All Sun Headlines - Las Vegas Sun

From injury to bankruptcy: Nov. 29, 2009; Medical debt is reportedly pushing more people into bankruptcy. It shouldn’t be that way, but the current health care system often leaves people with large debt. The uninsured aren’t the only people with big medical bills who are filing for bankruptcy. People with insurance are finding themselves saddled with debt after an illness or a hospital stay.

Mortgage scams: Nov. 29, 2009; Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz was in Las Vegas last week to announce a crackdown on companies scamming homeowners. These companies charge hefty upfront fees with the promise to rescue homeowners from foreclosure — but they fail to deliver.

Pedestrians face daily risks: Nov. 29, 2009; Six years after this newspaper wrote a series of stories documenting that Nevada was one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians, a national coalition is reporting that pedestrians are at risk on streets across the country.

Training Afghan army worth the time: Nov. 29, 2009; William C. Turk, Henderson; To those who have expressed concern about the length of time it is taking to train the Afghanistan army, I, as a retired U.S. Army colonel, would like to offer my thoughts. There was no “army of Afghanistan” when we arrived. Training an army requires immense expenditures of time, money and other resources.

Palin has a way of bringing out the anger in people: Nov. 29, 2009; Pam Price, Henderson; In his Thursday letter to the editor in the Las Vegas Sun, headlined “Martha Stewart has no business criticizing Palin,” James Behrendt writes that he saw a “look of hate” in Martha Stewart’s eyes when she talked about Sarah Palin. However, that “look” might not be hatred. It could just show garden-variety anger.

‘Race to the Top’ just adds a layer of bureacracy: Nov. 29, 2009; Betty Buehler, Las Vegas; Under "Race to the Top," in which Nevada becomes eligible for federal funding by partially basing teacher evaluations on student scores, how many people will be paid to do excessive data monitoring and record keeping, while the kids still have the aptitudes they have, still go home to parents who may or may not care, and still will or won’t do their homework?

No public official is above criticism by constituents: Nov. 29, 2009; Carl R. Sadler, Las Vegas; If Fox News says something the president or his staff believes to be untrue or unfair, they should call the network on it. To ignore Fox News, as was the case, is bias on the part of the current administration or, worse, an attempt to control the news media. News agencies should not act as cheerleaders for any administration.

Break provides needed respite, but Congress’ work isn’t done: Nov. 29, 2009; By Lisa Mascaro; Watching from afar, it is easy to scoff at congressional recesses, or “district work periods,” as they are called — times when the House and Senate are not in session so lawmakers can attend to constituent needs at home. But those watching closely notice the long nights when the lights remain on in the Capitol.

CityCenter: One man's concept of a real city: Nov. 29, 2009; By Liz Benston; Visitors to CityCenter, the Strip’s newest spectacle, will be driven to look up at the glistening glass and steel. It is an inexorable pull, to cock your head backward and take in the sweep of six high-rise towers — including two that lean — and that create an urban scene unlike any other.

What Nevada's leaders are thankful for: Nov. 29, 2009; By Jon Ralston; So what were Nevada’s prominent pols giving thanks for Thursday? Here are educated guesses about what they (and a few others) were thinking in their tryptophan-induced hazes.

The ball’s in Reid’s court: Passing the public option: Nov. 29, 2009; By Lisa Mascaro; The next hurdle is obvious: The Democratic intraparty feud over the public option — the government-run insurance plan that has tripped Democrats throughout the health care debate. As the Senate prepares to begin its debate on health care legislation this week, the battle over the public option in many ways has become a proxy war for health care reform itself.

Youth Forum a reason for optimism: Nov. 29, 2009; By Brian Greenspun; I have seen the future and it looks good. Our young people, at least those Close to 1,000 Clark County high school students represented at the Sun Youth Forum, have not only the brains to achieve but also the heart and sensitivity to succeed.

Wonder drug for men no success story: Nov. 29, 2009; By Marshall Allen; Pharmacist Scot Silber thought he was sitting on a gold mine when he developed a drug compound to help men suffering from sexual dysfunction. Silber, part-owner of Green Valley Drugs, combined Valium and Viagra and called it Vegas Mixx.

‘Barrier’ could allow liquor store closer to church or school: Nov. 29, 2009; By Joe Schoenmann; Commissioners are set to conduct a public hearing and then vote on a code amendment that would change the distance required between liquor stores and churches or schools to 500 feet instead of the current 1,500 feet. The smaller separation would be allowed, however, only if an “adequate barrier” is between the stores and any churches or schools.

Earmarks: Will Sen. Reid’s rankings help or haunt him?: Nov. 29, 2009; By David McGrath Schwartz; Earmarks, those lines in bills that bring home money to Senate and House members’ states, can be a political Rorschach test. Do you see in them a politician delivering projects for constituents? Or wasteful spending saddling future generations with debt, all to help a politician get reelected? So it is with Sen. Harry Reid’s ranking for the amount his earmarks are worth.

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Politics: The Early Line: Meeting of GOP governors draws challengers, not Gibbons: WASHINGTON -- One notable absence from last week's Republican Governors' Association meeting was that of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The Kats Report: Oscar Goodman sounds like a man not running for governor: Mayor Oscar Goodman, strong in the polls and winding down his final term, is speaking wistfully of spending more time with his family.