RENO —The Nevada Association of School Boards (NASB) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2024 awards, recognizing outstanding educators, staff, and supporters who have made a lasting impact on public education in Nevada.
Gov. Joe Lombardo and Nevada legislators will have more than $12.4 billion to build the state’s next two-year general fund budget, a record-setting projected tax revenue forecast approved Monday by a state economic panel. The projection by the state’s Economic Forum — a group of five private-sector economists — marks a more than 7 percent increase compared with the last two-year budget period, which ends in June.
From foster grandparents who volunteer at an early child care center to citizen scientists who collect water quality data in remote locations, nonprofit volunteers have come back after the pandemic. A new survey released this month by the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps shows 28.3 percent or 75.8 million people in the U.S. volunteered with a nonprofit between Sept. 2022 and Sept. 2023. That is a rebound since COVID-19 public health shutdowns tanked participation by almost 7 percentage points to 23.2 percent in 2021, the last time the survey was conducted. It is not a full return to pre-pandemic rates of volunteerism.
Whether or not Nevada teachers will have their recent pay raises continued will come down to a budget decision next year between Nevada lawmakers and Gov. Joe Lombardo. Funding for those raises was created through SB231, a 2023 bill that created a $250 million matching fund for teacher raises that would supplement salary hikes agreed upon during contract negotiations. Fifteen of the state’s 17 school districts have taken advantage of the fund to boost educator salaries, all except Mineral and Pershing counties.
Four weeks after his son, Denali, 16, died by suicide in 2018, Jason Mayne went back to work. Given a month to grieve, Jason thought he could return to his job as a health and safety trainer for Nevada Gold Mines in Elko County, as usual. But after he responded to a fatality at his workplace, the nightmares and panic attacks began and would not let up. Jason realized he needed help processing his son’s suicide. “It was blatantly obvious to everybody else. I couldn’t deny it,” he said.
The Nevada Division of Child & Family Services is hosting an online Pre-Service Training for Foster Care Applicants from Jan. 28 to February 6, designed to provide prospective foster parents with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to begin fostering in Rural Nevada.
GARDNERVILLE, Nev. (AP) — Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary “Motorcycle Mary,” has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement.
Changes and improvements are coming for the thousands of veterans who live in Nevada. Mary Devine, who was appointed director of the Nevada Department of Veterans Services in March, spoke to Nevada Army National Guard retirees at their Nov. 18 meeting.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Avid coin collectors jumped at the chance to get their hands on a rare $20 "double eagle" gold coin at a Southern California auction house Tuesday, but only one walked away victorious after paying a hefty price.
ELY — Much needed repairs to the Cave Creek Dam, including bringing the nearly 90-year-old dam up to code and up to date, have been completed according to engineers with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). Work began in October of 2019 and was done in coordination with the Nevada Public Works Division, the Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) and the Nevada Division of State Parks (NDSP).
WINNEMUCCA – Nevada Outdoor School (NOS) is excited to announce it has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the NV Energy Foundation. The generous support will enhance NOS’s youth outdoor education initiatives, support the AmeriCorps program, and operational capabilities to reach more communities throughout rural Nevada.
Senate Democrats’ focus for the next three weeks? Judges, judges, judges. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has vowed to use his remaining time controlling the floor to fill judicial vacancies, adding to the 220 that the upper chamber has confirmed through Joe Biden’s presidency. Senate Republicans are throwing roadblocks in their way — forcing full roll calls to proceed with votes, for example — but have been hampered by absences. Therefore, Democrats have been able to confirm numerous judges, and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) have voted yes on the more than 20 judicial vacancy-related votes the Senate has held since the election, from ending debate on various nominees to their actual confirmations.
The U.S. Justice Department last week moved to stop a $3.3 purchase of a home health and hospice company by a massive conglomerate that is already operating in that and many other parts of the health sector. It’s one of several antitrust actions taken after a long era of corporate consolidation. The Justice Department — along with attorneys general from Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Illinois — filed suit in a Maryland federal court to stop the purchase of Amedisys Inc. by UnitedHealth Group, the fourth-largest corporation by revenue in the United States.
Amid stalled negotiations over how to manage the troubled Colorado River in the coming decades, the federal government offered clashing states four different management options for the river Wednesday. The highly anticipated proposals released by the Bureau of Reclamation will serve as the foundation of new water management rules to replace the current ones set to expire in 2026.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Department of Education announced Thursday that high school graduation rates increased for the Class of 2024 compared with the previous year. The statewide graduation rate was 81.6% — up from 81.4% for the Class of 2023. In total, 31,978 students graduated this year.