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By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A bill that would impose fines of $1,000 to $10,000 on businesses that failed to obtain a state business license after being notified by the secretary of state’s office has been pulled from a scheduled committee hearing.

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.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Legislators have done this week what the cynical among us would never have expected: they got right to work.
The chatter in the hallways at 401 S Carson Street has revolved around the fast pace legislators seem to be setting during their first week in session. Legislators are already listening to testimony about bills. Legislative leaders are already rolling out big jobs bills.

Michael Korda's fine new biography, "Hero, the Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia," comes at a critical moment in the Arab world, with the U.S. foreign policy in shambles as Egyptians riot in the streets and Tunisians oust their leaders.

Most Americans probably are only familiar with T. E. Lawrence as portrayed by Peter O'Toole in the David Lean film "Lawrence of Arabia," a fine biopic if not exactly the true, full story of Lawrence.

Northern Nevada’s two public broadcasters have teamed up to create something new: a website dedicated solely to coverage of regular and special sessions of the Nevada legislature.

CARSON CITY – Northern Nevada’s two public broadcasters have teamed up to create something new: a website dedicated solely to coverage of regular and special sessions of the Nevada Legislature.
SessionAccess.org is now live and will provide frequent, in-depth coverage and quick updates on developments from Carson City during the session. The collaborative effort between KUNR (88.7 FM, NPR) and KNPB (Ch. 5 TV, PBS) comes with a commitment from each station to on-the-ground reporting in Carson City.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s Colorado River Commission is one of the state agencies cited in a recent legislative audit as paying some of the highest salaries to former state employees working as contractors, the Nevada News Bureau has learned.
Information obtained as a result of a public records request shows two former state employees, James Davenport and Sara Price, both attorneys, have collectively earned over half a million dollars in salaries as contractors for the agency over the past three and a half years.

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 Black Swan," currently playing at The Galaxy Fandango Cineplex in Carson City, is Natalie Portman's movie, good or bad. Reported Portman lost 20 pounds over six months of ballet lessons to fit the part and while not ballet slim does look pretty good.

By Nevada News Bureau
Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said today that the House has reinstated geothermal royalties to local counties in its funding bill.
Heller worked with House appropriators to ensure revenues will continue to be distributed to local governments.

CARSON CITY – A national conservative think tank today launched a new website to give Spanish-speaking Americans access to its analyses and policy recommendations on the nation’s most pressing problems.
The Heritage Foundation launched Libertad.org, where the organization’s work on issues ranging from education reform to the new national health care law will be available in Spanish.

The Community Health Nursing clinics throughout Lyon County offer many conveniently located and very affordable services for men, women, and children. The Dayton Community Health Nursing clinic at 34 Lakes Blvd. hosts regular appointment hours, as well as walk-in clinics, men’s clinics, and translation services.

Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., today urged his colleagues to ensure that any Continuing Resolutions passed by the House include provisions to restore geothermal royalties to local counties.
The Office of Management and Budget has determined that under current funding legislation, local counties can no longer receive their share of geothermal royalties established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The Obama Internet policy is taking a bit of a different turn besides calling for increased internet connection accessibility. Currently, the Obama administration and law enforcement and security agencies are pushing for new regulations of the Internet and the telecommunications industry. If these new laws pass, it will grant the government greater access for surveillance purposes. Washington already has accessibility to a broad array of communications for monitoring purposes, and this will expand that access.

The Oil Change for a Cause is a fundraiser designed to benefit the ESL In-Home Program of Northern Nevada. The ESL In-Home Program is a local community service organization that provides free English lessons at no charge to adults in the community whose native language is not English. It recruits and trains volunteers to teach people English and provides the instructional books and training. The program currently has 115 adults on a waiting list. The funds raised will be used to purchase the books needed to start these adults who are eager to learn to speak, read, and write English.

There is an interesting discussion going on over at the Nevada Appeal site concerning the Nugget Project.

The story begins two week ago when Guy Farmer wrote a rather harsh column that slammed the Nugget Project. In response, last week there was a guest column by Michael Douglass criticizing Farmer's take on the subject.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A state lawmaker is having a bill drafted for the 2011 legislative session to make English the official language of Nevada, saying his intent is to unify rather than divide the state’s diverse residents.

CARSON CITY – A proposal by an out-going Nevada lawmaker to officially recognize an alternate pronunciation of the name of the state as an acceptable second-choice has generated a lot of comment, with most residents not surprisingly opposed to the idea.
But some of those posting comments on various news sites also support the idea that maybe Nevadans should be more tolerant of those who “mispronounce� the state’s name.
Others have suggested the resolution sought for drafting by Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, is a waste of time and money.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – If there is one thing near and dear to the hearts of many Nevadans, it is the pronunciation of the name of their state.
For most Nevadans, it is pronounced Ne-vaaa-da. The middle syllable rhymes with glad. It is not pronounced Ne-vah-da. And many Nevadans don’t mind letting people know when they err.

A financial services bill working its way through the U.S. Senate contains a $400,000 earmark that appears to be destined for the business incubator that is part of the planned Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

LAKE TAHOE — Get ready for jazz, Celtic, mystery, comedy, bluegrass, percussion and a whole lot more at the Lake Tahoe Valhalla Arts, Music and Theatre Festival. The Festival takes place at the historic Tahoe Tallac site, a 74-acre setting currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a 1800’s favorite getaway for Northern California’s elite members of society.  But you don’t have to be an elite member of society to enjoy the variety of affordable and sometimes even free events at the Valhalla Festival.

While much-needed attention is being paid to Lake Tahoe regarding invasive species such as the quagga mussel and Asian clams, there is growing concern among local wildlife biologists and water scientists of similar threats along the Carson River watershed.

"Bad Manners” is very much what its title says: four people spend a weekend together seeing how bitter and tricky they can be. It’s available at video stores or at the Carson City Library.

In the waning hours of the special session this past February, legislators hurriedly introduced and passed Senate Bill 5, a bill intended, among other things, to remove the sunset on part of a half-percent sales tax passed in 2003.

CARSON CITY — Nevadans who intend to vote early in the primary and general elections this year will likely find themselves in the dark on the question of who has contributed to the campaigns of the candidates.
Despite efforts in past legislative sessions to improve the transparency of campaign contributions received by candidates, lawmakers have failed to make meaningful reforms to the reporting process.

Despite signing a pledge eight years ago that he would oppose domestic partnerships outside of marriage, gubernatorial contender Brian Sandoval, who last year said he supports such arrangements, said today he forgot he had signed the document.  Sandoval also claimed there was no contradiction.
“I have always believed that marriage is between a woman and a man,” said Sandoval. “My position has not changed at all. When I signed that pledge in 2002, I interpreted domestic partnerships to be an analogue for marriage.”

Four attorneys with ties to the issues and parties of Nevada’s health care reform lawsuit gave their perspectives to media and political bloggers during a Nevada News Bureau-hosted conference call this afternoon.
Mark Hutchison, lead counsel for Governor Gibbons’ newly retained pro-bono team, said he plans to participate in a conference with US District Court Judge Roger Vinson next week as part of the process to join Florida and other states in an amended complaint challenging the federal government on provisions in the recently passed health care legislation.

CARSON CITY – A study showing how well Nevada’s students perform on achievement tests, released today by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, concludes they fare no better than mid-range, and often well below, students in other states.

Nevada property tax practices are still an issue of contention.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons on Wednesday will sign the “Race to the Top” bill allowing Nevada to compete for federal school improvement funds, a spokesman said today.