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. The Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs held a “reverse” job fair to convey concerns that [...]
(Corrected at 2:34 p.m. on Sept. 2, 1010 to reflect average monthly benefit paid to retirees.) CARSON CITY – Nevada’s public employee pension system earned a rate of return above its 8 percent target last fiscal year, but the long-term unfunded liability is still expected to see an increase when an analysis is presented this fall. Dana Bilyeu, [...]
Henderson-area small businesses struggling to stay afloat in Nevada’s ongoing recession can look to their neighborhood chamber of commerce for assistance in these tough economic times. Saint Mary’s Health Plans, in cooperation with the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, is offering two health plans exclusively for chamber members. The partnership provides a money-saving opportunity for chamber [...]
Former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller said Monday it is unrealistic for both major party candidates for governor to say they won’t raise taxes in the upcoming 2011 session. Miller, a Democrat who served 10 years as the chief executive, said he, along with former Democrat Gov. Richard Bryan and the late Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, [...]
Underdog Democratic candidate for governor Rory Reid took the opportunity at a first debate today with leading GOP candidate Brian Sandoval to challenge his opponent’s commitment to spending on public education. In his opening remarks, Reid said he has a plan to erase a $2.5 billion shortfall it the state budget without cutting education. Sandoval would [...]
CARSON CITY – Budding Las Vegas artist Alex Krasky was not selected to paint the official portrait of out-going Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons for display in the state capitol, but he is going ahead with his canvas anyway with the hopes of personally presenting his work to the governor. When he first learned of the [...]
CARSON CITY – A plan released today by Democrat governor candidate Rory Reid on how to balance the Nevada state budget without raising taxes received some praise from a free market think tank even though many questions remain, including whether the proposal includes an overly optimistic prediction of future tax revenue growth. Reid discussed his [...]
CARSON CITY – A Nevada group that offers training to non-union construction workers has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford alleging an improper pro-union bias by some members of the State Apprenticeship Council. The allegation comes following the failure of the Nevada Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC) to win [...]
CARSON CITY – Nevada budget guru Guy Hobbs said Wednesday expanding the sales tax to encompass services is “not a bad place to start” in the effort to broaden the state’s tax base. “Sixty percent of our economy is services, not a bad place to start,” he said. “A lot of those services are discretionary [...]
CARSON CITY – Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said today he believes the race between U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP challenger Sharron Angle will come down to 5,000 votes. Heller said he believes most voters have already made up their minds about which candidate they will support in November, “I just don’t know [...]
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. Asking voters to apply [...]
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. Angle, appearing on the Nevada NewsMakers television program on Wednesday, said [...]
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s worst in the nation 14.3 percent unemployment rate for July does not even begin to tell the real story of the state’s dismal job situation, a state agency reported today. The actual unemployment rate in Nevada through the second quarter of 2010 is 21.5 percent, according to data compiled by the [...]
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. Assemblyman Lynn Stewart, R-Henderson, said he is still researching the issue, but that his bill will be symbolic [...]
CARSON CITY – Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley Thursday defended the right of mosque supporters to build their facility near Ground Zero in New York City, saying she supports religious freedom for all. “I am supporting the Constitution when it comes to this issue,” Berkley, D-Nev., said. “As long as the zoning is appropriate and as [...]