Politics - Las Vegas Sun

Lawmakers look at past appropriations to learn for future: By David McGrath Schwartz · Tuesday, November 17, 2009; The list of projects approved by the 2007 Legislature looks like a collection of receipts from a Christmas past, when mommy and daddy still had jobs and the house wasn’t in foreclosure.
19 citizens' goal: What should Nevada be in 20 years?: By Cy Ryan · Monday, November 16, 2009; Nineteen citizens have been selected by a legislative committee to draw a road map of where Nevada should be in five, 10 and 20 years in commerce, education, health and human services, infrastructure and public safety.
Joe Biden visit signals hard race for Dina Titus: Democrats see her reelection as key to retaining House; By Michael Mishak · Monday, November 16, 2009; Bracing for a tough election cycle in 2010, the White House sent Vice President Joe Biden to Las Vegas Sunday to boost the campaign coffers of Democratic Rep. Dina Titus.
Police probe of clinic cases in hepatitis outbreak nears end: Prosecutors expected to get results next month; By Jeff German · Monday, November 16, 2009; At long last, Metro Police are winding down one of the Las Vegas Valley’s most complicated and anticipated criminal investigations in recent years.
COMMENTARY Running the state revenue structure meeting through a truth filter: By Jon Ralston · Sunday, November 15, 2009; If only someone spiked the java with truth serum before Thursday’s meeting of the Subcommittee to Conduct a Review of Nevada’s Revenue Structure, which will appoint members of the Nevada Vision Stakeholder Group (what’s in a name?).
HEALTH CARE DEBATE Just getting health care bill to floor will be tough for Reid: History indicates reform will be slowed by the quirks of the Senate; By Lisa Mascaro · Sunday, November 15, 2009; To understand just how difficult it is to get anything done in the Senate, a dose of history can help. Long before President Lyndon B. Johnson became champion of civil rights, he was during his early years as majority leader a key Senate architect in obstructing civil rights legislation that many of his fellow Democrats desperately wanted to pass.
In Nevada, nuclear raises touchy issues: Plants’ voracious thirst, state’s Yucca stand complicate idea for Ely; By Stephanie Tavares · Saturday, November 14, 2009; Nevada’s long-standing common sense argument against Yucca Mountain has been that the state doesn’t even have a nuclear plant, so it would be patently wrong to force it to be the nuke dump site for the rest of the nation. That line might not be valid in the future, however. Ely is considering going nuclear.
Vice president to be in Las Vegas for Dina Titus fundraiser: By Michael Mishak · Friday, November 13, 2009; Vice President Joe Biden will visit Las Vegas this weekend to give a financial boost to the campaign of Rep. Dina Titus.
DAILY MEMO: TRANSPORTATION Shanghai’s maglev: Flying with both feet on the ground: A reporter’s first-person account of speeding through Shanghai’s outskirts on an adrenaline-laced maglev ride; By Marshall Allen · Friday, November 13, 2009; There’s something about 267 mph that gets the adrenaline pumping. I’m speeding through the outskirts of Shanghai on a maglev train and watching a digital speedometer — measuring kilometers per hour — tick rapidly upward: 146, 147, 148 ... I’m in the maglev’s front car with six Japanese tourists. It’s climbing faster than I can take notes and is now up to 225.
More evidence of a broken tax system: By Jon Ralston · Friday, November 13, 2009; The Pew report, though thorough and insightful, breaks no new ground for those familiar with Nevada’s financial cataclysm.
Stimulus job-count guidelines frustrate: State comptroller says ‘no standards’ for tallying results; By David McGrath Schwartz · Friday, November 13, 2009; Forgive the average citizen if the federal stimulus does not appear as transparent as promised. The federal government says the stimulus has directly created or saved 5,658 jobs in Nevada. The state puts it at 5,080. Sen. Harry Reid’s office says it’s 6,134.
Challenge to Nevada personhood initiative expected: By Cy Ryan · Thursday, November 12, 2009; CARSON CITY – A suit has been filed in district court to stop a proposed constitutional amendment to that would prohibit abortions and affect decisions by people who want to die.
Prison chief: 7 staff members accused of felonies: By Cy Ryan · Thursday, November 12, 2009; CARSON CITY – Inmates in the Nevada state prison system aren’t the only ones who have had brushes with the law. There have been seven felony arrests of prison staff in recent months. One of the officers was charged with armed robbery and attempted assault on a law enforcement officer.
Las Vegan to run against Rep. Dean Heller in House race: The Associated Press · Thursday, November 12, 2009; Jack Schofield, a Nevada regent and former state lawmaker, has announced his intent to run against Republican Rep. Dean Heller for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District seat.
County budget cuts expected, but how much?: Furloughs, buyouts and a hiring freeze aren’t likely to be enough to fill county’s budget gap; By Joe Schoenmann · Thursday, November 12, 2009; County budget crunchers delivered a prediction Tuesday that might spur department chiefs to look harder for ways to save money. The county’s eye-opener was a projected budget deficit of $129 million next fiscal year, which begins July 1. With the average county employee earning about $90,000 annually in salary and benefits, the county would have to lay off about 1,400 of its 12,000 employees to reach $129 million.