Print edition for October 10, 2007

Jon Ralston predicts a union's bid to raise taxes will teach big gamers a lesson: By Jon Ralston; As the boys with Las Vegas Boulevard South addresses suddenly find a wolf at their door, their cries are about to fall on the deaf ears of a hungry populace that has heard one too many tales of woe. If you want to know why the gaming industry should be so worried about the teachers union proposing a tax increase on the most profitable casinos, turn the clock back 30 years and listen to the boys crying wolf.

Science says lap dancers send 'signals,' rake in cash: The lap dance is a unique financial transaction, one influenced by so many factors: the dancer, the drinks, the grind and the give.

Renaissance Faire calls to Celts, too: What: The 2007 "Age of Chivalry" Renaissance Faire

Industry's new push: Rethink and embrace coal: By Phoebe Sweet; Click here for a printable graphic.

Telling Morrie's story set sports writer on new path "I started off as a musician ... But my life took a big turn when I went into writing." Mitch Albom: Who: Mitch Albom

Editorial: Taking the initiative: There is an inherent danger in that, as many Californians learned from Proposition 13. Passed in 1978, the initiative was touted as a way to cut property taxes and curb skyrocketing tax bills. Taxes were indeed cut but, in the aftermath, school funding plummeted, as did the state's once top-notch reputation for quality education.

Letter: Columbus doesn't deserve the credit: With enslaved Arawaks, Columbus sailed to Hispaniola (which is today Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Wherever he went, he killed or enslaved the indigenous people in his quest for gold and other valuables.

FLASHPOINT for Oct 10, 2007: By Jon Ralston; What kind of chancellor calls his own state residents "hor- ribly and fatally undereducated"? What kind of chancellor says he is "sickened" by statistics that show Nevada is an education wasteland? What kind of chancellor says students will have to pay more in tuition in the near future? Of course, it's Nevada's own Jim Rogers, whose statements in his State of the System speech seem tame compared with his calling the governor a lamebrain and advocating a state income tax. I know a lot of people out there don't like Rogers because they think he is an overbearing blowhard. But ...

LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS: By Mike Trask; About 30 Boulder City business owners and residents have formed a group to push for a hotel on leased land near a city-owned golf course.

New strategy: Teaching nonteachers to teach: By Emily Richmond; Before answering questions , they fall silent for a moment, searching for the right words in a language that is still foreign to them.

Editorial: Proposal needs massaging: It all gets back to location, location, location.

Jeff Haney looks at the characters and themes of 'Poker After Dark': One week's worth of episodes was titled "Earphones, Please" because it pitted notorious loudmouths such as Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow against reserved players such as Andy Bloch and Phil Ivey.

Letter: Just who are the reckless spenders?: Given the details of our enormous federal debt, it is startling to learn from The New Yorker magazine that a full 75 percent of that debt has been implemented during the reign of three Republican presidents: two terms of Ronald Reagan; one term of George H.W. Bush and nearly seven years of the present White House.

In a bold move, teachers reach for gaming's pockets: By Liz Benston, J. Patrick Coolican, David McGrath Schwartz, Michael Mishak; So now the moment of reckoning has arrived. For years, the political warning signs have been building for Las Vegas Strip casinos: a smaller slice of the population working on casino floors; a fast-growing city lagging in education, health care and transportation systems; and a steady stream of news about record casino profits, stock prices and executive pay.In time, someone was going to take on the Strip, and the Nevada State Education Association, 28,000 strong, is steeling itself for the fight in 2008.

Letter: Illegal immigrants a burden on the U.S.: Mr. Jackson suggests low-wage Americans also access emergency rooms and schools for their own children, for which we pay taxes. What in the world does that have to do with anything?

Editorial: Clearing the air: According to a story by The Washington Post on Tuesday, American Electric Power will spend $4.6 billion to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide, gases that cause acid rain. The company also will pay $15 million in penalties and spend an additional $60 million to clean up damage to parks and waterways throughout the East, including Chesapeake Bay.

Craig Walton: 1934 - 2007: Craig Walton, UNLV's emeritus ethics professor and president of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics, praised Secretary of State Ross Miller's decision in March to learn more about a legal defense fund set up for Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Letter: Land belongs to people here legally: I cannot let that remark slip by without a rebuttal. In the first place, this is not the government of those Latinos who are here illegally. This is the government of law-abiding Americans of every creed, color and persuasion who are legal citizens of the United States. So, if Mr. Cortez feels Bushwhacked , it is because of those illegals who were rounded up in the raids. Had they been here legally , this would not have happened. It reminds me a bit about the lad who cried wolf.