Print edition for February 10, 2007

TAKE FIVE: Billy White Jr.: By Rob Miech; Billy White Jr. doesn't want to be known as a one-man show. He is regarded as one of the best prep small forwards in the nation, but he insists it isn't about him. He abhors seeing his name in headlines.

FLASHPOINT for Feb 10, 2007: By Jon Ralston; By now, most people know of first lady Dawn Gibbons' crusade against methamphetamine use in Nevada. She deserves kudos for using her profile to highlight the issue. But after Gibbons testified briefly and platitudinously before a legislative committee this week, a woman who has made this an issue even when no one was paying attention really made an impact. Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto was compelling as she made a presentation complete with facts and visuals. She knows this issue inside and out and was prescient in identifying it as a critical issue for the state to address. Cortez Masto ...

Young, Rogich in regular contact during Gibbons probe: By Jeff German; Former Sheriff Bill Young was in regular telephone contact with the top campaign adviser to Gov. Jim Gibbons during the investigation into allegations that Gibbons tried to force himself on a woman last Oct. 13, cell phone records show.

Editorial: Bush budget skips geothermal: We agree with this goal, which President Bush's proposed 2008 budget supports to the tune of about $500 million.

Ron Kantowski on how 51s are still trying to tell everyone what a great deal they are after 25 years: It's hard to believe we've been buying peanuts and Cracker Jack and watching guys try to hit the cutoff man for a quarter-century, an occasion that surely deserves comment or perspective.

Mazzeo: 'If he had apologized ... it would have been done': By Jeff German; Chrissy Mazzeo says a simple apology from Jim Gibbons after their late-night Oct. 13 encounter outside the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant could have quickly and quietly ended one of the biggest political brouhahas of all time in Las Vegas.

Letter: Teaching kids not to smoke is parents' job: It is absolutely ludicrous to compare our combat soldiers and Marines to baseball, football and basketball players as role models. Doesn't Mr. Wyntjes understand the difference between fielding a hard grounder to second base and being caught in an insurgent crossfire in Baghdad?

Letter: Republicans on a mission of distraction: Since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lives in San Francisco, the House sergeant-at-arms suggested that flying nonstop would be the safest way home. Many Republicans in Congress are trying to make this into some kind of political brouhaha, as if she was trying to take advantage of this situation.

Letter: Give our soldiers a (smoke) break: It is deplorable to read his outlandish comments about something he does not know anything about! While I do not smoke, I do understand why some would be smoking. To them it is a stress reliever, perhaps.

UMC changes tune on top doctor's contract: By Marshall Allen; In an abrupt about-face, University Medical Center will allow other cancer specialists to compete for a contract held by Dr. John Ellerton that has become the latest controversy at the troubled hospital.

Many of NBA's youngest, richest stars have one man to thank: Born: April 22, 1949, in Silver City, Miss.

Editorial: Junking the final frontier: More than 10,000 pieces of debris left behind by past space missions and test explosions are locked in orbit around the Earth. They have created a belt of trash that space experts predict will one day start a chain reaction of celestial collisions that would create more junk and expand for centuries.

Editorial: A scientific snow job: The National Park Service issued the proposal in December, as The New York Times reminded us in a recent story, to gather comments from agencies and businesses in Yellowstone's vicinity before releasing a final draft to the public for further comment.