Print edition for July 17, 2006

LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY: Even though the Aug. 15 primary is just a month away, the Clark County elections office has been underwhelmed.

Round 1: The verbal jabs: Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. agree that they're on course to collide in the ring.

Ron Kantowski writes the script for this year's MWC media days: The coaches will just have to lie about their teams without me. I predict that won't be a problem.

Jack Sheehan recalls the days when the Dunes course played host to some guys who usually weren't nearly as good at golf as they were at gambling: The plot of land that the old Dunes course sat on, which now rests peacefully under convention halls and a swimming pool at Bellagio, was hosting a tournament called the PGI.

Editorial: It's still a bad deal: According to a story by the Washington Post, the White House and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., negotiated a deal in which Bush will allow a federal intelligence court to review the constitutionality of the National Security Agency program. The deal also requires that all lawsuits challenging the president's eavesdropping program be submitted to those secret proceedings as well.

Editorial: Disasters and easy money: Eric Thorson, the inspector general, told the House Homeland Security subcommittee that of the loan cases his office examined, 85 percent were found to be highly questionable.

Everyone has got their number: They hear the groan of everyday human tragedy, the crises and conflicts blurring into a single hum of desperation that fevers through the phones.

Ensign becomes GOP tech star: Nevada Sen. John Ensign's handiwork can be seen all over the Senate's 2006 telecom bill, the biggest overhaul to telecommunications law in a decade and one that has ignited fierce debate over how best to govern the future of the Internet.

Editorial: Ads target women smokers: The International Network of Women Against Tobacco, which released the report last week at a Washington conference sponsored by the American Cancer Society, blames overseas marketing by tobacco companies for the increasing number of women smokers.

THE OPENING LINE: "One Adam 12, One Adam 12 see the man running from the bank with a big bag of cash. Suspect seen waving 32-ounce bottle of Frost Glacier Freeze in one hand and lugging gallon-sized jug of original Lemon Lime with other. Approach with caution."

Internet gambling ban a long shot: Even as the Senate Republican leadership works to push the Internet gambling ban to a vote before Congress adjourns for the August recess, skeptics on Capitol Hill doubt the proposal will gain the momentum needed for a victory as seen last week in the House.

Informer gets 36 months in spite of tips: Cy Ryan; Smith pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine and conspiring to transport a prostitute. District Judge Jackie Glass sentenced him in January to up to 36 months in prison.

John Katsilometes on a big announcement made onstage during a Manilow concert: Secada was invited onto the Las Vegas Hilton Showroom stage by Barry Manilow on Saturday night and the two performed a bouncy version of "Copacabana (At the Copa)" for the thrilled full-house crowd. The walk-on appearance wasn't a complete surprise - the two had made plans for the duet during the week and Secada took part in Saturday's sound check.

Letter: Borders will tighten if businesses follow law: Supervision over the masses of unregistered and undocumented border crashers can, and must, be regained. The generally acknowledged reason for this onslaught is these people will do anything in order to acquire the U.S. dollar. One seldom heard solution is to simply enforce existing laws restricting any payments for work or welfare to lawfully documented residents, and invoke heavy sanctions on violators.

Letter: Smoking affects more than just lungs: Now we have positive evidence of another very serious consequence of smoking and secondhand smoke - blindness due to age-related macular degeneration. As an ophthalmologist, a great deal of my practice deals with macular degeneration. Medical research has shown that current smokers had an almost twofold increased risk of macular degeneration in comparison to those who have never smoked.

Letter: A recycling program idea with wheels: The recycling company is asking people, many elderly, some with bad backs or other frailties, to tote these heavy and awkward bins to the curb. Part of the year this must be done in temperatures above 100 degrees. It just doesn't seem that the current process is designed to encourage recycling.