Governor

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, NV – Governor Brian Sandoval today commended the work of the Nevada Sage-grouse Advisory Committee which issued recommendations yesterday on a course of action that provides conservation measures sufficient to preclude the need to list the Greater Sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act.

“I thank the Advisory Committee, its Chairman, Bob Crowell and each of the members for their diligent and timely work on this very important issue,” Governor Sandoval said. “Representatives from a cross section of our state collaborated in an effort to conserve the Greater Sage-grouse species while maintaining predictable and multiple uses of private, state and public lands. I look forward to reviewing the Committee’s recommendations.”

CARSON CITY – A state panel charged with implementing a system to track individual student performance from preschool through entry into the workforce is recommending that $4 million in state funds be appropriated by Gov. Brian Sandoval and the 2013 Legislature to help accomplish the task.

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.

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval made a statement on Saturday to the family of a Sparks man, among 12 killed in the Friday's Aurora, Colo., movie theater mass shooting.
MyNews4.com reports Jonathan Blunk, a 2004 graduate of Hug High School, was a victim in Friday's deadly shooting.

Dating back to Republican President Theodore Roosevelt (1904) he and every president since has toyed with some kind of a health care plan, but none have had the appetite to place their political careers on the line for it with the exception of President Barrack Obama.

CARSON CITY – Nevada officials are busy preparing cost and enrollment estimates so Gov. Brian Sandoval will have reliable information before deciding whether to expand Medicaid following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month upholding much of the Affordable Care Act.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today signed an Executive Order establishing the Governor’s Interagency Council on Veterans Affairs.

Executive Order 2012-15 creates the council to work to identify and prioritize the needs of Nevada’s veterans.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval says he is disappointed that Clark County has decided to sue to recover $102.5 million in property taxes taken by the 2009 Legislature to balance Nevada’s budget, but said the “state is on very solid ground in this case.”

CARSON CITY – State lawmakers have put a new tourism contract to promote Nevada on hold despite the concerns of one lawmaker that the move exceeds legislative authority.

Concerns have been raised by Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, about the intent to award the two-year, $3.2 million contract to an out-of-state firm.

CARSON CITY – Local elected officials representing the Northern Nevada workforce development agency have endorsed a plan to restructure the delivery of job training funds to Nevadans, including eliminating the two local boards now involved in the process.

CARSON CITY – The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board today unanimously approved a plan to consolidate two local boards in an effort to free up $5 million in federal funds to train the unemployed.

The move, which requires approval from the U.S. Department of Labor, is opposed by Workforce Connections, the Southern Nevada workforce investment board.

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 – Representatives and supporters of the Clark County workforce investment board today strongly opposed a plan being pushed by Gov. Brian Sandoval to consolidate the two local boards in an effort to make more money available to train the unemployed.

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 – While Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were campaigning elsewhere today, Nevada Democrats and Republicans took up the battle for the presidency on their behalf.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., held a telephone conference call to talk up Romney’s credentials as a “turnaround specialist” who will get the country back on track. He also criticized Obama for failing to get spending or the national deficit under control as he promised early on in his presidency.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval and Japanese Consul General Hiroshi Inomata participated in a cherry tree planting ceremony today on the state Capitol grounds.

The trees were donated to the state to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the planting of cherry trees in Washington, DC, that were donated by the people of Japan as a sign of friendship. The 3,020 cherry trees were presented to the people of the United States and were accepted by President William Howard Taft.

After several rounds of voting and months of friendly competition, six unique locations in Nevada have been identified as Nevada’s Treasures, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki announced today.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced he has signed an executive order providing reciprocity for military spouses seeking professional licensure in Nevada. The order is effective immediately.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has approved Google’s license application to test autonomous vehicles on Nevada public roads.

It is the first license issued in the United States under new laws and regulations that put Nevada at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development.

CARSON CITY – Establishing school choice for parents and ending social promotion for students are two top priorities in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s education reform agenda for the 2013 legislative session, an administration official said today.

Linking pay to performance and providing professional development to ensure students have the best possible classroom teachers is a third major priority, said Dale Erquiaga, senior adviser to Sandoval.

KOLO8 News covers the "CRIME SCENE Flash MOB" protest in front of NV AG Catherine Cortez Masto's Carson City Office.

Protesters rallied with a 4 foot by 150 foot long "CRIME SCENE" banner!

Protesters each have their individual complaints against the Attorney General, NDOC, NHP, the Governor and Reno DA Dick Gammick.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today that a recent deal announced with Amazon.com to collect sales taxes from on-line purchases in Nevada beginning in January 2014 is only the tip of the iceberg.

Many Carson City schoolchildren will take part in organized events to walk or bicycle to school on April 25, which has been proclaimed the third annual Nevada Moves Day by Governor Brian Sandoval.

LAS VEGAS — Gov. Brian Sandoval today told conservative business group Keystone Corporation that his decision to support a two-year extension of taxes that were scheduled to expire eliminates the need for any new taxes to balance the state budget.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s polices of low taxes and small government ranked it 18^th among states in its ability to compete and grow its economy, according to a report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

CARSON CITY – U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., today downplayed the notion of any disagreement with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval arising from their opposing views on the Small Business Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2010.

CARSON CITY – The president of the powerful state teachers union said today she is “excited” that another labor organization, the AFL-CIO, plans to pursue a business profits tax initiative petition.

“It will be a big deal,” said Lynn Warne, head of the Nevada State Education Association. “We’re excited that Danny (Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada State AFL-CIO) has decided to move forward with this. Anything we can do about funding our schools adequately in this state is great.”

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

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.