Print edition for May 1, 2006

Ron Kantowski wonders what has changed between now and basketball season that has made the Thomas & Mack Center obsolete as a viable venue for sporting events: The football team hasn't had back-to-back winning seasons in more than two decades. The basketball team, once the cash cow of the program, is now a cash calf. The minor sports are either unsuccessful or operate in a vacuum, because nobody within the athletic department knows how to market or promote them.

Many stalled in race to the sky: Dan Kulin; On paper, downtown Las Vegas is on the verge of a building boom that would fill the skyline from the Spaghetti Bowl to the Stratosphere.

Letter: Mexican government to blame for migration: Many Mexicans are living in total fear of these criminals. It's time the United Nations takes an active part in this situation. A United Nations force has to enter Mexico and bring that country back into some kind of control.

Liquor stores don't have much of a shot: By Brendan Buhler; Las Vegas might be the first great city of the 21st century, a glitzy megalopolis combining the sultry Strip, the latest in strip mall convenience and, someday soon - any day, you'll see - subdivisions turned into a real city, someplace with character under all its Spanish tile.

Editorial: Let the generals be heard: According to the Washington Post, Warner said he will confer with colleagues before making a final decision. To be fair, any hearing featuring the retired generals would also include generals who support Rumsfeld.

Sheriff defends officers in actions against homeless: Matt Pordum; Jacaruso, 46, was arrested Sept. 16 when Metro Police officers approached her on suspicion that she was drinking in public. According to the police report, she grew belligerent and was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Editorial: State meth use on the rise: At a stop in Pahrump, as reported by the local paper, the Nevada Democrat said, "This scourge of meth is awful. This is a scourge that has affected our kids. It's cheap, it's dirty and it's very powerful. We have to do a better job."

Hotel-Culinary teamwork might stave off walkout: Cristina Rodriguez; Hotel operators and the city's biggest union, the 60,000-member Culinary, announced plans Wednesday for workers to express their solidarity with immigrants without walking off their jobs for the day - and risking discipline and disruption of resort business.

Letter: Driver's licenses might be too easy to get: Traffic is out of control - drivers cut in and out at high, unsafe speeds and put others in harm's way, run red lights, drive with no license plates, use cell phones, blast music, have dark tinted windows (couldn't identify them if asked to). They hit and run, causing our insurance to be raised, and are disrespectful idiots.

THE OPENING LINE: Oscar De La Hoya is a man of many talents. When his interest in getting punched in the face began to wane, he became a boxing promoter. And a singer. And now, an author of children's books.

Letter: Protesting for rights of lawbreakers is wrong: Illegal immigrants don't have any rights - they don't belong here. They've broken the federal laws that protect Americans and our country by entering the U.S. without proper, lawful means and documentation. They're invading and trespassing on our sovereignty. By their own actions they don't have the "right" to be here, let alone work, drive or use facilities and public services paid by us taxpayers.

John Katsilometes relates a pause in the action as Woods pays tribute to his father during 'Tiger Jam IX': Woods spoke to several hundred energized fans Saturday night at the House of Blues during the pre-concert VIP live and silent auction fundraiser for "Tiger Jam IX" at Mandalay Bay. As Woods described how, in the days and weeks following 9/11, he yearned to expand his Tiger Woods Foundation to include state-of-the-art learning centers, he paused and gave a deep sigh.

Hispanic stores closing: By Timothy Pratt; While several of the Strip's biggest hotels held hands with the biggest union in town last week to tell tens of thousands of employees they could go to work today and support immigration reform, others in town were quietly planning protests.

Editorial: Leadership during a crisis: There has been much talk about how to restructure the agency that came under fire for its poor response to Katrina. Many bureaucrats and politicians are focused on a dramatic reshuffling of FEMA's organizational chart, and this report will offer yet another strategy.

NLV on track for meeting ADA rules: Seven months after North Las Vegas reached a tentative agreement with the Justice Department over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city is putting its money where its mouth is.

Letter: Tackle abortion before it's necessary: How much less it would cost the taxpayers if we opened clinics where males or females of any age could get free medication to prevent pregnancy. This would eliminate the abortion debate because it wouldn't be needed.