Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 13

Reno Gazette Journal OBITUARIES 2B VITALS 2, 5B MARKETS 7B BUSINESS 6-8B I EVADA THURSDAY JUNE 10, 1993 PAT HARRISON, CITY EDITOR PHONE. 788-6397; FAX, 788-6458 City to air news show on Memo i Trying for objectivity: Reports meant to inform public of services. at 7:30 p.m. Reports will be from 5 to 15 minutes. Harvey, who is paid $39,100 a year, said he expects to devote at least two to four hours every day to the project recently ordered by the Reno City Council during his budget review.

"Normal newscasts do well if they devote 30 to 90 seconds per story and then only if the story is controversial," Harvey said. Many services provided by the city are never covered by the media, he said. Harvey plans to do an issue a day, interviewing appropri ate council members, staff or citizens on advisory boards. He said the reports also tie in with Reno Directions, a new program aimed at informing and then asking residents for their priorities in budgeting city operations. Harvey said he'll try to be objective in his reports.

"My position is if this program is a PR piece it will have no credibility at all," he said. "It won't be worth the effort in doing it." He admits it's going to be difficult to walk that line, considering who signs his paychecks. "It's go ing to be tough. This is an experiment." But in his four years with Reno. Harvey said two city managers have accepted his policy to be up front when the city makes a mistake and explain what the city has learned so the mistake won't be repeated.

He gave the city's reaction to the Plumas Street widening controversy as an example. Others don't see it in quite the same light. "It's not going to be objective news in the normal sense any more than some of the other pro By Susan Voyles GAZETTE-JOURNAL grams that parade as news." said Travis Linn, University of Nevada, Reno journalism professor. "It's a public information effort by the city. "Certainly, the city has every right to offer public information on the channel it operates with the personnel it has.

I don't think the voters are likely to confuse that ith Channel 8, 4 or 2. "It will be the city telling them about city services," Linn said. "It will be interesting to see what the ratings will be." Ken Harvey, the city's public information officer, will have the starring role as reporter for "The City Reports." It will be Harvey's first news assignment. He'll explain to viewers how to get help in answering questions about the city's finances. The show will air on TCI cable Reno City Hall will be getting into the news business next Monday when the city's first nightly news program airs on TCI Cable public access channel 1 1.

Tub o' babies SPARKS COUNCIL Potbellied pig owner loses case Livestock law: Residents don't want swine in neighborhood. 1 err- 1 'V I i 1 mm, i n. GAMING Vegas hotel workers vote on contract LAS VEGAS (AP) Barbary Coast hotel workers who have been without a contract since 1989 voted Wednesday on a new contract comparable to those the Culinary Union has signed with other Strip resorts. The vote by about 350 Barbary Coast employees is part of a movement by hotel owner Michael Gaughan to settle the four-year dispute with the union, according to the Las Vegas Sun. The paper quoted unnamed sources as saying settling the NLRB complaint is part of a deal Gaughan worked out with union negotiators that will give workers a contract similar to other Strip resorts.

Culinary officials estimated earlier that the February NLRB decision could cost the Barbary Coast more than $11 million in back wages and health and welfare benefits to union employees. Even if the contract is approved it won't take effect until Gaughan resolves a 99-page National Labor Relations Board decision charging Gaughan and the Barbary Coast with violations of labor law, the paper quoted sources as saying. Both union officials and Gaughan did not return phone calls seeking comment. Gaughan, who had been one of the union's staunchest foes, had been using the same Washington labor lawyer, Joel Keiler, as the Frontier Hotel, which is engaged in a bitter strike with the union. Gaughan's decision to settle will leave the Frontier as the only major Strip resort without a contract.

The NLRB complaint charged Gaughan with violating several federal labor laws, among them unlawfully assaulting a union official during an August 1989 demonstration outside the hotel. Don MarquisGazette-Journal SPRINGTIME SOAK: Elia Garcia, 1 Jose Sedano, Ernesto Wednesday by relaxing in a pool built for four in front of their homes Carillo, and Chantel Sedano, 1, get away from the June heat on Pine Street in Reno. MILITARY Federal funds for Fallon land deals available Construction projects: Vucano vich secures money during budget hearings. ed on by the full Appropriations Committee before it's sent to the House for approval. The Dixie Valley money would allow NAS Fallon to purchase the last of 12,100 acres for its Supersonic Operations Area.

Fallon needs 2,100 acres to complete the land acquisition that began in 1986. The base uses the area as a training range for jet bombers. "There was a delay in completing the purchase," Vucanovich said. "But this will allow the Navy to fulfill its obligations to the land owners." tee. Total money for Nevada in the $10.3 billion construction request is more than $30.2 million.

Along with funds for the Dixie Valley land, northern Nevada projects include: $1.8 million for runway improvements for the Nevada Air National Guard at Reno Cannon International Airport. $460,000 to replace underground fuel storage tanks for the Air Guard. $7 million for improvements at the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot. The spending bill must be vot- By Scott Thomsen GAZETTE-JOURNAL Three little piggies are headed to market after their owner failed to convince the Sparks City Council Wednesday to let him keep them. "They're strictly pets." Kevin Kuechenmeister said of his three miniature potbellied pigs.

"It's not my intention to have a pig farm." Kuechenmeister was asking the council to consider changing an ordinance that prohibits keeping pigs as pets. Swine are considered livestock, allowed only in specified residential neighborhoods with acre-sized lots. None of the four councilmen attending Wednesday's study session supported a change in the or-dinance. That left Kuechenmeister two weeks to sell the pigs or remove them from his Howard Drive home. Councilwoman Cindy Cook was absent.

If Kuechenmeister fails to remove the animals, the city would file a misdemeanor complaint for violating zoning ordinances. City Attorney Steve Elliott said. Potbellied pigs have grown in popularity as household pets over the past five years. But not everyone shares an affection for the stubby animals. Mary Anne Hunter, who lives next to Kuechenmeister, said the pigs are constantly digging under her fence, running loose and fouling the air so much she open her windows or use her back yard for barbecues.

"I want to be able to use my yard," she said. Hunter submitted a petition to the council opposing the pigs signed by 57 neighbors. Kuechenmeister defended his pigs as clean pets that he cares for as much as any dog owner. "I clean that (pen) every darn day and use fresh straw," he said. "These pigs are not stinky." Kuechenmeister has owned the pigs for about 18 months.

When he bought them, he said he asked the Sparks Police Department's Animal Control officers for a permit to keep the animals. He eventually obtained a license to keep exotic pets. But that license was given in error, Elliott said. "We have the problem because they have been promoted as household pets," he said. Rep.

Barbara Vucanovich, convinced House members to earmark the funds during budget hearings Wednesday. The Fallon money is part of an additional $19.34 million budgeted at Vucanovich's request for military construction projects in Nevada. Vucanovich co-chairs the House Appropriations Military Construction Subcommit- By Don Cox GAZETTE-JOURNAL Property owners in Dixie Valley who want to sell their land to Fallon Naval Air Station might be able to close a deal this year. There is $1.6 million in the federal government's military construction budget designated for the purchase. EDUCATION Reed High freshman wins top speech contest, $17,000 Ww" "A I Zi 13 greed." But if education is presented differently, the unmotivated student will succeed, Pleasants says.

"There is no doubt that mathematics and science are the broccoli and carrots of the educational diet, and English and foreign languages are the liver and Brussels sprouts. "Just as kids seem to back away from these foods, so do they these subjects. What we need to do is we need to add cheese to the broccoli and dip to the carrots. We need to add onions to the liver and make the Brussels sprouts look more appetizing. In plain and simple words, we need to motivate the students." about the contest, she spent every afternoon working on her speech.

Once she wrote it, she practiced for two hours every day. "What made it special was Shantel's speech," Harrison said. All students in the competition had the same topic: Does Today's Education Meet Tomorrow's Needs? Plcasant's answer is "Yes for a person who is motivated and wishes to go on to college. For a person who dreams of the future and wants to be a part of it Her answer was no for that person "who has no dreams, who wishes not to go on to college. Who sees the future only as a mas-sive collision of hatred and Sparks Greenbrae Lions, which sponsored Pleasants, has been getting calls from fellow Lions all over the state.

"They're asking is this true? Did Nevada really win?" Since the contest began in 1 937, there have only been four Nevada winners, Harris said. The contest pits California's top speech students against the Silver State's. Pleasants competed with juniors and seniors who have been practicing for years. "It's a lesson in what can happen if you put in some effort," said Reed High teacher Corbett Harrison, Pleasants' speech coach. When Harrison told Pleasants By Veda Morgan GAZETTE-JOURNAL Shantel Pleasants, 15, thought taking a speech class would help her become a successful lawyer.

Winning a top oratory contest and $17,000 wasn't in her plans. But last week, Pleasants became the first Nevada student in 10 years to walk away with the top prize in the Lion's Club Oratorical Contest held in Irvine, Calif. The Reed High freshman, who look her first speech class last year, still can't believe she's the winner. "I was shocked. I thought I'd lose at the first level," she said.

Ed Harris, president of the Shantel Pleasants -II I Whistle-blowers Hot line Do you have a tip on government waste, abuse of power, bureaucratic snafus, official coverups or mitrinht rnrnintinn? fiivo a hrief Man indicted in robbery attempt A man wounded in a February shooting during what was apparently a botched robbery was indicted Wednesday by a Washoe County grand jury. It appears there will be no criminal charges filed for a man shot dead in the same incident. Reginal Rashad Moore, 1 8, was shot three times in the legs in the Feb. 2 1 incident at 1 360 Nannette Circle off Neil Road in Reno. The grand jury indicted Moore for attempted robbery with the use of a firearm for attempting to take money from Ronald Shack at his apartment.

Larry D. Powell, 1 9, was killed in the gunfire. Supervising Deputy District Attorney Richard Gammick confirmed Wednesday there will likely be no charges filed for Powell's death, but said he could not go into details. "After investigating the case, we do not believe there will be any prosecution for murder," Gammick said. "From the evidence we have from the investigation, it appears the two men who were shot were armed with weapons." ET Report: Apply 1 2" water to your lawn tomorrow.

Police apprehend suspect in U.S. Bank robbery A suspected robber was apprehended on North Virginia Street, near University of Nevada, Reno Wednesday a few minutes after a holdup at U.S. Bank in Golden Valley. John Kennedy, 33, of Grass Valley, was arrested for investigation of bank robbery. He also was held on a warrant charging armed robbery in Sacramento County.

Reno Police Officer Mark Morton followed Kennedy's southbound blue Chevrolet Sprint Plus car alone until other officers arrived. They stopped it in front of the Little Waldorf Saloon. "We had him walk backward from the car, then handcuffed him," Morton said. didn't say one word." On the front seat, police found currency blowing in the wind. They also found a loaded pistol, which was listed as stolen in Nevada County.

The robbery was reported at 10: 14 a.m. description of the situation and the agency involved. Be as specific as you cao-Call 324-0225, then press 1490 when asked for the four-digit code. Please leave your answer, name and phone number. Or fax at 788-6458.

ROBBERY Reno police officer Mark Morton searches John Kennedy, 33, of Grass Valley, Wednesday after a bank was robbed in Golden Valley. The suspect was arrested on North Virginia Street near UNR. Or write to: Whistle-blowers Hot line, vvuia Gazette-Journal City Desk, Box 22000, Reno, NV 89520 The Gazette-Journal will publish a selection of reports from the hotline and the responses from appropriate government officials. Don MarquisGazette Journal.