Print edition for July 31, 2007

Letter: Saudi Arabia has kept its enemy close: That barbaric country also uses floggings, amputations and beheadings as punishments and allows capital punishment of minors.

Editorial: Where there's smoke: A story by the Las Vegas Sun on Sunday says that many owners of establishments have found creative ways to comply with the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, a measure overwhelmingly approved by voters that prohibits smoking inside businesses that serve food, including bars, grocery stores and convenience stores.

Anti-terrorism fusion center comes together: By Jeff German; With 18 months of planning and a brief period of controversy behind it, the Southern Nevada Counter- Terrorism Center has quietly opened its doors, ready to take the lead in the local fight against terrorism.

LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS: By Mike Trask; It's nearly two years until North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon ends his third and, because of term limits, final term.

Letter: Vick's actions are unconscionable: I don't care that he is kind to his mother, remembers where he came from through charitable gifts, has proven himself athletically, or any other assets he may possess. I don't care that this role model has just "tarnished" a treasured sport and those tied to him and his endorsements. I don't care what's acceptable in his lifestyle.

RV dwellers may face life on road: By Mike Trask; Ken Harper has been living in his recreational vehicle, parked on a hill on the north side of Boulder City, for nearly a decade.

Letter: What good are laws unenforced?: The Associated Press reported that the judge "wrote that Hazelton's law was at odds with current federal immigration policy, which he said avoids 'excessive enforcement' against illegal immigrants so as not to jeopardize foreign relations. Hazelton, he said, failed to consider 'the implications of the ordinances on foreign policy.' "

Artificial turf: Real deal for golf?: By Brian Hilderbrand; As Southern Nevada plunges deeper into drought, Buzz Kyllonen believes he has hit upon an idea that could help the area save its most precious resource: water.

Grandson of Picasso spreads the art in Las Vegas: By Kristen Peterson; Grandson of Picasso spreads the art in Las Vegas

LOOKING IN ON: ENTERTAINMENT: Elvis Presley is hard to beat, even 30 years after his death.

FLASHPOINT for Jul 31, 2007: I spent my summer vacation going to some pretty exotic places. But our governor is more prosaic, beginning his "summer tour" this week in places in rural Nevada, places with a bucolic and down-home feel, places where they have something that Southern Nevada doesn't have for the governor: a whole lotta love. He can stroke the base, blow kisses to the teeming crowds (of 40 or 50) and soak up the adoration. It ain't Italy, but it's what he needs. I actually understand why Gibbons might be doing his closer-to-home summer vacation. The last time he took one of those ...

Letter: Too little, too late for Bush administration: The "action on North Korea and Iran," for which he praises President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, is called diplomacy.

Editorial: A disabled agency: USA Today reported Monday that the understaffed Social Security Administration is adding insult to injury because it takes months, if not years, to give some people final answer s on their claim s . In the meantime, people are forced into even more dire circumstances, such as bankruptcy and homelessness.

Editorial: Root out all corruption: The public corruption investigation involving county elected officials taking bribes from a strip club operator has been capturing local headlines for four years.