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A boost for education: Lawmakers should support efforts to tap Teach For America; State lawmakers are fighting over a proposal by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval to spend $2 million over the next two years on the nonprofit education group Teach For America to help it hire 100 teachers in Clark County.

Time to look south: Lawmakers, governor need to pave way for Nevada’s future; As the Legislature rushes to close its business in the final two weeks of its session, lawmakers and Gov. Brian Sandoval need to remember one thing: Southern Nevada is the state’s economic engine, and what’s good for Las Vegas is good for the state as a whole. Clark County provides the bulk of the state’s tax revenue and the jobs, is home to nearly two-thirds of the citizens of Nevada, and should be the focus of the state’s attention. But you wouldn’t always recognize that by the debate in Carson City.

Past editorials »

Smith’s World

Latest editorial cartoon by Mike Smith, plus archives since 1998 »

Columnists »

Where I Stand »

Inequity in state’s spending on roads is a joke

Connecting the dots in Carson City is a fool’s errand. Enter the fool. Sen. Debbie Smith has bottled up Senate Bill 322 in her committee despite a previous unanimous vote to move it to the floor for passage. But why?
Our Legislature needs to step up and get the job done
Better have a good reason if you forgot Mother’s Day

J. Patrick Coolican »

Nevada Medical Board, just whom do you serve?

Earlier this year I wrote about Dr. Sean Steele, an internist who was accused of a brutal sexual assault after a night of drinking in Las Vegas. Here's the latest from California, which revoked his license, and what's happening (nothing) in Nevada.
Why Nevada Democrats’ Fun Tax is the New Coke of politics
Why Nevada needs to look at Dotty’s one way, sports book kiosks another

Letters to the Editor

E-mail your submission. Letters to the editor should be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be printed.

Present law in Nevada makes it easy for abusers to buy guns: Last October, a young woman in Milwaukee named Zina Daniel filed a domestic violence restraining order against her husband.; Continues…; Sue Meuschke
Wishing for a brighter future: I look forward to the day that we will no longer see photos in the newspaper of Nevadans lining up to contribute money to California’s education system.; Continues…; Jeremy M. Christensen, Las Vegas
An improvement to the voting process: I urge the Nevada Legislature to vote yes on a bill that extends online voter registration to the Friday before an election, and I urge Gov. Brian Sandoval to sign it into law.; Continues…; Teresa Crawford, Henderson
Lack of security in Benghazi was House’s call: If congressional Republicans had any shame, they wouldn’t ask why there wasn’t more security at our facility in Benghazi.; Continues…; Richard J. Mundy, Las Vegas
People of Nevada wants a lottery: Continuing on the topic started by Bruce Karley with his letter, “Implement lottery in lieu of taxes,” regarding the need to have a lottery in Nevada, the Nevada Constitution forbids lotteries except for charitable purposes.; Continues…; Subhas Dhodapkar, Las Vegas
Benghazi certainly is a real scandal: In the letter “Benghazi scandal is manufactured,” James Witherspoon claims that he knows no real Americans who are interested in the “Benghazi mess.”; Continues…; Linda Caterine, Henderson
Lottery could help Nevada’s schools: Once again the Powerball lottery reached a high amount, and once again, Nevadans flocked to Arizona and California.; Continues…; Jim Galati, Las Vegas
Property can be replaced; life can’t: The story “Two arrested in iPad robbery that caused death of teenager,” which was about the 15-year-old whose iPad was a contributing factor in his untimely death, made me sad and angry.; Continues…; David Tulanian, Los Angeles

Letters archive »

Other Voices »

On press freedoms, Obama races Nixon to bottom

Clarence Page

Despite what you may hear from some of his more fevered critics, President Barack Obama’s recent scandal-quakes don’t appear to fall anywhere near the level of Richard Nixon’s Watergate disaster. But by another Nixonian yardstick, trying to put a muzzle on press freedoms, Team Obama appears to have surged into the lead.
Tell me how this ends

Thomas Friedman

I’ve been traveling to Yemen, Syria and Turkey to film a documentary on how environmental stresses contributed to the Arab awakening. As I looked back on the trip, it occurred to me that three of our main characters — the leaders of the two Yemeni villages that have been fighting over a single water well and the leader of the Free Syrian Army in Raqqa province, whose cotton farm was wiped out by drought — have 36 children among them: 10, 10 and 16.
Is democracy in trouble?

E.J. Dionne

We know American politics are dysfunctional. But it’s worth asking if there is something especially flawed about our democracy.
The second-term scandal plague

Doyle McManus

What is it about presidents’ second terms that makes them seem so scandal-ridden? Simple: The iron law of longevity. All governments make mistakes; all governments try to hide those mistakes. But the longer an administration is in office, the more errors it makes, and the harder they are to conceal.
Inequity in state’s spending on roads is a joke

By Brian Greenspun

Connecting the dots in Carson City is a fool’s errand. Enter the fool. Sen. Debbie Smith has bottled up Senate Bill 322 in her committee despite a previous unanimous vote to move it to the floor for passage. But why?