Top News
Gov. Jim Gibbons on Friday announced he will convene the Legislature into a special session June 23 to tackle an ongoing revenue shortfall.
Tops on the chopping block for some GOP lawmakers is a 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment set to take effect July 1 for state and university employees and school teachers. Repealing it would save the state $130 million.
But Gibbons' proclamation calling the 63 lawmakers to Carson City will be generic enough to allow for virtually any type of fix, from cutting state programs to employee furloughs to a proposal to use the state's annual tobacco settlement payments to keep the state solvent.
MONDAY
DIVORCE CASE TABLED
Gov. Jim Gibbons and first lady Dawn Gibbons announced they had suspended further action in their divorce case while they try to resolve issues affecting the divorce.
As part of the agreement, Dawn Gibbons will move out of the Governor's Mansion and into a guesthouse on the grounds. Jim Gibbons, who has been living in the couple's Reno home, will move back into the mansion.
TUESDAY
TEXTS CALLED 'MISTAKE'
Gov. Jim Gibbons used a state cell phone to send more than 850 text messages in March and April 2007 to the Reno woman with whom he has been accused of being involved in an affair, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
On Wednesday, Gibbons said the messages sent to Kathy Karrasch were a "mistake." But he denied having a sexual relationship with the estranged wife of a Reno podiatrist.
A Review-Journal poll on Friday showed only 21 percent of likely voters statewide believe the governor is doing an excellent or good job. But half said the governor's divorce isn't affecting his ability to govern.
WEDNESDAY
GAMING PROFITS DROP
For the fourth straight month, gaming revenues decreased as gamblers cut their discretionary spending.
The gaming win in April was just above $1 billion statewide, a 5.05 percent decrease from April 2007, according to the Gaming Control Board.
THURSDAY
TAXI FUEL SURCHARGE
The Nevada Taxicab Authority will ask its board of directors on June 23 to implement a temporary 25 cents per metered mile fuel surcharge to cover higher gasoline costs, the Review-Journal reported.
FRIDAY
CRANE BUCKLES
An unstable construction crane at the $9.2 billion CityCenter project shut down traffic on a portion of the Strip and stalled work at the 76-acre site on Friday.
State and federal safety officials are investigating a string of accidents that have killed six workers at CityCenter in the past 16 months.
Week In ReviewMore Information
Blogs • Vegas voices: Luxor is closing both the IMAX and the faux King Tut tomb this month. • vegasland: Brandon Flowers, of the Killers, causes a mustache fad among rockers. • Vin Suprynowicz: Every year, on Dec. 7 and June 6, readers complain here that the newspaper has "ignored" the historic events of those dates. Where are the complaints on June 18 about ignoring Napoleon's defeat? • sherman frederick: Face it Nevada: Both Barack Obama and John McCain support nuclear and coal-powered energy. • the online guy -- tidbits: The new iPhone at $199-$299 connects to a much faster 3G network and includes true global positioning features. • Vegas voices: Reviews of "Superpowers," "Devil May Care," "The Other," "The Story of Forgetting," "Las Vegas Noir," "The ABCs of Building a Business Team That Wins" and "Vegas Die." • heavy pedal: Kyle Petty's move to part-time analyst for NASCAR is a good move. Quotes "I am a person who sleeps very little, two hours or three hours a night. I am constantly sitting there thinking about issues." Gov. Jim Gibbons explaining why he sent numerous late night text messages in March and April of 2007 to Kathy Karrasch, the Reno woman with whom he has been accused of being involved. "They are out there doing what is the quintessential First Amendment activity, which is standing on the corner preaching and telling people that unless they repent, they will go to hell." Allen Lichtenstein general counsel for the ACLU of Nevada on two street preachers dropping a federal lawsuit, filed after they were arrested for carrying signs on the Strip. They dismissed the lawsuit after Clark County commissioners changed the ordinance that led to their arrests. NUMBERS 727,000 -- additional riders on Citizens Area Transit during the first five months of the year. 3 percent of likely Nevada voters who say Gov. Jim Gibbons is doing an excellent job in a Review-Journal poll. 56 percent of likely Nevada voters who say the state is on the wrong track. 315 is the number of top academic personnel at UNLV earning more than $100,000 in 2007, up from 270 a year earlier. 84 percent of Nevadans connected to the Internet by broadband.
