Print edition for June 23, 2006

Crestfallen star: Former U.S. national soccer team defender and Hall of Famer Paul Caligiuri raced into the ESPN Zone in New York-New York early Thursday like a kid on Christmas morning zipping to his tree.

Jeff Haney examines the trends on futures bets for NFL teams' over/under win totals, which can be traced to 'educated wise guys' hitting the books early: They're sophisticated, often professional, gamblers.

Editorial: Rummy's failing memory: According to a recent story by The Washington Post, which had filed the FOIA request, Rumsfeld told investigators for the Pentagon's inspector general that his poor memory and distraction with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were reasons he didn't know why his department spent $30 billion to lease tanker aircraft that his own experts had said were not needed.

Jon Ralston on polls and an idea for our mayor on the less fortunate: The numbers, obtained from 591 likely voters who agreed to be part of online surveys, have an error margin of 4.1 percentage points. They are hardly revelatory, and the results may not mean more or less than any poll taken now, especially with so many questions about what the turnout will be. Twenty percent? Maybe. Thirty percent? Could be. Forty percent? Doubtful.

Letter: Trade show industry could help School District: I have delayed writing in response to the article mentioned above in part because I have been searching for the correct words to convey my thoughts about what Clark County and the city of Las Vegas screamed in volumes by our lack of presentation at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Letter: Security institute in need of scrutiny: Given the other budgeting concerns in Nevada - K-12 education, real higher education programs, transportation infrastructure, health care - it was maddening to learn about ISS' "accomplishments." These seem to consist mostly of funneling federal and state dollars to institute cronies still working in the private sector, and taking a skim off the top for "administering" the grants.

Letter: Pro-business is pro-Nevada: Just because the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce endorsed Jim Gibbons, who is running for governor, does not mean that he is not concerned about the people of Nevada.

Editorial: Five years of leadership: We hope the next county manager continues Reilly's philosophy, as it has resulted in much progress and comparatively little controversy in regard to managing the fundamental services affecting people's lives. Reilly created or participated in many citizen task forces to address such issues as homelessness, red ink at the county hospital and growth.

Editorial: High court's justices all wet: In a 5-4 vote Monday, the justices ruled in favor of two Michigan property owners who wanted to build on their wetlands, but they couldn't agree on the larger issue of just what is protected by the 1972 Clean Water Act.

No help for RV park relocation: Although intended to be only a temporary roost, the Boulder Lakes RV Park has been a permanent home to hundreds of residents for years.

John Katsilometes anticipates to run into a celebrity or two at the gala event on June 30 at the totally renovated Siegfried & Roy Theatre at the Mirage: Consequently, I happened to walk in with Samuel L. Jackson on one side and my buddy Geoff Carter (who at the time was the Sun's movie critic and not Jack Black, for whom he was mistaken by a few onlookers) on the other. Some distance behind us, sashaying past the photogs wearing her $1 million casino chip dress, was Paris Hilton.

Yucca bill stalls, at least for this session: WASHINGTON - Despite strong pressure from the nuclear energy industry and the Bush administration, Congress almost certainly will not put Yucca Mountain on a fast track this year.

Advocate of cabbies, Harris dies at age 56: When 51-year-old Nellis Cab Company driver Pairoj Chitprasart was robbed, doused with a flammable liquid and burned to death by one of his fares in August 2004, Harris began a campaign that raised $53,000 to help the man's family.

ARTS NOTES: By Kristen Peterson; The show opening tonight at the gallery at 1217 S. Main St. is a survey of Ryan's introspective and often poetic vignettes created from mostly abstract images: objects, interior scenes or body parts set alongside gray skies, trees and other natural elements.

Good foster fit elusive: Meanwhile, the county's shelter for abused, neglected and abandoned children is nearly overflowing, with some foster children sleeping in gymnasiums or offices of county staff. The shelter is home to more than 200 kids, double the number it is designed to accommodate.

Ghanaians carrying the weight of a continent: By Timothy Pratt; "It's perfect," he said. "I always dreamed I would come here as a student. And I always wanted to see my country in the World Cup. I just didn't think it was going to happen so soon."