Las Vegas

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began assessments earlier this month in Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City for potential hospital space expansion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the latest measure of the devastating and unprecedented economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, weekly unemployment claims in Nevada last week continued to surge by the tens of thousands with 79,865 new initial claims, according to preliminary statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor released Thursday.

Gov. Steve Sisolak said Nevada’s peak of COVID-19 cases could come anywhere from early April to mid-June, saying he was more focused on lessening effects of the pandemic while warning that the state might need to “tighten the faucet” if people don’t heed social-distancing recommendations.

A tenant getting tased and forcefully removed. Landlords changing card readers and locking people out of their apartments. A coronavirus patient sitting in her room, terrified of being thrown out because property managers will not let her come into the office to pay.

The question of whether the general public should wear masks when heading outside has lingered for weeks as health officials across the country have scrambled to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus — a pandemic that worsened through the month of March and with no end yet in sight.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has extended all of the state’s emergency actions to mitigate spread of COVID-19 — including closure of public and private schools, a nonessential business shutdown and ban on large gatherings — until the end of April, while urging state residents to shelter in place.

The governor’s updated order, released by his office Wednesday morning, is the latest signal by state authorities that the massive disruptions to normal public life needed to combat the spread of the virus are nowhere near over yet.

Former Gov. Brian Sandoval has resigned from his position as an executive with MGM Resorts and has applied for the soon-to-be vacant position of president of the University of Nevada, Reno.

In an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a travel advisory Tuesday afternoon, urging travelers to Nevada to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Carson City experienced both the fastest job growth rate in February and the highest unemployment rate among the state's three metropolitan areas, according to a report released Tuesday by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced a moratorium on evictions for both residential and commercial tenants for the duration of the state of emergency, providing relief for renters who, in many cases, are facing the first of the month without a job and are under orders to try to stay at home for their own health.

On March 27, 2020, at approximately 5:54 AM, a Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant had stopped to assist a motorist on US-93 and White Pine county mile marker 106, north of Ely, NV. During this contact, the motorist open fired on Sgt. Ben Jenkins, who was struck and killed.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.:

On March 27, 2020, at approximately 5:54 AM, a Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant had stopped to assist a motorist on US-93 and White Pine county mile marker 106, north of Ely, NV. During this contact, the motorist open fired on Sgt. Ben Jenkins, who was struck and killed. The motorist stole the Sergeant’s uniform and fled the scene in Sgt. Jenkins’ patrol vehicle. Following a search that lasted several hours, the suspect, John Dabritz, a 65-year-old White Pine resident, was located and taken into custody with the assistance of multiple agencies.

The Nevada Department of Corrections announced Thursday that its first confirmed case of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 is affecting an employee at High Desert State Prison, located north of Las Vegas.

While many of Carson City’s local businesses were mandated to shut down to help the rapid spread of COVID-19, some businesses were deemed to be essential under Governor Sisolak’s order; however, even those essential businesses have changed the way they do business to try and alleviate stresses on the health care system.

Gov. Steve Sisolak made Nevada one of the first states to enter a state of partial lockdown last Tuesday as an emergency step meant to stem the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, enforcing a closure of the state’s casinos and urging other non-essential businesses to close their doors for 30 days.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has issued a broad emergency directive ordering, not asking, all non-essential businesses in the state to close effective midnight on Friday, the latest drastic step taken by the state to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

UPDATE: The University of Nevada, Reno reversed their decision and is now offering refunds. You can read the updated story here.

Switchboards at the University of Nevada, Reno lit up Thursday after the university issued an unusual directive: all students living in on-campus residence halls who have the ability to move back home should be packed up and gone within the next six days.

Gov. Steve Sisolak’s request Tuesday night for all non-essential businesses in the state, including casinos, to close their doors for 30 days in order to avoid further spread of the novel coronavirus has been met with some confusion over what is and isn’t an “essential” business.

The Nevada Housing Rights Coalition has urged local governments to take swift action to protect the health of Nevadans experiencing homelessness in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic.

UPDATE: The press conference is available by going here.
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Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday ordered a sweeping shutdown of nonessential businesses, including casinos and retail stores, for 30 days, a move that would have been unthinkable weeks ago before the novel coronavirus wreaked its havoc around the world.

UPDATE: Carson City meal sites are expected to begin Tuesday, March 17, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Empire Elementary School, Mark Twain Elementary School, Seeliger Elementary School, and Carson High School.
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In light of Governor Sisolak’s announcement to close all K-12 schools in Nevada, the Nevada Department of Agriculture is implementing the first of a two-tier strategy to mitigate National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program interruptions.

Effective Monday, March 16, due to the ongoing public health concerns over the spread of COVID-19, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles’ offices in Carson City, Reno and Las Vegas will only serve customers with appointments.

Gov. Steve Sisolak said that while a testing kit shortage makes it impossible to tell how much coronavirus has affected Nevada, the pace of the virus’ spread around the world means Nevada must “act quickly” to slow it — including taking drastic measures such as shutting state offices, limiting the size of gatherings and encouraging employees to work from home if possible.

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s seven state museums are closing to the public until the end of the month in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Gov. Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency in Nevada on Thursday afternoon, a ramping up of emergency response efforts amid the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state and throughout the nation.

January job growth in Carson City grew by 2.2 percent over January 2019 figures, giving the capital city the distinction of having the fastest job growth for the month compared to Reno and Las Vegas, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

CARSON CIY — After an extensive executive search, the Nevada Housing Coalition Board of Directors hired Christine (Bekes) Hess as the first executive director for the statewide nonprofit.

“We did our free clinic at the Community Center, and what a turnout we had; around 100 participants showed up, we had a ton of fun, and we even had high school varsity players help coach the clinic as well” said Carson High School Varsity Basketball coach Jordan Glover.

A late second-half surge helped No. 11 seeded Wyoming top No. 3 Nevada 74-71 in the Mountain West Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Trooper Hannah DeGoey guides her silver Charger through Reno traffic as the sun sets, flipping on her radar from time to time to check the speed of cars whizzing by.