"What this poll really reinforces, too, is how little legislators are known by those they represent."

This quote is the key statement of the whole column. Las Vegas is a transient town and many people, especially is Senate District 6, weren't living there the last time these seats were on the ballot. The lack of knowledge of local politicians is amplified by the general apathy and lack of understanding of state government. I can't tell you how many of my friends do not know who is representing them, or even what the difference is between a City Councilperson, County Commissioner, State Assemblymember or State Senator. It will come down to who has the money to get their names and faces plastered across town and who has enough shoe leather to canvass the district.

While I personally believe it is a good thing that Nevada has a part-time legislature, it also keeps name recognition to a minimum as you usually see the names on the news during Regular and Special Sessions.

What people do see of state government is the Hepatitis Scare, insufficient infrastructure that is not keeping up with growth and schools that are sub-par. I am not laying blame or saying who has the best solution. I am just stating that this is what your average Nevadan has seen of state government.

These features together could spell trouble for any incumbent, but especially Republicans this year.

This is another great example that you can do pretty much anything you want with numbers, and that with the right amount of "spin" you can frame the discussion how you want. What's worse is that very few people, including myself, even bothered to read the actual report.

Politics is all about telling someone why you are right and they are wrong. In this instance, it is that the Chamber wanted to paint State and Local (I also noticed that city and county employees were included - not just state employees employees are taking money from the taxpayer and it's not spent wisely.

This will be an interesting Special Session. I can't wait to see what levels of inaction our elected leaders rise to.

Let's call this meeting what it is - political grandstanding. The Governor knows the legislature does not want a special session with the entire Assembly and half the Senate up for re-election. They don't want to give up campaigning and they sure as hell don't want to go on the record with unpopular spending cuts or even less popular tax increases five months before the general election.

While I would love to see true political leadership here, I'm not holding my breath. But I do enjoy the infighting on the ill-conceived Krolicki band-aid plan. One last question - with the state having so many budgetary issues, why is the Lt. Governor in Hong Kong? Aren't there better ways to spend our tax dollars?

I haven't read the referenced initiatives. What I find laughable is that two people who are front men for a Special Interest are accusing the SOS of being in cahoots with special interests. I'm think of a reference with a pot and a kettle...

My opinion on this topic is different. I look at this study as a good start. While I don't normally agree with Sen. Beers, I do agree that you can make numbers do what you want and that you usually find what you are looking for.

First, we need to enforce the laws on the books when it comes to immigration. Second, we need to ensure that businesses are only hiring legal workers. Finally, put pressure (other than NAFTA and other trade agreements) on our Latin American neighbors to improve their economies so the need to emigrate is not there.

The immigration debate in the US has not changed in 200 years. The hatred is always directed at those individuals that will do work for less money. We really haven't come much further than "No Irish Need Apply."

I disagree with the proposition that these jobs are jobs that legal Americans want to do. Who wants to do the work that many of these "illegals" are doing? The reason they have jobs is that everyday Americans don't want to do these jobs.