The super-charged growth years of the early 2000s brought shinier, grander casinos, rapid housing expansion, new jobs and a lot of seniors to Nevada. As the number of retirees in Nevada continues to climb, one local organization has begun taking a hard look at issues the elderly face.
Nobody’s very happy with Nevada’s Assembly Republicans these days. Not even Nevada’s Assembly Republicans.Two controversial statements about slavery and minorities from GOP members of the Assembly in the past few months have sparked outrage among Republicans and Democrats alike and have left elected Assembly Republicans planning how best to make an exit from their recent adventures in political gaffe land.
Many of the folks who popularized the conventional wisdom often did so decades ago, and new trends, new issues, and new influences have the possibility to matter more than the common tropes and truisms about Nevada politics repeated in conversations and in the media.
They’ve got a lot of money and a big plan to peddle marijuana throughout Clark County. But they’re not a drug cartel pushing pot on the streets. They’re high profile lawyers, consultants and investors.
The establishment of a Nevada driver’s authorization card, mainly for use by immigrants in the country illegally, is wrapped up in debate over who will translate required documents and concerns the Department of Motor Vehicles will unwittingly create a fertile field for fraud.
The Nevada Legislature this year passed what is known as the “safe getaway law,” which allows for the early termination of rental agreements involving victims of domestic violence, under certain circumstances. The law seeks to unburden domestic-violence victims from a common financial worry — breaking a lease — that often serves as a barrier preventing their escape. Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores and Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, both D-Las Vegas, sponsored the bill, which won the Legislature’s approval, was signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval and went into effect July 1.
Deaths from overdoses of prescription narcotics has "reached an epidemic," says state Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, who is urging a California company to curtail its online sale of the drugs.
The nation’s fifth-largest school district has a new superintendent, who is experimenting with some new ideas this year. These new initiatives include special schools to help English-language learner students and reintroducing year-round schedules to alleviate crowding in some schools.
Several alleged killers’ lives could be spared if Las Vegas judges rule in favor of defense requests to drop the prosecution’s bid for the death penalty. The motions come in light of the Nevada Legislature's approval of a bill that calls for an audit of the state death penalty.
A state committee on local government temporarily turned aside a request by financially-troubled North Las Vegas for access to an additional $4.3 million for its budget this fiscal year.
Kim Metcalf has big plans for UNLV's College of Education. The new education dean wants the university to maintain its standing as the top producer of teachers in Nevada and continue building its reputation as a solid teacher preparation program. Metcalf also believes UNLV should become the place where state leaders turn for credible information about Nevada's schools and education policies as they try to improve the state's schools.
The party’s over, and now the bills come due. Local governments in Nevada spent more than $3 million this year lobbying the state Legislature, according to reports filed with the Department of Taxation at the conclusion of each 120-day legislative session.
For some, the state’s $50 million in new spending for English-language learners smacks of special treatment and seems like an unjust, unfair burden on taxpayers who must subsidize the education of a select group of outsiders.
Majestic Realty's plans to build an off-campus UNLV football stadium have been scrapped. After UNLV nixed its partnership with Majestic in March, the Los Angeles-based developer entered into an exclusive agreement with Wells Fargo Bank to purchase 40 acres of privately-owned land at the corner of Koval Lane and Tropicana Avenue.
Nevada ranks 44th in the nation among states in per-pupil spending on education, according to a national report released Tuesday. The National Center for Education Statistics, which is operated by the U.S. Department of Education, analyzed public school expenditures and revenue in 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The Nevada Policy Research Institute wants teachers in the Clark County School District to know they can leave their union between July 1 and July 15, and they’ve been publishing instructions about how and why teachers should consider writing an “opt-out” letter to rescind their union memberships.
Sheriff Doug Gillespie faced tough questions in his appeal to county commissioners for a bump in the sales tax that could be used to hire more officers and fill potential gaps in the Metro Police budget.
How Nevada's new state law mandating NV Energy exit the coal business came to being illustrates how money, business interests and the right friends will dictate energy cost and policy for every Nevadan for the next decade. And U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson led the charge.
State workers will have get their 2.5 percent pay cut restored, kindergarten classes will get smaller for the next school year and efforts will begin to prepare for a big influx of low- and middle-income people to apply for medical services. The state budget adopted by the Legislature goes into effect Monday.
State legislators are fielding questions from unhappy or misinformed businesses who are about to get hit with an increased assessment on their unemployment tax. “There’s a lot of misinformation” on the issue, said Sen. Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, the chairwoman of the Legislative Interim Finance Committee.
It turns out big movie producers aren’t the only ones to benefit from Nevada’s new film tax credit law. Large casinos or big businesses that owe insurance, payroll or gaming taxes to the state also win under the new law.
During Session 2013, legislators authorized hundreds of millions of dollars in potential tax breaks, most of which will benefit large businesses and organizations. The gamble for the state is this: Pay for schools, public safety, roads and other services now, or give some money away in hopes that the businesses receiving tax breaks will bring even more money to the state in future years.
Sheriff Doug Gillespie’s announcement this week that a police academy — the first one in more than a year — would start in July brought a couple dozen hopefuls to the Metro's training center Wednesday morning.
The Legislature has left town but the state Department of Motor Vehicles is gearing up to deal with almost 100 new laws including driver privilege cards for illegal aliens, renewal of licenses after eight years instead of four and a crackdown on out of state businesses that don‚t register their vehicles.
More California court dates have been set for former Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks on charges stemming from a car chase and police confrontation in March.
It may seem like a riddle, but the Legislature effectively voted to raise taxes this year without ever really voting to raise taxes. That’s because legislators in several cases circumvented the two-thirds majority requirement to raise taxes and instead dumped the political toxicity of a tax vote on county commissions, whose members will vote on legislatively authorized taxes this year.