Print edition for December 16, 2007

Jeff Simpson agrees with New Jersey's decision not to renew the license of the Tropicana there: But after reading the commission's opinion and order denying license renewal, I think New Jersey regulators made the right call.

Slots for a new generation: By Liz Benston; Years from now, slot machine players may wander into a casino and wonder if they've landed in a game arcade.

LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS: By Mike Trask; Finally somebody said it. The dream of a Boulder City bypass - at a cost of at least $470 million - might never become reality.

FLASHPOINT for Dec 16, 2007: With Gov. Jim Gibbons once again proposing mindless, across-the-board cuts, it's time to suggest another way that doesn't involve tax increases. It's time the governor appointed a Committee to Find Waste and Excessive Spending in State Government to help him make cuts. Paging state Sen. Bob Beers and tax maven Carole Vilardo to be co-chairs. Gibbons should find all the spending hawks he can and stuff the panel with them. His de facto chiefs of staff - Monte Miller and Patty Wade - would be great. Get ex-state Sen. Ann O'Connell. Smashmouth activist Chuck Muth would be perfect. That's a ...

Jon Ralston is awed by the levels of stubbornness, incompetence displayed by Gov. Jim Gibbons in his quest to keep his overarching campaign promise: And this decision - to cut the budget 4.5 percent and exempt almost nothing - contradicts his previous decision but somehow maintains the consistency of having no discernible logic, illuminating the Gibbons Lack of Administration's breathtaking incompetence and clumsily eviscerating the state's already-frayed educational and social services fabric.

Editorial: Arizona's patchwork policy: Proponents of the law say it is intended to drastically limit the job market so that people will be less likely to enter the United States seeking better pay and a better quality of life. Business groups and immigrant advocates oppose the new law, saying it will do little more than force businesses to shut down and endanger jobs even for immigrant workers who live here legally.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: WASHINGTON, D.C.: Lisa Mascaro, Sun Washington Bureau; In hindsight, Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley said, she should have spoken up about the new coal-fired power plant in Ely when Nevada Power came to her with the proposal.

Budget shocks may not be the end: By David McGrath Schwartz; Budget cut, take four, and heads are shaking. Has Gov. Jim Gibbons figured it out yet? To be sure, his latest strategy to cut the state's distressed budget produced some sighs of relief Friday from the university system and mental health advocates. Now they'll have to cut their budgets by only 4.5 percent, not the 8 percent they had braced for. But what about his promises to spare elementary and secondary education, prisons and public safety?

Letter: CIA's excuse raises security questions: Aside from the obvious question of why this kind of evidence was destroyed, doesn't it bother anybody that the CIA doesn't possess the ability to trust its own security? Yet we put the agency in charge of the security of our nation?

Editorial: A watered-down victory: Congressional Democrats nevertheless scored a victory. A major provision of the House bill - a mandate to improve auto fuel efficiency by 2020 - remained intact in the Senate bill.

LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL: Christmas, or something like it, is definitely in the air.

LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION: By Emily Richmond; The Clark County School District's decision to evaluate itself isn't without risk.

A MOMENT CAPTURED: Tiffany Brown; It was a mosaic of leather and reindeer antler headbands, tattoos, more leather and Santa hats as Third Street filled up with motorcycles and riders.

Letter: Party lines must be blurred to heal U.S.: This polarization must be shattered, and it can begin only when the voters of this nation make a leap of faith as they vote. American government will remain paralytic when voters adhere only to the party line. This is imperative; together we achieve, divided we fail. This must begin with your vote for the president.

Editorial: Decimating state services: In October the governor unilaterally announced that he was directing state agencies to make plans to cut their budgets by 5 percent. At that time he exempted K-12 education, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Safety.

Letter: Water plan must include controlling growth: Gayle White's article, "Looks deceive: We're saving water," which appeared in the Las Vegas Sun on Wednesday, quoted Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy as saying, "Controlling growth is not an option" in the Water Authority's effort to assure water availability.

Getting past the crises: The stresses facing the state are obvious to anyone who relies on public services. Public schools are chronically crowded and Nevada's universities struggle to achieve academic greatness. Highways are congested and social services - especially to benefit children and the mentally ill - are stretched precariously thin.

Brian Greenspun sees Yucca foe in Clinton: I am going to date this column. It is Thursday and I have just finished watching the Democratic debate in Iowa. Since the polls tell us the race is tightening, the debates and then the early voting in Iowa and New Hampshire could prove quite interesting.