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Advocates release recommendations for Nevada’s share of ARP housing funds
The Nevada Housing Coalition is asking the state to invest $500 million from the American Rescue Plan Act into affordable housing with a large focus on building units for the most vulnerable renters. The coalition released recommendations Sept. 13 and suggested Nevada invest $275 million specifically to build more multi-family rentals with dedicated funds toward […]
Funeral home’s license suspended — a rarity in an industry with lax oversight
Last month, the Nevada State Funeral Board director visited a mortuary, only to encounter bodies stacked atop one another, sheeting soaked with blood, and a corpse stored outside of refrigeration, warm to the touch. The Henderson mortuary, Hites Funeral Home and Cremation Service, had been on the board’s radar for years before the gruesome discovery. […]
Labor Secretary returns to Las Vegas to promote immigrant protections
As Labor Secretary Marty Walsh returned to Nevada Monday to speak on strengthening protections for immigrant workers, many who were essential workers during the pandemic, Senate Democrats announced their budget reconciliation package will create a pathway to citizenship. The $107 billion budget line in the $3.5 trillion framework would create a “lawful permanent status for […]
With eviction cases resuming, tenants urged to respond to all notices, be proactive
After being unemployed and struggling financially for 10 months, Richard Calhoun finally applied for rental assistance in January. His application still hasn’t been approved by the CARES Housing Assistance Program. Speaking to members of Nevadans for the Common Good, a faith-based coalition that organizes around social justice issues, Calhoun worried about getting caught up on […]
State must not only create, but preserve affordable housing
Nevada is already experiencing an affordable housing shortage, but state Sen. Julia Ratti warned lawmakers Monday another 7,500 affordable units could be lost in the next five years if nothing is done. The state’s fraught relationship with housing security and the lack of available units, only underscored by the pandemic, was highlighted Monday while discussing […]
Sheldon Adelson dies at 87
Sheldon Adelson, the resort industry tycoon and Republican Party megadonor, has died at 87 “from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” according to a statement released by Las Vegas Sands. In recent campaign cycles Adelson had been the country’s largest single financial backer of the U.S. right, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to […]
A wretched year: The Nevada Current’s staff looks back on 2020
Note: Each writer on the Nevada Current staff was asked to highlight some of their work from this atrocious year, and say whatever they wanted to say about it. We did this same thing at the end of 2019, which was our first full year of publication. If we do the same thing at the […]
LCB confirms to Legislature: Yes, you can cut mining tax deductions
Nevada lawmakers could attempt to rein in the mining industry’s exorbitant tax deductions and effectively bring more revenue to state coffers without going through the lengthy process of a constitutional amendment, a top fiscal analyst said Saturday. The confirmation came during a Nevada Senate hearing for Senate Bill 3, a proposal to temporarily require the […]
Getting out the vote in Indian Country
One presidential candidate showed up and others participated via video, but the concentration of a two-day Native American forum on presidential politics at UNLV was contemporary issues, their connection to historic injustices, and how to caucus in Nevada, not the candidates. The forum in Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday — organized by voting rights […]
Washington analyst notified Nevada regulators of suspicious rise in THC
An analyst’s presentation to Nevada’s Marijuana Enforcement Division in September prompted the state to launch an investigation into possible THC manipulation at cannabis laboratories. But the Department of Taxation, in what appears to be a violation of state law, won’t identify the names of the labs where THC content has increased at a rate that […]
It costs a lot of money to go without a bank
Being poor is expensive. And it’s even more so for those who have no or only limited access to banking. Thirty-one percent of Nevada households are unbanked or underbanked, according to a 2017 survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC). Those are people who either don’t have a bank account, or have an account, […]
Goodman resurrects ordinance to punish homeless sleeping on sidewalks
City of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman is planning to resurrect, and expand, a proposed ordinance that could punish those experiencing homelessness for sleeping or camping on sidewalks. If approved, the proposal would make it “a misdemeanor to camp or sleep in the public right-of-way, such as a sidewalk, in downtown and residential areas if […]