Print edition for December 11, 2005

Columnist John Katsilometes: On Clint Holmes' efforts to raise money for arts programs in Clark County: The art was black and white; the crowd was colorful.

Columnist Tom Gorman: On Charlie Bolin, a Baptist chaplain at the Riviera who helps casino workers cope during the holiday season: If you work at the mall or in an office building, chances are you'll find signs of Christmas around you.

Letter: California still in red from Proposition 13: Well, Mr. Jones, I too was born in California and lived there during the campaign to pass Proposition 13, and I was totally against its passage.

Former Nevada elected official seeks new trial in San Diego: AP; They cite an audiotape that former Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone secretly recorded during a recent conversation with government witness Nevita Thompson, the girlfriend of former strip club mogul Michael Galardi.

Washington notebook: Bush's hand may have been pulled from state's till: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration may be backing off its proposal to siphon public land sale profits now pouring into Nevada away from the state and into the U.S. Treasury to help offset the deficit.

Letter: Water bill won't help conservation: The proceeds from the sale of public land to build still more homes -- that will consume even more of the precious water resource -- somehow finances the removal of grass for homeowners and businesses that will conserve this very same precious water resource.

Editorial: Television ads are what we eat: The report released last week by the Institute of Medicine suggests that, unless the food industry changes its marketing strategies, Congress may need to take measures to ensure that companies limit or cease aiming junk food campaigns at children.

Letter: Academic standards are a Grade-A mess: In addition, our students are being misled to believe that athletic prowess without a sound education can lead them to great financial rewards in adulthood. Many parents give more attention to their child's social and athletic development than attainment of a solid education.

Editorial: Traffic safety hazards for children: These include the October crash in which a hit-and-run driver struck and killed 11-year-old Amanda Aragon as she used a crosswalk a few yards from Sawyer Middle School.

Doc sues drug program: Molly Ball; Dr. Kurt Buzard had a chance to clean up his act -- but was it a fair chance?

From atop the hill, the 'right to a view': It's shaping up as a battle between the millionaires on the hill and RV owners down below.

Editorial: City creates condo nightmare: The residents each own a Decatur Gardens condo at Decatur Boulevard and Vegas Drive. All of the condo buildings at Decatur Gardens have been purchased by the city and demolished over the past couple of years except the three still occupied. In the lawsuit, the residents say the city has turned their lives into hell as a way of forcing them to sell out.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: On the zen of growing older: looking forward with hope and promise and back with pride: Happy birthday to me.

Columnist Jon Ralston: On different names, but the same headlines: As I approach the end of my 20th year covering politics in Nevada, I am struck not so much by what has changed but what has not. And although I would like to declare how much better it is now than in days of yore, I think it has degenerated.

Letter: Have we forgotten about Afghanistan?: Or isn't it a war anymore? We seem to have given the administration a pass on this war. Have we forgotten that this is where it all began? Wasn't Osama bin Laden headquartered in Afghanistan? Didn't we demand that the Taliban turn him over to us or else we would come and get him? Wasn't this back in 2002? What was our mission in Afghanistan? Did we accomplish it? Do we have a mission?

Flashpoint for Dec. 11., 2005: Here's a thumb story that involves a politician other than Oscar Goodman. Seems one of the rodeo riders had his thumb severed during an accident last week and County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald was nearby. When she heard the cries for a qualified surgeon, the former school of medicine PR woman called specialist William Zamboni. Zamboni called one of his partners, who was on call and rushed to UMC to successfully re-attach the thumb. Zamboni followed up with a letter to the hospital, pointing out how headlines could have blared about the rider going out of state. Score one for ...

Columnist Hal Rothman: On how Bob Lewis is trying to turn back the clock by making a revolutionary power play for a Lincoln County stream: Hal Rothman; It is not often in Southern Nevada that we get to witness an attempt at a genuinely revolutionary act, but this past week, we saw one: Moapa Valley rancher Bob Lewis brought earth-moving equipment onto public land and illegally diverted a Lincoln County stream.

In concert on a Las Vegas dream: The memory stays with you. The performance. The crowd. The connection to something bigger.

GM to test-drive auto facility in LV: For most of us, shopping for a new car and dealing with a high-pressure salesman ranks right up there with getting a root canal on a list of fun things to do.

Jerry's Lounge: New owners true to past: When Kim and Frank Rocco Sorano took over ownership of Capozzoli's on Oct. 27, they bought more than a restaurant they bought the heritage that goes along with it. Good food. Good entertainment. Good friends.

Trop owners play it cool: By Liz Benston; In a city built on big bets, the Tropicana is the very definition of a property that doesn't like to gamble.

Columnist Jeff German: On the growing tribulations of Lance Malone as the former county commissioner's trial approaches: No matter how hard he tries, Lance Malone can't escape being the man in the middle in the government's latest assault on corruption in Las Vegas.

Columnist Jeff Simpson: On Why Wynn is smiling: By Jeff Simpson; I met with Wynn for a couple of hours last week, and the developer could barely contain his satisfaction with the performance of Wynn Las Vegas.

Chinese officials to address tourism conference: When nearly 1,000 people gather for Nevada's largest tourism conference next week, they'll be addressed by two men whom most people have never heard of, but who could play a key role in the state's economic fortunes.

Q + A Jay White: Diamond's career has produced such memorable hits as "Cherry Cherry," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," "Song Sung Blue," "Sweet Caroline," "Forever in Blue Jeans" and many more.

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.