Print edition for January 17, 2007

Editorial: Energy plan long overdue: During the same period the dangers of nuclear power became obvious - there is no safe way to dispose of its deadly waste and the plants pose radiation risks to communities.

Letter: The sky did fall after we left Vietnam: Sestini's argument is from the perspective of one who comfortably lives here in the United States. What if he lived in Iraq?

UMC: What the police probe found so far: Marshall Allen, Abigail Goldman and Mary Manning; Problems at University Medical Center escalated exponentially Tuesday, from concerns of gross mismanagement to a criminal probe of top administrators, in a tumultuous day that included the firing of Chief Executive Lacy Thomas.

Editorial: Wrong place to cut the budget: According to a story by the Washington Post on Tuesday, a two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences shows that NASA's earth sciences budget, which increased during the 1990s, has been slashed 30 percent since 2000. It will continue to face cuts as the agency prepares for a manned mission to Mars, for which President Bush has called.

FLASHPOINT for Jan 17, 2007: Anyone notice how quickly Gov. Jim Gibbons reappointed the universally respected Pete Bernhard as head of the Gaming Commission so soon after the Keith Munro/Randy Sayre/Gaming Control Board debacle? That sure sent a message to the industry that no one has to worry about any more political lunacy with gaming regulation - especially since Gibbons said he went through all those machinations to keep politics out of it! So what a smart thing to do to show everyone that no damage was done with the Munro fiasco, that the ship of state is steady as she goes. If you think ...

Letter: The real reason we're in Iraq: Saddam had to go because he was a threat to give all the oil development contracts to French, Russian and Chinese companies. Now the government of Iraq is about to consider a new "hydrocarbon law," as was suggested by the Iraq Study Group. The British publication, The Independent, says this law will give enormous profits and control to oil companies friendly to the United States, providing nearly double the profits Saddam had offered French companies.

A guy you want to play for: By Rob Miech; Last week, Glen Gulutzan was forced to admonish the same bunch of hockey players whose stellar play this season had earned him a trip to his second consecutive all-star game tonight in Idaho.A 3-1 defeat to Long Beach last Tuesday at the Orleans Arena was the Wranglers' third loss in four games. Worse, a coach who takes pride in how his team plays before its own fans lamented a second consecutive shoddy effort on home ice.Gulutzan, who's also the Las Vegas general manager, vowed changes.

Jon Ralston lays out the thickening plot of the Board of Regents, the County Commission and the drama at UMC: Jim Rogers had a brief run before he thought better of it and gave the performance of a lifetime by pretending to like Regent James Dean Leavitt for a time - about the time it took him to pen an un-Rogers-like suck-up missive about Leavitt. So now he's the chancellor again after a vignette of the Regent Follies that will make the Python crew about to bivouac at Wynn Las Vegas quite jealous.

Letter: Two Bushes cut from the same cloth: George H.W. Bush, a lame duck, dumped our troops into Somalia, leaving the mess for President Bill Clinton to fix. Then the GOP blamed Clinton for "Blackhawk Down."

Ron Kantowski shares some tips on getting through the cold snap, such as staying in and watching football playoffs: Seeing your breath has something to do with the temperature and the amount of water vapor in the air. It's perfectly normal during cold weather. Unless it happens in your kitchen. Then you probably need to call somebody.