Print edition for December 20, 2005

Assessing the damage: Hoping to promote downtown revitalization, North Las Vegas is launching a study to determine the extent -- and cost -- of environmental cleanup needed to make hundreds of acres ready for redevelopment.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: The variety of reasons why readers wanted his free ticket to the Las Vegas Bowl: Until last week, when I decided to give away the ticket I had purchased for Thursday's sold-out Las Vegas Bowl, I thought the hardest thing I had ever done as a local sports writer was to describe John Robinson's offense without using the words "boring" or "unimaginative."

Cowboy roped by young lions: The top finishers, with prize money won, at the fourth annual Five Diamond World :

Letter: President did the right thing: Now, Sen. Pat Leahy and his group are making like there is no war and no reason for the president to fulfill his oath of office. How disingenuous of Leahy and Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. For them to decry the president's actions is deplorable and reflective of the Democrat values (which do not exist) and their lust for power.

Columnist Jack Anderson had close ties to the Sun: Although he never attended a Las Vegas Sun board of directors meeting or reaped any profits from the newspaper, syndicated columnist Jack Anderson said he was nevertheless proud to have had a partial ownership of the publication.

Sparks fly as county seeks a new source of jurors: Nevada Power has pulled the plug on Clark County's desire to use the company's customer list in juror pool selection.

Letter: Why the attack on freedom of religion?: As events have unfolded in my life, I have learned the actual reason for being placed on Earth. It wasn't just some scientific happenstance or evolution, although science does save lives every day and affects the physical world.

Letter: Housing woes not exclusive to teachers: The cost of living and housing in Las Vegas has gone up for everyone, and has presented challenges not many of us wanted to face. Along with new teachers, there are many working professionals in every field who cannot afford to buy a house in Las Vegas.

Columnist Jeff German: The issue of driver kickbacks and how one strip club has got it covered: It didn't take long to see a softening in the solidarity among strip club owners.

Letter: Be afraid -- be very afraid -- of surveillance: 1. Bush's oath of office;

Editorial: Call president on the carpet: Bush says he derives this power from Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes the president as commander in chief of the armed forces. But this contention is disputed by many members of Congress.

Editorial: Blocking a rush to judgment: The Senate was eight votes short of the 60 it needed Monday to block a filibuster, which allows endless debate to prevent the Senate from voting. Opponents to the Patriot Act's renewal object to provisions -- both existing ones and new proposals -- that give the FBI virtually unquestioned authority to demand business, medical or library records on anyone under the guise of a counterterrorism investigation.

Editorial: Power politics replaces merit: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., an opponent of drilling in the refuge, says the House's action violates a congressional rule that prohibits unrelated bills from being wedded at the last minute. The reason for the rule is clear. Now, senators opposed to the drilling cannot vote against it without inviting charges that they do not support our fighting troops.

Salvation: More bell ringers: David Kihara; The familiar sound of Salvation Army bell ringers in front of shopping centers is slightly quieter this year in Southern Nevada.

Cabbies and kickbacks: J. Craig Anderson; An Assembly bill intended to prohibit kickbacks to cabbies for delivering passengers to strip clubs and other nighttime hotspots is likely to end up benefiting taxi drivers in the long haul.

Aliante Station to join NLV neighborhood casinos: By Liz Benston; Before the dust settles on its soon-to-open Red Rock Resort in Summerlin, Station Casinos is striking a deal to build a neighborhood casino in Aliante in North Las Vegas.

Politicians caught in the rush to return donations: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- In modern politics, elected officials rarely make headlines by accepting campaign money. But they are noticed when they return the money, or even consider doing so -- a practice that was more common in the scandal-marred 2005 Congress.