Washington

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval will propose a change to the retirement system for new state employees that would reduce their current pension benefits by one half and cut the long-term liability for taxpayers by the same amount, his chief of staff said today.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada residents bear the second lowest state and local tax burden of any state at 7.5 percent, behind only Alaska at 6.3 percent, according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
A national movement to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states combined gained steam today with the financial support of a billionaire businessman who has committed resources to enacting the concept across the country, including Nevada.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Ted McAleer says he’s got a silver bullet for creating jobs in the Silver State.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Freshman Republican state Sen. Michael Roberson got a lot of people’s attention last week when he engaged in a brief but spirited line of questioning at a Judiciary Committee hearing with mining industry lobbyists.

With labor momentum building to a showdown in Wisconsin, a rally in support of Nevada workers will be held in Carson City at noon Monday on the front steps of the Legislature Building.

"It has never been more important than now to stand in solidarity with Wisconsin workers and workers around the country, including Nevada workers, who are under attack from politicians bent on destroying the labor movement," said Danny L. Thompson, executive secretary treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO.

By GrandViewOutdoors.com
A federal agency has announced $23 million to protect grasslands in Wyoming, Colorado and Montana for sage grouse, a chicken-sized bird whose males are known for flashy mating displays.

It would be offered as matching funds, with state, local and tribal governments or non-government agencies providing the other $23 million.

Nevada State Senate and Nevada Assembly will open with ancient Hindu prayers in Sanskrit on Monday and Tuesday in Carson City.

Hindu leader Rajan Zed will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures, in Sanskrit and then provide translation in English.

From Washington, D.C. to Incline Village, Maureen McCarthy has worked to learn from and protect the environment. Now, her environmental interests have brought her to the Tahoe Science Consortium as the organization’s new executive director.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada state legislators may catch a break under a debt-relief proposal from President Barack Obama.
Obama has proposed deferring interest payments on money the states have borrowed to pay unemployment insurance benefits.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY — Nevada’s primary education system would change dramatically under the proposals Gov. Brian Sandoval delivered tonight in his State of the State address.
He would use student achievement data to evaluate educators, provide merit pay for effective teachers and end extra pay for longevity and advanced degree attainment.

Here is a video ahead of Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's State of the State address on Monday, 6 p.m. at the Assembly Chamber of the Legislative Building in Carson City.

The video is from Bob Fulkerson, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada speaking on behalf of the Nevada Values Coalition, a new group of activists and organizations formed to propose innovative strategies to create balanced solutions to the state's budget crisis. The Coalition represents or provides services for more than 600,000 Nevadans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Kq3t6zYGI&feature=player_embedded

Here is the Coalition's view on the State of the State.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
One year later, the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case are plain to see.
On Jan. 21, 2010, the court ruled that corporate and union donations to political candidates cannot be limited under the First Amendment.
The impact?

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s budget process is broken and needs fundamental change to bring about reasonable spending and improved performance in public education and the delivery of other government services, a free market think tank says in a new report.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Driving down debt and reining in federal spending might not two things people normally associate with Sen. Harry Reid, but that’s what he spent most of this time addressing on television tonight.
“We cannot sustain the spending of this country,” the Democrat said. “We cannot wind up being a Greece or an Ireland and default on our debt.”

Steve Robinson, a deputy chief of staff and legislative director for former Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and previously the state's top forestry and fire official, has been appointed to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency governing board.

“As a former at-large board member myself, I know Steve Robinson’s experience as a natural resource consultant will be invaluable to the TRPA,” said Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. “Lake Tahoe is one of our most precious state and national treasures, so it is important to me that Nevada has a strong voice on the TRPA.”

Carl Kuhl, a state Parole and Probation employee of six years, has created a plan that he claims will eliminate Nevada's budget deficit within two years.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, Kuhl said his plan not only will reduce the budget deficit but also help repair Nevada's economy at the same time. It is a pretty big claim, he admits, coming from an Accounting Assistant I, an entry level position.

The city attorneys for the city of Sparks have a unique audience for an upcoming case: the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court agreed last Friday to decide if states can forbid elected officials from voting when they may have a conflict of interest. The case involves a Sparks city councilman, Michael A. Carrigan, who is represented by the city.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Despite a dramatic slowdown in Nevada’s population growth, and even some net out-migration for the first time in recent memory, the U.S. Census Bureau report today shows the state will gain a fourth congressional seat in 2013.

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.

A $4.1 million road widening project that began in January of this year on Roop Street ended Thursday and was celebrated by Carson City officials, nearby residents and, of course, motorists.

A ribbon cutting ceremony at William and Corbett streets marked the occasion. The project — paid for with regional transportation and utility taxes — has been in the works for years, originally planned for construction in 2005 at a cost of around $7 million. However plans were temporarily shelved as the city assessed and paid for other pressing needs.

CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval today said he is disappointed with an order from a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel dismissing Nevada’s legal challenges to the high level nuclear waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain.

Well worth the wait and tremendous cost savings to taxpayers, the Roop Street road construction project in Carson City will be celebrated on Thursday, Dec. 16 with a ribbon-cutting dedication ceremony.

After nearly a year's worth of "road closed" signs accompanied by a few already-late-for-work-motorists with finger-gesture and other anger management-related issues, the $4.1 million reconstruction and widening project will permanently reopen following the public ceremony at the corner of William and Corbett streets.

CARSON CITY – A federal appeals court today lifted a stay on cases challenging the U.S. Department of Energy’s authority to withdraw its licensing application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Despite the need for drastic spending reductions to balance Nevada’s budget, the government program that provides health care to the poor continues to expand, consuming a growing share of the state’s scarce state revenues.

Looks like there’s finally an opening date set for Roop Street. They’ve been rebuilding the stretch of Roop between Washington Street and the Lone Mountain Cemetery ever since the early summer. This has caused big headaches for traffic around town, since that is one of the major north-south routes through that part of town. Although, they wisely waited until the Stewart Street extension was done, so at least there was an easy detour to get around all the construction. But it will still be good to get all the cones and detour signs down and be able to sail through.

Carson City officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 16, to reopen N. Roop Street following the completion of the reconstruction/widening project.

The ceremony will take place on N. Roop Street between William Street and Corbett Street. City officials will be joined by representatives of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the private sector firms which participated in the design and construction of the road. Following the ceremony, the traffic control barriers will be removed, and the road will be opened to public travel.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
University of Nevada, Reno President Milt Glick has signed the “Campus Compact,” joining a national coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents who have committed their campuses to encouraging service learning and civic engagement.

Unclaimed property in the hands of the state will go up for action on Saturday in Las Vegas, State Treasurer Kate Marshall announced today.

When I was at the Nugget Advisory Committee meeting last week, a PR person working for P3 Development and the Carson Nugget handed me a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the project.

One thing a complex project like this could really use is an FAQ list. Of course, this list came from those developing the project, so a little spin was to be expected. But I was surprised at how much spin there was.