Print edition for June 20, 2007

Insurer comes here with a trail of fines from other states: By Marshall Allen; UnitedHealth Group, which is poised to monopolize segments of the Southern Nevada health insurance market, has set industry records in other states - for fines levied against the company for violating insurance regulations.

Cuts could've been avoided: By Timothy Pratt; A federally required committee of local volunteers that sets guidelines on spending federal money for HIV/AIDS patients says Clark County did not heed its call on how to avoid $250,000 in cuts approved Tuesday.

Upfront fee pulls lawyer back in: Jeff German, Las Vegas Sun; Herb Sachs is just one in a line of lawyers who have defended Sandy Murphy on criminal charges stemming from the mysterious 1998 death of her live-in boyfriend, casino boss Ted Binion,

MLS in Vegas sets soccer fans abuzz online: By Rob Miech; The thought of a Major League Soccer team in Las Vegas has fans buzzing on a popular soccer Web site.

Editorial: A nation of diabetics: A Bloomberg News story on Tuesday says the analysis, which was paid for by Novo Nordisk A/S, the world's largest manufacturer of insulin for diabetics, shows that the federal government spent $79.7 billion on diabetes treatment in 2005. That figure represents 12 percent of the nation's health care budget and exceeded the Education Department's entire 2005 budget.

THE ELEVATOR: Who's headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene - and who's getting the shaft.

Jeff Haney explains why the winner of the HORSE tournament may be the best player coming out of the World Series of Poker: The world championship HORSE tournament, which begins Sunday at the Rio, carries a $50,000 price tag just to buy in. The HORSE event - each letter in the acronym stands for a form of poker played in a rotation of games - is expected to draw a field made up of poker's toughest pros and last a grueling five days.

Letter: Baby Boomers not greatest generation: Baby Boomers (myself included) have a real tendency to assume they are somehow the greatest generation to have ever emerged. They are not. Doing drugs, listening to rock music and keeping ourselves alive just as long as possible while espousing peace to everyone is hardly a contribution to the planet. At best, it's just another device to continue to take, take, take.

Letter: Casinos should build another airport: I have purchased four homes, always avoiding close proximity to the airport and neighborhoods under heavy flight paths. In March the FAA imposed changes in the flight path that have forced me to endure constant airplane noise and deterioration of my quality of life.

Editorial: Political prosecutions?: The congressional investigation has shown that Justice Department officials were under pressure from the administration and Republicans to go after Democrats and stay away from Republicans in political corruption cases. Prosecutors, such as fired U.S. attorney for Nevada Daniel Bogden, were pushed on White House mandates, such as increasing prosecutions of obscenity and immigration offenses.

Editorial: Habitat proposal not wise: For example, the northern spotted owl in the old-growth forests of the Northwest eats many insects and rodents. If this owl were to become extinct, its prey would increase, altering the health of the forest.

Movies? What Movies?: Matthew Scott Hunter and Julie Seabaugh; Tuesday boasted not one, not two, but three festival gatherings, the first being an industry happy hour in the Conde Nast Traveler Lounge of the Palms’ Key West Ballroom. Then, following the premiere of director Jeffrey Blitz’s Rocket Science, industry types made their way past the fish and rainforests of the Mirage to the Revolution Lounge.

Letter: Money not correct flight-path solution: It sounds like Mr. MacAlpine proves the point of a previous letter writer, Barbara Langley, about the special class of some Summerlin residents. His plan is that, as long as you can afford to pay a special tax, based on ZIP code or possibly by county ward, then you can buy what lower-class citizens cannot. Also, it is apparently fine with him for the planes to fly over those lower-class citizens and any new citizens who might buy farther west under his proposed flight plan.

Letter: President, Congress inept on immigration: Don't get me wrong. I'm not against immigration. I'm against illegal immigration. This great country was built largely by immigrants who came here to share in the American dream. Most of those millions who came here, however, came in legally. They came through the front door, not the back door. We have always taken pride in the fact that we are a nation of laws. We must continue to embrace and push that concept.

Vets wary, hopeful as VA panel's visit nears: Southern Nevada veterans are hoping a visit this month by a Veterans Affairs advisory committee will prompt improvements and not simply be an exercise in preelection-year posturing.