Print edition for September 29, 2004

Bavarian State of Mind: Brandl celebrates German heritage at Cafe Heidelberg in Las Vegas: Ken Miller; Got time for a hot meal? Brandl's menu includes specialty schnitzels and sausages, as well as classics like goulash and sauerbraten (wine-marinated pot roast). On the go? Pick up your favorite ingredients at the cafe's market, which offers everything from white asparagus to spaetzle to hot fefferoni, and at the deli, where you can find teewurst, blutwurst, knackwurst, herring and caviar.

Torn knee ligament ends Riley's season: Steve Guiremand; An MRI revealed that backup tailback JaJa Riley suffered a torn MCL in Saturday night's 31-21 loss to Utah State that likely will require surgery, according to Rebels trainer Kyle Wilson.

Tuesday's Sports Transactions: AP; National League

Executive says higher oil prices may drive orders: "If people really believe that oil prices are going to stay at $50 a barrel and above, it bodes very well for aircraft orders because you have to get more efficient," Stonecipher said in a meeting with reporters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Burned-out families start over: Eric Leake; As demolition crews tore down charred roof beams and tiles, residents of the Courtyard Village Apartments tried to begin rebuilding their lives Tuesday.

2004 Champ Car World Series schedule and standings: AP; May 23 - Monterrey, Mexico (road) (Sebastien Bourdais)

Editorial: A grand champion: Agassi could have asked a public relations firm to associate his name with a well-known national charity or two and let it go at that. But out of devotion to his hometown, he has invested a lot of his time, money and personal attention to our area's children. Everywhere the results are being seen. Thousands more children are now participating in the area's positive activities. Hundreds more in difficult situations are receiving care and shelter. The Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy for disadvantaged children is blossoming.

'Bottoms Up' to say goodbye to Flamingo: Producer, creator and star Breck Wall says he is negotiating with two other venues as a possible home for the burlesque production. He had no comment on why the topless show is moving.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Summer camp program celebrates 35th birthday: Elizabeth Foyt; Jointly hosted by the Greenspun Media Group, Sprint and Barbara Lee Woollen and her husband, Bruce, and held at the Woollens' Art de Vignettes gallery at the Fashion Show mall, the party was an elegant evening of fine wine, food, music and art.

Letter: President has not done enough to enhance security: So far, $25 billion has been spent for only 20 of these missiles. Is this sound science or yet another boondoggle like the Army's Patriot missile system?

Treasury secretary Snow blames 'geopolitics of oil' for high prices: Scott Sonner; RENO -- High oil prices are a "short-term phenomenon" driven by the "geopolitics of oil" and other global economic uncertainties, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said Tuesday.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Hurley, Lauder visit LV: Personal appearance: Lauder and Hurley will make an appearance at a private reception for invited guests at Neiman Marcus at 11:30 a.m. At noon (time is approximate) they will welcome the public and sign cosmetic and fragrance purchases of such brands as Estee Lauder, Clinique and Bobbi Brown (all Lauder companies).

Community briefs for September 29, 2004: Henderson fire and police agencies will present the 2004 Safety and Health Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Horizon Town Center, Boulder Highway and Horizon Ridge Parkway.

Letter: Guard issue is a test of integrity: While the death toll of young Americans has surpassed the 1,000 mark and our casualties have not ceased, it behooves all voters and the global population to carefully consider today's news as it relates to George W. Bush's current integrity, which is very low.

Soundwalls planned for U.S. 95 downtown: Sito Negron; Another section of highway that passes through established neighborhoods near downtown Las Vegas will be walled off in an attempt to dampen the sound, following state approval Tuesday for up to $10 million towards a $19 million project on U.S. 95.

Woman stung in lottery scheme: Officer Tim Bedwell, police spokesman, said the victim called police Saturday and reported the scam. She said she received a letter Aug. 30 on letterhead from the "Universal Lotto Commission" claiming that she had won $250,000 in an Australian lottery.

Angels ascend to first-place tie with A's: AP; After Anaheim's 8-2 victory at Texas on Tuesday night and Oakland's 7-2 home loss to Ichiro Suzuki and the Mariners, the Angels and A's have identical 89-68 records and share the AL West lead.

Guinn, Augustine discuss her future: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn planned to meet with state Controller Kathy Augustine today to talk about her future after she admitted to three counts of willful violation of state ethics laws, setting in motion impeachment proceedings in the Legislature.

Candlestick becomes a Monster: Monster Cable Products Inc., which supplies high-performance speaker cables to rock groups such as the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, bought the naming rights Tuesday to the San Francisco stadium used by the NFL's 49ers. The team reached a four-year agreement with the company, which is based about 8 miles south of San Francisco in Brisbane, Calif.

Appeals court bumps casino plan off ballot: Supporters wanted to put more than 3,000 video lottery terminals in a facility to be built in a rundown section of the city, about three miles northeast of the U.S. Capitol.

Editorial: Hold confab with Rogers in the open: Soon after his May appointment by the regents to replace former Chancellor Jane Nichols, who resigned, Rogers asserted himself in a most untraditional way -- by sending strongly worded memos to the Board of Regents and sharing them with the press. The backdrop for this was an upheaval at the Community College of Southern Nevada that predated Rogers' arrival. After closed meetings the Board of Regents had decided to demote the CCSN president and the college's top lobbyist. The attorney general charged the board with violating the open meeting law and it fell to Rogers to negotiate settlements with the ...

Letter: Value of prayer is nonpartisan: I concur completely that people of religious faith have the responsibility and wonderful opportunity to pray on a nonpartisan basis. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the international newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, responded to the question, "What are your politics?" by writing, "I have none, in reality, other than to help support a righteous government, to love God supremely and my neighbor as myself."

Columnist Peter Benton: Annual reseeding an annoyance, but the results are worth the wait: Peter Benton; It seems that every couple of years or so, I pen a column similar to this one in an effort to explain to area golfers -- particularly those new arrivals to this increasingly expanding city -- why so many of our courses close for a few weeks at this time of year.

Laura Bush campaigns to win women's votes: Kirsten Searer; First lady Laura Bush touted her husband's optimism and dedication to empowering women during her stop Tuesday in Henderson.

Potential LV water supplies high in arsenic: Three years after the federal government gave local water systems a six-year mandate to lower arsenic levels in community water systems, Nevada's communities are still struggling to meet the new standard.

'Vanity War:' Former Air Force chief of staff criticizes Bush actions on Iraq: Jace Radke; While stumping for Sen. John Kerry in Las Vegas Tuesday, retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, former Air Force chief of Staff, called the Iraq war a "vanity war" and accused President Bush of creating an imaginary world.

Survey says single women favor econonic security over homeland security: Millions of single women are cynical and bitter -- at least when it comes to voting for one of the two presidential candidates, according to a new survey by the nonpartisan Women's Voices, Women Vote project.

IGT court victory showcased high-stakes battle: By Liz Benston; International Game Technology's $7.4 million jury verdict against Alliance Gaming Corp. last Friday was unusual for an industry where slot machine competitors commonly sue one another over patents and quietly settle those disputes out of court. But the stakes in this case were high.

Jordan rules the ground game: Nick Christensen; Long before Eric Jordan led Las Vegas with 1,500 rushing yards his sophomore year, he was practicing with another local legend who was a college junior at the time.

McCarran passenger traffic on record pace: McCarran International Airport had near-record traffic counts last month, posting the best August in the airport's history.

Las Vegas bid loses out, but point man upbeat: As the city of Washington, D.C., waited for today's expected announcement that big-league baseball was returning, Mike Shapiro sat in his District hotel room most of Tuesday with a great deal of pride.

Settlement reached in construction defect lawsuit: Beazer Homes officials could not be reached for comment.

Slot maker to unveil new games at G2E: New licensed brand themes include "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Viva Las Vegas" and "Back to the Future."

Offshore company offers $400 million to Trump: John Curran; ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- An Internet casino operator said it is offering Donald Trump $400 million for a stake in his ailing casino company.

Obituaries for September 29, 2004: Orville Billbe, 54, of Las Vegas died Monday. He was born Dec. 26, 1949, in Springfield, Ill. A resident for five years, he was a disabled Vietnam War Army veteran and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Co-worker: New England couple had stormy past: Jen Lawson; Rebecca Roux told her family and co-workers she was visiting Ohio because she didn't think they would approve of her going to Las Vegas with her boyfriend, with whom she had a stormy relationship.

MINExpo held in Las Vegas: MINExpo held in Las Vegas

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Kanaan's focus still on winning with IRL title in sight: Tony Kanaan needs only to finish fourth or better Sunday at California Speedway to clinch his first Indy Racing League championship, but he will be racing for the win on the 2-mile oval in Fontana.

Land approved for development disappearing fast: While Clark County's population keeps growing, the amount of land to house all those new people and businesses is not -- and the two trends will collide sooner rather than later, local officials warned Tuesday.

Appeals court rejects new bid by pot group: CARSON CITY -- A group seeking to legalize marijuana for adults has lost its appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Columnist Adam Candee: Singh in hot pursuit of $10 million mark for season's earnings: Adam Candee; We'll start out by admitting this idea is about as long of a shot as the ones that Vijay Singh bombs down the middle of the fairway.

MBA chairman: Competition will help keep interest rates low: Jennifer Shubinski; The chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association said that the commercial and multifamily segments will continue to see robust growth as enormous amounts of capital continue to flow into the markets.

Labor leader warns against replacing school police officers: By Emily Richmond; Fifteen years ago labor leader Danny Thompson was asked to join a committee studying the rising rate of violent crime at Clark County's public schools.

House bill could help schools detect dangerous teachers: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- A bill pending in Congress would help fast-growing school districts like Clark County identify teacher applicants with criminal histories, a Nevada official told a House panel Tuesday.

Boggs McDonald leads Goldwater in fund-raising: But Goldwater outspent Boggs McDonald during the period that ended Aug. 31 to help him to his primary win.

Low bid submitted on bridge: CARSON CITY -- A low bid of $114 million has been submitted to build a new bridge over the Colorado River to replace the Hoover Dam route in Southern Nevada.

Funds OK'd to continue U.S. 95 work: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn called a lawsuit delaying the widening of U.S. 95 in Las Vegas "way off base" Tuesday as he asked the state Transportation Board to authorize other work to proceed on the freeway project.

Columnist Jeff Haney: Best and worst at covering spread go head-to-head: ATS: Stands for against the spread. COVER: To win the game by more than the point spread. POINT SPREAD: Or spread, for short. The number of points added to, or subtracted from, a team's actual score for betting. PROPOSITION: Or prop, for short. Any exotic, unusual or offbeat wagering opportunity. STRAIGHT UP: Abbreviated "SU." Refers to actual wins and losses regardless of the point spread.

Cameras would be mandatory under new taxi rules: Representatives of the city's taxicab industry on Tuesday unleashed their editing pens on proposed regulations that would require Clark County's 16 taxi companies to install cameras in their vehicles.

Journalists say campaign just 'shallow sound bites': Stephen Curran; Two of the journalists who exposed the conspiracy that forced Richard M. Nixon to resign his presidency in 1974 told a UNLV crowd Thursday this year's presidential election had amounted to little more than "shallow sound bites" that do little to address the nation's future.

Human trafficking is targeted: Jace Radke; Despite the relatively low numbers of reported cases of human trafficking locally, law enforcement officials say that under the surface this 21st century form of slavery is occurring on a regular basis in Las Vegas and other U.S. cities.

Death penalty may be sought in killing: By Matt Pordum; The district attorney's office may seek the death penalty against a Mexican citizen accused of kidnapping and killing his estranged wife in front of their 11-year-old daughter and two police officers Saturday morning.

EEOC suit alleges harassment at Primm work site: The EEOC said in a news release that the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court after exhausting efforts to resolve the dispute with the construction contractor. The worker said in the lawsuit she was subjected to touching, grabbing and rubbing by co-workers and managers on the construction site of the Bighorn power plant.

Columnist Jeff German: Taxi board puts driver safety last: That's what the do-nothing state body did in the latest installment of its feeble effort to protect Las Vegas cabbies.

Sports briefs for September 29, 2004: A court hearing is scheduled today in San Francisco in the dispute over who is the rightful owner of the ball from Barry Bonds' 700th career home run.

News briefs for September 29, 2004: The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce endorsed Republican Shari Buck for the hotly contested Clark County Commission District B seat.

Company says it won't give up on a casino in Rhode Island: The chief executive of the casino giant, Gary Loveman, was at the Statehouse on Monday.

TV station shuts down after threat: Jace Radke and Eric Leake; KTNV Channel 13 went without its usual morning newscast today as a result of a Tuesday morning evacuation of the station prompted by a suspicious powder in a hate letter.

It had to be blue: Steve Guiremand; At 23, became youngest high school head coach in Nevada at Bishop Manogue in Reno. At 29, became youngest college coach in the nation when he took over at Nevada-Reno. At 40, became athletic director at UNR in addition to his football duties. At 55, was elected to the National Football Foundation's College Hall of Fame.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: They must be ugly rivals: Can't get date: The way I figure it, if the UNLV-UNR football game is as big a deal as the teams and their fans make it out to be, they would play it at the end of the season instead of the middle.

Casinos seen as terrorist target for money laundering: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Casinos need to be certain they are following federal policies aimed to prevent money laundering by terrorists, members of the Senate Banking Committee said Tuesday.

Members of workforce board resign: By Timothy Pratt; Five of the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board's 52 board members recently resigned and said the board has got problems.

Letter: Robinson makes a classy departure: Coach Robinson is definitely a class person who took the program to another level. It seems to me that he simply has more concern about players and family members than some people. Rather than struggle with this program (it simply cannot be easy here no matter who the coach is), he chose to gradually step away. That move creates a much more healthy separation and would seem to have set the groundwork for the next coach.

Welfare office slasher gets up to 120 years: By Matt Pordum; A seven-time felon convicted of going on a stabbing rampage at the Clark County Social Services center in Henderson in December 2003 is not likely to outlive his prison sentence.

Woman who allegedly left child in car pleads not guilty: Christina Sarpy's car, which she had left running, was stolen with her child inside. A short time later the man who stole the car left the baby on a sidewalk a few blocks away.

Firm handling 61 acres has major NYC project: Sito Negron; Las Vegas will work with The Related Companies for development of 61-acre slice of land that could be the most significant piece of the ongoing effort to re-create the Las Vegas Valley's central core.