Thursday, March 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
EMBATTLED LAS VEGAS Constable Bob Nolen faces the state Ethics Commission again Friday.
The commission resumes its hearing into his alleged mistreatment of employees and misuse of office resources for political campaigns.
Nolen and his high-powered team of lawyers, headed by John Moran Jr., will continue presenting his side of the story.
For Nolen's sake, let's hope Team Nolen does a better job Friday than last time, when it resorted to blaming the media for the constable's troubles.
The Ethics Commission is too smart to fall for that one.
Several of Nolen's ex-deputies have leveled the charges against their former boss, who has been mounting a purge at the office the past two years.
* State Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, has finally seen the campaign literature Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., used to smear him in last year's 1st Congressional District race.
And Coffin isn't a happy camper.
Ensign takes Coffin to task in the mailers for submitting "false travel vouchers for his personal gain."
Several sessions ago, Coffin and other lawmakers were allowed to bill the state $240 for round-trip tickets between Las Vegas and Carson City, even though the tickets cost much less than that.
Once exposed, the practice didn't exactly ingratiate lawmakers to the public, but it was totally lawful and sanctioned by the legal arm of the Legislature.
There was nothing "false" about it.
Ensign used the mailers and television ads to draw heavy political blood from Coffin during the race.
Coffin now says he would have sued the congressman on the spot had he seen the fliers during the campaign.
At the moment, Coffin is demanding an apology from Ensign, who doesn't appear inclined to give one.
If Ensign continues to stand his ground, Coffin is threatening to file the suit he wishes he would have filed last year.
* Los Angeles Times Magazine is the latest publication to examine Southern Nevada's attempts to deal with its rapid growth.
For once, County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates -- who's taking heat for being at the forefront of the ongoing infrastructure talks -- isn't a featured player.
Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn, both with their arms folded, appear back-to-back on the cover of the magazine.
Jones sports a wide smile, reminiscent of her days as a television pitchwoman, and Wynn, in his navy pinstripe suit, has a mischievous smirk on his face.
You can tell Southern Nevada's future is in good hands.
* Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa is under fire over her handling of the Harris tapes, but it didn't stop her from making yet another trip to the nation's capital this week.
Del Papa was in Washington testifying before a House subcommittee looking to clamp down on teenage smoking.
But she also reportedly took time out to try to raise money for a would-be race for governor in 1998.
The furor, meanwhile, over how the Harris tapes became public escalated this week with more concerns raised by lawmakers and casino industry leaders.
The videotapes -- in which Ron Harris, a former Gaming Control Board electronics expert alleges wrongdoing by other gaming regulators -- were showcased in a "Prime Time Live" report last week.
Harris' allegations have been discredited by Del Papa, who's being accused of taking a cavalier attitude about the leak of the tapes.
* One of the hottest rumors at the Legislature last week was that Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., would not seek re-election in 1998 to make room for Gov. Bob Miller to run in his place.
But that's not likely to happen.
Reid has been aggressively raising money (already more than $1 million) for his campaign in anticipation of locking horns with John Ensign, the GOP's boy wonder.
Reid also is actively seeking the minority whip's post being vacated by Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., in 1998.
So far, Nevada's senior senator is said to be the early front-runner in the race. The whip is the No. 2 leadership position for the Democrats.
Reid already co-chairs the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, which sets the agenda for Democrats in the Senate.
* On the social circuit, former President Bush has made another visit to one of his favorite adopted communities.
Bush was in town Wednesday to give a speech at The Mirage, and you guessed it, play a round of golf.
Elsewhere in town, the Saints & Sinners are capitalizing on Bill Bayno's new celebrity as basketball coach at UNLV.
The charity organization plans to roast Bayno later this month at the second-floor executive club of the Olympic Gardens adult nightclub.
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