Print edition for December 11, 2006

John Katsilometes considers the educated views of a British journalist who is looking for that perfect view: A recent visitor to Vegas, writer John Arlidge of the London Sunday Times, boldly reported his choice of the best view of the Las Vegas Strip - and the finest view from any structure anywhere in the country (ours, not his). Arlidge's best view wasn't the Stratosphere's observation deck (and the slow-rotating Top of the World restaurant), VooDoo Lounge at the Rio, Paris Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower, or the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay, all of which are well-traveled public places offering breathtaking views of the Strip.

A taxing lapse of logic: On Monday a commission panel met and recommended that the commission continue to keep its deliberations and many of the issues surrounding taxpayer appeals secret. State Taxation Director Dino DiCianno pointed out that the law requires the commission to keep secret a business' proprietary information that could give a competitor an advantage. And by law any business or person who appeals has a right to a closed-door hearing. By using a logic we're not familiar with, the panel took those two things and came up with a proposal that would keep secret the name of the company or person who ...

Mandalay Bay sued in 2004 incident: Sam Skolnik; Three men from Los Angeles sued Mandalay Bay in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas last week, claiming they were assaulted and falsely arrested two years ago by hotel security guards looking for gun-toting, mask-wearing men.

Allen & Rossi: By Jerry Fink; From 1954 until 1969, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi were one of the nation's top comedy teams.

Editorial: Following the money: According to a recent story by the Las Vegas Sun, revenue from unclaimed estates, forgotten paychecks, closed bank accounts and other sources have increased annually. But the state treasurer's office has not added staff to deal with the increase and actually has made it more complicated for potential claimants to search for their money online.

A MOMENT CAPTURED: Sam Morris, Las Vegas Sun; Dr. Tandy Freeman from Justin SportsMedicine and saddle bronc rider Cody DeMoss look over X-rays of DeMoss' neck to assess the injuries he suffered during the sixth go-round of the National Finals Rodeo.

Targeting bad fats: The ban includes barring restaurants from frying with oils that contain the artificial fats and from using the fats in cooking or baking. It does make exceptions for foods that are served in the manufacturer's original packaging.

FLASHPOINT for Dec 11, 2006: Tom Collins is always in a good mood, it seems. But when he appeared on "Face to Face" last week, he seemed especially jovial, even for him. Yes, Cowboy Tom is thrilled the rodeo was in town. But it's more than that. Here's a guy who was not among leadership during his Carson City tenure and now suddenly he is the Democratic Party chairman and a member of the most powerful board in the state. And he says he's going to run again. Why not? He doesn't care if he's called a labor puppet, or (I am guessing this is ...

Letter: Nuclear power not worth the mess it creates: Nuclear power and Yucca dump advocates made some questionable statements. Urging Sen. Harry Reid to stop opposing the Yucca dump, a waste industry spokesman said, "The majority of this country is in favor of nuclear energy." He must have been referring to a September 2006 poll conducted for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the industry's well-heeled lobby arm in Washington, by a former NEI vice president.

Letter: Smoking is a matter of individual choice: If I want to go out to eat, I have a choice to patronize restaurants that allow smoking or I can choose to only patronize restaurants that do not permit smoking anywhere on the premises. It is a matter of personal choice. Where I spend my money is my business and nobody else's.

LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL: The Las Vegas City Council approved an ordinance last week that will help ensure residents are kept in the loop on amendments to the city's general plan that could affect them.

Highlights of October 2006 revenue report on Nevada casinos: AP; -STATEWIDE: $1.06 billion win, up 0.4 percent.

Letter: Too many people abuse parking passes: Living in a senior community, I observe many handicapped plates and signs on my neighbors' cars. I suspect that more than half of theses people received the paperwork to obtain these items from their doctors following some surgery or temporary disability.

Mining laws dating to 1872 may be in for big changes: WASHINGTON - With Democrats about to take control of Congress, the Nevada mining industry and its chief environmental critics are readying for possibly the biggest changes to the nation's mining law in nearly a century.

STEALING YOUR CHILD'S CREDIT: By Abigail Goldman; The crime began with a phone call: Jason's ex-wife, dialing in to check on the couple's 5-year-old son, who was home with his father when the phone rang. Oddly, the boy's name flashed across the caller ID window, but Jason thought nothing of it.

LOOKING IN ON: CARSON CITY: CARSON CITY - A proposed 180-unit apartment complex for low- to moderate-income families in Las Vegas is moving forward through the bureaucracy of the local, state and federal governments.

Ron Kantowski takes an early morning walk as others run through the streets of Las Vegas - with at least one couple stopping to get married: You wouldn't have know it from my vantage point at the intersection of Fourth Street and Gass Ave. Morning had not quite broken but it was so eerily quiet, you would have sworn it needed fixing.

Nip and tuck - not just for women anymore: By Marshall Allen; In Las Vegas, where women long ago discovered that image often trumps reality, plastic surgeons are reporting a dramatic increase in the number of men getting procedures such as liposuctions, face-lifts and lip augmentations.