Print edition for November 26, 2005

Crooks have special holiday spirit: J. Craig Anderson; Santa Claus isn't the only one working overtime this holiday season.

Forest Service unveils travel plan for Sierra above Carson City: AP; The agency's updated travel management plan for Kings, Clear Creek and Voltaire canyons designates 12 miles of roads open to the public, 7 miles of administrative roads, 4.5 miles of motorized two-track trails and 4-5 miles of non-motorized trails.

Valli leaving Luxor early: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons cut short their three-week engagement at the Luxor, according to the casino's box office.

Editorial: Discord mounts on Yucca: In 2002 Nevada's fight reached a low point. President Bush approved the Energy Department's recommendation of Yucca Mountain and the House and Senate added their approvals. Nevada, however, kept up its fight and filed lawsuits, striking gold last year when a federal court ruled that Yucca Mountain was being built to the wrong radiation standard, a key safety issue. The finding sapped a lot of the pro-Yucca momentum, forcing the Energy Department into an indefinite delay in filing for a license to operate the facility.

Letter: Suggested budget cuts for Congress: No we are not. However, Congress seems to think so. But it seems that we are lazy, or in some cases we have just given up rather than let them know what we think.

Exploring science, religion: Evolution versus creationism, the ethics of stem cell research, the effects of genetic testing.

Editorial: Fitting recognition for Tarkanian: He coached UNLV from 1973 to 1992, amassing an incredible 509 wins against just 105 losses. Tarkanian's 1990 team won the NCAA national basketball championship, and his team the next season arguably was just as great, going undefeated during the regular season only to be upset by Duke in the semifinals of the 1991 NCAA Tournament.

Sanford big on parents' first impressions: When Mike Sanford hits the recruiting trail next month to reload for his second season as UNLV's head football coach, he'll be attempting to woo more than a student-athlete at each visit.

Ex-CAT employees say buses biohazard: J. Craig Anderson; Diseased bodily fluids and contaminated water are among the biological hazards that two former Citizens Area Transit employees say have gone untreated on public buses in recent years.

Does the river run through here?: There's a yarn that's spun in this drought-parched desert region of the existence of an underground river more abundant than the mighty Colorado.

Letter: Maintain the right perspective on Iraq: What the media are not reporting is the much greater number of deaths occurring daily on the highways and streets of America. According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, there is an average of one person killed every 13 minutes in traffic accidents. That's about 110 people killed every day, or 40,000-plus deaths per year. Those senseless deaths serve no noble cause, and there are no mass protests or calls for an immediate cessation of the killing.

Letter: Documentary didn't do justice to Vegas: While a part of the "outside world" he criticizes, I am, nonetheless, a historian engaged in a long-term study of America's perceptions of Las Vegas and the city's promotional efforts from its earliest years.

Learning to play with the big girls: For Regina Miller, last week's 16-point loss to 18th-ranked DePaul in Chicago was not so much a learning experience for the Lady Rebels head coach as it was a confirmation.

Editorial: Checking in on charitable efforts: Earlier this week members of the Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah-based charity that runs the nation's largest domestic animal sanctuary, announced they are still rescuing pets from New Orleans.

Duly Noted: The Tarkanian Way: What, you mean naming a street after the greatest coach UNLV has ever known wasn't tribute enough?

Handheld gaming devices might find way into casinos: By Cy Ryan; A whole generation is growing up using cell phones, BlackBerries and playing hand-held computer games.

Education Notebook: Hager keeps mum about opening for superintendent: By Emily Richmond; Some of the candidates being considered for Clark County schools superintendent may have been recruited by the Council for a Better Nevada, a group made up of local chief executives interested in improving the quality of public education.