More from the Appeal Newsroom

The Virginia City High School Muckers will hold their first football scrimmage in 64 years on Saturday.

The event begins at 10 a.m. with a dedication ceremony for the new football field followed by the scrimmage against Coleville at 11 a.m.

The Class IA Muckers, who will play eight-man football, open the regular season Aug. 24 at Carlin.

A man arrested in Idaho on a Carson City warrant for child molestation was back in Nevada on Friday.

Royal Jesse Vrenon, 59, formerly of 1405 N. Edmonds Drive, was booked into the Carson City Jail at 9:45 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of felony lewdness with a child under 14 and misdemeanor probation violation.

According to the police report, Vrenon is suspected of repeatedly molesting a 9-year-old girl over the course of two years. The girl's teenage brother told police he caught Vrenon assaulting the girl on at least three different occasions, the report states.

Vrenon was picked up in Boise, Idaho, on July 20, but the circumstances of that arrest were unavailable.

The Carson City Debt Management Commission meets at 4 p.m. Monday in the Sierra Room of the Community Center, 851 E. William St.

This will be the state-required annual review of the city's bond issuances and repayment schedules, future bond desires, the ad valorem tax rate and its cap.

Jazz Festival begins tonight at BAC

The 2007 Jazz and Beyond festival, presented by the Brewery Arts Center and Mile High Jazz Band, will kick-off tonight in Carson City with the 15th annual Beer Tasting Event from 6-9 p.m. The tasting, sponsored by the law firm of Allison, MacKenzie, Pavlakis, Wright & Fagan, LTD, will feature more than 15 microbrews, including locally-brewed Ruby Mountain Wheat and Great Basin Icky, as well as Fat Tire Amber Ale and Montana-brewed, Moose Drool. Beers will be served on tap and chilled.

Brunch will be served from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, and is $10 per person, and $8.55 for seniors and children ages 4-12. Children 3 and under eat free. This event is sponsored by the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and Casino Fandango.

Jazz & Beyond runs tonight through Sunday and admission is free to the music festival. Bands include the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Sol'Jib, Yellowjackets, Maria Muldaur and the Reno Jazz Orchestra. Festival attendees also will enjoy a wide variety of food, drinks, art vendors, dancing, activities and more.

Wine more to your taste? This event is 4-7 p.m. Sunday, with a wide array of samples and free hors d'oeuvres.

Tickets for all three of these special events are available at Ben's Liquors, D'Vine Wine and Bistro, and the Brewery Arts Center, including online at www.breweryarts.org. Beer Tasting tickets are $20 each and Wine Tasting tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

For information about Jazz & Beyond, contact the Brewery Arts Center at 883-1976.

Movies opening this weekend

"Superbad" " "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" director Judd Apatow produced this story of much younger virgins as two high school friends go off to college and race to get lucky. With Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader. Written by Evan Goldberg and Rogen. Directed by Greg Mottola. R for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image " all involving teens.

"The Invasion" " People are acting wacky in Washington, D.C., and it's not an election year. Must be an alien invasion! That's the theory of a psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) who fears for the safety of her son. Screenplay by David Kajganich, based on "The Body Snatchers" by Jack Finney. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and terror.

"The Last Legion" " As the empire crumbles, a young Roman embarks on a perilous voyage to Britain to track down a legion of supporters. With Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Rai. Directed by Doug Defler. PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence.

"Death at a Funeral" " A man must deal with his unruly British family as he tries to make his father's funeral a perfect event. With Matthew Macfadyen and Peter Dinklage. Written by Dean Craig. Directed by Frank Oz. R for language and drug content.

"Delirious" " Steve Buscemi stars as a paparazzo with dreams of being a "real" photographer, whose routine is upset when a young homeless man latches onto him and becomes his unpaid assistant. With Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman and Gina Gershon. Directed by Tom DiCillo.

"Drama/Mex" " Two tales of desire and despair intertwine in this imported drama set in Acapulco. With Fernando Becerril, Juan Pablo Castaneda, Diana Garcia, Miriana Moro and Emilo Valdes. Directed by Gerardo Naranjo. In Spanish with English subtitles.

"The 11th Hour" " The truth becomes more inconvenient in this documentary that explores how the Earth's ecosystems have been affected by humanity and what can be done to change course. Those interviewed include former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, scientist Stephen Hawking and former CIA Director R. James Woolsey. Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. Directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners.

"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" " Bragging rights and a Guinness world record are on the line in this documentary detailing two men's obsession with a classic video game. Directed by Seth Gordon. PG-13 for a brief sexual reference.

"Marigold" " Ali Larter and Salman Khan star in this musical romantic comedy about an American actress who travels to India and finds herself cast in a Bollywood film. Written and directed by Willard Carroll. PG-13 for brief strong language.

"7 Dias" " A small-time concert promoter loses a large bet that he had hoped would finance a U2 concert in Monterrey, Mexico, and now he has one week to organize the show and pay back a local mob boss. With Eduardo Arroyuelo and Martha Higareda. Written and directed by Fernando Kalife. PG-13 for language, sexual references, brief drug use and some violent content.

"Splinter" " The violence escalates when a pair of L.A. gangbangers (Enrique Almeida, Noel Gugliemi) seeking revenge for the death of their brother crosses paths with a corrupt veteran LAPD detective (Tom Sizemore) and his rookie partner (Resmine Atis). With Edward James Olmos. Written by Michael D. Olmos, Adrian A. Cruz and Almeida. Based on the comic book. Directed by Michael D. Olmos. R for strong violence, language and some drug use.

Still in theaters

"The Bourne Ultimatum" " It says something about Paul Greengrass' directing style that he's able to make a movie as fresh and frank as "The Bourne Ultimatum" from a genre as moldy and bombastic as the spy thriller. Greengrass brings a degree of honesty to a completely implausible fantasy that's remarkable. Of course, Matt Damon helps too. (1:55) PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action.

"Hairspray" " Directed by Adam Shankman, written by Leslie Dixon and produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Chicago"), "Hairspray" is a buoyant fantasy of once-upon-a-time innocence that, for all its sweetness and genuine tenderness, is also pretty well barbed. What it offers isn't really a nostalgic look at a "more innocent time" so much as a saucy wink at a casually vicious time that is constantly being sold to us as innocent. (1:57) PG for language, some suggestive content and momentary teen smoking.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" " The evil wizard Voldemort is on the loose, but Harry and his friends must first deal with a meddling new professor who is intent on disrupting preparations for the coming battle against evil. (2:28) PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" " The basic concept of a mainstream movie riffing on the idea of two resolutely straight guys entering into a gay marriage had potential as a comedy in the tradition of "Some Like It Hot," and stars Kevin James and Adam Sandler have some actual chemistry as a duo. With Jessica Biel. (1:55) PG-13 for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, language and drug references.

"Live Free or Die Hard" " Inevitable lapses in plausibility and an inflated two hour and nine minute running time aside, this fourth movie in the Bruce Willis franchise is a slick and effective piece of action entertainment, fast moving with energetic stunt work and nice thriller moves. (2:09) PG-13, for intense sequences of violence and action, language, and a brief sexual situation.

"No Reservations" " This film is cribbed pretty much whole from the considerably more charming German film "Mostly Martha," in which a German chef spars with, then falls for, an Italian sous-chef while coping with caring for her young niece whose mother has been killed in a car accident. (1:44) PG for some sensuality and language.

Today's Lake Tahoe Forum will commemorate 10 years of annual political summits for Lake Tahoe, since former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore established the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee following the initial Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum in 1997.

The forum kicks off at 3 p.m. at the Patterson Hall lawn at Sierra Nevada College. It it open to the public. To get there from Carson City take Highway 50 West, merge right onto Highway 28 toward Incline Village.

New additions to the forum include an invocation by Brian Wallace, former chair of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and current member of the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee, as well as remarks by John Paul Woodley, Jr., assistant secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Army Corps of Engineers; and California Lt. Governor John Garamendi.

Friday's Agenda:

" Pledge of Allegiance

" Master of Ceremonies, former United States Senator Richard H. Bryan, D-Nev.

Invocation

" Brian Wallace, Former Chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California Member of the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee

Welcome

" Larry D. Large, President of Sierra Nevada College

Remarks

" U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

" U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

" Gov. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev.

" Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, D-Calif.

" Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Army Corps of Engineers John Paul Woodley, Jr.

" Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark E. Rey

" United States Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne

Remarks and Introduction of Keynote Speaker

" U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Majority Leader

Keynote Speaker

" Former President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton (D) 1993-2001

For complete coverage of the forum and Clinton's visit to Reno and Lake Tahoe, pick up Saturday's Nevada Appeal or check back online

Today is Friday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2007. There are 136 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Two hundred years ago, on Aug. 17, 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat (popularly, if erroneously, known to this day as the Clermont) began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round-trip between New York and Albany.

On this date:

In 1863, federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.

In 1896, a prospecting party discovered gold in Canada, a finding that touched off the Klondike gold rush.

In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who'd maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.)

In 1942, during World War II, U.S. Eighth Air Force bombers attacked Rouen,

France.

In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British

forces entered Messina.

In 1969, 256 people were killed as Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf Coast.

In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle Two outside Paris.

In 1985, more than 1,400 meatpackers walked off the job at the Geo. A.

Hormel and Company's main plant in Austin, Minn., in a bitter strike that

lasted just over a year.

In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau Prison at age 93, an apparent suicide.

In 1996, the Reform Party announced Ross Perot had won its nomination to be its first-ever presidential candidate.

One year ago:

A federal judge in Detroit ruled that President Bush's warrantless surveillance program violated the rights to free speech and privacy, as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. (The administration said it would appeal.) President Bush signed new rules to prod companies into shoring up their pension plans. Jordan became the first Arab state to send a fully accredited ambassador to Iraq.

Today's Birthdays:

Actress Maureen O'Hara is 87. Actor Robert DeNiro is 64. Movie director Martha Coolidge is 61. Rock musician Gary Talley (The Box Tops) is 60. Rock musician Sib Hashian is 58. Actor Robert Joy is 56. Rock singer Kevin Rowland (Dexy's Midnight Runners) is 54. Rock musician Colin Moulding (XTC) is 52. Country singer-songwriter Kevin Welch is 52. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 49. Actor Sean Penn is 47. Jazz musician Everette Harp is 46. Rock musician Gilby Clarke is 45. Singer Maria McKee is 43. Rock musician Steve Gorman (The Black Crowes) is 42. Rock musician Jill Cunniff is 41. Actor David Conrad is 40. Singer Donnie Wahlberg is 38. Rapper Posdnuos is 38. Tennis player Jim Courier is 37. Actor Bryton McClure is 21. Actor Brady Corbet is 19.

Thought for Today:

"Jealousy is all the fun you think they had."

" Erica Jong, American author

Representives from Lyon County and Citizens for Affordable Homes Inc. (CAHI) are meeting today in hopes of coming to a compromise over the group's model home office in Dayton.

The county has told the group it has to move its office by the end of the month. The group has said it hasn't done anything wrong by having a sales and construction office near an addition of homes for low-income families it is helping build.

For more background on the disagreement, see last week's article: www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070813/NEWS/108130086/0/FRONTPAGE

Stocks surge after Federal Reserve cuts discount rate

NEW YORK (AP) " Stocks soared at the opening of trading Friday, propelling the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 300 points, after the Federal Reserve, acknowledging that the stock market's plunge posed a threat to the economy, slashed its discount rate by a half percentage point.

The Fed cut the discount rate to 5.75 percent from 6.25 percent, declaring that "downside risks" to the economy have increased appreciably.

Michael Vick update " RICHMOND, Va. (AP) " Two of Michael Vick's co-defendants have pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges.

Today's weather " Sunny with highs in the low 90s. Light winds becoming southwest 10-15 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight, clear with lows in the mid- to upper 50s. West winds 10-15 mph in the evening becoming light.

Road work " Roop Street has reopened with no controls and will continue that way for the near future. Work to reseal and make the street smooth will resume some time next week.