Prison commissioners keep Nevada State Prison open

CARSON CITY (AP) - The two Democrats on the Nevada Board of Prison Commissioners outnumbered Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons and ordered the aging Nevada State Prison in Carson City to remain open.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller also asked Department of Corrections Director Howard Skolnik for more information before the board again considers the fate of the 140-year-old prison.

Skolnik and Gibbons want to close the prison that houses about 650 inmates. Gibbons says phasing it out and moving staff and inmates to newer facilities would save the state about $3 million a year.

During a prison board meeting Tuesday, Skolnik said the closure was needed because the department is now under a mandate to require once-a-day furloughs for employees.