Print edition for February 20, 2007

Nila Speer (1919-2007): During her 87 years in Las Vegas, Nila Speer saw it grow from a tiny Union Pacific Railroad watering hole into an international city.

Just how clueless do we have to be here?: Michael J. Mishak; John Edwards was dumbfounded.

Memorial decals take personal touch: Repeat customers are cause for concern in the memorial decal business.

Letter: Cruel restructuring of political system: Needless to say, it was quite a pleasant surprise to see this article in the Sun. Your people did a great job and I applaud their effort.

That's entertainment: Las Vegas tourism officials played only a small role in deciding which entertainers would showcase the city to more than 200 countries that televised Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.

Demographics and facts on Nevada homelessness: AP; POPULATION - About 16,000 people are homeless in Nevada. That's 68 out of every 100,000 residents, a higher proportion than any other state.

Editorial: Privacy at stake: The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said in a report released earlier this month that local, state and federal organizations and agencies that would be involved in an electronic database lack an overall understanding of each other's privacy requirements. And although the Bush administration has made general policy statements, it still has not provided a clear strategy for how these organizations are to work together to ensure that patients' personal medical information is protected.

Letter: Helmet law erodes freedom of choice: The poets scream, "God, save us from our protectors," and sad to say, it also comes from the minds of most nonriders. I say yes to Sen. Bob Beers' move to stop Nevada's mandatory motorcycle helmet law. Why? Helmet laws, not helmets, will get you killed.

John Katsilometes on who 'La Cage' star Marino might turn to when he needs a cup of sugar: "It's the Queen of Las Vegas on one corner and the King of Pop on the other," Marino, the Joan Rivers impersonator and longtime star of "An Evening at La Cage" at the Riviera, said Monday morning. "I don't know if the property values will go up or down."

Letter: Unions have lost sight of real goal: Currently, 12 percent of American workers are union members, down from 20.1 percent in 1983 and 35 percent in the mid-1950s.

A MOMENT, HONORED: Morris captured this shot of battered heavyweight Mark Coleman and his daughters after the Pride Fighting Championships in October. As the crowd filed out of the Thomas & Mack Center, the two girls were lifted into the ring, and the bloodied Coleman tried to calm them. He embraced them while caressing their hair and repeating over and over that, "Daddy's OK, Daddy's OK."

Letter: Civil servants' over-the-top pay is troubling: Anyone residing in Nevada for several years and who has not been in a coma during all that time should not be shocked by the over-the-top pay given to many civil servants here. You would think that the Las Vegas Sun's Feb. 18 front page article, highlighting low-level and midrange government employees who were paid nearly $200,000 and more last year, was just cherry picking from the masses. If you thought this you would be wrong.

NBA players reach higher: While other NBA players may have been sleeping off the "Babes and Ballers" party from the night before, Miami Heat forward Wayne Simien was front and center Sunday morning, offering the opening prayer for the 27th annual NBA All-Star chapel service.

Editorial: Butting in on tobacco: The legislation introduced last week would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight of tobacco manufacturing, marketing and sales. Such power would allow the FDA to require stronger warning labels, regulate the amounts of nicotine and other ingredients in cigarettes and prevent manufacturers from using such terms as "light" or "low-tar" unless the claims have been proven scientifically.