Print edition for May 2, 1998

County raises stakes against parents who don't pay support: Bill Gang; One could say Mark Slack is living up to his name.

Columnist Jeff German: Gingrich briefed on meal tax battle with IRS: HOUSE Speaker Newt Gingrich comes to town today with a good idea of what's on the political plate of thousands of Las Vegas casino workers.

Las Vegas letter carriers gearing for charity drive: It's food-drive season for the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Columnist Sandra Thompson: Is it possible to have too much election news?: Sandra Thompson; MONDAY officially will signal the start of "the silly season."

Letter: Real reform needed for sake of children: The results have been tremendous. The length of time a child spends in the custody of the state has been drastically reduced.

Homeowners in Lake Las Vegas claim builder bailed on obligations: Art Nadler; Some 17 miles southeast of Las Vegas, on the outskirts of downtown Henderson, lies a virtual oasis in the desert.

Amato, Pedregon, Johnson NHRA leaders: Amato is the Top Fuel leader after covering the quarter-mile distance in 4.639 seconds at 318.47 mph Saturday in his dragster.

Letter: Tobacco companies could use fair, equal treatment: This well-thought-out amendment produced the likes of Al Capone and his cronies. A legal product which was taxed (producing revenue to the government) was produced illegally (producing no revenue to the government) after the amendment was passed.

Columnist Bill Hanlon: Take politics out of all decisions concerning education: Bill Hanlon; HOW WOULD YOU LIKE turning in the same paper to three different experts and receiving three completely different grades for your work? That's exactly what is happening when states have their educational standards graded by national experts.

Those in the trenches of collection efforts familiar with urgency: Bill Gang; His office makes people happy or angry, content or sad. It hunts down deadbeat parents, takes away large chunks of their money and gives it to the ones who have been determined to need and deserve it -- redistributing wealth, as it were.

Letter: Animal Foundation's shelter has a heart: Instead of killing animals that were older or had mild illnesses, we adopted those less fortunate into caring homes at no fee or reduced fees. This cost us $80,000 in uncollected adoption fees, but saved the lives of more than 8,400 animals in 1997.

Take a Lake Mead tour, by jumping onto a jet ski for an aquatic adventure: Melissa Schorr; Suddenly, in the distance, the sweet serenity was broken as the buzzing sound of angry hornets filled the air.

Letter: Clinton should take on tobacco industry: There is so much concerning this issue that can be done by a man in power. Here is his chance to do something good for mankind, if he is not afraid of totally new ideas to kill off tobacco production.

Editorial: Companies feel bigger is better: Unlike some of the other mergers, which are limited in scope and impact because the companies don't have a monopoly in their market, this one is much different. What's interesting is that you have two regulated monopolies seeking to have a nearly statewide monopoly on electric service (much of rural Nevada will be unaffected because it is served by electric cooperatives).

Jet Ski: Fast Facts: WHERE: Lake Mead Cruises' Landing and Ferry Terminal, off Lakeshore Road, at Lake Mead.

Letter: Notch baby willing to forgo more aid: With my Social Security and a small pension from the state of Florida, I can live modestly.

Columnist Scott Dickensheets: Cowabunga -- hey, hey, hey! It's only 'South Park': Scott Dickensheets; FEAR AND clothing in "South Park": Oh my God, they've over-reacted to Kenny!

Letter: Privatizing prisons may work elsewhere: After seven successful months and passing inspections, the private women's prison in North Las Vegas, run by Corrections Corporation of America, is saving taxpayers $5 per inmate per day.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Don't rush changing U.S. Social Securi ty programs: A RED-HOT STOCK MARKET for many years has affected American society in several ways. Growing numbers of people have great confidence in the future, and they don't hesitate to push their extra dollars into the market. An even greater number continue spending their money at a faster rate than it comes in, because they are sure more will arrive next payday. This is human nature, but those of us living during the Great Depression still suffer from flashbacks about what can, and did, happen more than 60 years ago when the stock market crashed.