Print edition for November 1, 2005

Condo conversions a complex issue: Dan Kulin; Concerns about Las Vegas' shrinking apartment market may prompt the Las Vegas City Council to impose a six-month moratorium on condominium conversion applications.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: On football fans interrupting games by running onto the field to steal the ball: This just in: The Cincinnati Bengals say they will reassess their security measures after a brain surgeon ran onto the field Sunday and stole the ball from Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Why Cox Communications VP Steve Schorr was allowed to carry handguns to work: Two men in Las Vegas dressed up as Sheriff Bill Young for Halloween. One was Bill Young. The other was Steve Schorr.

Columnist Jeff German: The new battle Reilly and the county face over the police contract: No one expected Las Vegas police to stay on the canvas for long in their heavyweight battle with the county to win a new contract.

Flashpoint for Nov. 1, 2005: I think Chancellor Jim Rogers might be on to something here with his back-to-the-past idea. Rogers thinks Gov. Kenny Guinn should once again become schools superintendent, a job he had in the '70s. But why stop there with the return to past lives approach? All that added knowledge has to help. Rep. Shelley Berkley could go back to the board of Regents - no more closed-door meetings with the irrepressible congresswoman around! Ex-Sen. Richard Bryan could return to the state Senate - that would head off Steven Horsford's bid to become minority leader! The possibilities here are endless. Send suggestions, ...

Sanford has tips for Niners and respect for Cougars: Mike Sanford readily admitted to having more to worry about than the fate of the San Francisco 49ers, but UNLV's head football coach has more than a passing interest in the 49ers and their rookie quarterback, Alex Smith.

Wynn, Landry's war of words: By Jeff Simpson; What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

Editorial: Bush hands out Halloween 'treat': The conservative activists who were prepared to defeat Miers' nomination because they believed she wouldn't vote to overturn the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade signaled that they wouldn't have a problem with Bush's latest nominee. Alito has ruled in favor of restricting abortion rights, much more than the woman he would replace, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. For instance, as a federal judge, Alito has sided in favor of legal provisions that would require a woman to notify her spouse if she were seeking an abortion.

Free fall fundraisers: Local skydiver Mary Tortomasi says she pays a parachute packer $6 to pack her square main chute prior to each jump. However, only a certified rigger is permitted to pack the vital reserve chute, which is deployed when the main chute fails. The cost for that service is $60, and a reserve chute must be repacked every 120 days even if it has not been deployed, she said.

Bumping budgets in classes: By Emily Richmond; The Clark County School District should be exceeding the national average when it comes to the percentage of its budget that it spends on direct instruction, Interim Superintendent Walt Rulffes said.

Letter: Radical Islam the embodiment of evil: If, as the scriptures read, God created man, with the knowledge that an inherent evil existed in his creation, than the president of Iran and his followers, and the Shiite guerrilla group Hezbollah, demonstrate the depths of that inherent evil.

County pushing pet sterilization: The County Commission is scheduled to vote today on two ordinances that would regulate the ownership of fertile dogs and cats, in addition to requiring animal shelters to spay or neuter animals before putting them up for adoption.

Editorial: Jury pools are shallow: This issue revolves around rulings in previous court cases stating that a defendant has the right to be judged by a jury of his peers. The rulings date from 1880, when the U.S. Supreme Court (Strauder v. West Virginia) ruled that barring racial and ethnic groups from juries violates a defendant's rights under the equal-protection provision of the 14th Amendment. Since that decision, the courts have ruled extensively that a jury's makeup should be representative of the whole community.

Letter: The numbers don't look good for Bush: Although Iraqis ratified a new constitution by a wide margin, Sunni Arab leaders say it will do little to quell the insurgency.

Letter: Getting by without an automobile: I do my grocery shopping online and have my order delivered to my door on the day of my choosing. My husband's pay is deposited directly into our checking account, and I pay our bills via online banking.

Too noisy for neighbors: * The noise study can be found online: www.mccarrannoisestudy.com.

Ready to Rumble: Benjamin Grove; WASHINGTON -- With President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid could find himself back in the middle of a gritty fight over judicial nominations and the "nuclear option."

10 alternatives for Las Vegas Valley's jail overcrowding:: 9. For the $72 a day the feds are paying to house prisoners in Las Vegas' jail, I'll stick a few in my garage

Editorial: The problem with panhandlers: The measure would prohibit people from asking others for money or selling goods or services in an "aggressive manner." This would include touching a person without his or her consent, following a person after he or she has refused to give money or intentionally blocking another's "safe or free passage."

Letter: Indictment could be tip of the iceberg: The fact that they would expose a CIA agent's covert identity to get back at her husband for writing an article inconsistent with their misguided agenda shows a blatant disregard for the safety of the agent and the security of our country. Was any forethought given to how their actions might undermine the CIA's ability to recruit and guarantee the safety of future undercover agents?

Nevada's campaign laws fail in report: CARSON CITY -- Nevada has one of the weakest campaign expense and contribution laws in the nation, a new report says.

Widespread tree destruction gives rise to many theories: Vandalism that has destroyed hundreds of trees in Sun City Anthem and neighboring communities now has a price tag approaching $200,000, officials said.