transparency

In Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell’s State of the City speech last January, his theme was “Time for Change” and that we “have not only the opportunity, but in a very real sense, the obligation, to provide and present a face to the world that shows our pride in being the capital of the great state of Nevada.”

Keeping with this bold direction, Carson City announces “Carson City Connect,” a citizen relationship management system that is designed to make it easier to report everything from potholes and abandoned vehicles to get information about different city departments.

Light sculptures and constructions by Las Vegas artist Pasha Rafat will illuminate the Office eXhibition Series Gallery May 11 to July 10. A recipient of a Nevada Arts Council 2015 Artist Fellowship Grant, Rafat holds a bachelor of science in design from Arizona State University and a Master of Fine arts from California State University, Fullerton. He is a professor at University pf Nevada, Las Vegas where he teaches photography and multimedia courses. The public is invited to an exhibit reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

The Nevada Senate on Friday approved a bill designed to increase transparency in local government collective bargaining agreements.SB158 requires collective bargaining agreements be posted publicly for all to see for ...

A new report is giving Nevada a high-five for improving online transparency of government spending....

CARSON CITY - Local government union representatives said Friday they have no issue with the public posting of details of collective bargaining agreements before approval by elected officials, but they asked for the same level of transparency for other contract matters as well....

In a move celebrated by transparency advocates, Nevada's Supreme Court ruled this week against a conservative activist group accused of violating ......

Here is the full text of Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's speech delivered to the Nevada Legislature Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Distinguished Members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers:

The January 13th Common Core "symposium" at the legislature didn't go off quite as advertised. The announcement posted by organizer Ann Bedarski on the Nevada Trends website listed the Department of Education participants as:

JUDY OSGOOD, Public Information Officer, Nevada Department of Educa_on
STEVE CANAVERO, Deputy Superintendent of Student Achievement, NDE
AMY SALGO, Teacher Ambassador, NDE

Silver City, NV - The Comstock Resident’s Association’s (CRA) recent request for funds to obtain third-party analysis of health and safety data associated with mining activities in Gold Hill and Silver City has been denied by Comstock Mining Inc. (CMI).

The Nevada Legislature will be considering an unprecedented $1.3 billion tax incentive package for Tesla Motors this week. To focus attention on issues legislators should take into account while reviewing this proposal, the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities has released Development Incentives: A Guide for Nevada Legislators.

The environment you are surrounded by at work can lift you up, propel you forward, pull you down, or trigger feelings of being stuck. In some organizational cultures, a cycle perpetuates itself that is very similar to abuse. What do you do if your organization is stuck in such a cycle? You get therapy.

As a leader, there are a few ways you can do this without pulling in an outside facilitator. Although, if things have gotten to the point where the needle can’t move with internal efforts alone, a facilitator may be necessary.

DIY Organizational Therapy

I was not the first to share the news of the Hyatt Hotel project; as it was already alluded to by the Northern Nevada Development Association on its website. In addition to numerous rumors that ran rampant throughout the community.

I received an e-mail that asked why the non-profit Greenhouse Project (TGP) could sell mushrooms to Adele's Cafe (Adele's Facebook posting March 22nd). Supervisor Abowd is founder and president of TGP and co-owner with her husband Charlie of Adele's Cafe. The e-mail question and response follow.

Carson City Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Gonzales announced today that he filed to run for Sheriff of Carson City with the Carson City Elections Department.

Gonzales is running for Sheriff with the goal of increasing integrity, transparency, and accountability in the Sheriff’s Office, as well as restructuring the department to put more deputies in positions to better serve Carson City. “I understand today’s issues and have the vision to meet tomorrow’s challenges.”

Carson City Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Gonzales announced Wednesday his candidacy for sheriff of Carson City.

Gonzales says he is running for sheriff with the goal of increasing integrity, transparency and accountability in the Sheriff’s Office, as well as restructuring the department to put more officers on patrol and use monies to better protect and serve Carson City and its residents.

As an announced candidate for Carson City Sheriff I feel obligated to respond to the recently posted news article on Carson Now regarding a Sheriff’s office employee who allegedly embezzled money in the neighborhood of $100,000 dollars.

Carson City placed third in the nation among local government websites and digital technology serving a population of 75,000 and under, according to the national research firm Center for Digital Government.

The ranking is behind Palo Alto, Calif., and Fayetteville, Ark., and marks the fourth consecutive year the city's website, Carson.org has ranked in the Center's top 10 list. The Center serves as an advisory institute that focuses on information technology policies and best practices.

An independent report released today by The National Academy of Sciences is critical of the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States and urges changes to its current roundup policies.

After numerous amendments and attempted changes, Senate Bill 49, which would require candidates to be more transparent in how they report and spend campaign contributions, passed the Senate by a vote of 13-8 and will now move on to the Assembly. To see how Twitter users reacted to discussion of the bill during today’s Senate floor session, click here.

President Reagan once said - "tear down this wall."

This Board needs to say: "remove these curtains."

As they are preventing Department Managers from being present at budget hearings. Establishing a system of transparency is our responsibility, while accomplishing this we cannot exclude the right of the public to participate and collaborate in the budget process. Any level of openness that is interfered with only ensures that the public trust will be damaged.

UPDATE: Wild horse advocates will hold a rally in front of the Nevada Legislature Thursday, March 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to protest the BLM's decision to remove a herd of 11 wild horses from the area. The advocates say the want the horses, picked up from the BLM last week, to be put back into the wild. The BLM contends the horses have been problematic and pose a safety hazard.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the latest animal rights organization to denounce the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to remove a small band of wild horses located east of Carson City, Nev., in the Pine Nut Herd Management Area.

At the last Board of Supervisor meeting, the public (citizens) were cleared from the room so that City Staff and the Board members could discuss issues relating to the Budget.

The conversation centered on the budgeted items – those completed – vs. – incomplete, the later an unmet challenge. The challenge: fiscal responsibility - vs. - the unmet needs of each department.

In his classic essay, entitled The Paranoid Style in American Politics, Richard Hofstadler, succinctly stated the following:“We are all sufferers from history, but the paranoid is a double sufferer, since he is afflicted not only by the real world, with the rest of us, but by his fantasies as well.”

Nevada lawmakers who sparked criticism from transparency advocates when they excused cities and counties from posting public salaries online now say they would be open to reversing that regulation.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today his administration has fully complied with a requirement in state law to provide preliminary state budget data to lawmakers and their staff.

“The agency requests have been presented to the Legislature in accordance with the law,” he said. “I don’t see any problems.”

While watching the Giants' baseball game last night, I searched for an alternative during a commercial break.

Tuning into the local public access station, I saw the Carson City Library Board meeting in progress. Perhaps what would be said could help clarify the debate about building a new library.

CARSON CITY – From double-dipping employees to the questionable use of credit cards, the newest edition of the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s “piglet book” released today offers highlights of recent questionable government agency actions.

CARSON CITY – Candidates in two of Nevada’s hotly contested Congressional races debated the issues Thursday in separate 30-minute discussions on public television.

CARSON CITY – Increased financial disclosure, greater restrictions on contributions and gifts, and tougher penalties for campaign violations are the goals of new legislation for the 2013 Legislature detailed today by Secretary of State Ross Miller.

CARSON CITY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today defended President Obama’s record of accomplishments in his first term, citing his preservation of the nation’s auto industry, the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a threat to America and his push to regulate the banking industry as examples of why he deserves a second term in office.