Print edition for January 26, 2006

Developer envisions $4 billion sports resort near Las Vegas Strip: AP; NORTH LAS VEGAS. Nev. - Developer Matt A. Rose looks out on a 116-acre plot of desert eight miles off the Las Vegas Strip and sees a 26,000-seat arena, a 5,000-seat aquatic center, an air-conditioned driving range and "sports, sports, sports." His Vegas version of a field of dreams also includes a 150,000-square-foot casino, 5,500 hotel rooms and 10 nightclubs.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Reporting that a longtime LV staple -- 'The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon' -- is returning to town: It hasn't taken South Coast long to make a significant move on the entertainment front, as the barely month-old resort has landed "The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon," which is set to be broadcast from a Las Vegas stage for the first time in more than a decade.

"Trustees were not ready for true reform": He informed me of this decision a short while ago, having come to this decision after hosting five of the seven trustees in New York this past week.test

Martin has his own tough at to follow in '06: Mark Martin would have loved to end his NASCAR Nextel Cup career with the kind of season he had in 2005.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Witnessing a totally unspectacular basketball game, but notes, UNLV fans shouldn't lose hope: You may still refer to it as the Mountain West Conference. But when it comes to men's basketball this season, I prefer Wendell White and the Nine Dwarfs. Or even better, the League of Not So) Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Columnist Tom Gorman: On N.Y. candidate's folding while holding a winning hand: Nadelstern is the highly lauded New York educator, something of a visionary, who apparently had cornered enough votes to be named Friday as the next superintendent of the Clark County School District.

Letter: Too much hot air over airplane noise: I live in the area that a pilot called the "spaghetti bowl" of flight paths, Rainbow Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road, where the roads (or lack thereof) are much more dangerous and noisy than what flies overhead.

Flashpoint for Jan. 26, 2006: Has there ever been a government body more oblivious to "market conditions" than the Las Vegas City Council? The same heavy-handed folks who floated a condo conversion moratorium, and now want a special use permit process, also drove Related Cos. away from the 61 acres because Mayor Oscar Goodman wanted condo towers built before he left office. Everything, as Irwin Molasky says, is driven by market conditions. So what happens when governments are swayed less by economic forces and more by wailing apartment dwellers or mayoral ego? Probable lawsuits. Two master developers departed. Suggested council motto: If they say it, ...

Editorial: Stop stonewalling on Katrina: This week The Washington Post reported that the White House received a computer slide presentation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Aug. 27. During this session, FEMA officials stressed that Katrina's coming impact could be even worse than that of a mock Gulf Coast Category 3 hurricane envisioned during a 2004 preparedness session.

Letter: Spying should be further scrutinized: His letter presumes that domestic spying, which bypasses the U.S. court system, is necessary and vital to fight terrorists (and somehow isn't really "spying"). And, in some way, this is a totally obvious and foregone conclusion, proven again and again.

Nursing teachers in short supply: From 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. three days a week, UNLV nursing instructor Kevin Gulliver zips between Las Vegas Valley hospitals in a mad rush to teach.

Letter: There must be a better way to protect kids: This is a thought on the hearts and minds of many: How could someone hurt an innocent child?

Aviation pioneer Murphy dies: It was a pleasant Sunday morning when Florence Murphy joined her husband, J. M. "Red" Murphy, and their partner, Bud Barrett, in hosting an air show for the grand opening of their Sky Haven Airfield, today the North Las Vegas Airport.

Editorial: Don't settle for status quo: Even though it seemed likely that he would be approved on a 4-3 vote by the Clark County School Board when it met this Friday, Nadelstern dropped out of the race on Wednesday. He didn't believe that, if he won by a split vote, there would be enough of a mandate for him to accomplish the serious changes he would have sought.

Appeals court study to begin: With the state's highest court increasingly burdened by a growing caseload, the Legislature has ordered the Nevada Supreme Court to issue a report on whether Nevada needs an intermediate appeals court.

Columnist Jeff German: Learning that San Francisco businessman Luke Brugnara is ready to buy the Crazy Horse Two topless club from Rick Rizzolo: He's offering few details, but San Francisco real estate man Luke Brugnara confirms he's got a deal to buy the embattled Crazy Horse Too topless club.

Trucks with low-level nuke material withing safety levels: Tests of trucks carrying low-level nuclear waste for burial at the Nevada Test Site found no violations of federal radiation exposure levels, state scientists have concluded.

Mack defends 'going-away' party expense: Dan Kulin; After announcing he would not run for re-election in December 2004, then-Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack's campaign money machine rolled on -- accepting thousands of dollars in donations and picking up the tab for a $14,000 going-away party.

Higher utility costs hurt residents: Kevin Rademacher; The rising cost of natural gas, electricity and gasoline continues to chew up the paychecks of Las Vegas Valley families.