Working + The Economy

Summer EBT program will now be permanent, as long as NV applies

BY: - December 1, 2023

During the pandemic, children in Nevada benefited from a popular free food program that fed kids during school closures and summer vacation. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a similar program, Summer EBT, on a permanent basis. The new permanent summer nutrition assistance program for children, known as Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, would […]

COMMENTARY

Lombardo and his PAC blasted Biden policies. Now they’re trying to take credit for the results.

BY: - November 30, 2023

“Nevada has experienced 10 straight months of employment growth under Governor Joe Lombardo’s leadership,” the Lombardo-adjacent Better Nevada PAC tweeted this week. That’s one way to look at it. Here’s another: Nevada has experienced 34 straight months of employment growth under President Joe Biden’s leadership. According to monthly state employment statistics through October 2023, seasonally […]

State task force on street food vendors wary of requirements set by health districts

BY: - November 29, 2023

Clark County and the cities of Las Vegas and Reno are each in the process of establishing ordinances outlining where street food vendors are allowed to operate. Each expects to begin offering licensure within the next few months as their new ordinances pass through city council or county commissions. But those are not the only […]

LV resort industry asks judge to throw out PUC order granting NV Energy statewide rate

BY: - November 28, 2023

An order from the Nevada Public Utilities Commission requiring Southern Nevada residents and businesses to subsidize $19.6 million in electricity charges for their Northern Nevada counterparts violates the PUC’s statutory mandate to “provide customers with just and reasonable rates” according to a petition for judicial review filed in Clark County District Court.  The PUC approved […]

Reliability v. sustainability: Inside the debate over the EPA’s proposed carbon rules

BY: - November 28, 2023

Electric reliability has been a hot topic lately — from congressional hearings to regulatory agencies and at the regional transmission organizations that run the electric grid in much of the country. The electric grid in the U.S. is undergoing a major change, prodded by state and federal decarbonization policies, market forces pushing cheaper and cleaner […]

Retailers pare back their seasonal hiring to prepare for ho-hum holidays

BY: - November 23, 2023

Black Friday shoppers may notice longer lines and fewer retail associates in some of their favorite stores than in past holiday seasons as retailers scale back seasonal hiring over concerns about consumer spending. JCPenney is hiring 12,000 fewer workers than last year. Macy’s 3,000 fewer. Meanwhile a Walmart executive said the retail giant has been […]

As homelessness rises, annual resource fair offers one-stop connection to housing, social services

BY: - November 22, 2023

Only a few hours before beginning her shift working as a security guard, Lakera Minner is sitting down with a housing coordinator trying to begin the process of finding a home for her and her three children. Minner and her children, 12, 8 and 7, were evicted in July. Since then, she has struggled to […]

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Culinary workers get 10% wage increase in 1st year, 32% increase over 5 years under new contracts

BY: - November 21, 2023

The Culinary Workers Local 226 workers are ratifying new contracts with the three largest resorts this week, but the union is still negotiating with 24 other smaller properties on the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas.  Caesars Entertainment overwhelmingly voted on Monday to approve for a new , five year contract that included wage […]

Judge again rules against tribes’ effort to stop lithium mine

BY: - November 21, 2023

A Nevada federal judge ruled against three Native American tribes seeking to halt construction of the country’s largest open pit lithium mine, but will allow them to amend their complaint against the U.S. government. In the meantime, construction at Lithium Nevada’s mine near the Nevada-Oregon border will continue. Major construction on the lithium mine is […]

Nevada laws increasing cost of pet care, exacerbating veterinary shortage, say experts  

BY: - November 20, 2023

A shortage of veterinarians in Nevada and the resulting high cost for service is causing some pet owners to avoid care, relinquish their animals, or choose euthanasia over treatment, according to a variety of advocates and experts. It’s also leaving non-profit shelters and rescues hard-pressed to compete with corporations for veterinarians. “It’s cranked up the […]

A year after devastating winter storm, power plant problems ‘still likely’ in extreme weather 

BY: - November 20, 2023

Nearly a year ago, a Christmas weekend storm blasted across the country, forcing utilities to cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of people in parts of the southeastern U.S. after temperatures plunged, demand spiked, large numbers of power plants failed and natural gas supply was strained. As the anniversary approaches of Winter Storm Elliott, a […]

used to be a meter reader btw

State worker shortage delays energy assistance payments, leaves callers on hold for services

BY: - November 17, 2023

Millions of dollars collected from NV Energy customers to help pay the power bills of low-income and senior Nevadans have yet to be distributed because of staffing shortages in the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS), according to the state.  Nevada’s Energy Assistance Program (EAP), which subsidizes energy costs for low-income residents, processed 9,300 […]