Print edition for December 1, 2006

LOOKING IN ON: CARSON CITY: CARSON CITY - Judges should be prohibited from piling up large cash surpluses from unused campaign contributions, the retiring chief justice of the Nevada Supreme Court believes.

Longevity came from 'a good Christian life': After putting in a good day's work as a housekeeper, Easter Jenkins loved nothing better than to kick back and listen to recordings of spiritual favorites from The Clouds of Joy and the Gospel Tornados.

Letter: Gibbons should return his pay: I wonder if Congressman Gibbons would consider returning his pay for time not worked to the government. I believe that people (including congressmen) get paid for time worked, and not paid as an entitlement.

Letter: Iraq war is an utter failure: The al-Maliki government, if that term still has any meaning, is so dysfunctional that a meeting between Iraq's prime minister and President Bush had to take place in the safer capital of Jordan!

Explosive issue pits future jobs against nukes: Click here for a printable graphic.

John Katsilometes reports that Steve Wynn is in for a two-tuxedo weekend as he heads East for Kennedy Center events: On Sunday the Wynns will be at the White House for dinner and cocktails with the president, the honorees and Kennedy Center trustees, followed by the Center's Honors Gala, to be recorded for later broadcast on CBS, and a supper dance.

Blue Man Group's dispute with unions spills onto Venetian sidewalk: With his face painted half-blue and half-red and his mouth open to shout, Dar Lawerence might have looked like an enraged Arizona Wildcats fan, but you rarely see one of those standing outside the Venetian, not with about 150 friends waving picket signs.

Letter: U.S. has power to fight any war: I ask: Are their memories so short as to forget we fought in Europe and the Pacific at the same time?

Manhattan Transfer brings holiday show filled with jazz, pop: Who: Manhattan Transfer

Exhibit to raise funds, awareness: Positive Vegas, a newly organized HIV/AIDS support group, is celebrating its launch with Art4AIDS, a fundraising art exhibit near the Commerce Street Studios.

Regents demand receipts with details: Dissatisfied with lax expense reporting procedures exposed by an audit of the UNLV Research Foundation, the Board of Regents moved Thursday to tighten guidelines for all private foundations throughout the state's university system.

Letter: World War II, Iraq war are incomparable: But in most wars, "victory" meant that someone said, "I surrender" and signed a paper (as did Japan). Is that what we're expecting Iraq to do? I have no idea what "victory" means in our current situation, and neither do most people.

Picked out of crowd, player makes music video appearance: "Yeah, it's a nice ongoing joke," Zaher said. "Hey, if they had the opportunity, they'd have jumped in line for it, too. But as much as they mess with me, they think it's cool."

Brother's memory stays on field: His UCLA teammates continue to rib junior defender Mike Zaher about his starring role in singer JoJo's "Too Little Too Late" music video.

Editorial: Iraq war critics vindicated: This bipartisan panel, chartered by Congress, confirmed this week that it had finally reached agreement on a report that has been in the making since April. News organizations, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, quickly tapped their sources and learned that a central recommendation is to withdraw a substantial number of troops from Iraq.

FLASHPOINT for Dec 01, 2006: By now you have heard that Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack for- mally kicked off his presidential campaign this week. He will actually be in Las Vegas on Saturday, so let me tell you why Nevadans should be huge Vilsack supporters - at least for a while. If Vilsack can get momentum and starts to look like one of the front-runners, he will surely appear to have locked up his home state. And that means the other Democratic front-runners and, more important, the media, will ignore Iowa and proceed to the second state. And that second state then could become even ...

Metro recommends no charges against Gibbons; DA sets no time on decision: Jeff German, Las Vegas Sun; Metro Police said Thursday it will recommend that no criminal charges be filed against Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons over a woman's claims that he assaulted her outside a Las Vegas restaurant.

Checking in from UNLV's home away from home: Nick Christensen; What: UNLV vs. Northern Arizona

Pilgrimage to Israel was a dream fulfilled: When Mary Fox took over as president of Congregation Ner Tamid's Sisterhood in the mid-1980s, she envisioned new frontiers for the women's religious service group.

Editorial: Patient care in jeopardy: The two private hospitals are owned by Universal Health Systems, whose executives should work nonstop and in a more conciliatory mood to head off what would be Las Vegas' first strike by nurses. An estimated 940 nurses and technicians are ready to walk if agreement is not reached by 7 a.m. Monday.

Jon Ralston dares lawmakers of both parties to give the rhetoric a rest and put their energy into developing ideas for education: - Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, reacting to school superintendents asking for a $1 billion spending increase, Reno Gazette-Journal, 11/30/06

Editorial: Dinosaur calling card: According to Nevada State Museum and Springs Preserve officials Thursday, the fossils include a femur from a dromaeosaur, a raptor that lived about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period - the last period of the dinosaur age. The carnivorous creature, whose name is Greek for "terrible claw," was an agile predator and is among the species that provide a link between dinosaurs and birds. In fact, some scientists believe the dromaeosaur was actually a bird.