Print edition for May 10, 2007

Roads head toward dead end: By J. Patrick Coolican; ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS

State getting not-so-tough on crime: Joe Schoenmann and Cy Ryan; CARSON CITY - Confined by Nevada's gloomy budget projections, the Legislature is poised to revise the state prison and legal systems to undo elements of the tough-on-crime legislation of 10 years ago.

Highlights of March 2007 revenue report on Nevada casinos: AP; -STATEWIDE: $1.05 billion win, down 0.8 percent.

A golden moment to overhaul mining law: WASHINGTON - One of the long-running laws of the West may be headed for the most substantial overhaul in its history.

Slot maker sees jackpot in China: By Liz Benston; Las Vegas casino companies are salivating over profits their new resorts are raking in on the Chinese pen insula of Macau, which rivals the Strip in money flow.

Letter: Anti-smoking nannies are out of control: Throughout the '60s, nonsmokers had nowhere to go without being exposed to the smelly, disgusting and deadly smoking habit. Of course, they deserved to have the choice of going places without being exposed. Groups were formed to pressure businesses, pass laws and obtain relief. These groups were successful, and accommodations were made to provide for nonsmokers' sensibilities.

Editorial: Helping the victims: Metro Police and federal investigators spent two years on the case before arresting seven men and women, alleged leaders of the ring, and 25 women allegedly forced into prostitution - victims of human trafficking.

FLASHPOINT for May 10, 2007: Even if you are against the Iraq war, do you think troop lev- els should be determined by ... the Nevada Legislature? That's what I thought. And, yet, Democratic state senators, led by John Lee, have decided to try to score some political points at the expense of Gov. Jim Gibbons by using the conflict. Nine senators penned a missive to Gibbons asking him to release the National Guard troops serving in Iraq "so they can be home with their families by Thanksgiving." I am not surprised that Terry Care, who actually served in a war, did not sign this ...

Felony case weighed against Boggs: Tony Cook and Jeff German; State investigators said Wednesday that they have asked District Attorney David Roger to prosecute former Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs on charges that she misused political funds and falsified campaign documents.

Hopper returns to town to make music, settle down: By Jerry Fink; Who: Jimmy Hopper

Editorial: Questionable tactics: One of the reasons for this arrangement, in which the federal government pays private insurers to administer the Medicare Advantage plans, was to ensure services in areas where facilities and doctors were limited or did not accept Medicare coverage.

Letter: Right-turn flight path will only get worse: Clark County's inflexible approach to the problems created by the right-turn flight path out of McCarran International Airport ignores consideration of measures that could ameliorate some of this damage without redirecting traffic over other areas of the valley:

Editorial: Messing with security plans: The priority was for all states, with help from federal grants and guidelines, to take the lead on domestic security. The guidelines were inspired by what happened before 9/11 - chances for foiling the terrorist attacks were missed because law-enforcement agencies were not sharing critical information.

John Katsilometes checks on an old pal at Neonopolis before saying farewell: Then he talked for 30 minutes.

Letter: Looking for a party that cares about us: Well, I have good news for Mr. Ross. After voting in almost every election for 40 years, 99 percent of the time for Republicans, the GOP has lost my support. I'm a slow learner, I guess.