Print edition for October 26, 2006

Editorial: Our choices for county: Property values became red hot in 2004, which raised a serious concern for most homeowners planning to stay put - their taxes could rise up to 50 percent. Assessor Mark Schofield took charge of the issue, suggesting that the Legislature place a cap on the taxes. The 2005 Legislature ran with his idea and adopted a cap that defused the issue. Schofield, a Democrat who was appointed to his post in 1993 and has been elected continuously since then, is the right person for this job. The Sun endorses Mark Schofield.

Mash-Up: Las Vegas Weekly Staff; Shop Till You ClubBeginning November 6, Talulah G will be holding an Industry Shopping Night on the first Monday of each month, from 8 to 10 p.m. Think of it as a merger of clothes and clubs, with champagne, music and special discounts, and all hosted by different nightlife, entertainment, restaurant and hospitality folks. Up to bat first will be Light's Jake "Sartorial" Saady and Jet's Jodi "Couture" Myers. Afterward, head from the Fashion Show Mall over to Jet for line passes and free admission. And to show off your new wardrobe, too, of course.

Letter: List of GOP mistakes goes on and on: These attacks are kind of dopey. Let's see what the "centrists" in charge have given us: A pre-emptive war that we will be paying for in blood and treasure for two generations; torture of prisoners; suspension of habeas corpus; billions (with a "B") of dollars unaccounted for in the Middle East; corruption on a stupefying scale at home; blase mismanagement of government programs; a vast expansion of government both in size and number of employees; and borrow-and-spend financing for special interest giveaways ad infinitum.

Police handling of Mazzeo case could give boost to Airola's campaign for sheriff: He feels sorry for Chrissy Mazzeo. Her name will be dragged through the mud, he says; she's mincemeat in the political machine. "I know exactly how she feels," says Jerry Airola, candidate for Clark County sheriff.

Editorial: Porter needs to come clean: That would be the simple way to address a very serious charge, that Porter, using a cell phone, solicited campaign donations from his congressional offices. But while Porter's office denies the allegations, made by the congressman's former scheduler, it has yet to release any documents proving otherwise. That's odd considering early voting already is under way, and we would think he would want to clear this up as quickly as possible.

She Says: Apart from the accusations at the core of Chrissy Mazzeo's account of her encounter with gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons, her version of events could be read as a case study in how Las Vegas really works.

CONVENTION CRASHING: Western Food Industry Exposition: Brendan Buhler; Altoids dipped in dark chocolate? Oh, the strange times we live in.

Champ returns for more bull: By Ron Kantowski; What: Professional Bull Riders 2006 World Finals

Editorial: Difficult decisions: For adult Medicaid patients who need heart transplants, the situation is even worse. According to a story by the Las Vegas Sun's Marshall Allen, Nevada's Medicaid program doesn't pay for heart transplants for Medicaid participants 21 and older. They must go without - unless they somehow move to another state where Medicaid covers such procedures.

John Katsilometes scans the Internet for a new radio show hosted by former Clark County Recorder Fran Deane: The former Clark County recorder, who was removed from office by a District Court judge in September, faces 18 felony counts linked to allegations that she profited financially from the illegal sale of real estate documents filed with the recorder's office while she was still with the county.

Letter: War costs should be returned to taxpayers: The thievery that went on in Iraq warrants a serious investigation. That investigation should not be limited to Iraqis but should include accountability of U.S. government officials and such firms as Halliburton and its subcontractors. I cannot fathom why there should not be more accountability for the billions of American taxpayers' dollars that have been wasted, squandered and purloined. Some way, somehow, these monies should be returned to the American taxpayer. After all, did not members of the Bush administration say that Iraqi oil revenues would pay for the war?

Puhek calls accusations 'clearly fabricated': Ed Koch and Michael J. Mishak; Was homegrown Republican Pennie Puhek a caring individual who just wanted to save a friend from a potential political meat grinder or a party loyalist trying to pull GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons' bacon from the fire - or both?

Republicans fear effect on down-ballot races if accuser establishes credibility: By J. Patrick Coolican; As soon as the press conference ended, Republican phones began ringing.

Mazzeo reported violence by boyfriend in hotel room: Sam Skolnik; The incident involving Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons was not the first time in recent months that Las Vegan Chrissy Mazzeo has claimed that a man assaulted her.

Letter: Fed up with war based on lies: This war was based on lies and death, and remains in that situation. According to the Los Angeles Times, 655,000 people in Iraq have been killed (according to President Bush the figure is 30,000, although he's not sure). We have lost 2,800 fine young men, whereas in my opinion it should have been felons and mercenaries that should have been sent over. Do we have to wade through two more years of death, lies and corporate thievery to achieve an end to this fiasco?

Metro likely to reopen case against Gibbons: Sam Skolnik, Las Vegas Sun; After more than a week during which Metro Police and the Clark County district attorney's office said they were washing their hands of Chrissy Mazzeo's claim that Rep. Jim Gibbons assaulted her, both agencies may soon be looking at reopening the investigation.

FLASHPOINT for Oct 26, 2006: I have heard it a lot: Politicos have never seen anything like the Friday the 13th story and its innumerable sequels. A congressman accused of assault. A sheriff accused of favoritism. Two high-profile criminal defense attorneys engaged. Three memorable news conferences - Rep. Jim Gibbons reads a statement and doesn't answer questions; the accuser, Chrissy Mazzeo, and her attorney, Richard Wright, produce sensational allegations of threats and proposed payoffs; and Gibbons' attorney, Don Campbell, and a private eye, David Groover, say the woman is a liar and has a troubled past. What's next? A fourth news conference, of course. This ...

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