Print edition for January 20, 2005

Plans unveiled for new center for special education: By Emily Richmond; Plans for Nevada's first campus designed solely for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities were unveiled Wednesday by the Clark County School District.

NCAA Women's Division II Regional Rankings: AP; 2. Charleston (West Virginia) 13-2

Full runs expected at NHRA testing: Racecar drivers -- drag racers in particular -- generally approach testing as a necessary evil. Drag-racing test sessions rarely involve full-track passes because crew chiefs and drivers typically attempt to improve a car's performance on a specific portion of the quarter-mile racing surface.

Inauguration festivities are sweet music to Porter: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Three decades after a group of Iowa teenagers recorded an album in their keyboard player's father's warehouse, they will reunite tonight at the Hard Rock Cafe in the District specifically to entertain Nevadans visiting for the inaugural.

Citigroup's record quarter in line with expectations: Eileen Alt Powell; NEW YORK -- Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, reported record quarterly earnings today, but said that 2005 earnings could be at the shallow end of Wall Street expectations.

IGT sees drop in net earnings: A slowdown in the demand for slot machines in domestic markets has resulted in International Game Technology today reporting a drop in net earnings.

Work on generating station continues: Work on generating station continues

Some Nevada communities gain from higher gold prices: Ask Ray Pearson what the price of gold is on any given day of the week and he'll have the answer.

Fifteen schools favor stricter dress codes: By Emily Richmond; Fifteen campuses are expected to restore stricter dress code policies after showing enough parental support to satisfy a new Clark County School District regulation governing mandatory uniforms.

Family struggles to keep teen daughters in U.S.: By Timothy Pratt; Speaking from a federal jail cell in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon, 18-year-old Emma Sarkisian said one way she has kept up her spirits since being taken into custody Friday by federal agents in Las Vegas was watching her little sister's impersonations of "bad 'American Idol' singers."

Mirabelli basks in afterglow of Series: Doug Mientkiewicz had just completed the final out of the 2004 World Series by catching a flip from closer Keith Foulke, and the Boston Red Sox piled onto each other.

Nevada fearing federal Medicaid cutbacks: CARSON CITY -- Growing anxiety that the federal government is going to pull back on its financing of Medicaid -- the program that provides medical care for the poor, elderly and disabled -- has the nation's governors afraid that the states will have to pick up more of the costs.

Crazy Horse boss jailed: Jace Radke; A manager at the Crazy Horse Too was arrested Wednesday and is facing a variety of federal racketeering charges including some related to the alleged assault of a Kansas man who was found outside the club with a broken neck in 2001.

MGM Mirage set to submit joint proposal for Singapore casino: By Liz Benston; MGM Mirage said it will submit a proposal for a casino resort in Singapore with Southeast Asian developer CapitaLand.

WIC 'smart cards' make debut in Las Vegas Valley: By Timothy Pratt; The Las Vegas Valley became the first metropolitan area with more than a million residents nationwide Wednesday to begin using a card with a computer chip for low-income mothers to use in buying food for their families.

Reno high school band appears in inauguration parade: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Nevada's only entry in today's inauguration parade almost didn't make it to Washington -- three times.

Thursday's Sports Transactions: AP; DETROIT TIGERS-Named Tom Brookens manager of Oneonta of the New York-Penn League.

Las Vegas Sands may build Detroit convention center: Sarah Karush; DETROIT -- Regional officials are in discussions with a Las Vegas casino operator about building a new convention center, complete with a hotel and a casino, Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams said Wednesday.

Obituaries for January 20, 2005: John W. Coleman, 70, of Las Vegas died Friday in a local hospital. He was born Sept. 29, 1934, in New Jersey. A resident for 27 years, he was a retired Air Force master sergeant and a Korean War and Vietnam War veteran.

Ensign to attendees: Dress warm: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., had one piece of advice for Nevadans who were thinking about attending President Bush's swearing-in ceremony today on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Mystery surrounds education post as swearing-in nears: By Emily Richmond; Will he or won't he?

Prisoners to make pub equipment: CARSON CITY -- A legislative subcommittee Wednesday approved plans to allow a California company to set up an operation at the High Desert State Prison to manufacture equipment for brew pubs.

Sundevils suddenly super: Nick Christensen; A midseason breakdown of first-round matchups if the playoffs started today:

Mandalay buyout prompts changes in management: By Liz Benston; While the ultimate outcome of a combined MGM Mirage-Mandalay Resort Group remains tightly under wraps, sources familiar with the company say it intends to divvy up control of the Mandalay properties among its executives rather than create and maintain a separate Mandalay Resort Group operating unit.

Shuffle Master to form TV production company: Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of the TV poker craze and its own series of proprietary games, Shuffle Master Inc. announced today it would form a subsidiary television production company.

NFL Playoff Glance: AP; N.Y. Jets 20, San Diego 17, OT

Teen shot after allegedly pulling knife on officer: Officers were called to a home in the 1200 block of Nugget Creek Drive around 12:45 a.m. to investigate a report of domestic violence between a mother and son, Capt. Jim Dillon said.

Derailed train contained contaminated soils: In addition to six rail cars with hazardous materials residue in them, the train that that derailed after flooding washed out the tracks last week included eight cars containing contaminated soils on the way to a Utah landfill.

Casino proposal eyed for Mall of America: Patrick Condon; ST. PAUL -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty met with the mayor of Bloomington last month to discuss opening a partially state-run casino at the Mall of America, the governor's spokesman said Tuesday.

Sports briefs for January 20, 2005: The Thailand Open golf tournament will be played in Phuket instead of Pattaya to help the island resort recover from the tsunami tragedy, the Asian Tour said.

Columnist Jeff Haney: Champion has home ring advantage against Judah: For Cory Spinks, the undisputed world welterweight champion, his Feb. 5 title rematch against Zab Judah carries special significance.

Former governor's aide now lobbying for gaming firm: When Mike Toomey still worked for the governor, he had authorized the state lottery to hire a Las Vegas law firm to study the legalization of video lottery gambling.

Tarkanian's campaign gets help from Berkley: Tarkanian raised $86,850 and spent $39,157 as of Friday, according to the reports Tarkanian said she sent by registered mail to the city clerk on Tuesday's deadline to file.

Bank reports 20 percent drop in quarterly earnings: For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Seattle-based financial services company reported net income of $668 million or 76 cents per share. That's down from $842 million or 93 cents per share in the same period in 2003.

Reid aide appointed to NRC: WASHINGTON -- The White House on Wednesday officially appointed Gregory Jaczko, the top science and Yucca Mountain adviser to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., to fill one of two vacant spots on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The five-member commission is responsible for licensing and regulating the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.

Economic indicators rose in December: Adam Geller; NEW YORK -- A closely watched measure of future economic activity rose for a second consecutive month in December, pointing to sustained, gradual growth.

Preps: Boys' State Rankings: Compiled by the Las Vegas Sun and the Sparks Tribune

Ralph Siraco's Santa Anita selections: 1st Race -- ESPY -- Smith scales Mandella trainee, draws inner box for allowance sprint outing, fits this heat well. SPARKLING FOREST -- Starts alongside top pick for dash opener, P. Val atop Baffert trainee, respect connections. Value Play -- DOMINIQUES DARLING

City Council OK's out-call massage: Eric Leake; Outcall massage is more about therapy than enabling prostitution, the North Las Vegas City Council decided Wednesday in approving the service within a new massage ordinance.

Berkley seeks investigation in denial of Purple Heart medals: Jace Radke; Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., has asked the military's chief legislative liaison to investigate why nine Nevada National Guardsmen were denied Purple Heart medals after being injured while stationed in Iraq in 2003.

Rusty Duval arrives with low expectations: Doug Ferguson; SAN DIEGO -- David Duval gets a new start this year, and no one is sure what to expect.

Editorial: Inhumane treatment: We say ostensibly because last week's outreach effort, which included county and state agencies working with the city, was an embarrassment. Only 45 residents of the homeless camp received help getting into housing. They were given a month's worth of rental assistance from Clark County. But at least 125 people were still camped out on Friday after the outreach effort had ended.

Letter: Instead of rebate, give children a better education: Here's a solution that doesn't require endless paid-for studies, unending legislative jawboning, or miles and miles of red tape and bureaucracy. Forget the auto rebate and spend the $300 million on putting more teachers in our classrooms and pay them better.

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

Moncrief defends herself at City Council meeting: Dan Kulin; With less than a week left in her fight to stay in office, Las Vegas Councilwoman and recall election target Janet Moncrief gave a short speech at the end of the Wednesday council meeting during which she addressed her indictment and pledged her independence from the establishment and special interests.

Sailor describes tsunami relief efforts: Dick Benoit; Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Ronald King, son of Ronald and Janice King of Henderson, is serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln based out of Bremerton, Wash., and now part of Operation Unified Assistance to help rebuild what was destroyed during South Asia's recent earthquake and tsunami disasters.

Newton gathers, gauges talent for 'The Entertainer' cable contest: Kirk Baird; "I'm generally working six nights a week. And really, on my night off, I tape '24' and those things I totally enjoy watching," Newton said in a phone interview from Los Angeles.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Key Largo cashes in its chips: The bottle was empty.

City Council delays Boyd vote: The council members agreed to delay action on the matter until its next meeting on Feb. 2 so Mayor Oscar Goodman could be present for the vote. Goodman was in Washington, D.C., for a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Wednesday.

Commission approves Logandale project over residents' protests: The Clark County Commission approved two residential zoning requests to allow development in Logandale, an area hit by flooding last week.

'Scape Artist: Holder's work a study in abstract thinking: He saw the city of Las Vegas as a work of art in itself, a "kinetic art sculpture." At 4 a.m. he would drive the Strip and observe how the lights merged with dawn.

Honda's hydrogen cars to run in LV: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas will be the hot and dry testing ground for Honda's hydrogen fuel cell-powered car for the next year.

Letter: Social Security just needs tweaks: Yet President Bush is going around trying to scare people by saying it will soon be flat broke. It's all nonsense. This is all part of his campaign to set up private accounts for current workers by using a portion of their Social Security taxes.

Court briefs for January 20, 2005: A 45-year-old man who says he pointed a gun at a mailbox store owner and then barricaded himself inside a Henderson bank on Dec. 3 -- allegedly because his Russian mail-order bride had become a prostitute -- pleaded not guilty to multiple charges on Wednesday.

'Marshall Plan' for cities needed, Reid tells mayors: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid told U.S. mayors on Wednesday that this year he would re-introduce an "American Marshall Plan" for massive investment in urban infrastructure.

Brick by brick, Rebels building mediocre offense: Steve Guiremand; WHO: UNLV vs. Colorado State

Editorial: Lights can save lives -- up to a point: The demand for better traffic control at intersections heightened in September after a 7-year-old girl, a passenger in a car driven by her mother, was killed when the driver of an SUV failed to stop and struck the car. Prior to the accident at Desert Inn and Hualapai Way, which only had four-way stop signs, residents in the area were so concerned that they had been asking for a stop light. After the crash, Public Works officials attached flashing warning lights to the stop signs at the intersection. The number of drivers running the stop signs dropped from more than ...

Emergency continues after record river flows: Launce Rake and Cy Ryan; The heavy rains in December and January resulted in some rivers in Southern Nevada and nearby areas reaching their highest-ever recorded flows, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologists said Wednesday.

Insurer reports 45.8 percent jump in quarterly earnings: Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth earned $739 million, or $1.09 a share. That beat by a penny the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, and was up from $507 million, or 83 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Gorman LB Reynolds on Parade All-America: Reynolds, an Oklahoma recruit who was awarded the Walter Payton Trophy on Friday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, was the only player from Nevada named by Parade.

Letter: Many sources are needed for 'truth': What is so distressing about this is that no one seems to know how to discern fact from opinion or when their opinions are being shaped merely by the opinions of others. Many people, without realizing it, quote as facts the opinions of others, whether it be those of Bill O'Reilly, James Carville, George Will or Paul Krugman.