Print edition for October 14, 2007

Letter: Another way to increase education funding: Tax targeting has been the bane of our society for at least a century or more. A little here, a little there and pretty soon it's a lot. You just don't see it. The tax target of the day is gaming. Don't misconstrue this as my support for keeping the gaming industry taxes inordinately low. It's not. Nevada's gaming industry can and probably should pay more, but should we only target education funding? What abut understaffed hospitals and police?

Jack Sheehan describes the sharp mind of the confidant Bob Maheu, who hates the word "impossible": Every time I get together with Bob Maheu, I feel as though I'm attending a free seminar on modern Las Vegas history. Bob's recall is succinct and detailed about the time before and after his boss Howard Hughes bought a half dozen financially troubled Strip hotels and unintentionally prepared the city's major industry for the eventual takeover by publicly traded companies.

Jon Ralston on why Nevada's weak politicians are the real culprits behind the controversial gaming tax initiative: By Jon Ralston; But the potential for multiple gaming tax initiatives has less to do with the gamers' behavior than it does with a depressing failure of political leadership. The elected elite's regular submission to the gaming industry's oligarchical control is about to present a greater of two evils as politicians will be rendered even less relevant by an initiative process that is once again being used out of frustration and disgust with a paralyzed, even prostrate government.

Letter: Why Blackwater is a black eye for U.S.: I do not imply that those working for Blackwater deserve the title of soldiers. Rather, they are a feeble "imitation" of the characters in the movie "Dirty Dozen." This cadre might have been unleashed to find and annihilate Osama bin Laden and Co. rather than kill innocent Iraqis.

Brian Greenspun urges the county to learn from Agassi's school: The idea behind the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy charter school was to provide young people who are growing up in some of the most economically and socially depressed parts of our community a way out of their hopeless future and a way into a world as bright as any young person's in Las Vegas.

LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL: The proposed downtown arena project is looking like less of a sure bet. The deadline for REI Neon/Warburg Pincus to complete a development agreement with the city is Oct. 31.

Editorial: World is listening to Gore: The Harvard graduate and Army veteran served in the House, the Senate and as vice president. The past two years have seen him gain even more international fame than garnered by those accomplishments.

Economists: Casinos would shrug off tax hike: By Liz Benston, J. Patrick Coolican; When the state teachers union announced it wants voters to approve a 3 percentage point increase in the gaming tax, MGM Mirage Chief Executive Terry Lanni offered a stark warning: "It would drive investment out of Nevada."

FLASHPOINT for Oct 14, 2007: By Jon Ralston; It was one year ago today that the first story was published that spelled the end of Jim Gibbons' political career. The piece seemed innocuous at first because it reported that the police had cleared Gibbons, the gubernatorial candidate and congressman, of any wrongdoing in an alleged assault against a woman near McCormick and Schmick's. It seemed highly unlikely that Gibbons, not known as a man about town, could be guilty. But then the story simply took off. All kinds of conflicting evidence surfaced, strange accounts of what happened that night from Gibbons and the woman, Chrissy Mazzeo, as well ...

Editorial: Giving enough guidance: The federal No Child Left Behind Act created so much testing that school have used counselors to coordinate the exams. That has left little time for counselors to address their already crowded schedules.

The Week in Review: Washington D.C.: By Lisa Mascaro; WASHINGTON - Of all the ways to describe Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, diplomatic is not the first to come to mind.

Las Vegas a risky-loan leader: Jeff German, Steve Kanigher and Alex Richards; In a city known for its risk-takers, large numbers of Las Vegans have been gambling their financial futures on risky home mortgage loans they can't afford to pay back.

Letter: Immigration raids were long overdue: Why do employers like McDonald's allegedly hire illegal aliens in the first place?

Brass tacks: Looking for someone to tax: By David McGrath Schwartz; Teachers want to raise the gaming tax by 3 percentage points, triggering a fight that could change the way public services are funded.

They made risky loans, so where are they now?: Jeff German, Steve Kanigher and Alex Richards; When Gov. Jim Gibbons convened a closed-door summit this month to address the mortgage lending crisis in Nevada, two of Clark County's largest home mortgage lenders, Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., were among the participants.

Jeff Simpson says casino bosses are right, but partly to blame for tax plan: The casino bosses are seething.

Editorial: Wildlife funding lacking: But on Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt told the Associated Press that the system's 548 refuges have fallen into significant neglect and disrepair because of the Bush administration's years of funding cuts.