Patty Cafferata, who has been the governor-appointed state public defender since March, submitted a letter of resignation Wednesday following scrutiny surrounding documented reports that she did not ably represent clients in criminal cases. Cafferata, 83, wrote in the resignation letter to Gov. Joe Lombardo that she appreciated his trust in her abilities in the role, which involves supervising attorneys and personally appearing in court on behalf of people who can’t afford an attorney. She said, however, that members of Nevada’s Board of Indigent Defense Services (BIDS) discussed her legal qualifications “based on misinformation” at a public meeting for more than an hour.
Former Bank of Nevada CEO John Guedry and public education advocate Amanda Morgan had a tense back-and-forth during their discussion at IndyFest 2024 on school choice policies in Nevada. In a 45-minute conversation with Nevada Independent CEO and Editor Jon Ralston and K-12 education reporter Rocio Hernandez, Guedry and Morgan sparred about the Opportunity Scholarships program, performance of the Clark County School District and best ways to meet the needs of Nevada’s students.
The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled in favor of four Democratic state legislators whose work in other public sector jobs spurred a lawsuit alleging a violation of the state Constitution's separation of powers clause. In a 4-3 ruling issued Thursday, the court determined that the four legislators — who work as teachers, a public defender and for higher education institutions — did not violate the state Constitution's prohibition of working for multiple branches of state government because none of their employers are part of the judicial or executive branches.
The top election official in one of the nation's most politically important counties said Wednesday she was forced out of her role just weeks before the November presidential election, disputing an official statement that she asked for a leave after experiencing "stress issues." The abrupt departure of Cari-Ann Burgess as the interim registrar of voters in northern Nevada's Washoe County one month ago is the latest sign of turmoil in a county that has been roiled for four years by people pushing election conspiracy theories. Washoe, which includes Reno, is a swing county in a state where this year's presidential contest is expected to be narrowly decided.
Ioneer, an Australian mining company, can begin work on its Rhyolite Ridge project, slated for 7,200 acres in the Silver Peak Range between Tonopah and the tiny community of Dyer. With construction beginning in 2025 and production targeted for 2028, it is expected the mine will produce enough lithium, a mineral touted as critical to the clean energy movement, to power roughly 370,000 electric vehicles each year. “The Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine project is essential to advancing the clean energy transition and powering the economy of the future,” Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis said in a press release.
For thousands of years, Lahontan cutthroat trout swam in the expansive waters of Lake Tahoe. But by 1938, the fish — affected by European settlers’ actions in the Tahoe Basin by such as logging, overfishing, construction of dams and water diversions, and the introduction of non-native species — disappeared. European settlers offset the lack of large fish by stocking Lake Tahoe with non-native species but for decades, the lake was devoid of Lahontan cutthroat trout.
Although the new K-12 education funding formula that Nevada adopted five years ago significantly overhauled how state money flows down to public schools, school funding is still well below what experts think is needed to ensure good outcomes, according to a new report unveiled Wednesday by the Guinn Center, a policy-focused nonprofit research group.
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.