Print edition for July 5, 2003

Letter: Beers, allies must be recalled: They should be recalled and put in jail for violating the state Constitution and damaging the education of our children and the hiring and assignment of teachers.

Briefs filed in Guinn suit: The Nevada State Employees Association, the Nevada State AFL-CIO, the two school districts and the board of regents of the University and Community College System all submitted briefs Thursday urging the court to find the Legislature in violation of its constitutional duties for failing to pass a bill to fund the public schools and to approve a tax package to balance the budget.

Letter: U.S. no longer beacon of world: We let a coalition of multimillionaires select a bunch of conservative Republicans, sponsor their election campaigns and supply them with limitless funds for propaganda, slander and gossip.

Columnist Susan Snyder: Meet this veterinarian in the flesh: The 25-year-old Las Vegan is Playboy magazine's Miss August playmate in issues that hit newsstands June 23.

Columnist Jeff German: Gaming takes it on chin at session: High-powered industry lobbyists so far have had their lunch handed to them by a group of conservative Republican assemblymen, who have managed to derail the industry's strategy to widen the tax base and at the same time have prevented the Legislature from sending Gov. Kenny Guinn a balanced budget.

Editorial: Tax critics keep facts on the QT: The editorial writers at the Wall Street Journal enjoy taking potshots at Nevada every so often. In February they opined that Nevada needs a "complete reorganization of state government before taxes are raised." It's understandable, considering their New York City vantage point, that they missed the complete reorganization that Gov. Kenny Guinn initiated when he took office in 1999. Their refusal to publish any portion of Guinn's letter responding to their misinformed editorial is not so understandable, however.

Columnist Benjamin Grove: Children effective as diabetes lobbyists: Benjamin Grove; Herrera is "pretty much used to" the minor pain, she says. But she adds, "It's a hassle."

Church begins home-buyer program: Malia Spencer; WEEKEND EDITION: July 5, 2003

Letter: Bush's taunt does not help: Mr. President, perhaps you might consider again donning that manly Top Gun flight suit as attire for attending the funerals of any additional GIs killed in response to your undignified and immature remarks. I'm sure the families will be buoyed by your heroic presence.

Program gives at-risk youths tools for success: Afsha Bawany; WEEKEND EDITION: July 5, 2003

Supreme Court enters precarious ground: Gov. Kenny Guinn made history last week when he petitioned the Nevada Supreme Court to force the Legislature to end its tax stalemate, balance the state budget and fund schools for the next biennium.

Letter: Enhancing child's education is up to parents: Mike Welch, whose daughter may miss out on the Gifted and Talented Education program, says in the story that when he sees the kids playing outside the schools he sees them as "the people who are going to be running the hospitals, the police department, the state." He also believes it should be English Language Learners' teachers sent back to the regular classrooms, not GATE teachers. Many of the kids he sees on the playground are English Language Learners' students here through no choice of their own. Where does he think they will be in 20 years? They will still ...

Columnist Michael Campbell: Republicans should look at '91: Michael Campbell; Michael Campbell is the Sun's editorial page editor

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Time for independence: Americans are recovering from what was another celebration of that July 4, 1776, day when some very courageous, unselfish and unhappy people banded together to declare their independence from England and its king who, how shall we say it, took the colonies for granted while taking the colonists for most of what they produced.

Letter: Anti-tax crowd hard to convince: I have used the phrase "pandering to paranoia" to describe the negative efforts of the other newspaper, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and self-serving legislators. A great many citizens don't begin to understand the critical issues affecting our state's future, and our abysmal record on funding many state and human services.

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: P. Diddy is the 'black Sinatra': A group of young entertainers has taken to calling themselves the New Rat Pack.

Letter: 'Big Brother' is pervasive here: Arriving in Nevada, I thought I was in the "Wild West" where the ridiculous regulations and high taxes were not common practice. To my disappointment, I soon realized through my experiences as well as many others, that Family Court, the DMV, the public schools and now the governor and his socialistic approach to taxes are the norm.