Washington

The House gave final approval last week to a bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a veto showdown with President Barack Obama....

Heading into a weeklong break, Congress left plenty of loose ends to tie up. But Nevada's lawmakers weren't coasting as ......

If a Washington, D.C.-based casino trade group has anything to say about it, 2016 presidential candidates campaigning in battleground states with casinos won’t be able to avoid ......

Sen. Harry Reid is recovering at his Washington residence after surgery Wednesday to restore vision in his wounded right eye. It was Reid's second surgery since ......

First things first. Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, so I’m reminding you to make reservations for your favorite restaurant if you haven’t already. Check out the Carson Mall’s Craft Fair and Gift Sale or any of Carson City’s great shops like Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery, Evergreen Gene’s, Morley’s Books, the Artisan Store at the Brewery Arts Center or Purple Avocado for something special for that special someone.

Tough two-span bridge still usable after severe shaking in quake engineering test
New innovative design and materials shaken at University of Nevada, Reno’s Earthquake Engineering Laboratory

A new National Geographic Museum exhibition, Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants, features the work of the University of Nevada, Reno’s research professor and host of the television show Monster Fish, Zeb Hogan. It opens March 26 at National Geographic’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and runs through Oct. 12, 2015.

This may be ‘the day that music died’ back in 1959, but Carson City wants you to find your dancing shoes tonight. Beginning swing dance lessons will be held at El Charro Avitas; go check out their brand new dance floor. Country Line dancing is taught at the 11th Frame lounge at Carson Lanes every Tuesday and Wednesday. Jimmy Mallett and Jack Clifton will be at Living the Good Life Nightclub and Bistro channeling all the swank of the rat pack.

Update: This event has been cancelled.

International author and poet L.E. Hart will be at the Browsers Corner Book Store in Carson City on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015 from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.
His new book, “You’re There, I’m Here” is a collection of over 100 poems describing a love story.

Tickets for the USAF Band performance in Carson City on March 4 have sold out, said Chamber of Commerce Director Ronni Hannaman.

A line formed outside the Carson City Chamber of Commerce at around 7:30 a.m. for the free tickets to the USAF Concert Band that will play in Carson City March 4.

The Carson High School Choral Program will have its Madrigal Dinner on Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 before February 1st and $25 after Feb. 1. A Madrigal Dinner or Madrigal Feast is an American form of dinner theater often held by schools.

With the help of the Western Nevada Astronomical Society and the Jack C. Davis Observatory at Western Nevada College in Carson City, students and residents interested in astronomy can explore new worlds as part of a five-year citizen science astronomy research project to study the outer solar system.

Two planetary scientists, Marc Buie and John Keller, announced Tuesday the expansion of RECON — the Research and Education Collaborative Occultation Network — to 60 communities across the entire western United States.

A bit of Americana now and then to remind us all of the great country in which we live is always appropriate and welcome. Mayor Robert Crowell, representing the City of Carson City, and the Carson City Chamber of Commerce is collaborating to bring the United States Air Force Band of Washington D.C. to the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Community Center for a free concert on Wednesday evening March 4 at 7 p.m.

Thigmomorphogenesis – When I first saw this word, I thought it was a joke; but no, it’s a real response of plants to touch. I’m not referring to the “touchy-feely” idea of hugging or caressing plants.

Think instead of the active trapping mechanism of carnivorous plants or of the leaf response of the “sensitive plant” (Mimosa species). Some vine tendrils coil up when touched. However, thigmomorphogenesis refers to “more long-term changes in the appearance of a plant (‘-morpho-‘) in response to repeated touch (“thigmo-“) (Chalker-Scott, Washington State University).

First things first. I want to send a big shout out and good luck to all of our Carson kids that are competing at the Flips Invitational Gymnastics meet in Reno this weekend. For those of you who aren't the proud parents of tumblers, Carson City has plenty to keep you busy.

With our seemingly, never-ending drought going on and on and on, and now that we are in the middle of yet another winter with a lack of snow and no snowfall in the extended forecast, you might be interested in knowing about the all-time record snow depths, state by state, from the shallowest to the deepest, according to internet website www.weather.com.
Here they are from No. 50 (the shallowest) to No. 01 (the deepest):

Since October of 2014 the Carson City area has seen an increase in residential burglaries. Several of them have been along the main corridors of the west side of Carson City on West Winnie Lane and Washington streets. They are occurring during the day time while the residents are away from the home.

WASHINGTON — Refusing to bend to the new Republican Congress, President Barack Obama unveiled Tuesday night an ambitious State of the Union agenda steeped in Democratic priorities, including tax increases on the weal...

This morning, on my What Works Coaching Facebook page, I posed a question via a make-up free video (that’s right, I shoot my videos without or filters, including a Cover Girl lense). What is your dream? When you get down to it, when you wake up in the morning, what do you wish you were waking up to?

As the incoming Chair of the 15-member Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board, this promises to be a hopeful and exciting year. 2015 will be full of opportunities, but also challenges, for the continued protection of Lake Tahoe.

The number one priority among our challenges is funding shortfalls. Federal and state funding that has paid for environmental restoration and protection efforts at Lake Tahoe for years is drying up and new approaches need to be pursued.

The Proscenium Players present 'Polter-heist: A Hauntingly Hiliarious Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show' in the Pinion Room of the Gold Dust West Hotel and Casino for three weekends, starting Feb. 13. For Friday and Saturday showings the doors open at 5:45, and the one champagne brunch showing on Feb. 22 will begin at 12:45pm. Tickets are $35- $38 and must be bought in advance.

Head down to the Friends of the Carson City Library’s book store tonight to hear author Mark S. Bacon speak about his newest book, Death in Nostalgia City.

A talk about the freeway art in Carson City by Mary Fischer, author of Carson City History in Motion is tonight, as well; sponsored by the Douglas County Historical Society, it will be held at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center in Gardnerville. If you need to sing your heart out, check out karaoke at the Feisty Goat Pub or at Jimmy G’s Cigar Bar.

THURSDAY:

UPDATE: Kristen Orthman, Deputy Communications Director for Senator Harry Reid, released the following statement today after Senator Reid was discharged from the University Medical Center in Las Vegas:

A 31-year-old man was arrested Thursday, 12:58 a.m. in the 2600 block of Highway 50 East on suspicion of DUI, driving in the middle lane for 200 feet and violation of bail conditions, all misdemeanors, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

According to the arrest report, officers stopped the Dayton man after observing him enter the middle driving lane past Airport Road where he traveled approximately 500 feet in the center before stopping at the red light at Highway 50 and Lompa Lane.

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.

Come to the Browsers Corner Book Store in Carson City to meet author Mark S. Bacon at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8. Mr. Bacon has written for radio, TV, the web, magazines and for newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle.

He has written several business books, one of which was selected as best business book of the year by Library Journal, but “Death in Nostalgia City” is his first mystery novel.

Staff at the Carson City Library should be able to operate more efficiently and better serve patrons after a series of training sessions this year.

“I would like patrons to come in and feel like they got the help they needed so they return,” said Director Sena Loyd. “The library is a community resource. They’re already paying for it through their tax dollars, so it’s important that they’re able to take advantage of it.”

The training sessions were designated by the library’s board of directors to take place on a Friday — when hours are typically shortened — every other month.

Happy Friday, Carson City, the holidays are upon us in full force! Hanukkah has begun and Christmas is less than a week away. Time to get your last minute shopping finished and get those yummy smelling goodies in the oven. There are still some fun things happening around town, so grab the kids or a special someone and have yourself a holly, jolly time.

The business branch of the Carson City Library, currently housed at the Business Resource Innovation Center (the “BRIC”), will be relocating back to the main branch in January 2015. The BRIC Carson City library resources will close on Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. and are scheduled to reopen in the main library Jan. 26.

“With the new technology assets at the main branch, it makes sense to bring the BRIC resources back to the main branch,” said Sena Loyd, Carson City Library director.

Nevada law firm Kaempfer Crowell will present a $3,500 donation on Friday to Honor Flight Nevada, a non-profit organization dedicated to transporting veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials honoring their service and sacrifices. The presentation will take place at noon on the steps of the Laxalt Building in Carson City.