Feds Bailout Reno Firefighters, To Detriment Of Taxpayers »
(Jim Clark) – What drama. Washoe County recently gave Reno official notice of termination, effective July 1, of the 10-year-old contract under which Reno managed all fire protection services in the Truckee Meadows. The reason given was unsustainable costs, specifically the Reno Firefighter Union’s demand that every fire engine have a four-man crew despite the fact that the Sparks and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection Districts have three-man “flex” crews. A pretty pricey demand since [...]
Penciling Out ‘Green’ Energy: Politicians Still Can’t Figure Out the Math »
(Thomas Mitchell/4TH ST8) Out of the mouths of rubes. Nobody ever does the math when it comes to stories about “green” energy projects. I remember all the glowing stories about the huge array of solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base and how they would save the Air Force $1 million a year in power bills. President Obama and Sen. Harry Reid toured the facility and sang its praises. All the stories mentioned the savings [...]
Forest Service Launches Counteroffensive Against Sagebrush Rebellion »
(Thomas Mitchell/4TH ST8) Let’s call it a Sagebrush Rebellion counteroffensive. A mere two weeks after the Utah governor signed a bill demanding the federal government cede thousands of acres of public land to the state, the U.S. Forest Service announces it plans to buy private land in Utah and 14 other states and take it off the tax rolls. The $40.6 million land grab is being financed mostly from royalty payments from offshore oil and [...]
Nevada’s Rosy Jobless Numbers Courtesy of a Computer? »
(Thomas Mitchell/4THST8) The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation came out this morning with the January unemployment numbers. The agency says Nevada’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell from a revised 13 percent in December to 12.7 percent in January, down from 13.8 percent a year ago and a peak of 14 percent in October 2010. “Nevada continues to show signs of economic recovery, with slow but steady growth in many important areas,” a new [...]
Public Employee Pension Records Will Be Eye Opening When Made Public »
(Thomas Mitchell/4thst8.wordpress.com) I can’t wait to read who the top 100 PERS recipients are on Transparent Nevada. The names and the numbers should be eye-popping. After decades of stonewalling, dissembling and pretending the law said something it was never intended to say, earlier this month the Reno Gazette-Journal convinced a state district judge that the names and pensions of state and local retirees in the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Nevada are indeed public records. [...]
E-Interview with NPRI’s Geoffrey Lawrence »
(David Mansdoerfer) – Today we will be talking with Nevada Policy Research Institutes (NPRI) Deputy Policy Director Geoffrey Lawrence. (DM) – NPRI recently appointed Andy Matthews as the new president. Do you see any major changes in how you guys operate now that he is in charge? (GL) – Oh, yes. Sharon Rossie was a tremendous leader who really brought NPRI to the forefront of the policy debate in Nevada. Under her five-year tenure, NPRI [...]
Silverton Casino Turns Its Back on Gun Owners »
NN&V Exclusive (David Mansdoerfer) – Over 300 gun owners were scheduled to attend a grassroots event held by the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA – ILA) on November 19 at the Silverton Casino. However, in an apparent breach of contract, Silverton Casino pulled out of the contract leaving the NRA scrambling to find a new location. In reality, there may not have been a better casino in Las Vegas to host a NRA [...]
A Bi-Partisan Call for Partisan Redistricting »
(David Mansdoerfer) – Today, Citizen Outreach started a petition calling for Governor Sandoval to convene a special session to complete the redistricting process. According to Nevada Constitution, the authority over redistricting lies solely with the Nevada State Legislature. Yet, during the 76th legislative session, Democrats and Republicans failed to come to a consensus on redistricting plans. Due to this, the court system is now in the process of deciding the fate of the redistricting process. [...]
The Manchurian Disconnection »
(Thomas Mitchell/4th St8) – How could any news story be more thoroughly reported and exhaustively detailed than one Sunday in the Las Vegas Sun “newspaper” about the connection between Nevada and Red China? The story starts with the Chinese coolies brought in to build the railroads to carry Nevada’s gold and silver to market, meanders past the Asian-themed casino floor in the Encore and the American-owned casinos in Macau and up to the announced plan [...]
Should In-State Tuition Subsidies Be Capped? »
(David Mansdoerfer) – The U.S. unemployment rate is at 9.1%. The unemployment rate in Nevada is at 13.4%. These numbers are disheartening no matter how you look at them. Yet, for one key demographic, the national unemployment rate is at 4.3%. That demographic, as you might have guessed from the title, are those who hold a bachelor degree or higher. Now, educational achievement has always been a strong indicator of future employment. However, now more [...]
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