Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey is joining over 350 members of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network to share the message that women of childbearing age should talk with a health care provider about which medications are safe to take while pregnant.

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month, and this year’s campaign focuses on medication use before, during, and after pregnancy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZLvSnr6s50

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A number of leaders from around Northern Nevada, including officials from Lyon County and Carson City, attended the summit earlier this month that highlighted the impact of marijuana use.

The summit held in Las Vegas on Jan. 13-14, featured a dynamic group of local and national experts that presented the latest research and data on marijuana and its impact on community, the environment, enforcement, business and economy, treatment, and legislation.

The remains of a woman found earlier today near Carson River Road will take some time to identify, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong reports this afternoon.

Detectives are combing through the area near the Carson River after the body was discovered and reported at 12:54 this afternoon. She was found near the entrance of Silver Saddle Ranch. Furlong said the case is being treated as a homicide for the time being.

Navigating Your Way to Success! from Jonathan Denwood on Vimeo.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors will be considering the purchase of a new 911 telephone system at their next scheduled meeting on Thursday, Jan. 20, at the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center.

Also on the agenda will be appointing a replacement for retiring Justice of the Peace Robey Willis, and filling an empty spot on the planning commission.

The full agenda is here.

The Star Party at the Jack C. Davis Observatory at Western Nevada College in Carson City will be held on Saturday and will feature a lecture entitled "Infinity and Beyond" by Mike Thomas. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the lecture to begin at 7:30 p.m.

This story from RGJ.com discusses how the City of Reno is having problems paying off bonds for their railroad trench, due to a decline in sales taxes. Something to think about when considering financing projects based on volatile income streams like sales taxes.

Carla Wilson talks about Procenium Players' new show, "Eat, Drink and Be Murdered," playing at the Gold Dust West beginning this weekend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRRlyQxGhSM

A Carson City woman faces two felony charges after being arrested on a confirmed warrant.
The woman, Leza L. Bulman, was arrested Wednesday at her home in the 200 block of Corbett. She faces a warrant charge of exploiting an elderly person and embezzlement of a person over the age of 60. Both are felonies. Bail was set at $3,000.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s Colorado River Commission is one of the state agencies cited in a recent legislative audit as paying some of the highest salaries to former state employees working as contractors, the Nevada News Bureau has learned.
Information obtained as a result of a public records request shows two former state employees, James Davenport and Sara Price, both attorneys, have collectively earned over half a million dollars in salaries as contractors for the agency over the past three and a half years.

"The Tourist," currently screening at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, is rich in scenery (Paris and Venice, how could you go wrong?), in female beauty (Angelina Jolie, again how could you go wrong?) and the usual befuddled but caring male (Johnny Depp).

It is not rich in a plot that makes a lot of sense, but it's a thriller so does that matter? I guess not if you're content to sit and let events wash over you and Jolie is good at that.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval delivered the bad news in an email to state employees today: His budget will propose a 5 percent across-the-board salary reduction for state employees instead of continuing with a furlough program.
“We must also continue the suspension of merit pay and longevity pay,” he said in the letter.

Here is another example of why paying companies to do business in your city is problematic. Now that Carson City handed out more generous incentives to retailers in Southgate Center than it had to others in the past, it's now faced with other businesses who want their incentives, too.

The board of the Carson City School District will meet at 7 p.m. tonight in the Sierra Room of the community center. Two new board members will be sworn in tonight; they are Barbara Myers and Ron Swirczek. Click here to watch the meeting live and here to read the agenda.

Carl Kuhl, a state Parole and Probation employee of six years, has created a plan that he claims will eliminate Nevada's budget deficit within two years.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, Kuhl said his plan not only will reduce the budget deficit but also help repair Nevada's economy at the same time. It is a pretty big claim, he admits, coming from an Accounting Assistant I, an entry level position.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today his security has returned to normal levels after it was determined the tragic Saturday shooting of an Arizona congresswoman was an isolated incident.

"Season of the Witch," currently playing at the Casino Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, is a movie that can't decide if it's a thriller fantasy or a buddy picture or a tour through muddled 14th century history. Maybe it's none of the above but instead just a mess.

It starts out with three alleged witches hanged and drowned (talk about overkill!), one of which comes back to do in the priest who condemned the three.

Dear Editor: Once again the Dayton community has come together and made a difference for so many families during the holidays.

The Dayton toy drive received applications for over 650 kids this year and we were quite concerned that there would not be enough to go around. Fortunately a large, eager, group of volunteers came together who were quick to get down to business and get the donations and interest pouring in. It wasn’t long before businesses, as well as community organizations and individuals were giving.

Carson City and Carson Valley casinos saw a 2.57 percent increase in gaming win in November, the state gaming control board reports this morning. Statewide gaming numbers, however, decreased by nearly 5.9 percent over last year.

Elsewhere nearby, Washoe County saw sharp declines, with Reno gaming numbers dropping by nearly 21 percent and Sparks by nearly 15 percent, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reports.

At Lake Tahoe, Stateline casinos saw a 5.25 percent decrease in gaming win in November, with North Tahoe casinos seeing a 7.7 percent decrease.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Democratic legislators this year are again lining up bills that would outlaw texting while driving and, in some cases, ban hand-held phone use while driving.
They’re continuing efforts in the 2009 session from Sen. Shirley Breeden, D-Henderson, whose text-banning bill died in committee. She’s sponsoring a similar bill this year.

CARSON CITY – If it is any consolation to cash-strapped state workers, Nevada’s lawmakers will see no pay hike this session and a smaller daily per diem allowance as well.
The 21 members of the state Senate and 42 members of the Assembly will be paid $146.29 a day for the first 60 days of the session starting Feb. 7, the same amount as paid in 2009 to most lawmakers. Some state senators in mid-term earned slightly less.

In an apparent move to increase the transparency of his administration, Gov. Brian Sandoval released today the annual salaries of his staff. His 17 staff positions, one of which is vacant, consume about $1 million of the governor’s executive budget.
His highest paid employee, Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert, will earn $124,988 this year. The lowest paid, Celia Magana, is an administrative assistant in Las Vegas earning $29,984.