Editorials

A shot in the arm: Sunday, November 8, 2009; SUN EDITORIAL: New stimulus bill should bring a boost to Nevadans on many fronts; A $24 billion economic stimulus bill signed Friday by President Barack Obama should bring much-needed relief to Nevadans who are out of work or interested in purchasing a new residence. Struggling businesses also stand to benefit.

Help for struggling students: Sunday, November 8, 2009; SUN EDITORIAL: College program gives potential dropouts new outlook on education; Project Crossroads, started by Nevada State College in 2007, gives academic and personal attention to struggling middle school students. The goal is to get the students to overcome their difficulties, stay in school and eventually enroll in college.

Restoring Lake Tahoe: Sunday, November 8, 2009; SUN EDITORIAL: Congress should quickly approve legislation to help save national treasure; The water clarity of Lake Tahoe decades ago was greater than 100 feet deep but environmental degradation, caused in part by development, has taken its toll. Today the clarity is less than 70 feet.

Warning signs missed?: Saturday, November 7, 2009; SUN EDITORIAL: Fort Hood shooter, a career Army officer, had shown disturbing behavior; There are more questions than answers about the horrific shooting rampage Thursday at Fort Hood that law enforcement officers say was carried out by Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist.

The spirit of America: Saturday, November 7, 2009; SUN EDITORIAL: Ship made with steel from twin towers is a reminder of the country’s strength; The Navy’s newest ship made its first visit to New York City on Monday in what was a moving tribute. The ship, scheduled to be officially commissioned the USS New York today, stopped in the Hudson River, adjacent to ground zero, and fired a 21-gun salute. Sailors and Marines, some in tears, lined the decks and silently saluted.

Big Bird at 40: Saturday, November 7, 2009; SUN EDITORIAL: Sesame Street has provided smart programming to generations of children; When it first launched in 1969, “Sesame Street” was an innovative attempt to improve children’s television. The show, using animation and skits designed to teach children, featured a big yellow bird and a cast of fuzzy Muppets who lived alongside humans on a city block.

Clinic would be vital asset: Friday, November 6, 2009; Sun editorial: Plan for elementary school health center on hold pending permit decision; A health clinic planned for Elaine Wynn Elementary School is meeting opposition from several of the school’s neighbors, who learned about the clinic only after a groundbreaking ceremony had taken place.

Seeking insurance reform: Friday, November 6, 2009; Sun editorial: Las Vegan’s story should persuade lawmakers to back affordable health care; One way to make the case before skeptical members of Congress that health insurance reform is desperately needed is to expose them to more of the real-life stories that haunt tens of millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans.

Thirty years of enmity: Friday, November 6, 2009; Sun editorial: Relations with Iran have not improved since hostage crisis of 30 years ago; Thirty years ago this week hundreds of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, touching off a hostage crisis that lasted 444 days and beginning an era of enmity between Iran and the United States that continues today.

Stop the whining: Thursday, November 5, 2009; Sun editorial: Despite Medical Board president’s claim, Nevadans not adequately protected; It is no secret that the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners has often done a poor job of protecting the public from bad doctors and shoddy medical practices. The only people who do not seem to realize that are members of the board.

Put down the tea bags: Thursday, November 5, 2009; Sun editorial: Suggestions that elections indicate a sea change in politics are premature; Relishing Tuesday’s GOP victories in the governors races in New Jersey and Virginia, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele declared Wednesday, “The Republican renaissance has begun.” The editors of the conservative National Review declared in a headline Wednesday: “The comeback begins.”

Rejecting climate bill: Thursday, November 5, 2009; Sun editorial: Republicans engage in partisanship as world awaits leadership on warming; Congressional Republicans this week continued their assault on President Barack Obama’s agenda, this time by acting like juveniles while world leaders pleaded for leadership.

Signs of national recovery: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; Sun editorial: Nevada should take hope that several sectors of the economy are improving; The recent hiring by MGM Mirage — 12,000 workers for its new CityCenter attraction — brightened the employment picture in Nevada, but only for a short while.

An atrocious decision: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; Sun editorial: City ordered to pay dearly for tennis court cracks that could have been avoided; There were no excuses for the construction defects that plagued the Darling Memorial Tennis Center on Washington Avenue near Summerlin Parkway shortly after the courts opened in 2005. The question is whether the city of Las Vegas, which owns the complex, learned anything from the debacle.

Five more years with Karzai: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; Sun editorial: Obama right to question president of Afghanistan about government corruption; President Barack Obama is agonizing over one of the toughest decisions of his young administration — whether to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan or whether to pull out.