Print edition for February 24, 2006

Letter: Morality not defined strictly by scripture: While I certainly don't understand it fully, it is quite clear in its message - a message written over hundreds of years by dozens of human authors (inspired by God), yet remarkably consistent.

Black first big act at South Coast: "We met when I was doing my 'D'lectrified' CD and I recorded one of his songs," said Black, who will be performing Saturday night at the South Coast.

Jeff Haney takes a look at why the Bronx Bombers are expected to amass victories and which other pro baseball teams are expected to win a lion's share of games as the 2006 season quickly approaches: As pitchers and catchers were reporting to spring training a year ago, the betting line on the New York Yankees' number of regular-season wins opened at over/under 101 at the Las Vegas Hilton sports book - the highest total in the major leagues.

All is lost in brutal game: Dan Kulin; In Las Vegas, there's nothing unusual about someone losing everything she bets.

Q+A STEVE BELLAMY: In addition to being a blessing, that development has presented tournament director Steve Bellamy with an unexpected problem - not having enough seats to accommodate every fan who likely will want to see the return of big-time tennis to Las Vegas.

Letter: Controlling behavior is a slippery slope: Let's face it - smokers are an easy target. They have been vilified by every do-gooder sitting in a legislative capacity for the past 10 or so years. Editorial staffs have marched in lockstep knowing the attack is a popular one, hence a safe one. And for smokers, we can no longer walk the beaches of Northern California, be within 20 feet of a storefront door, or imbibe our habit within eyeshot of those who despise our existence.

Failure to fund is a blow to safety: J. Craig Anderson; Long-term efforts to keep Southern Nevada residents and visitors safe face an uncertain future because of the way the federal government hands out anti-terrorism grants, local officials say.

Entrepreneur Scott dies: Frank Scott's life was a Horatio Alger story for Las Vegas.

John Katsilometes writes of celebrity impressionists, gold toilets, the Fashion Show mall and Mayor Goodman all getting together for a good cause and having a good time in true Las Vegas tradition: kats@lasvegassun.com; Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman helped make sure of that.

Coloring her world: The formally arranged geometric patterns applied directly on the wall make the art appear to bend and stretch.

J.A.I.L. group goes after judges: A group pushing an initiative to strip judges of their immunity in South Dakota has Nevada on its radar.

Editorial: Educating newcomers about natives: Invasive plants such as red brome and cheat grass provide prime wildfire fuel that stoked blazes that burned 1.1 million acres in Nevada last year, a state forestry official said. About 750,000 of those acres were in Southern Nevada. It was the Mojave Desert ecosystem's worst fire year on record.

Jon Ralston on what it will take for Reid's protegee to run a close race against Porter: By Jon Ralston; Tessa Hafen is a perfect example. The story line here seems so apparent:

Editorial: MySpace.com perilous for kids?: According to The Wall Street Journal, the most popular of these sites is MySpace.com. Its monthly traffic has doubled to 36 million users in the past six months. It was the eighth most-visited site on the Web in January. MySpace allows users - nearly 20 percent of whom are younger than 17 - to create for free personal Web sites where they can share their passions, dreams, photographs and anything else they care to reveal about themselves.

High school dropout rate shows a drop: By Emily Richmond; High school principal Janice Rowland knew that students at her school who struggled to keep up with classes were at risk. Many couldn't read well enough to stay up with their classes, in all subjects.

Letter: Port decision a shameless move by Bush: And where is our Congress? One would reasonably think that an issue so crucial would require its deliberation (but no, this president envisions himself as king of a monarchy!). Representatives who do approve his action are as culpable and undeserving of citizens' support.

Gubernatorial candidates support state workers' bargaining rights: Cy Ryan; Prior to a candidate forum Wednesday, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, were questioned by reporters and said they would support giving collective bargaining to the more than 15,000 state employees.

Editorial: Feel-good report on Katrina: A House committee report, however, took a different tack in a report it released on Feb. 15. Even without the full complement of documents it had requested from the Bush administration, the committee issued a blistering report that held the president and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff partly responsible for the tragically inept response to the vicious storm that lashed three Gulf Coast states in late August.

Tom Gorman follows the bouncing ball with a man who owes his life to the magic of stem cell research: By Tom Gorman; He seemed to be holding a little red, glowing ball between his forefinger and thumb. When he tossed it from hand to hand, it disappeared in flight. Then he did the most remarkable thing, pushing the ball into one ear and pulling it out from the other ear. Great stuff!