Carson City and Virginia City are two of more than 100 U.S. cities nominated by Benjamin Moore Paints for a complete repaint of downtown, officials announced Friday.

Benjamin Moore launched its “Main Street Matters” initiative May 22. In the contest, consumers around the country can cast their vote online and pick which 20 U.S. Main Streets should be revitalized.

In a news release, Carson City Planning Director Lee Plemel said the initiative is timed well with what is going on in downtown Carson City.

The Vietnam Veterans of America, Carson City Area Chapter 388 invite you attend a Memorial Day Service on Monday, May 27, beginning at 11 AM at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley.

The service will be an hour long. Immediately following the service, there will be an unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The shrine lists the names of 151 young men from Nevada who gave their lives in Vietnam. Adjacent to that are the names of eight nurses who also gave their lives in Vietnam while they were there caring for our troops.

Many people filled the Nevada Assembly chambers in Carson City on Thursday as a resolution to repeal a same-sex marriage ban in Nevada passed 27-14, bringing the state one step closer to marriage equality.

Senate Joint Resolution 13 requires that all marriages be treated equally under the law and removes gender from the definition of marriage. It also specifies that religious institutions can choose not to marry couples of the same gender.

Reno residents, Meredith Tanzer, 42, and Yevonne Allen, 28, have followed the measure closely during this session.

DAYTON — A picture shows Gage Wilkinson when he wasn’t yet 2 years old. He’s riding a scooter, wearing his sister’s pink helmet, barely able to reach the handlebars.

The resolution passed in the Senate on April 22 in a vote of 12-9. The only Republican Senator to vote in favor of the measure was Sen. Ben Kieckhefer. Kieckhefer has declined requests from various media outlets asking him to comment on his position, saying that his vote in favor of the resolution should speak for itself.

Assemblyman Pete Livermore, Carson City Mayor Robert Crowell and members of the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society assembled late Tuesday afternoon to witness Gov. Brian Sandoval sign off on the recommendation to study the feasibility of turning the historic prison into a visitor's museum/attraction.

Victims of mass shootings — from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut to the shooting that injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona — came to Carson City on Tuesday to show support for Senate Bill 221. The bill, if approved would require criminal background checks for all gun sales in Nevada.

by ALEX POMPLIANO

A bill that requires medical insurance plans with cancer coverage to pay more for oral chemotherapy medications passes the Assembly 39-0 on Tuesday.

SB266, which passed the Nevada Senate unanimously in April, would require health insurers to not charge patients more for oral chemotherapy medications (pills) than patients who are undergoing traditional IV chemotherapy. Such drugs can cost patients as much as $2,000 to $10,000 per month.

A 24-year-old Carson City woman was arrested Monday, May 20, 1:31 p.m. at the intersection of Division and Spear streets after hitting a parked car while allegedly under the influence of drugs.

Officers report the woman slurred her speech and had trouble balancing when they interviewed her about the accident. According to the arrest report, the woman told officers she was diabetic. Fire personnel on scene reported her blood sugar was slightly elevated but not to where it would cause a problem, the report states.

SB243, commonly referred to as “Brianna’s Law,” passed the Assembly today in a vote of 29-9.

The bill would mandate the collection of DNA samples from individuals arrested on felony charges. It was named for Brianna Denison, a young college student who was murdered in Reno in 2008. SB243 passed the Senate by a unanimous vote last month. During today’s vote on the Assembly floor, seven Democrats and two Republicans voted against the measure. Only a few Assembly members commented on the bill prior to the vote.

A 33-year-old Carson City man faces a gross misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure after allegedly urinating near the west door entrance of a Carson City casino early Monday morning.

Officers were called to the casino, located in the 2700 block of East William Street, at 2:40 a.m. after security reported an intoxicated man who wouldn't leave the premise. Two witnesses noted the man urinated on the side of the building, and it was also seen on casino surveillance.

The Carson City Sheriff's Office will step up DUI patrols for the coming Memorial Day weekend beginning Friday through May 27.

For the holiday period stretch there will be heavy saturation patrols for DUI drivers, a DUI checkpoint, and enforcing underage drinking laws. The purpose of these activities is to ensure that drivers in Carson City are safe and sober going into and during the holiday weekend, said Carson City Sheriff's Office Sgt. Darrin Sloan.

The Lyon County sheriff’s office is investigating the shooting death of a juvenile in Dayton over the weekend.

A bill that would allow schools to obtain and administer auto-injectable epinephrine in the event of a student having a food allergy attack has cleared committee and is on its way to the General Assembly this week.

While it hasn't gotten a lot of press attention and isn't shrouded in controversy, SB453 is designed to protect children at school if they suffer from a food allergy attack or are stung by a bee and have an allergic reaction.

A Carson City teen is recovering from complications of a rare blood disorder. The fundraiser will continue Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Twisted Spoke Bar & Grill in Carson City.

Here is the Carson City road construction and maintenance report for the week of May 20-26. Utility work for various projects will occur on several local roads. There will be flagger controlled traffic with minor delays possible at the following locations:

— Fairview Drive from Highway 50 to Edmonds Drive.
— Edmonds Drive from Fairview Drive to Snyder Avenue.
— Carson Street from Washington Street to Hot Springs Road.
— Hot Springs Road from Carson Street to Roop Street.
— Retail Drive from College Parkway to the south end.

by ALEX POMPLIANO

On Friday, the Legislature’s two budget committees approved a public school spending plan that establishes $2.8 billion in general fund support for the next two years.

The plan largely follows Gov. Brian Sandoval’s recommendations budget proposal for K-12 education, which also designates basic state support of about $5,500 per pupil over the next two years — an increase of about $200 over existing funding levels.

by NATASHA VITALE

A Nevada Assembly committee supported banning most “horse tripping” for sport, entertainment, or practice Thursday, sending a bill to the full Assembly.

State Senate Bill 72 was one of many bills prohibiting animal cruelty that were discussed in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources on Thursday. It bans horse tripping unless it is part of an event that is allowed by the local government.

The bill passed the committee by a vote of 10-2, with Assemblymen Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, and John Ellison, R-Elko, opposing the bill.

As the price of gold hit its lowest level in a month Thursday, the Assembly Committee on Taxation took a vote on a controversial resolution that would remove the state’s long-standing mining tax cap. Senate Joint Resolution 15 made its way through the Legislature during the 2011 session and needs only to pass in the Assembly before June 4 in order to go to a public vote next year.

Nevada’s unemployment dropped to 9.6 percent in April, falling nearly 2 percentage points over the year. Carson City's unemployment rate fell to 10.1 percent and is now the only metro area in the state to have a double digit unemployment rate, according to the state's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

A pilot and two others escaped injury Wednesday after a plane crash northeast of Spooner in the Kings Canyon area, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong confirmed.

With less than 20 days left in this legislative session, Governor Brian Sandoval is announcing last-minute tweaks to his proposed budget.

Governor Sandoval said in an interview with Channel 2, based on economic projections for the next two years, he was able to add an extra $120 million to his education plan.