Print edition for July 28, 2007

Letter: Point of boxing, dogfights is the violence: Legality and skill are not relevant to the pleasure received by audiences that enjoy watching the pain endured by man and beast in boxing and dogfighting. The pretense of watching boxing because of the physical skill required to knock a person unconscious demands the possibility of a person being knocked unconscious; and in a dog fight it requires the probability of the dog being killed. This is called pain and violence, and without pain and violence, boxing and dog fighting would not exist.

Editorial: Snakes in a tower?: Members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union that represents air traffic controllers, told members of a House aviation subcommittee on Tuesday that such working conditions are not only unpleasant, they are unsafe. Such pests as snakes and bats are an issue in some locations . Broken water pipes and even carbon monoxide exposure have been reported in other facilities.

Editorial: Reject FBI's request: FBI officials would have to obtain a subpoena or present a demand called a national security letter to gain access to the information. The agency says it would not be allowed to "mine" the data or otherwise have direct access to the information.

There's a new king of checkers, crowned in downtown Vegas: 1. Lubabalo Kondlo, South Africa, $2,400 2. John Webster, Stone Mountain, N.C., $1,830 3. Shane McCosker, Northern Ireland, $1,350 4. Gene Lindsay, Morristown, Tenn., $915 5. Richard Beckwith, Willoughby, Ohio, $545

Editorial: Teaching to the test: Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, however, "teaching to the test" has been gaining favor in schools throughout the country.

Letter: Bush, Cheney are doing jobs right: First, the approval ratings of the Democratic Party are sinking so low because of no action on Iraq, health care, immigration, education or Yucca Mountain.

Letter: Unions interfere with our lives, businesses: I was disgusted to see the criminal tactics used against attorney Rob Bol ick by the unions. I happen to know Rob Bolick and he is a gentleman, certainly undeserving of this har assment.

Fed-up Culinary talks tough, talks strike: Michael J. Mishak; The most dreaded word in labor relations is rearing its ugly head: strike.

New bank aimed at giving back: By Phoebe Sweet; A new bank is being formed by a group of gaming industry executives and other business leaders, including Brian Greenspun, chairman of The Greenspun Corporation.

Democrats to unions: Caucuses help you, so help pay for them: Michael J. Mishak and J. Patrick Coolican; Organized labor has been largely reluctant to cover the cost of Nevada's Democratic presidential caucus es , even as unions receive the lion's share of attention from Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada.