campaign

SPARKS – U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., showed up at a Sparks floral shop today to receive the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in his reelection bid against Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

The national endorsement was made by former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who said the choice was clear for the organization.

CARSON CITY – State Treasurer Kate Marshall today announced a record year for her office’s Unclaimed Property Division, with nearly $33 million in property returned to its rightful owners in Fiscal Year 2012.

CARSON CITY – With U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s 5^th annual National Clean Energy Summit set to kick off today in Las Vegas, the debate over alternative energy development and the government’s role in its future rages on.

Despite more than 10 years of outstanding service as a PUC senior economist, my friend Nevada Regent Ron Knecht was fired in March by the PUC bureaucrats, with no reason given and no announcement made.

This story was then intentionally leaked to the press, so that it would be reported just before voting started in Mr. Knecht’s primary re-election campaign. Ron won the primary handily, because voters are very aware his outstanding record, fine character, and dedication to public service.

CARSON CITY – A pair of Nevada small business owners today said the federal government needs to ease off on its excessive regulatory efforts under the Obama administration if it wants to encourage job growth here and around the country.

CARSON CITY – Nevada ranks 40^th among the states for the amount of energy consumed per person, according to the nonprofit website EnergyTrends.org.

The state rankings were released on Wednesday and show Nevadans consumed 239 million Btu per capita in 2010 compared to 303 Btu per capita in 2007.

RENO – President Obama told members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars today that he has fulfilled the promises he made four years ago to make America safer, strengthen jobs programs for returning military personnel and fight homelessness, suicide and posttraumatic stress disorder among the nation’s veterans.

LAS VEGAS – State senate Majority Leader and 4th Congressional District candidate Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, said he supports the federal health care law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in late June.

A reader yesterday submitted the following letter dealing with the Carson City Center Project, aka Nugget Project, and the citizen's petition to put the issue on the ballot:

Carson Supervisors Poised to Lose Credibility. . .Again

This Thursday Carson's supervisors are poised to undermine the community's clear desire for finite boundaries on the downtown library complex project.

The Carson City Democratic Women's Club monthly meeting will be held Saturday July 14, at Grandma Hatties. At noon, the featured speaker is Dennis Noone, Editor of the Nevada Appeal. There will also be a brief presentation from the Organization of America's Nevada Rural Coordinator concerning the start up of the Obama campaign. A new program for the members will be introduced and plans for the Candidate's BBQ August 25th announced. Please come by 11:15 AM to 11:30 AM if you wish to order off the menu. For more information please call Donna at 884-3037.

CARSON CITY – A television ad campaign sponsored by the pro-Democrat Patriot Majority attacking GOP Sen. Dean Heller on his Medicare votes has expanded to Las Vegas and is again being called false by his campaign.

The ads say Heller voted to “end Medicare,” twice, once while serving in the House from the 2^nd Congressional District and once after being appointed to the Senate by Gov. Brian Sandoval in April 2011

CARSON CITY – The House Ethics Committee announced today that it has established an investigative subcommittee to review ethics questions raised about Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and whether she inappropriately furthered the business interests of her husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner.

The committee voted unanimously on June 29 to establish the subcommittee.

The Supreme Court today upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's liberal wing in a 5-4 vote.

Back in March, I wrote how this whole case hinged on flawed wording in the law when it was written. The authors failed to see how they should have framed this as a tax, not a mandate, and achieved the same result in a more constitutionally friendly way.

Here is how I framed it:

North Lake Tahoe announced today that it will host the first full-distance Ironman event in California since 2001. The competition is scheduled to take place September 22, 2013.

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation announced that the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Elko Boys & Girls Club (Elko, Nev.) will both receive a $10,000 start-up grant to implement Triple Play programming. Additionally, Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows (Reno, Nev.) and Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada (Carson, Nev.) will receive $5,000 Triple Play Healthy Habits grants to provide programming focused on teaching the importance of healthy eating habits and being physically active.

CARSON CITY – Danny Tarkanian narrowly beat out state Sen. Barbara Cegavske in the 4^th Congressional District GOP primary today, surviving a tough challenge in the contest to see who will face Democrat state Sen. Steven Horsford in the November general election.

CARSON CITY – Former Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley may not be a candidate for public office this year, but this apparent lack of political ambition has not stopped her from maintaining a campaign fund worth nearly half a million dollars.

CARSON CITY – In the Republican quest to regain control of the state Senate in the 2012 general election, two GOP candidates in a bitter primary traded accusations today in a televised debate.

Whether GOP establishment favorite Mari Nakashima St. Martin or challenger Brent Jones wins the June 12 primary, the fiercely contested primary presents another challenge for Republicans to return to dominance in the state Senate.

North Lake Tahoe takes its music outdoors with a variety of live concerts, festivals and headliner events – all part of the destination’s High Notes: North Lake Tahoe Summerlong Music series, running June through September. The lake’s live music campaign also has a designated website that covers all the free events and ticketed performances.

Free Weekly Summer Concerts

CARSON CITY – The National Retail Federation has launched a nationwide 60-day campaign to raise awareness among lawmakers and the public on how what it calls a loophole exempting online sales from sales tax is hurting local communities and job creation.

If Nevada’s five-member Congressional delegation is any indication, the group has its work cut out for it, with three members opposed and two supportive of the idea to allow states to tax online sales.

In a milestone for the organization, Amy R. Berry was appointed to the new position of CEO of the Tahoe Fund on Wednesday. The official announcement is a major shift forward for the organization and its mission to raise private and public funding for environmental projects in Lake Tahoe.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced changes to his staff in his Carson City office, including the departure of Senior Adviser Dale Erquiaga, who will move to Arizona in July to be near his children.

CARSON CITY – Long-time Republican political consultant Sig Rogich said today the 2013 Nevada Legislature has to take a serious look at collective bargaining reforms so that situations like the impending layoff of hundreds of Clark County teachers can be avoided in the future.

CARSON CITY – Political Action Committees formed by state lawmakers to help their candidates win seats in the Legislature are off to a slow start in fundraising, according to campaign finance reports filed this week with Secretary of State’s office.

Many of the lawmaker-created PACs reported no contributions in the first campaign contribution and expense report filed Tuesday and reflecting financial activity from Jan. 1 through May 18 of 2012.

CARSON CITY – Republican candidates have big leads in fundraising in four of five seats considered critical to control of the state Senate in the 2013 legislative session, with a slight monetary advantage in the fifth, according to campaign contribution reports filed this week.

Both Democrat and Republican caucus leaders are fighting hard to win the seats to control the 21-member house where Democrats now lead 11-10.

CARSON CITY – Sixty state lawmakers and legislative candidates who responded to a survey on government transparency largely favor new laws requiring the Legislature to follow the Open Meeting Law and mandating expanded reporting of spending on legislators by lobbyists.

CARSON CITY – A proposal by Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, to move Nevada’s primary election back to September to shorten the campaign season didn’t get out of the starting gate in 2011.

The Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee held one hearing on Assembly Bill 157, which had cosponsors from both major political parties. But it also saw serious opposition from state election officials and never came up for a vote.

CARSON CITY – Three of the Republicans seeking the right to challenge state Democratic Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford for Nevada’s new 4^th Congressional District seat sought to establish their conservative credentials in a televised debate today.

CARSON CITY – The leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus today used a Tuesday reporting deadline for candidates running for election this year to announce several proposals to require more accountability and transparency in the financing of campaigns in Nevada.

Jack Fisher, a 35-year gaming operations veteran with a strong Northern Nevada background, has been appointed General Manager at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa at Lake Tahoe, a Tropicana Entertainment Inc. property.

Fisher brings an appreciation of Lake Tahoe’s vacation destination appeal with MontBleu’s brand as an all-encompassing resort for year-round outdoor recreation with upscale amenities, four-star dining, gaming, nightlife and entertainment.