U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Carson City, toured the Reno-Tahoe International Airport on Tuesday, defending his stance against federal earmarks in front of a $27 million, state-of-the-art control tower that was built with federal money secured by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Las Vegas.

Heller expressed his disapproval against the federal earmark system but added, "I'm glad this tower is here."
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CARSON CITY – Nevada’s two Republican House representatives today said politics won out over policy on the newly announced deal for a 60-day extension on a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit extension.

CARSON CITY – Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said today that Republicans in the House do not believe a 60-day stopgap response to expiring tax breaks and unemployment benefits as approved by the Senate is a workable solution.
Amodei, in a telephone interview this evening with the Nevada News Bureau, said the temporary fix is unworkable for the business community and creates too much uncertainty that could threaten job creation efforts. Congress needs to approve legislation resolving these issues for a full year, he said.

Film buffs will recall the terror with which the young Vito Corleone’s friends talked of The Black Hand, an invisible but palpable organization whose wrath was universally feared.

Far be it from me to suggest Godfather Harry Reid helms a criminal enterprise as Don Fanucci did in “The Godfather: Part II.” But recent events only reconfirm that the Senate majority leader’s unseen hand controls all within the Democratic Party with a ruthlessness and efficiency that La Cosa Nostra would envy, striking terror into all Democrats within his domain.

The most unsettling observation of "A Man of His Word," the biography of former state Sen. Bill Raggio, is how politics in Nevada over the past 40 years has dissipated from friendly partisanship into all-out warfare.

When Raggio, now 85, started as a state senator in 1973, many Democrats and Republicans were friends who usually accomplished legislative goals through compromise.

By the time he resigned in January after his Republican colleagues ousted him as their party leader for the sin of endorsing Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, compromise was a dirty word.

LAS VEGAS – President Obama will today announce he is expanding a federal aid program to allow more homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today’s low interest rates, said White House officials this morning.

The states of New Hampshire and Iowa believe they have some God-given right to essentially pick who our presidential candidates will be by holding their nominating contests before all other states.

It's a mighty undemocratic way to operate a democracy.

This week has brought a new low. New Hampshire, acting like the typical spoiled child, is complaining that Nevada Republicans can't hold their caucuses on Jan. 14, which is only four days after the primary in the Granite State.

In a long awaited ruling, the federal nuclear safety agency has said Nevada can close down Yucca Mountain once and for all.
The Obama administration had asked Congress to zero out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) work on Yucca as a follow up to the prior  termination of funding at the Department of Energy (DOE) project. The NRC has directed that all project casework be wrapped up by the end of the month.

I guess it comes down to ideology. This budget mess we are now in really started two years ago when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and crews refused to presen...

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada, says he wishes the judge who ruled in the second congressional special election case had disclosed business interests he shared with Republican candidate Mark Amodei.

CARSON CITY – Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., announced today he will back a spending reduction plan put forth by House Speaker John Boehner because it proposes a balanced budget amendment that will protect the United States’ AAA credit rating.
A vote on the plan scheduled for today was delayed, however.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Tuesday announced a $1.27 million federal grant for the Carson Airport.Airport manager Tim Rowe said the money will not only upgrade safety at the airport but clear the way...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Wednesday the GOP's "reckless" plan to end Medicare would deny Nevada seniors quality care while costing them thousands more each year.In a phone int...

Sharron Angle, who previously said she was going to run for Nevada's 2nd District Congressional seat, decided today to skip the race.

Her exit was good news for establishment Republicans who worried her presence would split the vote and open the door for a Democrat to win this seat for the first time.

The following is a statement put out by her campaign:

Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV., met this week with Carson City officials to discuss a program designed to keep children out of the juvenile justice system.Reid, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, met with Ca...

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid hailed the death of Osama bin Laden as the most significant victory for the U.S. in its nearly decade-long fight against al Qaeda but tells The Hill the fight against the terrorism network responsible for Sept. 11, 2001 isn't over. Click here to read the story.

CARSON CITY – Lawmakers took time some away from the budget and other pressing issues today to honor former Sen. Bill Raggio, a fourth-generation Nevadan and the longest-serving member of the state Senate who retired earlier this year.

By Elizabeth Crum / Nevada News Bureau
Mississippi’s sixty-third governor today visited Nevada, a state which has been called “the Mississippi of the west”* because of its largely unskilled workforce and poor public education system.

By Elizabeth Crum / Nevada News Bureau
Politico reports that Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki has formally endorsed Rep. Dean Heller and will “take time” to consider a run for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District. Quote:

According to Nevada News Bureau, Republican Mark Amodei will announce soon that he is running for the Congressional District 2 seat currently held by Rep. Dean Heller.

The speculation is that Heller will make a run for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Ensign, who announced earlier this week he would not seek reelection to avoid an ugly campaign after his well-publicized sex scandal.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he had productive meetings in Washington, DC, including talks with federal officials about clearing the way for permits to be approved so mining companies can expand and hire more workers.
Sandoval said there are several permits awaiting action that mining officials have told him could lead to the creation of 1,000 high-paying jobs in rural Nevada.
Creating jobs in Nevada is Sandoval’s top priority as governor. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the nation and ranks first in home foreclosures as well.

Sen. Harry Reid spoke at a joint session of the Nevada Legislature this morning, asking legislators not to cut education, and to have "an adult conversation" about outlawing prostitution.

The call for ending legal brothels was met by a a cool reception from the legislators who gave it only a smattering of applause followed by an uneasy silence. In the gallery was BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof and some of his working girls.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
A Florida judge ruled today that a key provision of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee serving in Pensacola, Fla., ruled in favor of the 26 states that argued the law’s provision that imposes penalties on people who don’t purchase health insurance is unconstitutional.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed spending an estimated $60 million to repay interest on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loans.
That $60 million would come out of the general fund, said Dale Erquiaga, the governor’s senior adviser. This would leave less money for health care, education and other vital state functions in the general fund.