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CARSON CITY – While voters and political observers are focused on the Tuesday primary, Nevadans seeking access to the November ballot for measures they are pushing to amend the state Constitution have another key date in mind.
June 15 is the deadline for groups pushing their amendments to turn in the nearly 100,000 signatures they need to qualify the measures for the ballot. There are three initiative petitions to amend the state constitution still active, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons today signed an executive order creating the Nevada Crime Commission with the charge of examining existing and emerging crime problems statewide and seeking innovative methods and solutions to combat those crimes.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons has announced his initiative petition to amend state law to subject public employee union negotiations to Nevada’s open meeting law has passed a legal challenge period, allowing the signature gathering process to begin.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty said a program the state initiated a few years ago to pardon selected illegal resident inmates so they could be deported to free up space in the prison system was in his view successful.
Hardesty said the review resulted in 106 nonviolent inmates being granted conditional pardons in exchange for a waiver of any immigration hearing and agreement to be deported to their country of origin.

The Secretary of State's website is busy getting all the campaign contribution and expense reports up online. Below are some of the one they have down, as well as a couple of PDF files attached. The rest should be up online soon.

LAKE TAHOE — The American Century Championship, the celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe celebrates its 21 birthday, July 13-18. Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Tony Romo, Bode Miller, Troy Aikman, Jerry Rice, Don Cheadle, Mario Lemieux, Taylor Hicks are among the 80 sports and entertainment stars and Hall of Famers competing in the 54-hole, $600,000 tournament on NBC Sports.
 

The Saturday morning 3rd & Curry Street Farmers Market is a local growers’ market, featuring fresh produce from Nevada Certified Farmers Market growers. The Market also offers a variety of house and garden plants and numerous handmade arts and crafts. The Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Buy and enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms, each Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., June 9 through Aug. 25 at Mills Park Pony Express Pavilion in Carson City.
Along with the produce, crafts and flowers also sold. For vendor information call Shirley at (775) 746-5024.

Here is the weekly road construction report for the Carson City area, today through June 6:
The Carson City micropaving project continues at various locations. Work will occur daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the following locations over the course of the week, including Sunday, weather permitting.  A single lane will be maintained with flaggers:

— Koontz Lane from Hillview Drive to Center Drive, and from Carson Street to Curry Street.
— Winnie Lane from Ash Canyon Road to Mountain Street.
—  Ormsby Boulevard from King Street to 200 yards north of Washington Street.

CARSON CITY – Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers agree the 2011 legislative session will likely see a debate about the future of Nevada’s public employee pension program, but differences remain over whether radical change is needed to protect the state from a multi-billion long-term unfunded liability.

With summer around the corner, why not take a stroll through downtown Carson City and enjoy local wine tasting, food and history on Saturday, June 5 and every first Saturday of the month during the Downtown Wine Walk, sponsored by the Carson City Downtown Consortium.

Purchase a wine glass and map for $10 and enjoy the wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres, art galleries, gift shops, casinos and restaurants. Call (775) 883-2211 or go to www.downtowncarsoncity.com.

Photo: Al Canary of Bella Fiore Wines talks with some of the wine walkers from last month's Downtown Wine Walk.

Whether they plan to enter the work force or continue on with their education, the 451 Western Nevada College graduates walked away Monday and Tuesday with one certainty: It's up to them to use their education to push ahead in one of the most trying economic times in Nevada's history.

With the state's 13.7 percent unemployment rate for April, it may be "tough out there" to find a job, but the education the graduates earned at WNC is top-notch and will take them far if they apply themselves and are patient, College President Carol Lucey told the class Tuesday night.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s unemployment rate keeps creeping upward despite signs the economic slowdown has hit bottom, and April statistics from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation show job losses are now being seen in the government employment sector as well.

CARSON CITY — The following information was provided by the Nevada Department of Transportation and applies to the period of May 24 - 30. NDOT will work to add a third northbound lane on US 395 between Jacks Valley Road and Lupin Drive.The following activity is expected for this project:

— Work continues with single lane closures on northbound US 395 between Jacks Valley Road and Lupin Drive between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Shoulder work will continue during the daytime hours with no impacts to traffic.

CARSON CITY — Despite cool weather and Friday night's snow showers, hundreds of children and their parents turned out today for the seventh annual Cops and Kids Sheriff’s Open House safety, crime and substance abuse awareness fair held at the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

CARSON CITY — Despite cool weather and Friday night's snow showers, hundreds of children and their parents turned out today for the seventh annual Cops and Kids Sheriff’s Open House safety, crime and substance abuse awareness fair held at the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

CARSON CITY — In an effort to attract local riders and welcome the opening of the 2010 season, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is offering $5 off adult tickets on all Friday train rides. The discount is available on adult tickets, May 29 through June 25, providing an affordable, $24 round trip voyage on a vintage diesel train between Carson City and Virginia City.

Tensions quickly arose during a discussion on the economic effects of illegal immigration at a town hall forum in Reno yesterday.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, said that immigration – both legal and illegal – creates a “fiscal drain� on public services that is significantly larger than the “miniscule� effect that they have on the per capita income of the nation.

VIRGINIA CITY — Longtime Virginia City businessman Hugh Roy Marshall brings old cars, old wars and old warhorses to the Northern Nevada airwaves this Saturday, May 22.
Tales of Nevada Past and Present airs at 1 p.m. on 5,000-watt 1270-AM. The program is also available live to online listeners at www.KBZZ.com. The on-air call-in talk line is (775) 823-1920.

This week's featured players:
The old war horse: Veteran tourism media specialist Harry Spencer, a popular local columnist who specializes in stories of his first-hand knowledge of the golden age of Nevada gambling.

Part 1 of 2 on Five Key State Senate Races
CARSON CITY – Over the past several legislative sessions the state Senate Republican caucus has shown a willingness to work across the aisle with Democrats, with some GOP lawmakers voting more than once for tax increases as a way to balance the budget.

Check out the live video and discussion below. Hot topics include the request for $75,000 to proceed with planning for the Nugget Project, and requests by local businesses and organizations for redevelopment money. The agenda is here.

LAKE TAHOE — The “South Shore Summer Series” launches the season with a weekend of live music, culinary delights, sternwheeler race, concerts and competitions stretching across the shore from Camp Richardson Resort on the west to Zephyr Cove on the east. Recognized for its combination of scenic beauty and outdoor recreation with value-added vacations, entertainment and dining options, Lake Tahoe dives into summer as the recently designated No. 2 Destination and No. 8 place in the U.S.

Join in the fun, fright and local lore in the spine-chilling Ghost Walking Tour of Carson City historic homes. Learn about spirits of the past that still linger. Madame Curry will be your tour guide with many haunting surprises to occur.
The tour begins at 7 p.m. with departure from the Firkin & Fox, (The old St. Charles Hotel) on 3rd and Curry. Adults $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Call (775) 687-7410 for advance tickets and information. Be Brave.

Carson City Sheriff’s Office will host the 7th Annual Cops and Kids Sheriff’s Open House safety, crime and substance abuse awareness fair on Saturday, May 22, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, 911 E. Musser Street, Carson City.
This year's special guest will be Miss Nevada USA 2010 Julianna Erdesz.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said today he does not believe Congress will move forward with any type of immigration reform this year because the issue is too controversial for Democrats in an election year.

Carson City Sheriff’s Office will host the 7th Annual Cops and Kids Sheriff’s Open House safety, crime and substance abuse awareness fair on Saturday, May 22, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, 911 E. Musser Street, Carson City.

Cops and Kids Sheriff’s Open House was started by Sheriff Ken Furlong as part of the community policing efforts implemented by his administration.
Cops and Kids Sheriffs Open House is designed to:

— Build positive relationships between law enforcement, youth and citizens

CARSON CITY — Local author and inventor Sam Flakus has recently published his muse, 'Dark Horse' which is now available at Comma Coffee and Borders on Topsy Lane in the All Things Local section.

Carson City Health and Human Services is recruiting additional volunteers for the Carson City Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) with a informational reception on Tuesday, June 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Artisan Cafe inside the Brewery Arts Center. Medical as well as non-medical volunteers are needed. In case of a local emergency such as flood, fire or disease outbreak, response teams are necessary to assist local fire, sheriff, and medical personnel. By becoming a member of the MRC, volunteers are vetted and trained in advance to assist when help is needed.

RENO – One Democrat running for lieutenant governor criticized the GOP incumbent for being invisible in the job, and all three Democrat candidates appearing at a debate Wednesday evening took jabs at each other as the June 8 primary election day draws near.

At the Carson Nugget Redevelopment Advisory Committee meeting last night, it was revealed that the developers are negotiating with the Gaming Control Board, Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services about relocating to the planned downtown development.

But the landlord of one of these agencies said it would be highly unlikely that any of them will move anytime soon.