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Fentanyl sentencing, prison reforms among 106 laws taking effect Oct. 1
Legislation enacting harsher penalties for fentanyl possession, requiring unlimited feminine hygiene products for women who are incarcerated, and establishing parameters for prosecutors who use jailhouse informants are among the bills scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1. Of the 106 bills passed in the 2023 Legislative session that take effect next week, several measures make […]
Homeless outreach teams connect unhoused to resources ahead of encampment removals
When homeless outreach workers and social service providers, led by HELP of Southern Nevada, posted up at the base of an encampment just outside the tunnels near the New Orleans hotel one late August morning, they weren’t certain how many people reside in the encampment, or how many of them would seek HELP’s help. But […]
Motels converted to house families at capacity, new homeless intake center expected to hit limit
Clark County officials estimate nearly 400 families have been diverted from the child welfare system since 2021 when they began housing families experiencing homelessness in motels converted into shelter. Brenda Barnes, a senior management analyst with the Clark County Department of Families Services, told commissioners on Tuesday that while a common reason families enter into […]
Advocacy group says inmates eat toothpaste, toilet paper, salt to dull hunger
Families of the incarcerated warned corrections officials that the lack of food in prisons has gotten to the point that those incarcerated “eat toilet paper” to dull hunger. Food conditions and nutritional standards as well as recent violations of kitchen sanitary practices within the Nevada Department of Corrections were discussed during Wednesday’s meeting of the […]
Lee, Three Square explain how regulatory barriers hinder access to child nutrition programs
On a recent 103-degree August day, Three Square Food Bank CEO Beth Martino visited an apartment complex where the nonprofit delivers free meals to children during the summer. The federally funded Summer Food Service Program provides free meals to children during a time they often lack access to free lunches they would normally receive in […]
NV’s ‘weird paradox’ – highest job growth, but highest unemployment
Every Nevada county has an unemployment rate higher than the national average, but some counties are hurting more than others. Ongoing recovery from the covid pandemic and increases in short-term unemployment are contributing to Nevada having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, a state economist says. Nevada’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July was […]
Rosen highlights ongoing effort to land high-speed rail
As a federal grant application seeking $3.75 billion in funding for a proposed high-speed rail connecting Southern Nevada to Southern California remains in flux – and if secured would only fund a portion of the $12 billion project – U.S. Jacky Rosen is urging the Department of Transportation to process the proposal. Rosen is scheduled […]
Yellen touts Biden economic record in Las Vegas visit
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touted U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to tackle inflation and credited his policy successes as boosting economic growth while speaking in Las Vegas on Monday. The visit, which began with a tour of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ training center, comes days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the […]
Legal group helps trans people file court name change, gender marker documents
Around the time Emily Ajir began hormone replacement therapy in late 2022, the 23-year-old also started to research the process of legally changing her name and gender marker. Ajir knew she wanted to live her authentic self, with a chosen name to match. It was the prospect of paying $270 for court filing fees that […]
Annual count finds sharp spikes in Southern Nevada homelessness rates
Data released Thursday showed Southern Nevada’s rates of homelessness spiked to alarming levels – the largest amount counted in a decade – underscoring the state’s homeless and housing crisis. The 2023 Point-in-Time Count, an annual snapshot of homelessness on one particular night, counted 6,566 people, a 16% increase from 2022 when 5,645 unhoused people were […]
Commissioner says county should rehab more motels for homeless intake, not build a mega campus
In the years Leonard Martinez spent living on the streets in Southern Nevada, he has never tried staying at one of the homeless shelters. For the last couple years, he has opted to stay by himself in a homeless encampment near Summerlin. Until recently, the 61-year-old, who has struggled with panic attacks throughout his life […]
Clark County working to address barriers to placing foster youth in homes
Clark County is attempting to boost its recruitment efforts to find homes for roughly 3,000 children in foster care, but still faces obstacles finding enough people to participate. Jill Marano, the director of family services at Clark County, updated Clark County commissioners on Tuesday on efforts to attract more foster homes and restructure how the […]