Print edition for July 29, 2007

Opponents of health care takeover come out swinging in Round 2: By Marshall Allen; A second round of hearings about the proposed takeover of Sierra Health Services by UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest health insurer, hasn't done any favors for the companies.

Jeff Simpson on why bad news involving gambling is bad news for Las Vegas, despite all the defenses of legalized sports betting: By Jeff Simpson; Clearly casino gambling no longer sets Las Vegas and Nevada apart from the rest of the country, with state- and tribal-regulated casinos a reasonable driving distance away from most Americans.

Strong negatives, electability doubts dog front-runner: By J. Patrick Coolican; ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS

Letter: Missouri system for picking judges works: The Halverson situation points out the need to educate ourselves about the proposed changes for selecting judges. As a recent transplant from Missouri, where we have a very good system for choosing and retaining judges, I would highly recommend that Nevada adopt the same judicial structure.

Union tactic harms honest employers: And what was the employer's horrific crime?

Letter: Pat Tillman, family deserved better: As we all know, Tillman was an NFL star who chose to forgo a multimillion - dollar contract to fight for this country. He was a hero in the truest sense of the word, and his family should therefore have been treated with the highest respect and dignity.

Letter: Americans don't want to give up SUVs: The question is not whether Americans are up to reducing gasoline consumption, but whether they want to. They probably don't believe that their gasoline use causes global warming, or they don't believe the globe is warming, or they just don't care.

Editorial: Move quickly on report: The report was researched and written by a team led by former Republican Sen. Robert Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who served in the Clinton administration.

LOOKING IN ON: WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON - When Nevada's House members come home next month and talk about accomplishments, they might skip over the details of what happened on Thursday .

LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL: Many Las Vegans feel there is "something" about Oscar, but the city's mayor might have met his match when the star of "There's Something About Mary" visited him last week to talk global warming.

Letter: Make them pay for using the road: But New Hampshire has a system that would work here in places such as the new bridge going up just down river from Hoover Dam. If you drive Interstate 495 from Massachusetts to Maine, every car pays a toll to get by the tool booth (you can go the other way for free).

Health care reform is top issue in America this election cycle: Today, 418,000 Nevadans don't have health insurance and 103,000 are children. Nationally, it's nearly 45 million, including 9 million children. In the wealthiest nation in the world, that's just unacceptable.

Guest columnist Warren B Hardy II: Union tactic harms honest employers: And what was the employer's horrific crime?

LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION: By Emily Richmond; Students in Odyssey Charter School's elementary program turned in stellar performances on the latest round of standardized tests as demanded by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, joining Agassi College Prep on the vaunted list of "exemplary" campuses.

Letter: Positive attitude not enough to save troops: "Let's stop being negative about the war and go forward being positive. We need to support our commander in chief and, most of all, our soldiers."

Guest columnist Samantha Galing Gaddy: Health care reform is top issue in America this election cycle: Today, 418,000 Nevadans don't have health insurance and 103,000 are children. Nationally, it's nearly 45 million, including 9 million children. In the wealthiest nation in the world, that's just unacceptable.

Editorial: Forced retirement: As reported Wednesday by Emily Richmond, teachers with 30 years of service are expected to retire so they can sign up with the state's public employee retirement plan. Their insurance would drop from $435 a month for an individual HMO plan to $50 a month for a PPO on the state plan.

Cats' naps help cause: Tiffany Brown, Las Vegas Sun; Click here for a related slideshow.

Brian Greenspun signs off for August with this thought: Going green will cost some well-spent green: As we head into the final month of a very hot Las Vegas summer, it dawned on me that there are still people - for whatever reasons - who pooh-pooh the idea that man is a major contributor to global warming through our use or overuse of fossil fuels, which cause greenhouse gas es to be released into the atmosphere, which causes all manner of chemical reactions as we move heavenward. The result is an ever-hotter planet, a continually melting planet and a planet that within a matter of just a few years will see more and more of our ...

Editorial: A lack of care: But when they return home wounded from combat, these non-military personnel often don't have access to the medical care afforded military personnel.

Kids health bill rouses fear of 'Hillary-care': WASHINGTON - Nevada's congressional delegation, which represents a state that ranks among the worst in the nation for providing health insurance for working - class kids, is split over whether to expand government-run health care for children.