Print edition for January 5, 2006

Columnist Ron Kantowski: On why the UNLV's men's basketball team's games probably don't mean much until the MWC tournament: So you couldn't drag yourself away from the USC-Texas game to look in on the Rebels' basketball team at Wyoming on Wednesday night? Couldn't get that TiVo Santa left under your tree hooked up in time, you say?

Letter: Remember traffic, officials when voting: In order to "crack the shell and get these officials' attention," as he wrote, I would suggest a change in their management. After all, 2006 and 2007 are election years.

Tracy expects to be running with fenders in 2007: If all goes according to plan, Paul Tracy will be trading his open-wheel racecar for one with doors and fenders at the end of this racing season.

High tech stuff / Consumer Electronics Show: Photo by Steve Marcus / Las Vegas Sun

Columnist Jeff German: Not alone in wondering why Las Vegas was denied homeland security funds: In the words of Sheriff Bill Young, who has the biggest responsibility for protecting Las Vegas from terrorists, cutting the city out of the latest round of federal homeland security funding "defies logic."

Decision on houses delayed by county: The question of whether a half-dozen buildings at Mount Charleston are family homes or condominiums went before the Clark County Commission on Wednesday, and commissioners promised another meeting on the issue next month.

Letter: Not sold on mass transit in the valley: Why would I walk in the desert heat and wait for a bus or train to take me to the Strip or anywhere else? I would have to wait again to get back home.

Flashpoint for Jan. 5, 2006: I have waited all my life to have something named for me. And finally, it has happened. No, it's not an award. No, it's not a school. No, it's not a university chair. It's a, ahem, bacteria species. Ralstonia. It's written up in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association. Now maybe it's not exactly named for yours truly, but I bet a lot of folks in the political world might think so. In fact they might want to do what is suggested in the article vis a vis Ralstonia. Disinfect after contact. Avoid contamination. Even the verb "eradicate" ...

County seeks overturning of verdict: J. Craig Anderson; Contrary to a federal jury's verdict, Clark County commissioners insist that McCarran International Airport managers did not retaliate against a black employee who complained of discrimination.

Editorial: Federal security funding to be cut: Las Vegas was among 11 metropolitan areas deemed less likely than 36 others to face major terrorism threats, and therefore will not be eligible to compete for a chunk of the $765 million in grants set aside for the department's Urban Area Security Initiative. Cities use the grants to prepare for terrorist attacks, natural disasters and health crises.

Schools dispute rages on: CARSON CITY - Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons' support for breaking up the Clark County School District touched off debate among his rivals for governor Wednesday, forcing candidates to stake out positions early in the campaign.

Breaking up is hard to do -- Mason says racism a factor in districting: By Emily Richmond; The president of the Clark County School Board said Wednesday that racism is an additional unspoken motive behind the drive to break up the nation's fifth-largest school district.

Storm victims face housing glitches: Driven from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, Tiffany Dunn moved into federally subsidized housing in Las Vegas, ready to begin a new life.

Letter: Scientific theory means something: It wasn't that long ago that one of the major religions didn't believe in this scientific gravity "theory," either. They believed that all the planets revolved around the Earth. And I seem to recall that they punished this fellow Galileo for using the scientific method to try to prove his theory.

Medicaid contracts hit with problems: CARSON CITY -- At least one error and doubts about fairness have convinced the state to pull back in awarding two of its largest contracts to provide medical care for the needy.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Dropping in on rehearsals for 'Hairspray' in a dance studio at UNLV: The cast of "Hairspray" is giving it the old college try ... or trying it out at college.

Editorial: Crossed up on crosswalks: On Dec. 30 we again wrote about the issue, focusing on a crosswalk at Decatur Boulevard and Pennwood Avenue. A school crossing guard had been trying for years to get either Las Vegas or Clark County to paint the crosswalk, which is used by children attending Elaine Wynn Elementary School.

Controlled blasting to resume: Two weeks after construction blasting damaged homes in Henderson, the city has decided to allow the controlled explosions to resume as early as Wednesday.

Marshal gets $115,000 in suit: Dan Kulin; A Las Vegas Municipal Court marshal who filed a federal lawsuit alleging sexual harassment is apparently settling with the city for cash and contributions to her retirement plan worth $115,000.

Letter: Who will the U.S. target after Iraq?: These are the reasons why our military is asked to sacrifice for our sakes. As a former military officer, I am quite aware of these calls of duty and at one time of my life was willing to lay down my life for this great country.

Buckley, Chanos drop the gloves on TV: Nevada Attorney General George Chanos and Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, argued in unusually rude terms Wednesday over the divisive topic of importing low-cost drugs from Canada.

Editorial: A moment turns joy to agony: The emotions are compounded by a lack of news. The wait for word of the miners' fate is excruciating. In Sago, W.Va., early Wednesday morning, relatives of 13 coal miners trapped since early Monday were jubilant when word arrived that 12 of the men had survived.

Lawsuit to target bad check collection system: By Matt Pordum; A defense attorney claims the district attorney's bad check unit is violating the Nevada Constitution by funding itself from fees it collects from prosecuting casino marker cases.

Letter: It's not religion -- it's propaganda: Incredibly, Campos uses Bertrand Russell, an agnostic, to support the idea that science may beg the question by assuming what it wishes to prove. Mr. Campos then calls science a "metaphysical orthodoxy."