Print edition for February 9, 2005

New Year festivities aimed at attracting Asian visitors: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has no projections for the number of people who will visit the city for the kick-off of 4702, known as the Year of the Rooster.

Sports briefs for February 9, 2005: USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow accepted a similar position Tuesday night with the Tennessee Titans, ending a successful four-year run that recently became overshadowed by his deteriorating relationship with Trojans coach Pete Carroll.

Researchers: Traffic could slow down valley's growth: Stephen Curran; Congestion on Las Vegas highways could put the brakes on the Southern Nevada's bustling economy within the next decade, a national transportation research group said Tuesday.

Morgan earns second start at point guard: Steve Guiremand; UNLV guard Jerel Blassingame's right hand still sports a large purple bruise underneath the inside of his right thumb. But even if his hand was fine, he wouldn't be starting tonight's nonconference game against Missouri at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Goodman: LVCVA needs to address NFL stance: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman isn't worried about any penalties for piling on when he talks about the National Football League.

Testing started on 11,400 inmates for tuberculosis: CARSON CITY -- Testing has started on the 11,400 inmates in the state prison system after some staff and prisoners tested positive for tuberculosis at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.

Overtime loss is no moral victory: Nick Christensen; Not long ago, the talk around the Wranglers clubhouse was that one-goal losses like Tuesday's were character-builders, helping prepare the team for grind-it-out postseason play.

HCA, Universal Health reach rate agreements with coalition: Michelle Swafford; The Las Vegas Valley's two largest hospital operators agreed to new rate contracts with a coalition that represents about 320,000 people, leaving one hospital operator in negotiations.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Recruiting Las Vegas not as new as you think: By Ron Kantowski; The theme of UNLV's national signing day press conference for high school recruits was how new coach Mike Sanford had "reclaimed city recruiting" and "taken back the city of Las Vegas."

Force goes for fourteen: John Force has occupied the NHRA Funny Car throne for 13 of the past 15 seasons, including a reign of 10 consecutive years from 1993 to 2002.

Body found at Mojave High School: The man was found by a school official about 6:30 a.m. in a white Honda in the parking lot of the school at 5302 Goldfield St.

Columnist Jeff Haney: Handicappers: Think about fading world champions: Late in the evening of Super Bowl Sunday, the band Ratdog was performing at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay.

Guinn names Reid relative to replace Hawk on board: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn today named Cynthia M. Reid of Henderson to the state Board of Education, replacing John Hawk who resigned Jan. 21.

California flu strain making way to LV: Some California residents visiting Las Vegas may be bringing their germs into the state in addition to their suitcases and wallets.

Construction plans for Yucca rail line could begin next year: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Construction planning could begin as soon as next year for the rail line that is to carry nuclear waste across Nevada to Yucca Mountain, according to Energy Department budget documents.

Clayton to recuse himself from megamerger debate: By Richard N. Velotta; Mark Clayton's greatest strength as the state's newest gaming regulator may be his ability to analyze complex securities issues.

Project would widen NLV roadway: Stephen Curran; Local government engineers are looking to widen almost 10 miles of North 5th Street as a way to alleviate the traffic jams that clog many of North Las Vegas's busiest roads during rush hours.

Tourists budgeting more for gambling trips: Las Vegas visitors spent less time on the casino floor, but budgeted more money to gamble in 2004, a year-end report by Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority analysts said.

Workers dismantle water park: Workers dismantle water park

Sunrise now second trauma center: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center becomes the second Level 2 trauma center operating in Nevada at noon today, giving ambulance crews and emergency patients an option for quicker medical treatment in some cases.

Budget cutbacks could force closure of Nellis federal prison: Jace Radke; The Bureau of Prisons is looking to shut down the Nellis Federal Prison camp and three other minimum security prisons across the country to cut costs.

Columnist Jeff German: Crazy Horse boss Faraci takes early 'retirement': Another one of the club's key managers, whose name has surfaced in connection to the investigation, has had a life-changing experience.

Murder charge expected in girl's death: Mary Manning and Jen Lawson; Before she died Tuesday night from alleged abuse, 2-year-old Jada Southall had repeatedly been injured while her mother was at work.

District facing shortage of classroom seats: By Emily Richmond; Faced with an impending shortage of classroom seats and rising construction costs, Clark County School District staff is expected to recommend tonight that the School Board set new limits on renovations as a means of conserving cash for building projects.

Fewer malpractice rate increase requests made since limit passed: CARSON CITY -- There have been fewer requests by insurance companies to increase medical malpractice insurance rates since the state passed a law in 2002 further limiting medical malpractice judgments.

Property taxes take center stage: Kirsten Searer; City of North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon asked legislators this morning to be wary of capping assessed values when they tackle the issue of rising property taxes this legislative session.

Insurer's profit nearly doubles: Cigna reported today its net income rose to $558 million, or $4.16 per share, for the October-December period compared with net income of $281 million, or $2 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter fell 3.5 percent to $4.34 billion from $4.5 billion a year ago.

Test pilots prepare to finish the manual on new Raptors: Jace Radke; Over the next six months pilots with nicknames like Bluto, Fangs and Junior will be testing the military's newest stealth fighter at Nellis Air Force Base and putting the finishing touches on a tactics manual that will tell others how to fly the FA-22 Raptor.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Junior League celebrates women at Stratosphere: Elizabeth Foyt; Co-chaired by Lisa Sheehan, Junior League special event chairwoman, and Monterey Brookman, who also serves as 2005 gala chairman, the sold-out event served as a preview to Junior League's 2005 gala, "Centennial of Extraordinary Women," slated for April 2 at the MGM Conference Center.

Trial ordered in killing of tourist at McDonald's: By Matt Pordum; Two men accused of robbing two McDonald's restaurants and killing a convention attendee who attempted to stop them from fleeing will stand trial, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo ruled Tuesday.

Palo Verde, Centennial to meet in Sunset final: Justin George; Palo Verde advanced to Thursday's Sunset Region final with a 4-0 victory against Bishop Gorman Tuesday.

Storyteller will celebrate Black History Month: Beth Slovic; To celebrate Black History Month, a storyteller will visit the Molasky Community School at 7801 W. Gilmore Avenue on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Columnist Adam Candee: Spring not yet sprung for UNLV women: Adam Candee; Facing the nation's top teams at the Northrop Grunman Regional Challenge presented a chance for the UNLV women's golf team to establish elite status.

Letter: Teachers blamed for students who don't make effort: I plan my lessons and run my classroom with an approach that is firm, yet fair and caring. In spite of that, many of my students do not achieve. Gov. Guinn would think me a failure when a student comes into class and puts his head down on his desk every day, even after I've repeatedly knelt down and spoken kindly yet firmly to him to "do this assignment." I would be a failure when a student chooses not to turn in his essay, even though he's mastered the material. I would be a failure when a student comes in ...

Profit strong; sales disappoint: For the quarter ended Jan. 29, Cisco had net income of $1.4 billion, or 21 cents a share, compared with $724 million, or 10 cents, in the period a year earlier, when results were hurt by a charge of $567 million for stock-based compensation expenses.

Columnist Peter Benton: Tempo is the key to a more consistent swing: Peter Benton; Watching Phil Mickelson win the PGA tour's FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sunday brought home to me just how important the swing tempo should be. Call it what you want -- tempo, timing or rhythm -- it is a huge component of this game.

Obituaries for February 9, 2005: Jorge Luis Castro, 9, of North Las Vegas died Sunday in a local hospital. He was born June 9, 1995, in Pomona, Calif. He was a resident for one year.

Chu says DOE to improve plans to ship waste: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is working on improving its transportation planning for the Yucca Mountain project, department official Margaret Chu told the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

Official sides with taxpayer in challenge to gambling law: Maura Kelly Lannan; CHICAGO -- Attorney General Lisa Madigan reversed her position Tuesday and said a law that let a defunct riverboat casino license move to the Chicago suburb of Rosemont was unconstitutional special legislation.

Columnist Muriel Stevens: Fremont gets whole lot of soul: The Feb. 26-27 event is filled with local food vendors, entertainment and family fun. Hours both days are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Cab crashes after being hijacked: Eric Leake; A man hijacked and later crashed a taxi cab Tuesday night, just hours before a separate cab robbery spurred a standoff at a Las Vegas apartment complex, Metro Police said.

Daniels, who led Playboy empire in '70s, dies: Derick J. Daniels, a former newspaper executive who helped steer Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire through rough patches in the 1970s and was president of the editorial advisory board of VEGAS magazine, died on Saturday at his home in Miami. He was 76.

Editorial: Under Bush, education is in a decline: What's happening, of course, is that school administrators, fearful of their schools being labeled as failures, are narrowing their course offerings to focus on what will be asked on standardized tests, eliminating recess and physical education to cram in more class time and emphasizing rote learning over reason and thought. And they are getting little support for their efforts, as the funding for Bush's politically motivated, multitudinous mandates was off by a mile. And the president's 2006 budget, released Monday, would just make it worse. A Clinton-era program, known as GEAR UP, is among the 48 educational programs Bush is ...

Gaming board hires five employees, divides duties: The board is charged with implementing and regulating slot-machine gambling under legislation approved last year.

Nevada delegation sees fight over highway funds: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Nevada lawmakers are bracing for battle this year in Congress over federal highway money. At stake for the state is at least $1 billion for federal transportation projects.

Gang member sentenced in crack cocaine sales: Jace Radke; An associate of the Rolling 60s Crips street gang was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to selling crack cocaine for the group.

Rancho rolls short-handed Desert Pines: Martez Christian fouled out with seven minutes left in the game. A minute later Jason West also fouled out.

Community briefs for February 9, 2005: African Flamenco Theater will present a program of Flamenco and other dance styles in its fourth annual show starting 7 p.m. Saturday at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive.

Task force sets water resources, air quality as priorities: David Kihara; The Clark County Growth Task Force on Tuesday adopted a list of recommendations for maintaining sustainable water resources and improving air quality in the county, which included pushing for alternative-fuel cars and easing restrictions in planned communities to allow artificial turf.

Falcons lose shooting star for one game: With two minutes left, Leah Thomson went down with an ankle sprain. Foothill coach Chris Sefcheck says the star will most likely not be ready for its final game at Liberty on Thursday.

Foothill locked out of playoffs: Mike Sims; One year after finishing runner-up in state boys' basketball, the Foothill Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention.

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

Authorities crack down on illegal gambling: Seven people were arrested over the weekend in Hobbs after agents with the state Department of Public Safety's Special Investigations Division raided an illegal poker game.

New voting machines needed to replace paperless versions: CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller says he needs $15 million from the state to buy 4,400 new voting machines for Clark County in time for the 2006 election.

Editorial: Sleazy Republican tactic: The Republican National Committee, controlled by President Bush and chaired by his former campaign manager, attacked Reid in a lengthy e-mail sent to about a million subscribers. The RNC savaged Reid's record in the Senate, essentially saying that anyone who dares to challenge GOP dogma should be banished from Congress.

Appraisal process key part of audit of land deals: A keystone in the ongoing audit of Clark County land transactions could be a thorough examination of the process of assigning value to the land.

Firefighter's appeal in lawsuit rejected: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Tuesday rejected the appeal of a former Clark County firefighter-paramedic who was injured during a rescue effort in a 40-foot-high gasoline storage tank at Sloan.

Letter: Superintendent should step in: Imagine ... a teacher upset about being a target of a violent drawing circulated on campus and expressing concern to the local media. The media ought to be howling for Garcia to act responsibly in this matter.

Boulder City candidate drops out: Philip de Langis dropped out of the race, leaving incumbent council members Andrea Anderson and Mike Pacini, plus challengers Bradley Farmer and Jeremy Lilly on the ballot for the general election.

Highway death raises questions on future of nutrition company: Dr. Ivan Perkovic, a guru of international nutritional products whose company last year had received a nearly half-million dollar sales tax break to move to Las Vegas, was killed Jan. 23 in a car accident near Baker, Calif. His age was not released.

With revenue a mystery, county plots spending: The Clark County Commission on Thursday will begin setting spending priorities, but it will have to do it without knowing how much money it will have to work with.

Gibbons asks why education funds not spent: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., on Monday asked state school officials to account for $332,000 in federal education grant money that he said Nevada returned to Washington unspent.

Shareholders of Trump Hotels aim to file own plan: Jeff St. Onge; Shareholders in Donald Trump's bankrupt hotel and casino business asked a federal judge for permission to file a reorganization plan to rival a proposal being advanced by the company and its bondholders.

Suspect's IQ, confession key in crime spree case: By Matt Pordum; The IQ and Miranda rights comprehension of a man charged with murder, multiple sexual assaults and home robberies were the focus of a hearing Tuesday to determine whether his confession to police should be admissible at trial.