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By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval will seek a constitutional amendment in the upcoming session of the Nevada Legislature to allow for public tax dollars to be used in a school voucher program that would include religious schools, a staff member said this week.

The Washoe County Republican Party board unanimously endorsed former Assemblyman Greg Brower and former Assemblywoman Patty Cafferata to replace retiring Sen. Bill Raggio.
In a statement released Jan. 13, the board agreed that Brower and Cafferata were the most-qualified candidates because of their prior legislative experience.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – It didn’t take long for Gov. Brian Sandoval to encounter controversy in his new job.
At his first Board of Examiners meeting as governor today, Sandoval had to deal with a vendor dispute over a massive $177 million Medicaid contract.

CARSON CITY – Brian Sandoval has announced his final cabinet appointments prior to being sworn in as Nevada’s 29th governor today, including naming Bruce Breslow to head up the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Breslow has been serving in outgoing Gov. Jim Gibbons’ administration as executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.

Carson City authorities made four driving under the influence-related arrests and responded to a number of fights and domestic violence disputes overnight and into the early New Year's morning.

Revelry remained relatively calm until after midnight where deputies responded to a number of fights at various locations around town, said Carson City Patrol Captain Tom Crawford. There were no significant traffic issues or accidents, he added.

A full evening of dinner, speaking and an auction will support Western Nevada College athletics at the college's annual fund-raising event on Saturday, Jan. 15 at the Peppermill Hotel-Casino, Reno. Call (775) 445-3240 for exact time of event.
This year's dinner will feature pitcher Kevin Jepsen of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Jepsen, a Bishop Manogue High School graduate, is a right-handed reliever and a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.



A Carson City man who told officers he drank three 24-ounce cans of beer faces a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence after he pulled his car into a driveway and then backed into a patrol car.

According to the arrest report, officers spotted the man early Monday afternoon driving his vehicle about 10 miles over the 25 mph posted speed limit south on Northgate Lane. The arresting officer attempted to pull the man over, but he kept driving until he got to Dyer Court where he pulled into a driveway.

A new group has formed to propose innovative strategies to create a healthy State with well-supported public systems and services and an improved fiscal system.

Members of the Nevada Values Coalition have met twice for “big tent”, nonpartisan meetings to discuss the complex issues, and members then further examined ideas through subcommittees.

The liberal blogs are all in a tizzy about how President Barack Obama "caved" to Republicans, agreeing to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone, not just those making under $250,000 a year as he said he wanted.

Some are saying that Obama has been seriously damaged by this episode, looking weak and handing the narrative and momentum to the GOP, and that he might have a tough time getting reelected in 2012.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board has agreed to appeal to the 9th Circuit District Court a September federal district court ruling that struck down updated ordinances for the shorezone of Lake Tahoe, according to its website.

An unemployed Carson City was arrested after allegedly locking his girlfriend up in his apartment while he used the woman's disability money to drink and gamble at a local bar.

Steve Rutherford, 57, was arrested Wednesday and faces felony fraud and gross misdemeanor false imprisonment charges. Bail has been set at $10,000.

The gamblers are gambling in the Nevada again, as statewide gaming win climbed 11.02 percent statewide in October over prior year.

The surge was led by the Las Vegas Strip, the state's biggest gaming center, which took in $2,021,082,843 in October, a 16.07 percent increase over October 2009.

Gaming revenues for the fiscal year that started in July are up 5.35 percent over prior year.

CARSON CITY – The total number of active voters in Nevada increased by more than 30,000 following the Nov. 2 general election, the secretary of state’s office reports.
The increase is due largely to the thousands of registered voters designated as “inactive” who turned out to vote on Nov. 2, thereby changing their status to “active.”

CARSON CITY — Wally Murray, president and CEO of Greater Nevada Credit Union was honored as the outgoing Nevada Credit Union League board chairman during the League’s recent annual meeting and convention.

During the convention, the Nevada Credit Union League received a national award for its outstanding advocacy efforts. Greater Nevada Credit Union was also recognized by the California and Nevada Credit Union League and awarded Nevada Credit Union Advocate of the Year.

Squaw Valley USA will have a new owner after a Denver-based equity firm bought virtually all of its shares.

KSL Capital Partners LLC of Denver, which owns stakes in resort-related businesses, announced Tuesday that it hopes to complete the sale by the end of the year and that it will put $50 million into the exclusive Lake Tahoe area resort, home of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games.

Squaw was opened in 1949 by the late Alexander Cushing. It has about 4,000 acres and 2,850 vertical feet that spans over six peaks.

Carson City during the holidays always springs alive with a festive collection of entertainment, music, and traditional favorites for the whole family.

Winter arrives just in time for Thanksgiving as the Arlington Square Ice Skating Rink opens for the season with daily skate sessions from Nov. 24 - Jan. 22. Group rates and multi-use punch cards provide savings to ice enthusiasts.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval said today he will make it a priority as governor to encourage businesses to relocate to Nevada from neighboring states where taxes have been raised to deal with the economic slowdown.

The area that includes Carson City and Carson Valley posted a 10.8 percent increase in gaming revenue in September over prior year, the best of any region of the state for that month.

The Carson area was the only real bright spot in northern Nevada, with South Lake Tahoe revenues declining 8.28 percent, while Washoe County was down 5.31 percent, and Elko down 4.31 percent.

Statewide gaming revenues increased .73 percent in September over prior year. Three months into the fiscal year, statewide revenues are up 2.33 percent.

Full report is attached below.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford today announced the creation of 10 standing committees and his selections for the chairs of the panels for the 2011 legislative session.
He also established a new select committee on economic growth and employment.

Carson City authorities arrested a couple on multiple charges, including child endangerment, domestic battery and unlawful posession and sale of prescription drugs.

Angela Rebecca Virginia Bowman, 19, of Mound House is being held on $7,500 bail and faces two felony drug charges including possession of prescription drugs without a prescription and possession for sale.
David Joseph Wright, 26, also of Mound House, faces a gross misdemeanor child endangerment charge and a domestic battery charge.

Nevada Day kicks off this morning with annual the Nevada Day Parade, with the theme being "100 Years of Aviation" to go along with the Silver State’s admission to the Union in 1864.

Retired Lt. Col. Dick Rutan of the U.S. Air Force serves as Grand Marshal for today's celebration. He was picked to coincide with the theme, which marks a history-making flight of daredevil pilot William Ivy Baldwin west of Carson City, where he soared to 4,675 feet, the highest ever at that time.
 

With a 23-year background in gaming and marketing, Tropicana Entertainment has named Jef Bauer as general manager of MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa at Lake Tahoe.

“Northern Nevada has been a second home to me throughout my career and I’m glad to call South Shore, a destination that I have always loved, my new home,” said Bauer, 45. “I plan to be involved in the community while seizing new opportunities with special events to position MontBleu and South Tahoe as the place to play, dine and game.”

The Carson City Fire Department will allow open burning, with a valid permit, now through Nov. 14.

The purpose of the open burn period is to provide residents an opportunity to dispose of accumulated weeds and yard debris, according to Carson City fire officials.

For safety reasons, a burn permit with a valid permit number will be required before burning will be allowed. Permit applications can be obtained at the following Carson CIty fire station locations:

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A national group that supports judicial restraint is opposing a measure on the Nevada ballot to change the way judges are selected from direct elections to appointment and retention.
The Judicial Crisis Network also presented a survey of Nevada voters’ views on the change that shows a majority oppose the idea of appointing instead of electing members of the state Supreme court.

By Nevada News Bureau
(Updated at 3:20 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2010)

By Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada is projected to lose more than 50,000 residents by 2014 because of the ongoing state economic slump, state Demographer Jeff Hardcastle said today.
The short term projections are bleak under either of two models developed by Hardcastle to forecast Nevada’s population growth through 2030.

After a summer that netted 15,000 marijuana plants on public lands that extended over four Nevada counties, the state's Department of Public Safety urges caution as hunters head for the woods and secluded places this fall.

Marijuana grows and other illegal enterprises are being encountered on public lands with increasing frequency, according to the department.

Nevada's statewide gaming win shot up 11.51 percent in August compared to the prior year, according to the Gaming Control Board report out today.

The Las Vegas Strip — the state's most profitable gaming area — did great business in August, with a 21 percent increase over prior year. That offset loses in other areas of the state, such as Washoe and Elko counties.

The Carson Valley area that includes Carson City saw an increase of 7.73 percent. South Lake Tahoe's win increased by 7.2 percent.

Carson City's primary arts service organization has a new executive director. John M. Shelton was hired this week by the board of directors as the Brewery Art Center's leader and executive director.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – The percentage of people living in poverty in Nevada increased to 12.4 percent in 2009 from 11.6 percent in 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week.
A total of 321,940 Nevadans were estimated to be living below the poverty level in 2009, an increase of more than 25,000 from the prior year, according to the census data.