Print edition for June 23, 2007

Ron Kantowski lists nine reasons Craig Thompson, the Mountain West Conference commissioner, has been doing his job right: Judging from their tone, I would conclude many of the irate not-so-few I have heard from are either distant relatives of MWC presidents or satellite TV subscribers frustrated by not being able to watch Brigham Young play football on Saturday afternoon.

Letter: Mr. President, put up that wall: Well, legislation was passed last year and money was put aside for building a fence along the open borders of the southern United States. Only 13 miles of fence has been constructed so far.

Slots testers spread out in new lab: By Liz Benston; Travis Foley is a happy man these days.

Reid's Dems struggle to stay ahead of the spin: WASHINGTON - Six months into the new Congress, an intense battle is under way in the Senate to shape both the perception and reality of Democrats' ability to deliver on campaign promises, a struggle that could determine which party wins in the 2008 elections.

Editorial: Let's listen this time: It was Commoner who, in the early 1950s, brought widespread publicity to the dangers presented by fallout from nuclear bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site. With his many subsequent books and public appearances, the World War II veteran and Harvard-educated science professor helped raise awareness about the link between human health and the environment.

His heart was in the game: By Rob Miech; Over a plate of lettuce wraps, former UNLV soccer player Simon Keith realized, come November, he will have lived with his second heart longer than his first.

Today's union talks tangled in the deep roots of 'card check': By Michael Mishak; A fundamental tool of organized labor, with roots early in the last century, is emerging as a flash point of the modern labor movement.

Chancellor and regents sound off, then make nice: RENO - Sounding like a whistling tea kettle, regents aired frustrations Friday with their maverick university system chancellor. And, typical of their relationship, by day's end they had turned down the flame, cooled off and cordially parted company - in different directions.

Editorial: Enough partisanship: Bloomberg announced that he had switched his voter registration after speaking at a conference urging an end to the fierce partisanship that has bogged down Congress.

Letter: Parks ordinance just not very realistic: It is ridiculous that Las Vegas officials have considered prohibiting people older than 12 from children's play areas in public parks , unless they are accompanying a child. Are they going to start carding people if they come within 100 feet of play areas or water features? And then what? Arrest them because they just wanted to walk their dog or have a picnic? It makes no sense, and no wonder the proposal was shelved.

Letter: Global warming is natural, inevitable: It is true that since temperature recording started 150 to 250 years ago, the temperature has been generally rising. This is because the Earth has been coming out of the little ice age that occurred around 1600-1700, so naturally the global temperature is rising.

Editorial: Helping veterans: Although the visit to Las Vegas, complete with a town hall meeting Wednesday night, is appreciated, it is time the VA do more than talk.