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With news this week that Western Nevada College is the recipient of a $1.5 million grant, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, announced two other grants for area colleges, Truckee Meadows Community College and Great Basin College.

The grants are part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program, which was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus bill. WNC's portion of the grant is $1,567,530. TMCC received a grant of $ 3,201,968 and Great Basin College, $4,009,331.

Tahoe Hockey Partners, LLC announced today that newly formed Lake Tahoe Blue will play their inaugural Junior A hockey season at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena as part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL). League preseason games start September 20 and the regular season starts October 4.

Season and single game tickets will be available at the Ice Arena and online at www.tahoehockey.net on a date to be announced.

The Silver State is investing significant political capital on green energy by opening new markets in Nevada, sending a strong message that renewables continue to be a key priority for the state.

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 orthodontist Frank Beglin is a perpetual student. From college, dental school, and post-doctoral residency, to annual C.E. and Invisalign classes that board-certified orthodontists must attend, he’s no stranger to education.

Sometimes it takes a while to get the big picture, to see things coming into focus. Now, I am not much for conspiracy theories, but if anything looks like it is being driven by design, this is one. The theories driving it were formulated many lifetimes ago. The people whose sick minds spawned them are long dead. For the life of me I do not understand how any egomaniac could possibly get his jollies from a trend he might have started but maybe not even his great-grandson might see coming to fruition. But there it is, a hundred year timeline on several fronts.

Destruction of money


“It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us-the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage-may-eventually be gathered together in heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss-except the inventor of the telephone.”
— Mark Twain, Hardford, Ct. Dec. 23, 1890

Perhaps if Carson City wasn't so quick to give million-dollar tax breaks to move car dealerships down the street; and spend millions more on a tourist train the public doesn't even want, the city might not have to resort to divisive bond elections to fund basic services like libraries.

It's sad to see so many people unwilling to give something back to a community they claim to love. Unfortunately you're about as likely to get a good deal on a car from those grateful dealerships as the new V&T is to pay for itself.

Lake Tahoe ski resorts are celebrating the arrival of the first snow storm of the season, with several inches having fallen and more on the way. Mother Nature's fall delivery sets the winter season in motion for a promising ski and snowboard season.

CARSON CITY – A Carson City District Judge today heard the latest challenge to a teacher-backed initiative petition that seeks to levy a 2 percent tax on companies making gross revenues in excess of $1 million a year to raise money to support public education.

But Judge James Wilson did not immediately rule on challenges to the “Education Initiative” filed by the Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs.

A little South Lake Tahoe hotel that’s stepping up in a big way by sharing 10 percent of its annual Monday profits to one charity, just extended the opportunity for more non-profit organizations to get involved, aiming to provide optimism and hope during the holidays.

RENO – President Obama talked about his ongoing commitment to education in a visit to this battleground state today, his first official campaign event of the year in Northern Nevada but his third visit to the area in just the past few months.

Obama’s campaign stop, to be followed by another event tomorrow in Las Vegas, comes to the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 12 percent.

Lake Tahoe will be thrust in the spotlight again when scientists, public agencies and elected officials meet Aug. 13 for the 16th annual Lake Tahoe Summit. To be discussed with great interest is the protection and health of Lake Tahoe's fragile environment and economy.
“The health of the environment and the health of the economy at Tahoe are linked,” Derek Kauneckis, political science professor and researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno said. “And the collaborations that have been established at the Lake have set the stage for future efforts.”

Services for legendary radio commentator Travus T. Hipp will be held this Saturday, May 26, in Silver City. Hipp died early Friday morning, May 18, at his Silver City home. He was 75, as old as the Golden Gate Bridge in his beloved San Francisco.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 26, in Silver City. Gathering, gnoshing and remembering will begin at the Silver City Community Center, 385 High Street, at 10:00 a.m. Food and refreshments will be provided. Those who wish may bring more.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he will propose to extend a package of taxes now set to expire in June 2013 into the next budget to avoid further cuts to education, which he said cannot withstand further reductions.

To maintain a basically flat spending plan for the two-year budget that will begin on July 1, 2013, Sandoval said the modified business tax that was maintained at a higher rate for large businesses in the 2011 legislative session, along with a small increase in the sales tax, must be continued.

Reno, NV – CGI, Inc, the leading manufacturer of custom gearheads and robotic solutions today announced their pledge towards becoming the main event sponsor for the Northern Nevada FTC® Championship Tournament February 24-25 at Carson City High School, Carson City, NV.

Carson City has received national recognition as a “Top Ranked Digital City Government.”

Carson City finished 2nd in its size category, cities between 30,000 and 74,999, in a survey conducted by Center for Digital Government. The Center is a national research and advisory institute that focuses on information technology policies and best practices.

For the second consecutive year Carson City has been listed by e.Republic's Center for Digital Government and the Digital Community Program as being among the top U.S. metro areas to effectively use the internet and technology.

CARSON CITY – State Treasurer Kate Marshall today announced the appointees to the board of the Nevada Capital Investment Corporation (NCIC), a new group charged with overseeing the investment of school funds to improve returns while promoting economic development statewide.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced that Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki has informed him that Nevada has been awarded a $3.4 million grant to cover the entire allowable cost of expanding the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

The stock market may be fluctuating like a yo-yo, but the man in charge of investing billions of dollars on behalf of thousands of Nevada public employees and retirees takes it in stride. "Buy low,...

CARSON CITY – State officials and lawmakers are rejecting the suggestion that they acted improperly last year when fees generated from several college savings programs were shifted to shore up the cash-strapped Gov. Guinn Millennium Scholarship for academically eligible Nevada high school graduates.
But one former lawmaker, who voted for the transfer, acknowledges he remains concerned about the decision.

Investigators from the Secretary of State’s office today arrested Hans Seibt at his Las Vegas residence on 25 counts of securities fraud and six counts of theft. The criminal complaint filed by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto charges that Seibt was essentially operating a Ponzi scheme that victimized investors in Nevada and several other states.

With the feds locked in battle over what to do with our surmounting budget crisis, one word that seems to be creeping into vogue again is inflation. For gold and silver, it appears that new and gre...

CARSON CITY – A bill allowing the state Treasurer to invest up to $50 million in education trust funds to support economic diversification efforts and generate more money for public schools was signed into law today by Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Concerns had been expressed about the legality of Senate Bill 75 after it had been amended in the Senate, but Treasurer Kate Marshall said today the final version of the measure restored the original language.

CARSON CITY – A bill allowing the state Treasurer to invest up to $50 million in education trust funds to support economic diversification efforts and generate more money for public schools was signed into law today by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Sales tax on coins and bullion in Nevada has been a sore spot for many dealers, collectors, and investors. Every state in the West, except Nevada, has exempted rare coins and bullion from sales tax...

(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.

It’s been said that a recession is a terrible thing to waste, and Northern Nevada businesses from Carson City to Las Vegas to Elko businesses aren’t wasting this one.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Professor Michael Young began to think last year that he should look for a job outside of Nevada.
It was not the craziest thought; the recession was in full swing and legislators were slashing the higher education budget.
Young was a departmental director at the Desert Research Institute. Now he’s an associate director at the University of Texas, Austin.