Print edition for August 4, 2006

Sanford not bound by conventional timeline: Charlie Weis did it in one year at Notre Dame. So did Urban Meyer at Utah. It took Pete Carroll two years to do it at USC.

Hours online, then the 'Big One': Chris Hogan was beating himself up over how he had played a losing hand.

Letter: Documentary raises tough questions: After seeing the film, I returned home outraged and saddened, and yet optimistic.

Loux's credibility attacked by pro-Yucca Idaho senator: WASHINGTON - Sparks typically fly at hearings on Yucca Mountain. Thursday's looked like a welding shop.

Racial profiling concerns halt council meeting on troubled bar: By Marshall Allen; Squiggy's Bar is a small, smoky joint with three pool tables, a jukebox and a security lock that requires patrons to press a buzzer for entry.

Developers demand more input on project for wastewater: By Launce Rake; Two powerful organizations that represent Southern Nevada's residential and commercial developers are charging that the Clean Water Coalition has not done enough to inform the region about a $750 million plan to deliver treated wastewater to Lake Mead.

Editorial: A bill with baggage: The House bill passed last week would raise the federal minimum wage from its current $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour by 2009. The bill also seeks to substantially cut the estate taxes of the wealthiest Americans by 2010 and, because of that proposed cut, it likely will not survive a Senate vote next week.

Jon Ralston laments the ignorance of 30,000 early voters, who won't have the benefit of candidate debates: Even though the conventional wisdom, reinforced by recent polling, indicates that the general election will feature a matchup between Dina Titus and Jim Gibbons, there's enough uncertainty to potentially render tonight's confrontations meaningful (tune in to KLVX Channel 10 from 7:30 to 9:30).

Is there enough pride for Team USA to return to international prominence: By Ron Kantowski; Remember what Barkley said? "You hit me, I'll hit you - even if it doesn't look like he's eaten for a while."

Regents seek a plan of action: The troubles at UNLV's Institute for Security Studies won't be resolved at today's special regents meeting, but several board members and the university system's chancellor hope to set a course of action that will quickly result in a long-term solution.

Editorial: Creepy, crawly symbolism: Nevada's state animal? Bighorn sheep. State bird? Mountain bluebird. State flower? Sagebrush.

Editorial: Data thieves hit schools: According to USA Today, the personal information of more than 2.8 million people may have been compromised by computer-related breaches that have happened since January 2005. USA Today found that of the 109 incidents reported at 76 colleges during that period, some 70 percent were the result of hackers who gained unauthorized access to the schools' computer databases.

Warnings about donor went unheeded: Gasper Lazzara's offer to UNLV more than three years ago couldn't have come at a better time. He offered to donate more than $40 million to launch an orthodontics program.

John Katsilometes spends some time with Jim Dunbar, who was a member of the Caesars team before the hotel opened 40 years ago: One day ahead.

FLASHPOINT for Aug 04, 2006: So how confident is Sen. John Ensign that the Republicans will control the Senate, thus preventing his colleague, Harry Reid, from becoming majority leader? Ensign was asked the question this week by C-SPAN: "It's certainly not a good political environment for the Republicans, and there's a lot of reasons for that. But there's a long time between now and November so we're hoping - as a Republican - I hope that things turn around for us. There are a lot of competitive Senate seats out there. Every time somebody makes a prediction in politics, and you go to Election Day ...

Letter: Reward of owning big cats greater than risk: What a refreshing change to see a balanced article on the private ownership of exotic cats instead of the usual hype describing them as kid-eaters that need to be banned from private ownership in the U.S.

Letter: Bush answerable for poor planning in Iraq: Today, we are engaged in war without end in Iraq. We need Clara back, asking President George W. Bush a parallel question: "Where's the plan?" We are spending about $2 billion a week on the war and have lost more than 2,500 soldiers with nearly 20,000 wounded. The end is nowhere in sight.

Jeff Haney projects winners and losers in betting big league baseball futures: As is often the case in sports, to quantify just how much of a surprise they are, it pays to look at the betting odds.