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CARSON CITY – The Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce today commended Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, for his commitment to seek $20 million a year in funding for English language learner programs in the Clark County School District.

Bill Felcyn's yarn about a practical joke among buddies on an Arizona golf course that involved a harmless snake, a six-foot rattler and a karmic turn of events won him entry to play in an epic Wild West golf tournament on Oct. 2 in Northern Nevada.

CARSON CITY – A state panel Tuesday recommended a $100 million capital construction plan to Gov. Brian Sandoval for the next two years, but finding funding for the many desperately needed maintenance projects is still a work in progress.

Sandoval will review the list and potentially make some revisions before submitting it to the 2013 Legislature as part of his overall budget.

Of the total construction budget, about $80 million will require some form of state funding.

RENO – Northern Nevada state lawmakers and candidates in the November general election identified a number of public education priorities at a forum here Monday, from ending social promotion to paying the best performing teachers more to making much-needed capital improvements to older Washoe County schools.

CARSON CITY – The U.S. Department of Labor has rejected Nevada’s request for a waiver to consolidate its three workforce investment boards into one, due largely to opposition to the plan by the Southern Nevada panel.

A small South Tahoe lodge is stepping up big by committing 10 percent of its Monday profits over the course of a year to one charity. The Avalon Lodge, a 20-room boutique property is launching its “Make a Difference Mondays” and inviting the public to nominate and vote to select the non-profit organization.

Sustainable industries and the future of energy-savings for businesses and companies will be the focus of a luncheon for regional industry and corporate leaders on Wednesday in Reno.

South Tahoe High seniors Emily Barnett and Tyler Myers will travel to Russia to present their field research project, “The Effects of Fire and Forest Thinning on the Biodiversity of Understory Plants in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” at the 9th Annual International Junior Foresters’ Competition. Their project was selected by the U.S. Forest Service International Programs office in Washington DC to represent the U.S. in the upcoming competition.

CARSON CITY – A state panel was told today that for yet another two-year state budget, there will be virtually no money available from property tax revenues for capital construction projects.

The state Public Works Board heard the disappointing news today as it began a two-day review of projects being sought by state agencies ranging from the Department of Corrections to Tourism and Cultural Affairs.

CARSON CITY – A panel of lawmakers today recommended that Nevada’s public education funding formula be revised to take into account the higher cost of educating specific groups of students, including English-language learners and children in poverty.

But lawmakers also acknowledged that updating the formula won’t mean any significant changes in funding for the state’s 17 school districts until the state’s economy improves and tax revenues increase.

There is no proposal to shift funding from one district to another to fund a new weighted formula.

CARSON CITY – If there was any question about whether the gun debate is a controversial topic in Nevada as well as nationally, a clear answer was provided today at a meeting of the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice.

A proposed discussion on assault weapons was removed from the agenda by a vote of the panel before it could even begin.

CARSON CITY – A legislative panel today quickly approved budget changes sought by a state agency so it can finalize a $3 million contract with an out-of-state firm to spearhead tourism efforts in Nevada.

Burson-Marsteller, with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, was the unanimous selection of an evaluation committee made up of Nevada tourism professionals. The company will be working with Red Rock Strategies of Las Vegas.

CARSON CITY – The potential viability of Yucca Mountain as a long-term repository for nuclear waste was the focus of yet another discussion in Nevada today as lawmakers serving on the Legislative Committee on High-Level Radioactive Waste heard status reports on the now defunded project.

CARSON CITY – A legislative panel today voted to seek a resolution in the 2013 session to authorize the creation of a public commission to study the operation of the Legislature and make recommendations on issues ranging from lawmaker pay to moving to annual sessions.

A free public forum on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (AHCA) will be held at the Plaza Conference Center, 211 East 9th Street, Carson City, NV on Tuesday, August 28 at 5:30 P.M.

CARSON CITY – The state Board of Economic Development today unanimously signed off on a package of tax breaks to bring Apple to Reno, but the panel found it had little authority over the deal reached after several months of closed-door negotiations.

CARSON CITY – A state panel charged with implementing a system to track individual student performance from preschool through entry into the workforce is recommending that $4 million in state funds be appropriated by Gov. Brian Sandoval and the 2013 Legislature to help accomplish the task.

CARSON CITY – A legislative panel today voted to request that a bill be drafted and introduced in the 2013 session requiring the Clark County District Court to create a Veterans’ specialty court.

Come sing your heart out once a month in front of a panel of “Idol-style Judges!” (Don’t worry, no Simons allowed!) Don your best outfit, bring your karaoke track or choose from a list provided, and rock out in front of friends and fellow participants. This is a great way to work your audition material, try out the new song you just wrote or just come out and have some fun!

Last Wednesday of the month, 5:30-7:00pm, June 27th, July 25th
$5.00/drop in fee to participate, free to watch!
Instructor: Mitzi Nelson, Location: Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall

Come sing your heart out once a month in front of a panel of “Idol-style Judges!” (Don’t worry, no Simons allowed!) Don your best outfit, bring your karaoke track or choose from a list provided, and rock out in front of friends and fellow participants. This is a great way to work your audition material, try out the new song you just wrote or just come out and have some fun!

Last Wednesday of the month, 5:30-7:00pm, June 27th, July 25th
$5.00/drop in fee to participate, free to watch!
Instructor: Mitzi Nelson, Location: Performance Hall

CARSON CITY – Two years ago it was the metric system. Now it’s communists.

The Legislative Commission today took the first step towards repealing several antiquated statutes, including a provision of state law dating to the “Red Scare” days of the 1950s directed at the Communist Party.

CARSON CITY – With education reform a top priority of Gov. Brian Sandoval, the new alignment of the state Board of Education – with four seats up for grabs on the November ballot – is taking on more importance than ever before.

One of the four seats, District 2 which mirrors the new Nevada 2^nd Congressional District from Reno and Carson City east across rural Nevada, has attracted five candidates, two of whom are serving now on the 10-member elected board. The race is nonpartisan.

The candidates' forum put on Tuesday night by the Carson City Chamber of Commerce allowed the seven people running for Carson City Supervisor to define where they each stand on local issues.

The candidates included current Ward 4 Supervisor Molly Walt, and the two other people running for that seat, Jim Shirk and Amy Clemens. Vying for the open Ward 2 seat were Brad Bonkowski, Dennis Johnson, Stacie Wilke-McCulloch and Maurice White.

More than 350 scientists, environmental policy makers and economic stakeholders will discuss Lake Tahoe and its environmental and economic future at the annual Tahoe Science Conference “Environmental Restoration in a Changing Climate” May 22 to 24 at Incline Village.
The conference, this year being held at Sierra Nevada College, features a scientific poster session and the opening of “Visualizing Change, a photographic exhibition,” on Tuesday evening followed by two full days of seminars and workshops covering more than 20 topics in three main areas:

CARSON CITY – Richard Combs, currently an Assembly fiscal analyst and member of the LCB staff since 1994, was the unanimous choice today of a legislative panel to become the next director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

The recommendation of the Committee to Consult with the Director will now go to the Legislative Commission for action later this month.

CARSON CITY – Five finalists, including four current staff with the Nevada Legislature’s Legislative Counsel Bureau, are seeking the position of director of the agency.

CARSON CITY – An audit of the state’s two local workforce investment boards has found the Southern Nevada agency spent nearly twice as much on administration and monitoring of its programs than its northern counterpart.

CARSON CITY – A consultant hired by the cities of Henderson and Las Vegas to analyze the process used to distribute taxes to the counties and cities told lawmakers today the formula now used to make the allocations has weaknesses.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s Homeland Security Commission today adopted a drastically reduced plan to continue the fight against potential terrorist attacks, leaving six ongoing programs without funding because of declining federal support.

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.