Top News
May 31, 2009 - 9:00 pm
First came Gov. Jim Gibbons' promised veto of a $781 million tax increase.
Then came the swift override of those vetoes by lawmakers.
Wielding his bright-red "VETO" stamp in a public ceremony on the steps of the state Capitol, Gibbons on Thursday rejected eight bills that contained the tax hikes and spending plans.
Hours later, the state Senate undid three of the vetoes, and the Assembly finished the job Friday morning.
But Gibbons did not come away empty-handed. He has set a new record for the most vetoes issued by a governor during a single session. By Friday night, the total stood at 41.
MONDAY
PARTNERSHIPS VETOED
Gov. Jim Gibbons rejected a bill that would allow same- and opposite-sex couples to become legal domestic partners with many of the rights and privileges of married couples.
In his veto message, Gibbons said he rejected state Senate Bill 283 because it is contrary to the wishes of Nevada voters who in 2002 approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
TUESDAY
OBAMA IN LAS VEGAS
Six months after he carried the Silver State on his way to winning the White House, President Barack Obama landed in Las Vegas to help a fellow Democrat in need.
Obama was the name above the title for a star-studded "tribute concert" fundraiser for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who faces re-election next year.
The president spent the night in a high-roller suite at Caesars Palace after the sold-out show in the Strip property's Colosseum.
WEDNESDAY
WITH NO APOLOGIES
On Day 2 of his first visit to Nevada since his election, Obama joined Reid for a tour and policy event at Nellis Air Force Base.
The event, designed to tout the benefits of solar power, did not include the one thing some state and local officials were hoping to hear from the president: a strong endorsement of Las Vegas, after Obama name-dropped the city a few months ago while criticizing company executives for misspending federal bailout money.
THURSDAY
WOMAN ACQUITTED
Jurors returned a not guilty verdict against a woman accused of snatching a 6-year-old boy off the street near Mackey Elementary School last year to highlight lax school security.
Laurinda Drake burst into tears after the verdict was read in District Court.
The first-grader was returned after 90 minutes.
FRIDAY
LIFE IN PRISON
Chester Stiles, convicted of videotaping himself sexually assaulting a little girl, was sentenced to 21 life sentences.
A jury in March convicted Stiles, 38, of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old in Las Vegas.
The jury also convicted him of videotaping himself sexually assaulting a 2-year-old girl.
That victim, now 8, was found safe and healthy in Las Vegas with no memory of the assault.
The video was played at Stiles' trial.
Week In ReviewMore Information
BY THE NUMBERS
$70 million -- Earmarked by state lawmakers to reopen F Street, which was closed off by the expansion of Interstate 15, prompting complaints of racism
by residents of the area.
11th -- Place finish by Las Vegas eighth-grader Tussah Heera, 13, in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
13 -- The number of letters in the word that tripped Heera up in the finals. The word was "herniorrhaphy," which is a surgical procedure for correcting hernia.
30 -- Nevada's old record for vetoes in a single session, set by Gov. Henry Blasdel in 1865. Gov. Jim Gibbons broke the record on Thursday.
11 -- How many minutes early Air Force One arrived for a scheduled 4:20 p.m. landing in Las Vegas. Apparently it pays to charter your own flight.
QUOTES
"One benefit to me running is they're not going to have to worry about me running up against term limits."
Bill Smith
Candidate for Boulder City Council, joking about his age, a healthy 83.
"The jurors saw Mr. Simpson for the criminal he is."
David Roger
CLark County District Attorney, summing up the trial last year that resulted in O.J. Simpson's conviction on kidnapping and armed robbery charges. Simpson, who is now serving time in Nevada state prison, appealed his conviction on Tuesday.
"I just close my eyes for a few moments and think about my goals. It's going pretty good so far."
Tussah Heera
Las Vegas eighth-grader who made it to the finals of the scripps national spelling bee and wound up finishing 11th.
MULTIMEDIA
• President Barack Obama in Las Vegas
• President Barack Obama at Nellis Air Force Base
• Obama's Suite
• Gov. Jim Gibbons speaks to the R-J Editorial Board
• Movie Minute
• Santana At "The Joint"
• World Series Of Poker
• Spring Photos