Print edition for October 22, 2006

'Of course I wish I'd walked him to his room.': By J. Patrick Coolican; It's impossible. Anyone who knows him knows it's laughable. This is a man who gets kidded about being so straight. He very rarely drinks, and even then it's a glass of wine with dinner. He never goes out without a coat and tie because he takes his position seriously. He's been married to the same woman for 20 years and he tells people they have a great marriage.

Editorial: Becker has the right stuff: Among her accomplishments, Becker notes that she has helped put in place a number of new procedures to streamline the handling of cases, lowering the number of backlogged cases by 40 percent since 1998, when she was first elected to the Supreme Court. Becker, a respected jurist, also points out that she hopes to further her contributions on ensuring victims' rights and protections. As a District Court judge, she initiated programs to aid domestic violence victims.

Letter: Vote for the target of the worst political ads: I then select those commercials that are the most uncivilized, disgusting and contain the most out-of-context inferences and outright lies and distortions. I then mark my ballot so as to vote for the candidate those ads target.

Letter: Which Gibbons is the more tragic figure?: Those were a Sun reporter's words describing Emily Herrera as she stood by her husband during his trial in April. Now we see Dawn Gibbons, conservatively dressed, beautiful, looking prosperous, smiling broadly, not a care in the world.

Ex-aide alleges Porter made illegal fundraising calls: Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., made dozens of campaign fundraising phone calls last spring from his district and Washington, D.C., offices, according to a former Porter staffer and e-mails obtained by the Sun.

Giunchigliani, Rory Reid election opponents said to have two chances: Slim and none: Tony Cook, Las Vegas Sun; The challengers to veteran Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani and Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid have about as much chance of winning their respective commission contests as the UNLV football team does of playing for the national championship next January.

Reid's ethical issues put him on sidelines, for now: WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is no Mark Foley, but he bumped the disgraced congressman out of the media spotlight for a few days with his own ethical problems, giving Republicans what one party strategist called a gift in the final weeks before the midterm elections.

Stuff happens: 1992 - "Marriage at Cana," an Italian Renaissance painting by Veronese, was damaged when it fell during restoration at the Louvre in Paris and was torn in five places.

Some county races get little attention: The re-election bid by Clark County District Attorney David Roger and a contest to elect a new recorder after the prior one was kicked out of office highlight a second tier of countywide races that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.

FLASHPOINT for Oct 22, 2006: No one could resist this. So there was no chance the Repub- licans and the bloggers would. Sen. Harry Reid, under fire for a land deal that involved a large profit, was scheduled this weekend to host a first-time home buyer's fair in Las Vegas. Now, really, who could pass that up? Of course, the Republicans went over the top after the headline on their party press release: "Would you accept real estate advice from Senator Reid?" Well, I guess if you believe he reaped a high six-figure profit from the land transaction, I suppose the answer is: Of course. ...

Hal Rothman wonders whether Jim Gibbons contradicted his campaign on a rainy Friday night: Most amazing about the situation is that Gibbons has based his run on character issues. He has said time and again that he is the most qualified to hold the highest office in the state because of what he has learned in his many roles. Even in the most recent gubernatorial faux debate, and I say that because the candidates don't really get to debate one another, Gibbons trotted out his resume as a closing argument. He told the public that we could trust his judgment and that was reason enough to vote for him.

Letter: This is not our fathers' Republican Party: Actually, the party is no longer the Republican Party; it is a "Conservative" Party that opposes the wishes of the majority regarding use of war and diplomacy, respect for international treaties and the Geneva Conventions. Rather than giving high priority to balancing the budget (Eisenhower succeeded), Bush cut taxes of the rich, plunged the nation into trillions of debt and dumped the consequences on succeeding generations. Instead of fixing Social Security and Medicare, Bush tried to privatize them.

Letter: Note to soldiers: Our freedom already gone: Maybe someone ought to tell them that while they were in another country fighting for our freedom, our House and Senate passed a bill striking down habeas corpus, which was the basis for our most important freedom, and our president signed it.

A MOMENT CAPTURED: My name is Glendene Grant and my daughter Jessie Foster has been missing in Las Vegas for almost seven months now. My best friend Brenda Rose and I came down to Las Vegas to see what we can do about getting the information about her being missing out here.

Jon Ralston on Tessa Hafen's coming of age in a televised debate: Hafen, a first-time candidate who recently turned 30, has seemed unsure and even a little awkward in previous forums. She also has appeared a little forced in her TV ads, almost as if someone were pulling a string behind her to make her smile on cue.

John Katsilometes visits 225 acres that will one day be one of the nation's finest shooting parks: By John Katsilometes; On Saturday morning way out on North Decatur Boulevard (drive north until Decatur ends, then drive another mile and there it is), the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Clark County Shooting Park was held. Most in attendance were members of gun clubs or recreational shooters of all ilk (and both genders). The first phase of the $61 million, 225-acre project is expected to open in January 2008. Upon completion, the project promises to be one of the country's finest world-class shooting and gun education facilities and will also be the site of national shooting events. As County Commissioner Tom Collins, whose ...

Jack Sheehan on a true hero, Frank Ono, and his acts of courage in Italy that led to the Medal of Honor: Jack Sheehan on a true hero, Frank Ono, and his acts of courage in Italy that led to the Medal of Honor

Editorial: Titus is the clear choice: On the Republican side, candidate Jim Gibbons has been in Washington, D.C., for the past 10 years as a member of the House of Representatives. Gibbons has spent plenty of time in our nation's capital, but he has few accomplishments to show for it.

Today's frontpage

1 hour, 4 minutes ago

1 hour, 22 minutes ago

12 hours, 32 minutes ago

15 hours, 22 minutes ago

17 hours, 30 minutes ago

22 hours, 14 minutes ago

22 hours, 19 minutes ago

Live chat: Tuesday, noon PST; Chat with Krista Creelman; Problem Gambling Center executive director Krista Creelman will answer questions about gambling addiction from Las Vegas Sun readers from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. ... Submit question