Yucca slush fund?

Some are trying to “spin” the current troubles of Bob Loux, executive director of Nevada’s Agency for Nuclear Projects, as a partisan issue. Because Mr. Loux is in charge of organizing Nevada’s opposition to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, those calling for his resignation over recently revealed financial irregularities are merely using this as an excuse to hamper those efforts, according to this line of argument.

‘A new kind of leader’?

Regardless of which party controls the state Senate during the 2009 Legislature — the GOP currently has the narrowest of majorities at 11-10 — it’s clear that new Democratic Leader Steven Horsford will bring a much different approach to Carson City than his predecessor, Dina Titus.

A farce of higher education

Gov. Jim Gibbons’ 4.5 percent budget cuts cement UNLV’s destiny as one of the weakest universities in the United States. The looming 14 percent rescissions for the next two-year budget cycle will kill higher education in Nevada for generations. Yet while money is indispensable for quality higher education, it is not enough.

A sensible ‘national energy policy’

I was speaking to a close relative the other day. He expressed a suitably cynical opinion about our current crop of politicians and the “energy crisis.”

He’s Kerry; she’s Reagan

Barack Obama has turned into Michael Dukakis, John Kerry and Al Gore. Sarah Palin has turned into Ronald Reagan.

Old-timer the mind behind the magic

The new Criss Angel show pins a lot of ticket-sale hopes on younger fans who spend more time in nightclubs than other shows on the Strip.

Groom or Doom

The loading dock in back of the south convention center at Mandalay Bay is empty except for all the barking. Its source is four dogs who spin around inside crates stacked two by two nearby.

Panaca a charming stop when visiting Lincoln County

Following Interstate 15 and U.S. 3 north from Las Vegas into Lincoln County, travelers take a trip back in time. The sparsely populated region still relies upon agriculture, ranching, a bit of mining, some railroading and federal and state agency employment. Increasingly, the county aims for tourist income, but just a few of the millions who annually visit Nevada ever get there. Their loss, for Lincoln County offers varied recreational opportunities, wonderful Great Basin scenery and historic towns like little Panaca.

Few options for parents when kids get sick

Christine Johnsong of Henderson has two children, a daughter in seventh grade and a son who just started kindergarten. She knows that one day, probably between now and next June, she’ll face a dilemma all working parents face whenever parental obligation, professional responsibility and a stray microbe cross paths:

You have to be offbeat, damaged to make it as a House

Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe it was just something I ate. (If so, I’m placing the blame squarely on that deep-fried Hot Pocket.) But John McCain is starting to make sense.

OUT THERE

HIKES

The Water Cooler

Here are a few of the things in news, entertainment, sports and popular culture that we’ve been talking about lately:

Bookmark

Here is a listing of events designed for book lovers. Information is subject to change or cancellation without notice. Additions or changes to this listing must be submitted at least 10 days in advance of Sunday publication to Bookmark, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125. For more information, call 383-0306.

Tell us about your collection

Blame it on something in our DNA, or human curiosity, or maybe some deep-seated neurosis we can never begin to understand.

‘Spore,’ by ‘Sims’ creators, makes evolution fun

Lately, video games seem to suggest the Earth you and I live in — bogged down by war, melting ice caps and idiots in general — is in dire need of a do-over. In one of 2008’s best games, “Civilization Revolution,” you build Earth from scratch, evolving from warriors carrying spears all the way to astronauts.

Fire Sauce and other things in life that make us smile, wonder

My turn at the drive-through at my neighborhood Taco Bell. I order two Burrito Supremes. The blurry intercom voice — you know, the intercom that makes people sound like they were born in Guatemala then immigrated to Romania at age 7, then, at 16, took an ESL class taught by a ventriloquist — asks if I want mild sauce or hot sauce. I tell the voice neither; I’d like Fire Sauce.

Outdoor Briefs

THERE’S STILL TIME

Las Vegas Philharmonic celebrates opening of 10th season

The Las Vegas Philharmonic celebrated their 10th Anniversary Season with a night of music and dining pleasure Sept. 6. The philharmonic presented “Masterworks I” of their 2008-09 Masterworks concert series.

Business Calendar

LAS VEGAS CHAMBER

IGT talk amounts to Street nothings

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in August gave Wall Street the impression that International Game Technology had acquired 22.5 percent of casino technology provider Progressive Gaming International.

RUN-UP TO THE WARM

What’s spurring regulatory action? Studies such as a July report claiming Nevada could suffer serious economic losses from global warming, for one.

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