He's returned to familiar duty, prosecuting homicide cases, including the upcoming Craig Titus murder trial. By the way, Craig and Dina aren't related.

CHRISTENSEN OUT?: Promising Republican Assemblyman Chad Christensen is trying to get out of the Legislature, but state Republican Party officials aren't finished trying to drag him back in.

DRUG TESTING: The strong opinions continue to flow in following a column on the rise of random drug testing of athletes at Green Valley High. Principal Jeff Horn reminds me that he voluntarily took a drug test when he ordered the random testing of the sports participants.

Meanwhile, a local casino employee reports workers at his hotel are ordered to take mandatory drug tests if they have an accident on the job that takes them off property to seek medical treatment.

LIVESTRONG DAY: Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong met some real champions this week when he dropped by the Nevada Cancer Institute to honor LIVESTRONG Day, which annually raises awareness for the fight to defeat the disease in its many forms.

Local cancer survivors Justine Harrison, Arthur Andersen, Stacey Escalante, and Elaine Lipton joined Armstrong for a "team" photo.

'THE COMMISH': Dr. Donald Romeo, "Doc" to his many friends, is not only a legendary fight physician, but remains one of the sport's greatest characters.

At 84, Romeo is retired these days, but he's still racking up the accolades.

The Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission recently voted to honor Doc with an "Emeritus Commissioner" title.

The honor dovetails nicely into a list of plaudits that includes "Doc Romeo Park" at West Cheyenne Avenue and Ronemus Drive, his 1995 entry into the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame, and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

APPLE FOR TEACHER: We take them for granted, but most veteran Clark County School District teachers and administrators do great work in complex times. Barbara Gnatovich, of late at Grant Sawyer Middle School, is retiring after 35 years of service.

MR. MATH: After reading recent stories about the poor performance of local high school students on a districtwide algebra exam, gambling guru, math wizard and prolific author David Sklansky wonders if the kids are receiving proper instruction from teachers who know their subject inside and out.

"The solution is obvious," Sklansky writes. "Hire math teachers from a pool of people who have at least a master's degree in math or physics and don't make an education degree mandatory. Pay them more than other teachers as well. Admit the politically incorrect fact that expert math teachers are rarer and smarter than expert English or History teachers and should be rewarded accordingly."

I'm betting the students perform much better on the second exam, which is set for early June.

TEE TIME: When he's not serving dishes as chef at the Outside Inn at 9941 W. Charleston Blvd., Neal Tepper spends a bundle of hours as chairman of the restaurant and bar's charity golf tournament.

Proceeds from the eighth annual tournament, scheduled for June 1 at the Badlands Golf Club, will benefit the Keep Memory Alive foundation and the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

ON THE BOULEVARD: Another delay in the federal counterfeiting case that finds Chen Chiang Liu on trial in Las Vegas. He has been linked by federal investigators to an international counterfeiting ring that brought millions in so-called super notes into the United States through intermediaries from North Korea. ... You have to believe Mayor Oscar Goodman is doing more than dreaming of running for governor. Maybe he'll answer a few questions about the possibility during his second annual Get Movin' With Mayor Oscar B. Goodman walk at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Kellogg Zaher Park at 7901 W. Washington Ave. ... I hear there are more headaches coming for at least one surgeon who testified in the unsuccessful federal trial of attorney Noel Gage.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.