Print edition for October 10, 2006

FLASHPOINT for Oct 10, 2006: As L.A. Times blogger Richard Abowitz pointed out, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman was unavailable in Europe when reporters tried to reach him last week about the incendiary Bill Walters report. Abowitz added, "the unavailable Oscar Goodman was actually phoning home to Vegas to brag" to a Sun reporter: "Even on the Spanish Steps, they know me as the mayor of Las Vegas ... And what I've been asked about is not the entertainment, food, shops and gambling in Las Vegas, but how we're redefining ourselves with projects like the Alzheimer's Center and performing arts center. Word is out that ...

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME: Sam Morris, Las Vegas Sun; Juju. Amulets. Talismans. Superstition is a common part of sports, from the crusty sweat stains on an unwashed ball cap or a peculiar outfit a coach wears every game from the start of a winning streak to any manner of pre-game ritual. Nobody can prove that such practices have sway over a performance, but it never hurts to try. And believe.

John Katsilometes gives the results of his phone checkup with U.S. Senate candidate Jack Carter, who has recovered after spending 11 days in September in the hospital: Not so. But the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate's extended stay at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center last month has led to concern about what it was, exactly, that knocked him off the campaign trail for much of September. (Carter was admitted on Sept. 7 and released Sept. 17.) Carter's official condition was described as colitis, an inflammation of the large intestine. But after a battery of tests conducted by several infectious disease doctors, Carter said over the weekend that food poisoning triggered the symptoms.

Editorial: Commissioner doesn't get it: Once again Boggs McDonald has been found to have failed to disclose her growing list of ethical entanglements.

Audit finds board lax on tracking educators' court cases: By Emily Richmond; Nearly two years ago, Clark County substitute teacher Robert G. Stevenson pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy and was sent to prison.

LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION: UNLV President David Ashley and fundraising campaign Chairman Don Snyder say they are standing behind the university's "Invent the Future" campaign totals, and by inference, their chief fundraiser, Vice President for Development John Gallagher.

Letter: Neocon dream for Mideast is over: Terrorists are people who react to foreign control and military occupation of their countries. Unfortunately for us, their countries have a lot of oil that we want to control, and we also want U.S. and British companies to make the profits from it.

Editorial: Options are limited: According to a story in The Washington Post, other members of the 15-nation Security Council stopped short of endorsing the U.S. plan that calls for international inspections of all North Korean imports and exports. The plan also proposes banning all imports of luxury goods and demands that the secretive communist nation cease all nuclear activities and participate in talks to resolve the crisis. It is unclear when the Security Council will vote on the proposal.

Editorial: Personal data at risk: An administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told federal investigators that the flaws have not resulted in any security breaches. But the Government Accountability Office report says that the agency's computer system lacks a reliable method of auditing or tracking the computer network's activity, so it is unclear how, or even whether, such breaches would be caught.

Letter: Republicans failed to lead the United States: Let's start with the ongoing disaster in Iraq, or the illegal immigrant crisis, or the tax cuts which have caused the national debt to soar out of sight and which have given us an annual deficit. Throw in their poor diplomatic efforts, including on North Korea, and their handling of the hurricane victims, and know that America is really in trouble.

Letter: Flags are not what our schools need: Our teachers must spend their own money to supplement classroom materials and use outdated, worn-out texts. In the meantime the overpaid School District administrators at Fort Fumble on Flamingo come up with a harebrained plan to fly flags promoting mediocrity at our schools.

Candidate bounced from charity: By J. Patrick Coolican; Mark DeStefano, Republican candidate for state treasurer, was asked to resign from the board of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth after he poached an employee to work for his own charity, according to Kathleen Boutin, the group's founder and director.

Gibbons' absences not making voters any fonder: WASHINGTON - Sometimes it's all about showing up.

INSIDE THE CAMPAIGN: Michael J. Mishak; It was bound to happen sooner or later.

RED TAPE CHRONICLES: Secrecy has long surrounded the UNLV Research Foundation and its Institute for Security Studies. Among the questions the Sun has been trying to answer for months is the pedigree of its research staff.

Securing a vision for institute: Scott Smith acknowledges that he doesn't bring a lot of homeland security experience to UNLV's troubled Institute for Security Studies.