Author

Michael Lyle

Michael Lyle

Michael Lyle (MJ to some) has been a journalist in Las Vegas for eight years. While he covers a range of topics from homelessness to the criminal justice system, he gravitates toward stories about race relations and LGBTQ issues.

Criminal justice reform long overdue in Nevada, Ford says

By: - November 12, 2018

It might have been two decades ago, but Attorney General-elect Aaron Ford remembers the night two officers arrested him for walking home drunk when he was an 18-year-old student at Texas A&M. Though he admits he was in the wrong for drinking underage, it’s hard not to imagine the consequences he faced were tied to […]

good tie

Atkinson picked to lead state Senate Democrats

By: - November 8, 2018

Days after the 2018 midterm elections, the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus announced state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson was unanimously elected as its next majority leader. Atkinson, who was elected to the Assembly in 2002, became the first openly gay African American to serve in the Nevada legislature when he came out in 2013. He inherits the position […]

Nevada goes blue, elects Sisolak, Rosen

By: , and - November 7, 2018

The blue wave that failed to wash over America showed up in Nevada, albeit a few hours late. Democrats Steve Sisolak and Jacky Rosen defeated Republicans Adam Laxalt and Dean Heller. Sisolak’s victory marked the first time in 24 years a Nevada Democrat has won a race for governor. Heller’s defeat marked the first time […]

going home

Horsford, Lee win open U.S. House seats

By: , and - November 7, 2018

Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday’s election, and the new majority will include three Democrats from Nevada. In what was considered the most competitive of Nevada’s House races, Susie Lee defeated Republican perennial candidate Danny Tarkanian in the 3rd congressional district. It was Tarkanian’s second consecutive loss in the district. […]

mean letter

Voter intimidation is real – if you see it, report it

By: - November 6, 2018

In a Facebook live video recorded Nov. 2, Karl Koenigs set up camp outside a polling site near the Las Vegas Strip to investigate rumors of a “Possible ILLEGAL ALIEN voting on secret site in Las Vegas.” “Here are two ladies who are definitely not of the American culture,” he said during the 42-minute post. […]

Harris, Democrats make one last plea to students

By: - November 2, 2018

The country is at a turning point, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris told a crowd of students gathered outside Lied Library at UNLV. On the last day of early voting, candidates up and down the ballot swarmed the campus in a hope to have one last push from an important voting block: youth. “The greatest movements […]

not a polling place

Voting from jail – if not convicted, it’s a right

By: - November 1, 2018

If you are arrested today and jailed until after Nov. 6, Election Day, you will not be allowed to vote. That’s despite being legally eligible to do so. “If you have not been convicted and are in jail, you have not lost the right to vote,” Amy Rose, the legal director of the ACLU of […]

No incivility here

Politicians address – and don’t address – political violence

By: - October 29, 2018

With Election Day finally — some might say mercifully — in sight, Nevada candidates have been joined on the campaign trail by famous astronauts and national political figures. But amid news of attempted bombings and hate-inspired murders, candidates and their surrogates in Nevada have had to recast their stump speeches, acknowledging political violence in the […]

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker campaigns with U.S. Rep Jacky Rosen and state Sen. Aaron Ford, who is running for Attorney General.

Booker stumps for Rosen and Ford, blasts GOP scaremongering

By: - October 24, 2018

What drives people to the polls? Campaigning for Nevada Democrats Wednesday, U.S. Sen Cory Booker of New Jersey said he is optimistic that the issues, and how they affect people’s lives, will trump scare tactics when it comes to motivating people to vote. “We seem to see one playbook coming” from Republicans, Booker said, “which […]

go vote

Canvassers as diverse as the community push turnout

By: - October 24, 2018

When people open up the voter guide handed out by One APIA Nevada, they will see election information in five languages: English, Tagalog, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese. For many groups working to get people to the polls before election day, canvassing is just part of the purpose. “We’ve knocked on doors, and members from our […]

obama rallies

Obama: “When you vote, good things happen”

By: and - October 22, 2018

In 2012, when Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were on the ballot, more than a million Nevadans voted in the general election, and Obama won the state. In 2014, when no presidential candidates were on the ballot, roughly half as many Nevadans turned out to vote, and Democrats were crushed. In 2016, Democrats turned out, […]

winter

Winter is coming… and homelessness isn’t going away

By: - October 22, 2018

Like the summer heat, the winter cold can present life-threatening challenges to those experiencing homelessness. Southern Nevada policymakers have long struggled to effectively address causes of — and solutions to — homelessness. Meanwhile, winter is coming, triggering annual actions by social service organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, to at least try to help people living […]