Print edition for October 13, 2006

Home sellers making offers potential buyers can't refuse: Home sellers who have watched the market move from sizzle to fizzle are taking a page from the big homebuilders , offering everything but a spare kitchen sink to entice buyers.

Responsibility high; pay is low: By Emily Richmond; The Clark County School Board members oversee the nation's fifth-largest school district, with more than 300,000 students and an operating budget of $1.8 billion. The district is the state's largest employer, and receives the largest share of tax dollars of any entity in the state. The members, who are elected from seven geographical regions, help decide what programs and services students receive, approve salaries for the bulk of the more than 34,000 employees and appoint the superintendent.

Editorial: Sport not larger than the man: He was among the last of a generation of black men who played in the Negro Leagues. A war veteran, two-time Negro Leagues batting champion and manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, he then went to the Chicago Cubs, becoming the first black coach in the major leagues.

ARTS NOTES: Taras Krysa was conducting the Kiev State Symphony Orchestra in Ukraine last year, but had his eyes set on working in the United States where he was schooled.

John Katsilometes talks with Gold Coast exec Kelly Edwards, who had no idea one of his young bellmen would sell millions of albums: Today that employee is indeed a superstar whose band occupies the No. 2 spot on the Billboard album charts. The former bellman is Brandon Flowers and the band is the Killers, whose "Sam's Town" was kept off the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts in its debut week by "The Open Door" by Evanescence. The Killers' tribute to Las Vegas, named for the hotel on Boulder Highway, has sold 315,000 copies and the band recently appeared on the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live."

Letter: Blame Bush for North Korea going nuclear: Let's examine the facts. In 1994 Jimmy Carter, on behalf of the Clinton administration, negotiated a treaty with North Korea that ensured the presence of IAEA inspectors to make sure spent fuel rods would not be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. In return, the U.S. agreed to ship fuel oil to North Korea and help build two nuclear power plants. During the Clinton administration, as part of this agreement, North Korea purchased no plutonium.

Letter: History shows treaties with North Korea fail: How do you negotiate with someone who repeatedly violates the agreements before the ink is dry? It reminds me of the old question, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Without another hand, no sound; without a willing negotiation partner, no viable agreement! President Clinton was proud of his administration's Agreed Framework agreement mandating the eventual dismantling of North Korea's nuclear facilities, its cooperation with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the return of international inspectors.

Pahrump strips act of limits on commerce: By Timothy Pratt; One speaker stepped up to address the Pahrump Town Board earlier this week packing a 9 mm pistol on his hip, ready to speak his mind.

Star by day or night:: For an open-house assignment, 7-year-old Jamie Little and her classmates drew crayon pictures and wrote captions about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Rough figures of future cops, doctors, lawyers and nurses dominated the wall.

Letter: War fatalities don't hit home with leaders: How about all those in power to make decisions to go to war put their own children's lives on the line?

Jon Ralston on how Harry Reid got backed into a corner and why he came out swinging: From the blogosphere's partisan blinders to the senator's Newtonian damage control reaction to the story's perception-tainted realities, truth struggled to escape the fog. And the facts continue to compete with the relentless spin and endless froth over what is either a clerical error or a scandal - or something in between.

Investors on shaky foundations: The number of home foreclosures in Nevada has more than tripled in the past year and is outpacing the national rate as homeowners succumb to rising adjustable-interest rates and a weakened seller's market.

Editorial: Go out and play: Rather than a schedule of dance classes, team sports and educational video and computer games, what children really need to grow up healthy and wise is more regular old playtime - preferably outside and without the direction of adults.

FLASHPOINT for Oct 13, 2006: Jack Carter is excited. And it's hard to blame him: His opponent, Sen. John Ensign, has agreed to debate him Sunday on KLAS Channel 8. Right before "60 Minutes." A prime slot. The Carter folks are having a rally beforehand and they are even doing journalists a huge favor, according to a Carter release. Following the debate, "the Carter campaign will provide three experts to analyze the debate for journalists. They are U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), campaign coordinator Terry O'Connell, and campaign manager Richard Fitzpatrick." So the Democrat is providing a Democratic congresswoman and two of his own campaign ...

Sidro strikes a chord with Vegas musicians: Watching 65-year-old Sidro Garcia play electric guitar at the Rampart's Addison Lounge, you would think he has discovered the fountain of youth.

Editorial: Caveat emptor, homeowner: In a Las Vegas Sun story Wednesday, Sunridge Estates homeowner Nicole McGeary told reporter Mike Trask that she had paid a $150,000 lot premium to build her home next to the undeveloped land that, at the time, was zoned for public use. She envisioned living next to a park, soccer field or some public use other than a subdivision.