Print edition for September 16, 2007

Letter: Chief exec's salary needs examining: The chief executive of UnitedHealth, William McGuire, received an annual stipend in excess of $124 million for 2005 and I'm sure that some of his top underlings didn't go home exactly broke. That is well over $14,000 per hour on a 24-hour day. Doesn't he ever sleep?

Letter: Low taxes benefit casinos, but not state: Macau, located in communist China, collected 2.07 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 and that was before the Venetian and Wynn were built and operating. Our low taxes benefit the casinos that choose to spread their wealth in foreign countries.

Letter: Prostitution can have many definitions: First of all, I believe that it's relevant to define the brothel itself. According to the most accepted definitions of a brothel (from the Middle English), it is (as a noun) a worthless fellow or prostitute, cross referenced to bordello, a building in which prostitutes are available.

CSN program still in need of jumpstart: Mojave National Preserve, Sunday, May 14, 2006. A Las Vegas couple hiking with their children near Baker, Calif., discovered human remains - a white man, at least 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds.

Editorial: Curbing air pollution: U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III issued the ruling Wednesday in a lawsuit that automakers had filed against the state of Vermont, which recently adopted the emissions standards set forth in a 2002 California law.

Why isn't impeachment gaining more traction?: By Lisa Mascaro; Bruce Fein, once a young lawyer in President Nixon's Justice Department and decades later co-author of the articles of impeachment against President Clinton, was headed over to a Senate office building this summer when he received the news:

Editorial: Opening 'public' meetings: The board habitually worked in secret, despite state law declaring its meetings open. Board members examined evidence and made decisions in private, changed agendas without notice, excluded inmates from some hearings and did not disclose the reasons for its decisions.

Bridge safety a bit shaky: With last month's fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis raising nationwide concerns about bridge safety, Nevada officials say the potential threat they need to worry about most deals not with the spans' structural deficiencies, but earthquakes.

Editorial: Eye on overweight trucks: The theory is that fees paid for the permits will cover the cost of any infrastructure damage caused by the extra weight, and that some trucks - including those used for construction, logging, the military and agriculture - are of necessity overweight most of the time and should be permitted.

Brian Greenspun explains how our frustration shapes debate: So why are some of my friends calling my other friends that un-P word, especially when they are all responsible, thinking, caring Americans who want only the best for their country and their families?

Letter: Why Gaming Inc.'s popularity is hurting: Let's try to get it straight from the start. The gaming industry pays nothing in taxes. It is the gaming market that pays. Once that's understood, then you can have an intelligent discussion about the level of gaming taxes.

Jeff Simpson wonders whether the Trop's owner is encouraging the union to strike: As I've written several times since February, the Tropicana contract looks like the biggest stumbling block to citywide labor peace for maids, porters and food-service workers.

FLASHPOINT for Sep 16, 2007: The candidates are making it hard to take the presidential race seriously just yet. The battle over who is the change agent in the Democratic primary is quite a spectacle but hardly illuminating. And the entrance of an actor into the GOP primary is exciting only because the race so far has been exquisitely uninteresting. Iraq posturing, health care plan evanescence and economic blather. It's so exciting! But wait. Substance has arrived in the form of Democratic hopeful Bill Richardson, who managed to achieve the most ridiculous news release in a season of them by comparing the New England Patriots ...

Jon Ralston notes the striking similarities in the cases of Elizabeth Halverson and former Controller Kathy Augustine: By Jon Ralston; Aggressive attorneys Dominic Gentile and John Arrascada were defending a much-mocked and caricatured elected official before a tribunal that could end her career. They were lambasting the unfairness of the process more than the allegations against their client. Their argument was simple: This isn't about whether you like or respect her; it's what is being done to her is outrageously wrong.

Steam seen as power's future: By Phoebe Sweet; The modern-day wildcatters came first, sinking drills into the hills above town, looking not for oil but for hot water.

Jack Sheehan on the year at college that changed his life forever: After 18 years as a student, and five as a college English instructor, the siren song of the classroom still calls to me all these years later.