Health

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles could be a thing of the past under a new proposal.
The new director of the state’s DMV plans to ask the Legislature to pass a bill that would allow 80 new, self-service kiosks in many Nevada neighborhoods.

CARSON CITY – The logic of Gov. Brian Sandoval goes something like this: If you’re going to make me do it, let me do it my way.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The Republican minority leadership in the Senate and the Assembly has called on critics of GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget to trade their “rhetoric for a plan.”

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The state may save more money by spending rather than cutting.
Advocates for mental health funding advanced that seemingly nonsensical argument in a plea to save the state’s mental health courts, which are designed to rehabilitate mentally-ill criminal offenders.

Experts from the Veterans Administration and the University of Nevada School of Medicine will join a discussion on tele-health possibilities for rural counties hosted by Healthy Communities Coalition director Christy McGill.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
A Florida judge ruled today that a key provision of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee serving in Pensacola, Fla., ruled in favor of the 26 states that argued the law’s provision that imposes penalties on people who don’t purchase health insurance is unconstitutional.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
RENO – When Gov. Brian Sandoval’s staff reduced funding for the Sierra Regional Center in the governor’s proposed budget, he may not have known what that would mean to the Stangelands.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada fares well among the states in a new report that includes unfunded public pension liabilities as part of overall state debt.

CARSON CITY – It’s a rare occurrence that a governor calls a federal law “unconstitutional” one minute and advocates implementing that same law a minute later.

But that’s what happened earlier this week when Gov. Brian Sandoval called for Nevada to move forward with creating the Nevada Health Insurance Exchange, one of the mandates under the Obama administration’s 2010 health care bill.

CARSON CITY – A lawmaker today questioned whether state officials did everything possible to negotiate the lowest cost for a recently approved $177 million Medicaid contract.
Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, asked Medicaid program Administrator Charles Duarte if the contract with HP Enterprise Services reflects a 10 percent reduction in the cost of state contracts sought by lawmakers to help address Nevada’s current fiscal crisis.

CARSON CITY – A proposal in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget to raise $190 million in revenue by securitizing the state’s insurance premium tax was called “questionable fiscal discipline” today by Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford.
Sandoval Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert said the proposal is a “last resort” to be employed if needed to maintain essential services in health and human services and public education.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s unemployment-insurance benefit fund could be in the red until 2018 as the state continues to borrow from the federal government to keep sending unemployment checks.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed spending an estimated $60 million to repay interest on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loans.
That $60 million would come out of the general fund, said Dale Erquiaga, the governor’s senior adviser. This would leave less money for health care, education and other vital state functions in the general fund.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Driving down debt and reining in federal spending might not two things people normally associate with Sen. Harry Reid, but that’s what he spent most of this time addressing on television tonight.
“We cannot sustain the spending of this country,” the Democrat said. “We cannot wind up being a Greece or an Ireland and default on our debt.”

Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey will offer a special presentation on youth violence prevention planning during its February gathering.

Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey is joining over 350 members of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network to share the message that women of childbearing age should talk with a health care provider about which medications are safe to take while pregnant.

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month, and this year’s campaign focuses on medication use before, during, and after pregnancy.

A number of leaders from around Northern Nevada, including officials from Lyon County and Carson City, attended the summit earlier this month that highlighted the impact of marijuana use.

The summit held in Las Vegas on Jan. 13-14, featured a dynamic group of local and national experts that presented the latest research and data on marijuana and its impact on community, the environment, enforcement, business and economy, treatment, and legislation.

Carl Kuhl, a state Parole and Probation employee of six years, has created a plan that he claims will eliminate Nevada's budget deficit within two years.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, Kuhl said his plan not only will reduce the budget deficit but also help repair Nevada's economy at the same time. It is a pretty big claim, he admits, coming from an Accounting Assistant I, an entry level position.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – It didn’t take long for Gov. Brian Sandoval to encounter controversy in his new job.
At his first Board of Examiners meeting as governor today, Sandoval had to deal with a vendor dispute over a massive $177 million Medicaid contract.

During the September 2010 Healthy Communities Coalition meeting, over 70 community leaders and officials from throughout Lyon County, Nevada gathered to sign a “community covenant.” The covenant promised Lyon County communities, State and local groups will work together to increase community support to the area’s military families and veterans. A number of new or expanded events and initiatives have followed that pledge.

On Saturday, Jan. 22 only, the Dayton Food Pantry will operate from Sutro Elementary School at 190 Dayton Village Parkway from noon until 4 p.m.

Sutro Elementary School offered an indoor venue for the pantry on January 22 so that people can come in out of the cold January weather.

CARSON CITY – Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford has sent an email to supporters and constituents suggesting the next two-year state budget is facing an attack from “extreme right-wing” interests who will use the current economic crisis to “dismantle our state.”

Here we go again. I’ll bet you made another January fitness resolution. Right along with the promise to loose ten pounds and clean the refrigerator. Trying to convince the major part of today's population that exercise is needed is usually a lost cause, and some days I get tired of trying. You can't force exercise, those that will, will and those that won't; won't. However, here are a few facts to keep in mind if you belong in the” won't” category.

Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey has scheduled their winter and spring line up of special speakers on the 2nd Thursday of each month during their public meetings. Each meeting also includes resource sharing, updates and discussion on issues of regional importance such as health and wellness, substance abuse prevention and recovery, education, job training, etc.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval wasted no time getting to work after being sworn into office today, signing an executive order freezing many proposed administrative regulations as evidence that Nevada is a business friendly state.

Check out the photo gallery above. Here is the RGJ story on the inaugural speech.

We will have some video of the festivities up soon.

Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) is putting on a walk to raise money to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes on March 5th at 11:30 am at Carson High School. Sign up to walk at http://jdrfevents.donordrive.com. Click on the HOSA JDRF walk. The goal is to raise $10,000 for JDRF. Walkers who raise $25 will earn a t-shirt. Come help find a cure for juvenile diabetes.

Carson Kressley, star of the Bravo Channel show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" was in Carson City today filming scenes for his new reality show "Carson Nation."

Kressley bounded up and down the interior of Carson Mall at midday, with cameras in tow, interacting with shoppers and store employees in his high-energy, over-the-top style. He did quickie makeovers on some people, adding make-up, or working on their hair.

A new group has formed to propose innovative strategies to create a healthy State with well-supported public systems and services and an improved fiscal system.

Members of the Nevada Values Coalition have met twice for “big tent”, nonpartisan meetings to discuss the complex issues, and members then further examined ideas through subcommittees.

CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval today said he is disappointed with an order from a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel dismissing Nevada’s legal challenges to the high level nuclear waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain.