Print edition for September 5, 2006

Letter: Bring soldiers home - healthy and whole: Our "my way or the highway" commander in chief is staying the course and troops are coming home. Since March 20, 2003, President Bush has returned more than 2,600 GIs in body bags and/or flag-draped coffins, but we can't see them as they arrive at Andrews or Dover Air Force Bases. Since that March day, Bush has also brought home 19,000 wounded GIs, with more than 8,000 of them totally disabled and maimed who will be assigned to wheelchairs for life.

Children again victims: Cristina Rodriguez; For the past 10 years, Bryan Young's family has lived nearby as the youngster has remained bedridden in nursing homes, nearly comatose after he almost drowned.

Letter: Global warming is affecting water levels: Instead of depleting water supplies from other areas, or building expensive pipelines to pump in water to Southern Nevada, our lawmakers should take action to solve global warming. Increasing temperatures from global warming have led to less snowfall which, in turn, decreases the snow runoff we have in our rivers and lakes. Turning the tide on global warming is necessary to get to the root of our water supply problems.

LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY: The largest indoor venue in Las Vegas - the Thomas & Mack Center - would cost at least $125 million to renovate and, even then, would continue to lag behind other similar arenas across the nation in terms of premium seating and parking .

LOOKING IN ON: UNLV FOOTBAL: Mike Sanford's goals were pretty straightforward going into UNLV's season opener Saturday night against Idaho State: Play great and win the game.

Editorial: California shows the way: A mandate to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020 was passed last week by the California Legislature, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to sign the bill this month.

Editorial: Puffery is not a priority: Now the Arizona Star has checked congressional records and has discovered that in Congress' current "do nothing" session, there have been at least 600 commemorative resolutions.

Small storms bring new fire starts to Elko County: AP; The largest was the 8,500-acre Webb Fire in Pine Valley in Eureka County south of Carlin. It was 25 percent contained on Monday.

Guy's night out can be a drag sometimes: But off the Strip, a 6-foot, 210-pound former hockey player sits with four friends, too nervous to reveal his real identity to a stranger. He goes by Mindy. He and his four male friends - who won't reveal their real names either - wear women's wigs, makeup and wardrobe.

Negotiate this: In Nevada it's burglary: By Sam Skolnik; Last Monday afternoon, Raneisha Williams walked into a 7-Eleven on Atlantic Street, took a $1.79 bottle of Starbucks Frappuccino from the cooler and drank it before heading to the register.

Editorial: Pentagon's payday papers: According to a story by USA Today, falling too far into a financial hole can strip military personnel of their security clearances and prevent them from being eligible for deployment. This comes at a time when the armed forces are having trouble fulfilling enlistment quotas and are struggling to adequately fill the ranks to fight the war in Iraq.

A MOMENT CAPTURED: LOVE: Tiffany Brown, Las Vegas Sun; It is only the second day of school, but English Department Chairwoman Mitzi Tolzin is back in the swing of teaching freshman English at Valley High School. The 32-year-old is energetic and ends each class with, "Make it a great day!" as the new high schoolers shuffle out the door. "I knew when I was little I wanted to be a teacher," Tolzin said. "But then I wanted to make money; so I went into accounting, advertising, public relations. I knew pretty quickly those weren't going to make me happy; so I switched." Now, in addition to a bachelor's degree ...

Letter: Associations need to remember neighbors: Pretesting of the board members, consistent with their election (employment) application, will likely eliminate the self-centered, power-hungry, mistrusting and perfectionist board members who snoop in your back yard. Many successful corporations use pre-employment testing to weed out the unqualified.

Titus tackles North; Gibbons hits South: By J. Patrick Coolican; FALLON - Quick: Which candidate for governor was yucking it up with cowboys at the dusty Cantaloupe Festival in this small city about an hour from Reno, and which candidate was recently sipping champagne with a group of blacks in the Las Vegas Arts District?