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NDOC fails to address use of force issues, new director promises to prioritize
The Nevada Department of Corrections has failed to make significant progress toward addressing use of force issues identified more than six months ago, according to state auditors. Representatives from NDOC say staff shortages are to blame, and the department’s newly seated director is vowing to make the issue “a high priority.” In March 2022, state […]
Nevada Legislature earns ‘A’ for election reforms, but path forward less clear
A new report praises the Nevada State Legislature for expanding voter access and improving its election system, saying that in 2021 the state “managed to pass nearly every pro-voter improvement it could have.” The Institute for Responsive Government in a report released Wednesday analyzed legislative efforts over the past two years to determine which states […]
Ford quieter than AG peers on possibility of charges against Nevada’s 2020 fake electors
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford continues to decline to comment on the possibility of an investigation into the illegitimate election certificate submitted by a group of Republicans following the 2020 presidential election, even as his AG peers in other states acknowledge their own investigations and as the public digests the trove of evidence released to […]
In inaugural address, Lombardo calls on Nevadans ‘to rise above’ polarization
In his first public address as Nevada’s 31st governor, Joe Lombardo said his priorities are to expand school choice, create safer streets by eliminating soft-on-crime legislation, and reenergize economic and workforce development. Gov. Lombardo, a Republican, made his comments Tuesday at the Carson City Community Center as part of an inaugural address after taking his […]
Nevada has a 2023 new year’s resolution: Liver transplants for those who need them
Nevada has a new year’s resolution for 2023: Perform the state’s first liver transplant and expand other organ transplant services for residents who need them. Nevada lawmakers on the Interim Finance Committee in October approved a $15 million grant to the Nevada Donor Network to help establish the Nevada Transplant Institute. It is one of […]
Report: Nevada one of 7 states with robust employment protections for domestic violence survivors
Nevada has some of the nation’s most robust workplace protections for people experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, a new analysis found. A report released earlier this month by Legal Momentum and Futures Without Violence compared employment laws across the United States and found that Nevada was one of just seven states whose employment […]
Nevada charter schools continue their steady growth, make some diversity gains
Nevada charter schools continue to increase their share of K-12 public school students and enrollment declined within the state’s two urban districts, official enrollment data shows. According to the Nevada Department of Education’s official enrollment count for the 2022-23 academic year, enrollment at charter schools overseen by the State Public Charter School Authority is now […]
11th hour effort to commute death penalty sentences morphs into another ‘no path forward’
An effort by outgoing Gov. Steve Sisolak to commute the sentences of the dozens of Nevadans on death row was stymied this week by a district court judge. But death penalty abolitionists and family members of murder victims nevertheless used the failed proposal to speak about a criminal justice effort that has divided politicians across […]
Lawmakers approve $35m in furlough back pay for state employees
More than 14,500 state employees will receive up to 48 hours worth of back pay for furloughs they were forced to take last year. Nevada’s Interim Finance Committee, which approves budget decisions when the full legislature is not in session, on Thursday approved $35 million in employee compensation. The funding is coming from the state’s […]
Goynes-Brown establishes legacy and looks to write new chapter for North Las Vegas
In 2011, Pamela Goynes-Brown became the first Black woman elected to the North Las Vegas City Council, following in the footsteps of her father, Theron Goynes, who in 1981 became the first Black man elected to the public body. Goynes-Brown broke through another glass ceiling this month: becoming the city’s first Black mayor. With her […]
Recession or not, Nevada and Gov.-elect Lombardo are primed for a bigger budget
Nevada is expecting to collect $11.4 billion in tax revenue over the next two fiscal years. The Economic Forum, a five-member panel of private sector fiscal analysts, on Monday approved the forecast for the 2023-25 fiscal biennium, which begins July 2023 and runs through June 2025. The forecast provides the base for the governor’s executive […]
Some fun, and not so fun, facts about Nevada from a ranking of the best states for business
How friendly to businesses is Nevada? If you ask Forbes Advisor, which on Wednesday released a ranking of the best and worst places to start a business, the answer is: Not very friendly. Forbes Advisor, a site that offers personal finance advice and reviews, looked at 18 metrics across five categories: business costs, business […]