Gov. Brian Sandoval Questions $6 Million In Legal Fees To Defend Against Freeway Construction Lawsuit

By Sean Whaley | 11:06 am January 9th, 2012
Updated 1:26 pm January 9th, 2012

CARSON CITY – A legal firm retained by the state Department of Transportation to defend against a contractor dispute over construction of a section of the Carson City bypass has racked up $6 million in fees so far and the costs could still go higher.

Gov. Brian Sandoval today expressed concern about the amount of legal fees in the case involving a $40 million claim by Utah-based Ames Construction, which built the first phase of the U.S. 395 bypass in the capital that opened in February of 2006.

The cost of the 4.5-mile stretch of freeway was $70 million.

Carson City byass. / Photo courtesy of NDOT.

Sandoval, (Continue reading…)

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Revenues Increase But Major Nevada Casinos Lost $4 Billion In FY2011

By Sean Whaley | 2:08 pm January 6th, 2012
Updated 2:08 pm January 6th, 2012

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s major casinos saw total revenues increase to $22 billion last fiscal year, but the 256 properties reported a net loss of just under $4 billion, the Gaming Control Board reported today.

It was the third year of losses in a row. The only other loss since records have been kept came in 2002.

The report, called the Nevada Gaming Abstract, analyzes those casino properties grossing $1 million or more in gaming revenue for the year ending June 30, 2011.

It shows that total revenues increased by just over $1.1 billion from Fiscal Year 2010, but the total dollar value of the loss reported by the properties increased (Continue reading…)

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Fifteen Apply For Nevada Top Public Schools Job As Search Process Moves Forward

By Sean Whaley | 2:05 pm January 5th, 2012
Updated 2:05 pm January 5th, 2012

CARSON CITY – Fifteen people, eight from within Nevada and seven from out of the state, have applied for the job of state superintendent of public instruction.

Three of the 15 did candidates that applied by a Dec. 30 deadline not meet the statutory requirements for the position, such as having a master’s degree in education or school administration, the Sandoval administration said in an update on the search process.

The 12 eligible applications are now being reviewed and background checks are being conducted. The names of the applicants will not be released until a list of semi-finalists is presented to the state Board of Education at its meeting set for Jan. (Continue reading…)

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Nevada Faces Potential Loss Of Federal Highway Funds For Delay In Implementing New Trucker Safety Rule

By Sean Whaley | 12:27 pm January 5th, 2012

CARSON CITY – Nevada is one of several states that will not make a Jan. 30 federal deadline to implement a newly mandated safety rule to ensure truck drivers have proof they are medically safe to drive, potentially putting federal highway dollars at risk.

The new rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCS) requires state motor vehicle departments across the country to create a new database that will be linked nationally to keep track of the proof truck drivers need to show they are safe to drive.

Courtesy of FEMA via Wikimedia Commons.

Failure to meet the deadline could potentially put 5 percent of a (Continue reading…)

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Washoe Schools Chief Heath Morrison A Finalist For 2012 Superintendent Of The Year

By Sean Whaley | 5:37 pm January 4th, 2012
Updated 5:37 pm January 4th, 2012

CARSON CITY – Washoe County School District Superintendent Heath Morrison has been named a finalist for the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year.

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) selected Morrison and three other superintendents as the four finalists in the national program.

“I am exceptionally honored and humbled,” Morrison said. “There are some amazing educational leaders in this country who are doing phenomenal work to improve the lives of the nation’s children.

Washoe County School District Superintendent Heath Morrison.

“Being selected as a finalist for this award is truly an acknowledgment of the amazing efforts of the educators in Washoe County and a result (Continue reading…)

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State Lawmaker Says GOP Poised To Win Control Of Senate In 2012, Democrat Disagrees

By Sean Whaley | 4:58 pm January 4th, 2012
Updated 4:59 pm January 4th, 2012

CARSON CITY – Republican state Senator Michael Roberson said today he expects the GOP to retake control of the Senate in the 2012 general election, citing the quality of candidates recruited for two key Clark County races.

His optimism was countered by Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, who said he is confident Democrats will maintain control of the Senate come Nov. 7.

Democrats now hold a narrow 11-10 edge in the Senate, but the dynamics have changed as a result of the redrawing of legislative districts based on the 2010 census.

Roberson, R- Las Vegas, in an interview on the Nevada NewsMakers television show, said Republicans have (Continue reading…)

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Nevada Campaign Reports Now To Be Filed Electronically For Better Public Access

By Sean Whaley | 2:14 pm January 3rd, 2012
Updated 3:42 pm January 3rd, 2012

CARSON CITY – Starting with the annual campaign contribution and expense reports due Jan. 17, elected officials and candidates must now file their information electronically with the Secretary of State’s office.

State lawmakers say they have not heard of any major concerns with the new requirements from their colleagues.

Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, said he has not been made aware of any concerns about the new reporting requirement from Senate Democrats or candidates. It has been an option for quite awhile and many candidates already use it, he said.

Nevada state Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas. / Nevada News Bureau file photo

“It’s actually a (Continue reading…)

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More Than 2,300 Nevada Nonprofits Lose Tax Exempt Status With IRS

By Sean Whaley | 2:00 am January 2nd, 2012
Updated 11:01 am January 1st, 2012

CARSON CITY – More than 2,300 Nevada nonprofit groups have had their tax exempt status revoked by the Internal Revenue Service.

The revocations run the gamut, from the Edgewood Tahoe Mens Club to the Lovelock Alfalfa Seed Growers. Most of the revocations occurred in 2010 but were just posted by the agency last year.

The IRS in June of 2o11 released a list of more than 275,000 nonprofits nationwide that had their tax-exempt status automatically revoked due to failure to file annual returns.

The revocations mean that the nonprofits are no longer exempt from federal income tax, and will have to pay corporate income tax on annual revenue. (Continue reading…)

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Happy Holidays & See You in 2012

By Nevada News Bureau Staff | 5:05 am December 25th, 2011
Updated 7:47 am December 25th, 2011

As 2011 draws to a close, we’d like to wish you Happy Holidays and thank each of you for your readership, support, comments and story ideas.

This week the Nevada News Bureau (NNB) closes out  another great year of bringing you statehouse and political news. We are pleased to say we attracted more than 98,000 unique visitors to our website in 2011.

Also, many of the Silver State’s rural and small town newspapers, as well as numerous news and talk radio stations, publish and/or broadcast our free stories as a service to their followers, so we reach thousands more throughout Nevada.

Unlike most media outlets, which carefully guard their content (and sometimes (Continue reading…)

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Election Rules Approved by Secretary of State Despite Concerns

By Sean Whaley | 3:02 pm December 24th, 2011
Updated 3:03 pm December 24th, 2011

CARSON CITY – A Clark County Republican Party official and concerned Nevada voters Friday continued their assault on regulations proposed by Secretary of State Ross Miller to guide the 2012 election process.

More than a dozen speakers expressed concerns with different sections of the proposed regulations at a second public hearing.

Following the sometimes contentious hearing, the Secretary of State’s office adopted the regulations, which will now be considered by a legislative panel next week. Lawmakers have the final say on the new rules.

Photo courtesy of Joebeone via Wikimedia Commons.

Miller, a Democrat, was taken to task for attempting to move forward with the regulations at such (Continue reading…)

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Gov. Sandoval Issues Holiday Executive Order to Cabinet

By Elizabeth Crum | 10:45 am December 23rd, 2011
Updated 10:52 am December 23rd, 2011

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval this morning issued this executive order to all members of his Cabinet. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work.

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Nevada’s GOP House Reps Disappointed At Short-Term Deal On Payroll Tax Cut, Jobless Benefit Extension

By Sean Whaley | 7:55 pm December 22nd, 2011

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s two Republican House representatives today said politics won out over policy on the newly announced deal for a 60-day extension on a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit extension.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said: “I will apologize in advance for what people are going to be going through 60 days from now because we have resolved nothing. And I predict the discussion 60 days from now will not only mirror this one, but you will also have a large revenue package which will be a condition to approving any sort of extensions for a year or two years.

“Nothing has changed, and it’s sad,” (Continue reading…)

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Carson Judge Rules Against Personhood Petition Seeking To Define Life As Starting At Conception

By Sean Whaley | 6:08 pm December 21st, 2011
Updated 6:09 pm December 21st, 2011

CARSON CITY – A Carson City district judge today ruled an initiative petition to amend the state constitution to define human life as beginning at conception was too vague and so could not be circulated to qualify for the November 2012 ballot.

Carson City District Judge James Wilson ruled from the bench after an hour of argument from attorneys representing Personhood Nevada and the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the proposal in court.

“It looks to me like this is unnecessarily broad,” Wilson said at one point in the hearing. He also said it was vague and did not clearly state what its intent was. The description of effect (Continue reading…)

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Nevada Among States With Lowest Spending On Health Care And Least Number Of Insured

By Sean Whaley | 2:35 pm December 20th, 2011
Updated 2:43 pm December 20th, 2011

CARSON CITY – Nevada ranks 46th among states on spending on health care per capita, according to a report released this month by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services.

Nevada spends $5,735 per person on total personal health care as of 2009, the report says. The national average is $6,815. The highest per capita spending was found in Massachusetts at $9,278.

Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association, said Nevada’s low spending on health care is a reflection of the large number of residents who don’t have health insurance.

U.S. Census data released in October shows that Nevada is the third most uninsured (Continue reading…)

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Rep. Mark Amodei Says House Republicans Will Reject Short-Term Senate Payroll Tax, Jobless Benefit Fix

By Sean Whaley | 9:09 pm December 19th, 2011
Updated 9:09 pm December 19th, 2011

CARSON CITY – Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said today that Republicans in the House do not believe a 60-day stopgap response to expiring tax breaks and unemployment benefits as approved by the Senate is a workable solution.

Amodei, in a telephone interview this evening with the Nevada News Bureau, said the temporary fix is unworkable for the business community and creates too much uncertainty that could threaten job creation efforts. Congress needs to approve legislation resolving these issues for a full year, he said.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev.

As a result of the concerns, Republicans in the House are going to reject the (Continue reading…)

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