Print edition for October 19, 2007

So the real estate slump is taking a toll on revenue and all kinds of proposals are being floated...: By Jon Ralston; So the real estate slump is taking a toll on revenue and all kinds of proposals are being floated. A 15 percent increase in the property tax. Boosts in sales, gasoline and parking taxes. It's all happening in Chicago and other cities, The New York Times reported Thursday. You see, it's a double whammy: Property values go down, so property tax collections go down. With the mortgage-lending crisis causing foreclosures, revenue collections are depressed. So leaders are faced with the conundrum of how to continue to provide services so constituents don't suffer from a reduced commitment from government for essentials. ...

Halloween festival in the middle of nowhere: The Goldwell Open Air Museum has had ambitious plans for its home adjacent to the ghost town of Rhyolite , just outside of Beatty.

Profs spill on outside pay, possible conflicts: Jeff German and Steve Kanigher; About 25 percent of UNLV's full-time faculty members reported earning outside income , and more than 100 acknowledged having faced possible conflicts of interest, university officials said Thursday.

Jon Ralston notes our caucus is off a major pundit's political calendar: By Jon Ralston; The Nevada caucus now officially does not exist. And the unkindest cut of all was administered by my fellow Buffalonian Tim Russert during an exchange with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams this week.

Buck passed on charter schools: By Emily Richmond; After nearly a decade struggling under the yoke of state regulations, the Clark County School Board has finally voted to hand the whole mess associated with new charter schools - the crush of paperwork, red tape and accompanying expenses - over to the Nevada Education Department.

Jeff Haney explains why the appearance of games with a point spread of 3 has downgraded the Plaza's parlay cards: He signed off with one of those doodads that uses keyboard characters to form a frowning face.

Out of his grandfather's shadow: By Rob Miech; What: Las Vegas Wranglers vs. Stockton Thunder

Letter: Reid is right to push for renewable energy: I oppose the plan for developing coal-fired power plants in White Pine County and support Sen. Harry Reid's opposition to the proposal. As an avid outdoors enthusiast and runner, I think it's important to look at the forms our energy consumption takes.

ON SHAKY GROUND: David McGrath Schwartz; Voters might love to raise the gaming tax to pour more money into classrooms.

Letter: Corporations profit from horror of Iraq: According to the documentary, billions of dollars earmarked for the war in Iraq unfortunately have not been used to protect our troops or to make their ordeal easier. Four corporations, we are told, have been awarded no-bid contracts and contracts that include cost overruns. They are Halliburton, Blackwater, Titan and CACI. As a patriotic American, I believe that a free enterprise system should allow competitors to make a profit, but when there is no competition, the situation appears suspicious.

Editorial: Oops - file not found: The Government Accountability Office found the IRS regularly loses paper case files, which costs the government - and taxpayers - time and money. The report noted cases in which the IRS went to court to collect back taxes and lost because it couldn't produce the paperwork it needed as proof.

12 GEORGE JONES QUESTIONS: Mark Whittington and Dave Wilson, Las Vegas Sun; Who: George Jones

Editorial: 'Sense of anger, sorrow': Or they might enroll them in a similarly disciplined program - often called a behavior modification facility or boot camp - outside of a wilderness setting.

Editorial: Allowing undue influence?: The FDA is to appoint a board of directors for the Reagan-Udall Foundation by the end of the month. FDA commissioners and staff members will not hold any voting seats on the 14-member board, but the panel will include four representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, along with consumer advocates, doctors and members from academic backgrounds, the Associated Press reports.

Letter: With its huge 'mortgage,' America's in trouble: A mortgage is the pledging of property to a creditor as security for the payment of a debt. I guess all the affluent countries like China hold our huge mortgage.

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