Print edition for February 28, 2006

Letter: Free speech has its limits - rightfully so: Defamation is defined approximately as the making of statements as if true, without sufficient care to the truth itself. By this definition, Holocaust deniers and other revisionists libel and slander the truth, and with that defamation hurt all of us and our ability to function effectively as a society. That their denials are often the basis of incitements to violence adds to the justification for limiting this kind of speech.

Letter: Baseball goes hand and glove with the past: By the way, the Rawlings or Spaulding box was one of the best parts of getting the glove. Thanks for remembering it.

Letter: Fatigue wasn't a weak excuse for Roddick: Fatigue isn't a weak excuse at all - you obviously haven't had any experience with real fatigue. If you did, you wouldn't be talking so much rubbish.

Editorial: Mourning Mayberry's loss: The 81-year-old died in a Los Angeles hospital Friday where he had suffered respiratory and pulmonary complications. His 50-year acting career included roles from such movies as "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and from television shows such as "Three's Company," in which he played the title trio's swinger-wannabe landlord.

Youth program may return: By Ed Koch; Although discussions are in the early stages, juvenile officials are looking at using young offenders to clean up graffiti at area parks - nowhere near highways, to avoid a repeat of the March 19, 2000, incident when six teens were killed as they cleaned up a median on Interstate 15 north of town.

Commuters can expect relief from beltway battles: J. Craig Anderson; Summerlin resident Judy Jenner said the worst part of her day is heading home in the evening, a roughly 20-mile trip that usually takes at least 45 minutes. The biggest delays are at five lighted intersections from Buffalo Drive to Tropicana Avenue, she said.

John Katsilometes makes a connection between a Vegas radio personality, a bunch of toilets, the French horn, Mayor Goodman and Andrea Bocelli: kats@lasvegassun.com; In her role as an on-air personality as half of the "Mike O'Brian and Beth Lano in the Morning" show on KSTJ 102.7-FM (Star 102.7), Lano reported live (!) from the memorable 2000 Flushes-sponsored "musical thrones" event at the Fashion Show mall (that was the event that also drew 20 Las Vegas impressionists and Mayor Oscar Goodman toting a $20,000 check for charity).

Letter: Communities need dues to function: We have more than 2,000 homes and a big budget.

Eyesores beginning to come down: Dan Kulin; Three of the houses, near City Hall along the 300 block of North Sixth Street, were purchased by the city in November 2004, the families living there were forced to move and the houses were boarded up. Neighbors have said a piece of their working-class neighborhood was replaced with blight. Many still living in the area said they would rather see the houses demolished than continue to look at the boarded-up buildings.

Driver investigated after students put off bus: By Emily Richmond; Students at Canarelli say they were left behind at the school, on South Torrey Pines Drive at Robindale Road, after an argument with their bus driver. Most of those students were supposed to be taken to a district bus stop about six miles from the campus.

Letter: Don't forget the women in Ultimate tournament: My only suggestion would be that you could have mentioned the women. They play Ultimate too, and hardly any of them have facial hair (although they do listen to Bob Marley music really loud).

South Strip: Who will own it?: An annexation battle between Henderson and Clark County could determine who controls a future South Strip resort corridor and other lucrative development expected to flourish with the opening of the Ivanpah Valley airport.

Letter: Give Roddick a break; he's paid his dues: I was in La Jolla, Calif., for the recent Davis Cup tie between the United States and Romania and trust me when I say Roddick was truly ill during the match on Friday, to the extent he was taken to hospital. Yet he went out and played again on Sunday. Then on to San Jose, and from there on to Memphis, Tenn.

A small silver lining: By Abigail Goldman; Tim Booton had to land on his neck to learn about the tumor growing inside it.

Editorial: 'Toy' guns pose grave danger: A 15-year-old Florida boy is brain dead after waving one of the "airsoft" guns at school. He was shot by police, who believed he had a real weapon. A Delaware boy is facing charges of using an airsoft gun to commit a robbery. And two teens in South Carolina recently sparked a security response when they walked onto a golf course carrying replicas of an M-16 and a handgun. Any wrong moves the boys made after security arrived could have been tragic.

Letter: Columnist way off the mark on hate crimes: Oh, really. Throughout human civilization there is recognition of a principle that the severity of punishment is related to the severity of the crime. The worse the crime, the worse the punishment.

Letter: You're never too old to hit the baseball diamond: We have a large number of players in the league in their 40s. We play on Sunday on fields throughout the city, and share a love of the game that our wives support but don't understand.

An $800 million spring cleaning: By Liz Benston; You've got to spend money to make money. And with more than $30 billion in high-end development expected on the Strip over the next several years, MGM Mirage will try to keep pace by shelling out big bucks on upgrades this year.

Editorial: Tax breaks for jobs at risk: Roots of the case date from 1996, when officials in Toledo, Ohio, negotiated with Chrysler Corp. to keep its Jeep plant in their city. Chrysler had said it was considering a move to Michigan. Toledo officials countered with an offer of land, roads and $280 million in tax breaks.