attorney

CARSON CITY – A little-known benefit of Nevada’s public employee pension plan is the right to purchase up to five years of service towards retirement.

Referred to by some as “air time,” or the ability to add years of retirement without actually putting in the time in a public sector job, the benefit can allow state and local government workers to retire early, collecting annual pensions years before they would be eligible otherwise.

Nevada Department of Public Safety - Division of Parole and Probation officers arrested Andrew Kay at his home in Washoe Valley, Nevada on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 for Probation Violation. The arrest of Kay resulted in the seizure of multiple weapons.

On May 11, 2011, Andrew Kay was placed on probation supervision for 14 felony and two gross misdemeanor convictions; Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, Burglary (two counts), Grand Larceny, Malicious Destruction of Property (five counts) and Possession of Stolen Property (five counts).

CARSON CITY – A Carson City District judge today rejected an initiative petition proposing to create a new and higher rate of taxation for Nevada’s largest casinos, finding that the 200 word description of effect of the measure was misleading.

In rejecting the petition, Judge James Todd Russell said he did not believe he had the authority to rewrite the description himself.

http://youtu.be/YyG_i4MHHRY

CARSON CITY – While Democrats registered more voters in March than Republicans, a GOP official noted this week that the party has made gains in four state Senate districts that are key to who will control the house in the 2013 legislative session.

A spokesman for Senate Democrats questioned the importance of the GOP analysis, however, noting that Democrats registered more voters than Republicans in two of the seats from February to March.

CARSON CITY – A member of the state Transportation Department Board of Directors questioned today the proposed selection process for a new agency director.

Today several people staged a protest in front of the Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's office in an effort to show solidarity and that Masto's office has abused her privilege to serve Nevada.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s Office of the Military figured it would be money ahead after entering into a contract with a firm to build solar panels on three of its sites around the state to supply it with electricity.

But today officials with the office won approval from the state Board of Examiners to seek $46,284 from a legislative contingency fund to pay excess utility costs. The reason is because the solar energy being provided under the contract is costing the agency more than if it purchased electricity directly from NV Energy.

CARSON CITY – A lengthy legal dispute with the contractor who built the first phase of the Carson City freeway bypass was settled today for about $13.6 million by the Board of Examiners.

With $5.9 million in additional legal costs incurred by the state Department of Transportation to defend itself from the lawsuit filed by Ames Construction in 2008, the total cost to resolve the matter is $19.5 million.

CARSON CITY – A lengthy legal dispute with the contractor who built the first phase of the Carson City freeway bypass has been recommended for settlement at a cost to the state of nearly $14 million.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is recommending that the Board of Examiners approve the mediated settlement with Ames Construction at its meeting Tuesday.

On Feb. 15, 2012, Humboldt County Attorney Kenneth Bareilles was convicted of violating his felony probation, resulting from prior land use violations in 2011.
The case was prosecuted in two days by Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy of the Consumer and Environmental Protection unit.   

CARSON CITY – A conservative Nevada think tank today filed its notice of appeal to the state Supreme Court in its separation of powers case challenging the ability of state lawmakers to also work in public sector jobs.

CARSON CITY – A meeting of the State Apprenticeship Council was cancelled today because of a lack of a quorum, and the chairman of the panel said the appointed members will be surveyed to ensure they can commit to attending the quarterly meetings.

The Nevada Attorney General's Office and a court clerk are accused of illegally backdating court filings. Story coming up Wednesday on KRNV MyNews4:

The caseload at the East Fork Township in Douglas County does not require an additional judge at this time, Justice of the Peace Tom Perkins has decided.
The announcement was made public in a news release sent Monday.
State law requires that an additional judge be added to the township when it reaches 34,000 in population. According to Nevada's demographer, the population of East Fork Township is 39,907. In a letter written to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, Judge Perkins said:

CARSON CITY – State Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, today criticized his Democrat challenger for “quitting” on her constituents when she resigned her Senate seat and then filed to run against him. Brower is running for election to a full four-year term in what is now Washoe District 15 after the state’s legislative districts were redrawn following the 2010 census. Leslie, who was in the middle of a four-year term in what is now Senate District 13, formerly Washoe Senate 1, resigned when she moved into District 15. She then filed for election to the Senate 15 seat.

CARSON CITY – After months of prognostications and political maneuvering, Nevada’s 2012 election season crystallized today as the state’s two-week filing period for public office came to a close.

Next up: A June 12 primary followed by the Nov. 6 general election, which will see a lengthy ballot topped by the presidential race, a competitive U.S. Senate race and four congressional contests.

Also at stake is control of the state Legislature, particularly the state Senate, where Democrats have a razor thin 11-10 majority.

CARSON CITY – A regulation requiring thousands of home-based businesses to pay a $200 annual fee won approval today from a legislative panel.

Secretary of State Ross Miller has been trying to get the regulation approved for several months, but has seen the regulation stymied by strong opposition from some Nevada residents and Republican lawmakers who argued the regulation exceeded his authority.

CARSON CITY – Here is a selection of comments made by Nevada public officials today following the announcement of the death of former state Sen. Bill Raggio:

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Bill Raggio. There are no words to describe his dedication to the state of Nevada and I wish to express my deepest condolences and prayers for his wife Dale, and his family. Bill was a true statesman who dedicated his life to making Nevada a better place to live. His legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”

CARSON CITY – Bill Raggio, a lion of Nevada politics and the state’s longest-serving state senator, passed away during a trip to Australia on Thursday. He was 85.

Officials from around the state expressed sorrow and sympathy for Raggio’s family when news of the loss of the highly-regarded lawmaker was first reported by Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston early today.

Longtime family friend Greg Ferraro told Ralston: “Officially, Bill Raggio passed away last night at 10pm PST of respiratory illness in Sydney Australia. Funeral arrangements are pending.”

CARSON CITY – A long awaited opinion regarding the conduct of former Lyon County manager Dennis Stark has been published by the state Ethics Commission.

Stark appeared before the commission on an ethics matter in November 2010 and January 2011, and had been waiting for a published opinion in his case. Stark was found at the hearing to have committed one willful ethics violation.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today that the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals issued an opinion today in ACLU v. Masto, granting the state’s request to overturn an injunction against enforcement of Nevada’s Adam Walsh Act.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval described today’s first meeting of the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority as “historic,” and he called on the new group formed as a result of 2011 legislation to help expand charter schools to provide more choice to parents and students.

Sandoval spoke at the first meeting of the panel, one of only 10 in the country solely dedicated to the development and oversight of charter schools.

Carson City District Attorney Neil Rombardo met with Senator Harry Reid, Senator Dean Heller, Representative Shelly Berkeley, and Representative Joe Heck on Capitol Hill today to urge continued support of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Fight Crime and Invest in Kids, an anti-crime organization dedicated to early childhood crime prevention.

A group of local activists have filed a petition the the county clerk to stop Carson City from using public money on the City Center Project (aka Nugget Project) without getting approval from the voters.

Attorney Day Williams, a long-time opponent of the project, said the group started talking about it last week before filing the paperwork on Friday.

“We filed the petition because the city continues to move forward with this boondoggle,” Williams said.

The petition asks for the adoption of a city ordinance that reads:

CARSON CITY – When state Sen. Greg Brower asked the Attorney General’s office earlier this month about the $6 million in outside legal costs incurred so far in defending the state in a freeway construction dispute, he said his motives were purely fiscal in nature.

The Office of the Nevada Attorney General will host eight trainings starting on Tuesday, Jan. 31 running through Thursday, Feb. 9 throughout the state about the Nevada victim notification service.

The goal of the trainings is to teach first responders, victims of crime, victim advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, and community members about a service currently available in 13 of Nevada’s 17 counties called Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE).

David Griffith Osborne, 74, of Carson City, also known as the “Fedora Bandit,” has been charged with eight counts of armed bank robbery, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said Wednesday. Go here for the story.

CARSON CITY – State Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, has asked Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto why an outside legal firm was retained to defend the state against a freeway construction dispute. Legal costs charged to the state will total $6 million by the end of an arbitration hearing set for next month.

California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens cited a Southern California man early Sunday morning for poaching dozens of lobsters inside a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Wardens observed Marbel A. Para, 30, of Romoland (Riverside County) and a companion SCUBA diving in the Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve after midnight on Jan. 15.
This location, which is in the Heisler Park area off the coast of Laguna Beach, has historically been closed to lobster fishing for years (even prior to the establishment of the MPA).