Print edition for March 5, 2006

Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Bracket: AP; No. 2 Utah State vs. No. 7 San Jose State, 2:30 p.m.

Letter: Failing to provide for veterans is a mistake: How can he even think of cutting veterans benefits when he went to war with Iraq and did not listen to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on how to win this war and get out of Iraq and let the Iraqi military take over all future military operations?

Brian Greenspun takes Review-Journal's John L. Smith to task over recent column: There are almost 1.8 millon people living in Southern Nevada today. At the beginning of the last decade of the last century there were barely half that many people living here. Those numbers mean many different things to many different people, but to me they mean that as a Review-Journal columnist, John L. Smith had almost a million people to whom he could write his lies and they wouldn't know the difference.

Letter: Selling of ports portends fall of U.S. empire: With each transaction goes another part of our industrial might and technical know-how. Since the beginning in America of the Industrial Revolution, the United States has built itself into the strongest economic and military power in the world.

No new laws seen for mines: Benjamin Grove; Even lawmakers who represent Idaho and Utah, which are suffering the effects of severe mercury pollution, are not planning any legislation, their aides said.

Jon Ralston offers advice to keep Dawn Gibbons from sticking her foot in her mouth: Take the case of Dawn Gibbons, the ex-assemblywoman who hopes to replace her governorship-seeking husband, Rep. Jim Gibbons, in the House. I recently reported that Ms. Gibbons is having a fundraiser this month headlined by House Transportation boss Don Young. He is a potent force in Congress and has helped Nevada on some issues over the years, and Nevada has reciprocated by raising money for him over the years.

Governor to inherit education cushion: CARSON CITY - Gov. Kenny Guinn intends to leave his successor with a budget that includes $100 million to help failing schools.

Editorial: Of men and mountains: But, Bloomberg News reports, that's the smallest revenue bump for best-picture nominees in 10 years, showing that what's nominated isn't always what sells the most. Still, don't blame it on the movies, industry experts said. Ticket sales for movies have been in a slump overall, with 2005's figures representing the steepest plunge in almost 20 years.

Letter: Why not outsource Secret Service, too?: Despite many questions about how secure our ports will be under this deal, President Bush continues to pledge that it is a good program for the U.S. and that our ports will be in very secure hands with a Dubai company owned by the United Arab Emirates. He is so confident in the plan that he knew nothing about until very recently and that he has pledged to veto any attempts to alter or nullify the original deal.

Past Nevada Medal Winners: AP; 2005 - Donald Grayson, anthropology professor at the University of Washington; best known for research suggesting climate change - not pre-settlement hunters - drove the extinction of wooly mammoths and other large mammals in North America 10,000 years ago.

Darcus has just one name and one big passion: Darcus, who has performed in Las Vegas lounges for more than 25 years, is one of those entertainers.

Hal Rothman on McCarran International Airport's role in the continued success of the tourism industry in Las Vegas: Our popularity is a strange kind of double-edged sword, one that requires a special vigilance from the people who run our transportation systems. The success of our advertising and the special cachet of Las Vegas in post-industrial America mean that more people want to come here every year. Getting them here with ease is very likely to become the next big issue, the threat to our continued success.

Congress dodging ethics reform: Not in our view. But enhanced disclosure of trips financed by lobbyists is the direction Congress now seems to be taking in response to the outrageous scandals revealed by the Jan. 3 conviction of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Letter: Bad apples spoiling the bunch in schools: This dysfunctional faction causes problems for bus drivers, school police, counselors, deans, support staff and administrators. Not to mention the daily havoc they wreak on classroom teachers trying in vain to deliver instruction while dealing with their habitually disruptive and sometimes dangerous behavior.

Jeff Simpson says Suncoast and Rampart don't fear opening of $1 billion resort: By Jeff Simpson; The $925 million casino at the intersection of the Las Vegas Beltway and Charleston Boulevard has been touted by those who have toured it as being not only clearly better than all other locals casinos, but as good as any on the Strip.

We don't torture, except ...: Sen. John Mccain, R-Ariz., fought the White house most of last year over the issue of torture. Mccain, who was tortured himself after his plane was shot down and he was captured in Vietnam, worked hard on a bill that would overturn the Bush administration's policy of torturing suspected terrorists being held outside of the country.

New kid on arts block: After selling his Las Vegas home and traveling around the country for six months, Michael Kruis decided to head back to Las Vegas.

Heavy price for gold: Launce Rake; Now a father, he takes his own children hunting in the same popular area of Great Salt Lake - but he gives them advice he never imagined when hunting three decades ago.

Tom Gorman on a popular production's special place in the hearts of faculty and students at Cimarron-Memorial High School: It also addresses how people react to tragedy. And in that respect, I doubt "Footloose" has ever struck closer to home than it has on the stage of Cimarron-Memorial High School.

Wynn-fall: LV Strip king scores in Macau: The deal would be - by far - the biggest such Macau sub-concession sale, and would be a jaw-dropping cash infusion to Wynn Resorts, which is spending $1.1 billion on its own Wynn Macau, slated to open in September.