J. Patrick Coolican

Reporter/ GA/ Politics

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Recent Stories (view all stories)

Ensign’s pal lacked usual qualifications for top job: Sunday, July 5, 2009; When Sen. John Ensign hired Doug Hampton to be his senior aide in November 2006, Nevada Republicans were baffled. Hampton was an unknown, without a policy profile or political experience.
Local conservative radio talk reflects right’s downcast state: Sunday, July 5, 2009; One might expect Heidi Harris, as a conservative talk show host, to be filled with fire and fury, given the liberal ascendancy and Age of Obama. But she was unwilling to engage in the apocalyptic rhetoric heard in other quarters.
Heller may have ruled out a run at Reid: Republican says he hasn’t decided; he hints otherwise; Friday, July 3, 2009; Although Rep. Dean Heller told the Las Vegas Sun he has not made up his mind and does not feel rushed to do so, he seemed to hint strongly this week that he will run for reelection rather than run against Sen. Harry Reid in 2010.
Heller feels pressure to take on Reid: Sunday, June 28, 2009; Sen. Harry Reid is up for reelection in 2010, and he has a fat target on his back. His poll numbers are weak, and national Republicans would love some payback for Reid’s years of hammering Republicans and stymieing their agenda when he was minority leader.
On home defect legislation, lobbyists went to the wire: Some say there’s reason to believe a compromise can be achieved in 2011; Sunday, June 21, 2009; The construction industry had just captured a huge victory, pushing legislation through the state Senate that would limit the ability of homeowners to win settlements against developers for construction defects. Builders needed only a victory in the Assembly to save themselves millions in settlements and legal fees. Their lobbyists, gathered in the hallway of the state’s 1970s-era concrete slab of a Legislative Building on April 16, were ecstatic over the Senate vote.
Thieves, drunks and lawyers are why your rates are so high: Nevadans have more accidents, file more lawsuits and have the ninth highest premiums in the U.S.; Sunday, June 21, 2009; Nevadans are burdened with some of the highest auto insurance premiums in the country, according to a Sun analysis. The state’s residents spent a bit more than $1,000 per year, per vehicle, in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Rory Reid hits duo of likely rivals with 1 stone: Commissioner sets table for governor’s race, citing a ‘leadership vacuum’; Thursday, June 18, 2009; The 2010 governor’s race began in earnest this week as Rory Reid offered an opening sally against both his Democratic and Republican opposition. Reid was most critical of Gov. Jim Gibbons, the first-term Republican.
Unanswered: Why he told: Ensign and his staff silent as more details — and more questions — emerge on his affair with a former staffer.; Thursday, June 18, 2009; Neither the FBI nor Metro Police are investigating any claim that Sen. John Ensign’s former mistress or her husband tried to blackmail the senator, spokesmen for the agencies confirmed Wednesday.
Ensign's mistress saw salary double, son was paid $5,400: Ex-campaign aide to Ensign confirms affair; Wednesday, June 17, 2009; The one-time mistress and campaign treasurer of Sen. John Ensign saw her salary double during the time of the affair, according to federal election documents. Her salary increased slightly in January 2008 but then doubled to nearly $2,800 per month in February 2008.
Ensign fallout could weaken GOP efforts to rebuild party at state, national levels: Analysis: Republican emphasis on faith could backfire when conduct fails to meet ideals; Wednesday, June 17, 2009; The Republican Party didn’t make a deal with the devil. It made a deal with God, or at least people who said they were God’s representatives — a certain class of very political and ideological preachers. But the deal carried a risk: Any behavior by Republican officeholders or public figures that seemed at odds with a certain kind of Old Testament morality.