J. Patrick Coolican

Reporter/ GA/ Politics

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Recent Stories (view all stories)

Lots of answers, all of them wrong: Despite the candidates’ wide-ranging solutions, gas prices are beyond our control; Sunday, June 29, 2008; A few weeks ago, state Sen. Dina Titus stood at a gas station and blamed high gas prices on Rep. Jon Porter, whom she’s challenging in the Third Congressional District.
Gibbons had chance to silence his critics: But his actions in days leading up to Friday’s session left some furious; Sunday, June 29, 2008; Gov. Jim Gibbons came close, tantalizingly close, to getting the fresh start he so badly needed.
Our change politician?: Connected Democrat has ambitious state vision; Saturday, June 21, 2008; When he was just 18 years old and finishing his first semester of college in Reno, Steven Horsford returned to Las Vegas, took his three siblings from his mother, who was a drug addict, and got a job.
Solutions elude state Senate candidate: Democrat knows what’s important, but can’t; Sunday, June 15, 2008; I ran into Shirley Breeden recently at a Democratic picnic in Henderson.
As troubles mount, Gibbons disengages: Observers, including current and former officials, say the governor has become more isolated and his administration more dysfunctional as he faces state and personal crises; Sunday, June 15, 2008; Gov. Jim Gibbons called an emergency budget meeting with elected officials last week, but he and his staff failed to notify key legislators, who learned of it from media reports.
Opposition to room tax hike building: MGM Mirage, Sands want county to keep issue off the fall ballot; Thursday, June 12, 2008; MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, two of the state’s biggest private employers, are lobbying the Clark County Commission to keep an advisory measure about raising hotel room taxes for education spending off the November ballot, a county official said.
Early supporters of Obama stand to gain: Political favor could be the long-lasting thank you; Sunday, June 8, 2008; With Illinois Sen. Barack Obama having sewn up the Democratic nomination, we can call the winners and losers in Nevada. It seems like forever ago, but Nevada was an early state, and early support for Obama or New York Sen. Hillary Clinton won’t be soon forgotten.
State GOP recruits strong ﬁeld of hopefuls: Assembly candidates count on appeal to independents; Saturday, June 7, 2008; When Heidi Gansert took the job as the leader of Assembly Republicans, she must have felt as if she’d been named coach of the long-suffering Washington Generals to Speaker Barbara Buckley’s Globetrotters.
Ensign fielding lackluster lineup: Top-notch Senate candidates sitting out; Friday, June 6, 2008; John Ensign has a terrible job, and it got worse this week.
With the dirt flying, party backing away: GOP support for Gov. Jim Gibbons erodes after wife’s allegations revealed in filing; Thursday, May 29, 2008; Gov. Jim Gibbons’ political future turned bleak Wednesday as prominent Republicans said his support in the party is quickly disintegrating in the wake of the latest court filing in his divorce.