Print edition for May 3, 2007

List of companies in line for Nevada's 'green' tax breaks: AP; -MGM Mirage's $7 billion City Center project in Las Vegas. Lawmakers say $80 million in sales taxes on "green" product purchases could be avoided by MGM, and it's unclear whether those building materials were required to be purchased in Nevada.

Bogden a pawn? Maybe, he says: WASHINGTON - Fired U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden has told a House committee that he cannot rule out that his dismissal was part of an effort to politicize the Justice Department, according to documents released Wednesday.

Seeing red, not green: Joe Schoenmann and Liz Benston, Las Vegas Sun; Carson City

TAKE FIVE: AMA SUPERCROSS FINALS: What: Amp'd Mobile Supercross Series season finale

Ron Kantowski offers caution about the waving of Phantom Yellow: But when we caught up to Phantom Yellow signing autographs at the recent Stroker Ace Charity Golf Tournament and Pork Rind Fry, he was kind enough to tell Ricky Bobby to get lost and grant this exclusive interview.

Editorial: Doing the right thing: The state Economic Forum told the Legislature on Tuesday that it has $75 million less than expected in the budget, and that comes on top of $112 million in cuts already ordered by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Q+A: Bette Midler: By Jerry Fink; Sometimes the rumors are true.Bette Midler will replace Celine Dion at the Colosseum, it will be announced at a news conference today at Caesars Palace. Dion's reign ends in December.

Editorial: The chess game continues: The Democrats' move: A war-funding bill is introduced committing U.S. forces to begin withdrawing if the Iraqi government fails to reduce sectarian violence and enact democratic reforms, and setting a goal of ending the war next year.

FLASHPOINT for May 03, 2007: Check out this story the local media missed: "Paul Wolf- owitz has resigned as president of the World Bank and has accepted a lucrative position to run the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas." That's from a story on thespoof.com Web site. And then this Wolfowitz quote: "The pressure due to my breach of ethics and my overall graft and corruption was just too great ... Things are less rigorous here and I'm able to bring my main squeeze Shaha Ali Riza with me. She will work as a cigarette girl on the casino floor." Sure, it's a spoof, as ...

Take your hats and pins off, Metro orders after officer's complaint: Sam Skolnik; In the wake of a religious discrimination complaint filed by one of its detectives, Metro Police has altered its policies on what types of clothes and service pins officers can wear.

Future weighs heavy in Culinary talks: Michael J. Mishak; Negotiations between the Culinary Union and MGM Mirage are stalled over just one issue: whether about 800 new jobs at two CityCenter hotels will be covered, sources close to the talks say.

Letter: It's not Reid who's playing politics with the war: Sen. Reid does have sound reasons for his claims, including the voices of other experts and an independent commission's report that had advocated alternative approaches to how we're dealing with Iraq. I find it odd that the Bush administration has never addressed that report or even mentioned ways of implementing at least some of its recommendations.

Letter: Don't forget who is commander in chief: Political tactics (saying the war is lost) have no place in the public arena because such reckless tactics can endanger our nation. Our enemies in Iraq are probably still cheering that one of our leaders has given up. Yet Democrats have supported the statement. Lay groups have supported Reid as a good military analyst.

Letter: Bush certainly isn't right about Iraq war: I think most people by now have concluded that Osama bin Laden started the war on terror and President Bush started the war on Iraq.

Editorial: Turning a blind eye: The Washington Post reported on Monday that Education Department officials wrote the proposal toward the end of the Clinton administration and circulated it after Bush took office, but the Bush administration killed the proposal.

Barrick epitomized elegance, imprinted herself on Las Vegas: A memorial service for Marjorie Barrick, a founding trustee of the UNLV Foundation, funder of the Barrick Lecture Series and other programs, will be at 11:30 a.m. May 22 at UNLVs Artemus Ham Hall. The service is open to the public.

John Katsilometes reports the ticket prices for Bette Midler's shows (operators are standing by starting today): Tickets for Bette Midler, the first of two new headliners at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace (Cher is all but certain to be the next announced performer), will go for $95, $140, $175 and $250. Dion recently raised her ticket prices for the final weeks of "A New Day ..." to the $100 to $350 range, but before that she was charging $75.50 to $225.