David McGrath Schwartz

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Earmarks: Will Sen. Reid’s rankings help or haunt him?: Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009; Earmarks, those lines in bills that bring home money to Senate and House members’ states, can be a political Rorschach test. Do you see in them a politician delivering projects for constituents? Or wasteful spending saddling future generations with debt, all to help a politician get reelected? So it is with Sen. Harry Reid’s ranking for the amount his earmarks are worth.
Teachers do a 180 for sake of grants: Union seeks to change law keeping test scores out of evaluations; Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009; The state teachers union has done an about-face and is working with legislators to change a state law that prevents test scores from being used to evaluate teacher performance. The Nevada State Education Association is in talks with Democratic lawmakers to change the 2003 law.
Despite economy, swank of lawmaker’s fundraisers not in recession: Monday, Nov. 23, 2009; The tough economy hasn’t prevented at least one elected official from throwing elaborate fundraisers. Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera has set a new bar for unconventional campaign events hosted by Nevada lawmakers.
Art of the spin, unemployment-rate style: Tiny drop gets response from pols, but experts say it’s nothing to cheer; Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009; No sooner were the latest unemployment numbers released Friday morning than politicians offered their takes, illustrating that no fact will go un-spun this campaign season.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ideclared the drop in statewide unemployment from 13.3 percent to 13 percent a “positive development.” Gov. Jim Gibbons, however, had a different, more somber, take.
Lawmakers look at past appropriations to learn for future: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009; The list of projects approved by the 2007 Legislature looks like a collection of receipts from a Christmas past, when mommy and daddy still had jobs and the house wasn’t in foreclosure.
Stimulus job-count guidelines frustrate: State comptroller says ‘no standards’ for tallying results; Friday, Nov. 13, 2009; Forgive the average citizen if the federal stimulus does not appear as transparent as promised. The federal government says the stimulus has directly created or saved 5,658 jobs in Nevada. The state puts it at 5,080. Sen. Harry Reid’s office says it’s 6,134.
Furlough exemptions extended for prison guards: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009; Nevada's correctional system will avoid furloughs under a plan approved today to transfer money from a inmate fund and seeking to lease an empty Southern Nevada prison to a private company.
New law spurs recalls aplenty in the rurals: Now more voters can call for a politician’s ouster; Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009; Step gingerly, politicians. Recall fever is sweeping Nevada.
Lowden: ‘I didn’t laugh about it’: But tape of exchange over Reid bomb story reveals otherwise; Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009; Was it a chuckle or a laugh? And what, exactly, was she laughing at? The talk radio exchange that set off the skirmish between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sue Lowden, one of his Republican challengers, was dissected Tuesday on the Northern Nevada TV program “Nevada Newsmakers.”
Special session of Legislature likely; tax hike not: Elections are one reason budget might be balanced with cuts; Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009; The “no new taxes” slogan isn’t just for the governor anymore. As tax revenue continues to plummet, a special legislative session to address a growing budget gap becomes more likely. And there’s little appetite among legislators to raise taxes.
Spokesman: Gibbons 'made mistake' over Reid car bomb: Monday, Nov. 2, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons today repeated his belief on a Nevada political show that the bomb in Harry Reid's station wagon in 1981 was a telephone book in a shoe box. The development came a week after Gibbons' claim was widely dismissed and the Reid campaign provided police reports and bomb squad log disproving the theory. His spokesman later today said Gibbons "made a mistake." Dan Burns said Gibbons had heard from someone last week that it was a shoe box with a phone book in it.
A bad week for Sue Lowden, but it’s still really early: Challenger of Sen. Reid has rough times — one year before the election; Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009; Welcome to the spotlight, Sue Lowden. Not long ago the former chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party looked like the clear favorite to emerge from the GOP field and face Sen. Harry Reid in next year’s election. Then came last week.
Not much to celebrate this Nevada Day: At 145, the Silver State seems to be in even worse shape than last year; Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009; It’s another miserable birthday for Nevada. As the state marks its 145th year of statehood this Nevada Day, residents can reflect on the wreckage of the past 12 months. An unprecedented number of Nevadans lost their jobs, lost their houses and turned to a struggling government for help. Generally, the state felt like it was going nowhere fast. On Nevada Day 2008, leaders statewide in politics, economics and culture surveyed by the Sun acknowledged the state was struggling. But none predicted how far we would fall.
Report: Second staff member working on Gibbons' reelection: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons' chief of staff isn't alone among senior state staff members working to get their boss reelected.
One-time state pilot fired a second time after new ruling: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009; A former state pilot who raised disturbing allegations about the safety of the state plane’s operation was fired by the Nevada Department of Transportation last week, after a district court judge ruled the agency was within its rights to terminate him.
Opting out by Nevada seen as unlikely by pols on both sides of the aisle: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009; Under the health care reform legislation now being shepherded by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, states could decide to reject the government’s offer of a public insurance plan.
Governor’s staff chief takes unusual step of fundraising: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009; The governor’s chief of staff, Robin Reedy, is hitting up his supporters for money to help finance his reelection bid.
Anti-abortion bid may have unintended effect: Some say initiative will energize liberals, helping Democrats on 2010 ballot; Monday, Oct. 26, 2009; The biggest fans of social conservative Richard Ziser’s newly filed anti-abortion ballot initiative might be Nevada Democrats facing the ballot in 2010.
Two top law firms have stake in governor’s race: Reid, Sandoval work for pillars of Nevada’s power structure; Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009; If the leading candidates for governor win their parties’ nominations next year, the race will be more than a contest between a Republican and a Democrat — it would also pit a lawyer at one of the state’s most influential law firms versus another lawyer at another of the state’s most influential law firms.
A shorter wait for green projects after criticism: Process streamlined, drawing mixed reactions; Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009; After hearing criticism of the administration’s progress on renewable energy regulations, Gov. Jim Gibbons’ top energy adviser said this week that green energy projects will be able to apply for tax abatements sooner than originally estimated.
Home care program’s costs under scrutiny: State’s effort to weed out fraud draws concern for patient services; Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009; The state’s personal care service program is designed to save taxpayers money in the long run, while caring for some of Nevada’s poorest and most vulnerable residents.
Rory Reid's policy platform faces obstacle in state Constitution: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009; A centerpiece of Rory Reid’s campaign platform is a proposal for the state to lend money to small businesses, start-up companies and renewable energy projects to help get them off the ground.
Stimulus is paying, not that you’d know it here: Friday, Oct. 16, 2009; Shhh. Those road projects are paid for by the federal stimulus. Nevada has opted not to erect signs designating highway projects paid for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, despite “strong encouragement” from the federal government to draw motorists’ attention to the work’s funding source.
Backers of renewables hope the wait is over: Energy commish named, but industry says it’s lost ground with state’s delays; Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009; With the announcement this week that Gov. Jim Gibbons has filled a top energy post, renewable energy advocates said they hope the long months of state inertia on wind, solar and geothermal projects is over.
Gibbons promotes energy director to new position: Monday, Oct. 12, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons has promoted his director of the Office of Energy to a newly created job overseeing the state's renewable energy efforts, according to sources in the governor's office.
Republicans adding few new voters in Nevada: Monday, Oct. 12, 2009; This was a summer of discontent for Democrats as they lost control of the health care debate, the economy continued to founder and their approval ratings slipped. But Democrats’ troubles haven’t brought a surge of new voters for Nevada’s GOP.
Harry Reid true to his word to John Ensign: Majority leader, like potential GOP opponent, calls scandal ‘personal matter’; Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009; National Democrats sent out a missive Monday morning saying that with Sen. John Ensign under fire there was “one person still defending him: Sue Lowden.” But Ensign still has at least one other friend in Nevada — Harry Reid. Through a spokesman Reid said that Ensign’s affair with the wife of a staff member, who also worked for him, is a “personal matter.”
More Nevadans will need help as economic storm worsens: Total of Nevadans on food stamps jumps 45 percent; state projects greater hardship, more in need of aid by 2013; Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009; Nevada’s spiking unemployment rate is forcing the newly destitute to seek help from the state.
Reid maneuvers for sweeter deal; some not impressed: Washington would pick up Nevada’s Medicaid tab for five years, but critics say price is still too high; Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid secured a better deal for Nevada in the health care bill Tuesday — 100 percent federal funding for the state’s initial expansion of Medicaid to cover uninsured, low-income residents. But even this legislative maneuvering may not be good enough for Nevada’s budget hawks and opponents of the health care reform bill making its way through Congress.
Sticker shock: How the overhaul could exact a heavy toll on state finances: Feds may pay to cover many more with Medicaid, but state would have to chip in; Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009; With a greater percentage of uninsured residents than most states, Nevada faces a key question arising from the health care debate: At what price is the state willing to expand its coverage of the poor? For cash-strapped Nevada, it’s a vexing question.
Early endorsement in state Senate race draws grumbles: Senate Democratic Caucus takes a money-saving step to avoid primary spending; Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009; In early August, with Election Day still 15 months away, the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus announced it will back Tammy Peterson in the race for the state Senate seat held by Republican incumbent Barbara Cegavske. She is, in the view of the Senate leadership, a “gold-plated candidate,” one state Senate insider said. She also isn’t the only Democrat in the race.
Moderate image could haunt Sandoval: Republican has voted for tax hikes, but says now isn’t time for them; Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; Make no mistake: Democrats fear Brian Sandoval’s entrance into the race for governor. But before he can face a Democrat, the now former federal judge with an impressive resume must survive a Republican primary — and a base of fired-up conservative voters who aren’t likely to cotton to his talk of consensus building and reaching across the aisle.
Suddenly, Gibbons meeting with lawmakers, Democrats included: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons has reached out to lawmakers of both parties to discuss the state’s troubled economy and government finances, in a move that appears designed to thaw the icy relationship between the legislative and executive branches.
Regulators plan Lake Tahoe schmooze cruise with insurers: Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009; The state on Friday will host an “industry day” at a Lake Tahoe casino, granting insurance companies an “all access pass” to the state employees who regulate them. The first-time event — which includes a cruise on Lake Tahoe for the public employees and insurance company executives the night before — is raising eyebrows among some state lawmakers, who say it fuels the perception that the state is too cozy with the industries it’s supposed to monitor.
County to hand off safety oversight of child care facilities to state: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009; In what many will see as payback for the Legislature’s raid on county tax revenue, Clark County gave the state notice this week that it would stop overseeing the safety of day care centers in one year, saving about $500,000 annually, according to the county.
A failure of the system: Clark County’s DA says some children need a separate lawyer from his office. Sometimes even that isn’t enough.; Friday, Sept. 4, 2009; Chrissa Matthews was found by her mother in the back yard pool this summer, just a few days shy of her second birthday.
The mother, Sheri Badosky, initially told police she had been inside the house smoking and watching Chrissa and her 5-year-old brother Andrew, who is blind and developmentally disabled, through the window, according to the warrant for her arrest.
Roger ends practice that irked pols ... in a way: In certain child welfare cases, DA won’t argue against, or for, county; Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009; The county Department of Family Services will go to child welfare court hearings without a lawyer to push its recommendations on children’s futures when Clark County District Attorney David Roger disagrees with the department’s conclusions, according to a letter from the district attorney to state officials.
AG enters lawmakers’ standoff with DA over child welfare: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009; The state Health and Human Services Department will continue to withhold some funding for Clark County’s foster care system despite a legal opinion from the state attorney general saying all the money must be released.
Meet Brian Sandoval: Candidate for governor?: He’s announced only that he’s leaving the federal bench, but many observers expect him to take on Jim Gibbons; Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; When Brian Sandoval announced this month that he was resigning from the federal bench, the complexion of next year’s race for governor changed instantly. Republican leaders buzzed excitedly, some declaring the 45-year-old former assemblyman, gaming commissioner and attorney general to be the future of Nevada’s GOP.
Another fiscal crisis, another tax study: Lawmakers know the revenue issues, but will anything change?; Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; You can buy a study, but you can’t buy a backbone. With lawmakers’ vote last week seeking consultants to write yet another, at an estimated cost of $500,000, the Nevada's library of august analyses of its tax structure will get a bit larger. But then what, skeptics wonder.
After the event, Reid's GOP rival has 5 questions: Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009; Hoping to pick up on mistrust of health care reform, two Republicans — one a declared candidate against Sen. Harry Reid — quickly jumped on the majority leader after his tele-town hall meeting Friday.
Nevada needs a superhero: Lawmakers seek a consultant to scrutinize state’s tax structure and save Nevada; Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009; Legislators have embarked on an ambitious endeavor — find someone who can figure out how to save Nevada.
Lawmakers have issued a request for a consultant who will analyze the state’s tax structure, measure the public’s willingness to accept a broader tax base and examine the balance between local and state revenue.
It’s an exercise state leaders repeat every couple of decades and one that has rarely resulted in radical change in how Nevada raises tax revenue.
As Gibbons gains power, lawmakers see danger: Democrats worry he will abuse broad authority to spend taxpayer money; Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009; The governor’s office gained authority Monday to unilaterally spend stimulus money without legislative approval, causing some lawmakers to worry that Gov. Jim Gibbons and his successors can now wield unchecked power over taxpayer dollars.
Governor not budging in bitter feud over stimulus: Gibbons insists he can solely control $2.2 billion, blames delays on Dems; Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009; To try to avoid a looming constitutional crisis over control of Nevada’s share of federal stimulus money, Democrats say they are prepared to approve budget requests from the governor’s office almost identical to requests they rejected earlier this month.
John Ensign signals affair still off-limits: After commenting the day before, he refuses to answer questions; Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; Sen. John Ensign walked on a Lake Tahoe beach in black tasseled loafers Thursday prepared to speak about the invasive Asian clams plaguing the lake, but not the scandal that has that has shadowed him since June.
Gibbons sets lofty fundraising goal: Republican political experts call aim for $3 million far-fetched; Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons has appeared unperturbed by his low poll numbers and divorce from Nevada’s political establishment, which in 2006 helped raise more than $6 million for his successful run.
Gibbons bypasses lawmakers, names stimulus director: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons today named a stimulus director to oversee the $2.2 billion in federal money designated for Nevada under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Charles Harvey will enter a political fracas between Gibbons and Democratic lawmakers.
Legislators’ peeve holds up money for child welfare: Dislike of DA’s use of resources prompted conditions on funding; Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009; A standoff between legislators and the Clark County district attorney is threatening state funding for the county’s child welfare system. Since July 1 the state has withheld its money for social workers and other staff, according to county and state officials.
Governor, Democrats on brink of showdown over stimulus funds: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009; Nevada is approaching a constitutional crisis, and it doesn’t look like anyone’s willing to walk away. The tinderbox is a system set up 40 years ago to make changes in the Legislature-approved budget when lawmakers aren’t in session.
Gibbons skirts legislators in action to oversee stimulus: Friday, Aug. 14, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons issued an executive order on Friday to create a director in his office to oversee $2.2 billion in stimulus money, circumventing earlier legislative action and raising legal questions about his order.