Print edition for January 12, 2007

Ron Kantowski finds the University of Pacific's failure to promote Karen Weitz benefits Centennial High and Vegas: Then there are successful people who occasionally find themselves in the wrong place at the right time.

Letter: Troop surge will only make things worse: Bush appears to have learned nothing from the past three years. Although the Iraq Study Group report may not have been perfect, at least it made clear that a total overhaul of U.S. policy on Iraq is urgently required.

Letter: Bush administration has already sunk: Robert Gladd; The Good Ship Titanic that is the Bush maladministration has hit the iceberg that is Iraq.

John Kastilometes on the very winning ways of 'Phantom' Anthony Crivello, who picked them best in a football contest: By John Katsilometes; In June, when it came time to determine which actor would portray the lead character on opening night for "Phantom - Las Vegas Spectacular," producers simply flipped a coin. The winner was Anthony Crivello, who splits time with Brent Barrett as the Phantom in the $40 million production at the Venetian.

FLASHPOINT for Jan 12, 2007: By Jon Ralston; By now you probably have heard that Tessa Hafen, the ex-Harry Reid spokeswoman who ran a robust campaign against Rep. Jon Porter, has gone to work as manager of government relations for the University of Nevada Health Sciences System.

Editorial: Advice from the north: Here is one way how "one Nevada" is playing out - of the 16 state department heads in the governor's Cabinet, only one is from Southern Nevada.

Editorial: Seeing what's next: A national survey of 18- to 25-year-olds suggests that they are more interested in attaining fortune and fame than in becoming community leaders.

Making art more public: By Kristen Peterson; We're standing on gravel alongside the Flamingo Wash staring at a grocery cart abandoned in the stream.

Letter: Those with road rage are to be pitied: Ian F. DeVaney; I think I'm a good driver, but ...

Jon Ralston on the resolution of the Gibbons appointment fiasco, the ironic twist to the scapegoating of an appraiser and the mayor's continuing dream of a pro sports team: By Jon Ralston; Catching up on Week Two of 2007, less eventful for the Good Ship Gibbons, less happy for the county folks and even happier on a mayoral Groundhog Day: Isn't it wonderful that an even more qualified man with gaming experience - Randy Sayre - can now have the job?

LOOKING IN ON: SOCCER: By Rob Miech; Herculez Gomez is looking forward to showing off his hometown's strong soccer community when Major League Soccer visits Las Vegas on March 31.

Letter: Bush should put his job where his mouth is: Alice Loeffler; Well, our fearless leader is at it again. President Bush keeps coming up with schemes that he assures us will lead to victory in Iraq.

On the road to disaster readiness: If a dirty bomb hits Las Vegas, get a book.

Snowy Nevada weather to be followed by hard freeze: AP; Chains or snow tires still were required across much of northern Nevada and the Sierra, but it was the cold that was beginning to be the weather news.

Low-rent project has neighbors crying foul: Low-rent project has neighbors crying foul

Editorial: Get control of mussels: Lake Mead, already under enormous stress from drought and increasing demand for its water, now must contend with a new threat.

Proposals leave Child Haven officials uneasy: With a sparkling new tile floor, shiny new cabinets and seven new bedrooms, Clark County's freshly renovated cottage at Child Haven will help ease the crowding there and allow more siblings to be housed together at the emergency shelter for abused, neglected and abandoned children.

As residents bundle up for cold, some transplants take it in stride: Heat radiating from a huge crackling fireplace at Davis Nursery soothes the wind-stung faces of customers looking for ways to save their plants from the cold snap.

No right to bear arms: Sam Skolnik; In the past couple of years, Clark County bailiffs have taken a variety of weapons from those coming into the county's two main courthouses.