Jon Ralston

What happened to the earnest John Ensign: By Jon Ralston; When I first met John Ensign in 1993 over coffee at the Country Inn on Rainbow Boulevard, the budding congressional candidate struck me as almost impossibly earnest and sincere. On the cusp of the Gingrich Revolution, Ensign presented himself as apolitical, ready to change Washington.

A governor’s race where unusual dynamics are at play: By Jon Ralston; Now that the countdown clock for the 2010 gubernatorial race has begun (one year until the primary!) as the legislative session mercifully has expired, it’s time to pull back the curtain and expose one of the most bizarre dynamics in Nevada political history, a situation that could subvert all conventional wisdom.

Nevada’s diminished governor: By Jon Ralston; One man is responsible for the state’s budget devastation being averted, for domestic partnerships being legalized, for F Street in West Las Vegas being reopened, for the most backward of the country’s 50 states looking progressive after the 75th session of the Nevada Legislature.

If only the legislative session could have been better: Jon Ralston:; By Jon Ralston; When the Nevada Legislature’s 75th regular session effectively ended at 9:58 a.m. Friday, the motto of this year’s efforts became clear: “It could have been much worse.”

Same as it ever was: commentary:; By Jon Ralston; As I listened last week to the apocalyptic pronouncements of a few lawmakers before a $780 million tax increase passed both houses, I had a strange sense of deja vu.

Embarrassed on behalf of Nevada: By Jon Ralston; Las Vegas was the center of the political universe this week and here is what the world saw: A “governor” on national television describing how an offer to meet the president was “a phony setup” and claiming, without any evidence, that Barack Obama had cost the state $100 million (he may have had the Dr. Evil pinky thing going, too).

Will any lawmaker stand by our governor: By Jon Ralston; As The Man Formerly Known as Governor contemplates more important topics than meeting the president, including how to discriminate against domestic partners (presumably not his own) and reinstate 36 percent cuts in the higher ed system, a question occurs to me about the last week of the session: Who will stand up for him?

Few valiant efforts as ’09 session ends: Jon Ralston:; By Jon Ralston; If not for a truly statesmanlike performance by the youngest majority leader in history, who decided to lose a battle to win a war, the state would be much worse off.

We shouldn’t keep meeting like this: commentary:; By Jon Ralston; The conditioned reaction to the announcement this week of yet another interim attempt to pave the way for state lawmakers to broaden the tax structure is this: Here we go again.

It’s time to scrap our legislative process: By Jon Ralston; When a couple of phantom ethics complaints can shut down the legislative process, force lawmakers to amend a rule governing abstentions and threaten to derail nearly four months of work, the situation is clear: Carson City, we have a problem.

The predictable ending of the 2009 legislative session: By Jon Ralston; After nearly 110 days filled with less mystery than a pull of a Megabucks handle, lawmakers are poised to enact the tax package that could have been foretold six months ago and are stuck on the same kind of minutiae that holds up every session.

How Harry Reid came to be almost invulnerable: JON RALSTON:; By Jon Ralston; Let us turn our attention today from the train wreck unfolding in Carson City to another engine that has run off the tracks: The Republican Party’s effort to end the career of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Reforms that actually would make a difference: By Jon Ralston; No one, many elected officials and lobbyists excepted, is against more openness in government.

E-ticket to doom and gloom: commentary:; By Jon Ralston; So, legislators, you have all but finished the budget and you have reached agreements on contentious issues such as higher ed and K-12: Where do you go now? They’re going to Taxland.

If Legislature weren’t in such a fix: By Jon Ralston; This time of year I find very little funny about legislative sessions. But this would merit one of those obnoxious emoticons, if not an even more annoying LOL:

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Blog: Ralston's Flash

I wonder if the mayor will be there: By there, I refer to tonight's debt-retirement party for new Councilman Stavros Anthony, who will find out ex post facto how many people love him. ...; 2 days, 12 hours ago

North continues to screw South; hundreds of millions lost (5 Comments): So says a study that was done for the county a few months back, but didn't help the local government much in Carson City but ...; 3 days, 10 hours ago

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Face To Face: The Final Take

Updates from executive producer Dana Gentry

F Street Fiasco (5 Comments): The lawsuit against the City of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada will not be withdrawn now that lawmakers are forcing the city and ...; 23 days, 12 hours ago

Brave New Cyberworld: First Amendment champion Dominic Gentile - out to tamp free speech? As Jon asks at the beginning of today's program, "Are we in some parallel ...; 29 days, 12 hours ago

Face To Face

Thursday, June 25

U.S. Sen. John Ensign (Nevada-R) faces an ethics complaint stemming from his affair with his staff member Cynthia Hampton. Did ... Watch »

Wednesday, June 24

President Barack Obama is condemning the Iranian government's violent reaction to thousands of Iranian protesters, but some critics question whether ... Watch »

Monday, June 22

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak wants to know who's behind some cushy consulting contracts with quasi-county agencies. Plus, state lawmakers ... Watch »

Friday, June 19