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Rent control, inclusionary zoning make surprise appearance in housing bill hearing
A proposed amendment to affordable housing legislation would give local municipalities the option to use inclusionary zoning or rent control as a tool to fight Nevada’s housing crises. Originally, Senate Bill 103 only included language to allow municipalities to reduce or subsidize certain fees, such as sewage fees, in order to aid developers. However, state […]
Lawmakers take on “robust agenda” of criminal justice bills
A large amount of inmates leave Nevada Department of Corrections facilities without proper identification, putting them in a vulnerable situation. “We give them a check with the money they made while incarcerated, they can’t cash the check without an ID,” Nevada Department of Corrections director James Dzurenda told the Assembly Judiciary Committee last week. “They go […]
Legislators attempt, yet again, to curb payday loan industry
Nevada lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to cap interest for payday loans at an annual percentage rate of 36 percent, a rate cap that national advocates contend has all but eliminated exorbitant and abusive lending practices in several other states. Assemblywomen Heidi Swank and Lesley Cohen are the primary sponsors of Assembly Bill 118, the latest […]
Senate leader’s “balancing act” envisions “business-friendly” wage, sick leave bills
When it comes to passing paid sick leave and minimum wage legislation, state Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson said it will be a “balancing act.” During a video interview with the Latin Chamber of Commerce last month, which was linked in Jon Ralston’s newsletter Wednesday, Atkinson discussed his own experience as a business owner, and […]
Legislators mark milestones on session’s 1st day
All eyes are watching the first majority female Legislature in the country, Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson declared at the start of the 80th legislative session. “We must ensure this milestone is not simply symbolic but is instead a meaningful advancement in welcoming all Nevadans to the table and to advance policies for all Nevadans,” Frierson […]
Candidate brings discussion of inequality, social justice to LV mayor’s race
Hauling a blue wagon behind him, Minister Vance “Stretch” Sanders strolls up to the steps of Las Vegas City Hall, unloads a portable podium and sets it up in front of 10 onlookers. With just an hour before the candidate filing period closes, the people gathered are there to hear the 24-year-old officially launch his […]
Senators ask Perry to investigate sexual assault allegations at NNSS
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen sent a joint letter to the Department of Energy asking it to investigate allegations of sexual assault, harassment and retaliation at the Nevada National Security Site. In a New York Times’ story published Jan. 25, Jennifer Glover, a former guard at the site, described a history […]
Ford names members of state sexual harassment task force
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced who will serve on the state’s Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Law Policy. Ford, who will chair the task force, named 10 other members, including Henderson Police Chief LaTesha Watson, Nevada Equal Rights Commission administrator Kara Jenkins, Boyd Law School professor Ann McGinley, and Culinary Union secretary-treasurer […]
Septuagenarian deaths underscore push for new geriatric inmate policy
Two Nevada Department of Corrections inmates in their 70s have died in January. Their deaths come the same month the Crime and Justice Institute recommended the department implement a specialty parole option for long-term, geriatric inmates. The Crime and Justice Institute, which spent nearly six months in 2018 compiling data regarding the state’s rising incarceration […]
Report charts rise of West’s unsheltered homeless
The growing rates of unsheltered homelessness around the country continues to show a need for policies that support low-income households at risk of becoming homeless according to the Urban Institute. How Housing Matters, which is a collaboration between the Urban Institute and the MacArthur Foundation, in an analysis of “What Fueled the Increase in Unsheltered […]
Senators demand answers after NYT reports sexual assault allegations at NNSS
A New York Times’ story, in which a security guard at the Nevada National Security Site was fired after accusing her coworkers of sexual assault, has caught the attention of U.S Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen. Jennifer Glover told the Times that during a training exercise in November 2017 she “was […]
Trump folds, Nevada delegation hopes he curbs “senseless” behavior
Yielding to mounting pressure from both sides of the aisle, President Trump agreed to back a short-term funding bill to reopen the government that does not include the requested $5.7 billion to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The short-term deal would fund the government through Feb. 15. Trump said he would use that time […]