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By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A Nevada insurance broker today said families seeking health care coverage for a child only can no longer purchase such policies because of uncertainty over the effects of the national health care reform law.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – With less than four weeks to go before early voting begins for the Nov. 2 general election, military and civilian voters located overseas are already taking advantage of a new online system that verifies their marked ballots have been received by local election officials.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Long-time Nevada resident Art Cooke says he is now officially a disenfranchised voter.
After voting in every primary and general election in Carson City for a decade, Cooke sold his Bodie Drive home and became a full-time recreational vehicle resident upon retirement five years ago. Cooke and his wife Rita spend time out-of-state every year, wintering in Yuma, Ariz. and visiting other states in their luxury recreational vehicle.

Former Republican Senate candidate John Chachas said today he is now residing in Nevada and that he “may run� for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., in 2012.
“I may run,� he said in an interview with Jon Ralston on the Face To Face television program.

The yet-to-be-completed plans for the Carson City Center aka Nugget Project may not be voted on by the Carson City Board of Supervisors until after the beginning of the new year, according to City Manager Larry Werner.

Werner said there will be a status update presented to the citizens committee on Sept. 27. Another committee meeting will be scheduled once the plans are finalized, Werner said. The presentation of the full plans had already been delayed twice before, adding two months to the original timeline.

Candidate for Carson City Assessor, Ian Mindling, talks about how he would manage the job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27T9YlWJEz4

Assemblyman John Hambrick this week said he will vie for chairmanship of the Republican Assembly Caucus against sitting chairman Pete Goicoechea if he wins reelection in November. He also expressed concerns about what he characterized as an abuse of power by some in Democratic leadership in Carson City.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – In an effort to convince his fellow elected officials that filing campaign contribution and expenditure reports online and before early voting is not too onerous for candidates, Secretary of State Ross Miller said he will do so voluntarily in advance of the Nov. 2 general election.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – More than 60 candidates for legislative and statewide public office have responded to a questionnaire seeking their views on several key government transparency issues.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – More than 250 new bill requests were filed for drafting last week by lawmakers and others on issues ranging from requiring health insurance plans to cover acupuncture treatments to implementing a four-year cooling off period before former lawmakers could work as lobbyists.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s active voter rolls increased by 7,882 registrations in August, with Democrats picking up just over 2,600 new voters compared to just over 2,000 for Republicans.
Democrats now have 461,461 active registered voters just about two months before the Nov. 2 general election compared to 402,960 for the GOP, a 58,501 edge for Democrats and a slight increase from July.

Playgrounds are a pure joy to watch. Children experiment and dream with unbridled optimism. One elementary school in Carson City, by itself, houses over 600 future teachers, healers and leaders. It is a parent’s best dream to envision a bright, healthy, productive future for our children. Sometimes fear overtakes us, as we live with the daily reminders of our world’s very-real threats to those futures. Many of those fears are born of the very-real adult perspectives we have on environmental risks - like crime, drug use and violence.

The middle class in jeopardy
By Todd M. Koch

Questions you will never see on Jeopardy: What country holds elections where one side can force all voters to listen to all its campaign speeches and propaganda? What country allows bosses to threaten the jobs of workers who don't vote the company way?

The U.S.A.

RENO – Several Nevada business leaders took the opportunity of the upcoming Labor Day holiday to speak out today against federal legislation they say will kill jobs in Nevada at a time when the unemployed total more than 20 percent.

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.

Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong sent Carson Now his response to Guimont's comment that was posted after a gang-related shooting incident two weeks ago. Carson Now contacted Guimont and verified that the comment did in fact come from him.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Assembly Minority Leader Pete Goicoechea said today Nevada voters should be asked to expand the state sales tax to include food purchases as a way to raise revenue and broaden the tax base.
But any such revenue hike should be accompanied by a reduction in the state’s regressive business taxes, he said.

CARSON CITY – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle said in an interview last week that her opponent is trying to make her Christian religion an issue to divert voters from the real problems facing the U.S. and Nevada, including the economy and jobs.

Carson City leaders agreed this morning to apply for a $240,000 HUD grant that would help in preliminary design work for narrowing Carson Street between John and Stewart streets from four to two lanes.

If the city were to get the grant, it would have to kick down about $60,000 in matching grants which would come from the city's redevelopment agency and the regional transportation commission. Money for the matching grants would be available because it has already been set aside in their budgets.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons said today he wants to see what strings are attached to the $82 million approved by Congress this week to hire teachers in Nevada before agreeing to accept the funds.

The V&T engine derailed last night at about 6:30 near Gold Hill after a series of heavy rains produced micro-mudslides, many of which may have flowed onto the V&T Railroad tracks.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – State Budget Director Andrew Clinger yesterday painted a bleak picture of Nevada’s next two-year spending plan, saying under current tax and spending levels every single program and agency except for education would have to be eliminated to balance the budget.

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.

Last week we reported that the governor's office sent a letter to Nugget Project consultant Mark Lewis taking issue with certain parts of the feasibility study for moving three state agencies into the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

The one big item missing in that story was the Meridian Business Advisors feasibility study itself, which we now have a copy of.

CARSON CITY – A group seeking to mandate the use of secret ballots in all elections involving union representation has filed an initiative petition to make such a requirement the law in Nevada.
The proposal to amend Nevada state law was filed July 15 with the Secretary of State’s office and lists Steve Wark of Las Vegas as the state chairman of the Save Our Secret Ballot effort.

The four people running for Carson City Supervisor Ward 1 who were eliminated in the June primary have all thrown their support behind candidate Rob Joiner.

Joiner released a letter today (attached below) signed by Paul R. Saucedo, Norm Scoggin, Sean Lehmann and Gary Schulz, proclaiming their support for Joiner.

If you have taken part in the events going on in downtown Carson City this summer — such as the Friday night concerts on 3rd Street or the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings — then you have witnessed the Curry Street Promenade in action.

Though most would agree that the events are a great benefit for our downtown, the process by which this project came about is a strange one, tainted with managerial missteps, missing budgets and political indifference.

At least one Carson City School District official is troubled by the outcome of Friday's misdemeanor driving under the influence guilty plea by Carson Middle School Principal Sam Santillo.
School board trustee president Norm Scoggin said he's "amazed" that a misdemeanor charge of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana was dropped by the Washoe County District Attorney's Office.

Supervisors meeting as Redevelopment Authority approved resolution to suspend program to offer financial incentives to small businesses, which would allow the Office of Business Development to focus on infrastructure and larger projects.

The agenda is here. See transcript of live blog below: