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Under new administration, Nevada plans for ‘aggressive’ approach to economic development

Amid the national transition to more renewable sources of energy, Gov. Joe Lombardo’s economic development office has released an updated five-year strategic plan focused on expanding the state’s electric vehicle production, technological innovation and new infrastructure. The plan is aimed at growing the state’s economy, including a push to make Nevada the “lithium capital of North America,” funding for new industrial parks (such as the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center) and expanding the state’s broadband and 5G cell network infrastructure. “Nevada is positioned to be ground zero for the energy transition and to play a key role in securing the energy independence and security of the United States,” the report authors wrote.

Health care, pharmaceutical industries gave lawmakers combined $1.3 million in 2022

Major political donors in the health care and pharmaceutical industries pumped more than $1.3 million into legislative campaigns in the 2022 election cycle, ahead of a 2023 legislative session likely to be rife with fierce debate over health care issues.  Of that money, roughly $249,000 came from pharmaceutical companies alone, while nearly $1.1 million came from other health care donors, such as hospitals, industry political action committees (PACs) and insurers.

Four-day school week being considered in HCSD

The majority of the remote rural schools of Nevada’s 17 counties, including Humboldt County, operate on a four-day week. Every county besides Carson, Lyon, and Storey have one or more schools that have implemented a four-day schedule. With more and more schools making the switch, like Elko has done most recently for the next school year, could a four-day school week benefit students in Winnemucca? 

Director predicts extra strain on senior center due to SNAP decreases and rent increases

The Pleasant Senior Center is the only senior center in Nevada that operates independently of city or county governance as a nonprofit. They provide invaluable services to local seniors with meals, transportation and access to social services, but with recent hikes in rent for senior residences and significant reductions in food assistance, the facility is likely to see some significant financial burden. 

Could Nevada be the next state to adopt automatic criminal record sealing?

Nevada Democratic lawmakers are hoping to help rehabilitated people convicted of a crime to begin their lives again through creation of a statewide automatic record sealing process, but court workers say efforts circumvent their authority to grant clearance. Under AB160, sponsored by Assemblyman C.H. Miller (D-North Las Vegas), the state would be required to set up a process keeping track of people who are eligible for automatic record sealing and submitting requests for record sealing when applicable.

Nevada elections head pushes training, manual amid turnover

Amid widespread turnover among county election officials in Nevada as the 2022 midterms approached, the clerks and registrars thrust into new roles often had a dual approach: running elections while learning how they operate. Democratic secretary of state Cisco Aguilar vowed to address the loss of institutional election knowledge to a state Senate committee, perpetrated in-part by election denialism and hostility toward election officials, along with adapting to changing election laws and a host of other duties that some clerks and clerk-treasurers are tasked.

Students visit community pond to release classroom-grown trout

Fifth-grade students from French Ford Middle School bared the chilly weather to release baby trout fry from the Trout in the Classroom program on Feb. 20 at the James Kinney Pond on Reinhart Lane. 

Nevada paid out $1.4 billion in improper or fraudulent benefits

As the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the Nevada economy and led to a record spike in unemployment, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) paid out an estimated $1.4 billion in improper benefit payments, DETR Director Christopher Sewell told lawmakers Tuesday.

Senators urge newVA hospital funding

U.S. Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada issued on Thursday a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to authorize a new Veterans Administration hospital in Reno. A VA hospital spokesperson recently said a new facility is “a 10-year project.” The letter to Biden indicates a new hospital would take eight years to complete.

Craft brewers, distributors clash over tasting room bill

Who gets to be in charge of how craft beer gets from a brewery to a taproom?  Therein lies the core of SB108, a bill sponsored by Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) that would allow craft brewers to move product from their breweries to their own tasting rooms or taprooms without first selling that beer to a distributor, often referred to in legal terms as a wholesaler. The existing arrangement is a function of state laws meant to prevent vertical integration for the alcohol industry. 

The state relies on old records to manage water; a new effort seeks to put them online

In the basement of Winnemucca’s historic courthouse, walking distance to the Humboldt River, is a vault containing water records dating back at least a century, when officials started to divide up the roughly 330-mile river that stretches across central Nevada from Wells to Lovelock. Such documents — maps, court decree files and state reports — are not just historic artifacts. In many cases, they offer the original record outlining how to manage water rights in Nevada. Like in much of the West, the right to use water is rooted in history. Those with the oldest, or “senior,” claims to water are given a priority to use water in times of shortage: “First in time, first in right.” 

Legislators consider raising property transfer tax to create more supportive housing

Nevadans may see a tax on property transfers go up as a way to boost housing options for people with behavioral, mental and physical disabilities, although the proposal faces an uphill climb because it needs bipartisan support in the Legislature. On Tuesday, legislators discussed SB68, a bill sponsored by the Clark County Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board that would raise real property transfer taxes statewide by 20 cents per $500 of value. The funds would bolster supportive housing — defined as affordable housing that costs no more than one-third of the tenant’s income, with wraparound services included. 

Looming cuts to emergency SNAP benefits threaten food security

On a cold morning in early February, Tammy King prepared and loaded boxes and bags of vegetables, fruits, milk, frozen meat, and snacks into cars lined up outside the Friends in Service Helping food pantry, known in rural northeastern Nevada as FISH. The beginning of the month is busy for the food pantry, King said, because people who receive benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, come to stock up on free food that helps them stretch their monthly allotments. The food pantry, one of a few in this city of about 20,000 people, serves more families now than at any point in King’s 20 years of working there, she said. In January, FISH provided food boxes to nearly 790 people.

Humboldt County Sheriff’s office thinks outside the box to address staffing shortages

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has been understaffed since the beginning of the year and the office is trying to take some creative approaches to fill the gaps in the patrol, detention, and dispatch divisions.  At the Humboldt County Commissioners meeting on March 6, command staff at the HCSO asked that the Commissioners approve a request to advertise with a billboard west of Winnemucca Boulevard, hitting travelers on both Interstate 80 and the U.S. 95 Corridor. All Commissioners were present and approved the request, which will likely cost the HCSO around $7,250 for the full year of advertising. 

Nevada State College set to become Nevada State University

As of July 1, Nevada State College could be known as Nevada State University. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents voted 9-4 Friday to approve the name change. However, it’s contingent on a change to Nevada law that would create a second-tier teaching university within the state’s system.