Candidates raising funds for re-election
(AP) - U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., has raised $562,543 and has $441,270 of that still on hand in her bid for a second two-year term in Congress.
Titus raised $248,292 of her contributions in the April-June quarter, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, a conservative Republican, reported raising just over $35,000 in the race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid has raised nearly $11 million and aims to bring in $25 million.
Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., raised $166,442 last quarter, bringing his cycle total to $264,790. Heller reported having $255,000 cash on hand. He's the first choice of national Republicans to take on Reid in the 2010 elections.
High court balks at staff furloughs
(AP) - Nevada's Supreme Court justices are balking at court staff furloughs mandated by state legislators, saying budget cuts already have produced the nearly 5 percent savings the furloughs are supposed to achieve.
In a unanimous order, the seven high court justices said Thursday that no court staffers will be furloughed during the current fiscal-year quarter, which runs through the end of September.
Chief Justice Jim Hardesty said the court isn't trying to circumvent the furlough requirement passed by the 2009 Legislature. He said the court made changes during the 2009 session that resulted in a 4.6 percent budget cut.
To furlough court employees now would be "disastrous to the court's constitutional responsibility to decide legal disputes" and would "result in a duplication of the reduction made to the court's budget," the Supreme Court's 26-page order states.
The order leaves open the possibility of furloughs later should anticipated fees and assessments fall short and cuts in programs fail to reduce the court's budget enough.
Air, ground attack being used by crews
RENO (AP) - Firefighters continued an aerial and ground assault on the edge of the Sierra Nevada, trying to contain a pair of fires that have burned more than 7,000 acres, or 11 square miles.
About 600 firefighters were battling the Trailer 1 and Red Rock fires that broke out Wednesday afternoon north of Reno along U.S. 395 near the California line.
Officials believe the fires were sparked by a trailer with a flat tire that was being towed.
The Trailer 1 fire has burned about 1,200 acres of grass, brush and juniper near Hallelujah Junction, where U.S. 395 meets California Highway 70. It was 20 percent contained.
The larger Red Rock fire was estimated at 6,050 acres, with 10 percent containment. A voluntary evacuation was in effect for the Red Rock fires as of 9:15 p.m. Thursday night.