Print edition for December 14, 2007

LOOKING IN ON: COURTS: By Brian Eckhouse; Judge Stewart Bell says he rarely has time to enjoy the sweeping near-panorama from his 15th-floor window at the Regional Justice Center.

SEIU fumbling endorsement, could lose clout: Tony Cook, Michael J. Mishak and J. Patrick Coolican; With just five weeks until Nevada's Jan. 19 caucus, the union that represents local nurses and public workers knows little more about its members' presidential preference than it did six months ago.

Letter: How we are failing our future generations: What a powerful indictment of our current administration, aided and abetted by its puppets in Congress whose priorities seem to have ignored the health and education of our children and the subsequent long-lasting effects.

Hopkins knows bad blood means big ticket money: By Jeff Haney; Even before jeers and catcalls filled the air during the singing of the national anthem at the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton fight, Bernard Hopkins was trying to stir up some bad blood between American and European boxing fans.

Editorial: The imperial governor: The governor and his staff have made secrecy a virtue and have gone to extraordinary lengths to work behind closed doors. The most recent example is their steadfast refusal to let the public see any plans to cut the state budget. The Reno Gazette-Journal recently filed a lawsuit to obtain the plans.

Even without cuts, Medicaid and welfare programs are in the red: CARSON CITY - The financial woes of Gov. Jim Gibbons and his administration continue to escalate.

Editorial: No more surprises: As a result, the Las Vegas Sun reported this week, a state advisory board is trying to decide whether there is some way to protect patients from being blindsided by huge medical bills and to make sure they are informed about whether their insurance covers the additional physicians or services.

Letter: Downtown arena project is doomed: Though I have always been opposed to the arena project because it is not in character with the surrounding area or the fledgling arts district, which I have supported, it does not surprise me that REI Neon is asking Las Vegas for yet another extension. I think it would be best to say the project is dead and will never be built.

High hopes in downtown Henderson: By Mike Trask; There shouldn't be a problem flipping on the lights when City Tower, the much-hyped 15-story mixed-use project in Henderson, opens in two years.

Dion, Vegas parting - but not forever: By Joe Brown; You really had to be there. After all, you had five years to do it - three years more than anyone ever expected. But if for some reason you weren't one of the 3 million people who made it to Celine Dion's spectacular "A New Day ..." at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, you can catch one of the last two shows tonight or tomorrow.

Letter: Bush's ignorance plea wearing thin: He did not know whether anyone in his administration had revealed the identity of an undercover CIA agent as retribution for her husband's opposition to his flawed Iraq policies. He did not know that another of his top aides had lied to a grand jury to cover up the investigation.

Ron Kantowski nearly nods off at 'Car of Tomorrow' testing: Would that then make the Car of Tomorrow the Car of Yesterday?

Strip heavyweight sees tough '08, but he's alone: Alexandra Berzon and Liz Benston; Casino executives on the Strip have spent the past year congratulating themselves on a job well done, watching their businesses grow in spite of an economic slowdown fueled by the housing slump, higher interest rates and downbeat consumer spending forecasts.

Jon Ralston looks at creative lawyering by Gibbons, gaming: But instead of killing all the lawyers, let's ponder different answers in different cases to this ageless question: What do lawyers do when they can't argue righteousness (i.e., trying to keep documents secret for no reason or stopping the gaming tax from being raised)?

Pianist returns for soulful encore of holiday music: It's Christmas Tour II for jazz pianist Brian Culbertson, who will be at Boulder Station tonight.

FLASHPOINT: If you are thinking of getting away with your family to Disneyland this weekend, make other plans. This will be your only warning. Do not go near there all weekend. Why, you ask? Because there will be creatures there much scarier than an oversized Mickey or Goofy. Twenty-one members of Rep. Shelley Berkley's family will be there for the 25th iteration of the Big Berkley Weekend in Disneyland, The Hill newspaper reported this week. It's a frightening thought, one that surely has Walt spinning in his grave over the prospect of a park overrun by Berkleys. The Griswolds at Walley ...

Editorial: Steroids in sports: The report linked more than 80 past and present players, including Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire, to steroid use.