One of the major problems is how this state has hitched its wagon to the gaming horse; how can "all public employees" be blamed or made to suffer the consequences of that? Now that horse of an industry has stumbled mightily, having lost 30% or more of its own revenues. Having supplied way too much of this state's budget funding for too long, Nevada will face 50% or more of a revenue loss when the 2011 session rolls around. So, keep cutting? Or better, shutting down functions? It seems to this humble writer that it is patently unfair to lump state workers in with, in particular, Clark County and southern Nevada local government employees, who to my reading are responsible for every example of excess, over-payment and over time abuse offered here, and in most other recent articles. Though not a state employee myself, they've taken a larger than equitable or fair hit to help balance a messed up and "unfixable" budget with furloughs and pay cuts. And until Nevada, my home of 25 years, finds a way to find a stable and fair tax base that casts a wider net of a broad base where no one industry has to be relied upon so completely to ensure good times, our lower and higher ed systems will continue to drop farther to the bottom and behind the rest of the US, and our state's government will be unable to provide much if anything on a sustained basis.

Good grief Planet, are you kidding me? What does this guys actions have to do with the legal community here, or any where else? Just because he was a runner for firm doesn't make him a part of the legal community. Ridiculous.

Why don't you list all those "non-essential" programs, Mr. Gibbons? And doing pretty well, eh? What, pray tell, did Nevada lead the nation in, in any thing? What did Nevada rank in say, the Top 25 of any such essential OR non-essential program? And please, provide your references and materials that you use to back up whatever you provide in response. I really want to know who has been misleading us, and how the emperical evidence you must have has been ignored and led to the hoodwinking of Nevada taxpayers. I'm outraged!...

Good Lord it's sad to see how such an incredible tragedy can evoke such ridiculously stupid,ignorant, inane and off-the-wall comments, and accusations of some sort of bigger, yet unfounded and unproven, conspiracy. Recognize it for what it is: A tragic ending to a tortured soul's life, who needlessly and wantonly took the life of an innocent and good member of society, and injured another. No gloss, no glitter, no bogeyman hiding in the shadows. A tragedy.

It's sadly amazing how some classless asses choose to say ridiculously stupid things, rather than any thing that contributes something meaningful.

This Governor has been an embarrassment from the night he took office at 12:01 a.m., asserting some sort of defense emergency required he do so. Sadly, voters didn't pay enough attention to his behavior before the election, or his lack of any substantive record as an Assemblyman or Congressman, and provided him this chance to make Nevada a laughing stock. 2010 can't come soon enough, whoever wins the seat from him.

...and why is that afvet? Because our foolish Governor should be able to hide once again? Because the concept of our courts being open forums should be tossed aside? I have no issue with settlement discussions and conferences being private, but if there's a trial, it should be public, as all other trials are. And as for Gibbon's and his lawyer's assertion that Dawn is trying to humiliate him, I think his own boorish behavior and inability to show any sort of leadership has more than filled that bucket up, all by himself.

Hats off to you, Patti, for at least giving some information and analysis, which of course shows that once again Gibbons has failed to think something through.

Oh, and by the way, when (please) are you going to start calling Raggio a "moron", Mr. Gibbons? Even he sees the devastation of Gibbons budget that your myopic, vitrolic eyes can't see. You can't hold a candle to a man of Bill Raggio's stature. EVER.

Ahh, NB, you must be Patrick Gibbons, or some other fool who's part of Adelson's and Weidner's NPRI goon squad. Your comments read too closely to Patrick Gibbons' latest screed, as mentioned by Jon Ralston. He outed you any way. What are you going to do when Sheldon finally goes broke?

Nance has to be given credit for staying on message, if nothing else. One would almost consider him/her to be a sycophant follower and member of the "drank the kool-aid" Gibbonites, with your constant and never screeds against Buckley and any other D's, and abject refusal to recognize that something has to be done to stabilize how the state's budget is funded (note as well that it's just not D's that recognize that, but which of course you conveniently ignore in order to keep up the attack just on the D's). And I suppose as well that, like your tirades against the D's after all of 12 days of the 120 day session, that Raggio is now a coward and lacks leadership because he, too, has said that what your Luv Guv wants to do is and will be devastating to the State he has worked for over 30 years to make better, and particularly so with higher ed. Ed Goedhart must be your hero, Nance. Or perhaps Chuck Muth. Or worse, Sue Lowden.