Gibbons

In an apparent move to increase the transparency of his administration, Gov. Brian Sandoval released today the annual salaries of his staff. His 17 staff positions, one of which is vacant, consume about $1 million of the governor’s executive budget.
His highest paid employee, Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert, will earn $124,988 this year. The lowest paid, Celia Magana, is an administrative assistant in Las Vegas earning $29,984.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval wasted no time getting to work after being sworn into office today, signing an executive order freezing many proposed administrative regulations as evidence that Nevada is a business friendly state.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – There will be no fee increases of any kind in Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval’s budget when it is presented to lawmakers next year, Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert has confirmed.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons has appointed Sue Lowden to the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners. Lowden has lived and worked in Nevada for more than 30 years. She is a former Nevada state senator who recently ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Long-time Republican political operative Sig Rogich said today that Sarah Palin is not a viable candidate for president in 2012.
Rogich, who was involved in the campaigns of Ronald Reagan and both Bush presidents, said Palin, a Tea Party favorite and former Republican Alaska governor, is unelectable.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Despite the need for drastic spending reductions to balance Nevada’s budget, the government program that provides health care to the poor continues to expand, consuming a growing share of the state’s scarce state revenues.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons today announced the retirement of Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Jerry Hafen. Hafen is a life-long resident of Clark County and was appointed to the top job at the agency in early 2008.
He will step down Dec. 31.
“Jerry Hafen has proven to be a respected leader in law enforcement in Nevada and I am proud of his accomplishments as DPS Director,” Gibbons said. “Jerry has proven time and again that the safety of the citizens of Nevada is his top priority.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A panel of private sector fiscal experts today projected the Nevada state general fund will have about $5.3 billion in tax revenues to spend on government services for the next two years.
The Nevada Economic Forum spent the day making projections for gaming, sales, business and other major tax revenues for use by Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval and the Legislature in crafting a balanced budget for the two years beginning July 1, 2011.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons announced today the retirement of Information Technology Director Dan Stockwell after 47 years in the field, including 14 years with the state of Nevada.
“I consider Dan Stockwell a consummate professional and a good friend,” Gibbons said. “He can be proud of his service to the citizens of Nevada.”
“I would like to thank all of wonderful public service professionals I have worked with over the years with the State of Nevada,” Stockwell said. “We have truly laid the foundation for a bright future for our state.”

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Newly named state Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinness is adding his name to the list of Nevada policy makers who believe the state retirement system needs major change to head off a growing unfunded liability.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – An initiative petition proposed by Gov. Jim Gibbons to require public employee union negotiations to be subject to Nevada’s Open Meeting Law will not be turned in Tuesday.
Gibbons said his OPEN Government Plan will be introduced as a bill in the 2011 legislative session instead.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – The private attorney working on Nevada’s challenge to the new national health care law says a federal judge in Florida should rule on the case by January, setting the stage for an appeal that ultimately is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Veteran Republican state Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, won’t be minority leader in the upcoming 2011 session, withdrawing his name from consideration for the leadership post today after getting GOP criticism for backing Sen. Harry Reid in the Tuesday general election.

"You see, in our two-party system, the Democrats are the party of no ideas and the Republicans are the party of bad ideas. It usually goes something like this. A Republican will stand up in Congress and say, "I've got a really bad idea." And a Democrat will immediately jump to his feet and declare, "And I can make it sh---ier." — comedian Lewis Black

I'm not sure I've seen a better close-up example of a campaign attack backfiring than I did last night in the Assembly District 40 race.

Robin Williamson seemed to be doing everything right to fill the seat held by fellow Democrat Bonnie Parnell. She was working very hard, walking the neighborhoods, working with both Democrats and Republicans to gather the coalition she needed to win in this GOP-leaning district.

And then the Nevada Democratic Party stepped in and screwed it up.

Republican Steve Martin, whose neck-and-neck race with incumbent state Treasurer Kate Marshall will be decided Tuesday, recently answered some questions about his candidacy in an e-interview with the Nevada News Bureau.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Senate Democrats are running a slate of candidates across the state in the hopes of winning a 14-seat, veto-proof majority for the upcoming 2011 session.
But Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said he does not expect it to happen, and he has not discounted the possibility of the GOP winning the majority.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The question of how well the Gibbons administration has done in quickly and efficiently deploying Nevada’s share of stimulus dollars is difficult to quantify.

By Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons has ordered the flag at the state Capitol Building to be flown at half staff today to honor United States Marine Corps Sgt. Frank Zaehringer III.

Dozens of Nevada’s nonprofit groups, service providers and others met this week in Reno and Las Vegas to consider the looming threat of deep cuts to the state budget cuts which threaten to eliminate or dramatically reduce health care, education, and human services.

Service agency and nonprofit directors from Lyon and Storey counties attended the Monday meeting, hoping for insights on how to plan for the upcoming deep cuts to Nevada’s public education, health and social services that will hit the rural areas especially hard.

(Updated at 11:45 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2010, to include Gov. Gibbons comments.)
Questionable attack ads and the role of the federal government in job creation were the top issues in an energized debate Wednesday between Rep. Dina Titus and Republican challenger Joe Heck in one of the most closely watched house races of the Nov. 2 general election.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Service
A debate today among the three candidates for Nevada attorney general focused on a disputed ad discussing a decades old criminal conviction of the Republican seeking the post and allegations of political favoritism by the incumbent, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto.

Nearly a month of being hospitalized after a Sept. 21 horse riding accident in which he broke his pelvis, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons returned to the mansion in Carson City over the weekend. Gibbons will be receiving several weeks of outpatient therapy, according to staff.
Meanwhile, Gibbons continues work on a new state budget. Click here to read more.

Hundreds made their way to the Carson City Courthouse today, the first day for early voting in Nevada.

A record number of people could be voting in this election, said Alan Glover, Carson City Clerk-Recorder.

"I think it's going to be high again, just like 08. I see maybe a 90 percent turnout when this is done," Glover said. "I think the Senate race is cranking them out."

By Nevada News Bureau
Barry Herr, the Republican candidate challenging state Controller Kim Wallin in the November general election, said today he would bring a GOP point of view to the office and use the position to bring conservative influence to the discussion of taxes and other issues.

CARSON CITY – An investigation into the conduct of the former executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, sought by a state lawmaker after questions were raised about salary increases he awarded himself on the job, remains unresolved after more than two years.
A Nevada News Bureau public records request sent to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office generated a brief response saying the matter regarding Bob Loux was still under investigation and no information was available for release.

CARSON CITY – Republican state treasurer candidate Steve Martin said today the Democratic incumbent is playing politics by delaying a discussion involving an unprecedented $50 million investment loss until after the Nov. 2 general election.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons has received a “B� grade from the Cato Institute for his performance in dealing with Nevada’s major budget and fiscal challenges over the past two years.

CARSON CITY – Catherine Cortez Masto points to a number of accomplishments in her first term as attorney general, from reducing methamphetamine production in Nevada to cracking down on mortgage fraud, all while having to live with major budget cuts and fewer staff.

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, who was in a horse accident on Tuesday near Pyramid Lake, was moved today from the Intensive Care Ward of Renown Medical Center in Reno.
The governor's condition is improving but he is in a considerable amount of pain, according to a press statement. He underwent surgery on Wednesday for several fractures to the pelvis.

The Reno-Gazette Journal, KTVN Channel 2 Reno and even CNN reports Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was thrown from a horse on Tuesday afternoon north of Pyramid Lake and is hospitalized at Renown Medical Center in Reno. He is said to be resting and was alert when he spoke with staff.

Update 8:40 a.m.: We talked to the governor's office, and they said Gibbons is still at Renown Medical Center, and is listed in stable condition.
Update 1:30 p.m.: According to a press statement released by the governor's staff, Gibbons broke his pelvis in at least two places. He will have surgery today.
His surgeon says this type of injury is very common when someone is thrown from a horse. His doctors say his prognosis is very good and his injuries are non-life threatening and non-life altering.
Update 9:30 p.m.: Gov. Gibbons has undergone surgery and is recuperating in the hospital.  The Governor’s pelvis was broken in several places. The surgery lasted approximately two hours. The doctor who performed the surgery noted he expects the Governor to make a full recovery.