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This morning in a statewide media conference call moderated by the Nevada News Bureau, candidate Brian Sandoval fielded questions on numerous issues including the 2003 Supreme Court ruling on the two-thirds legislative supermajority needed to increase taxes, tax policy, the Tax Pledge, budget cuts and higher education salaries, renewable energy mandates and the state’s health care reform lawsuit.

From Rory Reid Campaign:

Rory Reid recently announced his plan to rebuild and transform education in Nevada. So far, the response from people across the state – and even across the ideological spectrum – has been overwhelmingly positive.

From Emily Richmond, one of the state’s most experienced education reporters:
Rory Reid’s reform plan: Boost education, boost economy
(Las Vegas Sun, 3/23/10)

CARSON CITY – A Las Vegas attorney running for attorney general as a Republican against Democrat incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, and who called for a State Bar investigation into her release of a letter to the press about a potential legal challenge to the federal health care law, is now himself the subject of a bar inquiry.
Attorney Jacob Hafter called the inquiry ridiculous.
“It just shows the type of protection these incumbents have,” he said.

The state Republican party has confirmed it will be filing an ethics complaint against Secretary of State Ross Miller and state Treasurer Kate Marshall alleging the improper use of publicly funded web pages, phone lines and state employees for their respective reelection campaigns.
“The Nevada Republican party is moving forward with an ethics complaint,” confirmed Ciara Turns, Communications Director for the state party.  “We look forward to the ethics commission completing an investigation into these improper actions.”

A gunman who robbed the Bank of the West in North Carson City about 4 p.m. today is also suspected of robbing three other branches, including two in the Lake Tahoe area.
www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100412/NEWS/100419900/1070&ParentProfile=1058

CARSON CITY – Nevada Republican U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian said in an interview today he is the independent choice for voters in the June primary and that his leading opponent, Sue Lowden, is the choice of the establishment.

Since a lot of people in Carson City know me from my political column that ran for four years in the Nevada Appeal, many asked if Carson Now would follow along the same philosophical slant.

The answer is no. But is Carson Now an "objective" news source? No way.

As someone who enjoys politics and has friends all over the political spectrum, I set out to make Carson Now open to all viewpoints. Anyone can sign up for an account and write whatever they want, subject only to keeping the content PG rated so as not to offend our younger viewers.

CARSON CITY – Despite being described as a “wounded” senator who has not been effective in representing Nevada in Washington, DC, state Republican officials and candidates surveyed by the Nevada News Bureau for the most part are still not calling on U.S. Senator John Ensign, R-Nev., to step down.

I've always liked Dean Heller. We might disagree politically, but my interactions with him have always been friendly. He seems like a truly nice person, the opposite of the what we see in some other Nevada politicians.

But watching him this week at the NNDA breakfast reminded me that Dean's ambition is clearly more important than adherence to truth.

You see, Dean used to come off as a lot more moderate than he does today. As assemblyman and Secretary of State, he championed causes that don't exactly line up with the national GOP's ideology.

CARSON CITY — There haven’t been any arrests or any contraband seized since security was tightened at the state Capitol in the wake of a March 31 letter warning Gov. Jim Gibbons to resign.
In fact, Gibbons hasn’t been in his Carson City office since a group called Guardians for a Free Republic sent notices to Gibbons and governors in other states to quit or it would quietly commandeer state offices.
Click here to read the Las Vegas Sun story: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/09/no-arrests-or-incidents-security-heightened-capito/

Four attorneys with ties to the issues and parties of Nevada’s health care reform lawsuit gave their perspectives to media and political bloggers during a Nevada News Bureau-hosted conference call this afternoon.
Mark Hutchison, lead counsel for Governor Gibbons’ newly retained pro-bono team, said he plans to participate in a conference with US District Court Judge Roger Vinson next week as part of the process to join Florida and other states in an amended complaint challenging the federal government on provisions in the recently passed health care legislation.

by Scott Schrantz Source: http://aroundcarson.com/2010/04/07/state_parks_announces_75th_anniversary_photography_and_geocaching_contests News Release: March 26 marked the 75th anniversary of Nevada State Parks. It was the exact date on which the Nevada Legislature first created the Nevada State Park system in 1935.

CARSON CITY – Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., today rejected the suggestion that he call on embattled U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., to resign because of an ongoing ethics investigation.

CARSON CITY – Nevada has crafted the proper policies of low taxes and small government that has helped it weather the current recession, and these same policies have positioned the state to respond favorably when the economic recovery takes hold, according to a report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

CARSON CITY – Microsoft and the state of Nevada are joining in a free computer training program to help employed or displaced workers improve their skills.
www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/02/state-partners-microsoft-help-workers-improve-skil/

Sales tax collections in Carson City plunged again in January, falling 16.2% from January of 2009. Sales tax collections statewide were down 8.1% in January. They were off 4.8% in Washoe County, down 2.2% in Douglas, minus 22% in Lyon and down 12.7% in the Fallon area.

A letter by an extremist group that told Gov. Gibbons and other governors to resign forced the partial closure of the capitol building in Carson City this morning, multiple news agencies are reporting.

According to the Nevada Appeal www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100331/NEWS/100339911/1070&ParentProfile=1058 and the Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/31/state-capitol-security-tightened-after-police-rece/ Nevada Capitol police implemented security measures this morning after law enforcement officials received letters.

CARSON CITY – A federal judge has dismissed seven of the 10 claims filed against Gov. Jim Gibbons and his budget director by an employee who believes she lost her job after leaking information about the governor’s excessive use of calls on his state cell phone to a female friend. Read more by clicking here: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/30/judge-dismisses-7-claims-gibbons-texting-case/

CARSON CITY – A study showing how well Nevada’s students perform on achievement tests, released today by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, concludes they fare no better than mid-range, and often well below, students in other states.

It was about midnight and tensions at the White House ran high on that January evening. House and Senate leaders had been haggling for days to merge their two health care bills. The heady momentum of passing President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority in both chambers had given way to the touchy task of reconciling two very different pieces of legislation. Their window for passing health care was closing: Republican Scott Brown was gaining ground on the Democratic candidate for the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Ted Kennedy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid began to speak.

The Nevada Public Employees Retirement System today fired Goldman Sachs and Quantitative Management Associates as portfolio managers. Click on link to read full story:

RENO – Democratic candidate for governor Rory Reid took his education reform plan to northern Nevada today, calling for a fundamental change to give principals, teachers and parents a much bigger say in how their schools operate.

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100322/NEWS/100329912/1070&ParentProfile=1058

Congressman Dean Heller, firmly standing with his party and the health insurance industry, rejected a Democratic-led plan to provide affordable health care for Northern Nevadans.

by Scott Schrantz
This little news bite from Kurt Hildebrand's Morning Report is so bizarre that I had to highlight it. I don't even think there's any comment I could make to enhance it.

According to Thursday's commission packet, someone apparently thought the Costco was in Douglas County for the last three years and shipped $434,740 of Carson City's gas taxes south.

It was just a four-inning game, but Colby Blueberg supplied some good news for the Carson High baseball team by pitching a no-hitter to beat Lovelock 12-0 during its own preseason tournament on Fri

Wouldn’t it be nice if all our elected Congressmen and Congresswomen got the kind of harsh treatment that those of us in Carson City get when on of Kenny Furlong’s black shirts pull us over for not

Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston is reporting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter were hospitalized after a car wreck today in the Washington, D.C., area.

In what may be the most difficult meeting of their careers, Carson City Supervisors next week will balance the 2010-11 city budget with significant cuts in city services including layoffs. Those layoffs, if approved, will occur in many departments, but the more noticeable will be in the Sheriff and Fire Departments.