Print edition for February 17, 2006

CORRECTION: In Thursday's Sun, a former La Jolla Mobile Home Park resident, Irving Downer, was quoted as saying he was out $3,000 for damage done to his home. The article should have said that a portion of the $3,000 was for damage and the remainder went for a furnace and a new water heater Downer had to buy as a result of his move. The Sun regrets the errors.

John Katsilometes on the happy convergence of Smoothies, a teen journalist, a mom, and the immortal Steven Tyler at a Harley dealership: kats@lasvegassun.com; Chiara Velotta is the daughter of Rick Velotta, who is a business writer for the Las Vegas Sun. Chiara is also a reporter for the Review-Journal's RJeneration page. Christine Velotta is the wife of Rick, mother of Chiara, and band director at Lamb of God Lutheran Church and First Good Shepherd Lutheran Church schools.

Business' influence in schools source of contention: By Emily Richmond; In fact Joyce Woodhouse, who has been director of the district's School-Community Partnership Program since 1989, has a few ideas of her own to share.

Letter: Take time to examine state tax initiatives: Sharron Angle, Republican state assemblywoman and candidate for U.S. Congress, proposed the "Property Tax Restraint Petition"; Bob Beers, Republican state senator and candidate for governor, proposed the tax and spend control petition (TASC); while fallout from a U.S. Supreme Court's decision prompted the eminent domain petition.

Editorial: Jon Ralston on a legal skirmish, a political defector and a gushing letter from an ex-treasurer: By Jon Ralston; But it is this excerpt from a letter sent this week to Mayor Oscar Goodman that really has them in a snit: "However, we have already discovered several facts and transactions, which apparently were not reported by the press, that lead us to believe there were other, unreported expenditures of City monies and resources for the benefit of Mr. Walters."

Letter: Just another case of unwarranted secrecy: As always, Vice President Dick Cheney demonstrated his aloofness and disdain for the media by not immediately detailing the facts of the incident and personally stating his regrets and concern. Was this because he didn't plan well enough and was not properly licensed to be hunting at the time of the accident? Did he need the delay in responding so that his spin doctors could portray the situation in the best possible light? Why can't these people do the simplest things in a usual and customary manner that Americans can identify with?

Tom Gorman begs to differ with many readers who call and write about Gehry's work of architecture: By Tom Gorman; The 77-year-old, no-holds-barred architect from Los Angeles has unveiled his design for a privately funded Alzheimer's research institute at the 61-acre Union Park near downtown, and now readers are weighing in.

Jeff Haney describes why, in a restrictor plate race, Ford and Dodge just can't compete in recent races with the General Motors product: In analyzing the field for Sunday's Daytona 500, odds-maker Micah Roberts was almost taken aback at how highly he had to rate the race's Chevrolet drivers compared with their competitors from other car manufacturers.

Editorial: Giving their all for America: In an era where million-dollar endorsement contracts, doping scandals and winning-at-all-costs strategies have polluted much of American athletics, U.S. Olympians this past week brought back sportsmanship and honor through the love of sport.

Letter: Wealth an illusion for many Americans: Meanwhile, there are an estimated 500,000-800,000 homeless people; roughly one out of every six citizens has no health insurance, which is tantamount to saying they have no health care. (The United States is the only western industrialized nation without national health care.) There are millions living around the official poverty level, which is roughly $21,000 for a family of four; good industrial jobs are evaporating faster than sweat off a tourist walking the Strip in August; and the United States incarcerates a higher percentage of its own citizens than any other country in the world. No, we are not in ...

Scott sets sights on winning a major: Scott, a native Australian who spent one year at UNLV before turning pro, has his sights set on winning a major this year.

Affordable senior housing program takes another step toward viability: J. Craig Anderson; The county's community resources staff breathed a collective sigh of relief in January when nine developers responded to their request for proposals to build a low-rent apartment complex for seniors.

High school hazing case creeps along: Mark Hansel and David Kihara; The father of a Sierra Vista High School student accused in an alleged hazing incident two weeks ago said school officials have not provided him any details about his son's suspension.

Arts Notes: Majority in Collective beleive it has outgrown Arts Factory: After more than a decade as an anchor in the downtown arts Factory, the Contemporary arts Collective is looking to move into a larger space, possibly a nearly 2,000-square-foot gallery at the renovated Holsum Lofts.

Editorial: Talking quail with Fox News: Cheney did take responsibility for the accident, which occurred as he was aiming at a quail. Of course, that admission of responsibility came several days after the impression was left by the owner of the ranch, where the hunting accident happened, that the victim, Harry Whittington, was at fault. That original, erroneous perception of blame never would have occurred if Cheney had not designated the ranch owner to speak on his behalf and had instead forthrightly come out and talked on his own.

Editorial: Dysfunction began at the top: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Chertoff that investing such responsibility in the now-ousted Brown was "one of your biggest mistakes" in reaction to the devastating hurricane in which more than 1,300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless.

TAKE FIVE: MARGARITO VS. GOMEZ PREVIEW: 1. Running scared? Promoter Bob Arum sees Saturday night's WBO welterweight championship fight as a showcase for Antonio Margarito, whose ultimate goal is to gain recognition as one of the sport's top fighters, pound-for-pound, while enjoying the big paydays that would come along with it. "Antonio Margarito is without a doubt the most feared fighter in the sport today," Arum said. "He is, I think, the most underrated fighter in boxing. Mention his name to fighters like Oscar De La Hoya or Shane Mosley and they faint. They don't want anything to do with him."

Majority in Collective believe it has outgrown Arts Factory: The move would pluck the collective from the original hub of the Arts District, a host for First Friday, and move it a half-mile west on Charleston Boulevard, where it would join other galleries, boutiques and businesses.

Chertoff offers terrorism briefing: Benjamin Grove; But Chertoff added that the closed session would answer the question only "to a certain degree."