In Brief

BROKEN PELVIS RECUPERATION

Gibbons' release date from hospital remains undetermined

A spokesman said Wednesday that there still was no word on when Gov. Jim Gibbons will leave a hospital where he is recovering from surgery to repair a broken pelvis.

Gibbons has been at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno since Sept. 21, when he was bucked from a horse at a private ranch. Doctors used four large screws to repair his pelvis, which was broken in two places.

Spokesman Dan Burns on Wednesday said Gibbons was still in considerable pain, but doctors described that as normal for the severity of his injury. He's receiving limited physical therapy.

Burns says Gibbons has had several visitors, including senior staff members and agency heads as well as his brother Glen, who was with the governor when the accident happened.

WASHOE COUNTY BUDGET PROBLEMS

Proposal for advertisements on school buses criticized

The Washoe County School District is considering selling advertising space on school buses to help raise money in the face of budget cuts, but at least one board member says it's a bad idea that would undermine educational values.

Superintendent Heath Morrison said at a meeting this week that he would like further review of the idea and an estimate of any potential revenue, given financial pressures at both the state and local levels.

Nevada law allows school boards to approve the ads, with the money dedicated to such things as textbooks and laboratory equipment, he said.

School Board member Barbara Clark said she's strongly opposed to covering yellow school buses with ads. She said it could damage the district's reputation.

"I think what we're talking about here is a critical social and philosophical issue of what we stand for here and for education," Clark said. "I'm not willing to sell our district to get a few measly thousand dollars."

Tami Berg, a parent and vice president of the Nevada Teachers Association, said the district deserves credit for considering new ideas, but she doesn't like the bus ads, either. She noted that the district removed soda machines from schools a few years ago.

"If the district puts Coca-Cola on the side of a bus, that is something children are going to call out right away and notice the hypocrisy in that," she said.

FIVE-MEMBER ECONOMIC FORUM

Panel of fiscal experts begins revenue review for Legislature

A state panel charged with making revenue projections that will be used to build Nevada's budget for the upcoming two years has begun its work with an overview of revenue sources and a report card on previous forecasts.

At a meeting Wednesday in Carson City, the five-member Economic Forum was told revenues for the fiscal year that ended June 30 totaled $81 million more than revised projections made in January before a special legislative session.

But legislative analysts say the general fund total included temporary taxes and fees and shifts from other accounts that lawmakers approved in February to fill an $800 million gap.

The forum will make a preliminary forecast for the 2011-13 biennium later this year and update it in May when the Legislature is in session.