Politics + Government
‘It’s a tinderbox situation’: Western governors ask Biden for better wildfire prevention
WASHINGTON–President Joe Biden met virtually with governors from Western and Midwestern states on Friday to discuss how federal intervention can best aid states battling wildfires, amid complaints from states about federal forest management. “We’ve got big, complex wildfires burning across multiple areas,” Biden said. “We’re in for a long fight this year, and the only […]
Vaccination photo disappears from Lombardo’s campaign Flickr
As the head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Sheriff Joe Lombardo isn’t an anti-vaxxer. But as a gubernatorial candidate, he might not mind if you think he is. Lombardo’s official campaign Flickr page originally included a photo that appears to show him receiving a vaccination against COVID-19 at University Medical Center, the Current […]
Bipartisan senators, Biden make a deal on $550B in new infrastructure spending
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators say they have worked through the sticking points on a major infrastructure package, and the Senate agreed on a procedural vote on Wednesday night to advance to debate on the proposal. The announcement came a week after Republicans blocked a test vote on the deal, with GOP […]
Stranded dogs unite Republicans and Democrats
A measure designed to shorten the wait for dogs currently banned from entering the U.S. passed the House of Representatives Tuesday night on a bipartisan voice vote. The amendment to a federal spending bill was co-sponsored by Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus. Many of the dogs, according to Titus, accompanied U.S. soldiers overseas and have […]
U.S. Senate advances nomination of Stone-Manning for public lands post
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Tuesday agreed 50-49 to bring to the floor the nomination of Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning to head the Bureau of Land Management, following weeks of GOP attacks over her ties to a 1989 tree-spiking scheme. Due to a deadlocked 10-10 vote out of the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), had to use […]
Biden wants to rein in bank mergers — that could help consumers and the economy
President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order on July 9, 2021, that aims to increase competition throughout the U.S. economy. In one of the order’s most significant provisions, he directed federal regulators to strengthen oversight of bank mergers. As a former Federal Reserve attorney who is now a business law professor, I share Biden’s […]
Better late than later: Some GOP palms finally go to GOP foreheads. Sort of.
“It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks” said Alabama’s Republican governor and American Hero of the Week Kay Ivey. She’s not the only Republican governor speaking up. GOP heartthrob, potential Trump alternative in 2024 (Trumpism, but without the Trump!), and headliner at this year’s upcoming Adam Laxalt Commemorative Wingnuts/Lambnuts Hootenanny […]
Long housing voucher wait lists prompt calls for action in reconciliation bill
Nevadans wait an average of 38 months, more than three years, to receive housing vouchers, according to a report released Thursday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And unless the federal government expands and intensifies its meager housing voucher program, those wait times won’t be getting any shorter, the report concludes. The group […]
Stone-Manning nomination set to advance to full Senate
The U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee deadlocked 10-10 along party lines Thursday on approving Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination as head of the Bureau of Land Management. That means an extra procedural vote will be forced before the full U.S. Senate takes up the nomination of Stone-Manning, aNational Wildlife Federation senior adviser whose career has […]
Officials defend mask mandate for workers
Local and state officials are defending a partial mask mandate that appears rooted more in economics than science. “While it won’t protect visitors from other visitors, the new mask mandate should provide protection for visitors when they have contact with casino employees,” UNLV Associate Professor of Epidemiology Brian Labus, a member of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s […]
House launches probe of moratorium-defying evictions at weekly apartments
Throughout the pandemic, legal groups, housing justice organizers and tenants have warned that weekly stay apartments have been ousting renters despite federal and local protections. Bailey Bortolin, the statewide advocacy, outreach and policy director for the Nevada Coalition of Legal Service Providers, likened actions taken by some corporate landlords to circumvent eviction moratoria as “driving […]
Mask mandate returns for Southern Nevada workers, but not customers
With a “dramatic” increase in cases of COVID-19 threatening hospitals, according to health officials, and the recovery of Southern Nevada’s economy on the line, Clark County Commissioners voted Tuesday to mandate that all workers wear masks while in public spaces. But the mandate, which goes into effect Wednesday night at midnight, does not apply to […]