group working on registering and getting Hispanics to the polls show.

Preps: Schedule: Boys' Soccer All times 4:30 p.m. unless noted: Basic at Coronado, Del Sol at Foothill, Green Valley at Silverado, Vo-Tech at Liberty, Eldorado at Desert Pines, Valley at Chaparral, Rancho at Canyon Springs 5 p.m., Durango at Clark, Bishop Gorman at Bonanza, Spring Valley at Sierra Vista, Centennial at Palo Verde, Mojave at Cheyenne, Shadow Ridge at Cimarron-Memorial, Western at Las Vegas.

Four regents seek meeting with Rogers: Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers for weeks has been pontificating on various issues affecting Nevada's higher education by sending out memos to the Board of Regents and copying the media.

Take two: By most accounts, Saturday's night's unique racing doubleheader at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a resounding success and one that should return to the speedway in 2005, according to those involved.

Housing officials blame auctions, permitting for affordability woes: Kevin Rademacher; More than an hour of debate produced countless questions but no definitive answers on how to address Southern Nevada's growing problem of soaring home prices and the families being left behind.

Columnist Jeff German: Siller takes hard look at Hard Rock: But one Control Board member, Bobby Siller, wasn't even close to throwing in the towel on Monday.

UNLV finds fodder for a revival: Steve Guiremand; The second floor of the Lied Athletic Complex is missing one of its normal occupants this week, and it isn't retiring UNLV head football coach John Robinson.

Election officials prepare for worst: Heeding warnings that terrorists could try to disrupt the fall elections, state and local election officials are aiming to coordinate communications and decision-making with governors and security officials so voting goes as smoothly as possible.

Columnist Ron Kantowksi: Cars-trucks doubleheader doubly good: Ron Kantowksi; According to published reports and eyewitness accounts there were no more than 10,000 diehards in the stands for UNLV's latest loss at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday night.

Trips to Yucca rank high among lawmakers: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress took 159 privately funded trips to Las Vegas in the past four years on Yucca Mountain fact-finding missions, often paid for by the pro-Yucca nuclear power industry, a new study found.

Election officials puzzled by bilingual no-shows: By Timothy Pratt; The Clark County Election Department needs at least 100 people who speak Spanish and English to work the polls Nov. 2, after twice that number -- or half of all bilingual workers who had signed up -- failed to show up to work the Sept. 7 primary election.

Nevada plans new campaign to lure California firms: State economic development leaders are preparing to fire the next volley in the battle to win over California businesses contemplating moves to Nevada.

Fire forces apartment evacuations: Jace Radke and Christina Littlefield; As flames leapt out the window of the apartment next door, Myeshia Hawthorne dropped her three children from her second-floor balcony toward an outstretched hand reaching through the thick black smoke.

Sports briefs for September 28, 2004: U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm planned to return to the United States on Wednesday after resting in Lausanne, Switzerland, for a day following his 11 1/2-hour session before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Police to be used at future youth events: The Clark County Health District will use off-duty Metro Police officers at future district-sponsored youth gatherings to prevent incidents similar to the fights at a teen anti-smoking event last weekend.

Tourists' stay ends in murder-suicide: Jen Lawson; A tourist committed suicide this morning by jumping off Hoover Dam after calling 911 and reporting that he had killed his girlfriend in a room at Treasure Island, Metro Police said.

Pat McCarran -- the good and bad: Thirty-six million people pass through McCarran International Airport each year, but few of them know who it is named for or why.

Obituaries for September 28, 2004: Jim "J.B." Bockman, 56, died Sunday in a local hospital. He was born April 6, 1948, in Pontiac, Ill. A resident for 30 years, he was a hotel valet worker.

Details make difference in school construction bids: Jennifer Shubinski; The competition for Clark County School District contracts can be fierce.

Replica signs available at casinos: McMonigle, a cancer survivor in remission for two years, said a portion of the proceeds from sales of the sign will be donated to the Cancer Institute. The souvenir signs are expected to retail for $35 and will be available at casinos and at souvenir stores throughout the city.

Woman slain in front of police had court order on ex: Jen Lawson; Two Metro officers said they witnessed the shooting early Sunday and arrested 44-year-old Carlos Ortiz immediately afterward.

Marijuana market initiative planned: CARSON CITY -- Backers of pot decriminalization are pushing a plan that would establish marijuana markets, stores licensed to sell pot and taxed by the state.

Ambassador to speak on effects of U.S., Chile trade: By Timothy Pratt; Most Americans don't know anything about Chile, that country's ambassador to the United States, Andres Bianchi, said Monday.

Consumer advocate moves against gas rate hike request: Kevin Rademacher; Nevada Consumer Advocate Tim Hay on Monday moved to block efforts to nearly double a request from Southwest Gas Corp. to raise rates in Southern Nevada by $16.3 million.

Brodsky names election foe to attendance panel: By Emily Richmond; Frank Albano has gone from being Clark County School Board member Denise Brodsky's opponent to being her appointee on the district's Attendance Zone Advisory Commission.

Recent gun votes by Reid draw praise from NRA: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has won the admiration of the National Rifle Association this year.

Editorial: 'Democratic plantation'?: To truly put Boggs McDonald's incendiary remarks into context, however, some history is required. Since the World War II-era, it has been the Democratic Party that has fought hardest for civil rights protections, and the party continues today to share the concerns that the overwhelming majority of blacks have, including on key economic issues. Let's not forget that it was a Democratic president, Harry Truman, who desegregated the U.S. military. Truman's strong civil rights policies so angered many Southern Democrats that they left the party. In 1948 they fielded their own presidential candidate, Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, to run against Truman. ...

Missouri report finds casino revenue, problem gamblers up: Kelly Wiese; JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The 2004 report on gambling in Missouri found that more problem gamblers are banning themselves from casinos, while casino revenue statewide increased about 8 percent over the last fiscal year.

Beltre's slam helps Dodgers open three-game lead: AP; "It's not meant to be," Adrian Beltre said. "You have to earn it."

Cynic City: Pessimism intact, Roseanne returns to stand-up roots: She's older 51 (52 on Nov. 3).

Metro lauds grant for DNA funds: Jace Radke; Trying to identify bodies found in the Clark County desert can be a challenge that can last weeks, months or even years, but Metro Police Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan is hoping federal funds for more DNA testing will help speed the process.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Brother blows in with update: Under a cloudless blue sky, against a backdrop of cliffs the color of sunset, I listened to the message from my older brother in Winter Garden, Fla.:

Futures pass $50 as Nigerian fighting, storms lower supplies: Royal Dutch/Shell Group's Nigerian venture closed a pumping station and evacuated staff at oil installations in the Niger River delta. The disruption comes as U.S. supplies are near 29- year lows after eight weeks of declines. Output at platforms in the Gulf was down 29 percent, or 491,698 barrels yesterday, two weeks after the hurricane, according to government figures.

Letter: Don't stymie religious freedom: These men who are attacking Green for not playing one game on the holiest day of the Jewish year (Yom Kippur) have shown their true colors. These people are all part of the secular, faithless and materialistic population of this nation who don't believe that anyone has the right to practice their religion. The U.S. was founded on freedom of religion, which means nothing to these godless people. Their God is power, money and sports, and nothing else, obviously, matters to them.

Immunization schedule for September 28, 2004: HENDERSON PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 129 W. Lake Mead Drive, Building A, Suite 10, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Community briefs for September 28, 2004: St. Christopher's Catholic Church will hold a bazaar from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at the church, 1840 N. Bruce St., North Las Vegas.

Letter: Boggs McDonald should apologize for comment: She has made a statement that assumes, as African-Americans, we are stupid children who do not have a mind of our own. But not only has she insulted African-Americans, she also has insulted Americans of any race who are Democrats.

Fawcett bringing greatest 'Hits' to Vegas: But Allen Fawcett's "Lippin' to the Hits," which premieres Wednesday at Palace Station's Laugh Trax Comedy Club, swims against the current.

Editorial: Robinson steps down: Robinson hasn't enjoyed the same success at UNLV as he did in his storied years as coach at USC or in the National Football League, but he turned around this program, which had lost 16 straight games before he arrived. We will remember Robinson for his class and for his restoring respect to a football program that at one time seemed hopeless.

Letter: Iraq is front in war on terrorism: Unfortunately, every major leader in the world acknowledges terrorists are flooding into Iraq. We are no longer dealing with just Iraqis but rather Islamic fundamentalists from all over the region. So whether you believe the initial war on terrorism included Iraq, no reasonable person can deny that today it represents the frontlines of the war on terrorism!

Chamber of Commerce gets heat in Questions 4 and 5 fight: Kirsten Searer; About 40 people gathered Monday to argue that the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce should support two ballot measures aimed at reforming the insurance industry.

Las Vegas puts ward redistricting plans on hold: Eric Leake; The Las Vegas City Council backed off an unpopular redistricting plan Monday, opting instead to wait for different maps or a later date.

Pa. court tosses attempt to keep ex-lawmaker from gaming board: Mark Scolforo; HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A state judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general that challenged the appointment of former state Rep. Jeffrey W. Coy to the Gaming Control Board.