Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 7

Reno Gazette-Journal METROWATCH 2B BUSINESS 4-6B MARKETS 4B EVADA TUESDAY AUGUST 30, 1994 HI HARBISON, CUT EDITOR PHONE, 768-6397; FAX, 786458 'Remo nanel roomctars imroad fee hike Lieutenant governor race takes on new significance I What: Reno Planning Commission meeting. I Where: City Council Chambers, 490 S. Center St. I When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Planning Commission: Levies would rise up to 33 to cover road costs. quired to make only minimal traffic improvements would pay a fee if they haven't started construction by Sept. 1,1997. Projects that made major donations such as the Caughlin Ranch or South Meadows Business Park, which gave away 100 acres for a freeway extension would retain their exemption. The planning commission also will consider Reno Disposal's plans to expand the garbage transfer station Wednesday night.

Plant officials say the $3 million project is to modernize operations. Planning staff is recommending denial, saying the plant should be moved off the river. in a noncompetitive situation." A office building, for instance, would pay $267,000 in fees versus $179,300 under the current schedule. Bob Jones, director of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada, said he will make sure the increases are in line. The fee for a single-family home would jump to $1,552 from $1,163.

Homeowners rather than builders would absorb the increase, he said. The proposed ordinance also would close a loophole some developers now enjoy because projects approved before 1 99 1 were exempted. But as proposed, some projects mostly smaller subdivisions re cent for a new home cover road construction costs that have risen since fees were adopted in 1 99 1 Fees are levied to cover the costs of widening streets and other improvements for extra traffic projects generate. The city fee would be repealed if regional fees are adopted. Under the proposed schedule, commercial fees would reflect traffic generated.

Fast-food restaurants, banks and convenience stores with gas pumps would pay the highest fees. Medical offices would pay three times more than other offices. Fees would be imposed in 1 9 categories instead of the three used now. "We're certainly going to monitor this," said Dave Howard, govern- mcnt liaison for the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce. "From my quick reading, they're seeking a balance here." But he is concerned some office fees would jump by almost 40 percent.

"Say a major credit card company came in and some have been looking at the community for some time that (fee) might put us The time is August 1995. Nevada's governor, having survived a grueling legislative session, receives a phone call from the White House. A federal ap By Susan Voyles GAZETTE-JOURNAL Most builders in Reno can expect to pay higher street impact fees under a proposal that goes before the Reno Planning Commission Wednesday. The proposed increases 33 per JON RALSTON Ringing in the new school year HEALTH CARE REFORM Democrat, Republican manage to agree By Tim Anderson GAZETTE-JOURNAL Although they're from opposing political parties, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid and Reno small-business owner Ed Atwell share some similar views on health-care reform.

v4" Rv- av, mi tMli'f iiinn Jr. lifriOTlMmiirrill ttt' 1 Mlfflfff 'il ttftiX tt MTrwwtfriirr-irf in nr -m i Mfaa 7 a Atwell, owner of the Big Tires store on East Fourth Street, was visited by Nevada's senior senator Monday. Reid and some others in Congress now predict only modest legislation Reid Marilyn NewtonGazelle-Journal HIGHER EDUCATION HIGH JINKS: University of Nevada, Reno boxing match Monday against freshman Mike Branson. It was all in senior Matt Horelick, right, ducks and swings with his right in a mock fun for the first day of classes at UNR. Judicial commission allowed to seek added funding pointment is available.

The governor graciously accepts. The lieutenant governor becomes governor. It is this possibility of the next lieutenant governor climbing the next rung on the constitutional office ladder if the governor is a Republican, the lieutenant governor becomes a front-runner for 1 998 that makes the lunacy of the GOP lieutenant governor contest more frightening than comical. Gov. Steve Miller? Gov.

Lon-nie Hammargren? Now, we're talking X-rated political theater. This four-way GOP lieutenant governor's contest has devolved into a scramble between two loose cannons, Hammargren and Miller, one of whom has led in most polls, and two more coherent contenders, John Mason and Bruce Layne, who have engaged in a nonstop clawfest. The contest reached its nadir Monday when Hammargren sent out a release touting a news conference with Layne and Miller to protest Mason's "use of a telephone slander service masquerading as an election poll." The inflammatory (and ironically possibly libelous) release referred to Mason's employing Reno-based McGuire Research Services to conduct a "voter ID program" designed to dissuade adherents of Mason's three opponents by imparting damaging information about them. Only Hammargren showed up at the Las Vegas news conference. Miller wasn't there, Hammargren said, because he was preparing a statement.

Layne, sources say, was absent because he didn't want to be associated with the Loons 'R Us contingent in the race. (One person who was there, however, was Assemblyman Pete Ernaut, a top Mason campaign aide.) Hammargren proceeded to read a rambling statement in which he insisted that McGuire Research, a respected firm, was claiming "Steve Miller has been indicted for cocaine possession, that Lonnie Hammargren is a Nazi or has sexually assaulted patients and that Bruce Layne is, even worse, in reality a Clinton Democrat." Time for a reality check, folks. According to a transcript provided by McGuire, voters are told about then-Las Vegas Councilman Miller being investigated for possible ethics violations which is true. No mention is made of drugs. Miller, however, is very sensitive about the issue because during his 1991 campaign for mayor, his opponent, Jan Jones, sent out a disingenuous mail piece that insinuated he was a drug user.

Miller subsequently sued Jones. As for Layne, yes, he gave money to Clinton. And Hammargren, as the McGuire callers point out, attended an Adolf Hitler birthday party hosted by Imperial Palace owner Ralph Engel-stad and was sued for malpractice by a former patient. Hammargren railed Monday that the calls were defamatory, then backed off when pressed, saying they only were slanderous toward Miller. (Question: Does anyone really think McGuire would risk his reputation by fabricating information? The questions were, as Ernaut pointed out, "aggressive but true." It's a hard-nosed effort by Mason, who remains relatively unknown, to turn voters his way.

The only danger is that because Mason is a relative newcomer to Nevada and because Layne has criticized his business practices, any questions about the voter ID program may make voters more uncomfortable with Mason. We'll find out a week from today. Don't forget as you go to the polls, though, that you may be voting for a man who ultimately could become governor. Jon Ralston, who publishes a biweekly, statewide political newsletter, The Ralston Report, welcomes your comments and questions. Write to him at 2822 Ashby Las Vegas, Nev.

89102. Or call (702)870-7997 will emerge from the original goal of getting a comprehensive health-care package approved. Atwell, a Republican, said he contacted Reid earlier this year after hearing a radio commercial asking the public to reject the proposed reform package. "It really got me fired up because I'm a strong supporter of reform and of employer mandates," Atwell said. "We deserve a better, fairer system." He said there would be a chance for that if all Americans shared the burden of paying medical costs.

"I'm not a political person, but I know something has to be done. The current system is a mess. It's unjust and expensive," Atwell said. Atwell, in the tire business in Reno for 20 years, also lashed out at special interest groups for sponsoring ads that push defeat of reforms. So did Democrat Reid.

"This issue is being dominated by the health-insurance industry. It has spent about $200 million in the past five months," Reid said. Reid said he expected some minor changes in health care this year despite the insurance lobby. "Universal coverage is out for now," Reid said. "Any changes this year will be narrow, but we'll get something done.

And I'll support anything that takes away power from the health insurance industry." Atwell, who has 11 employees, said he's concerned about a system in which some workers can't afford insurance for their families while others such as indigents and illegal aliens get coverage at no cost. He said he pays about half of the cost of insurance for his workers. "There was a time when we paid 100 percent. But there's no chance for that now," Atwell said. Atwell said he was also encouraged by Reid's reluctance to support a government-run system.

"I told him the second scariest thing to me is the government running health care. The scariest thing is no reform." The other two members, Gov. Bob Miller and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, reminded her the board's action merely authorizes the commission to go before the Interim Finance panel, which has the final say. Reno attorney Vivian Lynch, representing Whitehead, asked the board to deny the money. She said the court has yet to rule on how the Judicial Discipline Commission can operate, therefore authorizing any funds is nearly 1 50 complaints of misconduct against state judges.

Shipler told the Board of Examiners the money is needed to keep the commission going into next year when it can approach the Nevada Legislature for relief. "The Legislature is our only hope," Shipler said. "The loss of the attorney general's services has left us with virtually no equipment or help." Secretary of State Cheryl Lau was the only member of the Board of Examiners to dissent, saying the request was too much. ByBIIIO'Driscoll GAZETTE-JOURNAL CARSON CITY A panel charged with investigating judicial misconduct got the go-ahead Monday to seek $185,651 in emergency funds to operate amid a growing backlog of complaints. The Board of Examiners approved the request, originally set at $407,000, to allow the Judicial Discipline Commission to ask the legislative Interim Finance Committee for the money on Sept.

1 3. The commission is seeking the funds after a Nevada Supreme Court ruling, stemming from the case of alleged bullying and other complaints against Washoe District Judge Jerry Carr Whitehead, that the panel cannot use the attorney general's office for legal assistance. Chairman Guy Shipler said the ruling has left the panel inoperable as it awaits a further ruling from the court on how it can fulfill its constitutional mission. Earlier this year, the commission halted work on all cases, and the backlog has now grown to Holmes caught in cross-fire of Washoe DA's race I On the issues: Candidates give their views. 3B "Obviously, everybody wants my job, so obviously I am," Holmes said.

"It's been a rocky road getting to this point," Holmes said. Her office has made prosecutors accountable and made other improvements to which people inside and outside her office have had to adjust, she said. Holmes points to a drug treatment program and gang-alternative pro- By Steve Timko GAZETTE-JOURNAL The race for Washoe County District Attorney at times seems to be a contest of which of the three challengers can slam the incumbent Dorothy Nash Holmes the hardest. Even Republican candidates Cal Dunlap and Richard Gam- DECISI 94 mick, who are competing in the primary to face the winner of the Holmes-Ed Basl Democratic primary, take jabs at Holmes. Holmes acknowledges she is everybody's favorite target.

gram as examples. "But if (voters) look at the end result, the produce we're now producing out of the DA's office, then their choice should be easy," See DA on page 3B Reno police warn gay men to be cautious after another apparent hate crime slaying Hantavirus alert There is mounting evidence that the hantavirus is carried by the common deer mouse. The virus is found in the rodents' urine, saliva and feces, and becomes airborne. Mexican national gets 46-month term for re-entering U.S. illegally A 3 1-year-old Mexican national was sentenced to 46 months in prison Monday for illegally reentering the United States after being deported as an aggravated felon.

U.S. District Judge Edward C. Reed imposed the sentence on Gabriel Avalos-Mendoza. He was deported in 1 989 after a conviction for sale of cocaine in Winnemucca. He was also convicted in Washoe County of possession of stolen property.

At the time of his arrest on the latter charge, he had a handgun, according to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Avalos-Mendoza had been in the U.S. illegally since before 1982, the INS said. Lawyer group plans Reno hearing The Nevada State Bar Association plans a public hearing Wednesday in Reno on how to improve 1 citizen access to the justice system.

The Committee on Unmet Legal Needs of Low and Middle Income Nevadans meets from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Washoe County Library Auditorium in downtown Reno. said he met the suspect a white man about 26 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall with brown, collar-length hair in the park and took him home. He said the man stole his wallet, and when Anton complained, the man kicked him and beat him with a pool cue, Johns said.

He died about about 8:40 p.m. Police did not determine whether the suspect also is gay. But from what the victim related, the case is under investigation as robbery-murder and possibly a hate crime, one against a specific segment of society. In July, William Metz, 36, of Reno died after being stabbed about 20 times in a parking lot at Reno High School. Police arrested Justin Slotto, 2 1 of Reno on a charge of murder.

Reno police on Monday were warning gay men to be cautious after the second apparent hate slaying in two months. Walter Anton, 54, whom police identified as gay, died in a hospital Saturday night after he was beaten by a man he had just met in Wingfield Park. An autopsy Sunday determined that he died of a heart attack after being admitted with injuries that police said appeared not to be life threatening. The suspect, identified by Walter simply as "Rick, was not apprehended, Lt. Jim Johns said.

Police, responding to a robbery call about 1 p.m. at Anton's apartment on Lymbery Street, -i asked the Fire Department for assistance because they couldn't get in. They found him bound. Anton told them he was gay. He In recent preliminary tests of deer mice in Nevada, several cases of hantavirus were found including four positive tests in Spanish Springs and two in Caughlin Ranch.

There's no reason for people in those areas to be overly concerned, health officials say, but all Nevadans should be aware of the danger and know preventative measures, including: Use disinfectant and wet-mopping methods to remove rodent feces, urine from buildings. Don't use a vacuum or broom; they will create dust. Wear rubber gloves and a dust mask and wash hands thoroughly afterward. Seal openings around the base of a home. Place three inches of gravel under homes to discourage rodent burrowing.

Remove wood and other debris from around the outside of the home..