Deal struck on tax plan
Apr 1, 2005 (11:31 a.m.)
Kirsten Searer
CARSON CITY -- After hours of backroom bargaining, the Legislature struck a deal Thursday night to give tax relief to property owners in the state.
Teen pleads not guilty to murder, robbery
Apr 1, 2005 (11:30 a.m.)
Michael Lavelle Scott allegedly attacked a group of four men at the Reid Manor Apartments along with an accomplice on Oct. 2, killing Raul Melgarejo.
Legislative briefs for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (11:30 a.m.)
Counties that import water from other counties would have to pay a $10 per year per acre-foot tax under a bill approved by the Senate Thursday 20-1.
Early voting wraps up today
Apr 1, 2005 (11:24 a.m.)
Dan Kulin
Early voting in the Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson ends today, the last chance to cast early ballots before the primary election on Tuesday.
Slain woman had sought police help
Apr 1, 2005 (11:15 a.m.)
Jen Lawson
The 30-year-old woman who was shot to death by her estranged husband Wednesday night had told Metro Police on Sunday morning that he was stalking her, had broken into her apartment with a gun and had told her he was going to kill her.
Furniture market expanding
Apr 1, 2005 (11:14 a.m.)
Jennifer Shubinski
World Market Center officials today announced plans to expand the furniture market to 12 million square feet of permanent and temporary showrooms -- doubling the project's cost to $2 billion from $1 billion. The original plan consisted of 7.5 million square feet of showrooms.
Hospital quality now on Web site
Apr 1, 2005 (11:11 a.m.)
Michelle Swafford
Starting today, patients can find out how Nevada hospitals rate when it comes to patient care for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.
Settlement to be applied to future rate cases
Apr 1, 2005 (11:09 a.m.)
The state Bureau of Consumer Protection has decided that applying the $14.6 million Nevada has already collected from El Paso Corp. to future rate cases will give consumers the greatest benefit, said Marilyn Skibinski, regulator manager for the BCP.
UNLV graduate schools earn high rankings
Apr 1, 2005 (11:05 a.m.)
U.S. News and World Report has ranked two of UNLV's graduate schools in its Top 100 listings, including a first-time appearance for the College of Education and a second listing for the Boyd School of Law.
City closes rooms at Ross Goodman's hotel
Apr 1, 2005 (11:04 a.m.)
Dan Kulin
Some rooms had no heat or hot water, and some had mold and continuously running water. And when a team of Las Vegas inspectors first arrived Thursday morning the main fire alarm wasn't working at the downtown Boulevard Hotel, which is owned by a partnership co-managed by Mayor Oscar Goodman's son Ross.
Senate kills cap on pawnshops
Apr 1, 2005 (11:02 a.m.)
CARSON CITY -- The Senate voted 12-9 today to abolish the cap on interest rates that pawnshops can charge customers despite predictions that the change would open the door to "predatory lending" practices
Trash piles up on lots across valley
Apr 1, 2005 (11:01 a.m.)
David Kihara
The first thing Linda Westover sees when she steps out her front door is the piles of waste left by illegal dumpers.
Company sells interest in South African resort
Apr 1, 2005 (10:59 a.m.)
Caesars sold its interest in Caesars Gauteng, a casino near Johannesburg, to Peermont Global Ltd., a South African luxury hotel and casino company and its partner Marang Gaming Investments. Peermont also acquired Caesars' 50 percent interest in the company that manages the resort.
Reno hotel wins judgment from IGT subsidiary
Apr 1, 2005 (10:58 a.m.)
Wild Game NG, the holding company for Siena, alleged in a suit filed in November 2001 that Acres Gaming Corp. installed defective casino management software at the hotel in July 2001. The Siena acquired the software in February that year.
Casino company to develop lifestyle magazine
Apr 1, 2005 (10:57 a.m.)
Caesars Player, developed in conjunction with Miami Beach-based Onboard Media, will be distributed in the company's hotel rooms in Las Vegas and Atlantic City and mailed to some 100,000 of its customers. The first issue will debut in July and the magazine will publish three times per year.
Ralliers at Texas Capitol decry gambling expansion
Apr 1, 2005 (9:58 a.m.)
Brandi Grissom
AUSTIN -- This time, leading Republicans and Democrats agreed. They joined together at the Texas Capitol on Thursday to proclaim that they don't want more gambling in Texas.
Labor chief pitches Bush Social Security plan
Apr 1, 2005 (9:56 a.m.)
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Steven J. Law pitched President Bush's plan to strengthen Social Security Thursday morning to Henderson Chamber of Commerce members at the Wildhorse Country Club in Henderon.
Panel formed to help ease in gambling
Apr 1, 2005 (9:55 a.m.)
The 23-person panel -- consisting of education officials, business people, labor groups and city leaders -- will try to answer who will get a gaming license, where the parlor will be located, what it should look like, and what impact gaming will have.
House panel OKs bingo-type machines
Apr 1, 2005 (9:54 a.m.)
The unanimous vote by the Business Regulation Committee is the first legislative action on how to regulate and tax slots at Broward pari-mutuels -- but state lawmakers have a long way to go before they pass a law.
Regulators to meet on President Casino
Apr 1, 2005 (9:54 a.m.)
Officials said approval would avoid putting the 700 President employees temporarily out of work. The only interruption would be a 12-hour changeover on April 15.
Potential sites for casinos eyed
Apr 1, 2005 (9:53 a.m.)
An ongoing feasibility study is looking at gaming competition, tourist traffic, populations, income levels -- among other factors -- around potential casino sites.
School Board rejects charter school sponsor
Apr 1, 2005 (9:50 a.m.)
Organizers of the proposed Strict Discipline Academy, which sought to serve at-risk minority high schoolers, have 90 days to revise their application and return to the School Board for a second vote. If the application is again rejected, the school's organizers would have to ask the State Board of Education for sponsorship.
Developer plans urban village
Apr 1, 2005 (9:49 a.m.)
Jennifer Shubinski
Carina Corp. broke ground this week on its first urban village, the Village of Centennial Springs, in northwest Las Vegas and has plans for at least two more throughout the valley.
Illinois leader: Slots can help pay for schools
Apr 1, 2005 (9:48 a.m.)
Nicole Ziegler Dizon
OAK PARK, Ill. -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in his first public call for gambling expansion, proposed more than doubling the number of slot machines and gambling tables allowed at Illinois' nine riverboat casinos to increase funding for schools and pay for tougher graduation requirements.
Landlord gives Metro crime lab month to leave
Apr 1, 2005 (9:42 a.m.)
Jace Radke
The landlord of the West Charleston Boulevard office park that houses the Metro Police crime lab has told the police department to move out by the end of the month.
Rainy weather continues to dog tour around country
Apr 1, 2005 (9:41 a.m.)
DULUTH, Ga. -- Frank Lickliter II camped on the front porch of the TPC at Sugarloaf clubhouse Thursday, resting in a rocking chair and drawing on another cigarette. The golf was lousy, thanks to thunderstorms that brought nearly three inches of rain and nasty lightning, but life was pretty good.
Deadline set for proposal for Vegas medical center
Apr 1, 2005 (9:41 a.m.)
Dan Kulin
As part of the ongoing talks between Las Vegas, Nevada's university system, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center about plans for an academic medical center on 61 acres downtown owned by the city, Pittsburgh representatives are expected to prepare a "bare-bones" proposal for their involvement with the project by April 11, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday.
State's return to a presidential primary debated
Apr 1, 2005 (9:40 a.m.)
CARSON CITY -- Nevada is neglected by presidential candidates as they strive for their party's nomination, and a Democratic assemblyman wants to revive the presidential primary elections in this state.
Sports briefs for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (9:40 a.m.)
The same congressional committee that conducted hearings into steroids in baseball has asked NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue for information about how football regulates the performance-enhancing substances.
Mental health crisis units proposed
Apr 1, 2005 (9:40 a.m.)
CARSON CITY -- To further alleviate the mental health crisis in Clark County, the state is looking at the possibility of contracting with a private company to supply a 50-bed crisis unit to try to keep mental health patients from filling the emergency wards at hospitals.
O'Connell joins Senate Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2005 (9:39 a.m.)
CARSON CITY -- Former Sen. Ann O'Connell, who served longer than any other woman in the Legislature, was described Thursday as someone who is "strong willed and efficient and knew how to get things done."
News briefs for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (9:36 a.m.)
Students at Ruthe Deskin Elementary School celebrated the first annual Ruthe Deskin Day today at the school, located at 4550 N. Pioneer Way.
Company raises MCI bid
Apr 1, 2005 (9:35 a.m.)
The fresh offer of $8.9 billion made Thursday comes two days after MCI's board tried to end the contest by accepting a $7.6 billion bid from Verizon Communications. Qwest's new bid would give MCI shareholders $27.50 a share, with $13.50 in cash and the rest in stock.
Payrolls grow by just 110,000, while jobless rate dips
Apr 1, 2005 (9:35 a.m.)
The new figures, released by the Labor Department today, offered another mixed picture of America's hiring climate. The job market has been the sector of the economy that has been among the slowest to recover from the last recession.
Preps: Thursday's results
Apr 1, 2005 (9:33 a.m.)
Green Valley 16, Clark 1: W: Harrison 4 IP, 2 K, 2 H. GV: Justin Michelo 3-4 3 RBI.
Ralph Siraco's Santa Anita selections
Apr 1, 2005 (9:32 a.m.)
1st Race -- PEPPER TRAIL -- Gomez scales Spawr trainee, draws inner post for sprint opener, might heat up cold barn with a win. SCOTCHWATER -- Draws good middle post for dash claimer, hustling Pedroza on Carava trainee, productive jockey-trainer team. Value Play -- FANTASTIC WAGER
Fishing report: Wind is no fish story
Apr 1, 2005 (9:24 a.m.)
LAKE MEAD: High winds that raked the lake during the past week made for difficult boating and fishing conditions. Even so, fishing appeared to be on the upswing for striped bass as shore anglers took fish from the fishing dock and Hemenway Fishing Point while boaters had success from Black Island to Las Vegas Wash.
Ethics complaint against LV planner dismissed
Apr 1, 2005 (9:18 a.m.)
CARSON CITY -- A complaint charging a conflict of interest against Richard W. Truesdell, vice chairman of the Las Vegas Planning Commission, has been dismissed by a panel of the state Ethics Commission for lack of evidence.
Letter: Belief in Deism is revealing
Apr 1, 2005 (9:17 a.m.)
Many of the Founding Fathers were Deists, main among them Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Deists believed God created nature based on rational laws and then created rational beings to understand those laws. He then stepped back to allow humans to figure the world out for themselves through logic and science.
Letter: Greed becomes primary goal for too many
Apr 1, 2005 (9:17 a.m.)
Your paper recently published a most poignant column by Bob Herbert, with the headline, "Shared sacrifice an anathema to the GOP." In the column, he attacks President Bush's concept of an "Ownership Society," which concentrates on improving the environment for the wealthy while leaving the poor and the middle-class behind. In support, he cites the president's budget proposal to Congress, which cuts $26 billion dollars in entitlement programs while adding additional tax breaks for the wealthy and the corporations.
Teen pleads guilty to murder, robbery
Apr 1, 2005 (9:15 a.m.)
Michael Lavelle Scott allegedly attacked a group of four men at the Reid Manor Apartments along with an accomplice on Oct. 2, killing Raul Melgarejo.
Editorial: Free speech wins out
Apr 1, 2005 (9:14 a.m.)
While George didn't expressly rule that the law violated the First Amendment, he did acknowledge that the law could chill constitutionally protected free speech, resulting in a person being "more likely to engage in self censorship." One of the most egregious examples of the law's out-of-control enforcement occurred in 2001, when the editor of the High Desert Advocate newspaper was the target of an Ethics Commission investigation. The journalist's offense? He wrote an editorial that criticized a candidate running for mayor in Wendover.
Maestas siblings will stand trial next year
Apr 1, 2005 (9:14 a.m.)
By
Matt Pordum
The trial of a brother and sister accused of murder and attempted murder in connection with stabbings that left a 3-year-old dead and her 10-year-old sister paralyzed, won't take place until next year.
Judge lets Harmon's sentence stand
Apr 1, 2005 (9:14 a.m.)
Jace Radke
After reviewing the nearly five-year federal prison sentence given to former Assemblyman Harley L. Harmon, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro has decided not to shorten the punishment.
Editorial: Cars no place to leave kids
Apr 1, 2005 (9:07 a.m.)
A father abandoned his 7-month-old boy for nearly 40 minutes while he gambled. He had covered the rear and side windows with newspapers, and the child's car seat with a blanket. Owing to a security guard, who found the sight suspicious, the boy was rescued, although he was "red-faced and warm," according to Metro Police. Two other babies, one six months old and the other 16 months, were left alone in a car while the mother spent more than a half-hour inside a clothing store. Another mother left her 2-year-old boy in a minivan while she was grocery shopping. Police estimated the boy had been alone for about 20 minutes. On a hotter day, the children could have died or been permanently injured within just a few minutes of being left alone. Or the cars containing them could have been stolen or broken into, putting the children in harm's way.
Augustine drops her ethics appeal
Apr 1, 2005 (9:06 a.m.)
CARSON CITY -- State Controller Kathy Augustine says she wants to "let sleeping dogs lie" and has withdrawn her appeal to the state Ethics Commission to overturn its ruling.
Obituaries for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (9 a.m.)
Mike C. Baltazar, 74, of Las Vegas died Wednesday in a local hospital. He was born Sept. 29, 1930, in the Philippines. A resident for four years, he was a retired personnel manager for the airport.
Growth panel approves final report
Apr 1, 2005 (9 a.m.)
David Kihara
The Clark County Growth Task Force on Thursday formally approved the sustainable growth report it will present to the Clark County Commission next week, effectively completing the yearlong project to create solutions for the county's rapid growth issues.
Rancho expansion could aid traffic woes
Apr 1, 2005 (8:59 a.m.)
Stephen Curran
A key detour around the traffic-and construction-clogged U.S. 95 may be right under area planners' noses, traffic engineers told a Regional Transportation Commission subcommittee Thursday.
Neiman's centennial art on display downtown
Apr 1, 2005 (8:53 a.m.)
The fact that Las Vegas is universally defined by its collection of gamblers, roulette tables, showgirls and neon explains in part why artist LeRoy Neiman was commissioned to create the city's commemorative centennial painting, which was unveiled today during a news conference at the Fashion Show mall.
Datebook for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (8:52 a.m.)
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will present "Sharing the American Experience" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall. Admission is free, but tickets are required. Limit two per person. 895-2787.
Blood drives for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (8:51 a.m.)
Tuesday: 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Community College of Southern Nevada, 6375 W. Charleston Blvd.; noon-5 p.m., Kindred Hospital, 5110 W. Sahara Ave.
Community briefs for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (8:51 a.m.)
UNLV's Student Enrollment Services will offer a free Nevada residency workshop from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the Classroom Building Complex, Room C-116 on the campus.
Columnist Jerry Fink: Johnathan: Today is for amateurs
Apr 1, 2005 (8:47 a.m.)
It's a day for skepticism. Believe nothing without three sources of confirmation. These are the 24 hours of the year during which pranksters are most likely to prey upon the naive and unwary.
On Display for April 1, 2005
Apr 1, 2005 (8:40 a.m.)
"Unfolding," featuring the works of Las Vegas artist Vicki Richardson, will be displayed from today to May 27 in the Las Vegas office of the Nevada Arts Council, 821 S. Seventh St. An artist's reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today. Admission is free. 486-3700.
Property tax plan targets relief to Nevada homeowners
Apr 1, 2005 (8:40 a.m.)
AP
-HOMEOWNERS: Relying on a constitutional exemption for homeowners experiencing "severe economic hardship," property tax increases are capped at 3 percent for all single-family, owner-occupied primary residences.
Standard Transition
Apr 1, 2005 (8:39 a.m.)
Spencer Patterson
Martin Andrew felt like the luckiest man on Earth when Rod Stewart transitioned from wild rock 'n' roller to standards crooner three years ago.
Yucca e-mails called damning
Apr 1, 2005 (2:39 a.m.)
Suzanne Struglinski
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., called e-mails on the alleged falsified information on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump "damning" but would not discuss details to avoid compromising ongoing criminal investigations.
