Print edition for February 26, 2006

State moving ahead on Canadian drugs: CARSON CITY - The controversial law to permit Nevadans to buy low-cost Canadian prescription drugs takes a small step forward on Wednesday.

Jack Sheehan says tourism slogan accurately describes a visitor's feelings about Las Vegas: Some 20 years from now, long after the current run of commercials conceived and produced by R&R Advertising for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have been stored in the archives, the next generation of media watchers will know that "What Happens Here, Stays Here," refers only to this wild place we call home.

Brian Greenspun wonders why our president is so eager to entrust our ports to U.A.E.: No, not our government, silly, the government of the United Arab Emirates. They are the folks who own or control the Dubai Ports World company that has been cleared by the Bush administration to exercise effective control over the operations of somewhere between six and 21 United States seaports, depending upon how you count.

Hal Rothman is skeptical of the NBA All-Star Game leading to a team putting down roots in Las Vegas: Goodman is right: A major-league baseball, basketball or football team would be the icing on the local and regional cake, proof positive that Las Vegas has truly arrived.

Letter: Country would have benefited under Gore: Regarding Gore, it's true that if he had won, we would have had higher taxes than we currently have under the Bush administration. However, it's precisely because of Bush's tax cuts that it would be impossible for Gore to have had higher deficits.

Finders of sunken B-29 bomber fault Park Service for plane's poor condition: The B-29 Superfortress crashed during a secret mission and lay unseen until five years ago, when it was found by expert divers who had gone in search of the wreckage. But instead of allowing the dive team to make a television special about the discovery and then salvage it for public display, the Park Service asserted ownership and won its case in court.

Editorial: Bush too trusting on ports: That is why we cannot understand Bush's aggressive defense of the sale that he became aware of only through the media. The agency within his administration that purportedly did scrutinize the sale in secret, with help from numerous intelligence analysts, spent more than two months on the project.

Jon Ralston imagines what it would be like to be trapped on a bus with this year's five gubernatorial candidates, and Sig Rogich as the moderator: By Jon Ralston; Rogich: Thanks for being here on the Gibbons Express. Jim was happy to agree to this debate under the reasonable conditions we set forth: It had to be here on our bus, I had to moderate and Jim has to leave after his opening statement. All yours, Jim.

FLASHPOINT for Feb 26, 2006: They couldn't get a Maloof brother to do it. And for awhile, it looked as if the Democrats were going to be shut out of the lieutenant governor's race. But one deep pocket might be as good as another, and with Showcase Mall developer Bob Unger telling people he's running, it might be a whole new ballgame in that contest. Might be. Treasurer Brian Krolicki isn't too far from having seven figures and he already has pseudo campaign ads on the air, so we'll have to see if Unger is the kind of guy who writes a blank check or ...

Editorial: South Dakota challenges abortion: The measure, which isn't law until it is signed by South Dakota's anti-abortion governor, Mike Rounds, makes performing an abortion a felony in all cases except to save the life of a pregnant woman. Abortion foes managed to defeat amendments that would have allowed abortions in cases of rape, incest or to preserve a woman's health.

CAT buses wrapped up in art: By Kristen Peterson; It's not what's typically put on buses.

Jeff Simpson takes a ride down the Strip, pointing out the ultra to the cheesy: By Jeff Simpson; Ultra high-end: Wynn Las Vegas and Bellagio. Wynn Las Vegas gets the slight edge, with its on-site golf club, more intimate public and private spaces and superior architecture.

Editorial: Meat-packing plant millionaires: Well, eight lucky Nebraskans who work at a meat-packing plant are getting ready to live out their dreams. On Wednesday they came forward and claimed a U.S. record lottery prize of $365 million, which they will split equally. Since they will take a lump sum payment, rather than having the payments spread out over 30 years, they each will pocket $15.5 million once taxes are taken out.

Med school grads to get 'early matches': Christina Littlefield; The so-called "early matches" are a bragging point for the Nevada school, which is struggling to get more of its own residency programs off the ground, Vice Dean Jim Lenhart said. The medical school just received the green light from its accrediting agency Monday to start a residency program in emergency medicine at University Medical Center in July.

Artist lets loose his hot pink robots on Las Vegas: Robots, squids and imaginary creatures float among stars and neon clouds.

Letter: Nothing redeeming in Bush administration: We now have a "long war," which has supplanted the "war on terror," an ever deepening sinkhole of debt and absolutely nothing to show for it - notwithstanding the complaints of Donald Rumsfeld that the media reports only bad news - almost 2,500 U.S. servicemen and women have been killed in action. We also have an environment subjected to the ravages of global warming while our policy is to shun Kyoto like the plague because it is "bad for business." We also have spying without warrants - despite the fact that provision has been made to do so within the ...

Letter: Why apologize to the shooter?: And how about the shooter, Vice President Dick Cheney? Does the fact that he owns a custom-made $23,000 Italian shotgun exempt him from accepting an apology? Does the shooter plan to sue for mental anguish, too?

Tom Gorman explains he didn't see the whole picture on first impression of World Market Center's architecture: By Tom Gorman; I questioned some of its architectural nuances.

Letter: Freedom of expression requires discretion: In the news lately there have been many who have declared an unyielding "for" or an absolute "no" on the issue of the Danish cartoons that severely offended those of Islamic faith. Mr. Teepen's view on this matter was appreciated.

John Katsilometes takes in an art unveiling at the Stardust as LeRoy Neiman hosts one more splashy reception: kats@lasvegassun.com; Make that, the showgirl. The idea. The concept.

School start-time meeting fails to rouse crowd: By Emily Richmond; About 40 parents, students and district staff members turned out for the meeting, a smaller turnout than some School Board members had predicted, given the volatile topic.