Print edition for September 5, 2007

FLASHPOINT for Sep 5, 2007: So you might have heard about this mortgage-lending crisis that is afflicting the country and is especially acute here in Nevada? Very serious. Everyone, even the president, has a plan to help consumers. Millions of Americans could face foreclosures. So the Gibbons administration has found someone who really understands the industry from inside to oversee the state regulation of mortgage lenders: Joseph Waltuch. Who is he? You wouldn't know this from the administration news release, but he was a vice president and senior counsel for a company, New Century, that went belly up and is now facing a federal probe. ...

THE INSIDE STRAIGHT Jeff Haney on the event that may establish Caesars as a poker tournament destination: Yet it's the inaugural Caesars Palace Classic, a standalone tournament scheduled for Oct. 12-24 capped by a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold 'em championship event, that should firmly establish Caesars as a poker tournament destination, said Jason Halperin, Caesars Palace poker tournament director.

Dodgers win as 51s lose: By Brian Hilderbrand; A fourth consecutive losing season may not sit well with the Las Vegas 51s' front office and their fans, but the team's 25th anniversary season wasn't a total loss.

Jon Ralston thinks New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has a pretty good take on Goodman: By Jon Ralston; And now it is on display for all in the country - nay, the world - to see. If you don't believe what I have been saying for years about Mayor Oscar Goodman's sensibility - or lack thereof - then perhaps you will listen to New York Times columnist Bob Herbert. This week Herbert wrote a column after spending some time out here in Oscar's Town, in which he concluded, among other things, that Goodman sets a "tone of systematic, institutionalized degradation" of women.

Editorial: Truth eludes president: A report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, acknowledges that security stations jointly operated by Iraqi and coalition forces have been established in Baghdad, minority rights have been ensured in the new Iraqi legislature, and support committees for the Baghdad security plan have been created.

Letter: Iraq 'surge' lies seal Bush's awful legacy: I remember generals who got fired for asking for more troops.

Somebody should watchdog, but who?: By Phoebe Sweet; Government, that great creator of process, a champion of dotting its i's and crossing its t's, can appear awkward when trying to follow its own rules.

Grants leave rural schools out in the cold Competition is tough, small staffs struggle with deadlines and standards: By Emily Richmond; Click here for a printable graphic.

Words of comfort, call for pullout: Ed Koch and Mary Manning; The death of a 19-year-old Las Vegas Army infantryman by his own hand last week inspired words of sorrow and comfort Tuesday from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who reiterated his call to end the Iraq war.

Editorial: Acting like adults: It shuffled some dates around, moving contests in Nevada and South Carolina to January to increase minority and labor participation early in the process. The committee added those two states to Iowa and New Hampshire as the only contests in January.

Letter: Not just politician, Woodbury is public servant: I moved to Las Vegas eight years ago, and as a casual observer it took me less than a year to become aware of four basic facts about the Clark County political scene: The county was controlled by a small group of long-time citizens with "juice"; the County Commission contained some rotten apples; Oscar Goodman was the best politician in the Las Vegas Valley; Bruce Woodbury was by far the best public servant in the county and probably in the state.

Letter: Counting the days 'til Bush is off throne: He and Vice President Dick Cheney will browbeat Gen. David Petraeus and other Pentagon officers to mumble something about progress because of the " surge." So King George will protect his standing (in his mind) in history by keeping thousands of young Americans in harm's way in Iraq.

Three big unions back Edwards, but state's top prize is up for grabs: J. Patrick Coolican and Michael J. Mishak; John Edwards' campaign for president is suddenly going more according to plan, as he strode into Nevada Tuesday touting the endorsement of three big unions - steelworkers, mine workers, and most important for the Nevada caucus, carpenters.

Letter: Porter morally wrong on war, out of touch: In this statement, Rep. Porter confirms what many people who oppose the prolonged occupation of an Iraq torn by civil war have feared all along: American soldiers die at the rate of three per day to preserve access to Iraq's vast oil reserves for American companies. A look at Porter's campaign contributions explains why he chooses corporate special interests over the lives of American soldiers.

Editorial: Las Vegas' shame: Goodman tells Herbert "anything goes - as long as you don't go over the line."

N. Nevada prison's power lies in wood piles: By Phoebe Sweet; Brush cleared from the Lake Tahoe Basin and lumber scraps from construction, once bound for landfills, will instead fuel a new power plant at a state prison south of Carson City.