For Gibbons, tax hikes must have shelf life

CARSON CITY — Gov. Jim Gibbons doesn’t favor increasing Nevada’s sales tax or extending it to services to solve the state budget crisis.

Any tax increase will have to sunset — have a firm ending date. “It is only in place for the period of time this economic downturn is in place,” he said.

The state faces a shortfall of $300 million or an additional 9.5 percent this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Agencies have already sliced 4.5 percent from their budgets and then reduced them an additional 3.2 percent.

And an estimated $1.5 billion will have to be cut from the $7.1 billion budget agencies are seeking for the next two fiscal years.

— Cy Ryan

Reid goes gracious in postelection interview

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made peace with John McCain, said he sees the glass half full on Sen. Joe Lieberman and suggested Republicans for the Obama administration Sunday on CNN’s “Late Edition.”

Some of the highlights:

• On the troops in Iraq:

“They’re coming home .. It’s just a question of how fast . There will be a timeline.”

• About Lieberman’s future among Democrats:

“Joe Lieberman has done something that I think was improper, wrong, and I’d like — if we weren’t on television, I’d use a stronger word of describing what he did.

“But Joe Lieberman votes with me a lot more than a lot of my senators ..

“For those people beating up on Joe Lieberman — I’ve done my

share — recognize the glass being half full, not half empty”

• On the feud between Reid and McCain:

“We’ve ended this,” Reid said. “John McCain and I are both fairly pugnacious and we have, in our younger days, did more than just talk about people that disagreed with us. In our younger days we had a few encounters with our fists and we still, I guess, think that we still could do that, which probably we couldn’t.”

— Lisa Mascaro

Tark on slipping the General a rain check

I get all the top coaches on the shows. Mike Krzyzewski. Tom Izzo. Rick Barnes. Even Bobby Knight, who doesn’t do many radio shows.

We have a very good relationship. He’s been very nice to me. I like Bobby a lot. He’s not a phony — that’s what I like the most.

In 1987, when we were going to play Indiana in New Orleans, he called me after we beat Iowa. He said, “Hey, Tark, when we get to New Orleans, Mike Krzyzewski, me, Pete Newell and John Havlicek are going to dinner the night before the game. We’d like you to come.”

I said, “Great, Bobby.” I was excited, all set to go. I love Pete Newell.

But the night before I was supposed to go, I told Lefty Driesell, one of the closest friends I’ve had in coaching, what I was doing.

We were in the arena, and he was up in the balcony. I was downstairs. Lefty yells, “You’re gonna play him Saturday and you’re gonna go to dinner with him before you play him? He’s gonna psych you out. Cancel!”

I canceled.

— Jerry Tarkanian

New York considers OK’ing cage fighting

The Ultimate Fighting Championship released an economic impact study Monday that showed that the sanctioning of mixed martial arts fighting in the state of New York would have a multimillion dollar boost on state and local economies, specifically in tax revenues and the tourism industry.

About 36 states have regulated MMA fighting, including California and Florida, but New York does not. Lawmakers in Albany are considering sanctioning the sport when the legislative session resumes in January.

“At a time when the New York economy is in crisis, it would be a mistake for the state to miss out on the considerable revenue that our events would generate,” said Marc Ratner, UFC Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs.

“We are eager to bring both the excitement of our new sport as well as its major tax and tourist revenue to New York state. We look forward to being able to meet the tremendous demand that exists for our events in upstate New York as well as New York City.”

— Andy Samuelson