If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. It’s an old joke penned by the celebrated writer Mark Twain, who lived in Nevada in the mid-1800s, and it continues to ring true in the Silver State. In 2024, Northern Nevada was under a blizzard warning in the spring and Southern Nevada shattered heat records in the summer. By fall, most of the state was in some level of drought — despite the 2024 water year wrapping up Sept. 30 with mostly normal numbers.
The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that election officials can count mail ballots with no postmark received as many as three days after Election Day. In a recent decision, five of the high court’s seven justices disagreed with the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) interpretation of the law at the center of the lawsuit and determined it would not be in the public interest to change election procedures this late in the cycle. Justices Douglas Herndon and Kristina Pickering agreed with the ruling but disagreed with the majority’s interpretation of the law in question.
Initial plans showing how a 33,000-capacity baseball stadium for the relocated Oakland Athletics and a 3,000-room integrated resort operated by Bally’s Corp. would sit on a 35-acre site on the Strip were submitted to Clark County late Wednesday. Jennifer Cooper, a spokeswoman for the county, said the designs were preliminary and could be subject to change by the Comprehensive Planning Department, which will begin a review process.s
CARSON CITY — The Nevada State Treasurer’s Office announced it will be holding its annual unclaimed property auction beginning on Nov. 12. Pursuant to NRS 120A.610, the Unclaimed Property Division of the State Treasurer’s Office is required to hold an annual auction for physical assets that are being held by State, in order to convert them into monetary value on behalf of owners of unclaimed property.
Interstate 80 will be widened between USA Parkway and Sparks, one of the state’s most heavily traveled corridors and the key route for commuters to the Tesla Gigafactory, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) announced earlier this month.
Poor coordination between Nevada’s early childhood systems contributes to inefficient use of resources and limits access for those most in need, according to a report from a Nevada nonpartisan policy research center. Nevada would benefit from a centralized governance structure within the governor’s office to support the state’s early childhood systems, with the goal of addressing fragmentation and inefficiency, according to the nonprofit Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities.
RENO, Nev. —Sanford Center for Aging a dedicated organization serving the needs of older adults, received $783,881 in grant funding for the upcoming fiscal year 2025 from the State of Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division and the Department of Public and Behavioral Health. This generous funding will significantly bolster the organization's efforts to provide essential programs and services that enhance the quality of life for older adults in the community.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal court said Mississippi cannot count mail-in ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day, however the decision was not expected to affect the Nov. 5 election. Although the appellate judges firmly asserted that counting late ballots violates federal law, even if those ballots are postmarked by Election Day, the judges stopped short of an order immediately blocking Mississippi from continuing the practice. Their ruling noted federal court precedents have discouraged court actions that change established procedures shortly before an election.
Nevada’s iconic Ruby Mountains could be home to Nevada’s next ski resort if the vision of a California businessman and Elko County ranch owner comes to fruition. The range, known as the “Swiss Alps of Nevada” and revered for its rugged beauty, is a popular summer playground but is difficult to access in winter, with no formal ski infrastructure and access largely limited to helicopters and snowmobiles. While many want to see it remain wild, others want to see it developed into a reprieve from the crowds of legacy resorts in Tahoe, Utah and Colorado.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Department of Transportation is preparing to keep state roads clear when winter snow flies by hiring temporary highway maintenance workers to help with snow plowing and anti-icing operations, among other duties. Applications are being accepted for temporary winter highway maintenance positions in Elko, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Eureka, Wells and other areas.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the selection of 12 disadvantaged communities across the country to receive a total of $18.9 million in financial assistance grants. These grants, awarded through the Community Capacity Building Grant Program (CCBGP), are designed to address reinvestment in communities affected by long-standing nuclear defense and research missions and currently hosting environmental cleanup sites.
Cyberattacks in the United States numbered more than 2,300 last year, with more than 340 million victims, according to the 2023 Annual Data Breach Report by the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center. Attacks take many forms, from phishing to distributed denial of service attacks, and can cost companies millions. Potential financial losses from cyberattacks last year exceeded $12.5 billion, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2023 Internet Crime Report. All types of businesses and organizations are affected, but small and mid-sized businesses may be particularly vulnerable.
Despite an encouraging national dip in the past year, overdose deaths are still on the rise in many Western states as the epicenter of the nation’s continuing crisis shifts toward the Pacific Coast, where deadly fentanyl and also methamphetamine are finding more victims. Overdose deaths remain sharply higher since 2019. Many states are working on “harm reduction” strategies that stress cooperation with people who use drugs; in some cases, states are getting tougher on prosecutions, with murder charges for dealers.
Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson has safety concerns about his constituents. Thousands of them commute from Sparks (and Reno) to work at one of the Fortune 500 companies at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Complex, about 12 miles east of town in Storey County.
Editor's note: This story originally appeared in Carson Now. It is being republished as part of a partnership between The Nevada Independent and Carson Now.