Spending

CARSON CITY – Nevada is one of four states to receive an “F” grade for student access and success in its higher education system from the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a report released this week.

CARSON CITY – State lawmakers have put a new tourism contract to promote Nevada on hold despite the concerns of one lawmaker that the move exceeds legislative authority.

Concerns have been raised by Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, about the intent to award the two-year, $3.2 million contract to an out-of-state firm.

CARSON CITY – Local elected officials representing the Northern Nevada workforce development agency have endorsed a plan to restructure the delivery of job training funds to Nevadans, including eliminating the two local boards now involved in the process.

CARSON CITY – The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board today unanimously approved a plan to consolidate two local boards in an effort to free up $5 million in federal funds to train the unemployed.

The move, which requires approval from the U.S. Department of Labor, is opposed by Workforce Connections, the Southern Nevada workforce investment board.

CARSON CITY – Representatives and supporters of the Clark County workforce investment board today strongly opposed a plan being pushed by Gov. Brian Sandoval to consolidate the two local boards in an effort to make more money available to train the unemployed.

One of the biggest, once-in-a-lifetime thrills this writer experienced was first-time voting eligibility in local, state and national elections. What a privilege to have my official opinion added in to the larger community, with an impact on public decisions going forward. Much can be learned from the morning-after election results, which chronicle where we are as a community at a given moment. . .a snapshot of what's on people's collective minds, or at least those who choose to exercise their voting rights.

Western Nevada College pitcher Dylan Baker made history for his Wildcats team Tuesday while his own dream of becoming a professional baseball player came true. The Cleveland Indians selected Baker in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft, making him the highest-ever selection out of WNC.

The unbeaten hurler from Juneau, Alaska, was the 173rd pick of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

A reader wrote in today asking about the property tax hike the Carson City Board of Supervisors approved unanimously last week. What follows is a breakdown:

The property tax rate will go from $3.1872 to $3.66. If you do the math, that works out to a 13 percent increase. However, state law limits the amount of increase that homeowners have to pay to 3 percent per year, 6.4 percent on commercial properties. They estimate that taxes on average will increase 3 percent next year under this new rate, and account for about $3 million more than they would under the old rate.

CARSON CITY – Republican candidates have big leads in fundraising in four of five seats considered critical to control of the state Senate in the 2013 legislative session, with a slight monetary advantage in the fifth, according to campaign contribution reports filed this week.

Both Democrat and Republican caucus leaders are fighting hard to win the seats to control the 21-member house where Democrats now lead 11-10.

CARSON CITY – Sixty state lawmakers and legislative candidates who responded to a survey on government transparency largely favor new laws requiring the Legislature to follow the Open Meeting Law and mandating expanded reporting of spending on legislators by lobbyists.

CARSON CITY – Three of the Republicans seeking the right to challenge state Democratic Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford for Nevada’s new 4^th Congressional District seat sought to establish their conservative credentials in a televised debate today.

CARSON CITY – The leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus today used a Tuesday reporting deadline for candidates running for election this year to announce several proposals to require more accountability and transparency in the financing of campaigns in Nevada.

CARSON CITY – Two Republican members of the Assembly who both want to move into the Senate in District 18 faced off today in a televised debate that focused primarily on a controversial 2011 tax vote.

CARSON CITY – While Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were campaigning elsewhere today, Nevada Democrats and Republicans took up the battle for the presidency on their behalf.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., held a telephone conference call to talk up Romney’s credentials as a “turnaround specialist” who will get the country back on track. He also criticized Obama for failing to get spending or the national deficit under control as he promised early on in his presidency.

Here is the account:

CHARRISON DAVID ASHTON, known to many family and friends as Davey, was born March 10, 1939, to James David Ashton and Nellie Margaret “Margie” Charrison in Pasadena, California. The Ashton’s moved to Kings Beach, California in 1944. After graduating from Tahoe Truckee High School in 1957 he enlisted in the United States Navy serving one term touring the Pacific.

CARSON CITY – An audit of the state’s two local workforce investment boards has found the Southern Nevada agency spent nearly twice as much on administration and monitoring of its programs than its northern counterpart.

CARSON CITY – A consultant hired by the cities of Henderson and Las Vegas to analyze the process used to distribute taxes to the counties and cities told lawmakers today the formula now used to make the allocations has weaknesses.

“John Walker had always known he’d have to come back. No one runs away from a past like his and just walks away clean. Not in the books he’d written or the script he’d just finished. He didn’t blame his wife for being furious with him.”

This is the opening paragraph of local author Jeani Ambrose’s first published book, Legacy of the Father. Legacy can best be described as a paranormal mystery with romantic overtones.

CARSON CITY – Nevada consumers purchased $3.2 billion worth of taxable goods in February, a 10.2 percent increase over February 2011 and the 20^th consecutive month of increases, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

Saxophonist Paul N. Roth, 2011-12 Nevada Arts Council Performing Arts Artist Fellow, brings his group, SPLIT trio, to Plan: B Microlounge, 318 N. Carson Street, Carson City, on Saturday, April 28, at 8:00 p.m. Joining him are two of Los Angeles' most creative young improvising musicians: bassist Jake Rosenzweig and percussionist Mike Lockwood. Admission is free.

LAS VEGAS — Gov. Brian Sandoval today told conservative business group Keystone Corporation that his decision to support a two-year extension of taxes that were scheduled to expire eliminates the need for any new taxes to balance the state budget.

CARSON CITY – A little-known benefit of Nevada’s public employee pension plan is the right to purchase up to five years of service towards retirement.

Referred to by some as “air time,” or the ability to add years of retirement without actually putting in the time in a public sector job, the benefit can allow state and local government workers to retire early, collecting annual pensions years before they would be eligible otherwise.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s polices of low taxes and small government ranked it 18^th among states in its ability to compete and grow its economy, according to a report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Driving home the future of visitors and spending to the Silver State, the Nevada Commission on Tourism's annual Rural Roundup at Lake Tahoe April 18-20 will headline the acclaimed author of "The Experience Economy and Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want."

James H. Gilmore's book, whom he co-authored with Joe Pine, was recognized by Time magazine as one of the “Ten Ideas That Are Changing the World." In it he asserts that consumers want authentic products and experiences — something rural Nevada is singularly positioned to offer with its historic destinations and attractions.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it.

That's the basis of the argument being put forward by some of the more vocal supporters of the Carson City Center Project, aka Nugget Project, as they try to fight back the attempt to put the issue on the November ballot.

They would be wise to follow their own advice.

CARSON CITY – Nearly 1,000 state and local government workers, many of them firefighters and police, make over $200,000 a year when all pay and benefits are counted, according to a 2011 pay analysis published today by the Nevada Policy Research Institute.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales climbed 4.8 percent in January to $3.15 billion, with increases in all major consumer categories except construction, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

It was the 19^th month of taxable sales increases in Nevada and brought the increase for the fiscal year 2012 to date to 7.2 percent. Taxable sales increased by 6.1 percent in Washoe County and 3.5 percent in Clark County in January.

CARSON CITY – Nevada barely earned a C grade for its efforts in providing online access to government spending data with a score of 70, according to the latest report: “Following the Money 2012”, released this week by a national group.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s top state administrators gathered together in meeting rooms and via the internet today to hear first-hand about Gov. Brian Sandoval’s initial plans for his 2013-15 budget.

The all-day meeting called “Budget Kickoff” was intended to provide instructions to state administrators on how to begin preparing their spending plans for the new two-year budget that will take effect on July 1, 2013.