Print edition for August 16, 2006

'A matter of survival': Las Vegas has run out of options for water and will see growth pinched off in seven to 10 years unless plans are approved to pump ground water south from rural White Pine County, a water agency official said Tuesday.

Editorial: It's on to November: While voter turnout was disappointing, for the most part the outcome in most of the races went pretty much as predicted. Rep. Jim Gibbons defeated state Sen. Bob Beers and Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt in the Republican primary for governor. Gibbons will face Democratic state Sen. Dina Titus, who in a strong showing beat a formidable opponent in Jim Gibson, the popular mayor of Henderson. It will be an interesting matchup in November between the straight-talking Titus and Gibbons, who was accused by his Republican opponents of flip-flopping on important issues. Gibbons also may be loaded down with baggage from ...

Nevada voters decide legislative contests: AP; Assemblyman Bob McCleary, D-North Las Vegas, lost a Democratic Party primary fight to Ruben Kihuen, who was backed by the state AFL-CIO, by a 61-32 margin. Running a distant third was David Adams, who had briefly dropped out of the race after McCleary paid him $500. Adams called it a bribe, but McCleary claimed he paid Adams to work on his campaign.

Late offensive lifts Titus: By J. Patrick Coolican; Jim Gibson may have lost the Democratic primary for governor last October on an appearance on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," when the host asked him a simple question about abortion, which is now under siege across the country.

For some candidates, coming together not a party: Tony Cook, Las Vegas Sun; One of the first challenges for any political primary victor is to quickly put the acrimony of the primary behind him, drawing past opponents into the fold while mending weaknesses exposed in the intra-party battle.

Voters' primary impulse is to go with the proven product: Nevada voters stared into an electoral abyss Tuesday, offered an opportunity to vote for oddballs, self-funded newcomers and a dead woman. They decided - for the most part - to step back and play it safe.

FLASHPOINT for Aug 16, 2006: I hear the echoes of Sting in my head - I lost my faith in the voters and they actually were listening. They were not fooled by the slick attempts to buy the election by faux cop Jerry Airola, who epitomized what Sting said about politicians all seeming like game show hosts. In fact, Airola had his own faux talk show as one of his many gimmicks. And voters did not fall for Barbara Lee Woollen's attempt to buy the lieutenant governor's race with her cynical illegal immigration ploys. Voters knew that she was just a clever actress, just like ...

CORRECTIONS: A photo caption in Tuesday's paper incorrectly identified the quarterback of the Las Vegas Showgirlz football team. The player shown in the photo was Carrie Walters, not Cassandra Alston. The Sun regrets the error.

Letter: Zero tolerance policy has place in schools: A side effect of this has been the growth of administrative bureaucracies, a large portion of which is tasked to create a paper trail and monitor compliance with laws and regulations, so as to protect school districts - and the taxpayers who support them - against lawsuits. Another reason for zero tolerance policies has been weak administrators or teachers who lack common sense or who have applied laws and regulations unevenly.

Editorial: It's acres away for farmers: An organic farmer in California's lush Pajaro Valley told an AP reporter this week that he had to tear out 30 acres of vegetables because he could not find anyone to pick them, and that he has another 100 acres whose yields will be low because there are not enough workers to handpick the weeds.

Letter: Cheney not one to talk about combat: Does that imply that despite Cheney's several deferments from service in Vietnam, apparently because of other priorities, he is now willing to obtain a presidential exception to enlist in the Marines and join them in Iraq?

Letter: Middle class suffers with estate tax cut: Now, personally, I believe that it does take tax revenue to run the government and those taxes have to come from somewhere. If a super-rich person leaves $100 million and the estate tax is 1 percent (a rate that has been proposed), the heirs may have to pay $1 million in taxes.

Bidders are few for food stamp card: By Timothy Pratt; Kevin Barbieux, otherwise known as "The Homeless Guy" on his blog of the same name, thinks the time is right for selling stuff - on eBay.

Jon Ralston offers three proposals for political campaigns that might level the playing field but incense incumbents: But as I write this, long before the polls closed Tuesday, some lessons of this year's primary campaign already are clear. That reform of the process is needed is not open for debate; it's how to accomplish the revamping while maximizing the benefit.

Editorial: ANWR not a moneymaker: Congress in 1980 set aside this 1.5-million acre section of the 19-million acre refuge as a site to be studied for future drilling. Stevens' motivation has always been crystal clear - he is after the jobs that drilling would bring to his state, and the taxes and royalties from oil production that would be diverted to Alaska's general fund.