Print edition for December 11, 2007

Downtown arena hangs fire: By Joe Schoenmann; A development company that told Las Vegas it could build a downtown sports arena in three years plans to ask the city for 16 more months just to get its plans together.

Exploited J-1 doctors urged to speak up: By Marshall Allen; The lone doctor who complained to state legislators six weeks ago about being exploited by his employer in a government-sponsored program says it’s time for other foreign physicians to air their complaints publicly.

Camera-ready, Obama talks savings: Michael J. Mishak; Sen. Barack Obama flew in and out of town Monday to talk about retirement security, on the heels of a series of polls showing him within striking distance of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the four early voting states - including Nevada, where Clinton had enjoyed a comfortable double-digit lead in statewide surveys all year.

Exploited doctors urged to speak up: By Marshall Allen; The lone doctor who complained to state legislators six weeks ago about being exploited by his employer in a government-sponsored program says it's time for other foreign physicians to air their complaints publicly.

Ron Kantowski remembers small-time basketball like it was yesterday, from the cheap seats of a van: 2.) Visit the Meteor Crater. It's a 35-mile drive but this isn't just another hole in the ground. It's 4,000 feet across and 550 feet deep.

CORRECTIONS: A caption in Monday's paper misspelled the name of Brynne Craig, a Nevada campaign organizer for presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Vegas native wins with less: The air smells good here. Clean. And pungent. Ponderosa pine at 7,000 feet above sea level emits a sweet fragrance, like when you hang one of those cardboard Christmas tree air fresheners from the rearview mirror of an old Buick. Only it lasts well beyond the next oil change.

Highlights of October revenue report on Nevada casinos: -LAS VEGAS STRIP: $637.8 million, up 19.8 percent.

Letter: Report aside, Iran has proved itself a menace: Aside from the fact that Iran could restart its program at any time, the report also states that the nation has continued uranium enrichment during this time. Once uranium is sufficiently enriched a weapon can be produced in a matter of a few months. In fact, so confident were the scientists of the Manhattan Project in the ease of creating a nuclear explosion using enriched uranium that they sent a plutonium and a uranium bomb into the field, having tested only a plutonium weapon.

FLASHPOINT for Dec 11, 2007: The paper of record is mad at Nevada. After a lengthy front-page story devoted to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, The New York Times this weekend editorialized about the measure. Sayeth the Times: "The obvious question is why federal lands should be tapped like some desert ATM, forcing taxpayers in the 49 other states to subsidize the booming regional growth around Las Vegas." The editorial goes on to lament that only 15 percent of the $3 billion has gone for environmentally sensitive lands and that developers are profiting while taxpayers outside of Nevada are footing the bill. Here's ...

Editorial: Talk about a bad cut: As the Las Vegas Sun reported Sunday, the Ethics Commission won't be able to adopt the new regulations at its meeting Wednesday unless they have been reviewed by the Legislative Counsel Bureau - a service for which the Ethics Commission, a small agency with not much funding, budgeted $2,000.

Editorial: Letting judges judge: The court has previously ruled that federal sentencing guidelines - which outline the minimum and maximum sentences a judge can give for specific crimes - are advisory. The justices have found that judges can deviate from the guidelines as long as their rulings are reasonable.

No money, but minority panel gets another push: By Timothy Pratt; A state commission lawmakers created to confront pressing issues facing minorities stopped meeting at least two years ago, touching off several moves to breathe life into the group.

Letter: We need leadership as well as fast trains: Because of the increasing time involved in air travel, not to mention the safety concerns, perhaps it is time to build a continental high-speed rail system. In the 1950s the government built a highway system that serves us well.

Teens on the fast track to executive status on the Strip: By Liz Benston; While most teenagers are happy for a job at McDonald's or the mall, a handful of high school students are being groomed for management jobs at Strip resorts.

Editorial: Spending taxpayer money: As noted last month in a story in the Las Vegas Sun by Tony Cook, most of the commissioners barely touched the money, spending it on cell phone bills or travel. But first-term Commissioners Lawrence Weekly and Chris Giunchigliani spent thousands of dollars on community events. Weekly has spent more than $22,000 in his time in office, sponsoring youth football teams and holding community parties and a luau. Giunchigliani has spent more than $8,000 on Halloween parties and in sending a dance team to Disneyland.

Letter: Why does left trust intelligence now?: From where did this info originate? Intelligence agencies. The question is: Are these agencies the same that the left criticized and which reported on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction? The left has never let our agencies forget about that report.

In the works: How to avoid 'surprise' medical bills: CARSON CITY - A patient entering a hospital for surgery may follow the directions of his insurance company perfectly - and still end up with a huge bill.