Print edition for January 27, 2007

THE SAGA OF CHANCELLOR JIM ROGERS AND THE REGENTS: By Christina Littlefield; The scene: The 13 regents who oversee the state's university system are seated at a long table inside a college auditorium in Henderson. Two weeks earlier, in a fit of pique, Chancellor Jim Rogers wrote a two-word memo to regents: "I quit." He then mended relations and wrote another curt memo: "I hereby withdraw my resignation."

Nonexistent firm given UMC job: Marshall Allen and Tony Cook; Ousted University Medical Center boss Lacy Thomas awarded a $1.8 million physician contract to a company that had no local doctors and - seven weeks after the agreement - still does not exist.

Letter: Bush, Cheney have brought shame to U.S.: Adrienne Cluque; Boy, talk about hitting the nail on the head. I totally agree with everything she wrote - right on! And President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached. What they are doing is outrageous, ludicrous, ridiculous, unbelievable and wrong. They are both dimwits and have dragged our country and our military down the toilet.

Q+A: Toby Hall: He was Lou Piniella's starting catcher for three years at Tampa Bay, but now former UNLV backstop Toby Hall will have to settle for catching in the same city as his former skipper.

Added banking a plus for drivers: With finishes of second and third in the past two NASCAR Nextel Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch was not eager to see his hometown track undergo the drastic overhaul last summer that added significant banking to the track.

Editorial: Flight rule needs enforcement: Federal investigators brought attention to this "sterile cockpit" rule on Jan. 17, when they released transcripts of the conversation between the pilots of a Comair commuter jet that crashed Aug. 17 in Lexington, Ky. The plane, having taken off on the wrong runway - one that was too short for the plane's size - crashed almost immediately after liftoff, killing 49 of the 50 people aboard.

FLASHPOINT for Jan 27, 2007: By Jon Ralston; Enough with the dress jokes already! Many of you out there have gotten quite a kick out of the governor's office touting the $6,000 dress that first lady Dawn Gibbons supposedly bought with her own money. I can't tell you how many people have called or e-mailed to ridicule the purchase and the news release with details of the outfit - and the derision has all been earned. But the time for this kind of lampooning is over, folks. If necessary, once they learn of it, Jay or Conan or Jon will take care of it from here. And you ...

Church donations awaiting requests for grants: By Timothy Pratt; A program to help the poor with money from the pockets of Las Vegas Valley churchgoers has seen a spike in donations, but the local diocese can't seem to give the money away.

Editorial: Falling down on the job: According to the report released Monday, the FBI learned in July that former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., had sent disturbing and suggestive e-mails to a former page. But the FBI declined to investigate the incident further, thus failing to take action "to ensure that any minors in the congressional page program were not at risk of predatory behavior by Foley," Glenn Fine, the Justice Department inspector general, wrote in the report.

LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION: By Emily Richmond; Gov. Jim Gibbons wants to import Edmonton, Alberta's "empowerment schools" model, which gives individual campuses nearly complete control over budgets, staffing, instructional methods and other operations.

Letter: Citizens deserve plan that Congress has: Bush's latest creation, to tax employer-funded health benefits, is a typical example.

CONVENTION CRASHING: WORLD OF CONCRETE EXPOSITION: It's painted deep, lustrous red, with orange flames curving back on it as if swept by the wind. The billet aluminium parts of the body gleam icily. The tonneau cover is lifted to reveal a decadent bed of red leather. And its wheel revolves around a custom rim.

Letter: City Council should know, recognize law: Can we please get this one straight? There is a law on the city books that states it is unlawful to pay cabbies to bring customers to topless clubs - Ordinance 6.06.195 to be exact.

Editorial: A new look at poverty: Not surprisingly, the report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office, the research arm of Congress, says that people who live in poverty are hindered by increased risks of enduring such hardships as poor health and exposure to criminal activity.

Letter: It seems like election season never ends: Lee S. Gliddon Jr.; When, may I ask, will those we elected to office stop running for reelection and start doing the nation's business? Their posturing and positioning themselves for reelection or election to a higher office seems to be the only "job" they know how to do.