Harry Reid

CARSON CITY – Washoe County Republican and Democratic Party leaders may disagree on who the best choice is for president, but they agree on one point – Washoe is the “battleground” county in the battleground state that is Nevada.

Clark County is expected to go big for Democrats and President Obama, while Nevada’s rural counties are expected to go strong for Mitt Romney. But Washoe County, where Republicans lead in voter registration by 3,700, has gone for both parties in past elections.

CARSON CITY – In the Republican quest to regain control of the state Senate in the 2012 general election, two GOP candidates in a bitter primary traded accusations today in a televised debate.

Whether GOP establishment favorite Mari Nakashima St. Martin or challenger Brent Jones wins the June 12 primary, the fiercely contested primary presents another challenge for Republicans to return to dominance in the state Senate.

CARSON CITY – The National Retail Federation has launched a nationwide 60-day campaign to raise awareness among lawmakers and the public on how what it calls a loophole exempting online sales from sales tax is hurting local communities and job creation.

If Nevada’s five-member Congressional delegation is any indication, the group has its work cut out for it, with three members opposed and two supportive of the idea to allow states to tax online sales.

Several environmental gains over the last five years have been made at the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s “Threshold Evaluation Report” released Wednesday, which highlights water quality as a continued area of concern.

CARSON CITY – U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., today sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of both the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations asking them to continue defunding the proposed high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

The Copper Mountain Solar 1 facility in Boulder City that President Obama visited Wednesday is certainly impressive. With nearly 1 million solar panels, the nation’s largest operating solar facility can provide power for about 17,000 homes without producing any harmful emissions or sending any money out of state for dirty coal or foreign oil.

CARSON CITY – After months of prognostications and political maneuvering, Nevada’s 2012 election season crystallized today as the state’s two-week filing period for public office came to a close.

Next up: A June 12 primary followed by the Nov. 6 general election, which will see a lengthy ballot topped by the presidential race, a competitive U.S. Senate race and four congressional contests.

Also at stake is control of the state Legislature, particularly the state Senate, where Democrats have a razor thin 11-10 majority.

CARSON CITY – A new report questions the value of tax incentives and regulations approved by many states around the country, including Nevada, to create “green jobs,” noting that subsidies used for such programs can take away revenue for other needs such as public education.

CARSON CITY – Here is a selection of comments made by Nevada public officials today following the announcement of the death of former state Sen. Bill Raggio:

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Bill Raggio. There are no words to describe his dedication to the state of Nevada and I wish to express my deepest condolences and prayers for his wife Dale, and his family. Bill was a true statesman who dedicated his life to making Nevada a better place to live. His legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”

Bill Raggio, who is considered by many to be the most powerful force in Nevada politics over the last 30 years, has died while on vacation in Australia Thursday evening. He was 85.

Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun broke the news.

Raggio was first elected to the Nevada State Senate in 1972. He resigned from the seat he held for 38 years after supporting Democrat Harry Reid in 2010 over Republican Sharron Angle.

Raggio ruled the Nevada State Senate as the GOP leader and chairman of the Finance Committee. It's safe to say that few bills passed the Nevada Legislature in the last 30 years without his approval.

Raggio's legislative biography is here.

RGJ has posted a profile with photo gallery on Raggio's life.

Best quote: "You show me someone who doesn't have detractors, and I'll show you someone who hasn't done a damn thing in their lives."

CARSON CITY – Former U.S. Sen. and Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan today described Rep. Mark Amodei’s recent comments about Yucca Mountain not being dead as a site to dispose of the nation’s nuclear waste was as “unfortunate.”

Carson City District Attorney Neil Rombardo met with Senator Harry Reid, Senator Dean Heller, Representative Shelly Berkeley, and Representative Joe Heck on Capitol Hill today to urge continued support of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Fight Crime and Invest in Kids, an anti-crime organization dedicated to early childhood crime prevention.

CARSON CITY – Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said today he opposes the earmark process used to fund various projects around the country, advocating instead that state priorities for federal support go through a regular budget review.

“The problem with earmarks, when you look at them, it’s symbolic largely, because it’s not that it’s a huge part of the federal budget,” he said. “But a lot of them appear at the end with absolutely no hearings and they are in bills.

CARSON CITY – Washoe County School District Superintendent Heath Morrison has been named a finalist for the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year.

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) selected Morrison and three other superintendents as the four finalists in the national program.

Democrats Harry Reid and Shelley Berkley reacted to the positive national unemployment report Friday by criticizing Republican opposition to extending the payroll tax holiday.

Rep. Berkley said the addition of 120,000 jobs in November, which drove the rate to 8.6 percent and its lowest level since mid-2008, "provides yet another reminder that we still have a long way to go when it comes to getting our economy back on track."

See Original Story

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.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has joined with her Utah counterpart Mark Shurtleff  in asking the U.S. Senate to take up consideration of Rich Cordray’s nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

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.

Washington, D.C. — Nevada Senator Harry Reid made the following statement after several people were shot in Carson City this morning:
“I’m deeply saddened by this senseless act and extend my sympathies to those afflicted this morning. I applaud the first responders for their professionalism, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families during this difficult time. ”

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...

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 – Nevada Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Byron Georgiou said he is in the race to win it in 2012 despite facing opposition from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

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., said Wednesday that failure to raise the federal debt limit would endanger benefits for thousands of Carson City seniors and more than 400,000 Nevadans statewide who rely o...

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...

RENO – For the three leading Republican candidates seeking the Congressional District 2 seat vacated with the appointment of Dean Heller to the U.S. Senate, it was all about qualifications and experience in a debate held here Wednesday.
State Republican Party Chairman Mark Amodei, a former state senator, state Sen. Greg Brower, appointed to fill the seat formerly held by retired Sen. Bill Raggio, and retired Navy commander Kirk Lippold, faced off ahead of a GOP meeting Saturday in Sparks that could determine which candidate will get the party nod.