Print edition for September 3, 2006

Editorial: Packing a nicotine punch: The report, released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Department of Health, shows that overall nicotine levels in 179 brands tested increased by 10 percent from 1998 to 2004. According to a story by the Associated Press, the three brands most popular among young smokers - Camel, Newport and Marlboro - had the significantly higher levels of nicotine. And Kool, a popular menthol brand, showed a 20 percent nicotine increase. Menthol brands are the cigarettes of choice among two-thirds of black smokers.

Jeff Simpson says it's time for Nevada to look at a new triple-tiered tax for casinos: I'm not one of those folks who simple-mindedly look at the state's gaming tax rate and compare it to the more confiscatory rates in other states. It's no coincidence that Nevada gets far more casino-related investment than other states - the lowest-in-the-nation tax rate is a primary lure that allows developers to build the multibillion-dollar resorts that attract tourists by the tens of millions.

LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION: What do a Nigerian playwright, a Nixon-era conservative and a black history scholar from Harvard have in common?

Letter: Texas hurricane is nation's worst disaster: In gross land devastation, which of course includes Mississippi, it may have been the worse hurricane. Andrew very well was probably more intense in wind power.

LOOKING IN ON: WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON - Congress returns this week from summer recess to an agenda packed with legislation on the Iraq war. Republicans have bills on President Bush's terrorist surveillance program, military tribunals and border security, while reports say Democrats want a vote of no-confidence on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Letter: President has already defined his legacy: We certainly see the devastation that an intellectually challenged president, struggling to maintain a veneer of adequacy, can wreak upon a nation when self-interest and worry about a "legacy" supersede the needs and welfare of the nation. While the president's party reaps the advantages and benefits of control, we must remind all lawmakers that this is a government of the people, by the people and for (all) the people - not just the pseudo-elite and their most loyal supporters.

Editorial: County is a grown-up now: With its nearly $6 billion budget and 10,000 employees, and with its regulatory power affecting the lives of 1.8 million residents spread out over its land mass that is larger than New Jersey, the county gives the impression of being all-powerful in Southern Nevada.

Hal Rothman on the evolution of unions in Southern Nevada: Although we have all been weaned on the myth of American individualism, heroes like John Wayne create a fictional image, more appropriate to the movies than to the actual contours of the American experience. I love the characters he played and fully recognize their cultural importance, but they simply don't reflect the way the country was settled.

THE NEVADA GOVERNOR'S RACE: By J. Patrick Coolican; Will what happened in Kansas stay in Kansas?

Casinos no place for kids: By Liz Benston; Click here for a printable graphic.

Brian Greenspun says name a school for Evelyn Stuckey: It is a known fact that the older a person gets, the fewer back-to-school sales he will have in his future. That is why, I suppose, that those of us who are approaching elder statesman status look upon these times with a certain degree of pride in what we have accomplished and, on the other side of the coin, a certain amount of lament at that which we have not yet done.

Letter: List of Bush's abuses is depressingly long: First of all, the Taliban is still killing coalition troops in Afghanistan where, by the way, the troops that are in Iraq should have been sent in the first place - to find bin Laden.

Editorial: Miracles in the classroom: Depending on one's vantage point, it is a time to look forward to a new year of learning or dread another year of carpools. For everyone, however, it is a period in which the decisions that adults make as parents, voters and legislators can have significant effects on the overall success of the 2006-07 school year.

Letter: Settle for no less than security and freedom: Especially noteworthy and deserving of serious contemplation of what is happening to our country are McMasters' eloquent and meaningful words, "If security trumps freedom, the question arises about what it is we are protecting. Freedom of speech, even dissent, is not just at the core of our freedom, it is an essential component of security. Ordinary citizens as well as their leaders should never forget that all Americans should feel secure in their right to speak freely and engage in other First Amendment-protected activities without self-censoring their opinions, curtailing their associations or looking over their shoulders."