Print edition for June 22, 2007

Letter: Backing Hamas into corner was bad move: Don't you wish now you had respected the outcome of elections and let Hamas try their hand at governing? Don't you regret starving Gaza of revenue due them? Now they're in control anyway at the point of a gun with a long to-do list. You backed this badger into a corner and now there will be hell to pay. There is nothing more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose.

Letter: Solve immigration by annexation of Mexico: What's all the fuss about? History gives us the logical answer to the immigration problem. Go back to the Mexican-American War that ended in 1848. The United States purchased (read stole) one-half of Mexico, an area larger than France and Germany combined.

Letter: Repetition of phrase doesn't make it true: Do people not understand that if the illegal immigrants don't have jobs, there will be no reason to stay and they will go home on their own?

Letter: Taxing developers would help ease traffic: If it's true that by 2009, CityCenter - MGM Mirage's complex next to the Bellagio - and others will be completed, then in just two years the congestion on Las Vegas Boulevard, Interstate 15 and the surrounding areas will become unbearable. Gridlock will be a daily event. So the answer is, hey developer, casino owner and hotel corporation, you build/develop, you build/pay for the infrastructure that provides the ingress and egress for your profit-making enterprise. Roads, traffic signals, jitneys, trolleys, buses - you provide the means to relieve the traffic and we (taxpayers) let you build your dream.

Regents, foundations seek balance of power: That was the message from UNLV and UNR foundation trustees to regents Wednesday night at a workshop to better define how they should deal with one another.

TAKE FIVE: RICKY HATTON VS. JOSE LUIS CASTILLO: By Jeff Haney; Two-time lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo acknowledges the aftermath of his series of memorable encounters against Diego Corrales took a lot out of him financially. After he failed to make weight for a second consecutive time, for what would have been a third fight against Corrales last year, Castillo was thumped by the Nevada State Athletic Commission with a suspension and a $250,000 fine that might have cost him nearly twice that amount including legal fees, according to Castillo's promoter, Bob Arum, who called the fine "Draconian."

Ron Kantowski takes it in as boxing promoter Bob Arum rants about a fine against fighter Jose Luis Castillo, with political analysis thrown in: By Ron Kantowski; Arum, the perpetually engaging boxing promoter, has been an outspoken critic of mixed martial arts, calling the Ultimate Fighting Championship "boring and absurd."

Bottoms up for beloved bar?: That's because it gets poured too often as the barmaids dance to "Sweet Home Alabama" and men drinking Bud at 4 p.m. challenge each other to games of pool.

LOOKING IN ON: ENTERTAINMENT: "Just Another Man" is not about just another man.

Vegas guitar festival getting rock star treatment: By Kristen Peterson; They promised they'd bring it to Las Vegas and well, they did.

CCSN's, official's methods conflict: By Christina Littlefield; Gilbert was, after all, a creature of the private sector, unaccustomed to the rules and formalities of a bureaucracy, Frank Lassus said.

Lady's luck is changing: By Liz Benston, Mark Hansel; CIM Group, a Los Angeles-based developer, is prepared to purchase the North Third Street property that has been vacant for more than a year, city and company officials said Thursday.

Metro tightens net in overtime probe: By Jeff German, Mike Trask; Narcotics Lt. Sean Donnelly has been on administrative leave since April 21 pending an Internal Affairs investigation into accusations that he manipulated overtime payments, Sheriff Doug Gillespie said Thursday.

Editorial: Bad deal for consumers: Sierra Health covers about 620,000 Nevadans, making it the state's largest health insurer. As a result, the proposed merger is under review by the U.S. Justice Department and the Nevada Insurance Commission, both of which must determine whether the deal would hurt competition.

Editorial: Shooting the messenger: Taguba was tasked with investigating abuse at the prison and found a situation out of control, highlighted by failed leadership and, his March 2004 report noted, "systemic and illegal abuse."

Editorial: Oil is not the future: Without such a reduction, tensions between us and the major oil-producing countries, especially those in the Mideast, are almost certain to greatly escalate.