Print edition for February 10, 2005

Robinson gets call to replace QB Dolezel: Adam Candee; Rod Robinson has bounced through Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Memphis, Jacksonville and over to Spain chasing a pro football career.

Rebels finish 14th of 15 teams: PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- Elena Kurokawa narrowly missed a top-20 finish and the UNLV women's golf team came in 14th overall at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.

New Vegas furniture shows add more aspects: Jennifer Shubinski; The World Market Center continues to gain momentum with the addition of two "state side" versions of European textile shows that will be hosted in conjunction with the inaugural Las Vegas furniture tradeshow this summer.

Lincoln County land sale nets $47.5 million: Despite an uncertain future regarding environmental approvals and the absence of water or city services, 13,330 acres north of Mesquite sold for $47.5 million Wednesday, more than $35 million above the Bureau of Land Management's appraised value.

Columnist Jeff Haney: McCullough takes aim at second world title: Nearly nine years after he won his last title fight, longtime Las Vegas resident Wayne McCullough will try to become a two-time world champion tonight when he meets Oscar "Chololo" Larios for the WBC super bantamweight belt.

Preps basketball: Boys' state rankings: Compiled by the Las Vegas Sun and the Sparks Tribune

High cost of building schools challenged: By Emily Richmond; Clark County School Board President Larry Mason wondered Wednesday if sharp increases in school construction costs had more to do with greedy contractors than supply and demand.

State's voting machines being pushed nationwide: WASHINGTON -- Seeking to showcase the state's success with electronic voting machines, Nevada lawmakers introduced legislation aimed at requiring the machines nationwide.

Sports briefs for February 10, 2005: Austria's Hermann Maier won the giant slalom at the skiing world championships today today at Bormio, Italy, to claim his first gold medal in a major event since almost losing a leg in a motorcycle accident four years ago.

Senate committee hits snag on prescriptions: CARSON CITY -- A bill that would give the state Board of Pharmacy greater authority to stop counterfeit prescription drugs from coming into Nevada ran into opposition at a state Senate committee hearing this morning.

Panel isn't backing bid to change ethics laws: Molly Ball; The state Ethics Commission will not back substantive changes to ethics laws in the current legislative session, according to the commission's discussion at Wednesday's meeting.

Teenager hit with murder charge: Jen Lawson; A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murdering a man and wounding his brother during an armed robbery at an apartment complex near Charleston and Nellis boulevards.

SEC requests documents related to lawsuits: Las Vegas-based Alliance Gaming said suits were filed in 2004 against the company and officers after changes in earnings forecasts and a decline in Alliance's share price. Alliance said the suits are without merit.

Insurer reports increase in quarterly profit: Aetna said net income rose to $300.7 million, or $1.95 per share, in the last three months of 2004 from $249.5 million, or $1.56 per share during the same period a year earlier.

Center construction continues: Center construction continues

Lawmakers press Bodman on Yucca: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- House Democrats and Republicans pushed Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to move forward on the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump at the department's first budget hearing Wednesday.

Boyd profits soar on Las Vegas, AC power: By Liz Benston; Shares of Boyd Gaming Corp. rose more than 9 percent in early trading today as the company more than doubled its fourth-quarter profit and analysts said the company's Las Vegas casinos and Borgata resort in Atlantic City performed better than expected.

Blankson on target in the clutch: Steve Guiremand; For UNLV senior forward Odartey Blankson, the second half of Wednesday night's 74-71 victory against Missouri in many ways mirrored the up-and-down season for the Rebels.

Centennial sets new standard for offense: Nick Christensen; Even when the Centennial girls' basketball team broke its own 4A scoring record twice in its first two games this year, not many people thought this was possible.

Trade deficit effect on Nevada has remained small: Kevin Rademacher; While national numbers point to a swelling national trade deficit, recent figures indicate that Nevada has remained insulated from much of the trend.

FBI agent found unconscious: Jace Radke; An FBI agent has been charged with misdemeanor drunken driving after being found unconscious with an empty bottle of rum and a loaded gun inside his pickup truck as it began to catch fire.

Caesars hails Las Vegas; Strip drives quarter: By Liz Benston; Caesars Entertainment Inc. swung from a loss to a profit in the fourth quarter as the company's Las Vegas casinos posted strong results compared with year-ago earnings pulled down by one-time expenses.

Nevada Power, Water Authority to announce cooperative agreement: Kevin Rademacher; Nevada Power Co., the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Colorado River Commission are scheduled to announce a "cooperative business accord" today.

Missing man on store video: John William Albertson, 56, can be seen on a surveillance tape buying gas at the American Travel truck stop in Barstow on Jan. 29, the day he left Las Vegas, San Rafael Police said today. Albertson used his credit card to buy the gasoline, police said. The new information is helping investigators focus the search for Albertson to the area between Barstow and Bakersfield.

Ensign to re-introduce malpractice limit bill: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., today plans to re-assert his role as a leader in the Senate Republican effort to cap noneconomic awards in medical malpractice cases at $250,000.

Report: County judges buried by workload: Molly Ball; Clark County judges have more and more cases to decide, but they are falling further and further behind because of the size of the workload.

Mesquite to seek flood funds: The city is working with Logan and Overton, two other areas affected by the floods, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the total damage that the floods caused, said city lobbyist Randall Robison. Mesquite should have a specific request for the state in a few weeks, he said.

Mall owner's income falls: Net income declined to $126.3 million, or 49 cents a share, from $173.5 million, or 83 cents, a year earlier, the Indianapolis-based real estate investment trust said today in a statement. Revenue rose 27 percent to $836.1 million from $657.4 million.

Gibson urges action to keep city affordable: On TV Rebroadcast schedule for Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson's State of the City address. Las Vegas ONE, Cox Communications Channel 19

Boxing: WBC rankings: Champion

Bill would protect limits on nonresident hunting tags: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., have re-introduced a bill that would protect Nevada's right to set limits on nonresident hunting and fishing permits.

Preps basketball: Girls' state rankings: Compiled by the Las Vegas Sun and the Sparks Tribune

Struggle over gambling heats up in Maryland: Gretchen Parker; ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Bills to legalize slot machines will get an early hearing this session from a House committee, but the airing comes with no promises on whether Gov. Robert Ehrlich's fight for slots will succeed.

Gibbons set for Homeland Security panel: The Committee on Homeland Security has primary jurisdiction over government counterterrorism policy and is the principal legislative and oversight committee to the Department of Homeland Security.

Expert urges cool heads in tax debate: By Emily Richmond; A tax expert urged Clark County School Board members Wednesday to keep cool heads during what's expected to be a heated debate over proposed changes to the state's property tax formula.

Palo Verde win sets up division showdown with Centennial: Shadow Ridge took Palo Verde to an extra period before dropping a 63-60 decision Wednesday.

Lawmaker wants casinos to pay more tax: Sen. Ken Toole, D-Helena, wants to double the state gaming tax to 30 percent on the gross revenue of casinos with more than five of the machines. The additional money would be used for a property tax break for every household in the state, including renters.

Eldorado graduate makes the best of hometown assignment: Dick Benoit; Senior Airman Paul Miller, a 1999 graduate of Eldorado High School, was recently featured in the Nellis Air Force Base weekly newspaper, the Bullseye, as a Warrior of the Week.

Mother's accountability in 2-year-old's death unresolved: Jen Lawson; Metro Police are not saying whether the mother of the 2-year-old girl who died as the result of alleged abuse should have notified authorities in prior weeks about the child's numerous injuries.

Letter: Lack of support disheartening for frazzled teachers: Then when a teacher comes in and tries to instill some order, she is supposed to laugh off a drawing of her as a Nazi, and another drawing showing blood pouring from a gunshot wound in her head. If that drawing was not a serious death threat, it was at the very least an attempt to undermine her authority. Is it any wonder that there is a shortage of teachers when they get abuse instead of support?

U.S. trade deficit hits all-time high of $617.7 billion in 2004: Martin Crutsinger; WASHINGTON -- The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record of $617.7 billion last year as Americans' appetite for all things foreign, from crude oil to cars, hit all-time highs. The United States even rang up a deficit in farm goods as imports of wine, cheese and other food products hit a record.

$500 million bond plan advances: The vote was 13-0 in the Senate appropriations education subcommittee for what Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, called the "the biggest economic development program Oklahoma has seen in a decade."

Law would place state's voting machines nationwide: WASHINGTON -- Seeking to showcase the state's success with electronic voting machines, Nevada lawmakers introduced legislation aimed at requiring the machines nationwide.

Narragansetts propose new casino referendum: Members of the tribe, along with legislative sponsors and a representative from Harrah's Entertainment, introduced a bill that would put a casino referendum before the voters at a special election in November.

Murder-rape suspect's IQ challenged: By Matt Pordum; A man who claims he was coerced by police into confessing to committing murder, multiple sexual assaults and home robberies was asked Thursday if he understands his Miranda rights.

Letter: Students really dictate classroom: And now the teacher is the one getting fired! Are you kidding me? Has everyone forgotten Columbine? Maybe the student shouldn't be expelled, but should the teacher be fired? I'm all for free speech and freedom of expression, but the student was the one who was inappropriate, not the teacher.

Letter: Democratic Party out of good ideas: If this is such a great deal in its current form, I request that Democrats immediately introduce a bill to scrap their special retirement program and bring themselves under Social Security.

Durango clinches No. 2 seed: Shayla Martinez led the Trailblazers with 23 points and teammate Darshelle Lynch added 10.

Editorial: New title, same clout: Rove was even knee-deep in President Bush's decision on a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain -- you remember, the issue that George W. Bush told Nevadans in 2000 that wouldn't become political if he was elected president. It was Rove who called Gov. Kenny Guinn in 2002 to let him know that the Energy Department would recommend to the president that a nuclear waste dump be built in Nevada. It is telling that the call came from Bush's political adviser, not from the president or Bush's energy secretary, Spencer Abraham. Rove also sat in on the later briefing that ...

Perkins' targeting of private hospitals comes under fire: CARSON CITY -- A hospital association official said Wednesday that he was mystified by Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins' suggestion that private hospitals should be required to invest a percentage of their profits in local programs.

Verizon makes informal buyout bid of $6.3 billion: The offer by New York-based Verizon, the largest U.S. phone company, is close to Qwest's tentative bid for Ashburn, Va.- based MCI, the newspaper said.

Letter: Compromise on Social Security: Make no mistake, bread lines are inevitable in either case unless something is accomplished.

Letter: UMC didn't cut foundation ties: But first, please let me express my heartfelt thanks to the members of the UMC Foundation for supporting our Pediatrics Department over the years. The Children's Miracle Network also deserves kudos for their fund-raising assistance.

Championship Chase: Mike Sims; The Cimarron-Memorial wrestling team dominated the regional tournaments last week at Bonanza High School, advancing 12 wrestlers to the state finals in Winnemucca this weekend. The win gave the Spartans their seventh zone or regional title in the past eight years.

Lawmaker frustrated over scholarship funding: CARSON CITY -- The chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee said Wednesday that the Millennium Scholarship program may be ended or transferred to the control of the university system, but the speaker of the Assembly said later that won't happen.

Single-payer health system encouraged: Kirsten Searer; A coalition of health and other advocacy groups appealed to a legislative committee Wednesday to push a single-payer health care system that would provide health care coverage to all Nevadans.

Candidate spins webs around Montandon domain names: Dan Kulin; The race for the North Las Vegas mayor's office is now also a cyber-war of sorts.

Obituaries for February 10, 2005: Ilyana Allen, 57, of North Las Vegas died Saturday in San Bernardino, Calif. She was born Oct. 15, 1947, in Los Angeles. A resident for 12 years, she was a homemaker.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Pay phones target of balm scare: The threat, released by Metro Police and the FBI this week, implies that these people can actually find public telephones.

A Little More: Nevada Conservatory Theatre sees 'Man for All Seasons' play as relevant to our times: The quote occurs in a scene between More and his daughter's suiter, Will Roper, in which Roper says he would cut down every law to get to the devil. More responds: "And when the last law was down and the devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide Roper, the laws all being flat?

Editorial: Time to act, not whine: It had been encouraging Monday, on opening day of the 2005 session, to see the Legislature quickly convene a joint Senate-Assembly committee to address the tax problem, caused by soaring increases in property values over the past 18 months. But the first words spoken on Tuesday by many legislators, including Perkins, were time-wasting laments.

Municipal judge candidate criticizes Kerns' record: Dan Kulin; In the coming election's only contested race for a seat on the Las Vegas Municipal Court bench, the two candidates are already taking swings at each other's records.

Yucca board says shield concerns may slow licensing: Stephen Curran; Concerns over the strength of titanium drip shields that are intended to keep water from leaking into casks deep inside the proposed nuclear waste repository may slow the Energy Department's already delayed licensing process, a Yucca Mountain oversight board said Wednesday.

Economic hardship offered as key to property tax relief: There's a relatively simple way to provide property tax relief to those who need it the most, but legislators are not focusing on that possible solution, an advocate for taxpayers said Wednesday.

Community briefs for February 10, 2005: The Clark County Health District is joining other Las Vegas community organizations in the fifth annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day, a nationwide mobilization effort to call attention to the disproportionate incidence of HIV/AIDS in the black population.

Letter: Bush plan: More harm than good: Too many of us are in the "near gray zone" -- too old to back up and punt, too young to not have to worry about the proposed Social Security changes.