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RENO – When the bottom fell out of the construction industry, some lucky ones kept working.
CC Myers, a California company, has benefited from a portion of a $393 million contract to extend Interstate 580 between Reno and Carson City. They are building the 120-foot-tall bridge spanning Galena Creek.
Work there has continued apace as vehicles zooming through the valley below have increasingly carried unemployed Nevadans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U

Several people at yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting mentioned the generosity of Mae Adams for donating land to Carson City for the proposed Knowledge and Discovery Center and public plaza, the centerpiece of the City Center/Nugget Project.

I've heard some critics complain about this donation, which does little to bolster their case. Despite the unorthodox lease deal, it really is a donation we should be thankful to have the option of using for a new library.

But this donation does come with one very large and expensive string attached.

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.

CARSON CITY – Local governments would lose some property tax revenue to help fund higher education, and college students could face higher fees, in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget to be unveiled Jan 24.
Sandoval, in an interview on Jon Ralston’s Face to Face television program, said both elements are in consideration as his $5.3 billion general fund spending plan is finalized in advance of the 2011 legislative session.

I have been been going over the Nugget Project feasibility report this morning, tying to digest the details.

Overall, it really isn't much different than what was presented to the citizens committee back in September. The one exception is that P3 Development seems to think that building a hotel is more feasible now, following another study showing that it is.

I was going through old notes this morning, and found some scribbling I'd done about the old vacant Kmart on North Carson Street, sitting next to a printout of the Meridian Report on the feasibility of the state office portion of the Nugget Project.

It was like one of those old commercials for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, where the chocolate and the peanut butter collide to make something pretty cool.

By Nevada News Bureau
Barry Herr, the Republican candidate challenging state Controller Kim Wallin in the November general election, said today he would bring a GOP point of view to the office and use the position to bring conservative influence to the discussion of taxes and other issues.

Last week we reported that the governor's office sent a letter to Nugget Project consultant Mark Lewis taking issue with certain parts of the feasibility study for moving three state agencies into the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

The one big item missing in that story was the Meridian Business Advisors feasibility study itself, which we now have a copy of.

CARSON CITY – New technology aimed both at cutting unnecessary vehicle emissions and saving tax dollars will soon be installed in the fleets of four Nevada law enforcement agencies using federal stimulus funds.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Nevada Highway Patrol, the City of Henderson Police Department and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office are purchasing 175 of the “idle reduction� units for $700,000.

CARSON CITY – With Gov. Jim Gibbons dissenting, the Board of Prisons yesterday delayed action on a proposal to close Nevada State Prison, meaning it will continue to operate for at least the next several weeks.

Obtaining leases from three state agencies has been cited by the people pushing the Nugget Project as a critical piece to its success.

But, there's been more than a little skepticism that the State of Nevada, staring down the barrel of a $3 billion deficit in its next budget, has any appetite for spending money it doesn't have to.

CARSON CITY – A member of the citizen’s panel appointed by lawmakers to chart Nevada’s future for the next 20 years expressed concern today about whether the process to be followed to complete the effort conforms to meet the requirements of the state Open Meeting Law.

While the Carson City Board of Supervisors are on track to ante up $75,000 this week to move the Nugget Project to the next phase, I'm finding that the more I dig into the details, the more the numbers don't seem to add up.

Specifically, I'm looking into part of the project that calls for getting three state agencies to lease space in this proposed 177,000 square foot development in downtown Carson City. I use the word "proposed" in a very loose sense here, since it's likely to change once P3 Development begins the real process of feasibility planning for this project. In fact, as I am writing this, there's a new story out from Northern Nevada Business Weekly quoting the developer that the office portion would be 175,000 square feet, with an additional 50,000 square feet of retail space, to go along with the 60,000 square feet for the library/business incubator/digital media lab portion of the project.

At the Carson Nugget Redevelopment Advisory Committee meeting last night, it was revealed that the developers are negotiating with the Gaming Control Board, Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services about relocating to the planned downtown development.

But the landlord of one of these agencies said it would be highly unlikely that any of them will move anytime soon.

Executives from P3 Development were introduced to the members of the Carson Nugget Redevelopment Advisory Committee tonight, saying they were looking forward to working as partners with Carson City and the Nugget.

For a play-by-play of the meeting, check out the live blog here.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons is touting his successes in implementing recommendations from his SAGE Commission on ways to improve efficiencies and save money in state government, but many of the proposals remain in progress or will require action by the 2011 Legislature.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s political leaders have emphasized repeatedly in recent months that the state faces a huge funding shortfall in 2011, perhaps as much as a $3 billion hole that will make the r

In a move that will save city government $24,000 a year, city Supervisors are expected to let the Ron Wood Family Resource Center (RWFRC) move into the partially vacated city offices at 2621 Northgate

CARSON CITY – Gov.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales fell by 10.9 percent in November 2009 over the same month in 2008, making it the 13th month of double-digit declines in economic activity in the stat

Here’s one way to save money..
hmm..
QUIT GIVING IT AWAY!!!!!!!!!

Another Opinion: Risky plan: Privatizing state prison systemFrom the Las Vegas Su