Print edition for May 14, 2007

Letter: U.S. troops show honor, unlike Cheney: "That puts unexpected hardship on you and your families," he said. "I want you to know the extension is vital to the mission."

LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY: Clark County Commissioners Rory Reid, Bruce Woodbury and Chip Maxfield almost always vote together, even on controversial issues.

Letter: Republicans may have sealed their own fate: The complexity of ethnic elements incorporated in Iraq has no shared values. Each sectarian group is afraid that any centralized government controlled by another will oppress the others and take a disproportionate share of the oil revenues. It is unlikely any unified government can overcome powerful forces in a fractious and violent Iraq society today.

A MOMENT CAPTURED: Tiffany Brown, Las Vegas Sun; Pastry chef instructor Sivaporn Derval, left, points out the finer points of genoise to Courtney O'Neil during class at the Culinary Institute of Las Vegas on Thursday morning.

LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS: By Mike Trask; Eldorado Valley was again the subject of discussion at the Boulder City Council meeting Tuesday night. But this time there was no talk of land deals with developers or Clark County.

A new way to play the game on the Strip: By Liz Benston; A new business model is slowly but significantly unfolding along the Strip. Just watch what happens to the 26 acres that were the El Rancho hotel site in the 1940s but which have languished, vacant, since 1960.

Valley's trash leads to one man's treasure: In the world of garbage, longtime North Las Vegan Cleo Williams Jr. is king of the heap.

FLASHPOINT for May 14, 2007: Today in Carson City there will be an attempt to gather support for Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie's bill to provide $20 million for transitional housing and support services for the homeless. A news conference is planned in front of the Legislative Building to garner attention for a function that state and local governments have not been able to find money to do. A news release on the event was sent out by the Gibbons administration, which may surprise some . But what won't surprise most people is that the news conference will feature mayors from around the state who are concerned ...

Shot at free money in NLV, but few takers: By Mike Trask; In the Las Vegas Valley you can gamble not just in Strip casinos, but in gas stations, supermarkets and bars. All will gladly take your money.

Editorial: Tests reveal mercury: The tests, which are voluntary under the Nevada regulations that were enacted earlier this year, will help the state Division of Environmental Protection determine what type of pollution control technology is needed, a division spokesman told the Associated Press in a story on Friday.

Jeff Haney on maximizing your potential profit betting NBA long shots in the playoffs: Once the Bulls lost the first three games of their second-round series against the Pistons, for instance, bettors could find Chicago at odds as high as 100-1 to win the NBA title at casinos that adjust their future-book prices after each playoff game.

Editorial: Making a sacrifice: The United States could be in danger of being inadequately prepared to handle major disasters or terrorist attacks at home because nearly half of the equipment used by state National Guards has been deployed to the wars in the Middle East, most of it ending up in Iraq.

Behind the wheel, someone messing with stoplights: Las Vegas traffic authorities are concerned that drivers, particularly taxi drivers, are using technology to turn red lights green, a crime under Nevada law - and a crime where it's practically impossible to catch the criminals.

Q+A: BILL KAZMAIER, FORMER WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN: Quick facts about Philippi Sports Institute, the state-of-the-art athletic training center owned and operated by former UNLV strength and conditioning coach Mark Philippi:

Editorial: Closing a gap: The law, enacted shortly after a series of in-depth stories by the Las Vegas Sun in March 2005, prohibits triple-digit interest rates and prevents lenders from suing defaulted customers for three times the amounts they borrow. It also bars lenders from refinancing unpaid loans at higher interest rates and limits the amount a customer receives based on his income.

Letter: Texas shows way to maintaining safe roads: Although our new governor's ideas to improve our valley's congested freeways might be debatable, a possible approach might be to attack the problems that we have with our existing roadways first.