Print edition for February 22, 2007

Letter: Let nature take care of helmetless bikers: Repeal the state's mandatory motorcycle helmet law, and let nature take its course.

Claims of 'judicial tampering' emerge after judge's recusal: Jeff German and J. Patrick Coolican; U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks removed himself without explanation Wednesday from highly charged civil litigation that led the FBI to investigate ties between Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and wealthy campaign contributor Warren Trepp.

Clinton's presence brings it home: J. Patrick Coolican and Michael J. Mishak; CARSON CITY - Sen. Hillary Clinton was standing in the corner of a legislative office, behind velvet ropes arrayed to prevent the crowd from crushing in on her, and she had a dazed but happy smile as one admirer after another stood next to her and Flash! OK, who's next? Flash! Who's next?

Marriage of convenience: When Rory Reid told his father, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, that he would be chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in Nevada, the elder Reid felt a minor political headache coming on.

Letter: Salaried supervisors are not entitled to OT: No one with the proper credentials, for their specific position, should be working 16-hour days all year long. Since that is the case, it seems many performance appraisals are due to be completed in the near future and demotions made.

Editorial: Overtime review: Responding to a story Sunday in the Las Vegas Sun by Mike Trask and Jeff German revealing this troubling trend, Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine said Tuesday she would review the county's overtime policies. Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tempore Gary Reese and City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian want a review of overtime pay in the city.

CONVENTION CRASHING: WESTERN VETERINARY CONFERENCE: At the Western Veterinary Conference, there are 15,000 people, four dogs, one cat and, among other veterinary products, a spray to eliminate ferret B.O., dog wheelchairs, a no-chew head cone for mice and a $330 toilet for cats, which has the most persistent public relations people on Earth.

John Katsilometes on how donations are needed to help pay for the funeral of the great Mary Kaye, who died Saturday at age 83: Friends, fans or any generous souls are being asked to help pay for the $11,000 funeral tab for Mary Kaye, who died Saturday at age 83 of heart and respiratory failure at MountainView Hospital.

Letter: Terrorists wouldn't stand a chance here: What is Homeland Security for if it can't stop the enemy from coming to our country? I really don't understand what Bush means when he says they'll follow our troops here.

FLASHPOINT for Feb 22, 2007: Here's what one legislator said about Senate Majority Lead- er Harry Reid's speech to lawmakers Tuesday: "It was the best speech I have seen from a member of our Washington reps in my five legislative sessions. He told some excellent historical anecdotes, mentioned some success stories he's been involved with, several times working in tandem with members of the state Legislature, and ended with a simple, yet inspirational message for us public servants. He said it rather than read it to us, and was done in about 20 minutes." Which Democrat gushed so much about Reid? Not a one. It ...

Keeping an ear out for a leader: By Kristen Peterson; On Saturday night the final conductor took his bow, the theater cleared out, and the musicians went home.

Ron Kantowski looks at ins and outs of Las Vegas landing sports franchise: "Looks like the University of Illinois," young Joel tells his, um, sophisticated gal pal Rebecca De Mornay, sensing that ol' Bill Rutherford is not as impressed by De Mornay's sophisticated gal pals as Joel's pent-up high school chums.

Editorial: Spotlight on Nevada: Just hours before the forum, there were heated exchanges between the campaigns of Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, the front-runner in the race. The flashpoint was because of remarks made by Hollywood mogul David Geffen, who recently held a fundraiser for Obama, that were harshly critical of former President Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton declined to directly answer moderator George Stephanopoulos' question as to whether Obama should condemn Geffen's comments. But Clinton deftly noted that she didn't want "Democrats or supporters of candidates to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction." Touche.

Letter: Police, firefighters earn every penny of pay: Overtime is just that, time put into a job after the normal contracted or implied working hours. It is a normal part of many industries, yet your article implies it is a form of stealing by people who by virtue of their "blue collar" status should not (God forbid) break that "magic" $100,000 mark.

LOOKING IN ON: MOTORSPORTS: Kenny Bernstein knew he might struggle at first in his return to the cockpit of his new Monster Energy Funny Car, but that didn't make it any easier when he failed to qualify at the season opener two weeks ago in Pomona.

Editorial: No-fly falls behind: According to a story by The New York Times on Wednesday, Kip Hawley, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, says the program, called Secure Flight, is not expected to be completed until 2010 - almost a decade after the 2001 terrorist attacks made improving the passenger check system a top priority.

Letter: Negative left-wing vibes are losing war: After all, if one negative thought attracts another and another to create a chain of negative thoughts, and then a string of negative actions, then they have been the source of the negative thoughts that have created the negative results in Iraq. They are the ones who have been using words like "quagmire," "failure," "wrong war" and "another Vietnam."