Print edition for July 9, 2006

Letter: Once-a-week pickup has too many f laws: Having spent several years in the recycling paradise of Santa Barbara County, I qualify myself as experienced in the downside for the customer of once-a-week trash and recycling pickup. Our conversion from a multiple container to single stream was an unqualified financial success for the refuse company.

Letter: Consequences come with musicians' words: The problem appears to be that the members of the Dixie Chicks don't quite grasp the term "consequences." Just as they have the right to speak out, I have the right not to spend money on their albums or concerts. I don't like them anymore for their bad manners in going to another country and criticizing the American president. Their remark was not in answer to a news reporter's question, it was apropos of nothing. It was like a little kid visiting the neighbors and telling all his family's business - an embarrassment.

Sky is still the limit on Las Vegas Boulevard South: Dan Kulin; For both downtown developers and supporters of the Manhattanization of Las Vegas, the battle was over much more than the regulations for a half-mile stretch of one side of the boulevard. Rather, it was a fight to stop what some saw as precedent-setting restrictions on the one street they say should be the most protected from restrictions.

When do rights become wrongs?: By Christina Littlefield; The First Amendment forbids the government from endorsing religion but requires the government to protect religious speech.

Letter: Another benefit from an unlisted number: I was not surprised by the large number of people who have unlisted phone numbers. They gave various reasons for preferring to stay "out of touch." I have one of my own.

Brian Greenspun remembers Clinton's advice about Reid and Yucca Mountain that really paid off: Way back in 1998, when Harry Reid was running for re-election to the U.S. Senate, I happened upon an exclusive interview with the president in which he said that if Harry Reid were not re-elected, Nevada was certain to get the Yucca Mountain dump.

Underfunded, understaffed parole officers overwhelmed: By Abigail Goldman; Almost everyone in the lobby is a convicted felon, waiting to see an officer at the Southern Nevada Parole and Probation Department. Anyone who's not waiting in the lobby to see one is likely waiting with someone who is.

Garbage plan recycled: By Tony Cook; Some consumers might think the deal stinks like days-old garbage, but the local trash company could come off smelling pretty good under a proposed plan for local rubbish collection.

LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION: Maybe it's a control thing, or ego, but regents get upset when they read in the press about new programs before they approve them.

LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY: The local trash company is dumping its controversial policy of paying its truck drivers $4 for each photo they take of overloaded trash containers so that extra fees can be charged for rubbish pickups.

Letter: Terrorism should be fought the American way: We faced down the strongest superpowers for decades with great success, finally tearing down walls and other barriers with these nations. We have engaged in a war on drugs, whose "warlords" are much better organized and capitalized than al-Qaida or any other band of punks and thugs.

Jeff Simpson explains why candidates such as Lorraine Hunt don't get casino money: The gaming industry and the broader Las Vegas business community have their favorite candidate in the Republican primary campaign for governor - and it's not Hunt.

Editorial: Soccer as an Ugly Duckling: The article beneath the headline quoted Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford, who said, "We reject soccer, that's fair to say. There's not enough scoring, and ties make no sense."

Editorial: Law gets a failing grade: The survey by the nation's largest teachers' union shows that 69 percent of teachers polled disapprove of the 2002 law, up from 56 percent in 2003. The law places too much emphasis on standardized tests and falls short of necessary funding, teachers say.

Hal Rothman on how the valley's growth pattern has helped shape the future of the American downtown: Cities of the Industrial Age had vital core areas that drove their economies. They had magnificent public and private buildings, museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the Field Museum in Chicago, to attest to their prominence. Huge factories and office buildings clustered around these magnificent edifices. Often you could smell the industry as you walked into the museum or the performing arts center; but all understood that the smell was that of prosperity, of wealth, of local success.

Editorial: For our students' health: And on May 24, Nevada was recognized by the Union of Concerned Scientists for reducing pollution from school buses. Nevada shared top honors throughout the country with just four other states.