Print edition for September 19, 2005

OPEC may pump 2 million extra barrels of oil a day: Edith Balazs; VIENNA, Austria -- OPEC oil ministers trying to calm a market rattled by refinery shutdowns and concerned about supplies for the winter were debating today whether to boost the group's official output ceiling or make available 2 million extra barrels a day from reserves.

July fire may pay off at middle school: By Emily Richmond; For Anthony Dhen, chairman of the health and physical education department at Roy Martin Middle School, there may be a silver lining to the suspicious July 5 blaze that turned the campus gymnasium into a pile of smoldering rubble.

FEMA review to allow continued local savings on flood insurance: Stephen Curran; Clark County engineers expect that an upcoming FEMA review will allow Las Vegas Valley property owners and residents to continue to save 20 percent on flood insurance rates.

Arizona man is found dead in back of truck at casino: The vehicle was parked at the casino for several days with the body inside, police said.

Economist: U.S. home-price drop could lead to recession: The 10 U.S. areas with the most overvalued real estate are Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island and New York City, New York; Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif.; Providence, R.I.; and Cape May, N.J., Wyss said in the report.

Draft order urges letting utility raise rates: The full three-member PUC is expected to vote on the proposal at a Wednesday meeting.

Casinos committed to rebuild on Gulf Coast: By Liz Benston; All of the largest operators of commercial casinos with properties in Mississippi and Louisiana have committed to rebuild their properties in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Gaming Association's top executive said last week.

California's Napa Valley expects its best harvest in four years: Danny King; Grape growers in California's Napa Valley, the best-known U.S. winemaking region, said they are expecting their biggest harvest in four years.

State to scrap older video poker machines: The Oregon Lottery intends to replace all the older terminals by next spring, beginning with 2,300 in October.

Horse racing industry hopes to feed on casino oats: Mark R. Chellgren; FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky's horse interests are again promoting the idea of casinos in Kentucky, so long as existing race tracks get to own and operate them.

Obituaries for September 19, 2005: Dennis Duane Crites, 71, of Henderson died Sept. 11 in a local hospital. He was born Jan. 3, 1934, in Minot, N.D. A resident for 14 years, he was a retired manager in the space technology industry, a Korean War Marine Corps veteran, a member of Club Sport of Green Valley and Black Mountain Detachment of the Marine Corps League.

Fire leaves Henderson home uninhabitable: The occupants got out of the home and were not injured, firefighters said.

Tribe pays $100 million for casino site: Station Casinos, the Las Vegas-based partner of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, bought the property west of Rohnert Park last month.

Report shows increase in median price of new homes: The resale median price in August was $282,000, a year-to-year increase of $32,000, or 12.8 percent.

Peppermill to unveil major expansion plan: "We're excited to be hosting a press conference on Thursday to announce a $230 million expansion," Peppermill spokeswoman Kim Stoll told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "At that time, all of the facts and artist renderings will be presented."

PUC to begin hearings on gas rate increase: Kevin Rademacher; Public Utilities Commission hearings are scheduled to begin Tuesday into rate increase requests by Southwest Gas Corp. that could raise the average Southern Nevada customer's monthly bill by $6.50.

Alaska pipeline undergoing $250 million upgrade: Mary Pemberton; ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The trans-Alaska oil pipeline is undergoing an upgrade costing more than $250 million -- the biggest single investment in the pipeline since oil began flowing from Prudhoe Bay nearly three decades ago.

Business leaders plan proposal for casinos: The Greater Cleveland Partnership's board of directors voted Wednesday to try to build a statewide coalition and shape a proposal to change Ohio's constitution and allow casinos. A recent study the partnership backed concluded that gaming is potentially beneficial.

Births for September 19, 2005: Sept. 6:

State reveals strategy to help seniors when Medicare plan starts: CARSON CITY -- The state has unveiled its strategy to try to protect an estimated 26,000 low-income senior citizens from higher-out-of pocket expenses for prescription drugs starting in January.

Proposals to be sought on former school: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas is expected to formally seek proposals during the next two months for the use of the former Fifth Street School. It could cost more than $8 million to clear out and renovate the school.

Valley ranks low in seat belt usage: J. Craig Anderson; Nevada motorists have been buckling up more than ever in 2005, a new study shows, but relatively low seat belt usage in the Las Vegas Valley is still holding back the state average.

In effort to reopen, dog track begins hiring: Mississippi gambling mogul Marlin Torguson has completed his acquisition of the track, and hopes to reopen in January. Torguson bought the track for $4.1 million and now is preparing an application for a state gaming license.

Officials use open house to weigh controversial casino: Joseph B. Frazier; CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. -- An open house regarding a proposed tribal casino here pitted environmental concerns over the scenic Columbia River Gorge against tribal unemployment and the hopes of a dying river town that sees the gambling enterprise as its last chance.

Ex-Tyco bosses get 8 years in prison: Andrew Dunn; L. Dennis Kozlowski, whose $6,000 shower curtain and $15,000 umbrella stand made him a symbol of corporate greed, and his former top deputy Mark Swartz were sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison for looting Tyco International Ltd.

Google project bound to test copyright law: Anick Jesdanun; NEW YORK -- Tony Sanfilippo is of two minds when it comes to Google Inc.'s ambitious program to scan millions of books and make their text fully searchable on the Internet.

Namesake Thiriot on hand for tardy opening of school: By Emily Richmond; After an extra three weeks of summer vacation, students reported this morning for the first day of classes at the new Joseph E. Thiriot Elementary School.

Counties get right to sue on taxes: CARSON CITY -- Counties have the right to sue to overturn decisions of the state Board of Equalization on property tax disputes, the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled.

Residents opposed to stables: Dan Kulin; A request to allow a corral and stables for up to 33 horses in northwest Las Vegas is riling some neighbors who fear the animals will bring a bad smell, dust and flies.

Hearings on gas rate increase to begin: Kevin Rademacher; Public Utilities Commission hearings are scheduled to begin Tuesday into rate increase requests by Southwest Gas Corp. that could raise the average Southern Nevada customer's monthly bill by $6.50.

Rural preservation issue going back before council: Dan Kulin; A proposal to designate rural preservation districts in neighborhoods scattered throughout Las Vegas -- including the upscale Scotch 80s and Rancho Circle communities -- will head back to the City Council this week and could go for a final council vote on Oct. 5.

Two women hurt in fight: Metro had little information on the stabbing and could not release the names of the women involved.

Hurricane brought financial disparities into focus: Marcy Gordon; WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Katrina has brought into focus the financial plight of many blacks along the Gulf Coast as well as illustrating the differences in how minorities and whites use and are treated by banks.

Editorial: Open child's records: Our lawsuit sought the records held by CPS regarding the year it spent working with the family. We believe there are important questions surrounding the county's decision to close the case. On Friday District Judge Stewart Bell ruled against our request, saying Nevada law protects the privacy of families in these kinds of cases. The attorney for the county defended the judge's ruling, saying the privacy of three other children in the household is paramount.

Namesake on hand for late opening of school: By Emily Richmond; After an extra three weeks of summer vacation, students reported this morning for the first day of classes at the new Joseph E. Thiriot Elementary School.

School police probe racial vandalism at Shadow Ridge: By Emily Richmond; School police are trying to determine who recently spray-painted racial epithets at Shadow Ridge High School and why.

LV plan would give $1 million to victims: By Timothy Pratt; The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday is to consider spending $1 million in federal funds on Hurricane Katrina victims instead of on an affordable housing project.

County reverses position on records: Molly Ball; Just hours after successfully arguing against releasing Child Protective Services records about a 2-year-old girl who allegedly died from neglect, lawyers representing Clark County asked the courts to decide whether the public would be better served by release of such information.

July fire may end up being boon for kids at Martin Middle School: By Emily Richmond; For Anthony Dhen, chairman of the health and physical education department at Roy Martin Middle School, there may be a silver lining to the suspicious July 5 blaze that turned the campus gymnasium into a pile of smoldering rubble.

Regent: Computer services payment waste of money: Nevada System of Higher Education officials paid $108,000 for computer consulting services that were supposed to have cost less than half that amount, and Regent Mark Alden said Friday that the service provided has been compromised by a conflict of interest.

Mistake-prone Rebels beat themselves up over loss to UNR: Steve Guiremand; RENO --- Blue was the color of the night Saturday at Mackay Stadium.

Treatment of dry eye disease explored at expo: As a young eye doctor, Douglas Devries spent some time exploring the deserts of Saudi Arabia wearing rigid contact lenses.

Editorial: Prepare for the worst: In particular, Goodman noted, the existing patchwork of jurisdictions in the Las Vegas Valley has the potential to stymie an effective response if a disaster were to strike here. Providing leadership and giving a single, authoritative voice of information to the public could well be impossible if a valley-wide disaster hit, Goodman contends, because officials from Clark County and the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson could all be involved. "It would be like a Tower of Babel if a disaster occurred," Goodman said. "This is a good time to start talking about consolidation." Goodman acknowledges that ...

Letter: Local and state officials messed up, not president: The mayor, with five days of advance notice, waited until two days before the hurricane struck to announce a mandatory evacuation (at the behest of the president). Then he failed to provide transportation for those without transport, even though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.

Comatose fighter's condition improving: Lightweight boxer Leavander Johnson remained in a medically induced coma Sunday at University Medical Center's intensive care unit after undergoing emergency brain surgery following his championship fight Saturday night.

Jordan finds little room against former team: Nick Christensen; Weekend scoreboard

Letter: Two-part plan to help coast: One: Build a waste reclamation plant that will become an institutional part of the area. A plant that will disinfect and separate waste into paper, iron and steel and transform food waste into pellets that can be sold back into the food chain for animal feed. This would accelerate the clean-up effort.

Sports news briefs for September 19, 2005: For the third time in the past four games, the UNLV women's soccer team played to a draw, this time tying Long Beach State 1-1 in double overtime Sunday at the Adidas Classic at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Rebels, Wolf Pack played nice if not well: RENO -- I went to a college football game Saturday night -- and a Richard Pryor concert broke out. But, I am both surprised and delighted to report, a hockey game did not break out. Nor anything resembling a prize fight. Or even a night at Pam and Tommy Lee's place.

Prep schedule: Girls' Volleyball

Columnist Susan Snyder: Another one rides the bus: Of those asked about rising gasoline prices, 71 percent said they had cut back on driving in some manner because of the cost, and 31 percent said they had started using carpools or mass transit.

In arcade, rapper KRS-One still has game: Spencer Patterson; Would you ever expect to see Paul McCartney perform in a converted video arcade, to a crowd of barely 200?