Print edition for October 27, 2005

The alphabet soup of park fees: Although Boulder City resident Richard Assalone has a $50 annual pass to enter any National Park Service area in the country, he has to pay an extra fee if he wants to go to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

No room at the jails: David Kihara; Authorities will soon begin housing the Las Vegas Valley's federal prisoners in other states because there is not enough space for them in the local jails.

Deceased Sun executives to be honored: A bust of Nevada Paiute activist Sarah Winnemucca will be dedicated in memory of Ruthe Deskin, the late assistant to the publisher of the Sun, during an unveiling ceremony, 1:30 p.m., Sunday at the Spanish Springs Library in Sparks.

Letter: Enjoying the debate about evolution: Being a high school history teacher, I am surely glad for these times we live in. That's because a few hundred years ago these same people would have been gleefully slaughtering each other over that very same debate.

Columnist Jeff German: The price is wrong for taxpayers footing the LVCVA's legal bill: It may be pocket change to a well-funded public agency that spends tens of millions of dollars each year to lure tourists to Las Vegas.

10 obstacles: 10. Post-9/11 security precautions force removal of chopsticks from Kung Pao chicken in-flight dinners

Robbie Howard the latest Vegas entertainer seeking a home: With casinos and hotels opening and closing at a rapid clip these days, entertainers must feel as if they are in a game of musical chairs when it comes to finding a showroom.

Old-man Martin has no victory burnouts planned: "Burnouts are for juveniles and for the kids," Martin said this week when asked to explain why he didn't perform the obligatory tire-smoking spectacle following his victory earlier this month at Kansas Speedway. "I'm old school. You didn't ever see Dale Earnhardt doing burnouts ... (or) Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty; that's just not our style."

Sun's first sports editor dies at 88: * Born: Oct. 18, 1917, in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Letter: Domestic homeland security an illusion: I lived where my country's leaders were honorable and respected by all, including foreign allies. They could not be swayed into spending hundreds of billions of our tax dollars on an undeclared war based on lies that were propagated with malice on his countrymen by none other than the chief executive.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Why my friend Peter Thomas voted against the pay increase for Metro Police officers for all the wrong reasons: That, of course, is what the Las Vegas Review-Journal called my friend Peter's vote that sank -- at least temporarily -- the 25 percent pay increase over the next four years for the men and women who put it on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe. But what else would you expect from a newspaper that doesn't believe in police contracts, the unions that negotiated them or the government, for that matter, that is responsible for providing such safety services to the people?

Correction for Oct. 27, 2005: Because of an error by the Sun, a story in Monday's edition about the naming of an elementary school after businessman Robert Forbuss misstated the name of an organization with which he is affiliated. He is senior vice chairman of the Public Education Foundation. The Sun regrets the error.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Wayne Newton giving thanks with shows at Flamingo Las Vegas: As Wayne Newton would say, "This holiday season is hot!"

GRAY MATTERS: Las Vegas Weekly Staff; According to an October 24 Associated Press article, "State lawmaker promises fight to protect market against Las Vegas," it's about to get ugly: "HIGH POINT, N.C. - North Carolina will do as much as it can to protect the International Home Furnishings Market from a competing market in Las Vegas, a state senator has promised ...

Councilman helps boost school spirit at alma mater: By Emily Richmond; In preparation for Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly's visit to her classroom, Western High School freshman Nancy Ponce had written her question on a note card: Had he ever thought of dropping out when he attended the school?

Columnist Ron Kantowski: The ins and outs of the Las Vegas Bowl: Although the site of this year's Las Vegas Bowl kickoff ticket drive luncheon was slightly less pretentious than last year (Cili at the Bali Hai Golf Club instead of The Stirling Club at Turnbury Place), Tina Kunzer-Murphy still looked as nervous as Charlie Sheen walking into church.

Take Five: Lakers vs. Kings NBA preseason: Where: Thomas & Mack Center

Letter: Bush crowd bent on waging war: McDonald can give "data" from right-wing Web sites until the cows come home, but it does not change the fact that Bush's crowd wanted war.

Letter: U.S. policy in Iraq resembles imperialism: Now that we have had 2,000 American deaths and over 100,000 Iraqi deaths to "bring democracy to Iraq," and now that the new Iraq constitution will soon bring elected officials to power in their country, it's time to listen to the will of the people.

Burn victims' parents have history of abuse, neglect: David Kihara and Molly Ball; The parents of the two boys who were burned as their father siphoned gasoline had been a subject in child neglect or abuse investigations at least twice in the last four years.

Editorial: Wild horse protection intact: It was an unexpected turnaround for members of the House-Senate conference committee who, sources told the Las Vegas Sun, were planning to quietly remove from a broader agriculture spending bill the measure that would ban funding for federal inspectors at the nation's three slaughterhouses. The ban would effectively close the plants, which process horse meat for sale overseas.

The Palms' Hardwood Suite fiasco: By Jeff Simpson; The invitations promised "a special appearance by members of the Sacramento Kings and the Sacramento Kings dance team" at Thursday's party at the Palms.

Ensign's slaughterhouse amendment survives: The legislation, sponsored by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., would prohibit the spending of federal money for federal inspectors at the nation's three slaughterhouses that process horses, which would effectively shut down the plants, bill advocates say.

Editorial: No 'partial' ban on torture: In response to reports of Americans torturing Iraqi and Afghan detainees and suspected al-Qaida members, McCain offered legislation that would protect all prisoners or detainees in U.S. custody from the same fate.

Bellagio gallery creates new advisory service: By Kristen Peterson; After years of fielding calls from buyers and sellers in the art world and occasionally selling work from its exhibits, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art has created an art advisory division, using New York's PaceWildenstein Gallery as one of its resources.

Letter: FDR is not the role model to look up to: Almost all economists now agree that FDR did exactly the wrong things, and turned a normal cyclical recession into the worst depression that the nation has ever known. Among the bad things he did was to raise taxes on businesses, which then failed by the thousands, forcing millions out of work and depriving us of the goods and services they would have produced.

Editorial: A 'clean' load of rubbish: In the past the department has talked of building a multibillion-dollar facility near the mountain for repackaging the deadly waste once it was off-loaded either from trucks or trains. Under that plan, containers for permanent burial would have replaced the containers used to enclose the waste during transport. During this process, the waste would have been exposed, creating the potential for contaminating workers and the site.

Flashpoint for Oct. 27, 2005: They love her. They really love her. Elkoans really love Dina Titus. Elko, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 2-to-1, loves Dina Titus, the Democratic state senator from Clark County? Well, maybe not all of Elko. But the Titus gubernatorial campaign touted an award she received this week from the Elko County Economic Diversification Authority for securing them some pork. The release touted Titus' "longtime support of rural development." How do you define "longtime" for a woman who for years has fiercely criticized northern and rural lawmakers for pilfering money that should have gone to Clark County? Elko felt Titus' love ...