Opinion

Editorial Using bully tactics
Republic Services acting in bad faith by threatening to unilaterally raise garbage rates
Republic Services, which enjoys a monopoly on garbage hauling in the Las Vegas Valley, should be grateful for the long-term contracts it holds in Southern Nevada.
Editorial Nation’s worst polluters
Pentagon officials defy EPA and refuse to clean up contaminating military bases
When it comes to entities that pollute the nation’s environment, the Defense Department is at the top of the Environmental Protection Agency’s list.
Editorial So long, Mojave Max
Conservation program’s mascot taught lessons only a desert tortoise could teach
There are many who would say that a desert tortoise possesses a face that only a mother could love.
Letter to the Editor Bipartisan, multipronged solution needed
Ron Levesque, Las Vegas
Thomas Friedman’s commentary in the June 24 edition of the Las Vegas Sun (“Bush peddles oil to an addicted nation”) makes it seem as if it were only during the current administration that this country discovered it is sorely in need of a real energy policy.
Bush, McCain take undeserved credit
Jerry Villela, Las Vegas
Once again President Bush demonstrated the shallowness of his character and integrity in his recent Oval Office announcement by trying to pass off the passage of the new GI Bill expanding educational benefits for veterans as something the Bush administration had favored.
Letter to the Editor If you drive slowly, please move over
John Devine, Las Vegas
In a recent letter to the editor, a physics professor wrote that accelerating slowly, driving more slowly and coasting to a stop between red lights will save fuel.
Sun editorial Marketing’s big test
Unrelenting gas price increases pose the ultimate challenge for tourism officials
· Wednesday, July 2, 2008
There was an eerie sense of security when oil prices first began to rise. Without any hard evidence for their thinking, most people projected an air of palpable optimism — prices will come down, everything will get back to normal.
Sun editorial Airborne tragedies
Safety needs to become more of a concern in the medical helicopter industry
· Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Valid questions are being raised about the increasing use of helicopters in transporting patients to hospitals.
Sun editorial More AIDS funding
A few Senate Republicans block bill that could set example for the world to follow
· Wednesday, July 2, 2008
In a welcome display of bipartisan cooperation, a bill to spend $50 billion to fight HIV/AIDS in developing countries over the next five years enjoys broad support on Capitol Hill. That is considerably more than the $15 billion spent the previous five years under a program advocated by President Bush, and the increased budget is certainly warranted given the ongoing epidemic, especially in Africa.
Letter to the editor Economics argues for domestic oil drilling
Jim Stockhausen, Henderson · Wednesday, July 2, 2008
In response to Terry E Peele’s Monday letter, headlined “An easier way to lower gas prices in the U.S.”:
Letter to the editor Obama had to opt out of public financing
Susan Wright, Las Vegas · Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Clarence Lanzrath asserted in his Friday letter that Sen. Barack Obama is hypocritical for opting out of public financing for his presidential campaign.
Letter to the editor State lottery would help fund schools
Vernon F. Pechous, Henderson · Wednesday, July 2, 2008
I’m old enough to remember George Carlin uttering the “seven banned words.” I’m trying to get a seven-letter word that’s apparently verboten in print. That word is “lottery.”
A history-making gubernatorial race
By Jon Ralston · Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Imagine a marathon with only one runner visible on the course, quietly making her way, trying to make history.
flashpoint Most viewed YouTube video?
By Jon Ralston · Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Who would have guessed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would have the most viewed YouTube video of the day Tuesday?
Sun editorial Inexcusable absence
No one from Nevada OSHA showed up at meeting to address workers’ safety
· Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Twelve workers have been killed in local construction accidents over not quite 19 months, a tragic fact that has intensified public expectations of the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration.