jobs

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A coffee shop across the street from the Legislature announces “let the games begin.”
With the Legislature in session for less than two weeks, Democratic legislators seem to be playing the game well.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A bill that would impose fines of $1,000 to $10,000 on businesses that failed to obtain a state business license after being notified by the secretary of state’s office has been pulled from a scheduled committee hearing.

I’ve been reading the BurnCards site for a while. It’s one of a thriving community of blogs that have sprung up around Reno. I don’t write about Reno much on this site, because there’s plenty of people doing that, but this article by Ken Manz really caught my eye.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Turn on the TV these days and it seems as if every politician is talking about jobs and the economy.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Legislators have done this week what the cynical among us would never have expected: they got right to work.
The chatter in the hallways at 401 S Carson Street has revolved around the fast pace legislators seem to be setting during their first week in session. Legislators are already listening to testimony about bills. Legislative leaders are already rolling out big jobs bills.

CARSON CITY – Freshman GOP Assemblyman Mark Sherwood is taking Secretary of State Ross Miller to task for proposing legislation that he says will hurt Nevada’s business climate.
Sherwood, R-Henderson, said Assembly Bill 78, set for a hearing Thursday in the Judiciary Committee, “would kill jobs and destroy businesses.”

There will be some tough love in Carson City today among state employees who will take a firm stand against Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's proposed budget that takes aim at public services.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041 employees and its retiree chapter will address their concerns to the public and press at noon on this Valentine's Day in front of the Legislative Building, 401 South Carson Street in Carson City.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Democratic legislative leaders today announced they will pursue legislation to ensure Nevadans are employed on state or local government public works projects.

By Andrew Dougman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevadans denied health insurance for pre-existing conditions are now guaranteed coverage via a federally funded health insurance program.
In the past, it’s been either costly or impossible to find coverage if someone has a health condition requiring frequent or expensive treatment.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Secretary of State Ross Miller says the time is ripe to get a substantial campaign finance reform package through the Legislature, and with Gov. Brian Sandoval and lawmakers of both parties in agreement on the need for change, he may be right.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Construction industry groups advocating for a tax increase to fund public works projects around the state to help put people back to work made their pitch to a legislative committee today, but the Building Jobs Coalition proposal faces opposition from Gov. Brian Sandoval.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
From nuisance black bears and increasing salmon numbers to automated license sales and poaching arrests, 2010 was a busy year for the California Department of Fish and Game.

A popular new reality show airing on the National Geographic Channel, “Wild Justice,” is capturing some of the department’s doings, but far more happens behind the scenes.

CARSON CITY – They speak of limbs hacked off, death and guts.
In a war of words, critics of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s $5.8 billion budget have lambasted his proposed cuts to K-12, higher education and health and human services.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Until now, tenured faculty at Nevada’s universities have avoided the budget guillotine that has chopped away at the state budget.
They escaped salary cuts during the past session due to rules governing their pay.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – While several state lawmakers say they are seeking changes to the popular Millennium Scholarship for Nevada’s academically successful high school graduates, no one yet is pushing for income eligibility restrictions to ensure the program’s continued viability.

CARSON CITY — Sen. Barbara Cegavske accused Democratic legislators of rudeness during today’s budget hearing.
Following confusions yesterday regarding the depth of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed cuts, the Clark County Republican wanted to “apologize” on behalf of the committee to the governor’s Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert.

CARSON CITY – Democrats grilled the governor’s budget director during a hearing following the release of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget yesterday.
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, accused the governor of stifling job creation by “robbing” $44 million out of the state’s highway fund.
The governor’s proposed budget would divert $44 million from the highway fund to two state operating funds.
Horsford said that the money the governor proposes to transfer could be bonded against, which could create infrastructure jobs.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today said he will embark on a multifaceted approach to rebuilding Nevada’s economy by assisting in private-sector job growth, including the creation of a $10 million “Catalyst Fund” to provide one-time incentives to businesses that want to relocate to the state.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A coalition of construction industry groups today advocated for a tax increase to fund public works projects around the state to help put people back to work.
The Building Jobs Coalition presented its proposal, called the “Creating 100,000 Jobs” report, in press conferences in both Las Vegas and Reno.

Carson City Manager Larry Werner sat down for an interview on OurTown yesterday, and we hope to have that video up soon. But in the meantime, I do want to share a couple of newsworthy items from that interview.

The biggest item was that Werner said there has been a change — or at least a clarification — in the question of who would own the land under the public portion of the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

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.”

Ramping down Nevada’s dependence on the gambling industry (and associated consumer spending) through developing new job-creating industries was the main topic at last Friday’s Nevada 2.0 economic forum at UNLV.
Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki used the word “retooling” as he spoke of the need for diversity in his opening remarks, adding that he did not believe the vision of  an economically robust Nevada was “Pollyanna-ish.”

Here is another example of why paying companies to do business in your city is problematic. Now that Carson City handed out more generous incentives to retailers in Southgate Center than it had to others in the past, it's now faced with other businesses who want their incentives, too.

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.

We all know the long saga of the Carson City Freeway. In planning for over 50 years, under construction for nearly 10, the freeway has become one of the big punch lines around town as one of those projects that it seems like we’ll never see the tail end of. They’ve been dribbling out freeway segments to us slowly, opening the stretch from Lakeview to Hwy 50 in Spring 2006 and the segment from Hwy 50 to Fairview in Fall 2009.

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.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Despite a dramatic slowdown in Nevada’s population growth, and even some net out-migration for the first time in recent memory, the U.S. Census Bureau report today shows the state will gain a fourth congressional seat in 2013.

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.

The liberal blogs are all in a tizzy about how President Barack Obama "caved" to Republicans, agreeing to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone, not just those making under $250,000 a year as he said he wanted.

Some are saying that Obama has been seriously damaged by this episode, looking weak and handing the narrative and momentum to the GOP, and that he might have a tough time getting reelected in 2012.

Geothermal Development Associates of Reno received the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Achievement Certificate today.

The award recognizes businesses that have achieved significant success in the global marketplace and have also benefited from the programs and assistance of the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Commercial Service. Chuck Alvey, president/CEO for the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada made the presentation.