Print edition for January 19, 2007

Troupe hopes this is just the beginning in Vegas: By Kristen Peterson; What: "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee"

UMC's contracts under scrutiny: By Marshall Allen, Tony Cook; The University Medical Center contracts that police suspect were favors for former hospital Chief Executive Lacy Thomas' friends and fraternity brothers from Chicago are not the only ones that have generated controversy.

Letter: Domestic terrorism deserves attention: Leon R. Holman; However, in addition to addressing these wrongs, America needs to look within and also declare war on internal terrorists who have battered people of color for centuries, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Think of the many citizens of color who have been killed or terrorized in the last century: Dr. Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, the four little girls bombed in a church in Alabama, all of the hangings, whippings, draggings and shootings that have occurred within our borders.

John Katsilometes takes a trip through the Beatles Revolution Lounge and notes the music is not always that of the Fab Four: On Tuesday night I stopped at a media reception for the Beatles Revolution Lounge at the Mirage, the new ultralounge inspired by the Beatles and created by Cirque du Soleil in partnership with nightclub design company Ink of Toronto. As advertised, the innovative design evokes the psychedelia of the Beatles in the late '60s, particularly the light-and-shadow patterns behind the main bar and the interactive VIP tables, which are equipped with infrared technology that allows guests to create tabletop artwork and have that work "thrown" onto a set of video columns placed in the middle of the club.

LOOKING IN ON: THE SUBURBS: By Mike Trask; More than 850 people spent $35 each last week to listen to North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon give the annual State of the City address.

Letter: Take a moment to honor fallen troops: Peter McMurran; This 23-year-old had dreams. He wanted to serve. He was just like someone we all know ...

CONVENTION CRASHING: OFF-ROAD IMPACT: By Brendan Buhler; Bill Billington is following his dream, his dream of a supermodified boulder-crawling off-road vehicle shaped like a shark, complete with a tail and bloody teeth.

FOR LOVE OF THE GAME: Sam Morris, Las Vegas Sun; The weight room at Valley High School resounds with a whump and clang as more than 200 pounds of metal fall to a rubber mat, usually preceded by a guttural "Aaaarrrgh!" The source of much of the distinct series of sounds is Valley junior Kevin Hicks, a self-described "King of the Power Clean."

Gladiators coach likes what he sees at preseason minicamp: In less than seven weeks, the Gladiators will begin their fifth season in Las Vegas, and new head coach Danton Barto is approaching the March 4 opener with a mixture of eagerness and dread.

Ron Kantowski on the latest British Invasion to cross the Atlantic: By Ron Kantowski; The British are coming.

FLASHPOINT for Jan 19, 2007: By Jon Ralston; The Economist is reporting that Las Vegas "has become the symbol of the 'new' unionism, which is characterized by a missionary approach to recruitment." The piece points out the Culinary Union's ties with the casinos and invokes a saying that goes "there is only one party that matters in Nevada, and that is the Gaming Party." It also says the unions are being courted by presidential candidates because of the early caucus, but are "keeping their cards well hidden, affecting an almost contemptuous attitude to politicians, particularly Democratic ones." The article quotes Culinary boss D. Taylor deriding such courting by ...

TALE OF THE TAPE: Compiled by John Katsilometes, Jerry Fink and Mark Whittington; Click here for a printable chart.

Jon Ralston on how phony accusations of racism in the political world contribute to cynicism and more racism: By Jon Ralston; Call me a racist redneck, but why is it whenever a member of the "black community" gets into trouble, we tend to hear that feeble cry of prejudice regardless of the relative merits of the case at hand? I don't recall any instance of an African-American politician getting into trouble here over the last 20 years - Yvonne Atkinson Gates, Frank Hawkins, Wendell Williams, Lynette Boggs McDonald - when skin color was not raised. It's a wonderful organizing cry, but only contributes to cynicism and more racism.

DAVID LEE WAITE (1942-2007): During 20 years at the Las Vegas Sun, photographer David Lee Waite earned enduring respect for his courage in getting photos.

Editorial: Public safety a priority: The state's primary responsibility toward public safety is to fund its 10 prisons, the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Parole and Probation Department.

Letter: Force won't solve all of our problems: Donald Nieuwsma; When is this country going to learn that we can't solve all the world's problems by brute force? Let's start taking care of our own, of which there are plenty - take Katrina's aftermath as a good example.

Editorial: Making a coordinated effort: A story by USA Today on Thursday says that in 2004 - the most recent year for which figures were available - 553,888 people died of cancer, which is 3,014 fewer than died of cancer in 2003.

Something to read while you're stripping for airport security: Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Sun; As if there's not already enough advertising competing for attention at McCarran International Airport, the feds are thinking about selling ads where they can't be missed by the flying public - in those plastic bins that carry stuff through the X-ray security machines.

Teens' hopes find a home: Weary from roaming the streets of Las Vegas all day, homeless teenager Tremain Roseman leaned against a graffiti-painted wall of a dilapidated building near Wyoming and Western avenues and shook his head.