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Several long-serving elected officials throughout the state, including Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, cannot seek re-election this year under a ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court.

The decision, released Friday morning, concluded that term limits took effect in 1996 for the local officials.

In a separate ruling, the court spared several state legislators who faced term-limit challenges, including Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley.

Woodbury will see his record for longevity stopped at 27 years as a result of the high court's decision.

In September, he became the longest-serving county commissioner in Nevada history, surpassing a Northern Nevada commissioner who served from 1918 to 1945.

MONDAY

SOMETHING BORROWED

Clark County officials were investigating allegations of theft from the Las Vegas Marriage License Bureau. The crime could be tough to prove, because the current cash-only system makes the flow of money hard to track.

A county employee was placed on leave during the investigation, which could lead to new procedures.

By pocketing even half of the fees collected during a typical shift, an employee could take home up to $3,500 a month, an official said.

TUESDAY

EMOTIONAL RULING

A judge ruled that patients suing the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada for potential exposure to blood-borne diseases can seek damages for emotional distress.

District Judge Allan Earl said the mental anguish of being exposed to hepatitis C and AIDS could lead to physical symptoms for the affected patients.

The decision dealt a blow to the Las Vegas endoscopy clinic now linked to nine cases of hepatitis C. Lawyers for the clinic argued that patients who didn't contract a disease should not be allowed to sue unless they could demonstrate some physical injury.

WEDNESDAY

DOWNTURN WORSE HERE

Nevada's economic downturn ranks as one of the worst in the 50 states, a new National Conference of State Legislatures report said.

Only Oregon and Florida have seen larger declines in revenue, and only Arizona faces a larger gap, on a percentage basis, between expected revenue and proposed spending.

The report said Nevada is one of 28 states that expect revenues to fall even further during the current fiscal year.

THURSDAY

FEWER LEFT BEHIND

The Clark County School District was celebrating after meeting 94 percent of almost 13,000 federal benchmarks over the last year.

The performance is expected to land Clark County on the list of districts that made adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The district improvements came even as 31 more schools landed on the state's watch list for failing to improve.

FRIDAY

NEVADA BANK SEIZED

First National Bank of Nevada was placed under federal receivership, the first Nevada-based bank to be seized in 18 years.

The bank's five Las Vegas branches, however, will open Monday under a new banner: Mutual of Omaha Bank.

The Omaha, Neb.-based insurance company is buying the bank. The sale means that all of First National's depositors will avoid any losses.