United States

The Carson City Council of the United States Navy League will hold its first meeting of the New Year on Thursday, January 15, 2015 at the Gold Dust West Hotel and Casino, Carson City.

The Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. Our speaker will be Commander Eugene Woodruff, Executive Officer of NAS Fallon. Commander Woodruff will be speaking about new developments in the Chinese Navy and Territorial actions taken by the Chinese in the past year.

Astronaut and Navy Captain Barry "Butch" Wilmore Tweeted some great photographs that he has recently taken on the International Space Station.
He also included a couple nice views of the Carson City and Lake Tahoe area, unfortunately it appears Carson was hiding underneath the clouds.

The readers of USA Today have chosen Carson City as the “best travel worthy state capital in the nation,” officials of the 10 Best contest announced this morning.

The win gives Carson City bragging rights, a nice shot in the arm for local tourism, a national and international spotlight and citywide pride that comes with living in the state capital.

The Centers for Disease Control announced Monday that flu cases surpassed the “epidemic threshold” last week, reminding U.S. citizens to get the flu vaccine now as the best chance to avoid illness.
And cases in Nevada are increasing as well, resulting in local warnings to get vaccinated sooner than later.

In the United States, the common strand that runs through our collective lives from ages 7 to 18 years is the experience that most of us call “School.” While each individual’s experience may be varied, education in the US is an expected activity that spans 13 years of our lives and culminates as a rite of passage to adulthood.

Dr. Sandra Stotsky, Endowed Chair in Teacher Quality at the University of Arkansas’s Department of Education Reform and Chair of the Sadlier Mathematics Advisory Board, along with Dr. James Milgram, Emeritus Professor at Stanford University’s Department of Mathematics, will be speaking about why Common Core is not good for our children or our country, at events in Carson City, Fallon and Reno, on January 13th and 14th.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture is recommending that bird owners in Nevada adopt extra healthy hygiene practices after avian bird influenza was found in Oregon and Washington.

While health risks to humans are low, the United States Department of Agriculture’sAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service is warning people to avoid contact with sick or dead poultry or wildlife.

Nevada State Veterinarian Michael Greenlee said that the highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus has been found in birds in various parts of the world but has not been shown to cause any human infection.

Cooler temps in the Sierra above Lake Tahoe have allowed Heavenly Mountain Resort to utilize the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system in order to expand terrain and open Stagecoach Express on Saturday, offering a second access point to the mountain, as well as top-to-bottom skiing and riding on the Nevada side.

According to the Official NORAD Santa Tracking website, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight for nearly 60 years. Come Christmas Eve, you follow his journey on this page, just below the break.

On a cold and windy morning in November, 45 men and women took to the hills in the Bodie Hills to plant as many sagebrush seedlings as they could in a two-day span. Besides the cold, the work itself was physically demanding as each seedling had to be planted by hand. What makes this story even more interesting is the fact that many of the people on those hills volunteered to be there.

The partnership between California and Nevada that created the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency turns 45 years old today, marking nearly a half-century of progress in the protection and restoration of Lake Tahoe and its treasured environment.

President Richard Nixon signed the Bi-State Compact creating TRPA on Thursday, December 18, 1969. Nixon’s signature followed the compact’s ratification by Congress and its approval by both states’ legislatures and former governors Ronald Reagan in California and Paul Laxalt in Nevada.

Dr. William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA for 12 years, will discuss abolition of the death penalty and the future of human rights at two Reno talks Saturday.

“Abolishing the Death Penalty in the United States: A Conversation with Dr. William Schulz” will be held in the Joe Crowley Student Union, room 423, at the University of Nevada, Reno, Dec. 13 at 11 a.m.

Reno Tahoe Helicopters / Heliminden LLC received its Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Nov. 25, 2014. This certification allows the company to offer charter services for air taxi in the United States, and serving the Northern California/Reno area, including tours to Napa, Calistoga, and Sonoma.

“We are the only operators in the area to have the Air Carrier Certification. We are proud to be able to offer our clients the expanded services of air taxi,” said Claudio Bellotto, Chief Pilot and Owner of Reno Tahoe Helicopters/HeliMinden.

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy news wise with all the repercussions from Pres. Obama's legal actions regarding immigration. We've all heard people echo their sentiments on both sides of this issue. My question is, why is Nevada not joining the Texas led effort to file suit on the Obama administration along with so many other states? Nevada's silence in this arena is disgusting. President Obama with the stroke of his pen has successfully done what many other anti-American, anti-capitalist and race baiters alike have failed to do since reconstruction.

Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, will step down as the GOP's choice for speaker of the Nevada Assembly. Hansen made the announcement in an statement sent to the Republican Assembly caucus that was made public Sunday. He blamed the media and the "powers that be" as prompting his resignation in which he said he has become a victim and target of "character assassination."

In recent days several columns he had written over the years for the Sparks Tribune and comments he made on KOH radio were again brought to light, where Hansen blasted blacks, women in the military, Jews and gays.

It didn't look good earlier this year for a 39 pound bear cub after being caught in a 400 square-mile forest fire this summer in Washington State. But thanks to the efforts of wildlife rehabilitation caregivers at Lake Tahoe, the bear has since made a sweeping recovery and will return to the wild this spring.

This is my annual reminder that November 18 was a significant date in the lives of some 4,212 hardy Alaskans (as of the 2010 census). Those folks live in a unique location known as Barrow, Alaska, which is the northernmost community in the United States.

It is located on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, about 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and roughly about 1,300 miles south of the North Pole. On November 18, the sun set below the horizon at Barrow and it will not peek back up over the horizon until January 23 (weather permitting).

Despite its location away from major population centers, a swarm of earthquakes in the far northwest corner of Nevada is attracting attention as it continues to rumble residents this week with several magnitude 3.0 earthquakes, a 4.0-magnitude earthquake on Nov. 21 and a magnitude 4.3 on Nov. 17.

This panorama photograph by randomnevada.blogspot.com is of the home that Orion Clemens had built when he became Territorial Secretary to Governor Nye, before Nevada was even a state. Orion Clemens was the older brother of (soon to be famous) Samuel Clemens — who we all know today as Mark Twain.

Ira Hansen (born October 5, 1960) is a member of the Nevada State Assembly. He is a Republican, representing district 32 in Northern Nevada.

Biography
Hansen was born in Reno, Nevada. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is married to Alexis with 8 children. He works as a plumbing contractor. He was a talk radio host on station KKOH in Reno for five years as well. He was fired due to outrage over comments he made to the effect that the United States should not have such a strong relationship with Israel.[1]

Join us as we explore and enjoy the harvest of Churchill Vineyards of Fallon, Nevada.
Ashley Frey, Co-Founder, will be our guest as we dine on the special selections expertly prepared by Sierra Gourmet Grill & Wine Bar Chef and Owner Larry Rice.

Our Menu for this special evening includes:

• Local Artisan Cheeses
• Grilled Romaine Hearts with a warm Bacon Dressing
• Grilled Filet Mignon
• Grilled Lobster Tail
• Chef's Surprise for Dessert

RSVP (775) 392-2370 $45 per person

Surrounded by small flags, empty gun shells, pioneer headstones and a poignant hand written card from an old girlfriend, where she wrote to him "it had been over forty years, I finally found you" is the grave marker of a Carson City Vietnam veteran, Sgt. Daniel Ackerman, who died in combat.

His body is buried at the old pioneer Empire Cemetery. His marker is in the southwest corner, high above the Carson River where Danny Ackerman loved to hunt, fish and hike around with his friends.

Heavenly Mountain Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort are proud to announce their 2014-2015 grants awards to 49 local organizations and projects.

The grant program is part of Vail Resorts EpicPromise, the company’s umbrella brand for its environmental efforts and community giving. EpicPromise highlights Vail Resorts’ strong commitment amongst guests, employees, and community members and engages them to be stewards of the natural environment and local causes. The local recipients were recognized at a Grants Reception event on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at Heavenly’s California Main Lodge.

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, faith leaders from various traditions prayed together in Nevada Governor’s Mansion in Carson City on Thursday evening seeking God’s mercy on Ebola and for its worldwide victims and their loved ones and care providers.

Organized by Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, it included prayers by Christian (various denominations), Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha’i, etc., religious leaders.

The following is in answer to Brendan Trainor's RN&R Nov 6th column, The power of gold and silver.

http://www.newsreview.com/reno/power-of-gold-and/content?oid=15407117

Brendan Trainor's "Austrian School" theories won't add to his understanding of the real world of banking and finance.

Washoe County Commissioners approved Wednesday a Federal Lands Access Program Memorandum of Agreement providing $12.5 million in federal funding for the design and construction of improvements along the state Route 28 corridor from Incline Village to the U.S. Highway 50 junction.

Sgt. Daniel Leverne Ackerman was from Carson City, Nev. He served in Vietnam, where he made the ultimate sacrifice in combat service to the United States of America a few weeks after his 21st birthday.

Sgt. Ackerman was born on March 13, 1947, and was killed in action on April 10, 1968. On the Vietnam Memorial Wall his name is located at Panel 49E, Line 7. Sgt. Ackerman was buried at Empire Cemetery, which is just east of Carson City.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval officially honored “Always Lost: A Meditation on War,” Tuesday in a Veterans Day proclamation. The humanities exhibit, touring nationally, was created by Western Nevada College faculty and students in Carson City.

The proclamation notes 2014 is the “Year of the Veteran” in Nevada as it entered the Union during the Civil War and henceforth is called “Battle Born.”

FRESNO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Las Vegas attorney Charles Max Pollock, 43, to nine years in prison, to be followed by 20 years of supervised release, for travel in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

Four men have been arrested and face dozen of felony charges after a two-year investigation by Nevada wildlife officials uncovered evidence of illegal killing of dozens of animals, the Nevada Department of Wildlife announced Monday.