Catherine Cortez Masto

The AP is reporting that the ACLU and the attorney general's office have voluntarily dropped a state Supreme Court case challenging Nevada's use of lethal injection to execute inmates.

With the U.S. Supreme Court essentially confirming lethal injection as an acceptable means of administering the death penalty, attorneys felt the case would no longer benefit their client.

AP's Brendan Riley is reporting that Gov. Gibbons' chief counsel, Josh Hicks, has been working with the staff of Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in order to soften the impact of a Supreme Court hearing that could push the $900 million budget deficit closer to $1 billion.

The court ruling opens a tax loophole that makes complimentary food provided to customers and employees non-taxable.

The timing on this could not be worse for the Governor, but his quick action to reach across party lines for a solution may keep the budget deficit under $1 billion. 

Nev. Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto hosts a "Kitchen Table" meeting in Pahrump Wednesday.PAHRUMP—Three days into a four-day trip through rural Nevada, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto was in Pahrump Wednesday, taking questions and educating people about the services her office provides.

“I love getting out in the rural communities,” said Masto.  “It helps me get an understanding of the areas that I should be focusing on if I’m not.  I think a big component of what my office should be doing is outreach and education to prevent things from happening in the community.”

After an afternoon stop at the Pahrump Senior Citizens Center, Masto and a number of key deputies attended a “Kitchen Table Meeting” at the Bob Ruud Community Center on Highway 160, where they discussed topics as diverse as mortgage, insurance, workers’ compensation and e-mail fraud, identity theft and domestic abuse prevention, the dangers of methamphetamine abuse and the health crisis caused by unsafe medical practices at a number of Southern Nevada clinics. 

I’m still waiting for someone involved in this hepatitis scare to get it right.  Since no one is, we’ve got a three-part story on how they are all getting it wrong.  The Governor gets to go first.