Print edition for August 25, 2007

Jeff Haney on a free program for football bettors: Shameless plug: I will be part of a media panel at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Other participants: John Kelly, Dave Tuley, Sid Rosenberg, Kevin Rogers, Steve Cofield, John Hanson and Dave Cokin.

THE READERS SOMETIMES E-MAIL: Readers have opinions and fill my e-mail box, letting me know when mine are right (sometimes) and wrong (often). From time to time, I'll share their comments.

TAKE FIVE: ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 74, COUTURE VS. GONZAGA: Principals: Randy Couture (15-8 mixed martial arts) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (8-1)

Editorial: Paging all readers: The Associated Press-Ipsos poll, released Tuesday, says the nation's least avid readers that would be people who did not read books at all were likely to be older, minorities, live in rural areas, have lower incomes and be less educated and less religious than people who did read.

New tack might take Boggs directly to trial: Former Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs may have to wait longer to get her say in court.

Ron Kantowski asks of the new arena plan: What's in it?: Click here for a printable graphic.

Letter: Nonsmoking casino failed for a reason: For your information, there was an entire casino that catered to his type of people - nonsmokers. It went belly up. Need I say more? Go back to California.

FLASHPOINT for Aug 25, 2007: It's often fun to watch two strong personalities go at it. But this Jim Rogers-Ron Knecht conflagration is ridiculous. In case you missed it, Chancellor Rogers is withdrawing a $3 million pledge to UNR because Regent Knecht said bad things about him. The first part is easy: Rogers should renew the pledge, surely withdrawn in a fit of pique . But the worst part of this story is that it has given any credibility to Knecht, a blustering, narcissistic blowhard who has never added anything to the public debate as a lawmaker or regent. His critics may apply the same ...

Letter: Full-time government just doesn't work: There's no real antidote for him except to grab a cold compress, lie down for a while and stay away from his keyboard. The siren song of a full-time professional government is one of those really bad ideas that looks great on paper, kind of like communism, but in the real world is a total disaster.

Editorial: Sprucing up the parks: In a speech at California's Yosemite National Park, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said private groups have pledged nearly $216 million for 201 projects at national parks, historic sites and monuments. All that is needed now, he said, is $154 million in matching funds from Congress so the projects can move forward.

Editorial: It's a Wiki world: However, because users do the writing and editing, there are plenty of abuses and suspicious entries. The site's operator shrugs. The theory is that the site is a community of users and the community will correct anything that is wrong - eventually.

Romney's straw carries golden sheen: By J. Patrick Coolican; Romney's straw carries golden sheen

'Clean' coal sounds prettier than it smells: By Phoebe Sweet; When does something dirty become clean?

Letter: Congress' inaction is enabling Bush: We are spending billions of our dollars on his oil war when his promises of the Iraqi oil paying for the war go unheaded. There are 300,000 barrels of oil being pumped from Iraq on a daily basis, but our House and Senate continue to give him more money for a war that has become nothing more than an oil grab.