happiness

It was the night before Christmas in the capital city which, for a brief time at least, threatened slick and snowy roads but instead brought rain showers as Santa made his way to 86 homes via patrol cars in a caravan led by the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve Organization.

In a tradition that spans nearly 30 years, a legion of sheriff’s office volunteers dressed as Santa and elves made pre-arranged home visits around Carson City, delivering mighty roars of “Merry Christmas,” candy canes and gifts for children.

This is the season for giving. Our students and staff at CHS have big hearts. Many Carson High School clubs and teams adopted families from the Empire School District for the Christmas holiday. Thank you to HOSA, FBLA, Boys’ basketball, boy’s baseball, Key Club, Link Crew, and Leadership classes for providing gifts and essentials to these families.

When Carson City throws a Thanksgiving dinner, the Carson Nugget has always delivered. With 60 years now under its belt, the downtown capital city casino again outdid itself with community service, treating nearly 1,000 residents to a free Thanksgiving meal.

Teaming up with Friends in Service Helping, also known as FISH, guests were stuffed with turkey and all the trimmings, dished up by dozens of volunteers.

The holiday season officially kicks off this Thursday. Thanksgiving is about so much more than turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the other trimmings. It’s about what trims your life. We spend this holiday around those who matter the most, those who deck our lives with joy, happiness, peace, understanding, and kindness. However, some holidays aren’t as carefree. Here’s how to give yourself a break and muster gratefulness for a few portions of the holiday that might not be so merry.

Aspire, a local wellness studio in Carson City, will hold its first Workshop 'Finding your Happiness Element' for the general public on Nov. 22, at 5:30 p.m.

The workshop will have several components including the relationship between wealth and happiness, how happiness effects health, basic human instincts, and aptitude exercises.

Come celebrate Nevada Day at the Nevada Day Parade, and sprinkle some happiness all along the route! Please feel free to invite anyone you feel may be interested in being a part of this event, we love new Happiness Sprinklers. The more, the merrier!

Love her or hate her, Rupaul has some wise words when it comes to loving yourself. “If you don’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love someone else?” The wisest example I have found on loving myself came from a set of airplane instructions. “Put your own oxygen mask on first before you attempt to help someone with theirs.”

The Carson City Chamber of Commerce is holding the 5th Annual Chairman’s Scramble Golf Tournament on September 26 at Silver Oak Golf Course. All proceeds to benefit Carson High Culinary Pro Start and SkillsUSA organizations. The event has a 12:30 PM shotgun start and costs $25 per person. You must RSVP by calling 882-1565.

Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center in Carson City has been recognized by Soliant Health, one of the largest healthcare staffing companies in the country, as the 5th Most Beautiful Hospital in the United States.

The initial hospitals were nominated and then a record setting number of 248,116 votes were tallied to determine the winners.

Memorial Day came and went a couple of weekends ago and, although I was sick during the holiday, many others were thankfully healthy. Some used the opportunity for a three-day weekend to go get a little R&R in: go to the beach, take a break, spend time with friends and family, and unwind. It’s what happens on Tuesday, after we come back to the reality of our lives, businesses, ups and downs, that can be confusing — the post-vacation blues.

Sunday at the Festival of Earthly Treasures was beneficial for both myself and the clients I had the pleasure of serving. I had the opportunity to coach on a variety of topics, from learning how to grow an existing business and bring out the best in a business team to acting with intention to get better results and identifying what creates happiness in life.

In 2014 the standard business driving mileage rate is 56 cents per mile. IRS adjusted that down from the 56.5 cents per mile in 2013.

If the business had four or less vehicles, it is OK to use the mileage rate instead of actual expenses. However, each vehicle’s tax basis (cost) is to be reduced by the depreciation component — 22 cents per mile. That will be important when the vehicle is sold.

2014 standard business driving mileage rate is 56 cents per mile. IRS adjusted that down from the 56.5 cents per mile in 2013.

If the business had four or less vehicles, it is OK to use the mileage rate instead of actual expenses. However, each vehicle’s tax basis (cost) is to be reduced by the depreciation component – 22 cents per mile. That will be important when the vehicle is sold.

The mileage rate for medical travel and for moving expenses for 2014 is 22 cents per mile. That is reduced from the 2013 rate of 23 cents per mile.

Imagine that you are driving down Carson Street, toward the Capitol. You see yellow clad people, holding signs, and waving at passersby. You ask yourself, "What are they protesting now?" and prepare to avert your eyes...then you catch sight of the signs themselves.

Some folks ask “just what is a medical expense” that I can deduct for income taxes? Medical expenses eligible to be deducted as itemized deductions on Schedule A of your form 1040 include amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, or paid for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body.

CARSON CITY — One of Coach D.J. Whittemore’s main goals each season is to find a home at the next level for each of his Western Nevada College sophomore baseball players.

Whittemore scratched three names off his relocation list on Wednesday when pitcher Christian Stolo, outfielder Conor Harber and middle infielder Jack Hall signed NCAA Division I letters of intent during a ceremony attended by many of their teammates on the Carson City campus.

Ty Warner, creator of Beanie Babies, has agreed to pay a $53,000,000 penalty after being accused of federal income tax evasion for failing to report millions of income he earned in a foreign bank account.

It seems he had a secret offshore bank account at UBS starting in 1996. UBS is a Switzerland based financial services company that as part of a 2009 agreement has provided IRS with the identities of certain customers. Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and other overseas banks hid foreign accounts from the IRS.

Happy happens in Carson City. And those attending Concert Under the Stars, A Benefit for The Greenhouse Project headlined by WAR and its leader of more than 40 years, Lonnie Jordon, will have two women to thank when John Street adjacent to Café at Adele’s in Carson City, becomes a happy place of sorts July 9.

Growing up in Compton, Calif., Jordon may have spent more time listening to the old guys who were gathered on porches playing music than he should have, a fact he’s quick to say he’s not proud of.

by MOLLY MOSER

I’ve successfully reported the very first half of the legislature and have been through quite a lot. The majority of the experiences are good and quite silly and I would like to share them with you. Not a lot of people get to witness what’s behind the curtains of a Nevada Media Alliance reporter. Here, I share my experiences, in no particular order including: my efforts, encounters, and outcomes all while reporting for the Nevada Legislature.

Nevada son and United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid addressed a joint session of the Nevada State Legislature today in Carson City. Here is the text of his speech:

Carson City Support Services Specialist and children's book author Elizabeth "Liz" Ann Patterson has been busy since the last time Carson Now spoke with her.

In early 2011 she had penned her first children's fantasy and adventure book "Bonners Fairy," an all-ages story about teenage twins who discover a secret world of dark and light forces hidden in a portal on their father's estate.

Ken was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He moved his family to Granada Hills, California in 1964, then to Nevada in 1981. Ken's family brought him much joy and happiness. He enjoyed all spo...

On Saturday, December 17, 2011 volunteers from all walks of life come together for a great cause. They dress up in Santa suits and Elf costumes and bring joy and happiness to our homebound and senior citizens with limited financial resources by visiting them with gifts provided by business owners and members of the community.

SCHOOL: Dayton High SchoolYEAR: SeniorSCHOOL: VolleyballQ; What are your favorite sports and why?A: Volleyball and basketball. They bring me happiness.Q: Who is your favorite pro athlete and why?A:...

Here is the Northern Nevada, Northern California and Sierra fishing report for the week of July 6-13.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the top concern for Nevadans age 50 and older, according to a survey released Thursday.

AARP released its statewide survey that looks at the challenges, concerns and dreams of older adults in the state. The telephone survey was made up of 401 random Nevada residents aged 50 and over was conducted between Jan. 2 and Jan. 31. It has sampling error of plus or minus five percent.

Dear Editor: Once again the Dayton community has come together and made a difference for so many families during the holidays.

The Dayton toy drive received applications for over 650 kids this year and we were quite concerned that there would not be enough to go around. Fortunately a large, eager, group of volunteers came together who were quick to get down to business and get the donations and interest pouring in. It wasn’t long before businesses, as well as community organizations and individuals were giving.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Money may not buy happiness but a sizable five-figure donation to Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford’s political action committee will get you some serious face time with Democratic leadership.

LAKE TAHOE — Get ready for jazz, Celtic, mystery, comedy, bluegrass, percussion and a whole lot more at the Lake Tahoe Valhalla Arts, Music and Theatre Festival. The Festival takes place at the historic Tahoe Tallac site, a 74-acre setting currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a 1800’s favorite getaway for Northern California’s elite members of society.  But you don’t have to be an elite member of society to enjoy the variety of affordable and sometimes even free events at the Valhalla Festival.

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While Nevada’s gaming giants turn to overseas markets for expansion, many Nevada families are having to turn to federal bankruptcy courts just to survive…