Print edition for March 15, 2005

$1 million sought for mental health court: By Cy Ryan; CARSON CITY -- Spending $1 million a year to continue a mental health court in Las Vegas will save money on jails and hospital emergency rooms, proponents told the Assembly Ways and Means Committee Monday morning.

Moving heaven and Earth for the Las Vegas Centennial: The Las Vegas Centennial Committee has reached to the stars for an asteroid named in the city's honor and is reaching a little deeper into its pockets to pay for its 100th birthday party.

'Understanding Islam' forum held at CCSN: Eric Leake; Aslam Abdullah ended an Islamic panelist discussion Monday evening with a little humor while addressing the question of Islam's role in America and terrorism.

Blacklist aims to instill confidence in N.J. casinos: John Curran; ATLANTIC CITY -- Benny Eggs is on the list. So is "Johnny Sausage" Barbato, "Petey Boxcars" Cosoleto and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.

Preps: Monday's results: Valley 7, Del Sol 2: WP: Reiner Hall (1-1) LP: Vay VALY: Tim Parker 3-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Hogs saloon raises bar at auditions: "Looking for Daisy Duke-meets-the biker chick-meets-the girl next door. A little leather, a little denim and a little lace. If you've got it, flaunt it. You ain't gonna have it forever."

Country's recession over: The government revised its data for the fourth quarter of 2004 to an annualized growth rate of 0.5 percent, from a preliminary estimate of a 0.5 percent decline.

February revenue at two Detroit casinos drops: February revenue increased 9 percent to $39.6 million over last year, according to figures released Monday by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Convincing victory renews confidence: Adam Candee; Seven games into the season, the Gladiators earned their first decisive and convincing victory.

Changes to be explained in DOE compensation program: Suzanne Struglinski; Labor Department town hall meetings on the Energy Employee Occupational Illnes Compensation Program Act will be 6 p.m. today and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday at Texas Station. The Resource Center is at Flamingo Executive Park, 1050 E. Flamingo Road, Suite W-156. Call (866) 697-0841.

Obituaries for March 15, 2005: Lance L. Campbell, 63, of Henderson died Saturday in Henderson. He was born Dec. 3, 1941, in Kansas City, Mo. A resident for six years, he was a retired Clark County School District administrator and a Vietnam War Army veteran.

Mule deer tag bill opposed: CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Jerry Claborn, D-Las Vegas, says he wants to make the drawing of hunting tags for mule deer fairer, but he ran into a barrage of opposition from hunters Monday.

Community briefs for March 15, 2005: Women Against Violence, a UNLV student group, will present a benefit production of Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues" at 7 p.m. Friday in the university's Arte` us Ham Concert Hall.

McBride, former regents chairman, dies at 84: McBride died March 9 at age 84, according to Palm Mortuary, which is handling the arrangements.

Nevada lawmakers react to senator's bill affecting her business: AP; Tiffany, R-Henderson, has proposed SB55, easing requirements for advertisers to hold a broker or dealer's license to sell cars under certain circumstances. Tiffany, who doesn't hold a dealer's license, has a contract with the state's purchasing division to advertise the sale of unclaimed and surplus property, including surplus government vehicles, on eBay.

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

Legislation that expands electronic wagering advances: With a voice vote, the panel approved the bill authorizing local elections in the two Arkansas cities with pari-mutuel wagering to permit more electronic games of skill at the tracks, over the objections of opponents who warned that the social damage from games that they labeled the "crack cocaine" of gambling would outweigh any economic benefit.

Proposed smoking ban adds Atlantic City casinos: Rosa Cirianni; TRENTON, N.J. -- Gamblers would not be allowed to light up on casino floors under a measure passed Monday by a Senate committee that adds casinos to restaurants, bars and offices where lawmakers want to stub out cigarette smoking.

Police arrest suspect in gropings of UNLV women: A suspect in a series of gropings of women at UNLV is now in police custody in San Bernardino, Calif., UNLV police chief Jose Elique said Monday.

Letter: Watch list is not reason to deny right to own gun: Those persons are already being denied their rights under the Sixth Amendment, which includes the right "to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him."

All-day kindergarten debated: Kirsten Searer; CARSON CITY -- Educators brought out all the stops Monday to ask an Assembly education committee to endorse all-day kindergarten.

Businesswomen honored: Businesswomen honored

Region championship or bust for Coronado: Mike Sims; As the Coronado boys' volleyball team practices for the upcoming season, a bad memory still sits in the players' minds. The Cougars remember the crushing defeat they suffered in last year's state tournament to eventual champion Sierra Vista.

Officer injured in car wreck in which four died identified: Stephen Curran; Metro Police this morning identified the officer seriously injured in Sunday's fatal crash that killed four people including a 9-week-old girl as Officer Kevin McClary.

Crash victims mourned; questions surround driver: Jen Lawson and Jace Radke; Vergus Bailey heard a crash outside her apartment Monday morning and looked outside, not knowing her 36-year-old daughter was among the people killed when a sport utility vehicle plowed into a Citizens Area Transit bus shelter in northwest Las Vegas.

Columnist Jeff German: Civil side of Binion case is next: Tabish said he can't wait to get out of prison, return to Montana and leave behind the six-year courtroom battle over Binion's mysterious 1998 death.

Station raises earnings guidance, shares jump: By Liz Benston; Station Casinos Inc. shares soared by more than 10 percent in midday trading today on news that the strong Las Vegas economy lifted profit higher than expected in the first quarter. As a result, the company announced plans to expand its upcoming Red Rock Station hotel and casino before the property opens next year, a move that will boost the cost of the property to $800 million.

Valley has seen share of similar crashes: Although the death toll was higher in Monday's bus stop crash, there have been other similar incidents in the last several years, most of which involved drivers who were either drunk or had drugs in their systems.

NASCAR weekend hailed a success on and off the track: By most accounts, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's eighth annual NASCAR weekend was an overwhelming success -- both on and off the track.

Audits point to state waste: CARSON CITY -- Several state audits released Monday pointed to ways that the state could be saving millions of taxpayer dollars annually while better serving the public.

Letter: Federal budget should benefit all: What is Christ-like about denying health care to children or cutting programs such as child-care assistance to help families out of poverty? The crisis is not in Social Security but in health care, fuel, housing and jobs with real benefits.

Wynn's resort in Singapore could cost $1.5 billion: Linus Chua; Wynn Resorts Ltd., the Las Vegas-based casino company led by Steve Wynn, proposes spending as much as $1.5 billion to build and operate a casino resort in Singapore, its president said.

Letter: Motorcyclists unfairly targeted: He wrote that helmet laws save lives and taxpayer money. Considering that cars on the road outnumber motorcycles by about 200 to 1, wouldn't we save 200 times as much money and 200 times as many lives if the law forced people in cars to wear helmets? Or is it just that the people in cars are a 200-times-bigger constituency and therefore their liberty not as easily trampled as the much smaller group that rides motorcycles?

Columnist Ron Kantowski: You can't NIT pick about the postseason: Having seen way too many of them to count -- which is a pretty good indication of just how far the UNLV basketball program has slipped during the past decade -- I never thought I would refer to an NIT berth as a lovely parting gift.

Shares jump on FERC decision: FERC issued its order late Friday, and on Monday shares of Sierra -- parent company of Las Vegas-based Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno -- jumped 7.5 percent to close at $11.04.

Odds stacked against defending champs: Jeff Neubert; History may repeat this year in boys' high school volleyball. No team has ever won consecutive state titles since the state championship tournaments began in 2000, and this year it will be tough for Sierra Vista to change that.

Cardinals-49ers to play in Mexico in regular season: The first NFL regular-season game outside the United States is expected to take place Oct. 2, when the Arizona Cardinals face San Francisco in Mexico City.

Rebels excited about NIT invite this time around: Steve Guiremand; What a difference a year makes.

UNLV, UNR scale down building plans: By Christina Littlefield; UNLV and UNR officials have big dreams for new structures on their campuses, from high-tech science buildings that will help bring in more grant money to 21st century libraries that combine traditional books with multimedia and digital technology.

Sports briefs for March 15, 2005: Overcoming gusty winds that sent sand swirling around the court Monday, Lindsay Davenport beat Meghann Shaughnessy in the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, Calif.

LV visitor volume flat in January: Rain, mudslides and calendar abnormalities resulted in a surprise in visitor volume statistics for January: They were almost unchanged, just down from the previous year.

Herbst not liable in 311 Boyz case: By Matt Pordum; A judge ruled Monday that Terrible Herbst Inc. could not be held liable for the actions of alleged 311 Boyz gang members simply because one of its gas stations sold one member beer the night of the July 2003 rock attack that left an 18-year-old with a crushed face.

News briefs for March 15, 2005: The coroner's office has released the names of two of the people killed in a triple fatal collision Sunday morning at Sahara Avenue and Fremont Street.

Sheriff: No evidence of crime in land swaps: Clark County Sheriff Bill Young said Monday he met with Ellen Knowlton, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office, about two weeks ago to discuss the investigations into airport land sales and that the local and federal probes are different.

Legislative briefs for March 15, 2005: The pay of Nevada Highway Patrol troopers and other peace officers in the state Department of Public Safety would be brought up to the rates comparable with similar positions with Metro Police under a bill introduced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

PUC chairman backs deal to allow utility to recover past costs: Kevin Rademacher; The chairman of the state Public Utilities Commission is recommending the approval of a deal reached last month that would allow Nevada Power Co. to recover $115.9 million in past fuel and purchased power costs.

Hispanics rally against anti-immigration sign: By Timothy Pratt; About 50 Hispanic community members rallied Monday night at the Rafael Rivera Community Center against a controversial billboard recently displayed in Las Vegas that said, "Stop Immigration: Join the National Alliance."

Editorial: NASCAR a perfect fit: Both NASCAR and Las Vegas' tourist-based economy have benefited from their relationship, as tens of thousands of visitors join locals in attending the race. The event grows more popular with each passing year, so much so that Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials announced Sunday that they will add 14,000 seats to the Speedway. We've been hoping for some time to get a second NASCAR Cup Series race held here, and the success of this past weekend should put our city at the top of the list.

Editorial: Tiffany's bill reeks of conflict: Instead of seeking a license, Tiffany decided to submit a bill changing state law. Senate Bill 55 would allow Nevadans to sell surplus government vehicles on eBay or other online auction sites without obtaining a broker's license. The bill says anyone who doesn't take possession of the vehicles, but merely takes photos of them, scans the photos onto their site, writes the description and monitors the bids is an "advertiser," not a broker, and may receive a percentage of the vehicles' sales prices.

Man goes free after FBI loses evidence: Jace Radke; Lila Carter watched in shock Monday as the man who two years ago shot and killed her grandson walked out of the George Federal Building a free man.

DMV hopes to reassure clients about security: David Kihara; Mark Saia walked into the state Department of Motor Vehicles office at 4110 Donovan Way on Monday looking for information on the possible theft of his identity. He left with only questions.

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