Print edition for June 27, 2006

Letter: Take the state out of the act of marriage: In his letter of June 24, James E. Nickelson suggests that "apologists for gay marriage" should accept "civil union contracts and not push for inclusion with heterosexual marriages." This suggests he considers marriage to be a sectarian institution.

Editorial: Goodman's plan a farce: If Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman had devoted more of his time over the six years he's been in office to serious contemplation of this issue, he would not now have to be sputtering impromptu nonsense whenever he's asked for some leadership in this area of city governance.

Editorial: A lion's share: Buffett, the second-richest person in the world, announced Sunday that he is donating about $37 billion of the shares he owns in his company Berkshire Hathaway to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates is considered the richest person in the world.

Clintons good for a conservative business: By J. Patrick Coolican; Gene McDonald's laugh is so robust it startles: Is he OK?

Letter: School District right to limit grad's speech: The School District, by providing McComb with the opportunity to give a talk to other graduates, acted appropriately by not allowing her to proselytize others at the graduation ceremony. McComb's free speech and religious rights were certainly not violated. She has a right to speak freely and practice her religion anywhere in her church, her home and even on a public street. But the school should not endorse her religious proselytizing by providing her with the equipment, the place and the audience.

Editorial: Game, set, match: With tears in his eyes, Agassi announced Saturday that this week will represent his last tournament at Wimbledon and that this summer's U.S. Open is to be his last tournament ever. Agassi is retiring at 36, after earning $30 million in prize money and earning the title of one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Letter: There's no gay agenda in gay marriage: This means not only that people will receive like punishments for transgressions, but that they shall also enjoy all the same benefits the law confers. To deny people the legal benefits that accrue to married people (lower tax rates, inheritance and visitation rights, etc.), simply because their life partners are of the same sex, is certainly unconstitutional.

Romance overcomes horror in Las Vegas' 'Phantom': By Jerry Fink; WHEN: 7 p.m. Sundays and Thursdays; 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays

The home-run league: By Brian Hilderbrand; The Pacific Coast League has been known as an outlaw circuit for allowing blacklisted players to play and a third major league before the West Coast landed its first Major League Baseball franchise.

Letter: Want to be rich? Become a politician: The rationale for the war was that Saddam would attack us if we didn't get him first. The administration knew that after the first Gulf War, Saddam was not a threat to attack. Saddam knew he could never survive another war against us, and he was building palaces, not weapons.

Bluetooth technology not just for business blue bloods: Brendan Buhler; At the 16th annual Realtor Rally, alliteratively held at the Rio, earpieces such as Serra's were as common as lapel pins and business-card holders. Every now and then a Realtor would touch his hand to his ear and start speaking to the ether.

Brian Greenspun describes the contributions of some special people who are in an Urban League of our own: There was a time when such a meeting would spell trouble. But Sunday night the 750 people who gathered at the Bellagio to celebrate the Las Vegas-Clark County Urban League meant something much different. For being in league with this 96-year-old institution that empowers people and their communities is the kind of place everyone should want to be.

Services set for taxicab safety advocate: Harris, who long advocated the use of still cameras in local taxis to deter robberies and assaults on drivers, died Wednesday of an apparent heart attack at age 56.

Investing in Afghanistan falls short: Wall Street plans to invest $20 billion in developments on the Las Vegas Strip over the next five years. For roughly that sum, war-torn Afghanistan could build an economy and stabilize a country where rising violence threatens U.S. interests, a senior Afghan official said Monday.

What will be Yucca's need?: Launce Rake and Lisa Mascaro; The Senate is quietly working on a plan for recycling nuclear waste that would lead to a new generation of nuclear power plants and affect the future of Yucca Mountain. The question of how it would affect Yucca is subject to debate.