Governor

A group of young men and women who are walking across the country to raise awareness for the DREAM Act made a stop in Carson City on Wednesday, in an unsuccessful attempt to elicit support from Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The Campaign For An American DREAM walkers each have their life stories about how they or their family members came to this country as children, but now face deportation because of their immigration status.

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 – Nevada barely earned a C grade for its efforts in providing online access to government spending data with a score of 70, according to the latest report: “Following the Money 2012”, released this week by a national group.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s top state administrators gathered together in meeting rooms and via the internet today to hear first-hand about Gov. Brian Sandoval’s initial plans for his 2013-15 budget.

The all-day meeting called “Budget Kickoff” was intended to provide instructions to state administrators on how to begin preparing their spending plans for the new two-year budget that will take effect on July 1, 2013.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today named James Guthrie, currently the senior fellow and director of education policy studies at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, as Nevada’s new public schools chief.

Travel and ski journalists from national magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs and social media outlets will arrive at South Lake Tahoe next week and be greeted with several feet of fresh snow during the North American Snowsports Journalist Association National Conference.

CARSON CITY – Long-time political consultant and former state lawmaker Pete Ernaut said today that efforts to use the ballot box to set tax policy could handcuff the ability of the governor and Legislature to make critical decisions on the future of the state.

CARSON CITY – Two Nevadans and a scholar from Texas made the final cut today for the job of state superintendent of public instruction.

René Cantú Jr., Caroline McIntosh and James Guthrie were selected from among five finalists by the state Board of Education to forward to Gov. Brian Sandoval for him to select the new state public schools chief. Sandoval is expected to announce his choice sometime next month.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Mining Association has filed a court challenge to the initiative petition filed by Nevadans United for Fair Mining Taxes that could lead to a tax increase on the industry from 5 percent to 9 percent.

CARSON CITY – Former U.S. Sen. and Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan today described Rep. Mark Amodei’s recent comments about Yucca Mountain not being dead as a site to dispose of the nation’s nuclear waste was as “unfortunate.”

CARSON CITY – Nevada took a bold step forward today as lawmakers approved regulations allowing for the operation of self-driving vehicles on the state’s roadways.

The first in the nation regulations were approved by the Legislative Commission, and could provide for economic development opportunities in Nevada.

I was busy some other place when "Star Wars, The Phantom Menace" opened in 1999 in the USA. Lucky me. Not so lucky now when I went to see the reworked original decked out in 3D. It's a corny movie and the 3D adds little to the viewing except for the $3 extra per ticket. At the Galaxy Fandango in Carson City you can see the release without 3D and you won't be missing much.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he opposes the initiative petitions filed by Las Vegas businessman Monte Miller to raise gaming and mining tax rates.

“I believe initiative petitions are a poor way to set tax policy,” Sandoval said when asked about the measures that could eventually go before Nevada voters. “I’ve advised Mr. Miller, who is a friend, that I do, respectfully, oppose the petitions.

“For an issue of that import I think it is critical that it would be debated at the legislative level and not be of the initiative petition process,” he said.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency received a positive ruling in the opening stages of the lawsuit challenging the Homewood Mountain Ski Area Master Plan that was filed by the Sierra Club and the Friends of the West Shore, a Lake Tahoe environmental group.

RENO – From a cheering crowd of several hundred at a brief but energetic Mitt Romney rally to a more subdued event for Rick Santorum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition to another well-attended rally for Ron Paul, it was a trifecta of presidential candidates in Reno ahead of the Saturday GOP caucus.

Romney got the balling rolling at the Grove, with an estimated 800 supporters packed inside and standing outside the event center in South Reno. Romney spoke briefly to those standing outside before giving a short but enthusiastic speech to those crowded inside.

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.

CARSON CITY – A group called Nevadans United for Fair Mining Taxes filed a constitutional amendment initiative today with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office that would allow the cap on mining taxes to increase from 5 percent to 9 percent.

“This initiative is not a tax increase,” said Las Vegas businessman Monte Miller, who heads up the group. “It simply raises the cap on mining taxes and leaves the issue on whether to raise the tax in the hands of the Nevada Legislature and governor.”

CARSON CITY – As Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Board of Education move ahead with the selection of a new state schools chief to push forward with education reform, a new report gives another reason for urgency: Nevada has received a D grade for its science standards from a national group.

CARSON CITY – Five finalists for Nevada’s top public education job were submitted today to the state Board of Education.

The names of three finalists will be forwarded to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his final selection after interviews are conducted by the Board of Education next month.

The five finalists, picked from 15 applicants who sought the position of state superintendent of public instruction, are:

CARSON CITY – Treasurer Kate Marshall announced today that a request for proposals for a manger to oversee a new investment program using up to $50 million from the state Permanent School Fund has been issued by the Nevada Capital Investment Corporation (NCIC) Board of Directors.

On January 7, 2012, Janet Sylvia MacDonald died peacefully surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson’s disease.

Born Janet Sylvia MacDonald May 6, 1941 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Jan moved to Nevada in 1959. As a single mother with a young son, she attended the University of Nevada, Reno during the day and worked evenings to support her family. It was during this time that Jan danced and performed with famous Bertha the Elephant in the main showroom at John Asquaga’s Nugget.

CARSON CITY – As National School Choice Week gets under way today state officials say Nevada school children have more opportunities than ever before to choose a school that works best for them.

But one element of choice, a school voucher program, remains an unrealized and divisive issue for the state’s policy makers.

UPDATE 510PM: Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 4,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

At 4:40 pm this afternoon, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.” Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

CARSON CITY – A panel of key gaming figures and state officials will begin meeting next month to consider the impact of Internet gaming and other technological advances on Nevada’s major industry.

Gov. Brian Sandoval announced his five appointments to the Gaming Policy Committee yesterday. The full 11-member committee has not met since 1984. Sandoval will serve as chairman.

The year of 2011 was anything but quiet for the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG).
Pesky bears, a roaming gray wolf, significant poaching arrests, tsunami relief work and dramatic wildlife rescues were among the stories that captured the public’s attention.
DFG also welcomed new Director Charlton H. Bonham, who was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in August.

CARSON CITY – Nevada is joining with many other states in seeking a waiver from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a state panel was told today.

I would like to know why Carson Tahoe Hospital & Clinic goes through Doctors & P.A.'s like people drink water?

CARSON CITY – A legal firm retained by the state Department of Transportation to defend against a contractor dispute over construction of a section of the Carson City bypass has racked up $6 million in fees so far and the costs could still go higher.

Gov. Brian Sandoval today expressed concern about the amount of legal fees in the case involving a $40 million claim by Utah-based Ames Construction, which built the first phase of the U.S. 395 bypass in the capital that opened in February of 2006.

It's "big-band jazz times two" when the Mile High Jazz Band presents the ninth annual Mile High-Carson High Jazz Extravaganza, on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 7:30 p.m., in the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William Street, Carson City. The event is sponsored by the Mile High Jazz Band Association and the Carson City Band Association to benefit for Carson High Jazz Band programs.

Echos of gunshots from Eduardo Sencion had barely subsided when the chatter began that the Carson City IHOP would never open again, forever tarnished by a gunman's murderous rampage.

But this week the IHOP did reopen, with the governor, mayor and sheriff in attendance to reassure residents that we will not let the acts of a madman control our lives, that we can put this tragic episode behind us.