Print edition for February 16, 2006

Names could be worth a lot to the School District: By Emily Richmond; A plan is under way to allow private donors - corporations and individuals - to name classrooms, laboratories and even buildings in exchange for sizable contributions.

'Avenue Q' dead-ends: By Jerry Fink, Jeff Simpson; In the end, maybe what "Avenue Q" needed to be a hit in Las Vegas was acrobats diving into a pool, some pyrotechnics unleashed against a driving soundtrack, a less American-centric script dealing with topics less weighty than racism - and maybe a few showgirls. Yeah, more showgirls - that's the ticket.

Mobile home residents are sent packing: J. Craig Anderson; Irving Downer waited four months and spent thousands of dollars for a mobile home relocation that was supposed to take a few weeks and cost him nothing.

Letter: Kerry, Gore couldn't be any worse than this: I wish that Mr. Miller could have enlightened those of us who don't have his crystal ball: Just what is it that's "disgustingly apparent" that we'd be worse off with Al Gore or John Kerry as president?

Letter: Counting down the days until term ends: Mr. Miller says we would be much worse if we elected Al Gore or John Kerry. It's that kind of biased, politically misdirected and totally unconscionable fear-mongering that has put our country in the mess we're in. Thirty-five months to go and counting.

Editorial: Child Haven's growing pains: According to a story in Wednesday's Las Vegas Sun, Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle said Clark County's Child Haven shelter, which was designed to temporarily house abused, neglected and abandoned children, is increasingly becoming a place where county authorities send children who don't quite qualify for the juvenile detention center, but who can't be sent home because it is unsafe, or because they have been abandoned.

Letter: How much did we pay for Cheney's trip?: Luckily for the victim of Vice President Dick Cheney's misaim, they were there for the victim. How much does it cost the taxpayers for Cheney to get his kicks shooting at helpless birds? I am so disgusted with this administration and the way it spends our money. Time for a change.

Letter: Pharmacists forced to endorse abortion: One writer's argument that the unborn is not a human life because the unborn is not viable - because he or she hasn't implanted him or herself - is frightening. Viability or lack of dependency is not an acceptable definition of who possesses human life. If it were, millions of Americans - including "viable" unborn children late in the pregnancy period of life, infants, children, many physically and mentally challenged people, and people dependent upon medical care - would not meet the definition of being human due to their high degree of dependency on others.

Editorial: Fly on the drywall in Congress: The measure's opponents included Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., who said the $140 billion fund would have violated a congressional budget rule that caps spending after 2016. A Congressional Budget Office analysis predicted the fund would have run dry before all claims were paid, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.

Judge won't force girl to visit mother in prison: Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle said Wednesday that for now the two can have contact over the phone and through letters. He said a face-to-face visit will come when Brittney says she is ready to see her mother at the prison.

Mayor rocks BC's growth philosophy: When Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro suggested two weeks ago that his city sell land to developers to fund a $300 million freeway bypass, community leaders attending his State of the City address were shocked.

DOE clueless on Yucca: Matthew L. Wald; Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said at a nuclear power industry conference that his department was redoing research and design for Yucca, which was supposed to start accepting civilian power-plant waste in 1998. But it is a first-of-a-kind project, making cost estimates difficult, he said, and the best that the department may be able to do is publish an estimate with a very wide range of error.

Tax talk stirs GOP governor hopefuls: State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, said he favors continuing the 3 percent property tax cap for homeowners.

John Katsilometes connects the dots that led to the Hilton having one of the hottest shows in town: George: Neo-Rat Packer George Clooney is the scheduled guest tonight on "Larry King Live." He'll be discussing his Academy Award nominations and fending off questions about; Maybe not, given Barry Manilow's multiplatinum track record. In any case the Las Vegas Hilton is hot (hot! we tell you) following news that Manilow's new album, "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," is No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Jury pool can't plug in to power list: By Matt Pordum; Court Executive Chuck Short had requested the power company's customer list to help diversify the rolls of potential jurors. But after several "good meetings" with Nevada Power President Pat Shalmy, Short was told the company won't release the list, citing privacy concerns.

Ron Kantowski updates us on former UNLV basketball star Bobby Florence, whose own success in school is celebrated in song for others: By Ron Kantowski; But for every one of those guys - or at least for every two or three of those guys - there is a Bobby Florence, whose story you may not know.

Legge's mind not on Danica: Actually, the comparisons started last season while Legge was winning races in the developmental Toyota Atlantic Championship and Patrick was grabbing headlines for her impressive fourth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500. Any rivalry that may exist between the two drivers likely will be ramped up this season now that Legge has been promoted to the Champ Car World Series with PKV Racing.

Taking a shot at the conference leaders: A month ago, the Aztecs (16-7, 9-2) used a sterling performance from Marcus Slaughter, solid free-throw shooting and a superb second half to douse UNLV, 83-67, in San Diego.

Editorial: A cost of doing business?: "Your abhorrent actions in China are a disgrace," Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, told Internet executives during a hearing Wednesday. "I simply don't understand how your corporate leadership sleeps at night."

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