Print edition for May 3, 2005

Senate OKs Ensign's animal fighting bill: Suzanne Struglinski; WASHINGTON -- The Senate has approved Sen. John Ensign's bill aiming at limiting animal fighting in the United States.

Editorial: Focus on academics: While the lawsuit is still pending, we were heartened to read in Monday's Las Vegas Sun that 16 Clark County campuses -- after receiving approval from at least 55 percent of those parents who returned their referendum surveys -- will have school uniform policies in place for the next school year. The 16 schools will join 15 others that already had adopted dress codes last year. Still, we were disappointed that more parents didn't take the time to send in their dress-code surveys -- no school had at least half of its parents return the forms. But another way of ...

Reid to receive PTA award: Reid, who will be visiting the campus as part of his "Capitol to the Classroom" program, will meet with students, teachers, administrators and parents to answer questions and discuss ongoing educational initiatives.

Bracket sets up for showdown: Schedule

Letter: Dollar's decline may be to blame for gas prices: Now, as in the 1980s, we blame this problem on too much demand, too little supply, not enough refining capacity, bad drivers, low industry gas mileage standards, war, federal deficits, SUVs and even bad weather. This time around there is another suspect -- the value of the American dollar in world markets.

LV council happy with cost cutting: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas would add 58 jobs and cut nine, and the tax rate would remain the same under a $1.18 billion preliminary spending plan supported by the City Council on Monday.

Legislative briefs for May 3, 2005: The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill Monday to create four new District Court judges in Clark County, not the seven requested by the judges.

Gold Butte must not be abused: One that stands out is Mr. Freeman's implication that the spread of noxious and invasive weeds in the Gold Butte region is not a problem caused by people driving off-highway vehicles. He bases this statement on his belief that off-highway travel is not permitted within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This is untrue. There are many miles of vehicle routes that can legally be driven on within the recreation area. If Mr. Freeman doesn't know about them he could contact a ranger, or perhaps consult a map.

Gaming briefs for May 3, 2005: New French paintings in June

General Growth earnings decrease: Daniel Taub and Jessica Brice; General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest owner of U.S. shopping malls, said first-quarter earnings fell 78 percent on higher costs and interest expenses related to a recent acquisition.

School District's Flores taking post in Kingman: By Emily Richmond; Maurice Flores, superintendent of the Clark County School District's east region, said he will take the helm of Kingman Unified School District in Arizona this summer.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Stars align for local youths after Easter Bowl: Considering she is just 14, Asia Muhammad probably has never heard of the late pop star Andy Gibb. But last week she did a little shadow dancing after winning the girls 16 doubles at the prestigious Easter Bowl amateur tennis tournament at the Riviera Resort and Racket Club in Palm Springs.

Editorial: Openness has big loophole: As Las Vegas Sun reporter Steve Kanigher reported on Sunday, the only way Southern Nevada residents can learn the identity of LLC members is when their company does business with a local government, either through land swaps or contracts. Even then, however, full disclosure is not required. Clark County, for example, requires the names of only those members whose ownership in a company amounts to 5 percent or more. This means that in a company of 20 members, owners of 93.1 percent of the company could remain hidden if 19 claimed 4.9 percent each. The 20th member, with a 6.9 ...

Rotation is doing its part for the 51s: Nick Christensen; Heath Totten threw more than 100 pitches Monday, giving up 12 hits and six runs after a shaky first inning and leaving the game with a 7-6 lead after the eighth inning.

High court won't delay trial in Crazy Horse suit: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court on Monday refused to delay a civil suit in Las Vegas against the Crazy Horse Too topless club and its owner, Rick Rizzolo.

County plans airport study: Stephen Curran; The Clark County Commission was expected to move forward this morning with a government-mandated study of the land where a new airport may one day sit.

Lawmakers may target recycling next session: Stephen Curran and Kirsten Searer; Southern Nevada's garbage contractor, already a lightning rod for criticism after a widely unpopular proposal to increase the area's notoriously low recycling rate, may be a target in the 2007 Legislative session.

Horsford files amended campaign finance report: Kirsten Searer; CARSON CITY -- Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, said this morning that he has filed amended campaign contribution reports in response to Secretary of State Dean Heller's request for a response to allegations that Horsford had violated campaign laws.

Dad charged in daughter's near drowning: Jen Lawson; A 35-year-old Las Vegas father has been charged with felony child endangerment because he fell asleep after taking his 2-year-old daughter into a swimming pool where she nearly drowned, Metro Police said.

Glitch halts monorail in its tracks once again: Stephen Curran; Clark County officials asked the Las Vegas Monorail to shut down regular operations this afternoon to try to fix a problem that has stranded passengers twice in the last two days.

Lieutenant governor candidate drops out: Kirsten Searer; CARSON CITY -- He declared his candidacy three years before the 2006 election. Since then, he said he has raised about $650,000.

Sports briefs for May 3, 2005: Juan Rincon, who emerged last season as one of baseball's top setup men for Minnesota, became the highest-profile violator of Major League Baseball's new policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Alleged 311 Boyz member sentenced: By Matt Pordum; An alleged member of the 311 Boyz gang who violated a judge's order to stay out of trouble was sentenced this morning to a combination of one year of house arrest, three years probation and 30 days in a rehabilitation center for drug abusers.

Columnist Jeff German: Spilotro's bloody end revealed: It's the story of how Tony Spilotro, the tough-talking hoodlum who oversaw the Chicago mob's interests here, was allegedly betrayed by his own crime family members.

Glass object found in jury box: By Matt Pordum; A juror on the panel deciding whether a man should be sentenced to death found what appeared to be a used crack pipe in the jury box on Monday, according to sources close to the case.

Cleveland no longer in the running for Phil Jackson: There's one fewer team in the Phil Jackson sweepstakes as Jackson will not have further conversations about becoming the Cleveland Cavaliers' coach, sources said Monday.

Circulation falls 1.9 percent: The average daily circulation of 814 U.S. newspapers was 47.4 million in the period, down from 48.3 million a year ago, the Newspaper Association of America, association said today in a statement. The association used figures compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Bandai to buy Namco in $1.7 billion deal: The Bandai Company, which makes the Power Rangers figures, agreed to buy Namco, which produced Pac-Man, in a deal that would create Japan's second-biggest toy and game company, the two companies said Monday.

Fight schedule: At Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Ariz., David Lopez, Mexico, vs. Danny Perez, El Cajon, Calif., 10, middleweights; Jose Luis Valbuena, Venezuela, vs. Celestino Caballero, Panama, 10, super bantamweights.

Pacer withdraws Nevada move plans: In a move anticipated for months, a California company has withdrawn plans to move its corporate headquarters to Henderson, despite the city offering a $3.7 million discount for the 28-acre site.

Las Vegas Sands profit declines in first quarter: By Liz Benston; The owner of the Venetian resort in Las Vegas reported an 86 percent decline in first-quarter profit largely because of a loss related to debt refinancing, but it still beat analysts' expectations for the quarter on strong business in Las Vegas.

State expects big hike in tax revenue: Cy Ryan and Kirsten Searer; CARSON CITY -- The state is going to get an estimated $265.6 million in additional tax revenue during the next 2 1/2 years.

Sierra Pacific highlights profit during meeting: Kevin Rademacher; In contrast to heated events in recent years, Sierra Pacific Resources enjoyed a largely calm audience on Monday at its annual shareholders meeting.

Water to Lake Mead won't be reduced: Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that the federal government will not reduce the amount of water to be released from Lake Powell to Lake Mead through the remainder of this "water year," which ends Sept. 30.

Wynn assures stockholders resort is off to a good start: By Liz Benston; Warning shareholders not to judge the long-term performance of his resort based on its opening weekend, Steve Wynn nevertheless dropped several hints at the company's annual stockholders meeting Monday to suggest that his new resort was off to a good start.

Flores taking Kingman post: By Emily Richmond; Maurice Flores, superintendent of the Clark County School District's east region, said he will take the helm of Kingman Unified School District in Arizona this summer.

Golf regionals could get face lift from NIAA: Nick Christensen; In the latest move to try to keep 18-hole golf tournaments as one-day events, next week's high school regionals are scheduled to take place on easy courses with, in theory, enough windbreaks in the vicinity to keep the balls going straight.

Aristocrat forecasts record first half: Vesna Poljak; Aristocrat Leisure Ltd., the world's second-largest slot machine maker, said first-half profit may rise about 50 percent to a record on increased sales of new games in the U.S. and Japan. The company's shares rose.

Gaming officials say mergers make industry stronger: CARSON CITY -- Hotel executives told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the 8 percent cap on property taxes won't have any impact on planned expansions in Clark County.

Correction: The Sun corrects its errors. If you find a mistake, call 385-3111 to report it.

Preps: Monday's results: Green Valley 7, Del Sol 0: W: Zuniga (4 IP, 1K). L: n/a 2B: Greb (GV), Zuniga (GV). RBI: Krause-2 (GV), Cosgrove (GV).

$15 million on new voting machines sparks feud: CARSON CITY -- Republican Secretary of State Dean Heller tangled with two GOP senators from Las Vegas on Monday over whether the state should spend $15 million to buy new voting machines with paper trails for Clark County.

Wednesday's horse racing entries: Post Time 1:20 p.m.

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Las Vegas' Lynch back on top of West series: Scott Lynch set out this season to prove his 2003 NASCAR West Series championship was not a fluke.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Even recent history is history: After all, Sunday afternoon's weather was glorious. And a visit to the Clark County Museum off Boulder Highway was a good excuse to get out in it without having to do anything sweaty, such as exercise, or anything constructive, such as yard work.

Lawmakers react to Economic Forum report: AP; ---

Post office open for tours: To celebrate the centennial, the city of Las Vegas opened the downtown historic post office and courthouse on Stewart Avenue for the month of May.

Obituaries for May 3, 2005: Gertrude S. Bennett, 85, of Las Vegas died Sunday in a local care center. She was born Feb. 7, 1920, in Rochester, N.Y. A resident for six years, she was a retired assembler for a copier manufacturer.

Winds blow dust but cool weather: Winds at Lake Mead's Callville Bay gusted to 47 mph Monday evening as an energetic wave of weather brushed the northern end of the Las Vegas Valley and exited south and east, the National Weather Service said.

Recollections of Berlin trip 60 years ago: Russian troops in Berlin on May 3, 1945, sure were surprised to see nine American soldiers from the 9th Army take a sight-seeing tour through the war-torn city.

Center opens for homeless youths: By Timothy Pratt; The Las Vegas Valley's first drop-in center for homeless youth under 18 opened Monday, as a six-month census and study of that population was also announced, another first.

Community briefs for May 3, 2005: The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will hold its 10th annual Corporate Golf Classic Monday at Canyon Gate Country Club.

Immunization schedule for May 3, 2005: HENDERSON PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER: 129 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Building A, Suite 10, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.