Print edition for May 16, 2005

National Missing Children's Day: The event will offer information for parents, children and caregivers, "Child ID" kits from Nevada Child Seekers for parents to provide to authorities and the media in the unlikely event that a child is missing. Nevada Child Seekers will take a photo of your child, obtain fingerprints, assist you with filling out an identification data sheet, and the entire kit is yours to keep in a safe place at home or when you travel.

Estate tax money to cover university tech upgrades: University system officials will likely use $15 million of their estate tax money to cover some technology upgrades, including $10 million toward a new integrated information system, Assistant Chancellor Trudy Larson said Friday.

Supreme Court refuses to remove question from Boulder City ballot: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has refused to remove a question from the Boulder City election ballot that would permit the city to sell land around the controversial Boulder Creek Golf Course for a 90-home subdivision.

LV City Council to hold hearing on new budget: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas residents will get a chance to weigh in Tuesday on the city's nearly $1.2 billion proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, which includes plans to add staff, but calls for no tax increases.

Doctor's license ordered to remain suspended: Molly Ball; A doctor who gave his patients nonapproved medications at a time when he had already been ordered not to practice medicine was found guilty Saturday by the state Board of Osteopathic Medicine of unprofessional conduct.

New teachers could get money to help buy home: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas may be reaching out to prospective teachers with a program that would offer some new teachers at city high schools up to $30,000 each toward buying a home.

Monorail profit falls in April: The trains carried 957,621 riders in April -- just less than 32,000 a day -- falling from the slightly more than 1 million people who boarded the system in March, according to numbers provided by the company.

Stabbing death of worker investigated: Police discovered a man, identified as Danette Dewinter Johnson III, 27, of Las Vegas, lying in the parking lot at 4771 W. Craig Road at 7:45 p.m. with a single stab wound. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Officer Sean Walker, North Las Vegas Police spokesman, said.

Panel seeks to boost college faculty salaries: CARSON CITY -- Salaries of faculty at the Community College of Southern Nevada are lagging behind the average paid in other community colleges, a situation the Assembly Ways and Means Committee wants to remedy.

City celebrates 100 years with giant birthday cake: Eric Leake; Even the cutting of the cake was all Vegas.

Sarkisian family's quest continues: By Timothy Pratt; Sitting at a Formica table in that most American of institutions, the pizza parlor, Ukrainian-born Rouben Sarkisian made a fist-pounding point about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Man killed in fight with officer: A Metro Police officer shot and killed a man who allegedly beat the officer with his own baton outside a market in northeast Las Vegas, authorities said.

Guards quell incident at state prison: CARSON CITY -- Guards used a stun gun and tear gas to quell 15 rebellious gang members at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City Sunday.

SBA honors entrepreneurs: Michelle Swafford; Some of Southern Nevada's finest small-business owners were honored Friday by the Small Business Administration for their accomplishments, growth and community contributions.

Monorail ridership dips slightly in April: The trains carried 957,621 riders in April -- just less than 32,000 a day -- falling from the slightly more than 1 million people who boarded the system in March, according to numbers provided by the company.

Complaint filed against housing agency official: David Kihara; A Las Vegas Housing Authority board member has filed a formal complaint with the federal government, claiming that the deputy director of the agency inappropriately approved spending more than $150,000 for a private contractor without board approval.

13-year-old stabbing victim pleads with judge to be adopted: By Matt Pordum; Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle has given himself two weeks to decide if he should grant the emotional request of 13-year-old stabbing victim Brittney Bergeron, who pleaded, "I want to be adopted."

Preps: Weekend results: Regional Champions:

University budget conflicts unresolved: The Assembly Ways and Means closed the higher education operating budget on Friday without resolving some of the conflicts between the Assembly committee's decisions and the Senate's.

Study: Parents will pay for full kindergarten: By Emily Richmond; With enough interest from parents willing to foot the $300-a-month bill, the Clark County School District's tuition-based kindergarten program is expected to more than double in size for the 2005-06 academic year.

All the Wright moves: A possible rematch between Winky Wright and Felix "Tito" Trinidad apparently won't happen in the wake of the announcement Sunday night in Puerto Rico that Trinidad's father and trainer, Felix Trinidad Sr., was retiring.

William Hill to buy Stanley betting outlets: The purchase of Stanley's 624 betting offices will create a chain of 2,237 bookmakers, London-based William Hill said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. Ladbrokes, owned by Hilton Group Plc, runs about 1,900 bookmaking shops in the U.K.

News briefs for May 16, 2005: The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for Southern Nevada until 9 p.m. today with winds expected between 20 mph and 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph.

Sports briefs for May 16, 2005: UNLV (43-17) will travel west for a Friday matchup against Cal State Fullerton on the campus of the No. 7 seed UCLA Bruins in the first round of the 64-team NCAA tournament.

Oregon wants NCAA tourneys; may end NFL-based lottery: Brad Cain; SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon lawmakers might be ready to boot a marginally profitable professional football betting game in hopes of attracting more lucrative college basketball tournaments to the state.

Fines threatened over battery-operated toy: Eric Leake; Little Benjamin Firestone likely does not know the trouble he caused by riding his Fisher-Price Power Wheels in front of his home.

Las Vegas companies vie for qualified construction workers: Alana Roberts; One might call the Las Vegas Valley's construction industry an employee's market.

School voucher plan passed by panel: CARSON CITY -- With only three weeks left in the Legislature's session, a controversial plan that would make a dramatic change to the public school system is inching forward.

Missing high school tests found: By Emily Richmond; Western High School administrators and students were celebrating this morning that a batch of missing answer sheets for the state proficiency exam had been located.

Obituaries for May 16, 2005: Eurel Lee Bradley, 41, of Las Vegas died May 7 in Las Vegas. He was born July 2, 1963, in Arkansas. A resident for 13 years, he was a nursing home porter.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Indy 500 has been drained of its magic: It's time for the Beach Boys to amend the lyrics to "Fun, Fun, Fun." You know, the part that says "She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now."

Gentile sure evidence will vindicate his client: SAN DIEGO -- The lawyer for a former Clark County commissioner facing multiple counts in a federal corruption scandal said testimony and evidence offered Friday damaged his client, but he promised that later evidence would blunt the impact of last week's prosecution.

Gaming briefs for May 16, 2005: As the Culinary Union Local 226 pushes its proposals for corporate governance reform at Station Casinos, Station has gotten an independent proxy voting firm to support its practices and to oppose the push for change.

Playoffs in Gladiators' hands: Adam Candee; LOS ANGELES -- One pondered, one wandered, one squandered.

Howard Johnson's restaurant chain slowly melting away: Carke Canfield; BANGOR, Maine -- The orange roof is long gone and the Simple Simon plaque is history. The famous 28 flavors of ice cream have dwindled to 16 varieties.

Language for ballot issue OK'd: John McCarthy; COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Backers of a statewide ballot issue to let Ohio cities decide whether they want casino gambling passed their first test Friday when Attorney General Jim Petro, a gambling opponent, approved the language that will appear on petitions that will be circulated.

Complaint filed against Reid for comments: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has drawn fire for a comment he made about a controversial judicial nominee, but Reid aides said today he didn't do anything wrong.

Owners plan Lady Luck renovation: By Liz Benston; The management company running the Lady Luck casino has purchased the downtown property from its landlord and plans to remodel it in addition to expanding the casino and hotel.

Ensign joins battle in Southwest's Wright fight: Southwest Airlines, pressing hard for the repeal of a measure that blocks it from offering nonstop service from its Dallas headquarters to several cities on its route map, including Las Vegas, has a Nevada ally on the case: the state's junior senator, John Ensign.

Wynn boosts art's lure: By Liz Benston; Art galleries have become more than just window dressing.Tucked among the high-end retail shops at Wynn Las Vegas, the Wynn Collection art gallery is drawing up to 400 visitors on weekends and from 200 to 300 visitors per day during the week.

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Disrespected Giacomo could be good for betting public: Ralph Siraco; Now that the 131st Kentucky Derby has sunk in, the middle jewel of racing's Triple Crown awaits "roses" winner Giacomo. Trouble is, there are more now than before the Derby who believe this Triple Crown is already history.

Dollar at seven-month high before manufacturing report: The U.S. currency advanced against 14 of its 16 most-traded counterparts, extending gains this year to 7.6 percent versus the euro and 4.9 percent to the yen on expectations the economy will outperform those of Europe and Japan. European Union finance ministers on Friday said they have "serious concerns" about regional growth.

America West, US Air talks may include Airbus: Mary Schlangenstein; America West Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. are talking with Airbus SAS, hedge fund Par Capital Management Inc. and Air Canada's parent about funding a merger of the two U.S. carriers, people familiar with the talks said.

Editorial: Hillary, Newt on the same page?: Some pundits have said that this is more about political maneuvering by both Clinton and Gingrich, as they try to broaden their appeal as potential candidates for the president in 2008. Sure, politics might be involved, but would it really be so terrible if Democrats and Republicans were to come together and try to improve our health care system -- and a host of other issues for that matter -- and score political points along the way?

Las Vegas teams struggle: Hearn qualified at 220.707 mph for his sixth start and fourth consecutive with car owner Sam Schmidt of Henderson in the Meijer/Coca-Cola Panoz/Chevrolet. He ranked 21st out of 22 drivers who qualified Sunday.

Golf: Champions Tour: Jim Thorpe and Morris Hatalsky parred the first hole of a playoff before play was suspended because of darkness in the Champions Tour's Blue Angels Classic. They were scheduled to resume play this morning.

Letter: Like Truman, Reid is honest: I'm talking, of course, about Harry Truman. In the 1948 "whistle stop" campaign for president, Truman often gave the Republican opposition a piece of his mind. One day, at literally one of the hundreds of "whistle stops" that characterized the 1948 presidential campaign, a man said to President Truman, "Give 'em hell, Harry!" President Truman replied, "I'm not giving them (Republicans) hell. I'm just telling the truth and the Republicans think it's hell." Enough said!

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

Editorial: President blissfully unaware during alert: What was bizarre -- and downright alarming in a post-9/11 world -- was that nobody bothered to tell President Bush what was going on as federal workers were fleeing their offices in a frenzy. It wasn't until after it was determined that the plane posed no threat that the president was told what had happened. Granted, the president was out bike-riding, but if the threat of a terrorist attack isn't enough reason to interrupt his outing, then what is?

Coyotes' season ends in disappointment: Community College of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers could not gloss over a bitter ending to the Coyotes' season Sunday.

51s, Sounds split doubleheader: Jeff Housman and Jeff Bennett combined on a two-hitter as the Nashville Sounds edged the Las Vegas 51s, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon to split a doubleheader at Herschel Greer Stadium.

Drained Basic felled by Centennial: Nick Christensen; All games at Lied Field at Morse Stadium CCSN Henderson Campus

Letter: 'Bunker-busting' nuclear weapon is not needed: One important step toward that goal would be for Congress to eliminate all funding for the new nuclear weapons that the Bush administration has proposed to develop next year. President Bush's budget request for 2006 includes $4 million for the first stages of developing a "bunker- busting" nuclear weapon.

Sierra Vista earns first regional softball title: Nick Christensen; All games at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park in Henderson

Columnist Susan Snyder: Curator goes to bat for mammal: Thank a bat.

Constellation Prizes: For Star Wars' fans, collectibles have universal appeal: Kirk Baird; It usually begins in the summer of 1977, in a crowded theater with their parents.

Movie's products span the ages: Kirk Baird; At the time, a poster from the movie was all he needed or wanted to collect from the movie.

Stevie Nicks' performance a gift for rapt fans: Spencer Patterson; I heard more tambourine during Friday night's Stevie Nicks concert that I have at all the other shows I've reviewed for the Las Vegas Sun combined.