Print edition for December 8, 2005

Columnist Jeff German: How information on tourists is gathered during terror alerts: It's amazing what a little communication can do to clear up erroneous perceptions on the homeland security front.

Q+A: Brian McKenna: By Rob Miech; ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, about 60 miles east of the Maine border, idolizing Boston Bruins star Bobby Orr and dreaming of hockey stardom.

War looms over Christmas this year: Yet, on his birthday this year, how many congregations will hear a voice from the pulpit asking if Jesus would ever sanction one country's unprovoked attack upon another?

NLV awaits new kid in town: Aliante set the tone for upscale residential development in North Las Vegas. But as the city's newest master-planned community begins to take shape, city officials expect it to surpass its neighbor not only in quality but density.

City hall Notes: LV spends $8,043 of $1 million on hurricane victims: Dan Kulin; Las Vegas has so far spent only $8,043 of the $1 million the City Council set aside to help Hurricane Katrina victims who relocated here, Deputy City Manager Steve Houchens told the council Wednesday.

Letter: Oh, rats -- what can we do about them?: We have many fine musicians here in Las Vegas. They could act like Pied Pipers and rid us of this menace. Across from our border lives the Terminator. We might convince him to visit and deal with our furry friends.

UNLV law professor's work gets national notice: It's been a busy year for UNLV law professor Robert Lawless, what with his many interviews with The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, CNN and CNBC.

Editorial: Shoring up student loans: Lockhart turned to Social Security, which provided him $874 in monthly disability checks until he became eligible for slightly higher benefits when he turned 65 two years ago. Living in public housing and claiming to need every penny of his checks, he went to court in 2002 when the federal government began extracting 15 percent (about $130) from each of his monthly checks. This was the government's only way of collecting on his delinquent student loans.

Showroom: Annual Festival brightens holiday at Lakes: Get into the Christmas spirit Saturday at The Lakes' annual Festival of Lights, where there will be an afternoon of entertainment followed by a boat parade on Lake Sahara.

Editorial: The price of military recruiting: The Pentagon is appealing a 2004 ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that favored a group of law schools that had challenged the 1996 Solomon Amendment. The law calls for allowing the federal government to deny funding to institutions of higher learning that bar military recruitment on campus.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: On NIAA's rejection of Brazillian basketball player's eligibility at Bishop Gorman: There aren't many high school districts that publish sports media guides, probably because regardless of where you go,it's not hard to figure out who the good teams are. It's usually the ones with "Saint" or "Bishop" on the front of their jerseys.

Editorial: A worthy conservation plan: The 1998 law, which requires that 85 percent of the federal land sold at auction in Clark County be used for land and conservation projects, has been a huge success. To date, the law has seen public land sales totaling almost $2.8 billion.

Flashpoint for Dec. 8, 2005: Give Jim Gibbons credit for one thing: indomitability. In the face of newspapers excoriating him, members of his own party abandoning him and policy experts lambasting him, he is sticking by his mining law reform tucked into a budget bill. Gibbons has insisted his critics just don't get it. He has written an op-ed piece. And he had a conference call with reporters Wednesday to explain how he knew what he was talking about and pretty much no one else does. Many analysts say this will result in millions of acres of public land being sold off to developers. Gibbons ...

Bad luck revisits pair: If it wasn't for bad news, there would hardly be any news at all for a young R& B vocalist from Louisiana and her father.

Why can't TSA achieve both objectives?: The Transportation Security Administration must be very naive to think that a six- or seven-inch screwdriver doesn't have potential as a deadly weapon. They say that allowing objects such as these will give them more time to guard against bigger threats, such as explosives.

Gaughan gears up for a better year in 2006: It is difficult to tell whether Brendan Gaughan is more excited about the 2005 racing season coming to a close or that the start of the 2006 season is only two months away.

Serious look taken at school traffic: By Emily Richmond; When parents at Cannon Middle School learned administrators were barred from turning on flashing school zone warning lights on days when students were dismissed earlier than usual, volunteers lined the sidewalks to remind motorists to slow down.

California wants Yucca refund: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- California may ask the federal government to refund money that it has paid for Yucca Mountain, a request based on "uncertainty" surrounding the proposed nuclear waste repository.

Letter: National health care system is the answer: Legislation for a national health care system (House Resolution 676) was introduced on Feb. 4, 2003, by Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat from Detroit. But the proposal was poorly covered by the media due to the beating of the war drums for the war in Iraq.

Businesses brace for Supreme Court ruling: The U.S Supreme Court is being asked to lay out ground rules for how employers treat workers who file harassment complaints.

Columnist John Katsilometes: On Andrea Bocelli's unique way of gauging a woman's beauty: During a news conference at MonteLago Village's Chapel Fiorenza on Wednesday, acclaimed producer/songwriter David Foster said he recently asked pop and classical vocalist Andrea Bocelli how Bocelli could sense when a beautiful woman was nearby.

Doctor appeals loss of license to Nevada court: By Cy Ryan; CARSON CITY -- A Las Vegas doctor who lost his license for giving morphine to a suicidal patient is appealing to the Nevada Supreme Court on Monday.

Residents ask to drop call for new cell tower: J. Craig Anderson; To Carolyn Edwards and Dave Wrzesinski, the commercial center that stands behind their homes is a monument to government corruption, self-interest and greed.

Deadly weapons term not double jeopardy: CARSON CITY -- Sentencing a person to a second prison term because of the use of a deadly weapon is not double jeopardy, the state Supreme Court said Tuesday.