journalism

However, the bill is expected to be vetoed by Brian Sandoval in the next 10 days.

The bill requires background checks on the private sales of guns and requires courts to report mental health issues, which would be used as part of the background check.

The bill requires officers to take certain actions when they encounter possible victims of human trafficking. It also requires the state Department of Education to develop and distribute material relating to the trafficking of children.

Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, read the bill on the Assembly floor.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, spoke of the benefits that film production would bring to Nevada.

“In order to attract productions that bring revenue to our state that create long-term good jobs, we need to play on a level playing field,” Ford said. “SB 165 is in fact a jobs creation act that specifically targets productions we’re not currently attracting.”

by MICHAEL M. MARCOTTE

Nevada Media Alliance Managing Editor Alex Pompliano in Carson City, NV

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.

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.

I took some time over Spring Break to look back on what we’ve done so far. It makes me happy to see the breadth of issues that our reporters have covered — animal cruelty legislation, protests, measures to protect children from human trafficking, and so much more. Their work has been featured in the Reno Gazette-Journal and on our local NPR and PBS affiliate stations — and it’s no wonder why. It’s quality journalism.

Reno artist Lara Alberti is the latest to be featured at the Nevada Legislature in the Legislative Exhibition Series gallery in Carson City. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. adjacent to the Caucus Deli, the LXS space displays Alberti’s series “Time Frame” March 18 through April 5. Managed by the Artist Services Program of the Nevada Arts Council, the Legislative eXhibition Series has provided a spotlight on the Silver State's breadth of contemporary and folk artists during the biennial session since 1985.

by PAUL GEORGE

by MOLLY MOSER

I spent most of January studying the faces of each Senatorial and Assembly lawmaker. I also tried to force myself to understand some of the bills, but I figured it would be better to just get the idea of it and learn along the way (which I did, and it worked). Reporting on big Nevada politics is new to me, and I’m eager to learn more.

UPDATE 10AM: Today, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, a national coalition, joined forces with a Nevada State Senator and local community leaders in and around Carson City to harshly criticize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for refusing to work with local residents to keep a small group of wild horses free. The mustang herd at issue travels between federal land in the Pine Nut Herd Management Area (HMA) and a rural area outside Carson City.

by STEPHANIE GLANTZ

Well, the first couple weeks are all done! And, oh my gosh, have I learned a lot. For some reason I thought the assemblymen and senators would a lot easier to access than they are. I think the reporters we talked to before this started made it sound really easy. Some are pretty friendly about talking, but others are a little harder.

by NATASHA VITALE

by ALEX POMPLIANO

It’s become somewhat of a cliché, saying in a retrospective astonishment that something began as an idea. In theory, everything begins as an idea. But I’ve never been a part of something from the very beginning that would eventually lead to a fully realized organization like the Nevada Media Alliance, so you’ll have to forgive the cliché.

This is the last installment of “The Sagebrushers.” This series was written to profile the lives and careers and credit some of Nevada’s early newspapermen. The men named in this story were some of the more prominent Sagebrushers. There were many others, but space here did not allow us to name those who also deserved recognition.

by RILEY SNYDER

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about myself during my very short career in journalism, it’s that I love to cover politics. Over last summer, I did everything from arguing with editors at my internship on the value of driving hundreds of miles to cover a candidate’s stump speech, to doing some of the area’s only coverage on school board elections, and live-tweeting City Council meetings for hours on end. I have an insatiable appetite for covering elections, governments, and everything in between.

by MICHAEL V. MARCOTTE

As I pen this, three UNR grad students are leading eight undergrads in the final planning of the launch of the Nevada Media Alliance. I may be supervising this experiment in news partnering, but these eager, ambitious journalism students will be deciding — and doing — much of what goes into it.

Alfred Doten had one of the longest tenures of any Sagebrusher in the history of the Comstock. His Nevada career began at Como in 1863, and ended 40 years later with his death in Carson City in 1903.  Today Doten is remembered for the journals he wrote spanning 54 years documenting his career and personal experiences. Seventy years after his death, the University of Nevada Press published a massive three volume set, weighing a hefty 14 1/2 pounds, titled: “The Journals of Alfred Doten 1849-1903.”

Sam Davis was a Sagebrusher from the old school who backed up what he wrote. It was a tradition he learned on the Comstock. You could write what you wanted, but you had to back up what you wrote.

The Carson Area Marketing and PR Network will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6 at the Business Resource Innovation Center (BRIC) located at 108 E. Proctor Street in Carson City. The meeting is free and non-members who are marketing, PR, or journalism professionals may attend with advance notice.

Scheduled to speak is Brent Boynton, News Director for KNPB. Brent will share some clips of his talk show "A Conversation With..." and explain how the program works and his future needs for guests on the program.