Gov. Joe Lombardo is opposing an initiative by the Clark County teachers union that would allow Nevada public school teachers to go on strike. Under Nevada law, strikes by public employees — including teachers — are illegal.
Gov. Joe Lombardo said he is “very worried” about the potential for a Democratic supermajority in both houses of the Legislature, which could give Democrats the ability to override any of his vetoes in next year’s session. During the 2023 legislative session, Lombardo issued a record-setting 75 vetoes. In a candid conversation hosted by The Nevada Independent last week in Reno, he characterized this record as “unfortunate” and resulting from “communication and partisanship” issues with Democratic legislative leaders.
With 400 children in the rural foster care system, Humboldt County is among those in dire need of more foster homes, with only four total to support displaced children. Virtual training provided by the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) for potential foster families is taking place March 19, March 21, March 26 and March 28, 5:30-8 p.m. on the Microsoft Teams application in order to introduce new, streamlined parent training in Nevada’s 15 rural counties.
The U.S. government offered Canada-based Lithium Americas a financial lifeline Thursday to develop a Nevada lithium deposit that contains the largest-proven lithium reserves in North America. Citing a need to secure a domestic supply of lithium for electric car batteries, the Biden administration agreed to provide a $2.26 billion conditional loan for the construction of a lithium carbonate processing plant at Thacker Pass in Humboldt County, Nevada. It’s the largest federal investment in a lithium mine to date.
March 2, Suzanne Montero was presented with the 2024 “Ranch Hand of the Year” award before the kickoff of the 35th annual Ranch Hand Rodeo. The event was held Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3, at the Winnemucca Event Center. Suzanne and her family run a Red Angus cow/calf operation at Leonard Creek Ranch, located 90 miles north of Winnemucca. As she puts it: “I live in the middle of nowhere on a wonderful hidden paradise away from cell phone service and people. I like to call it God's country.”
Mariluz Garcia sees the impact of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) every month. Garcia, a Washoe County commissioner representing a working-class district that includes downtown Reno, says the federal initiative that reduces or even negates some low-income households’ internet bills has helped her constituents do everything from look for work online to boost their use of telehealth services.
The trial for the six Nevada “fake electors” facing felony forgery charges over their efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election has been pushed back to 2025. The defendants’ attorneys and state prosecutors agreed Monday to push back the jury trial — originally scheduled to start next week — to Jan. 13, 2025. District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus also scheduled a hearing for April 22 on the defendants’ motion to dismiss the charges. Holthus originally asked for the trial to begin on Jan. 6, which the defense objected to.
CARSON CITY, Nev. – During the month of March, personnel from the Nevada Division of Water Resources will measure the depth to groundwater in irrigation and stock water wells across various regions of the state.
The Oakland Athletics released four renderings of the Major League Baseball club’s planned $1.5 billion stadium Tuesday, and it appears the team is replacing the 67-year-old Rat Pack-era Tropicana Las Vegas with something akin to Australia’s Sydney Opera House. The architect whose firm designed the 33,000-seat ballpark described its non-retractable roof as a “spherical armadillo.” In a statement, the designers said the stadium “provides an outdoor feel with views of the Strip.”
While he is not up for reelection, Gov. Joe Lombardo will hardly be a bystander in this year’s election cycle, and political observers believe his influence could play a role in the handful of races that decide whether he maintains veto power over the Nevada State Legislature. The Republican governor has largely embraced the narrative that he is Nevada’s last line of defense against unfettered Democratic control. Last year, he racked up the most gubernatorial vetoes issued during a single legislative session, a distinction he has welcomed.
A massive early March storm has all but restored the snowpack across Nevada to median levels after what started as an abysmally low snow year in many locations. The multiday storm that shuttered highways, delayed openings of schools and government buildings and prompted forecasters to issue blizzard warnings dropped 30 percent of the season’s snowfall in the Sierra Nevada while boosting the snowpack in other portions of the state.
After years of groundwater decline and failed legislative action, a court decision in January affirmed the state’s right to limit groundwater pumping using the most current scientific data, but full implementation of the ruling may take some time. Last week, the state engineer — Nevada’s top water regulator — expanded on how the state will manage water resources in the aftermath of the recent Nevada Supreme Court decision that affirmed the state’s authority to develop science-based solutions to over-pumping, including managing surface water and groundwater as a single connected source when determining water rights.
A sweeping state review of existing K-12 school district audits released Wednesday raised the prospect that more than half of third graders could be held back in coming years, and elicited questions from top state leaders over just how effective a $2.6 billion boost in state funding for education will be. The 154-page report, made public during a Wednesday meeting of the Executive Branch Audit Committee, also raised concerns about funding for free lunches lapsing and a state education agency lacking power to command accountability. It comes after Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic lawmakers spent much of the 2023 legislative feuding over education policy, including how best to track how districts will spend the largest K-12 budget in state history.
Nevada’s two Democratic senators and lone Republican member of Congress have joined the chorus of opposition to the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) plans to move its Reno mail processing operations to Sacramento, The Nevada Independent has learned. Under the proposal, the Reno facility — which is the hub for Northern Nevada mail — would no longer be responsible for processing mail and would instead become a center that would prepare already-processed mail for delivery. This means that if someone from Northern Nevada sends something in the mail, it would first go to Sacramento before reaching its destination.
Some mountain biking trails may only be suitable for more experienced riders, but a pump track — a circular, paved bike park with turns, berms, and other features — is designed to be used by anyone. At its regular meeting on March 5, the Winnemucca City Council approved a proposal for the design and construction of a pump track at the recreation complex in east Winnemucca, near Lowry High School.