Monday, March 9, 2009 | 10:07 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Greetings, Early Liners, from the nation’s capital where a summit of state representatives this week may help Nevada decide whether to accept money in the economic stimulus package to expand jobless benefits.
President Barack Obama has summoned governors’ reps to the White House to dive into the questions coming from the states over spending stimulus dollars.
We’ve been reporting that health, law enforcement and education funds from the $787 billion package are now flowing to the states. But questions remain among governors and state legislatures about rules for spending the money, as the Washington Post reported this morning.
In Nevada, a key concern for Gov. Jim Gibbons has been whether to take a portion of $77 million to expand unemployment benefits to part-timers or others who are laid off. The state’s unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent, it was reported last week – 10 percent in Clark County.
One spending outlay is clear – the $8 billion in high speed rail funds in the stimulus signifies “the first major step toward establishing a genuine high-speed train network in the United States,” the Post reported over the weekend.
The long-hoped for connection between Las Vegas and Disneyland could benefit from these funds. But many states are competing, the Post reports.
Oh, and that stop on the Vegas-Disney line at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, the brothel Republican Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona mentioned on Fox News last week, is just not true. Franks has conceded he mistakenly conflated two proposed Nevada rail lines, the Pahrump Valley Times reported.
In case you missed it, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was profiled in two national pieces on Saturday.
The Post takes a look at the new Reid, who no longer needs to play partisan attack role now that a Democrat is in the White House and can revert to his preferred job as behind-the-scenes dealmaker.
The Los Angeles Times assesses Reid’s re-election chances and concludes they’re not too bad.
A lot of terrific stories in the weekend papers:
The Sun’s J. Patrick Coolican, with numbers guru Alex Richards, assesses the sweet spot of the state budget – what amount of public spending for a state is just right?
The green energy revolution is apparently being waged from a basement in Boulder City, reports the Sun’s Mike Trask and Alexandra Berzon. Be sure to read far enough to hit this memorable line:
“The city, 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, averages 350 sunny days per year, allowing a local tavern to offer free beer on the days when the sun doesn’t shine.”
Berzon also asks, in continuing energy coverage, whether Nevada is sufficiently poised to cash in on the renewable energy wave – either via job creation or possibly a tax on green companies.
Lest we forget that housing woes are at the root of so much of the Great Recession we’re experiencing, Joe Schoenmann spends time at the county Equalization Board where property owners plea to get their property taxes reduced.
And, as Alex Richards reminds us each Monday, the story is in the numbers. Today’s offering, with Chris Morris: The difference between the amount of home loans being generated in 2005, a busy year for housing, compared to 2007. It’s a snapshot of the boom-bust cycle, in color.
That’s it for now. Check back often for updates on all the political news in Nevada from the Sun’s political team.
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