With the PolitickerNV.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Nevada's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

With the PolitickerNV.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Nevada's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

EMILY's List endorses Derby

The pro-choice political group EMILY's List announced Thursday it was endorsing Democrat Jill Derby in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Carson City) in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District.

The group, which advocates for pro-choice Democratic women seeking office, called Derby a stronger candidate than she was during her failed run for the 2nd district seat in 2006. (PolitickerNV.com, Daniel Trudeau)

Link: http://www.politickernv.com/danieltrudeau/2181/emilys-list-endorses-derb...

Appointment of new benefits board members stalled

After a lengthy June meeting in which the Public Employee Benefits Board approved regulations expanding benefits to domestic partners, Gov. Jim Gibbons elected not to re-appoint two members whose terms expired June 30. (Nevada Appeal, Geoff Dornan)

Link: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080808/NEWS/969212115/-1/rss05

Chuck Muth: Do you, Mr. Candidate, take Miss Taxpayer …?

If you believe Nevada’s government is bigger than it should be and don’t want your taxes raised, you should ask any and all legislative candidates who ask for your vote to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promising to oppose and vote against any and all efforts to raise taxes. Period. Because if they won’t sign it, there’s a very good chance they’ll vote to raise taxes next year. (Nevada Appeal, Chuck Muth)

Link: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080808/OPINION/638359575/-1/rss05

GOP's actions lowering cost of oil, Heller says

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dean Heller on Thursday said Republicans are helping to lower gasoline prices by protesting the five-week congressional recess and urging lawmakers to come back and vote on off-shore drilling.

"You've seen oil prices go down -- what is it, $126 a barrel now? I think this debate has everything to do with that," the Carson City Republican said. (Review Journal, Tony Batt)

Link: http://www.lvrj.com/news/26412179.html

Hispanics push for McCain

Making a play for Hispanic votes in Nevada, Republican presidential candidate John McCain is preparing to roll out a coalition of Southern Nevada Hispanic supporters.

The group is to be formally announced Saturday in a news conference headlined by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who said in a phone interview Thursday that Hispanics can trust McCain because he knows their community and has championed their issues. (Review Journal, Molly Ball)

Link: http://www.lvrj.com/news/26412174.html

Gibbons asks for ethics complaint to be dismissed as 'wild hearsay'

CARSON CITY -- Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons has urged the state Ethics Commission to ignore "wild hearsay" and dismiss a state Democratic Party complaint alleging that he abused his position to get a big tax break on 40 acres he owns in eastern Nevada.

Gibbons, in a letter released Thursday by the commission in line with the governor's request that it be made public, said Democrats didn't comply with a rule that requires an ethics complaint to be backed up by more than "a newspaper article or other media report." (Review Journal, AP)

Link: http://www.lvrj.com/news/26412144.html

State confronts J-1 complaints

In a series of unprecedented actions, state officials and a committee that oversees the hiring of foreign doctors have introduced new levels of accountability to a beleaguered program that allows foreign doctors to work in medically needy communities.

Officials launched a Medical Examiners Board investigation by forwarding recently uncovered complaints by foreign physicians who said they were taken advantage of by their employers in Nevada. (Las Vegas Sun, Marshall Allen)

Link: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/08/state-confronts-j-1-complain...

Regional board concedes changes to avoid growth-water ballot question

Rather than file a lawsuit to block a ballot question calling for sustainable growth in Washoe County, elected officials Thursday extended an olive branch to the leaders of the movement. (Gazette Journal, Susan Voyles)

Link: http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080807/NEWS18/80807066

Six seek open school board seat in western Washoe County

Six people jumped into the nonpartisan race to replace Barbara Price on the Washoe County school board representing western Washoe County from Cold Springs to Washoe Valley. (Gazette Journal, Cyndi Loza)

Link: http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080807/NEWS18/80807063

State employees to see reduced insurance benefits

CARSON CITY -- The more than 41,000 public employees covered by Nevada’s health insurance plan are going to see reduced benefits and higher premiums starting in July 2009.

Nearly $58 million will be cut from the budget of the Public Employees Benefits Program because of the financial troubles plaguing the state’s economy. (Las Vegas Sun, Cy Ryan)

Link: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/07/state-employees-see-reduced-...

How many illegal immigrants are in Nevada?

Lots of figures are thrown about regarding the number of illegal immigrants in Nevada, but by its nature, this number is hard to estimate. the best estimate we've found so far comes from the Pew Hispanic Center, and its survey based on the 2005 Current Population Survey (a joint effort of the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics) estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 of the people living in Nevada were illegal immigrants. (Gazette Journal, Mark Robinson)

Link: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/blogs/immigration.pbs&pl...

Nevada Regents vote down moratorium on state-funded programs

A proposal to put a moratorium on new state-supported programs for higher education was voted down Thursday in committee by members of the Nevada Board of Regents. (Gazette Journal, Lenita Powers)

Link: http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080807/NEWS18/80807031