funding

Teachers and other K-12 education advocates have complained that Nevada's funding for K-12 education is pathetically low compared to the rest of the nation.They point to basic per pupil support ...

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Legislature finally took up the issue of reforms to the state’s public employee retirement system today, but the proposed changes from Democratic Assembly Speaker John Oceguera are modest.

By the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce
The Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors bureau would like to remind everyone that there are just a few weeks left in the new Winter Classic Trout Derby.

Thanks to grant funding provided by Inyo County, the Chamber has contracted with Inland Aquaculture to purchase and plant specially tagged Alpers Trout in Pleasant Valley Reservoir and Lower Owens River.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A proposed amendment to the Nevada constitution to allow a future Legislature to create a school voucher program so parents could get state funding to send their children to private schools, including religious schools, was heard by a Senate panel today.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Campus closures, consolidations and mergers are back on the table after the Board of Regents today undid a vote from last month to not consider campus closures, which itself followed a February vote to consider campus closures.
Many of the smaller colleges are in districts represented by Republicans.

CARSON CITY – Campus closures, consolidations and mergers are back on the table after the Board of Regents today undid a vote from last month to not consider campus closures, which itself followed a February vote to consider campus closures.
Many of the smaller colleges are in districts represented by Republicans.

CARSON CITY – A proposed constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to cut funding to or impose an unfunded mandate on local governments was heartily endorsed today by local officials including the mayors of Reno and Las Vegas.

CARSON CITY – A proposed constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to cut funding to or impose an unfunded mandate on local governments was heartily endorsed today by local officials including the mayors of Reno and Las Vegas.

By the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce
The Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors bureau would like to remind everyone that there are just a few weeks left in the new Winter Classic Trout Derby.

Thanks to grant funding provided by Inyo County, the Chamber has contracted with Inland Aquaculture to purchase and plant specially tagged Alpers Trout in Pleasant Valley Reservoir and Lower Owens River.

RENO, Nev. — An additional round of budget reduction proposals totaling $13.8 million was announced at the University of Nevada, Reno today.

Today’s announcement follows the University’s March 2011 announcement of $26 million in proposed budget reductions, according to a news release issued by UNR officials. When combined, the proposals represent a reduction of $39.8 million and the elimination of 318 positions. A total of 1,600 students are directly impacted by the proposed academic program reductions.

By Nicoletta Florio / Big George Green Consulting
CARSON CITY — In politics, it is generally considered bad news if a governor is regularly associated with the terms “hot air” and “hot water.” In Nevada however, these associations, according to Governor Brian Sandoval, are easily acceptable.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A two-hour review by the full Senate today of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed two-year, $5.8 billion general fund budget spent a lot of time on what his spending plan could mean well into the future.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said emphatically today he will veto a bill passed by Democrats in the Legislature that would allow school districts to use up to $300 million in bond reserve funds to rehabilitate older schools.
He also expressed confidence that $60 million in general fund Medicaid rate reductions included in his budget are legally defensible and can be implemented despite a legal opinion to the contrary.

"You can grow it, now sell it," is the message of Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute's workshop for small farms. The daylong workshop is Saturday, April 2, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the WNC Carson City Campus, 2201 West College Parkway. Cost is $35 if registered by March 23 or $45 if registered after March 23. Lunch is included, and seating is limited.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Health and Human Services Director Mike Willden said today he believes the state can reduce Medicaid rates to medical providers as proposed in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget, but acknowledges the issue is “muddy territory.”
Willden’s view suggests the Medicaid reductions can be imposed without the state being subjected to successful legal challenges based on a recent appeals court ruling.

CARSON CITY – A legal analysis provided to the skilled nursing home industry regarding a proposed Medicaid rate reduction to cover the cost of caring for Nevada’s seniors says the cuts would be a violation of federal law.
The analysis says the proposed reductions of $20 per Medicaid resident per day are being proposed in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget, “purely as a means to alleviate the budgetary crisis.”

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – An analysis of a cut in Medicaid payments to skilled nursing facilities proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval paints a sobering picture for the industry and its future in Nevada.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The author of a new analysis of Nevada’s collective bargaining law says the complex rules have worked to the benefit of teachers’ unions rather than students, making reforms essential to improve the state’s public education system.

By Mike Clifford / Public News Service
Nevadans will soon have a new place they can turn to learn about consumer experiences with products found harmful because of defects, and where they can file their own safety alerts, as well.

The new Consumer Product Safety Commission website, www.SaferProducts.gov is now online and taking consumer complaints - and those complaints will be searchable in a couple of weeks.

By the Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management-Nevada (BLM) announces the spring meeting of the Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (RAC), which will meet on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 8:00 a.m., at the BLM-Carson City District Office (CCDO), 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, Nev.

By Thomas G. Chase
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a repeal of Health Reform. Additionally, they passed budget cuts of $1.3 billion to existing funding for Community Health Centers (CHC’s).

Over the last 45 years, CHC’s have grown to provide primary care access to 20 million Americans. Study after study has shown that primary care in a CHC is less expensive and provides more reliable health outcomes than any other alternative for those with access challenges. Who is speaking for the needs of these patients?

(U.S. Department of Justice Press Release)
WASHINGTON – Teresa Kelly, a former operations supervisor in Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division (MWLD), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud for her role in a fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW).

Colonial Bank had a branch on Stewart Street in Carson City, that now sits vacant.

CARSON CITY – Nevada is getting shortchanged from the federal government when it comes to addressing contamination from the underground nuclear weapons testing era, with the Nevada Test Site getting only a small amount of funding for cleanup efforts, a state lawmaker said today.

(Updated at 2:12 p.m. on March 14, 2011 to include new comments from Sandoval Administration)
CARSON CITY – Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford has requested emergency legislation to conduct a performance audit of the revenue collection functions of the Department of Taxation following questions last week about the thoroughness of the agency’s review of mining tax payments.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
Abetted by last summer's record flooding, Asian carp are continuing their advance up the Big Sioux and other Missouri River tributaries, as researchers and wildlife officials gear up to deal with the invasion.
"They're here, so the big question is, how many are we going to get?'' said Brian Graeb, an assistant professor in South Dakota State University's wildlife and fisheries department.

Courtesy of GrandViewOutdoors.com
Republican governors and members of Congress vowed Tuesday to fight an Obama administration plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West eligible for federal wilderness protection. The GOP officials said the plan would circumvent Congress's authority and could be used to declare a vast swath of public land off-limits to oil-and-gas drilling.

CARSON CITY – It was not a friendly crowd for Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki as he spoke of economic development at Western Nevada College.
The bleachers in Sarah Winnemucca Hall were packed with students and staff concerned about Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed $162 million reduction in state support for Nevada’s colleges and universities.

CARSON CITY – A state lawmaker testified today that the federal government’s unfunded mandates on issues such as clean air, clean water and flood zones are imposing costs on Nevada taxpayers without authority or justification.

RENO – When the bottom fell out of the construction industry, some lucky ones kept working.
CC Myers, a California company, has benefited from a portion of a $393 million contract to extend Interstate 580 between Reno and Carson City. They are building the 120-foot-tall bridge spanning Galena Creek.
Work there has continued apace as vehicles zooming through the valley below have increasingly carried unemployed Nevadans.

CARSON CITY – Teachers could forfeit portions of their salaries awarded for obtaining masters of doctorate degrees under a new proposal.
In what could amount to a pay cut, Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed eliminating that type of compensation in favor of $20 million in performance pay.