Print edition for November 20, 2006

Pacquiao, Morales breathe life into flailing sport: Critics who like to write off boxing as a moribund sport, a hopelessly old-fashioned victim of contemporary tastes and changing times, should have been at the Thomas & Mack Center shortly after 8 o'clock on Saturday night.

ARTS NOTES: There seems to a lot of love lately between Mayor Oscar Goodman and the Nevada School of the Arts.

Editorial: Changes in North Las Vegas: In November nearly 70 percent of voters in North Las Vegas approved Question 1, which will result in members of the City Council being elected by ward instead of citywide. Mayor Mike Montandon opposed the measure, but other members of the City Council sat out the debate over Question 1. In the past, opponents of electing council members by ward have contended that it's a divisive system, one where elected officials selfishly look out for their own ward's interests and not always do what is best for the entire city.

SYMPHONY REVIEW: You get the feeling that the Las Vegas Philharmonic is enjoying auditioning for its boss's replacement.

Letter: Hundreds of deaths is not good news: I think only two or three hundred Iraqis were killed last week. That's good news?

LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY: For at least a decade, University Medical Center has provided monthly financial reports to Clark County commissioners who oversee the hospital's operation.

Ron Kantowski hears from the people on proposal to scrap UNLV football: Well, that would have been me. And based on the empty seats at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday afternoons, it's apparent that many have.

Editorial: Arrogant as ever: It is no secret that the department has been trucking low-level nuclear waste - clothing and other material used in nuclear work - to the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But what is secret is the trucks' schedules, and it's a tightly held secret. Even local officials, who would have to scramble fire, police and rescue crews should there be an accident, don't know.

Fear and confusion in Pahrump: By Timothy Pratt; PAHRUMP - Keily Miller had never seen one of Pahrump's Hispanic viewers at the television station that she owns, much less a small crowd.

Water Street setting trends: By Mike Trask; Some might call it the "Field of Dreams" theory of how to make a neighborhood cool enough to attract hipsters and trendsetters.

LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION: Local businessmen got up before dawn and paid $35 a plate Friday to hear university system Chancellor Jim Rogers' thoughts on the state of higher education in Nevada. But instead of a live, interactive speech, they were treated to a version he had taped the week before.

FLASHPOINT for Nov 20, 2006: There's a lot of chatter about the reconfigured County Commission and the future of the airport on Grand Central Parkway. But the real powder keg is the county hospital. This week commissioners will (we hope) seek answers to some very difficult questions (why no reports from UMC for half a year, for instance?) and try to shield themselves from some, too (why have you been asleep at the switch?). UMC boss Lacy Thomas has been about as forthcoming to the media as he has to his bosses. He will have to come into the sunlight Tuesday at the commission meeting. ...

John Katsilometes on the how Las Vegas helped bring relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina: Saturday's live broadcast of "Comic Relief" from the Colosseum at Caesars Palace (with frequent cut-aways to the French Quarter in New Orleans) was to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. But the four-hour production (which aired on HBO and, despite a hurricane of F-bombs, on TBS) was heavy with Las Vegas references - performers repeatedly reminded that they came to Vegas because, "That's where the money is." Kimmel appeared with "Thunder" dancers to promote the "Comic Relief" Web site, where T-shirts and a highlight DVD were available.

Despite denials, blog story persists: WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid won his party's support as Senate Majority Leader this week, but suggestions persist in Washington that Sen. Hillary Clinton might be in line for his job down the road.

Letter: Smoking on track to being criminalized: Are smokers committing the crime of voluntary suicide? It is a known fact that smoking kills the smoker. If we know that it is killing us and we continue to do it, we are consciously committing suicide.

Editorial: Deck the shoppers?: It is hard to fathom that a Wal-Mart would close its doors for any reason during a holiday shopping frenzy. But authorities in Palmdale, Calif., shut down a Super Wal-Mart because of rowdy shoppers awaiting Friday's release of Sony's PlayStation 3.

Letter: Citizens should literally speak to power: I wish that the average citizen had a better understanding of "speaking to power." In City Council, County Commission and other government meetings there is a public comment period. Few citizens take advantage of this opportunity. In fact, far too few citizens write, e-mail, fax and phone politicians - federal, state and local - to express their concerns and complaints. When politicians sense that citizens are complacent and uniformed, they listen to lobbyists, who are on the legislative floor and in their offices.

No work in land of plenty: By Timothy Pratt; At 2:30 in the afternoon, Remedios Bernal opens the door of his mobile home with his right hand, rubbing his eyes with his left.