Print edition for February 7, 2007

Petula Clark returns to her roots: Jerry Fink, Las Vegas Sun; Who: Petula Clark

Letter: Troops sent in via democratic process: The Las Vegas Sun's conclusion in a Jan. 29 editorial that was headlined, "Flunking a lesson in civics - defense secretary's criticism shows he could learn more about how democracy works," leads me to believe that the editorial writer needs a lesson in logic.

Nuclear official's stark farewell: Scrap Yucca: WASHINGTON - The longest serving member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is stepping down, and, on his way out, saying something about Yucca Mountain that few in government dare to suggest out loud: "It may be time to stop digging."

Editorial: Calling for better prevention: The vaccine Gardasil, which prevents the contraction of two strains of the human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted disease, was approved in June by the Food and Drug Administration for use by females 9 to 26 years old.

Letter: Nonsmokers have plenty of places to go: But the nonsmokers would rather bring their children to the buffets in the casinos! And then they complain!

Few turn to north for their prescriptions: CARSON CITY - Hampered by limited publicity, a weak dollar and other obstacles, the program to allow Nevadans to buy inexpensive prescription drugs from Canada has gotten off to a slow start.

Editorial: Billions out the door: For years there have been stories about wads of cash that either disappeared or were simply handed over to Iraqis or American contractors, but the Republican-controlled Congress never launched formal inquiries.

TAKE FIVE: CHARLIE BARON: Charlie Baron recently announced that he was resigning as tournament manager of the Frys.com Open - a position he has held for 22 years - but he made it clear he isn't retiring.

UMC debate shaped by tenure: Tony Cook and Marshall Allen; The Clark County Commission, in a governmental version of a do-over Tuesday, reaffirmed a controversial University Medical Center contract that it had botched the first time.

LOOKING IN ON: ENTERTAINMENT: Jerry Fink, Las Vegas Sun; Call it a Pearl jam. The new Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms should have no problem filling the 2,500 seats with young fans, based on the talent it's lining up for its debut month.

Letter: Variety of fuels needed to cut oil dependence: Mr. Lanzrath is correct when he says that the use of ethanol is not a 100 percent substitute for gasoline, but it can be one of several types of energy sources that will go a long way toward decreasing America's dependence on oil, particularly foreign oil. Along with ethanol, other sources of energy such as solar, wind, hydrogen and nuclear can be used to decrease our dependence on oil. Developing these forms of energy may be a boon to the economy as well.

FRANKIE LAINE: 1913-2007: During a November 1999 performance at the Orleans, which was being recorded for a live album, Frankie Laine completed his first song and told the audience, "I did surprise you, didn't I?"

Jon Ralston on Gov. Jim Gibbons' low status as the Legislature starts: Sincerity never flows through the Legislative Building in great abundance, but the sweetness quotient during the first couple of days is enough to cause serious blood sugar problems. But this year something is different here.

Letter: More bureaucracy is the last thing we need: The "I'm the decider" president has done it again, this time promulgating an infamous order enlarging the presently bloated bureaucracy in Washington with more offices, each headed by an appointed "political commissar," who the president will no doubt believe will be doing a heck of a job in weakening, changing, delaying, preventing or otherwise interfering in various regulations proposed by experts, and pleasing special interests.

Illegal ignition: By Abigail Goldman; Las Vegas was second in the nation for auto thefts in 2005, but Metro Police estimate that at least 25 percent of all cars reported stolen aren't. So here's the honest-to-goodness: They're ignited and abandoned.

Editorial: New speaker shows vision: Her words were encouraging in light of last month's State of the State speech by Gov. Jim Gibbons. She outlined a discernible and hopeful path for the future, unlike Gibbons, whose superficial proposals provided few insights.

Vote on 'Midtown' project postponed: Clark County commissioners postponed a vote Tuesday on the "Midtown" project adjacent to UNLV so they can consider even more improvements in the area.

Hit me - with a snack: By Liz Benston; It's one thing for a cocktail waitress to serve drinks to the guy at the quarter slots. But a cheeseburger and fries?

FLASHPOINT for Feb 06, 2007: Look out, Fourth Estate colleagues: There's a new jour- nalist in town. That town is Carson City and his name is Bob Beers, the senator not the assemblyman, the man who wanted to be governor not the man who won accidentally. Beers has announced that he will be sending dispatches from the capital, his own "reports on the Legislature," as he announced Tuesday. You can be sure that Beers, who drove Gov. Kenny Guinn crazy in 2003, with his own Web site devoted to the budget, will not provide straight reporting. It will be tinged with his special brand of ...

Jeff Haney describes how Kevin Belinkoff's gambling history makes him ideally suited for his new gig at GSN: Satellite formats vary by casino. At the Las Vegas Hilton, satellites carried a buy-in of either $1,025 or $2,550. This year's World Series of Blackjack field was limited to 40 players, with a prize pool of $1 million.