Ben Kieckhefer

LAS VEGAS - In the midst of a special session to fix Nevada's budget crisis, Gov. Jim Gibbons has announced a number of "staff changes" in his office.  Among the changes are the departure of chief of staff Michael Dayton and the reassignment of chief operating officer Diane Cornwall to direct the Department of Business and Industry.

General Counsel Josh Hicks will replace Dayton as chief of staff and current Business and Industry Director Mendy Elliott will replace Cornwall.

Despite the series of scandals that has beset Gibbons and his low public approval ratings, the governor argued that the changes in personnel were nothing abnormal.

LAS VEGAS - Gov. Jim Gibbons' office announced today that the governor will hold an emergency budget meeting with legislative leaders and state officials on Thursday to discuss Nevada's worsening budget crisis.

"I believe we are in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis in the state's history," Gibbons said in a statement. "It's important that all state leaders are on the same page about where we stand and together we consider our options moving forward."

LAS VEGAS-A deal between the Nevada State Education Association and Station Casino, Harrah's and Wynn may have been reached in an attempt to kill a ballot initiative that would have raised the  gaming tax, but the state's political leaders haven't thrown their full support behind it yet. The Democratic leadership in the Assembly doesn't "anticipate any problems," but Republicans say they are waiting to see the details of the agreement before deciding whether to support any compromise to raise the room tax.

The deal, reached Monday right before a deadline to turn in petition signatures, reportedly kept a Teachers Union-supported 3 percent gaming tax increase initiative off the November ballot in return for gaming support of an up to 3 percent room tax increase instead, capped at 13 percent.

Although the compromise was reached with the help of the governor's office and Republican legislators, the governor's office and Republican leadership are holding off on supporting it until final details are released.