J. Patrick Coolican

Columnist

J. Patrick Coolican was born in Connecticut to a large, Irish Catholic family and then studied dead white male authors at the University of Notre Dame. He started his career during the 2000 presidential campaign, writing for a Web site he created with two friends. He's written for The Seattle Times, The Nation, LA Weekly and, since early 2006, for the Sun.

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Story Archive

Power, luck, finesse bring gay rights win: With help from foes, partnership measure’s sponsor did everything right to land key vote of a GOP senator; Friday, June 5, 2009; If you want to know how things get done at the Legislature, ask state Sen. Dennis Nolan. The Las Vegas Republican cast the deciding vote to override a veto of Gov. Jim Gibbons, giving a fairly stunning victory to a drive to extend domestic partnership rights for gay and straight unmarried couples.
Buckley looks back on session at town hall: Assembly speaker thought to be considering run for governor; Wednesday, June 3, 2009; The 2010 race for governor feels like it has begun during the past 24 hours. Although she declined to fully commit to running, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley sounded like a candidate as she extolled achievements during the recent legislative session and spoke of the need for a new governor. She spoke to about 75 activists at the Henderson Democratic Club Wednesday night just 48 hours after the session concluded Monday. Buckley received a warm reception in what could be the first of many town halls during the next 17 months as she considers a run to become the state's first woman governor.
National GOP: Take note of Nevada: State Senate Republicans’ moderation, pragmatism could be model for success; Sunday, May 31, 2009; After the November election, state Sen. Warren Hardy took some heat for something he told my colleague: “Nevada has gone in the last two to four years from center-right to center-left and it’s not going back.”
In their words, lawmakers leaving with pride, regrets: Term limits, approved by voters in 1996, will force from office 17 lawmakers; Sunday, May 31, 2009; The Las Vegas Sun asked the legislators who are possibly serving the final days of their final session to look back on their time in Carson City and share a memorable story, accomplishment or regret.
Jim Gibbons: Gov. Veto: He's set the state record for vetoes. Some were expected; others have Carson City surprised, even perplexed; Sunday, May 31, 2009; Vetopalooza. That is what punch-drunk legislators and lobbyists are calling the flurry of vetoes by Gov. Jim Gibbons as the legislative session nears its end. The vetoes have come in batches big and small —42 as of midday Saturday.
State losing one-of-a-kind lawmaker: Sunday, May 31, 2009; Townsend represents a certain Republican mind-set that is dying off: Noblesse oblige — the belief that with privilege comes responsibility.
The Jim Gibbons voters elected: Four days remain: an analysis; Friday, May 29, 2009; Nevadans should not have been surprised Thursday when Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed legislators’ spending bills and the $780 million tax increase to pay for them.
He pounded down the veto stamp on eight bills in a made-for-TV-event that was like an unofficial 2010 reelection kickoff.
Gibbons’ veto of rights for gay couples appears safe: Domestic partnership bill’s diverse support might not win override; Thursday, May 28, 2009; Nevada has a long history of libertarianism. But that legacy appears threatened in the closing days of the legislative session, as Gov. Jim Gibbons’ veto of a bill granting domestic partnership rights to straight and gay couples seems likely to be sustained.
How mining will escape Session ’09 unscathed: Backroom deals for votes helped prevent industry tax increase, for now; Wednesday, May 27, 2009; The gold mining industry began the legislative session like some 19th-century prospector who got lucky: Everyone outside the mining camp jealously eyed his nuggets, and he slept with one eye open and a hand on a revolver.
Employee incentives in public, private sectors are poles apart: Tuesday, May 26, 2009; The career track is often the same at America’s elite law and auditing firms, investment banking houses, technology start-ups and biotechnology companies. Young, talented newcomers are paid princely sums, but it’s understood that only the most innovative and hardworking will last more than a few years.
Republicans take the pot in final hand: Veteran Raggio uses all his leverage to extract concessions from majority; Saturday, May 23, 2009; Senate Republicans scored a resounding victory here Friday, winning a set of concessions from Democrats that they have been demanding for months in exchange for agreeing to a $780 million tax increase. Republicans in the state Senate were often the only legislators here openly acknowledging the need for new taxes, and all along they said they would agree to a tax package only under certain conditions.
Day jobs of lawmakers bring chaos to session: Two key Republicans were out of budget talks after anti-tax forces threaten ethics action; Thursday, May 21, 2009; It is not surprising that alleged conflicts of interest caused something of a meltdown at the Legislature here Wednesday. This Legislature, like so many before it, is rife with conflicts of interest, owing to being a citizen legislature wherein lawmakers make almost no money and must support themselves with day jobs.
Raggio back in vote as lawmakers stay late: Wednesday, May 20, 2009; CARSON CITY -- The Legislature is expected to meet late into Wednesday night, as questions still swirl over who will abstain from voting on a tax increase because of potential conflicts and legislative leaders continue to hammer out changes to public employee benefits. "There's a great deal of tension," said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.
Time not on state budget’s side: Standoff emerges after agreements between parties break down; Wednesday, May 20, 2009; With the clock ticking down to the final days of the 2009 Legislature, legislative leaders were at a standoff on several crucial elements of the budget late Tuesday night. Items in dispute include pay and benefits for public employees, with Democrats seeking to protect those loyal constituents. Democratic leaders argue that state workers have sacrificed enough with pay cuts to help the state balance its deficit-laden budget. The Legislature’s 120-day session ends June 1.
Some of Nevada's public workers sitting pretty: Afloat on overtime and generous retirement benefits, some state and local workers in Nevada belie the state’s reputation for government parsimony; Sunday, May 17, 2009; Nevada has fewer public employees than nearly every state in the union, but government workers here are among the nation’s most handsomely rewarded, according to a Sun analysis of census data. Nevada public employees make 16 percent above the national average, trailing only California, New York and a few other places where the cost of living is much higher than in Nevada.
Why winning Legislature got Democrats only so far: Republicans took steps to preserve influence beyond their tenure; Sunday, May 17, 2009; Democrats won a big victory last year, taking control of the state Senate and securing a veto-proof majority in the Assembly. So why does it feel like Republicans are running things?
Mining eyed for tax hike via voters: Group says industry pays too little, may launch effort to amend state constitution; Friday, May 15, 2009; A liberal interest group is threatening to go to voters in 2010 to amend the state constitution to increase the tax on mining operations. In a letter to the board of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Bob Fulkerson, the state director, said there are “ominous signs that legislators will refrain from closing mining tax loopholes in any significant way ...”
Think tank's Freedom Budget balances budget with deep cuts in education: Thursday, May 14, 2009; The state’s libertarians advocate curing Nevada’s budget crisis without a tax increase. For months all they’ve heard from Democrats and moderate Republicans is this: Well, what would you cut?
Home defect law divides Democrats: Bill to pare homeowner lawsuits hasn’t received Assembly green light; Wednesday, May 13, 2009; Democrats are locked in an increasingly acrimonious battle over construction defect legislation, which has emerged as one of the most contentious issues this session.
Party in power’s tension heating up: Stress of budget talks brings strained relations of Buckley, Horsford to the surface; Wednesday, May 13, 2009; Recent days have laid bare some tension between Barbara Buckley, the two-term Assembly speaker and veteran legislator from Las Vegas, and Steven Horsford, the new and youngest Senate majority leader in state history.
Judge takes step to air his views: UNLV fellow, Bush memo author seeks to meet Titus; Thursday, May 7, 2009; As criticism of federal appellate court Judge Jay Bybee mounts for authorizing harsh interrogation techniques as a Bush administration lawyer, the Nevada jurist has reached out to members of the state’s congressional delegation, apparently to tell his side of the story.
County, fire union break ice with heated words: Thursday, May 7, 2009; The rift between Clark County officials and the county firefighters union broke into open conflict Wednesday. The union’s leaders, stung by criticism that they have not offered to help close the $126 million county budget gap by offering concessions similar to those from police and other unions, claimed they had indeed told the county they would give up pay and benefits.
Rogers criticizes Buckley’s tax stance: A corporate income tax, he says, would be source of badly needed revenue; Wednesday, May 6, 2009; The chancellor of Nevada’s university system said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley’s approach, which includes smaller increases of existing taxes combined with significant spending cuts, is being driven by politics.
Leader still wants broad tax: While others tinker to close gap, Horsford calls for levy on corporations; Tuesday, May 5, 2009; Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, said he is still committed to broadening Nevada’s tax base this session, including a corporate income tax that would be passed this year but wouldn’t take effect until after the 2011 session. The need for fundamental tax reform was widely discussed by business and government leaders in the months leading up to the legislative session.
Ensign is front and center. Now what?: Conservative Nevada Sen. John Ensign’s rise in GOP prominence puts him at odds with increasingly blue Nevada electorate.; Monday, May 4, 2009; Note from Nevada to a longtime lover: “It’s not you, John. It’s me. I’ve changed.” That’s a message no one wants to get, certainly not a Nevada senator facing reelection. Republican Sen. John Ensign has emerged over the past two years as a leader of Senate conservatives, championing positions that public opinion polls show are well to the right of those of much of the Nevada and national electorates.
Fireﬁghters want bigger piece of a smaller pie: Union leader, lobbyist unapologetic as he goes after more health benefits; Monday, May 4, 2009; This is the worst legislative session in memory. The fiscal crisis has made it nearly impossible to make progress on policy goals in areas such as education or health care. There is one interest group, however, for whom the salad days continue.
Assembly speaker post up for grabs in 2011: Challenges abound for Buckley’s successor; Sunday, May 3, 2009; Spring is in the air and term limits are at hand, so it’s time for some fun speculation about who the next speaker of the Nevada Assembly will be.
Pieces of budget puzzle falling in: Key lawmakers agree on outline of deal to close massive shortfall; Sunday, May 3, 2009; Legislators have not reached a final agreement on how to solve Nevada’s budget crisis as they face key deadlines this week to fund state spending, but the broad outlines of a deal have emerged.
A job you don’t want: Projecting the state's revenue now: Economic Forum looks ahead two years, sees more signs of trouble; Saturday, May 2, 2009; Friday's all-day session of the Economic Forum, which was formed to eliminate the uncertainty of the two-year budgeting process, illustrated two things: First, we’re broke. Second, we’re not even really sure how broke.
Construction defect legislation remains contentious: Wednesday, April 29, 2009; No issue will have been fought over more intensely, or more expensively this legislative session, than construction defect law.
Big issues must wait, so they take on tiny ones: Lacking revenue numbers, lawmakers fill time with symbolic gestures; Wednesday, April 29, 2009; There’s a sense of stasis here at the Legislature, as everyone waits with anguish and dread for May 1, when the Economic Forum tells lawmakers how much money they’ll have for the next two years.
Lawmakers’ huddle with business a step toward tax hike: Sunday, April 26, 2009; A meeting of legislative leaders of both parties and a few members of the business elite last week seemed to confirm, at least in part, the wisdom of the Democrats’ strategy for selling a plan a to fix the budget mess.
Deadlines and dead ends: As the clock winds down on this year’s legislative session, some bills will emerge as law, and a few, just as worthy, will be lost. A look at both.; Sunday, April 26, 2009; The state is broke, as everyone knows, and that’s having a punishing effect on the Legislature. A deadline passed last week for getting bills out of their houses of origin, giving Nevadans a clearer picture of what their Legislature will accomplish this year. Because advancing public policy — be it improving outcomes in education or health care, or building transit systems — usually takes money, the Legislature won’t be able to do much other than preserve the bare necessities.
Senate, too, had bills that were nonstarters: Nay to pay for certain commissioners, actions on alternative medicine; Friday, April 24, 2009; As promised, here’s some of the more colorful legislation that didn’t beat the deadline to make it out of the state Senate.
Play taps for these pieces of legislation: Verdicts: Assembly says no to fish pedicures, inmate teleconferences; Thursday, April 23, 2009; The deadline to push legislation out of the Assembly passed Tuesday, which left fatigued legislators with a satisfyingly slow day Wednesday. A good time, then, to take stock of some of the more eccentric and arcane legislative proposals that died on the Assembly side this week.
Dems want change — in how president is elected: Assembly majority signals support for altering the Electoral College system to enact a popular vote; Wednesday, April 22, 2009; Democrats apparently don’t like the fact that Nevada is a presidential battleground state or that Barack Obama was here 20 times in two years to campaign for the presidency.
Activism 101: Gays show how it’s done: They and their allies are among the few inspired by the Obama campaign still involved in politics; Tuesday, April 21, 2009; When 100,000 Nevada Democrats showed up for the presidential caucus last year, nearly everyone in Nevada’s small political class — except Sen. Harry Reid — was a little shocked.
Three professors bidding Boyd adieu: Specter of budget cuts is a reason cited by departing law school educators; Sunday, April 19, 2009; UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law is losing three highly regarded professors, and faculty sources said several others are looking elsewhere. Two of them question Nevada’s commitment to education in the face of a proposed 36 percent cut in higher education in Gov. Jim Gibbons’ budget.
Redevelopment staff had role in independent study: Sunday, April 19, 2009; Correspondence, obtained by the Las Vegas Sun through an open records request, reveals a tight relationship between city staff and Applied Analysis as the firm worked on the study.
Deadlines looming, decisions stay secret: As legislative session wanes, public has less of a chance to influence budget talks; Wednesday, April 15, 2009; A tax increase is coming. The questions now are: Who pays, and how much? High-level talks occur twice a week between legislative leaders from both parties, from both houses.
Nevada Constitution in need of repairs?: UNLV law professor points to flaws in legislative process as symptoms of state’s faulty foundation; Tuesday, April 14, 2009; Picture this scenario: Nevada’s governor is incompetent and corrupt, failing to lead in a time of crisis while bringing disrepute on the state with his various embarrassments. What could be done? If the Legislature is in session, as it is every other year for 120 days, lawmakers could impeach the governor. But for the other 83 percent of the time, the Legislature would have no recourse.
Autism bill shows how politics can trump policy: Sunday, April 12, 2009; A bill forcing some private insurance companies to cover treatment of autistic children won an Assembly committee’s approval last week, and it’s almost certainly on its way to becoming law.
State senator calls Las Vegas prostitution policing a sham: Friday, April 10, 2009; During a debate about taxing legal prostitution, state Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, committed what is known in politics as a “Kinsley Gaffe,” named for the witty writer who said a gaffe in Washington, D.C., is when someone tells the truth.
Group: Mining industry not paying its share of taxes: Thursday, April 9, 2009; A liberal group held an event in front of the legislative building today, matching tax deductions for the mining industry with unmet social service needs in Nevada.
Senator: You break roads, you buy ’em: With Democrats in power, tax mostly on truckers on the table; Thursday, April 9, 2009; During the 2007 Legislature, state Sen. Bob Coffin stood in the well of the upper chamber and made a memorable speech condemning the Senate for not taxing the trucking industry to build and fix roads.
Democrats’ reforms favor employees: Bill would restore workers’ right to sue, put burden of proof on employer; Wednesday, April 8, 2009; Elections matter, and there was no clearer sign than an Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee hearing this week dealing with workers’ compensation insurance law.
Crumbling finances cast pall over capital: Reality sinks in: Agonizing, unpopular actions must be taken; Sunday, April 5, 2009; A feeling of despair settled on Carson City last week. It was like fine desert dust, perceptible and sullying to everything it touched.
How did so many experts get their forecasts so wrong?: Difficulty, missed signs and lingering boom-time euphoria all contributed to inaccurate predictions; Sunday, April 5, 2009; Many in Nevada’s relatively small ranks of economic analysts saw conditions as much sunnier than they were, including a prominent economic forecaster, a leading UNLV economist and gaming industry analysts.
No time like later to clue public in on crisis budget: Friday, April 3, 2009; Nevada legislators are busy deliberating and being deliberative, so don’t ask them how much money they need or where they’re going to get it.
Debate on home defect law heats up: Builders welcome proposed bill; lawyers for homeowners slam it; Thursday, April 2, 2009; A fierce dispute over the way Nevada resolves homeowners’ claims of construction defects broke open before a legislative committee Wednesday. Legislation being considered pits builders and subcontractors against attorneys for plaintiffs.