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  55. <title>Escuelas muestran los frutos de su trabajo en mercado estudiantil de Las Vegas</title>
  56. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/escuelas-muestran-los-frutos-de-su-trabajo-en-mercado-estudiantil-de-las-vegas</link>
  58. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Luz Gray]]></dc:creator>
  59. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:45:37 +0000</pubDate>
  60. <category><![CDATA[Educación]]></category>
  61. <category><![CDATA[En Español]]></category>
  62. <category><![CDATA[No Email Signup]]></category>
  63. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159237</guid>
  64.  
  65. <description><![CDATA[El mercado fue posible gracias al apoyo de Green Our Planet, una organización sin fines de lucro que brinda fondos, equipos y capacitación a escuelas que buscan iniciar en sus campus jardines o laboratorios hidropónicos.]]></description>
  66. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  67. <p>El pasado viernes, estudiantes del Condado Clark mostraron su buena mano para las plantas — y sus habilidades artísticas y artesanales — en el mercado anual <em>Giant Student Farmers Market</em> que se realizó en el centro comercial <em>Downtown Summerlin</em> en Las Vegas.</p>
  68.  
  69.  
  70.  
  71. <p>El mercado fue posible gracias al apoyo de <em>Green Our Planet</em>, una organización sin fines de lucro que comenzó en Las Vegas en 2013 a iniciativa de dos realizadores de documentales y que desde entonces se ha expandido a nivel nacional.</p>
  72.  
  73.  
  74.  
  75. <p>La organización brinda fondos, equipos y capacitación a escuelas que buscan iniciar en sus campus jardines o laboratorios hidropónicos, que son sistemas de cultivo sin suelo que se pueden instalar en interiores.</p>
  76.  
  77.  
  78.  
  79. <p>La cofundadora y codirectora ejecutiva de la organización, Ciara Byrne, dijo que esas actividades les enseñan a los estudiantes conservación, nutrición, espíritu empresarial e incluso<a href="https://www.greenourplanet.org/thought-seeds/why-use-hydroponics-in-a-stem-education-2?utm_term=green%20our%20planet&amp;utm_campaign=Green+Our+Planet+%7C+Branded&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=9637705352&amp;hsa_cam=1571248274&amp;hsa_grp=62019827640&amp;hsa_ad=295740929757&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=kwd-525990031177&amp;hsa_kw=green%20our%20planet&amp;hsa_mt=p&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwlZixBhCoARIsAIC745AcjTnbSTbayyaK1TLBigB8kyqi6xkMG7SuE-L7J1lm0a3790bPpHEaAmReEALw_wcB"> ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas (STEM).</a></p>
  80.  
  81.  
  82.  
  83. <p>Los programas de Green Our Planet se han extendido a unas 1,000 escuelas en 44 estados, y Byrne afirmó que la organización busca expandirse a 10,000 para 2033.</p>
  84.  
  85.  
  86.  
  87. <p>“Principalmente trabajamos con escuelas de Título I, no sólo aquí en Nevada, sino en todo el país, porque queremos brindar más acceso a oportunidades como esta a niños de comunidades de bajos recursos”, dijo Byrne.</p>
  88.  
  89.  
  90.  
  91. <p>Angel Villalobos, estudiante de octavo grado de la Secundaria Victoria Fertitta, vendió artesanías, rábanos, zanahorias y flores de manzanilla que prepararon ella y sus compañeros de la clase de jardinería.</p>
  92.  
  93.  
  94.  
  95. <p>“Aprendimos sobre diferentes insectos, cuáles son buenos y cuáles son malos para nuestros huertos, y aprendimos cuándo plantar diferentes tipos de vegetales y frutas”, dijo Villalobos.</p>
  96.  
  97.  
  98.  
  99. <p>Madeline Kelly, maestra de primer grado en la Primaria Marion Earl en Las Vegas, dijo que su club de jardinería de unos 20 estudiantes se reúne todos los viernes por la mañana. Los padres también ayudan.</p>
  100.  
  101.  
  102.  
  103. <p>“Nos encanta arrancar hierba y ensuciarnos las manos”, dijo Kelly. "Nos gusta estar en la naturaleza y escuchar a los pájaros por la mañana".</p>
  104.  
  105.  
  106.  
  107. <p>Kelly agregó que la mayoría de las verduras que vendieron sus estudiantes se cultivaron en el laboratorio hidropónico interior de su escuela. Ella dijo que este sistema, financiado con fondos de Green Our Planet, es más fácil de mantener y protege a las plantas de las condiciones climáticas.</p>
  108.  
  109.  
  110.  
  111. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" width="1200" height="900" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/aef633e0-marion-es-student-1200x900.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159123"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lia, estudiante de cuarto grado de la Escuela Primaria Marion Earl en Las Vegas, sostiene un letrero que muestra precios de productos y artesanías a la venta en el mercado anual Giant Student Farmers Market en el centro comercial Downtown Summerlin en Las Vegas el 19 de abril de 2024. (Rocio Hernández/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  112.  
  113.  
  114.  
  115. <p>Alumnos de la Escuela Primaria Dr. C. Owen Roundy en Las Vegas vendieron huevos que pusieron gallinas de la granja de la maestra Marley Collins. Los docentes también llevaron pollos que ayudaron a criar las clases de preescolar.</p>
  116.  
  117.  
  118.  
  119. <p>“Traemos los huevos y los incubamos en el campus con los estudiantes”, dijo Collins. “Así que los alumnos los pueden criar, ponerles nombre y cuidar durante unas semanas, y luego, cuando maduran, mi marido y yo los traemos a nuestra granja”.</p>
  120.  
  121.  
  122.  
  123. <p>Collins dijo que criar polluelos enseña a los estudiantes habilidades sociales como responsabilidad y manejo seguro de los animales.</p>
  124.  
  125.  
  126.  
  127. <p>Los alumnos también pusieron en práctica sus habilidades matemáticas y se dieron una idea de cómo funciona la democracia cuando votaron para escoger los nombres de los pollitos.</p>
  128.  
  129.  
  130.  
  131. <p>Las ganancias se usaron para que sus escuelas continúen los programas, lo que, según Byrne, es otra oportunidad para que los estudiantes aprendan a decidir cómo reinvertir esos fondos.</p>
  132.  
  133.  
  134.  
  135. <p>El año pasado, legisladores estatales asignaron a Green Our Planet $3 millones de dólares<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/legislatures-christmas-tree-bills-would-give-109m-to-70-plus-community-service-organizations">.</a></p>
  136.  
  137.  
  138.  
  139. <p>Byrne dijo que la organización tiene fondos para otorgar a otras 50 escuelas de Nevada equipos y programación hidropónica que generalmente cuestan $12,500. Los maestros que estén interesados ​​pueden encontrar más información en el<a href="https://greenourplanet-21334876.hs-sites.com/hydroponics-program-application"> sitio de internet</a> de Green Our Planet.</p>
  140. ]]></content:encoded>
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  145. <item>
  146. <title>Nevada nuclear commission ready to strike back after pro-Yucca hearing in Congress</title>
  147. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-nuclear-commission-ready-to-strike-back-after-pro-yucca-hearing-in-congress</link>
  149. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Gabby Birenbaum]]></dc:creator>
  150. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  151. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  152. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  153. <category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
  154. <category><![CDATA[Southern Nevada]]></category>
  155. <category><![CDATA[Yucca Mountain]]></category>
  156. <category><![CDATA[Dina Titus]]></category>
  157. <category><![CDATA[Fred Dilger]]></category>
  158. <category><![CDATA[Joe Lombardo]]></category>
  159. <category><![CDATA[Richard Bryan]]></category>
  160. <category><![CDATA[Steve Sisolak]]></category>
  161. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159210</guid>
  162.  
  163. <description><![CDATA[Members of the commission — which advises the governor and Legislature on radioactive waste issues — said they and Nevada’s congressional delegation were taken aback by the harsh tenor and lack of knowledge that subcommittee members displayed during the April 10 hearing. ]]></description>
  164. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  165. <p>Earlier this month, a congressional subcommittee <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/d-c-download-yucca-mountain-rises-again-in-congress">met</a> to discuss spent nuclear fuel and where to store it — setting off alarms for opponents of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, the federal site in Nye County designated to store the nation’s high-level nuclear waste that has nonetheless sat vacant for decades due to intense regional opposition.</p>
  166.  
  167.  
  168.  
  169. <p>Two weeks later, the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects held its first meeting of the year to discuss the antagonistic tenor of the subcommittee meeting — and strategize for how to beat back a potential new wave of Yucca enthusiasm after the 2024 election.</p>
  170.  
  171.  
  172.  
  173. <p>“[The hearing] is a problem,” said Fred Dilger, the director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. “It suggests to us that the pro-Yucca faction may be back after November.”</p>
  174.  
  175.  
  176.  
  177. <p>Members of the commission — which advises the governor and Legislature on radioactive waste issues — said they and Nevada’s congressional delegation were taken aback by the harsh tenor and lack of knowledge that subcommittee members displayed during the April 10 hearing. Key subcommittee members <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/the-return-of-yucca-mountain-gop-floats-waste-sites-revival/">referred</a> to Yucca as a “technically successful” program that has only been stymied by politics from “states like Nevada.”</p>
  178.  
  179.  
  180.  
  181. <p>While no new legislation or funding has been proposed this Congress, the commission believes the subcommittee members’ frustration is worthy of strategic response, particularly because of existing technical issues with the site that they say members and witnesses did not acknowledge.&nbsp;</p>
  182.  
  183.  
  184.  
  185. <p>Even if a newly seated Congress in 2025 is interested in allocating funds to restart the licensing process for Yucca Mountain, Nevada has a number of baked-in processes meant to muck up the works.</p>
  186.  
  187.  
  188.  
  189. <p>Though the proposed repository is on federal land, the Department of Energy would still need to pursue a license application to use and build the site, given that the only existing infrastructure is a tunnel within the mountain. Doing so, according to <a href="https://titus.house.gov/uploadedfiles/letter_to_energy_and_commerce.pdf">government estimates</a>, would cost $1.66 billion just on licensing — which the state would fight in court through existing challenges over water rights — and could take up to 10 years. Even if the license application is ultimately granted, construction would then cost between $75 billion and $119 billion.</p>
  190.  
  191.  
  192.  
  193. <p>In addition, there are practical challenges that have severely curtailed the ability to transport nuclear waste to Nevada. There are no existing rail lines nor right-of-ways to Yucca Mountain, and existing tribal lands and the Basin and Range National Monument <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/new-national-monument-blocks-rail-route-to-yucca/">stand in the way</a> of potential shipping routes.</p>
  194.  
  195.  
  196.  
  197. <p>Scores of Nevada politicians and geologists alike have argued against the repository on the basis of science and national security. On the latter point, Dilger said new developments at Creech Air Force Base — less than 50 miles from Yucca — to build out <a href="https://www.creech.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3375370/slr-creating-new-legacy/">satellite launch capacity</a> and the proximity between aerial combat training at Southern Nevada’s various military installations and the proposed nuclear waste repository bolster the national security argument, and make the Air Force a likely ally in the fight to kill the program.&nbsp;</p>
  198.  
  199.  
  200.  
  201. <p>“They're very jealous of their ability to do the things they want to do in that operating area,” Dilger said. “And Yucca Mountain would compromise that. There's no disagreement between ourselves and the Department of Energy about that.”</p>
  202.  
  203.  
  204.  
  205. <p>And he added that recent high-profile transportation incidents — from the train derailment in <a href="https://www.epa.gov/east-palestine-oh-train-derailment">East Palestine, Ohio</a> to the recent collapse of the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/salvage-recovery-key-bridge-collapse-baltimore-one-month/">Key Bridge in Baltimore</a> — could bolster safety arguments in the existing accident-prone <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/cajon-pass-named-deadliest-road-in-california/">mountain passes</a> around Nevada, where nuclear waste would need to be transported.&nbsp;</p>
  206.  
  207.  
  208.  
  209. <p>Despite all of the practicalities on their side, commission members agreed that when it comes to Yucca, they can never be too careful — and wondered aloud whether they should have been more aggressive in the run-up to the hearing.</p>
  210.  
  211.  
  212.  
  213. <p>In 2022, the state filed a <a href="https://gov.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/govnewnvgov/Content/News/Press/2022/FILED%202022%2009%2020%20Request%20to%20Lift%20Suspension%20of%20Adj%20Prg%20for%20Limited%20Purpose.pdf">legal motion</a> with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking it to <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-takes-shot-to-end-nuclear-regulatory-commissions-yucca-license-process">dismiss</a> the Yucca licensing project, coinciding with a targeted social media campaign for policymakers and nuclear energy wonks. But that motion took place under Gov. Steve Sisolak (D); once Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) took office, Dilger said the governor’s office was “reluctant” to engage in media efforts this past fall.</p>
  214.  
  215.  
  216.  
  217. <p>Lombardo’s spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said the governor’s office supports the agency’s work and “looks forward to the appropriate implementation of their community outreach strategy.”</p>
  218.  
  219.  
  220.  
  221. <p>Board members noted that the agency is still actively educating policymakers on the issue, and suggested better coordinating those efforts with Clark County and the City of Las Vegas.</p>
  222.  
  223.  
  224.  
  225. <p><strong>Forecasting the future</strong></p>
  226.  
  227.  
  228.  
  229. <p>Dilger said that he does not expect the upcoming presidential election to have an impact on whether the federal government takes another swing at licensing Yucca. The Biden administration has <a href="https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/at-senate-energy-hearing-cortez-masto-administration-reiterate-yucca-mountain-is-a-nonstarter/">been consistent</a> in opposing any new funding for Yucca and following the Nevada delegation’s preferred approach of consent-based siting. While former president Donald Trump initially <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/trump-fy2020-budget-seeks-116-million-to-restart-yucca-licensing-process">included</a> Yucca funding in his budgets — though it never passed the Senate — he <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/trump-signals-reversal-on-yucca-as-he-did-in-2018">reversed course</a> in 2020.&nbsp;</p>
  230.  
  231.  
  232.  
  233. <p>Politically, given Nevada’s status as a pivotal swing state, presidential candidates have little incentive to pick a fight with Nevada voters during an election year.&nbsp;</p>
  234.  
  235.  
  236.  
  237. <p>Dilger said that unlike in the first few decades of the Yucca fight, both the nuclear industry and the Department of Energy would prefer a new approach and <a href="https://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/04/yucca-foes-hail-historic-step/">recognize</a> that the project is functionally dead, between scientific, practical and financial challenges. However, he fears a new pro-nuclear group in Congress reviving the issue.</p>
  238.  
  239.  
  240.  
  241. <p>“It's a very odd situation,” he said. “But until we get legislation to kill Yucca Mountain, and start a search for a new repository, we're on the hook.”</p>
  242.  
  243.  
  244.  
  245. <p>However, a future Trump administration could pose a threat to anti-Yucca advocates given recommendations from <a href="https://www.project2025.org/">Project 2025</a>, a constellation of policy plans for the executive branch created by numerous former Trump officials and allied conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation.</p>
  246.  
  247.  
  248.  
  249. <p>On nuclear energy, the Project 2025 authors are explicit, calling for the restart of the Yucca Mountain licensing process. They also want to reconstitute the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), the agency that first selected Yucca Mountain as the high-level nuclear waste storage site and which was dismantled by the Obama administration.</p>
  250.  
  251.  
  252.  
  253. <p>The reestablished OCRWM would be responsible for “developing the next steps” with respect to Yucca, including reforming the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to encourage privatization of nuclear waste storage.</p>
  254.  
  255.  
  256.  
  257. <p>While Project 2025 also urges the next administration to use consent-based siting to identify and build new repositories, and says that finishing the Yucca application process does not represent a commitment to completing the facility, authors made it clear that Yucca is not off the table.</p>
  258.  
  259.  
  260.  
  261. <p>“Consent-based siting for a civilian waste nuclear repository has been a way to delay any politically painful decisions about siting a permanent civilian nuclear waste facility,” they write.</p>
  262.  
  263.  
  264.  
  265. <p>Former Sen. Richard Bryan (D-NV), the chair of the commission, reiterated that the onus is on Nevada to respond to any threat — including from the subcommittee.</p>
  266.  
  267.  
  268.  
  269. <p>Bryan said the congressional delegation was working on a united further action to educate members on the risks Yucca poses, led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). Titus sent a <a href="https://titus.house.gov/uploadedfiles/letter_to_energy_and_commerce.pdf">letter</a> to the subcommittee on the day of the hearing; a spokesperson for her office confirmed discussions are ongoing for next steps.</p>
  270.  
  271.  
  272.  
  273. <p>“If we're not able to communicate these concerns to subcommittee members [and] to others, then we're in effect unilaterally disarming ourselves,” Bryan said.&nbsp;</p>
  274. ]]></content:encoded>
  278. </item>
  279. <item>
  280. <title>Only half of low-income Nevada mothers, babies eligible for food aid apply. Why?</title>
  281. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/only-half-of-low-income-nevada-mothers-babies-eligible-for-food-aid-apply-why</link>
  283. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tabitha Mueller]]></dc:creator>
  284. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  285. <category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
  286. <category><![CDATA[State Government]]></category>
  287. <category><![CDATA[Children's Advocacy Alliance]]></category>
  288. <category><![CDATA[Jamelle Nance]]></category>
  289. <category><![CDATA[Julia Peek]]></category>
  290. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159216</guid>
  291.  
  292. <description><![CDATA[Officials plan to add a text messaging system and offer easy-to-understand resources in other languages to increase the number of participating families and improve their health.]]></description>
  293. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  294. <p>Though more than 116,000 families in Nevada qualify for a federal program offering food, nutrition support and education to pregnant and postpartum women, toddlers and infants from low-income households, only about half of those families receive those benefits, state health officials told lawmakers earlier this month.</p>
  295.  
  296.  
  297.  
  298. <p>The low participation rates in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program isn’t a Nevada-only problem — nationwide, enrollment in the social safety net program is around <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/wic-eligibility-participation.html">57 percent</a>, with individual state enrollment numbers <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/resource-lists/trends-in-wic-coverage-and-participation">ranging</a> from 34.6 to 71.6 percent. Research indicates that WIC enrollment has resulted in fewer infant deaths, fewer premature births and increased birth weights.</p>
  299.  
  300.  
  301.  
  302. <p>Julia Peek, the deputy administrator of the community health services section of the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, told <em>The Nevada Independent </em>that a variety of factors contribute to lagging WIC enrollment — misinformation, lack of information about benefits, difficulty accessing services and restrictions when shopping with WIC benefits.</p>
  303.  
  304.  
  305.  
  306. <p>“It is always a gap we are working to close,” Peek said. “It means that families who need and could benefit from WIC are not accessing services that have shown to improve overall health and well-being.”</p>
  307.  
  308.  
  309.  
  310. <p>Similar to other states, WIC enrollment in Nevada actually jumped 5.4 percent between 2022 and 2023 — a trend seen <a href="https://stateline.org/2024/01/08/childrens-nutrition-program-revved-up-in-the-pandemic-faces-severe-cuts/">nationwide</a> and attributed to program changes implemented during the pandemic. However, advocates and state officials say the rates are still too low.</p>
  311.  
  312.  
  313.  
  314. <p>WIC has historically been supported across the aisle, though advocates and the Biden administration raised concerns earlier this year that a lack of government funding could turn <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/about-2-million-parents-and-young-children-could-be-turned-away-from-wic">away up to 2 million</a> eligible women and young children from the program — though federal government funding bills <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/blog/2024-appropriations-agreement-fully-funds-wic-and-rejects-harmful-food-package-proposals">passed in March</a> ensured full funding for the program. In 2022, an analysis from the economic research service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/wic-program/#:~:text=WIC%20served%20about%206.3%20million,infants%20in%20the%20United%20States.">estimated</a> that WIC served about 6.3 million participants each month, including about 39 percent of all infants in the United States.</p>
  315.  
  316.  
  317.  
  318. <p>Jamelle Nance is the early childhood policy director at the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as an independent voice for Nevada's children. She said one of the largest barriers low-income families face when it comes to getting enrolled in programs such as WIC is the disjointedness among systems serving young children, lack of knowledge that these programs exist and the different application processes associated with them. </p>
  319.  
  320.  
  321.  
  322. <p>She added that families often don’t fill out applications for the various programs aimed at helping them because they have to navigate unique, unfamiliar processes for each one.</p>
  323.  
  324.  
  325.  
  326. <p>“It is important for all the systems within the early childhood sector, whether it's in health care, food and nutrition, education, to work together to streamline those processes,” Nance said. “That really starts from the top down, really looking at who's governing these structures, how are they working together, and streamlining processes to make them more accessible for families.”</p>
  327.  
  328.  
  329.  
  330. <p><strong>How it works</strong></p>
  331.  
  332.  
  333.  
  334. <p>WIC is a federally funded program first established in 1972 that Peek and other experts say has been associated with a reduced risk of premature births and infant mortality.</p>
  335.  
  336.  
  337.  
  338. <p>To <a href="https://nevadawic.org/eligibility/">qualify</a> for Nevada’s WIC program, families must have an income that falls within the qualifying limits, need help with health or nutrition and meet one of the following criteria: be pregnant, had a baby in the past 6 months, be breastfeeding a baby under the age of 1 or care for a baby or child younger than 5 years old. WIC can include caregivers, legal guardians, foster parents or anyone caring for a child under five years old who meets other criteria. WIC participants do not have to be U.S. citizens.&nbsp;</p>
  339.  
  340.  
  341.  
  342. <p>WIC recipients receive a WIC card that operates as a debit or credit card, allowing families to purchase food that falls under a specific set of guidelines and is considered rich in protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C, and other nutrients. WIC food items often include milk, cheese, breakfast cereal, eggs, whole wheat bread, brown rice, peanut butter, and canned fish and legumes, while <a href="https://nevadawic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NVWIC_2022FoodGuide_NV-APPROVED.pdf">others are excluded</a>, such as white bread, flour tortillas, most meats, certain package sizes of foods and baby food in pouches.</p>
  343.  
  344.  
  345.  
  346. <p>During an interim Health and Human Services Committee meeting in early April, officials with Nevada's Office of Food Security and Wellness said that even when people are enrolled in WIC, they redeem only about 57 percent of the benefits and leave the rest on the table — a rate officials said is lower than they’d like. The highest redemption rates for the 14 food categories available through WIC were infant formula (86.8 percent) and fresh fruits and vegetables (78.7 percent).</p>
  347.  
  348.  
  349.  
  350. <p>Households participating in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and WIC benefits can use both simultaneously, though each has unique application processes. WIC has a higher qualifying income limit than SNAP.</p>
  351.  
  352.  
  353.  
  354. <p>To qualify for WIC, applicants must not only meet federal income guidelines but also show that they have a medical condition or diet that puts them at “nutritional risk” — a requirement that is usually easily met. The process of enrolling includes a nutritional assessment, screening for height, weight and body mass index, a blood test to assess iron deficiency, food package tailoring, nutrition education, referrals and breastfeeding education and support.&nbsp;</p>
  355.  
  356.  
  357.  
  358. <p>Officials said that all steps of the certification process are federally mandated and must be completed before enrollment, making auto-enrollment of eligible SNAP beneficiaries impossible. Many require in-person WIC clinic visits, which also create barriers for families. In contrast, SNAP, which has a less intensive application process, <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/usamap#">enrolls about</a> 91 percent of eligible Nevadans.</p>
  359.  
  360.  
  361.  
  362. <p>Once a family is enrolled in WIC, the program requires quarterly follow-up appointments, though families are not penalized if they miss one. Families must recertify for the program once a year.</p>
  363.  
  364.  
  365.  
  366. <p>Peek said families enrolling in Nevada are given the option of holding their appointments online, but noted the “burden” associated with making time for appointments. She said automatic enrollment in the program would undercut the nutritional health education that is a key component of the program.</p>
  367.  
  368.  
  369.  
  370. <p>“WIC provides nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referral to health care and social services,” Peek said. “If enrollment were automatic, many families may miss out on these crucial WIC services.”</p>
  371.  
  372.  
  373.  
  374. <p>Federal regulations stipulate the amounts and types of food available to WIC participants, aligning with the <a href="https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/">Dietary Guidelines for Americans</a>. Peek said those requirements could create a perceived barrier because participants can only shop for specific foods, unlike the broader SNAP, which provides eligible low-income families and individuals with a card, similar to a debit card, to purchase food. SNAP benefits cover a wide range of foods that can be prepared and eaten at home, but not items such as <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items">alcohol or hygiene products</a>.</p>
  375.  
  376.  
  377.  
  378. <p><strong>Improving enrollment</strong></p>
  379.  
  380.  
  381.  
  382. <p>Peek said that the state is working to improve participation rates through agency collaboration, facilitating ongoing training between eligible programs and a new modernization effort. Specifically, she said WIC and the state agency that helps Nevadans sign up for other benefits such as Medicaid and SNAP, partner on efforts to improve “cross-program referrals.”</p>
  383.  
  384.  
  385.  
  386. <p>As part of that effort, state officials are using American Rescue Plan funding allocated by the federal government, to set up a two-way text message program and develop participant-facing tools and resources in 11 languages that can serve those with limited English proficiency.&nbsp;</p>
  387.  
  388.  
  389.  
  390. <p>Peek added that federal waivers have allowed for remote appointments, which have helped streamline the enrollment and certification process for families, rather than requiring them to come to a WIC clinic in person. She said the modernization project, which is aimed at promoting the program to prenatal and postpartum breastfeeding people and expand access to the program, is in the early stages of development. The state has until 2027 to complete the work, but they anticipate many of the projects through the modernization grant will be completed before then.&nbsp;</p>
  391.  
  392.  
  393.  
  394. <p>Nance said that creating an office of early childhood systems to centralize the locations of the programs and oversee funding for early childhood programs, among other changes, would help streamline processes and ease families’ burdens. It would also add a level of accountability at the executive level, she said.</p>
  395.  
  396.  
  397.  
  398. <p>“In a practical policy sense, it would have someone or a team of individuals at the executive level, really focusing in on those policies and practices that make things more accessible,” she said. “There are several different funding streams for several different early childhood programs that live within different departments. They all have different regulations, different grant cycles, and it really does impact the children and families we really want to serve.”</p>
  399.  
  400.  
  401.  
  402. <p>Nance said one example of a centralized system is the <a href="https://www.first5nevada.org/?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw_qexBhCoARIsAFgBleu6s4VNGdZJ0IIBJV8HTb89Xnd9De4r0_e5SaPWn1I6wMdocK68h1waAtN9EALw_wcB">First 5 Nevada</a> initiative, which is a portal that families can access, enter their information and get a list of services and resources that they are eligible for. The initiative, which includes an ad campaign, is supported, in part, with funding from the American Rescue Plan administered by the state.</p>
  403.  
  404.  
  405.  
  406. <p>“This is a huge step in the right direction, but we need to see that on a larger scale,” she said.</p>
  407. ]]></content:encoded>
  411. </item>
  412. <item>
  413. <title>Complaint alleges far-right Reno activist broke campaign finance rules</title>
  414. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/complaint-alleges-far-right-reno-activist-broke-campaign-finance-rules</link>
  416. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Carly Sauvageau]]></dc:creator>
  417. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 22:17:54 +0000</pubDate>
  418. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  419. <category><![CDATA[Local Government]]></category>
  420. <category><![CDATA[Alexis Hill]]></category>
  421. <category><![CDATA[Clara Andriola]]></category>
  422. <category><![CDATA[Paul McKenzie]]></category>
  423. <category><![CDATA[Robert Beadles]]></category>
  424. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159215</guid>
  425.  
  426. <description><![CDATA[Former Reno City Councilman Paul McKenzie, a Democrat, has filed an election complaint to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office alleging that far-right activist Robert Beadles failed to report recent political expenses through his PAC.]]></description>
  427. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  428. <p>Former Reno City Councilman Paul McKenzie, a <a href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/19/your-guide-reno-city-council-ward-4-race-mckenzie-vs-weber/1696900002/">Democrat</a>, has filed an election complaint to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office alleging that far-right activist Robert Beadles failed to report recent political expenses through his PAC.</p>
  429.  
  430.  
  431.  
  432. <p>The complaint alleges that Beadles’ Operation Sunlight PAC paid for several <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=all&amp;country=US&amp;view_all_page_id=101005725901322&amp;search_type=page&amp;media_type=all">Facebook ads</a> dating back prior to 2022, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/CEFDSearchUU/GroupDetails.aspx?o=TcI8nQ0xv3gTzgD91HEvwQ%253d%253d">when Operation Sunlight last filed an expense report</a>. McKenzie said that conduct violates rules listed on <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/home/showpublisheddocument/9907/638197566007670000">the secretary of state’s website</a> requiring PACs to file quarterly expense and contribution reports.</p>
  433.  
  434.  
  435.  
  436. <p>“The PAC has attacked candidates up and down the ballot and promoted extreme ideas … in attempts to turn Washoe County into a county that’s molded in Beadles’ view of what he thinks politics should be,” McKenzie said during a Thursday morning press meeting.</p>
  437.  
  438.  
  439.  
  440. <p>Beadles did not respond to a request for comment. The secretary of state’s office also didn’t immediately respond for request for comment.&nbsp;</p>
  441.  
  442.  
  443.  
  444. <p>According to McKenzie, the ads in question came from a Facebook page called “Operation Sunlight” — which is the name of Beadles’ blog — and some of the ads were flagged and removed because the political content goes against Facebook’s ad policy. Several of the advertised posts claimed widespread voting fraud occurred in the 2022 elections — something state election officials say is false.</p>
  445.  
  446.  
  447.  
  448. <p>Though many of the ads estimate the expense at less than $100, other ads — such as one disparaging Washoe County Commissioners Alexis Hill and Clara Andriola — claim the expenses in the $500 to $599 range, according to Facebook-required ad disclosures. In total, Operation Sunlight has spent more than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=all&amp;country=US&amp;view_all_page_id=101005725901322&amp;sort_data[direction]=desc&amp;sort_data[mode]=relevancy_monthly_grouped&amp;search_type=page&amp;media_type=all">$161,000</a> on Facebook ads since 2018.</p>
  449.  
  450.  
  451.  
  452. <p>Beadles’ other PAC, The Franklin Project, has filed regular expense and contribution reports from 2022 to the <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/CEFDSearchUU/GroupDetails.aspx?o=K3yFDbPwFVkMH7vG48xMnQ%253d%253d">most recent deadline in April 2024</a>. Beadles is a prominent Republican donor and election conspiracy theorist, who is an at-large member of the Washoe GOP executive committee. Since January 2021, Beadles and his wife, Nicole, have donated <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/CEFDSearchUU/Search.aspx">more than $200,000</a> to Northern Nevada candidates and the county Republican party, while also filing multiple failed lawsuits seeking widespread changes to voting systems amid fantastical claims of widespread voting fraud.</p>
  453.  
  454.  
  455.  
  456. <p>McKenzie said he hopes the complaint he filed will prompt the secretary of state to investigate these ads, then refer the complaint to the attorney general for legal action.&nbsp;</p>
  457.  
  458.  
  459.  
  460. <p>"They call themselves Operation Sunlight, but they want to operate in darkness," McKenzie said.</p>
  461. ]]></content:encoded>
  465. </item>
  466. <item>
  467. <title>Tapping into the heat beneath Nevadans’ feet</title>
  468. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/tapping-into-the-heat-beneath-nevadans-feet</link>
  470. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Amy Alonzo]]></dc:creator>
  471. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  472. <category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
  473. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  474. <category><![CDATA[Cary Lindsey]]></category>
  475. <category><![CDATA[Jaina Moan]]></category>
  476. <category><![CDATA[Jim Faulds]]></category>
  477. <category><![CDATA[Kerry Rohrmeier]]></category>
  478. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159091</guid>
  479.  
  480. <description><![CDATA[Scientists and energy producers are hoping Nevada's extensive geothermal resources can help lead the clean energy push. ]]></description>
  481. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  482. <p><em>Good morning, and welcome to the </em>Indy Environment <em>newsletter. I'm Amy Alonzo, the environment reporter for </em>The Indy.</p>
  483.  
  484.  
  485.  
  486. <p><em>I turn the lights off religiously when I’m leaving a room. I keep the thermostat turned down in the winter and up in the summer.&nbsp;</em></p>
  487.  
  488.  
  489.  
  490. <p><em>But no matter how hard I try to reduce my energy consumption, I know I use a lot of electricity — if nothing else, the computer I’m writing this on is powered up at least 40 hours a week. And if I’ve learned anything in this job, it’s that even the cleanest, greenest energies still come with a host of challenges.&nbsp;</em></p>
  491.  
  492.  
  493.  
  494. <p><em>Solar fields can destroy prime desert tortoise habitat. Some lithium mines threaten endangered species.&nbsp;</em></p>
  495.  
  496.  
  497.  
  498. <p><em>Scientists are hoping geothermal energy, something Nevada has in abundance, could finally provide a power source we can feel good about.&nbsp;</em></p>
  499.  
  500.  
  501.  
  502. <p><em>As always, we want to hear from readers. Let us know what you’re seeing on the ground and how policies are affecting you. Email tips to me at amy@thenvindy.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, </em><a href="https://mailchi.mp/thenvindy.com/enviro"><em>subscribe here.</em></a></p>
  503.  
  504.  
  505.  
  506. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  507.  
  508.  
  509.  
  510. <p>With highly fractured, permeable ground, the Great Basin’s geology makes it one of the most geothermally rich areas in the world. Hot fluid rises easily toward the surface, ideal for driving power plants, and present-day Nevada is the second-largest producer of geothermal energy in the nation behind California.</p>
  511.  
  512.  
  513.  
  514. <p>Tapping into hot fluids below the ground to spin turbines in power plants that generate electricity and boasting a <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/geothermal/geothermal-energy-and-the-environment.php">lower carbon footprint</a> than many other power sources, geothermal accounts for about <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&amp;t=3">9 percent</a> of energy generated in Nevada. But that number could be much higher, scientists say. The Silver State could produce about 30 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal power — about 30 times more than it does now.</p>
  515.  
  516.  
  517.  
  518. <p>“We truly live in a classic geothermal province, one of the largest on Earth,” said Jim Faulds, state geologist and member of UNR’s Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, at a geothermal symposium hosted earlier this month at the university.&nbsp;</p>
  519.  
  520.  
  521.  
  522. <p>Established in 2000 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the center aims to accelerate discoveries of commercially viable hidden geothermal systems in the Great Basin while reducing exploration and development risks.&nbsp;</p>
  523.  
  524.  
  525.  
  526. <p>The takeaway from the symposium’s panel of geothermal producers? Renewable energy developers are looking to the state to be an even larger player in the geothermal energy market.</p>
  527.  
  528.  
  529.  
  530. <p>“Nevada is uniquely well positioned in the world with geothermal,” said Kerry Rohrmeier, government affairs manager for Ormat Technologies, an international company based in Reno.</p>
  531.  
  532.  
  533.  
  534. <p>The DOE estimates the nation needs between <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24576943-liftoff_doe_nextgen_geothermal_v14">700 and 900 GW</a> of clean power by 2050 for a decarbonized economy, and geothermal has the potential to account for nearly <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geovision">10 percent</a> of that.</p>
  535.  
  536.  
  537.  
  538. <p>The United States has the most installed geothermal capacity in the world, generating 3.7 gigawatts of geothermal power at plants across the West, including more than two dozen in Nevada. Yet geothermal accounts for just 0.4 percent of the nation’s overall electricity.</p>
  539.  
  540.  
  541.  
  542. <p>The production of geothermal energy has taken off in fits and starts because it’s not as simple as putting up a solar panel or wind turbine, Faulds said.</p>
  543.  
  544.  
  545.  
  546. <p>“The Earth is complicated. You think you have a decent resource, and it doesn’t pan out,” he said. “There’s those kinds of things that make geothermal a little bit slower than some other forms of renewable energy.”</p>
  547.  
  548.  
  549.  
  550. <p>But with a low carbon footprint and the ability to continuously produce energy<strong>, </strong>scientists and energy experts think it has the potential to be a game changer in the nation’s push for clean energy.</p>
  551.  
  552.  
  553.  
  554. <p>And Nevada, the state with the <a href="https://nbmg.unr.edu/Research/GeothermalEnergy.html">greatest geothermal resources</a> in the nation, has the chance to lead that charge, according to scientists and geothermal energy producers. Recently, major power purchase agreements were signed between geothermal producers and entities such as the University of Utah, Google, Southern California Public Power Authority and NV Energy for geothermal energy produced in Nevada, with some contracts extending as long as 40 years.</p>
  555.  
  556.  
  557.  
  558. <p>“We are now in a new wave of geothermal exploration,” said Cary Lindsey, geothermal research scientist with the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy.</p>
  559.  
  560.  
  561.  
  562. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="640" height="424" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/c81fc151-geothermal-talk.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159100"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jim Faulds, state geologist and member of UNR’s Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, speaks at a geothermal symposium April 16, 2024, at UNR. (Amy Alonzo/The Nevada Independent) </figcaption></figure>
  563.  
  564.  
  565.  
  566. <p><strong>The heat beneath our feet</strong></p>
  567.  
  568.  
  569.  
  570. <p>Across the Great Basin, particularly in northwestern Nevada, the state’s crust is being pulled apart due to tectonic forces. That pulling motion results in the state’s land mass growing by roughly 2 acres per year.</p>
  571.  
  572.  
  573.  
  574. <p>That pulling of the crust is good for geothermal energy production, Faulds said.</p>
  575.  
  576.  
  577.  
  578. <p>“If the crust gets pulled apart, it gets thin, and you’re bringing hot mantle closer to the surface and you have a high geothermal gradient,” he said.</p>
  579.  
  580.  
  581.  
  582. <p>Geothermal power plants tap into those hot fluids below the ground to spin turbines in power plants that generate electricity. Power can be generated from fluids with temperatures higher than 194 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>
  583.  
  584.  
  585.  
  586. <p>Nevada has 27 geothermal plants, mostly in the northern portion of the state, that combined have the capacity to generate up to <a href="https://minerals.nv.gov/Programs/Geo/Geo/">827 megawatts of power</a> at any given time, although many don’t operate at full capacity and only about half that amount is transferred to the grid. A megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts, enough to power as many as 800 households.</p>
  587.  
  588.  
  589.  
  590. <p>That number is likely to grow substantially.</p>
  591.  
  592.  
  593.  
  594. <p>The Nevada Division of Minerals has received more than three dozen permit applications for geothermal exploration so far this year, a number fluid minerals manager Dustin Holcomb calls “just bonkers.”</p>
  595.  
  596.  
  597.  
  598. <p><a href="https://revenuedata.doi.gov/query-data">Revenue from geothermal</a> in the state is increasing as well. The state collected $14.3 million in geothermal leases and royalties last year, up from slightly less than $10 million in 2022 and $8.5 million in 2021. All geothermal rentals and royalties are split 50/25/25 between the state, the generating county and the federal government.</p>
  599.  
  600.  
  601.  
  602. <p>The DOE is pouring substantial funding into geothermal research across the Great Basin. The focus is largely on enhanced geothermal, which often utilizes horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology developed by the oil and gas industry. This technology reaches heat in areas untappable by conventional geothermal plants, using drilling and hydraulic fracturing to allow fluid to move through hot rock that was previously impermeable.</p>
  603.  
  604.  
  605.  
  606. <p>The DOE has an enhanced geothermal test site in Utah — <a href="https://utahforge.com/">FORGE</a> — focused on higher drilling speeds and decreased implementation costs. The technologies tested at FORGE are being utilized in Nevada at a project developed by Fervo Energy in partnership with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/geothermal-energy-heat-renewable-power-climate-5c97f86e62263d3a63d7c92c40f1330d">Google</a> and being used to power its data centers.&nbsp;</p>
  607.  
  608.  
  609.  
  610. <p>While the technology for enhanced geothermal continues to get fleshed out, the department is also focusing on conventional geothermal energy production.</p>
  611.  
  612.  
  613.  
  614. <p>UNR’s Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy’s INGENIOUS project received <a href="https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2020/geothermal-exploration">$10 million</a> in federal funding to map out and build a playbook for conventional geothermal energy production — geothermal that doesn’t rely on fracking.</p>
  615.  
  616.  
  617.  
  618. <p>The goal is to map geothermally favorable resources across the Great Basin and create a template for geothermal exploration, Faulds said. Nearly half of the region’s geothermal resources are hidden, meaning they have no above-ground outlet such as a hot spring, and they are often discovered by accident, Faulds said, during mineral exploration or while drilling an agricultural well.&nbsp;</p>
  619.  
  620.  
  621.  
  622. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2018/06/Dixie_Valley_Toad_Patrick_Donnelly_1_FPWC_Media_Use_Allowed-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25718"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Dixie Valley toad. (Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity)</figcaption></figure>
  623.  
  624.  
  625.  
  626. <p><strong>The need for more data and environmental oversight</strong></p>
  627.  
  628.  
  629.  
  630. <p>Geothermal isn’t a panacea though.</p>
  631.  
  632.  
  633.  
  634. <p>“Solar, wind, geothermal — they all have their own environmental impacts. Some are more well understood than others,” Jaina Moan, external affairs director for The Nature Conservancy’s Northern Nevada Field Office, said after the symposium. “There’s drawbacks to any technology we deploy.”&nbsp;</p>
  635.  
  636.  
  637.  
  638. <p>Historically, conventional geothermal exploration didn’t take surface expressions such as <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/amphibians/Dixie-Valley-toad/">hot springs</a> into consideration, as evidenced by the ongoing battle over a proposed geothermal plant in the Dixie Valley area that could threaten an endangered toad. Hot springs in the area are home to the endangered Dixie Valley toad, and a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24602076-ssa_dixievalleytoad_20220407">report</a> by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — the agency that listed the toad as endangered at the behest of the Center for Biological Diversity — found that operating a geothermal plant in the area would have significant impact in Dixie Valley by reducing or eliminating discharge into the wetlands.&nbsp;</p>
  639.  
  640.  
  641.  
  642. <p>But technology and science are increasing understanding of the Earth's subsurface, its complexity and the relationship between hydrology and geology and mitigating those issues, Faulds said, adding that creating a database documenting hot springs, nearby energy developments and ensuing environmental impacts — a database that is currently lacking — would benefit industry and conservationists alike and could help prevent environmental issues in the future.</p>
  643.  
  644.  
  645.  
  646. <p>But the federal government seems to be heading in the opposite direction.</p>
  647.  
  648.  
  649.  
  650. <p>Earlier this month, the Bureau of Land Management adopted categorical exclusions to expedite geothermal exploration permitting. If the agency determines an exploratory project meets exclusionary criteria, the exploratory project can bypass the <a href="https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-adopts-categorical-exclusions-expedite-geothermal-energy-permitting">National Environmental Policy Act</a> (NEPA) and avoid drafting an environmental assessment for permitting exploration, although any subsequent development would require NEPA analysis.</p>
  651.  
  652.  
  653.  
  654. <p>The details of the exclusions have not been outlined by the Bureau of Land Management and is a confusing approach to policy making, Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a call with <em>The Nevada Independent</em>.</p>
  655.  
  656.  
  657.  
  658. <p>“Why would you issue these categorical exclusions without sharing what they are?” he asked. “Without having seen the exclusions, we don’t know if there’s an issue or not … but how are we to know?”</p>
  659.  
  660.  
  661.  
  662. <p>And ultimately, much of the renewable energy produced in the Silver State is exported across state lines, according to Faulds.</p>
  663.  
  664.  
  665.  
  666. <p>This exporting of geothermal power means that Nevada’s landscape — yet again — bears the brunt of clean energy generation while reaping just a fraction of the benefits.</p>
  667.  
  668.  
  669.  
  670. <p><em>This story was updated at 10:17 a.m. 4/25/24 to correct that Nevada receives 9 percent of its power from geothermal sources, not 4 percent. </em></p>
  671.  
  672.  
  673.  
  674. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  675.  
  676.  
  677.  
  678. <p><em>Here’s what else I’m reading this week:&nbsp;</em></p>
  679.  
  680.  
  681.  
  682. <p>Construction of a $10 billion transmission line through the Southwest can continue, a federal judge ruled, despite objections from tribes, archaeologists and environmentalists. More from <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-court-rejects-a-request-by-tribes-to-block-10-billion-energy-transmission-project-in-arizona">PBS NewsHour</a>.&nbsp;</p>
  683.  
  684.  
  685.  
  686. <p>In a piece for <em>The Nevada Independent, </em><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-tribes-push-for-a-monument-to-commemorate-historic-massacres">Daniel Rothberg</a> tells the story of the push for Bahsahwahbee, a national monument just outside Great Basin National Park.&nbsp;</p>
  687.  
  688.  
  689.  
  690. <p>The federal government says conservation is as important as grazing and resource extraction on public lands in a new rule — and not everyone is happy about it. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-public-lands-conservation-leases-40b5f47203bbe92a1186a1a4e9e0ea5d"><em>Associated Press</em></a><em> </em>explains.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  691. ]]></content:encoded>
  695. </item>
  696. <item>
  697. <title>OPINION: To the library board: Let Washoe read</title>
  698. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/opinion-to-the-library-board-let-washoe-read</link>
  700. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hali Saylor]]></dc:creator>
  701. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  702. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  703. <category><![CDATA[Alice Oseman]]></category>
  704. <category><![CDATA[Angela Chen]]></category>
  705. <category><![CDATA[Black Student Organization]]></category>
  706. <category><![CDATA[Danez Smith]]></category>
  707. <category><![CDATA[Drag Queen Story Hour]]></category>
  708. <category><![CDATA[Ilya Arbatman]]></category>
  709. <category><![CDATA[Las Vegas-Clark County Library District]]></category>
  710. <category><![CDATA[LGBTQ+]]></category>
  711. <category><![CDATA[UNR]]></category>
  712. <category><![CDATA[Washoe County Library]]></category>
  713. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159115</guid>
  714.  
  715. <description><![CDATA[Librarians were some of my earliest literacy sponsors and, more than that, they connected me with books that have given me language to describe my experiences. I know I’m not alone when I say that growing up has its joys and pains.]]></description>
  716. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  717. <p>This week, I witnessed the power of story on the steps of UNR’s Knowledge Center when our Black Student Organization led a protest against racism. This week, my students reflected on the power of belonging in queer spaces when they discussed a poem by Danez Smith. This week, Drag Queen Story Hour appeared — again — on a <a href="https://www.washoecountylibrary.us/about/board-files/20240417_board_packet.pdf">library board agenda</a>.&nbsp;</p>
  718.  
  719.  
  720.  
  721. <p>When I joined the Zoom meeting to make a public comment, I wasn’t alone. Minutes before the meeting started at 5:30 p.m., members of my women of color book club dropped what they were doing to share their own comments. One of them was in the middle of their social work class, and the instructor supported their decision to participate. When the time for public comments came, we raised our hands on Zoom and eagerly awaited our turn to speak. What we witnessed for the next hour broke our hearts, and at 6:38 p.m. we logged off.</p>
  722.  
  723.  
  724.  
  725. <p>I saw, firsthand, what Ilya Arbatman described in his recent <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/opinion-washoe-county-library-board-must-support-inclusive-programs">opinion piece</a> as “an open mic for bigotry and vitriol.” However, I also witnessed the power of story when members of our community spoke up for the importance of diverse representation. This week, my students reminded me that peace and solidarity are within reach when we listen and open ourselves up to story. And this week, I am taking my students’ lead.&nbsp;</p>
  726.  
  727.  
  728.  
  729. <p>I have been a member of the Reno/Sparks community since 2008. I grew up in the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and, thanks to public programming, I grew to love spoken word. I still remember the first time I participated at a library open mic night in seventh grade. That night, I embraced writing as my voice to the world. Today, I am a professor at UNR, where I teach courses in first-year composition and creative writing.</p>
  730.  
  731.  
  732.  
  733. <p>Librarians were some of my earliest literacy sponsors and, more than that, they connected me with books that have given me language to describe my experiences. I know I’m not alone when I say that growing up has its joys and pains. My parents and teachers did the best they could to nurture and support me, but I didn’t have the precise words to articulate my exact experience.</p>
  734.  
  735.  
  736.  
  737. <p>You see, for 16 years of my life, I thought I was broken because I didn’t experience attraction like my peers. When I finally tiptoed into the dating world as a college student, it was painful and confusing. Then, in 2023, I read a young adult novel by Alice Oseman: <em>Loveless</em>, which centers the voice of a teenager who identifies as aromantic and asexual. There I was at 33 years old, and this young adult book rescued me. For the first time in my life, I found language to describe a huge part of my identity, and I finally realized that I am not broken.&nbsp;</p>
  738.  
  739.  
  740.  
  741. <p>One book led to another and two months ago, I found Angela Chen’s book <em>Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex </em>on the internet:. When I visited Sparks Library, I saw this book on display like an answer to my prayers. Within its pages I found answers to questions I’d been asking about my identity: Who I am and how I love.</p>
  742.  
  743.  
  744.  
  745. <p>Had I been given access to books like these as a young adult, I would’ve known much sooner that who I am is not deviant, is not broken. And the truth is I have a lot to offer this world as an asexual woman of color. I now know that my strength is found in the ways I honor my platonic relationships. Keeping the vocabulary of LGBTQ+ identities away from me would not erase my experiences; it would only keep me in the dark, confused and feeling broken.&nbsp;</p>
  746.  
  747.  
  748.  
  749. <p>I share my story, because I believe in the power of recognizing and naming our experiences. As I witnessed the board of trustees meeting, I observed that supporters of Drag Queen Story Hour shared personal stories, while those who challenged this event made sweeping generalizations. I would ask these people: Have they actually listened to a person of color? Have they met a human being who identifies as LGBTQ+?&nbsp;</p>
  750.  
  751.  
  752.  
  753. <p>I urge our community to keep LGBTQ+ representation in our libraries. Stories create a sense of belonging, and belonging saves lives.</p>
  754.  
  755.  
  756.  
  757. <p><em>Joanne Mallari is a Reno-based poet and a teaching assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is the author of </em>Daughter Tongue<em>, a chapbook of poems.</em></p>
  758.  
  759.  
  760.  
  761. <p>The Nevada Independent<em> welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. Send them to submissions@thenvindy.com.</em></p>
  762. ]]></content:encoded>
  766. </item>
  767. <item>
  768. <title>CVS y Walgreens empiezan a surtir recetas de píldoras abortivas en Nevada</title>
  769. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/cvs-y-walgreens-empiezan-a-surtir-recetas-de-pildoras-abortivas-en-nevada</link>
  771. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Luz Gray]]></dc:creator>
  772. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 08:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  773. <category><![CDATA[En Español]]></category>
  774. <category><![CDATA[Salud]]></category>
  775. <category><![CDATA[No Email Signup]]></category>
  776. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159168</guid>
  777.  
  778. <description><![CDATA[La autorización del medicamento mifepristona está en riesgo por un caso pendiente en la Corte Suprema. Por ahora, las grandes farmacias están surtiendo recetas.
  779. ]]></description>
  780. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  781. <p>A casi un año de que las principales cadenas de farmacias dudaron en surtir recetas de mifepristona, <em>Walgreens</em> y <em>CVS </em>ya<em> </em>venden la píldora abortiva en Nevada.</p>
  782.  
  783.  
  784.  
  785. <p>La decisión se dio después de un impulso por parte de la Senadora Demócrata por Nevada Catherine Cortez Masto, quien pidió a las cadenas que sigan las guías actualizadas de la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA) que permiten distribuir y vender mifepristona en farmacias.</p>
  786.  
  787.  
  788.  
  789. <p>La mifepristona se puede tomar dentro de las primeras 10 semanas de embarazo y se usa en más de la mitad de todos los abortos.</p>
  790.  
  791.  
  792.  
  793. <p>La píldora está disponible por correo o en clínicas en Nevada, y ahora las pacientes sólo deben visitar el consultorio de su médico, obtener una receta y luego recogerla en su farmacia local, evitando tener que regresar al consultorio o esperar a que el medicamento les llegue por correo.</p>
  794.  
  795.  
  796.  
  797. <p>Pero la nueva disponibilidad de la mifepristona en Nevada se podría ver amenazada por un caso ante la Corte Suprema de los EE.UU. que cuestiona la legalidad de la píldora en sí.</p>
  798.  
  799.  
  800.  
  801. <p>Si la Corte Suprema falla a favor de los demandantes, entonces se eliminaría de hecho el acceso a dicha píldora en Nevada.</p>
  802.  
  803.  
  804.  
  805. <p><strong>Surtir la receta o no</strong></p>
  806.  
  807.  
  808.  
  809. <p>En enero de 2023, la FDA emitió la directiva que permite a las farmacias suministrar mifepristona en sus ubicaciones físicas a pacientes con receta.</p>
  810.  
  811.  
  812.  
  813. <p>Como parte del esfuerzo de la administración del Presidente Joe Biden para facilitar el acceso al aborto, el suministro de mifepristona se convirtió en el campo de batalla más reciente entre el gobierno federal encabezado por Demócratas y estados gobernados por Republicanos que buscan restringir el acceso al aborto.</p>
  814.  
  815.  
  816.  
  817. <p>Cuando el mayorista de medicamentos <em>AmerisourceBergen </em>y la cadena de farmacias Walgreens anunciaron que no seguirían surtiendo la píldora en estados donde enfrentaban retos legales por parte de los Republicanos — lo que podría poner en riesgo el acceso en otros estados donde el aborto es legal, ante la necesidad de un proceso de certificación de la FDA — Cortez Masto se pronunció.</p>
  818.  
  819.  
  820.  
  821. <p>"Nevada no debería ser penalizada porque otros estados hayan restringido erróneamente el acceso de la mujer al aborto", dijo la senadora.</p>
  822.  
  823.  
  824.  
  825. <p>Denise Lopez, directora en Nevada de <em>Reproductive Freedom for All,</em> organización por el derecho al aborto, dijo que el suministro en farmacias también facilitará las cosas a quienes buscan servicios de aborto, provienen de estados vecinos, y que en ocasiones<a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/las-vegas-sees-big-spike-in-out-of-state-abortion-seekers-2800219/"> han saturado</a> a proveedores de salud reproductiva en Nevada.</p>
  826.  
  827.  
  828.  
  829. <p>Jason Guinasso, abogado del Comité de Acción Política <em>Coalition for Parents and Children, </em>dijo que le preocupa que pacientes que reciben mifepristona por correo tengan complicaciones, pero aceptó la nueva política farmacéutica.</p>
  830.  
  831.  
  832.  
  833. <p>"Si lo hacen bajo supervisión de su médico y se distribuye a través de una farmacia, entonces al menos tienes cierta supervisión", dijo Guinasso.</p>
  834.  
  835.  
  836.  
  837. <p><strong>Amenazas legales</strong></p>
  838.  
  839.  
  840.  
  841. <p>Las farmacias podrían dejar de surtir recetas de mifepristona en julio, cuando se espera que la Corte Suprema emita un fallo sobre el caso presentado por un grupo de médicos que buscan poner fin a la aprobación del medicamento por parte de la FDA.</p>
  842.  
  843.  
  844.  
  845. <p>A pesar de que el aborto es legal en Nevada, un fallo de la Corte Suprema a favor de los demandantes eliminaría de hecho el acceso a la mifepristona en el estado, incluida la nueva disponibilidad en las farmacias.</p>
  846.  
  847.  
  848.  
  849. <p>Si los jueces fallan a favor de la FDA o desestiman el caso, entonces el acceso a la mifepristona seguirá en Nevada tal y como está.</p>
  850.  
  851.  
  852.  
  853. <p>Cortez Masto, quien<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-democrats-keep-abortion-top-of-mind-one-year-after-roe-overturned"> ha alertado</a> acerca de grupos conservadores que buscan detener derechos adicionales al aborto a través del sistema judicial federal, agregó que el caso de la mifepristona es una de varias amenazas que ella está observando.</p>
  854.  
  855.  
  856.  
  857. <p>"Tenemos que estar atentos a todo — a cada posible reto y restricción que los Republicanos de derecha quieran imponer para restringir aún más los derechos de las mujeres en este país en lo que respecta a la libertad reproductiva", dijo la senadora.</p>
  858. ]]></content:encoded>
  862. </item>
  863. <item>
  864. <title>Nevada compromete casi $200 millones para reforma del sistema de salud conductual</title>
  865. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-compromete-casi-200-millones-para-reforma-del-sistema-de-salud-conductual</link>
  867. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Luz Gray]]></dc:creator>
  868. <pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:14:12 +0000</pubDate>
  869. <category><![CDATA[En Español]]></category>
  870. <category><![CDATA[Legislature]]></category>
  871. <category><![CDATA[Salud]]></category>
  872. <category><![CDATA[No Email Signup]]></category>
  873. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159132</guid>
  874.  
  875. <description><![CDATA[El director del departamento de salud y servicios humanos del estado dice que el nuevo programa ayudará a Nevada a cumplir con la Ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades.
  876. ]]></description>
  877. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  878. <p>El estado está asumiendo un compromiso histórico de casi $200 millones de dólares durante los próximos tres años para “transformar” su sistema de servicios de salud de la conducta para niños en hogares temporales y con necesidades importantes de salud conductual.</p>
  879.  
  880.  
  881.  
  882. <p>La inversión, que aprobaron recientemente funcionarios de Nevada, marca un paso significativo para que el estado cumpla con la Ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades.</p>
  883.  
  884.  
  885.  
  886. <p>Lo anterior ocurre luego de que el Departamento de Justicia de los EE. UU. (DOJ) determinó que el estado<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24544109-20221004_report_of_nevada_investigation_0?responsive=1&amp;title=1"> no había cumplido</a> con “brindar servicios a niños con discapacidades de salud conductual en entornos más integrados y apropiados para sus necesidades”.</p>
  887.  
  888.  
  889.  
  890. <p>La División de Derechos Civiles anunció que trabajaría con el estado para que Nevada cumpla con las leyes federales.</p>
  891.  
  892.  
  893.  
  894. <p>Richard Whitley, director del departamento de salud y servicios humanos del estado, afirmó que el 15 por ciento de los ingresos de un impuesto ampliado a los hospitales, que tambien se conoce como tarifa de proveedor, respaldará el gasto.</p>
  895.  
  896.  
  897.  
  898. <p>Se proyecta que dicho impuesto genere anualmente hasta $40 millones de dólares para servicios de salud conductual juvenil, lo que podrá igualarse con dólares federales.</p>
  899.  
  900.  
  901.  
  902. <p>Funcionarios estatales estiman que entre 10,000 y 15,000 niños hasta los 21 años de edad serán elegibles para el nuevo programa.</p>
  903.  
  904.  
  905.  
  906. <p>La iniciativa elimina el requisito de que las familias tengan autorización previa del seguro médico para personas de bajos ingresos Medicaid antes de recibir servicios de intervención en situaciones de crisis.</p>
  907.  
  908.  
  909.  
  910. <p>En marzo, el Gobernador Joe Lombardo<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/salud-mental-educacion-y-vivienda-principales-prioridades-del-gobernador-lombardo"> dijo durante el evento <em>IndyTalks</em></a><em> </em>que "Elegimos el encarcelamiento en lugar de recursos y ayuda para los jóvenes", pero el "punto positivo" que surgió tras la investigación del (DOJ) fue una financiación sin precedentes para la salud conductual de los niños.</p>
  911.  
  912.  
  913.  
  914. <p>Stacie Weeks, directora de Nevada Medicaid, dijo que el estado espera implementar el programa para enero de 2025, añadiendo que eso depende de cuánto demoren las aprobaciones del gobierno federal.</p>
  915.  
  916.  
  917.  
  918. <p>Weeks agregó que el estado también planea ampliar el acceso a servicios intensivos a domicilio, incluyendo terapia individual y familiar, y educación para las familias sobre cómo cuidar adecuadamente a un niño con trastornos de salud conductual.</p>
  919.  
  920.  
  921.  
  922. <p>El uso que hace Nevada de la tarifa del proveedor para crear una nueva fuente específica de financiamiento es único.</p>
  923.  
  924.  
  925.  
  926. <p>Weeks indicó que se espera que los fondos se expandan durante los próximos años y que es un "paso importante para los niños y familias de Nevada" que recibió apoyo de la oficina del gobernador, la Legislatura y hospitales privados "que se unieron para hacer que esta nueva fuente de fondos para Medicaid sea posible para los niños del estado”.</p>
  927. ]]></content:encoded>
  931. </item>
  932. <item>
  933. <title>Indy Education: Schools show off fruits of their labor at Vegas student farmers market</title>
  934. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-education-schools-show-off-fruits-of-their-labor-at-vegas-student-farmers-market</link>
  936. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rocio Hernandez]]></dc:creator>
  937. <pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  938. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
  939. <category><![CDATA[K-12 Education]]></category>
  940. <category><![CDATA[Ciara Byrne]]></category>
  941. <category><![CDATA[Green Our Planet]]></category>
  942. <category><![CDATA[Joe Lombardo]]></category>
  943. <category><![CDATA[Madeline Kelly]]></category>
  944. <category><![CDATA[Marley Collins]]></category>
  945. <category><![CDATA[Milt Hyams]]></category>
  946. <category><![CDATA[Richard Clark]]></category>
  947. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159119</guid>
  948.  
  949. <description><![CDATA[In this week's Indy Education newsletter, learn about the organization and schools behind the annual Giant Student Farmers Market in Las Vegas. ]]></description>
  950. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  951. <p>Good morning, and welcome to the <em>Indy Education </em>newsletter. I’m Rocio Hernandez, <em>The Nevada Independent’s</em> K-12 education reporter.&nbsp;</p>
  952.  
  953.  
  954.  
  955. <p>This newsletter provides a recap of the latest education stories and highlights interesting educators, students, programs and other events and resources throughout the state. <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/newsletters?utm_source=The+Nevada+Independent&amp;utm_campaign=39ef81da22-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_08_11_08_00_COPY_01&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_-80d0dbe0fc-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">Click here</a> to subscribe to the newsletter.</p>
  956.  
  957.  
  958.  
  959. <p><em>I want to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions on what I should be covering to </em><a href="mailto:rocio@thenvindy.com"><em>rocio@thenvindy.com</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p>
  960.  
  961.  
  962.  
  963. <p><strong>News briefs</strong></p>
  964.  
  965.  
  966.  
  967. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2023/05/RHS_weThePeople_012920_00219-1200x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-119649"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Reno High School’s We The People team advisor Richard Clark during the final dress rehearsal before the statewide competition on Jan. 29, 2020, inside Reno High School. (David Calvert/Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  968.  
  969.  
  970.  
  971. <p><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3db.png" alt="🏛" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /><strong>Reno, Incline High School teams take home awards from national civics competition — </strong>Students from Reno High School and Incline High School received recognition for their performance in this year’s We the People national competition, which took place earlier this month in Virginia.&nbsp;</p>
  972.  
  973.  
  974.  
  975. <p>“While this is not the first time Reno High has made the top 10, it is the first time we did for an ‘in-person’ event, not on Zoom, and that was special,” Richard Clark, a social studies teacher from Reno High School who coaches the school’s team, said in a statement.</p>
  976.  
  977.  
  978.  
  979. <p>This is the ninth time since 2014 that the Washoe County School District has sent two teams to the competition, which sees students testify as expert witnesses in simulated congressional hearings before panels of judges to present and debate their positions on questions surrounding the U.S. Constitution.</p>
  980.  
  981.  
  982.  
  983. <p>“During this time of disinformation and hyperpolarization, it is imperative that we train our young citizens to have factual, reasoned, civic discourse,” Milt Hyams, a government teacher from Incline High School who coaches the school’s team, said in a statement. “Now more than ever we need students and citizens that are willing to engage in these difficult conversations in a constructive way.”</p>
  984.  
  985.  
  986.  
  987. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4dd.png" alt="📝" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Cabinet accepting applications&nbsp; — </strong>The Nevada Department of Education is accepting applications for its Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Cabinet, which is comprised of educators across the state and meets quarterly with department leadership to inform and advise them on state policies, initiatives and priorities related to K-12 education. <a href="https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/a4246740bb60494bb7460aea86d6c88a">The application</a> is open through June 7.</p>
  988.  
  989.  
  990.  
  991. <p><strong>School Spotlight</strong></p>
  992.  
  993.  
  994.  
  995. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="900" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/aef633e0-marion-es-student-1200x900.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159123"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lia, a fourth grader at Marion Earl Elementary School in Las Vegas, holds up a poster with prices for produce and crafts for sale at the annual Giant Student Farmers Market at the Downtown Summerlin shopping center in Las Vegas on April 19, 2024. (Rocio Hernandez/The Nevada Independent) </figcaption></figure>
  996.  
  997.  
  998.  
  999. <p><strong>Gardening teaches Clark County students lessons on nutrition, conservation and STEM</strong></p>
  1000.  
  1001.  
  1002.  
  1003. <p>Clark County students showed off their green thumbs — and their arts and craft skills — at the annual Giant Student Farmers Market last Friday at the Downtown Summerlin shopping center in Las Vegas.&nbsp;</p>
  1004.  
  1005.  
  1006.  
  1007. <p>The market was made possible with support from Green Our Planet, a nonprofit organization that began in Las Vegas in 2013 by two documentary filmmakers and has since expanded nationally. It provides grants, equipment and training for schools looking to start gardens or hydroponic laboratories — soil-free growing systems that can be set up indoors — on their campuses.&nbsp;</p>
  1008.  
  1009.  
  1010.  
  1011. <p>The organization’s co-founder and CEO Ciara Byrne said these activities teach students about conservation, nutrition, entrepreneurship and even <a href="https://www.greenourplanet.org/thought-seeds/why-use-hydroponics-in-a-stem-education-2?utm_term=green%20our%20planet&amp;utm_campaign=Green+Our+Planet+%7C+Branded&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=9637705352&amp;hsa_cam=1571248274&amp;hsa_grp=62019827640&amp;hsa_ad=295740929757&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=kwd-525990031177&amp;hsa_kw=green%20our%20planet&amp;hsa_mt=p&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwlZixBhCoARIsAIC745AcjTnbSTbayyaK1TLBigB8kyqi6xkMG7SuE-L7J1lm0a3790bPpHEaAmReEALw_wcB">science, technology, engineering and math</a> (STEM). Green Our Planet’s programming has expanded to about 1,000 schools in 44 states, and Byrne said the nonprofit is looking to expand into 10,000 by 2033. </p>
  1012.  
  1013.  
  1014.  
  1015. <p>“We mostly work with Title I schools, not just here in Nevada, but across the country, because we want to give kids in lower-income communities more access to opportunities like this,” she said.&nbsp;</p>
  1016.  
  1017.  
  1018.  
  1019. <p>Victoria Fertitta Middle School eighth grader Angel Villalobos sold crafts, radishes, carrots and chamomile flowers prepared by her and fellow members of the Las Vegas school’s gardening class.</p>
  1020.  
  1021.  
  1022.  
  1023. <p>“We learn about different bugs, which ones are good bugs and which ones are bad bugs for our garden beds, and we just learned about when to plant different types of vegetables and fruits,” she said.</p>
  1024.  
  1025.  
  1026.  
  1027. <p>Madeline Kelly, a first grade teacher at Marion Earl Elementary School in Las Vegas, said her gardening club of about 20 students meets every Friday morning. Parents also come to help.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1028.  
  1029.  
  1030.  
  1031. <p>“We love pulling the weeds and getting our hands dirty,” Kelly said. “We just love being out there being in nature and hearing the birds in the morning.”</p>
  1032.  
  1033.  
  1034.  
  1035. <p>Kelly said most of the produce her students were selling was grown at her school’s indoor hydroponics lab. She said this system, funded via a grant from Green Our Planet, is easier to maintain and keeps the plants protected from harsh, outdoor weather conditions.&nbsp;</p>
  1036.  
  1037.  
  1038.  
  1039. <p>Students from Dr. C. Owen Roundy Elementary School in Las Vegas sold eggs laid by chickens from teacher Marley Collins’ farm. Teachers also brought over young chickens that the school’s pre-kindergarten classes helped raise.&nbsp;</p>
  1040.  
  1041.  
  1042.  
  1043. <p>“We bring the eggs in and we have them incubate and hatch on campus with the students,” Collins said. “So students get to raise them and name them and care for them for a few weeks, and then when they mature, my husband and I bring them home to our farm.”</p>
  1044.  
  1045.  
  1046.  
  1047. <p>Collins said raising the chicks teaches students soft skills such as responsibility and safe animal handling. They got to practice their math skills and got a taste of democracy in action when the students voted on the names for the chicks.&nbsp;</p>
  1048.  
  1049.  
  1050.  
  1051. <p>Proceeds from their sales went back to their schools to continue sustaining their programs, which Byrne said provides another learning opportunity when students help decide how they will reinvest those funds.&nbsp;</p>
  1052.  
  1053.  
  1054.  
  1055. <p>Last year, Green Our Planet received $3 million from state lawmakers through one of two so-called <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/legislatures-christmas-tree-bills-would-give-109m-to-70-plus-community-service-organizations">Christmas tree bills</a>, <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/10261/Text">SB341</a>. Byrne said the organization has funding to provide 50 more Nevada schools with hydroponics equipment and programming typically valued at $12,500. Interested educators can find more information on Green Our Planet’s <a href="https://greenourplanet-21334876.hs-sites.com/hydroponics-program-application">website</a>.</p>
  1056.  
  1057.  
  1058.  
  1059. <p><em>Have a student or staffer who we should feature in the next edition of School Spotlight? Share your nominations with me at rocio@thenvindy.com.</em></p>
  1060.  
  1061.  
  1062.  
  1063. <p><strong>Reading Assignments</strong></p>
  1064.  
  1065.  
  1066.  
  1067. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/field-notes/rocio-hernandez/washoe-county-superintendent-finalist-withdraws">Washoe County superintendent finalist withdraws</a></p>
  1068.  
  1069.  
  1070.  
  1071. <p>A former Florida superintendent and Clark County School District administrator, Christopher Bernier, has withdrawn himself as a finalist in the Washoe County School District’s superintendent search.&nbsp;</p>
  1072.  
  1073.  
  1074.  
  1075. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/fact-brief-do-up-to-73-of-school-meals-end-up-in-the-trash" data-type="link" data-id="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/fact-brief-do-up-to-73-of-school-meals-end-up-in-the-trash">Fact check: Do up to 73% of school meals end up in the trash?</a></p>
  1076.  
  1077.  
  1078.  
  1079. <p>The fact check is a response to recent claims by Gov. Joe Lombardo related to his veto of a 2023 bill that would have funded universal free breakfast and lunch for Nevada pupils.&nbsp;</p>
  1080.  
  1081.  
  1082.  
  1083. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/glitches-in-new-simplified-financial-aid-application-creates-headaches-at-nevada-colleges">Glitches in new simplified financial aid application creates headaches at Nevada colleges</a></p>
  1084.  
  1085.  
  1086.  
  1087. <p>An attempt to make it easier for students to apply for federal financial aid to attend college has led to a series of issues that has delayed Nevada colleges’ ability to get that assistance out to students.&nbsp;</p>
  1088.  
  1089.  
  1090.  
  1091. <p><strong>Extra Credit</strong></p>
  1092.  
  1093.  
  1094.  
  1095. <p><a href="https://www.8newsnow.com/news/politics/web-extra-ccsd-board-of-trustees-president-evelyn-garcia-morales/">WEB EXTRA: CCSD Board of Trustees President Evelyn Garcia Morales</a></p>
  1096.  
  1097.  
  1098.  
  1099. <p>Garcia Morales fell short of fully answering questions during an interview with KLAS-TV that touched on former Superintendent Jesus Jara’s resignation, nonvoting trustees and her re-election campaign.</p>
  1100.  
  1101.  
  1102.  
  1103. <p><a href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2024/04/19/wcsd-principals-get-raises-but-still-in-legal-battle-with-district-for-back-pay/73278004007/">WCSD principals are last employees to get raises after year of negotiations</a>Although the contract between the district and principals’ union has been settled after nearly a year since negotiations started, the parties are still locked in a court battle over back pay from a previous contract, the <em>Reno Gazette-Journal</em> reported.</p>
  1104.  
  1105.  
  1106.  
  1107. <p><strong>Events</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1108.  
  1109.  
  1110.  
  1111. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f34e.png" alt="🍎" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Clark County School Board meeting — Thursday, April 25, 5 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1112.  
  1113.  
  1114.  
  1115. <p>The <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/nv/ccsdlv/Board.nsf/Public">agenda</a> includes designating certain positions such as special education bus drivers and secondary math teachers as critical labor shortage areas and a possible appointment to the district’s Sex Education Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</p>
  1116.  
  1117.  
  1118.  
  1119. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4dd.png" alt="📝" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Anti-bullying and bullying prevention info session — Thursday, April 25, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.</strong></p>
  1120.  
  1121.  
  1122.  
  1123. <p>The Nevada Department of Education’s Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment and Clark County School District are hosting an informational session to help parents and families understand more about bullying. The session will also explain parents’ rights on bullying matters, the bullying appeal process, risk factors and how to counteract those risk factors to help prevent bullying. The event will be held at the Family Support Center located at 1720 S. Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas.&nbsp;</p>
  1124.  
  1125.  
  1126.  
  1127. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f34e.png" alt="🍎" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Washoe County School Board special meeting — Friday, April 26, 9 a.m.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1128.  
  1129.  
  1130.  
  1131. <p>The school board will be interviewing the five finalists vying to become the district’s next superintendent. In addition to the meeting, the community will have a chance to meet the finalists at a Thursday evening event from 5-8:15 p.m. at Wooster High School, located at 1331 E. Plumb Lane in Reno. <strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1132.  
  1133.  
  1134.  
  1135. <p><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4b5.png" alt="💵" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <strong>Commission on School Funding meeting — Friday, April 26, 9 a.m.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1136.  
  1137.  
  1138.  
  1139. <p>The <a href="https://webapp-strapi-paas-prod-nde-001.azurewebsites.net/uploads/agenda_april_2024_commission_on_school_funding_240063ceab.pdf">agenda</a> includes an assessment of student achievement under the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan.&nbsp;</p>
  1140.  
  1141.  
  1142.  
  1143. <p><strong>Featured social media post</strong></p>
  1144.  
  1145.  
  1146.  
  1147. <p>Congratulations <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ItKol03LX4" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ItKol03LX4">Suzie Fly</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NvstateED/posts/pfbid02yhDuW1JwNHC5PxBVgyYTG2LX7ry4hzm4HwSE25MJ3i5wquYktKRuZ8TnQougeZAYl">45 years</a> behind the wheel!</p>
  1148.  
  1149.  
  1150.  
  1151. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="1081" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/b447cca7-bus-driver-suzie-fly-1200x1081.png" alt="" class="wp-image-159124"/></figure>
  1152.  
  1153.  
  1154.  
  1155. <p><em>This story was updated on 4/25/24 at 9:21 a.m. to correct Ciara Byrne’s title.</em></p>
  1156. ]]></content:encoded>
  1160. </item>
  1161. <item>
  1162. <title>OPINION: Fairbanks Spring: A family history under threat</title>
  1163. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/opinion-fairbanks-spring-a-family-history-under-threat</link>
  1165. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hali Saylor]]></dc:creator>
  1166. <pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1167. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1168. <category><![CDATA[Amargosa River]]></category>
  1169. <category><![CDATA[Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge]]></category>
  1170. <category><![CDATA[Mojave Desert]]></category>
  1171. <category><![CDATA[Ralph Fairbanks]]></category>
  1172. <category><![CDATA[Rover Critical Minerals]]></category>
  1173. <category><![CDATA[Travis Fairbanks Brown]]></category>
  1174. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159097</guid>
  1175.  
  1176. <description><![CDATA[I’m proud and lucky to be able to visit places that have helped shape my family history. Now, that history is under attack due to shortsighted and potentially devastating proposed mining projects upstream.]]></description>
  1177. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1178. <p>As someone who has built a life along the Amargosa River and a descendant of one of the Mojave Desert’s most fascinating pioneers, I’m proud and lucky to be able to visit places that have helped shape my family history. Now, that history is under attack due to shortsighted and potentially devastating proposed mining projects upstream.</p>
  1179.  
  1180.  
  1181.  
  1182. <p>When Ralph Fairbanks — who was called “Dad” by those who met him — arrived in Las Vegas in 1903, he was a teamster. After his job helping to build the railroad grade with his mules and scrapers ended, he bought a little land and set up a livery stable to begin freighting from the humble little railroad siding to the boomtowns farther north: Tonopah, Goldfield and Rhyolite. He shrewdly realized that Las Vegas was never going to amount to anything (forgive the tongue in cheek) and set out for the mining fields that were more of a hotbed for the kind of action and opportunity he craved.</p>
  1183.  
  1184.  
  1185.  
  1186. <p>He sold out in Vegas and headed north, eventually ending up at the spring in what is now <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/ash-meadows">Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge</a> in Nevada that bears his name: Fairbanks Spring. He had a wife and eight children in tow, and he did anything possible to make a living. He carried people and freight from the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad to the boomtown of Greenwater, always stopping by Fairbanks Spring to rent them a tent for the night, sell them supplies and engage in a friendly game of poker.</p>
  1187.  
  1188.  
  1189.  
  1190. <p>He then moved his operation to Greenwater, and when it went bust, he started the town of Shoshone, a water stop on the new Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. In 1927, in his 70s, he moved 50 miles south and started the town of Baker, acquiring 160 acres where the first paved road across the Mojave Desert would intersect with the railroad. He flourished, and to this day, his descendants still populate many corners of the Mojave Desert. He was a rough character but right for the times and the location, and he figured out how to make a living in one of the harshest environments on the planet.</p>
  1191.  
  1192.  
  1193.  
  1194. <p>Perhaps he was an obvious parallel to the unique species of flora and fauna at Ash Meadows that have also figured out how to flourish there, as have the native peoples for millennia. And now, we are being asked to potentially sacrifice this wonderful little bit of American history for … phone batteries? Electric cars?</p>
  1195.  
  1196.  
  1197.  
  1198. <p>A junior mining industry player from Canada, Rover Critical Minerals, has <a href="https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/2614-tsx-venture/rovr/153100-rover-metals-submits-plan-of-operations-for-its-let-s-go-lithium-project-nv-usa.html">proposed a project</a> to drill multiple boreholes far too close to Fairbanks Spring for virtually everyone’s comfort but theirs. If this project is allowed to proceed, the spring and all the organisms that depend upon it are under a real threat.</p>
  1199.  
  1200.  
  1201.  
  1202. <p>Of course, the mining company claims to only be interested in sampling these lands for mineral potential. However, if Rover Critical Minerals is then able to successfully develop and sell a commercial lithium mining claim there, I believe the entire <a href="https://www.amargosaconservancy.org/news-blog/the-fight-to-save-ash-meadows/">Ash Meadows ecosystem</a> will be in real peril. That the federal agencies whose stated mission is the recovery of <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24576950-endemic-and-endangered-species-of-ash-meadows-1">endangered and endemic species</a> would even consider permitting a project that presents such a risk is absurd on its face. But, that’s the possible future we are facing in this rarest of places: desert wetlands that support 26 species of fish, plants, amphibians and other wildlife that only live there.</p>
  1203.  
  1204.  
  1205.  
  1206. <p>It is often said that history is important because we can’t know where we are going unless we know where we have been. Fairbanks Spring is important to me, as I have a familial connection to it. I hope that my son, Travis Fairbanks Brown, and his children, and theirs, will also be able to stand by those aqua-blue waters and imagine their ancestors standing there more than a century ago. It is up to all of us who care about history and the astonishing beauty and vitality of the natural world to fight this good fight. This one is a must-win.</p>
  1207.  
  1208.  
  1209.  
  1210. <p>I call upon those in power who have been charged with the caretaking of these lands to take urgent actions to protect Ash Meadows from these harms, not just for the sake of my family, but for all the families of life that deserve a chance to love this desert wetland as I do. This is a chance for our leaders to become a part of the story of Ash Meadows and Fairbanks Spring, to take their place alongside generations of humans who have enjoyed its gifts and passed them onward to their kin. I sure hope they take it before the chance is gone for good.</p>
  1211.  
  1212.  
  1213.  
  1214. <p><em>Brian Brown is a fourth generation Mojave Desert resident and the owner-operator of China Ranch, a date farm within the Amargosa region. He has been active in the efforts to preserve the unique ecological values of the Amargosa region for the last few decades.</em></p>
  1215.  
  1216.  
  1217.  
  1218. <p>The Nevada Independent <em>welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. Send them to submissions@thenvindy.com.</em></p>
  1219. ]]></content:encoded>
  1223. </item>
  1224. <item>
  1225. <title>Despite Nevada opposition, USPS to move key mail operations from Reno to Sacramento</title>
  1226. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/despite-nevada-opposition-usps-to-move-key-mail-operations-from-reno-to-sacramento</link>
  1228. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Neugeboren]]></dc:creator>
  1229. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 22:34:17 +0000</pubDate>
  1230. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  1231. <category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
  1232. <category><![CDATA[State Government]]></category>
  1233. <category><![CDATA[Catherine Cortez Masto]]></category>
  1234. <category><![CDATA[Cisco Aguilar]]></category>
  1235. <category><![CDATA[Francisco Aguilar]]></category>
  1236. <category><![CDATA[Jacky Rosen]]></category>
  1237. <category><![CDATA[Joe Lombardo]]></category>
  1238. <category><![CDATA[Louis DeJoy]]></category>
  1239. <category><![CDATA[Mark Amodei]]></category>
  1240. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159121</guid>
  1241.  
  1242. <description><![CDATA[The USPS said the "business case" supported the move because most mail at the Reno facility is destined for outside the region. The plan prompted bipartisan pushback.]]></description>
  1243. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1244. <p>The United States Postal Service (USPS) is moving forward with its plan to transfer certain mail processing operations from Reno to Sacramento, a change that has drawn <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/exclusive-nevada-reps-oppose-plan-to-move-key-postal-operations-from-reno-to-sacramento">bipartisan opposition</a> among Nevada elected officials over its potential impact on the region’s economy and fears that it would slow the processing of mail ballots.</p>
  1245.  
  1246.  
  1247.  
  1248. <p>The USPS said Tuesday that its Reno building will be converted into a local processing center — a facility that prepares mail before it is placed on carrier routes. The agency will also spend up to $13.4 million in Reno for new workplace amenities and expanded distribution capabilities, but said “the business case” supported moving other operations to California because most of the mail processed in Reno is destined for outside the region.</p>
  1249.  
  1250.  
  1251.  
  1252. <p>The change means that all mail sent from Northern Nevada will pass through Sacramento before reaching its destination. The proposal prompted fierce pushback from state and federal officials — including Gov. Joe Lombardo and <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24449643-2282024-usps-letter?responsive=1&amp;title=1">Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar</a> — who argued that severe winter weather between the two cities could make it difficult for mail to be delivered efficiently (there is only one interstate route between Sacramento and Reno, and it is sometimes closed during snowy conditions over the Donner Pass) and that it could adversely affect people who use the Postal Service to receive necessary goods, such as medication.&nbsp;</p>
  1253.  
  1254.  
  1255.  
  1256. <p>The USPS also said Tuesday that the change would not result in any layoffs of career employees, though it is unknown how many pre-career employees — entry-level positions — might be affected.&nbsp;A document from a USPS employee obtained by <em>The Nevada Independent </em>shows that the USPS expects the change to affect up to 67 career positions, which could include employee reassignments.</p>
  1257.  
  1258.  
  1259.  
  1260. <p>Officials have also raised concerns that it could affect the processing of widely used mail ballots, which under state law can be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received up to four days after the election. In a statement Tuesday, Aguilar said the Postal Service is “negligently interfer[ing] with functions vital to the electoral process.”</p>
  1261.  
  1262.  
  1263.  
  1264. <p>“Representatives from across Nevada have laid out the many logistical issues this move will bring, and I hope the USPS will reconsider this decision and instead invest further into existing Northern Nevada operations,” the statement read.</p>
  1265.  
  1266.  
  1267.  
  1268. <p>The Postal Service’s statement on Tuesday did not mention mail-in ballots, but the agency had previously said that the change would have no impact on the timeliness of mail delivery.</p>
  1269.  
  1270.  
  1271.  
  1272. <p>Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) told reporters earlier this month that USPS officials said the implementation plan could begin in January, in which case mail ballots cast this year would not be affected.</p>
  1273.  
  1274.  
  1275.  
  1276. <p>Lombardo said in a statement that his administration “will continue to fight against mismanagement in Washington for timely and efficient mail services for Nevadans.”</p>
  1277.  
  1278.  
  1279.  
  1280. <p>Rosen said Tuesday that she “would explore all available options to prevent it from being implemented,” and said she is “outraged that out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats think they know what’s best for our state.” Rosen sits on the Senate committee that oversees the Postal Service.</p>
  1281.  
  1282.  
  1283.  
  1284. <p>In February, Rosen, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) wrote a <a href="https://www.rosen.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Letter-to-PM-DeJoy-re-Reno-PDC-2.28.24.pdf">letter</a> to the Postal Service, requesting more information on a potential move’s impact on mail service reliability, mail-in ballots, the region’s economy and Postal Service jobs.</p>
  1285.  
  1286.  
  1287.  
  1288. <p>Weeks later, USPS officials held a briefing that Rosen <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/field-notes/eric-neugeboren/rosen-usps-stonewalling-over-proposed-reno-to-sacramento-move">panned</a> as unhelpful. She told reporters that officials did not answer many questions directly and did not provide some of the data that the delegation asked for.&nbsp;</p>
  1289.  
  1290.  
  1291.  
  1292. <p>At a tense Senate hearing last week, Rosen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcNS1FmeHbM">accused</a> Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of withholding information on how the agency determined that the proposal was necessary.</p>
  1293.  
  1294.  
  1295.  
  1296. <p>The USPS said Tuesday that the finalized plan came “following a thorough business review and solicitation of public feedback.”</p>
  1297.  
  1298.  
  1299.  
  1300. <p><em><em>Updated on 4/23/24 at 5:20 p.m. to include a statement from Lombardo and at 5:42 p.m. to include potential impacts on USPS employees.</em></em></p>
  1301. ]]></content:encoded>
  1305. </item>
  1306. <item>
  1307. <title>Indy Elections: The Lombardo-Democratic establishment fundraising battle</title>
  1308. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-elections-the-lombardo-democratic-establishment-fundraising-battle</link>
  1310. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tabitha Mueller]]></dc:creator>
  1311. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1312. <category><![CDATA[Newsletter: Indy Elections]]></category>
  1313. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159060</guid>
  1314.  
  1315. <description><![CDATA[Plus: What’s behind an unusually large $129,000 legislative donation?]]></description>
  1316. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1317. <p><strong><em>Indy Elections is </em></strong><strong>The Nevada Independent</strong><strong><em>’s newsletter devoted to comprehensive and accessible coverage of the 2024 elections, from the race for the White House to the bid to take control of the Legislature.</em></strong></p>
  1318.  
  1319.  
  1320.  
  1321. <p><strong><em>In today’s edition:</em></strong><em> </em><em>An analysis of campaign finance reports in races with Democratic and Lombardo-backed candidates, an explanation of why a legislative candidate reported a more than $129,000 donation, a new abortion rights-related legislative campaign ad and a response from the secretary of state to a lawsuit over voter roll cleanup.</em></p>
  1322.  
  1323.  
  1324.  
  1325. <p><em>Click </em><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/newsletters"><em>this link</em></a><em> to manage your newsletter subscriptions. This newsletter is published weekly.</em></p>
  1326.  
  1327.  
  1328.  
  1329. <p><em>We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, observations, jokes or what you think we should be covering or paying attention to. Email your newsletter editor Tabitha Mueller at </em><a href="mailto:tabitha@thenvindy.com"><em>tabitha@thenvindy.com</em></a><em>.</em></p>
  1330.  
  1331.  
  1332.  
  1333. <p><strong><em>Days until:&nbsp;</em></strong></p>
  1334.  
  1335.  
  1336.  
  1337. <ul>
  1338. <li><strong><em>Primary ballots are prepared and mailed out: 29</em></strong></li>
  1339.  
  1340.  
  1341.  
  1342. <li><strong><em>Regular primary Election Day: 49</em></strong></li>
  1343.  
  1344.  
  1345.  
  1346. <li><strong><em>Election Day: 196</em></strong></li>
  1347. </ul>
  1348.  
  1349.  
  1350.  
  1351. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  1352.  
  1353.  
  1354.  
  1355. <h1 class="wp-block-heading">How are Lombardo candidates stacking up in the fundraising battle?</h1>
  1356.  
  1357.  
  1358.  
  1359. <p><strong>By Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller</strong></p>
  1360.  
  1361.  
  1362.  
  1363. <p>The legislative fundraising battle is tight between GOP candidates backed by Gov. Joe Lombardo and their likely general election opponents supported by the Democratic establishment.</p>
  1364.  
  1365.  
  1366.  
  1367. <p><em>The Nevada Independent </em>identified 10 legislative elections that are expected to be competitive — based on voter registration data and past election results — and have establishment-backed candidates in both parties. In these races, there is an even split where the Lombardo-backed candidates raised more money from January through March and races where the Democratic candidate had a fundraising lead.&nbsp;</p>
  1368.  
  1369.  
  1370.  
  1371. <p>Last Monday marked the deadline for candidates to report their contributions and expenditures through the first three months of 2024 — the last time they’ll need to do so before the primary election in June.</p>
  1372.  
  1373.  
  1374.  
  1375. <p>Democrats control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one short of a two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto) and 28 seats in the 42-member Assembly.&nbsp;</p>
  1376.  
  1377.  
  1378.  
  1379. <p>Some of these candidates still have to prevail in their June primary race, but establishment-backed candidates <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/establishment-backed-candidates-have-financial-lead-in-key-legislative-primaries">have an early fundraising lead</a>, giving them a leg up in their races.</p>
  1380.  
  1381.  
  1382.  
  1383. <p>Read below for highlights of noteworthy races, and <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/candidates-backed-by-lombardo-or-democratic-caucuses-locked-in-close-fundraising-battle">click here</a> for a more detailed story.</p>
  1384.  
  1385.  
  1386.  
  1387. <p><strong>Incumbent behind in fundraising</strong></p>
  1388.  
  1389.  
  1390.  
  1391. <ul>
  1392. <li>In Senate District 11, incumbent Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas) was significantly outraised by her likely GOP challenger, Lori Rogich.</li>
  1393.  
  1394.  
  1395.  
  1396. <li>Rogich raised around <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=PcMlBNqjWAYyel4Z9eDC1A%253d%253d">$160,000</a>, buoyed by a maximum $10,000 donation from GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson.</li>
  1397.  
  1398.  
  1399.  
  1400. <li>Harris’ <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=UmhrrM6SHk62f8wWeyUjEg%253d%253d">$63,000 haul</a> included support from top Democratic legislators.</li>
  1401.  
  1402.  
  1403.  
  1404. <li>But the district’s registration still leans Democratic, and Harris is an incumbent (<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/how-much-does-money-matter-in-close-nevada-legislative-races">an advantage in legislative races</a>)</li>
  1405. </ul>
  1406.  
  1407.  
  1408.  
  1409. <p><strong>Narrowest fundraising difference</strong></p>
  1410.  
  1411.  
  1412.  
  1413. <ul>
  1414. <li>First quarter fundraising hauls were very close between the establishment-backed candidates in the open Assembly District 35 race in southwest Las Vegas, one of a handful of swing Assembly seats. Incumbent Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow (D-Las Vegas) <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/assemblywoman-michelle-gorelow-wont-run-for-re-election-amid-scrutiny-over-nonprofit-ties">is not running</a> for re-election.</li>
  1415.  
  1416.  
  1417.  
  1418. <li>Republican Rebecca Edgeworth, a doctor and professor at Touro University Nevada, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=iwf56BHlhOY3yz8nvu924Q%253d%253d">raised more than $27,800</a>. Democratic business owner Sharifa Wahab, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=XNPwErpp87NG%252fHWqhj%252fGSg%253d%253d">raised more than $26,700</a> with support from several legislators.&nbsp;</li>
  1419.  
  1420.  
  1421.  
  1422. <li>Wahab only spent $515 in the first quarter, while Edgeworth spent more than $7,500.</li>
  1423. </ul>
  1424.  
  1425.  
  1426.  
  1427. <p><strong>Recovery advocate posts six-figure haul</strong></p>
  1428.  
  1429.  
  1430.  
  1431. <ul>
  1432. <li>Democrats have a pickup opportunity in Assembly District 4 after Assemblyman Richard McArthur (R-Las Vegas) vacated the seat to run for state Senate.</li>
  1433.  
  1434.  
  1435.  
  1436. <li>Democrat Ryan Hampton, an advocate for opioid recovery, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=DHyOkLV7%252bnSaFand75H5MA%253d%253d">reported raising</a> $125,000 in the first quarter and has more than $200,000 in cash on hand. Republican businesswoman Lisa Cole <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=7iQkEn7%252by4p6%252ftqu0GyIVg%253d%253d">raised around $51,000</a> in the first quarter and has around $88,000 in cash on hand.&nbsp;</li>
  1437.  
  1438.  
  1439.  
  1440. <li>Nonpartisans comprise the largest share of registered voters in the northwestern Las Vegas district, while Republicans have a narrow voter registration advantage over Democrats.&nbsp;</li>
  1441. </ul>
  1442.  
  1443.  
  1444.  
  1445. <p><strong>Tides turn in Assembly District 37</strong></p>
  1446.  
  1447.  
  1448.  
  1449. <ul>
  1450. <li>Assemblywoman Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas) <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=UjN2zNLRMmpXUqES3fdNMg%253d%253d">reported raising</a> $63,000 in the first quarter and has around $140,000 in cash on hand.</li>
  1451.  
  1452.  
  1453.  
  1454. <li>David Brog, the Lombardo-backed Republican candidate, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=7CgD0AN%252byy5dqrCLH5lGNw%253d%253d">reported raising</a> $32,000 and has around $130,000 in cash on hand. The hauls mark a shift from last year, when Brog more than doubled Backus’ haul, prompting a pro-Lombardo PAC to <a href="https://twitter.com/BetterNevadaPAC/status/1747716477829140772">tweet</a> that Brog was “well-positioned to flip this crucial seat.”</li>
  1455.  
  1456.  
  1457.  
  1458. <li>Democrats have a slight voter registration advantage in the Summerlin district. Backus won her 2022 race by around 800 votes and lost the same race in 2020 by a similar margin.</li>
  1459. </ul>
  1460.  
  1461.  
  1462.  
  1463. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  1464.  
  1465.  
  1466.  
  1467. <h1 class="wp-block-heading">What we’re reading and writing</h1>
  1468.  
  1469.  
  1470.  
  1471. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/establishment-backed-candidates-have-financial-lead-in-key-legislative-primaries"><strong>Establishment-backed candidates have financial lead in key legislative primaries</strong></a><strong> by Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren</strong></p>
  1472.  
  1473.  
  1474.  
  1475. <p>*Spoiler alert* all but one establishment-backed candidate is leading their competitor.</p>
  1476.  
  1477.  
  1478.  
  1479. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/a-state-law-legalized-street-vendors-now-they-say-local-rules-threaten-their-future"><strong>A state law legalized street vendors. Now they say local rules threaten their future.</strong></a><strong> by Sean Golonka</strong></p>
  1480.  
  1481.  
  1482.  
  1483. <p>Gotta love regulations.</p>
  1484.  
  1485.  
  1486.  
  1487. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/millions-roll-in-to-nevada-ballot-initiatives-from-unions-uber-and-dark-money-groups"><strong>Millions roll in to Nevada ballot initiatives from unions, Uber and dark money groups</strong></a><strong> by Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller</strong></p>
  1488.  
  1489.  
  1490.  
  1491. <p>Rollin', rollin' (Roll on), rollin' toward the ballot</p>
  1492.  
  1493.  
  1494.  
  1495. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nv-supreme-court-says-broader-abortion-ballot-question-is-constitutional"><strong>NV Supreme Court says broader abortion ballot question is constitutional</strong></a><strong> by Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller</strong></p>
  1496.  
  1497.  
  1498.  
  1499. <p>Just in time for petition supporters to gather 102,362 signatures from voters by June 26.</p>
  1500.  
  1501.  
  1502.  
  1503. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/rosen-house-democrats-keep-war-chest-lead-self-funding-gop-candidates-narrow-gap"><strong>Rosen, House Democrats keep war chest lead; self-funding GOP candidates narrow gap</strong></a><strong> by Gabby Birenbaum and Eric Neugeboren</strong></p>
  1504.  
  1505.  
  1506.  
  1507. <p>TIRED: Raising money.<br>WIRED: Candidate loans.</p>
  1508.  
  1509.  
  1510.  
  1511. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/sos-most-election-fraud-reports-in-nevada-dont-warrant-criminal-prosecution"><strong>SOS: Most election fraud reports in Nevada don’t warrant criminal prosecution</strong></a><strong> by Eric Neugeboren</strong></p>
  1512.  
  1513.  
  1514.  
  1515. <p>The analysis reinforces that voter fraud is not widespread in the Silver State.</p>
  1516.  
  1517.  
  1518.  
  1519. <p><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-fake-electors-accuse-state-of-withholding-exculpatory-evidence"><strong>Nevada 'fake electors' accuse state of withholding exculpatory evidence</strong></a><strong> by Gabby Birenbaum</strong></p>
  1520.  
  1521.  
  1522.  
  1523. <p>It’s always about the emails.</p>
  1524.  
  1525.  
  1526.  
  1527. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  1528.  
  1529.  
  1530.  
  1531. <h1 class="wp-block-heading">Indy Ad Watch</h1>
  1532.  
  1533.  
  1534.  
  1535. <p>Rochelle Nguyen – “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL0IWQtJqA0">Rochelle Nguyen Will Protect Choice</a>”</p>
  1536.  
  1537.  
  1538.  
  1539. <p>State Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) launched a six-figure digital ad campaign describing herself as a champion of abortion rights.&nbsp;</p>
  1540.  
  1541.  
  1542.  
  1543. <p>The 15-second ad highlights Nguyen — who is fending off a primary challenge from Culinary Union-backed Geoconda Hughes — and her endorsement from Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada.</p>
  1544.  
  1545.  
  1546.  
  1547. <p>“When Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, I fought to protect abortion rights in Nevada,” Nguyen says in the ad, which will run through the June primary election.&nbsp;</p>
  1548.  
  1549.  
  1550.  
  1551. <p>— <em>Tabitha Mueller</em></p>
  1552.  
  1553.  
  1554.  
  1555. <h1 class="wp-block-heading">The Lightning Round</h1>
  1556.  
  1557.  
  1558.  
  1559. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f911.png" alt="🤑" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> A $129,000 donation? — </strong>Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=CAIyHd5hQS5t1pwWn%252f%252b8%252fQ%253d%253d">reported</a> a nearly $129,200 donation from the Morning in America PAC, a registered super PAC that supported unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt. Kasama’s campaign said the donations were refunds of <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=JVgOoWkbYZHKuvB8j1w3lw%253d%253d">contributions Kasama made</a> last year to the Super PAC after she decided to run for U.S. Congress. Following a conversation with the Secretary of State’s Office, Kasama <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=rTQCm8bpy8%252bPQsZt5nhuUw%253d%253d">amended her report</a>, writing "REFUND" after the Morning in America PAC donation and another $28,000 donation to her <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=KXu4GzwucgQVnOAKl%252bRskQ%253d%253d">Hawk PAC</a>. She will face Democratic businessman Ron Nelsen in the Assembly District 2 general election.</p>
  1560.  
  1561.  
  1562.  
  1563. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f6d1.png" alt="🛑" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Assembly candidate drops bid —</strong> Las Vegas real estate professional Clem Ziroli, a Republican, announced he is no longer seeking the open Assembly District 34 seat. It means Republican Brandon Davis and Democrat Hanadi Nadeem will square off in the general election. The seat is considered a safe Democratic seat and is represented by Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod (D-Las Vegas), who is running for Clark County Commission.</p>
  1564.  
  1565.  
  1566.  
  1567. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f440.png" alt="👀" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Ethics Commission won’t play ball — </strong>The Nevada Commission on Ethics announced that it will not submit a bill draft request for the 2025 session. “This decision comes after two consecutive legislative sessions where the Commission's proposed legislation garnered support, only to fail to become law after lawmakers amended the bill to exclude themselves from the Commission’s oversight,” members of the commission wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/tabitha_mueller/status/1780743711028310027">press release</a>.</p>
  1568.  
  1569.  
  1570.  
  1571. <p>1&#x20e3; <strong>Endorsement Watch Pt. 1 — </strong>The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce released its initial slate of endorsements for <a href="https://twitter.com/lvchamber/status/1781028708750705008/photo/1">Assembly</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/lvchamber/status/1780671856129011814/photo/1">Senate</a> last week. These include Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) over her Culinary-backed challenger Geoconda Hughes; Higher education regent Shelly Crawford over Assemblywoman Clara Thomas (D-North Las Vegas) in the Senate District 1 race; and Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) over Regent Laura Perkins. The chamber also endorsed incumbent Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Las Vegas) for Senate District 5 and Rebecca Edgeworth, a Gov. Joe Lombardo-backed candidate for Assembly District 35, two closely watched races that could determine whether Lombardo keeps his veto power.</p>
  1572.  
  1573.  
  1574.  
  1575. <p><strong><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f9d1-200d-2696-fe0f.png" alt="🧑‍⚖️" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> The SOS strikes back — </strong>Attorneys representing the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office have filed a motion to dismiss <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/republicans-accuse-nevada-secretary-of-state-of-impossibly-high-voter-registration-rates">the case</a> brought by the Republican National Committee and Nevada GOP challenging the state’s process of removing inactive voters. The filing (<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24557128-nv-response-to-rnc-lawsuit?responsive=1&amp;title=1">linked here</a>) includes a fiery introduction that accuses the Republicans of filing the lawsuit as “an attempt to fan the flames of mis- and distrust in the election process.”</p>
  1576.  
  1577.  
  1578.  
  1579. <p><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2705.png" alt="✅" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <strong>Native Voters Alliance announces endorsement process — </strong>The Native Nevada Voters Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering political strength within Indigenous communities, announced that it is establishing an endorsement process that “meticulously evaluates and endorses candidates who not only resonate with, but are steadfast in advancing the rights and priorities of Indigenous communities.”</p>
  1580.  
  1581.  
  1582.  
  1583. <p>— <em>Tabitha Mueller, Riley Snyder and Eric Neugeboren</em></p>
  1584.  
  1585.  
  1586.  
  1587. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  1588.  
  1589.  
  1590.  
  1591. <p><em>And to ease you into the week, a few “posts” to “X” that caught our eye:&nbsp;</em></p>
  1592.  
  1593.  
  1594.  
  1595. <ul>
  1596. <li><em>This </em><a href="https://x.com/Annie_Wu_22/status/1781347832424804541"><em>couldn’t apply to</em></a><em> anyone we know.</em></li>
  1597.  
  1598.  
  1599.  
  1600. <li><em>It’s too soon to be </em><a href="https://x.com/BattleBornProg/status/1782179745955987932"><em>making #nvleg jokes.</em></a></li>
  1601.  
  1602.  
  1603.  
  1604. <li><a href="https://x.com/calvertphoto/status/1782267993378185661"><em>Welcome to Reno!</em></a></li>
  1605. </ul>
  1606.  
  1607.  
  1608.  
  1609. <p><em>We’ll see you next week.&nbsp;</em></p>
  1610.  
  1611.  
  1612.  
  1613. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  1614.  
  1615.  
  1616.  
  1617. <p><strong>Interested in more newsletters from </strong><strong><em>The Nevada Independent</em></strong><strong>?&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1618.  
  1619.  
  1620.  
  1621. <p><strong>Find them all </strong><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/newsletters"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1622.  
  1623.  
  1624.  
  1625. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  1626. ]]></content:encoded>
  1630. </item>
  1631. <item>
  1632. <title>Vendedores ambulantes dicen que reglas locales derivadas de nueva ley amenazan su futuro</title>
  1633. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/vendedores-ambulantes-dicen-que-reglas-locales-derivadas-de-nueva-ley-amenazan-su-futuro</link>
  1635. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Luz Gray]]></dc:creator>
  1636. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 13:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
  1637. <category><![CDATA[En Español]]></category>
  1638. <category><![CDATA[Legislatura]]></category>
  1639. <category><![CDATA[No Email Signup]]></category>
  1640. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159087</guid>
  1641.  
  1642. <description><![CDATA[¿Cómo se convirtió una ley estatal cuya meta es legitimar la venta ambulante de comida, en gran parte ejercida por inmigrantes y latinos, en un riesgo que podría afectar el sustento económico de esos mismos trabajadores?
  1643. ]]></description>
  1644. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1645. <p>Una oportunidad para no tener que ocultarse y ejercer un negocio legítimo y legal, es lo que representó<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/vendedores-ambulantes-dicen-que-nueva-ley-podria-local-sacar-de-las-sombras-a-su-trabajo"> una ley estatal aprobada el año pasado</a> para cientos de vendedores ambulantes de alimentos que hasta ahora habían estado operando al margen en Nevada.</p>
  1646.  
  1647.  
  1648.  
  1649. <p>La iniciativa<a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/9698/Text"> SB92</a>, patrocinada por el Senador estatal Demócrata Fabian Doñate y firmada como ley en junio por el Gobernador Joe Lombardo, ofrecía una vía para que dichos vendedores trabajaran con una licencia, pero sólo una vez que gobiernos locales de los Condados Clark y Washoe establecieran reglas sobre cómo se podrían administrar dichos negocios.</p>
  1650.  
  1651.  
  1652.  
  1653. <p>Vendedores y activistas celebraron la aprobación de la nueva ley, describiéndola como un medio de oportunidad económica y una aceptación en el sur de Nevada.</p>
  1654.  
  1655.  
  1656.  
  1657. <p>Un partidario dijo que la aprobación de la ley podría garantizar que “los vendedores ambulantes no serían tratados como delincuentes como lo fueron mis padres”.</p>
  1658.  
  1659.  
  1660.  
  1661. <p>Pero el camino a la legalización de esos negocios ha sido difícil. Actualmente, esos vendedores argumentan que una serie de reglas, altas tarifas y restricciones para puntos de venta amenazan sus posibilidades de salir adelante.</p>
  1662.  
  1663.  
  1664.  
  1665. <p>Funcionarios de salud, que afirmaron que hasta ahora no han visto respuesta por parte de los vendedores, dicen que considerarían como un éxito aprobar una pequeña cantidad de permisos, aunque se estima que hay cientos en el estado.</p>
  1666.  
  1667.  
  1668.  
  1669. <p>El martes pasado, los mismos grupos que apoyaron el proyecto de ley se reunieron para expresar su frustración con la decisión del Condado Clark de implementar<a href="https://clark.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=12859077&amp;GUID=652B01A7-90A9-4DE9-A87A-F064C08F21F9"> una ordenanza</a> para regular a vendedores ambulantes.</p>
  1670.  
  1671.  
  1672.  
  1673. <p>Las críticas se enfocaron en una sección que prohíbe a los vendedores trabajar dentro de 500 pies de cualquier parque del condado sin un tipo de permiso especial. Los vendedores describieron los parques como una fuente fundamental para su negocio y un lugar con un significado cultural.</p>
  1674.  
  1675.  
  1676.  
  1677. <p>“Durante más de 20 años, he dedicado mi vida a servir mis tamales, elotes y raspados en los parques de Las Vegas”, dijo en un comunicado Teodora Tepetzi, vendedora ambulante e integrante del grupo de defensa progresista <em>Make the Road Nevada</em>. “Nos han dejado al margen”.</p>
  1678.  
  1679.  
  1680.  
  1681. <p>El martes pasado, comisionados del condado aprobaron la ordenanza, que entrará en vigor a finales de abril.</p>
  1682.  
  1683.  
  1684.  
  1685. <p>Al día siguiente, el Ayuntamiento de Las Vegas indicó que abordaría<a href="https://files.lasvegasnevada.gov/business-licensing/23-0510-TXT1-Sidewalk-Vending-Content-Packet.pdf"> su ordenanza</a> en torno a los vendedores ambulantes en una reunión futura. Dichos lineamientos prohibirían la venta "en un lugar inmediatamente adyacente a un parque de la ciudad", pero sin los 500 pies adicionales de separación.</p>
  1686.  
  1687.  
  1688.  
  1689. <p>La Ciudad de Reno adoptó una<a href="https://www.reno.gov/government/departments/business-license/sidewalk-vending#:~:text=Sidewalk%20Vendors%20may%20not%20operate,of%20a%20permitted%20special%20event."> ordenanza</a> en enero con requisitos de seguro más estrictos, pero menos restricciones sobre los lugares donde pueden operar los vendedores.</p>
  1690.  
  1691.  
  1692.  
  1693. <p>“Lo que temo ... es que un vendedor se meta en problemas en una jurisdicción simplemente porque estaba al otro lado de la calle y no se dio cuenta”, dijo Doñate.</p>
  1694.  
  1695.  
  1696.  
  1697. <p><strong>Restricciones complicadas y reglas desiguales afectan al negocio</strong></p>
  1698.  
  1699.  
  1700.  
  1701. <p>La ordenanza del Condado Clark, la primera en aprobarse en el sur de Nevada, requerirá que los vendedores ambulantes tengan una licencia comercial estatal, un seguro de responsabilidad general y un permiso de las autoridades sanitarias locales.</p>
  1702.  
  1703.  
  1704.  
  1705. <p>Con esos requerimientos — que en conjunto podrían costar más de $1,200 dólares en el primer año de actividad comercial de una persona — un vendedor ambulante entonces podrá obtener una licencia comercial del Condado Clark por una tarifa anual de $150.</p>
  1706.  
  1707.  
  1708.  
  1709. <p>Si se encuentra a un vendedor operando fuera de los límites de las reglas, entonces autoridades de salud y policiales locales podrían confiscar y destruir los materiales, además el comerciante enfrentaría una multa civil de $500 por cada infracción.</p>
  1710.  
  1711.  
  1712.  
  1713. <p>Larry Rogers, gerente de salud ambiental del Distrito de Salud del Sur de Nevada (SNHD), dijo que la nueva ley hizo poco para cambiar las reglas que ya existen para los vendedores de alimentos al aire libre.</p>
  1714.  
  1715.  
  1716.  
  1717. <p>Rogers mencionó los esfuerzos continuos para ayudar a los vendedores, destacando que según la nueva ley, el distrito de salud también debe permitir un plan de pago para sus tarifas de permisos.</p>
  1718.  
  1719.  
  1720.  
  1721. <p>Rogers añadió que el SNHD permite la opción de que los vendedores utilicen equipo casero durante un período limitado mientras trabajan para obtener equipos de calidad comercial.</p>
  1722.  
  1723.  
  1724.  
  1725. <p>Para Doñate, ese tipo de apoyo no es suficiente.</p>
  1726.  
  1727.  
  1728.  
  1729. <p>“Vamos a tener muchos problemas donde varias de estas personas van a solicitar la licencia comercial, pero no la van a recibir debido a los requisitos del distrito de salud”, dijo Doñate. “Se van a quedar atrapados en este limbo de reincidencia y retraumatización simplemente porque pusimos estos requisitos y no llegamos a un acuerdo con la comunidad en donde nos pidió llegar”.</p>
  1730.  
  1731.  
  1732.  
  1733. <p>Personal del condado y del distrito de salud evitó pronosticar cuántos vendedores ambulantes solicitarían licencias.</p>
  1734.  
  1735.  
  1736.  
  1737. <p>“Pero quiero que la gente empiece a venir al distrito de salud y pida estos permisos”, dijo Rogers. “Ni siquiera puedo predecir cómo será ... Incluso unas cuantas personas estarían bien. Hemos tenido cero interés”.</p>
  1738.  
  1739.  
  1740.  
  1741. <p>Por ahora, sólo queda esperar.</p>
  1742.  
  1743.  
  1744.  
  1745. <p>“Todavía hay muchas dudas”, dijo Doñate.</p>
  1746. ]]></content:encoded>
  1750. </item>
  1751. <item>
  1752. <title>The future is bright</title>
  1753. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/the-future-is-bright</link>
  1755. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hali Saylor]]></dc:creator>
  1756. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1757. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1758. <category><![CDATA[Amy Alonzo]]></category>
  1759. <category><![CDATA[Carly Sauvageau]]></category>
  1760. <category><![CDATA[David Calvert]]></category>
  1761. <category><![CDATA[Eric Neugeboren]]></category>
  1762. <category><![CDATA[Fontainebleau Las Vegas]]></category>
  1763. <category><![CDATA[Gabby Birenbaum]]></category>
  1764. <category><![CDATA[Howard Stutz]]></category>
  1765. <category><![CDATA[IndyFest]]></category>
  1766. <category><![CDATA[IndyTalks]]></category>
  1767. <category><![CDATA[Nevada Division of Child and Family Services]]></category>
  1768. <category><![CDATA[Rocio Hernandez]]></category>
  1769. <category><![CDATA[Sean Golonka]]></category>
  1770. <category><![CDATA[Stavros Anthony]]></category>
  1771. <category><![CDATA[Tabitha Mueller]]></category>
  1772. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159056</guid>
  1773.  
  1774. <description><![CDATA[I am thrilled to tell you that 60 days later, we have stabilized the ship, and I see smooth sailing ahead. There is still work to do, and we still need your help in achieving long-term sustainability. ]]></description>
  1775. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1776. <p>It’s been<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/change-and-hope"> two months</a> since I told you about <em>The Indy</em>’s restructuring.</p>
  1777.  
  1778.  
  1779.  
  1780. <p>I am thrilled to tell you that 60 days later, we have stabilized the ship, and I see smooth sailing ahead. There is still work to do, and we still need your help in achieving long-term sustainability. But thanks to a dedicated revenue team opening new fundraising doors and a talented group of reporters continuing to produce stellar stories, we are well on our way.</p>
  1781.  
  1782.  
  1783.  
  1784. <p>There’s a lot happening on the fundraising and journalism fronts:</p>
  1785.  
  1786.  
  1787.  
  1788. <p>— IndyTalks: <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/event/157845">A Las Vegas mayoral forum</a> on May 15 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas that will end up on TV, too.</p>
  1789.  
  1790.  
  1791.  
  1792. <p>— An IndyTalks in Reno on June 4 about the future of Reno’s economy with three industry leaders. (Details coming soon.)</p>
  1793.  
  1794.  
  1795.  
  1796. <p>— Our annual public policy conference, <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/event/indyfest-2024">IndyFest</a>, on Oct. 4-5 at Red Rock Resort.</p>
  1797.  
  1798.  
  1799.  
  1800. <p>What do these events have in common?</p>
  1801.  
  1802.  
  1803.  
  1804. <p>They allow us to leverage the kinds of interviews and panel discussions you can’t find anywhere else to show our value to the community and raise money so we can expand our reach. And this is just the beginning.</p>
  1805.  
  1806.  
  1807.  
  1808. <p>We plan to hold a half-dozen or so major events before the end of the year, all of them guaranteed to elevate the civic conversation in our state. And we have been gratified by the number of new donors who have come forward — big and small — to help us replenish our bank account and make me feel even better about the future.</p>
  1809.  
  1810.  
  1811.  
  1812. <p>This wouldn’t be happening without this talented team of journalists showing why we are the go-to place for coverage of public policy, government and politics in Nevada. Since I last wrote to you:</p>
  1813.  
  1814.  
  1815.  
  1816. <p>— Sean Golonka, a tremendous data journalist,<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lt-gov-anthony-uses-office-budget-for-record-travel-as-he-makes-position-full-time"> investigated</a> the lieutenant governor’s travel and found Stavros Anthony recording the largest travel budget in the sinecure’s history.</p>
  1817.  
  1818.  
  1819.  
  1820. <p>— Eric Neugeboren, an intern who will become a full-time employee soon, has done a number of superb investigative pieces, including one on<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/workers-in-nv-child-mental-health-agency-say-manager-bullied-them-with-nobody-to-help"> Nevada’s Division of Child and Family Services </a>.</p>
  1821.  
  1822.  
  1823.  
  1824. <p>— Tabitha Mueller has broken many stories on the political beat and produced<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/unpaid-bills-internal-strife-within-immunize-nevada-preceded-state-dropping-grants"> a damning investigation</a> of a nonprofit responsible for boosting Nevada’s woeful immunization rate.</p>
  1825.  
  1826.  
  1827.  
  1828. <p>— Amy Alonzo digs up environmental stories no one else does,<a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/one-recovery-effort-two-strains-of-fish-the-complex-comeback-of-lahontan-cutthroat-trout"> including her recent deep dive</a> (enhanced by remarkable David Calvert photos) into dual efforts to preserve a threatened fish species.</p>
  1829.  
  1830.  
  1831.  
  1832. <p>— Our woman in D.C., Gabby Birenbaum, has become a CNN staple and has been tracking the delegation and breaking stories from far, such as <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/week-later-underdog-nevada-gop-senate-hopeful-gunters-massive-ad-buy-yet-to-materialize">a Senate hopeful’s unfulfilled promise to make a TV buy</a>. (After her story, he made a buy.)</p>
  1833.  
  1834.  
  1835.  
  1836. <p>These are but a few examples of the dozens of stories in the last two months that this corps of hard-working journalists have produced. Howard Stutz continues to break news on the Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas and dig into trends such as the state’s new cannabis lounges, Rocio Hernandez has been all over developments in our K-12 schools throughout the state including fact-checking the governor, and Carly Sauvageau has pitched in on so many fronts including on telling the story of rural newspapers’ fight to survive.</p>
  1837.  
  1838.  
  1839.  
  1840. <p>I am so thankful and honored to be working with these people, who believe in our mission and who know that never has the need for independent journalism been as great. In the coming months, we will lean into our election coverage, which we do better than anyone, including analyses of issues and stances, funding sources and candidate claims. We also plan on more forums and debates, where candidates will have to answer tough questions.</p>
  1841.  
  1842.  
  1843.  
  1844. <p>I want to do more, of course. I am frustrated that we do not — yet! — have the resources to really dive as deeply as we’d like into local government coverage. But we are continuing to foster relationships with news organizations in every corner of the state, and stay tuned for some very good news coming this Wednesday.</p>
  1845.  
  1846.  
  1847.  
  1848. <p>Good reporters cost money, and to fulfill our mission of accountability journalism and deeply reported pieces on issues that matter most, we need your help. Whether it’s a small, recurring monthly donation or something larger, I hope you will consider<a href="https://nevadaindependent.fundjournalism.org/donate/?campaign=7013i000000ca2IAAQ"> being part of <em>The Indy</em> family</a>.</p>
  1849.  
  1850.  
  1851.  
  1852. <p>I have never wavered in my belief that the best is yet to come. I hope you join us on our journey.</p>
  1853.  
  1854.  
  1855.  
  1856. <p>Onward!</p>
  1857.  
  1858.  
  1859.  
  1860. <p><em>Jon Ralston is the CEO and editor of The Indy.</em></p>
  1861. ]]></content:encoded>
  1865. </item>
  1866. <item>
  1867. <title>Candidates backed by Lombardo or Democratic caucuses locked in close fundraising battle</title>
  1868. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/candidates-backed-by-lombardo-or-democratic-caucuses-locked-in-close-fundraising-battle</link>
  1870. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tabitha Mueller]]></dc:creator>
  1871. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1872. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  1873. <category><![CDATA[Legislature]]></category>
  1874. <category><![CDATA[Alexis Hansen]]></category>
  1875. <category><![CDATA[annette dawson owens]]></category>
  1876. <category><![CDATA[April Arndt]]></category>
  1877. <category><![CDATA[Bill Clinton]]></category>
  1878. <category><![CDATA[Brian Hibbetts]]></category>
  1879. <category><![CDATA[Brian Martin Paonessa]]></category>
  1880. <category><![CDATA[Carrie Buck]]></category>
  1881. <category><![CDATA[Clark County Firefighters PAC]]></category>
  1882. <category><![CDATA[Dallas Harris]]></category>
  1883. <category><![CDATA[Daniele Monroe-Moreno]]></category>
  1884. <category><![CDATA[David Brog]]></category>
  1885. <category><![CDATA[Diana Sande]]></category>
  1886. <category><![CDATA[Elaine Marzola]]></category>
  1887. <category><![CDATA[Erica Mosca]]></category>
  1888. <category><![CDATA[Fabian Donate]]></category>
  1889. <category><![CDATA[Heidi Kasama]]></category>
  1890. <category><![CDATA[Heidi Kasma]]></category>
  1891. <category><![CDATA[Jennifer Atlas]]></category>
  1892. <category><![CDATA[Joe Dalia]]></category>
  1893. <category><![CDATA[Joe Lombardo]]></category>
  1894. <category><![CDATA[Joseph Lombardo]]></category>
  1895. <category><![CDATA[Joyce Woodhouse]]></category>
  1896. <category><![CDATA[Keith Pickard]]></category>
  1897. <category><![CDATA[ken gray]]></category>
  1898. <category><![CDATA[Lesley Cohen]]></category>
  1899. <category><![CDATA[Lisa Cole]]></category>
  1900. <category><![CDATA[Lori Rogich]]></category>
  1901. <category><![CDATA[M Resort]]></category>
  1902. <category><![CDATA[Melissa Hardy]]></category>
  1903. <category><![CDATA[Michelle Gorelow]]></category>
  1904. <category><![CDATA[Miriam Adelson]]></category>
  1905. <category><![CDATA[Nevada Strong PAC]]></category>
  1906. <category><![CDATA[Nevada Way PAC]]></category>
  1907. <category><![CDATA[New Day Nevada]]></category>
  1908. <category><![CDATA[New Day Nevada PAC]]></category>
  1909. <category><![CDATA[Nicole Cannizzaro]]></category>
  1910. <category><![CDATA[rafael arroyo]]></category>
  1911. <category><![CDATA[Rebecca Edgeworth]]></category>
  1912. <category><![CDATA[Richard McArthur]]></category>
  1913. <category><![CDATA[Roberta Lange]]></category>
  1914. <category><![CDATA[Robin Titus]]></category>
  1915. <category><![CDATA[Ronald Nelsen]]></category>
  1916. <category><![CDATA[Ryan Hampton]]></category>
  1917. <category><![CDATA[Sandra Jauregui]]></category>
  1918. <category><![CDATA[Selena La Rue Hatch]]></category>
  1919. <category><![CDATA[Sharifa Wahab]]></category>
  1920. <category><![CDATA[Shea Backus]]></category>
  1921. <category><![CDATA[Sig Rogich]]></category>
  1922. <category><![CDATA[Southwest Gas]]></category>
  1923. <category><![CDATA[Steve Yeager]]></category>
  1924. <category><![CDATA[We Stand for Recovery]]></category>
  1925. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159064</guid>
  1926.  
  1927. <description><![CDATA[The fundraising lead is split in the 10 competitive races where both parties’ establishments have endorsed candidates.]]></description>
  1928. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1929. <p>The legislative fundraising battle is tight between GOP candidates backed by Gov. Joe Lombardo and their likely general election opponents supported by the Democratic establishment.</p>
  1930.  
  1931.  
  1932.  
  1933. <p><em>The Nevada Independent </em>identified 10 legislative elections that are expected to be competitive in the general election — based on voter registration data and past results — and have establishment-backed candidates in both parties. In these races, there is an even split of contests in which the Lombardo-backed candidates raised more money from January through March and races where the Democratic candidate had a fundraising lead.&nbsp;</p>
  1934.  
  1935.  
  1936.  
  1937. <p>Some of these candidates still have to prevail in their June primary race, but establishment-backed candidates <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/establishment-backed-candidates-have-financial-lead-in-key-legislative-primaries">have an early fundraising lead</a>, giving them a leg up in their races.</p>
  1938.  
  1939.  
  1940.  
  1941. <p>The stakes are high — Democrats control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one short of a two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto) and 28 seats — a supermajority — in the 42-member Assembly. The outcome of a few key races could change whether Lombardo’s ability to veto bills stands.</p>
  1942.  
  1943.  
  1944.  
  1945. <p>Read below for highlights of noteworthy races based on campaign finance reports due last week, which offer the last comprehensive glimpse of the fundraising picture before the June primary:</p>
  1946.  
  1947.  
  1948.  
  1949. <p><strong>Incumbent behind in fundraising</strong></p>
  1950.  
  1951.  
  1952.  
  1953. <p>In Senate District 11, which includes portions of southwestern Las Vegas, Republican Lori Rogich <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=PcMlBNqjWAYyel4Z9eDC1A%253d%253d">raised</a> $96,300 more than incumbent Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas), who is seeking her second full term after she was first appointed to the seat in 2018 and who <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=UmhrrM6SHk62f8wWeyUjEg%253d%253d">raised</a> about $63,000 during the first quarter.</p>
  1954.  
  1955.  
  1956.  
  1957. <p>Rogich’s notable donations, which contributed to a haul of more than $159,300, include a maximum $10,000 donation from Miriam Adelson, a prominent Republican donor who owns the <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal </em>and has an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/">estimated net worth of $32 billion</a>. A pro-Lombardo political action committee, Nevada Way PAC, also donated $5,000 to Rogich’s campaign alongside $5,000 from Sen. Robin Titus (R-Wellington).</p>
  1958.  
  1959.  
  1960.  
  1961. <p>Harris’s haul was supported by a $10,000 donation from Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager’s (D-Las Vegas) Nevada Strong PAC, a $10,000 contribution from Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas), $5,000 from Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) and $5,000 from the pro-Democrat New Day Nevada PAC.</p>
  1962.  
  1963.  
  1964.  
  1965. <p>Heading into the primary, Rogich, an attorney who served as co-chair of Lombardo’s education transition committee and is married to prominent consultant Sig Rogich, has about $279,600 in cash on hand, while Harris has more than $183,700. So far, Rogich has outspent Harris, reporting about $43,800 in campaign expenses to the $16,100 Harris has spent. Harris is not facing a primary challenger, though Rogich will face Brian Martin Paonessa (who <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=YTnUQXoRLhF188fOCfc2Gw%253d%253d">raised less than $2,000</a> in the quarter) in the district’s Republican primary.</p>
  1966.  
  1967.  
  1968.  
  1969. <p>Republicans view this Democratic-leaning district as an opportunity to flip a state Senate seat. However, name recognition matters in <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/how-much-does-money-matter-in-close-nevada-legislative-races">legislative elections</a>.</p>
  1970.  
  1971.  
  1972.  
  1973. <p><strong>Narrowest fundraising difference</strong></p>
  1974.  
  1975.  
  1976.  
  1977. <p>The closest fundraising difference between Lombardo-backed and Democratic Caucus-backed candidates came in the open Assembly District 35, a district that covers parts of southwest Las Vegas and is <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/assemblywoman-michelle-gorelow-wont-run-for-re-election-amid-scrutiny-over-nonprofit-ties">being vacated</a> by Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow (D-Las Vegas).&nbsp;</p>
  1978.  
  1979.  
  1980.  
  1981. <p>In the fundraising battle, Democratic business owner Sharifa Wahab <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=XNPwErpp87NG%252fHWqhj%252fGSg%253d%253d">raised more than $26,700</a> during the first quarter, while Republican Dr. Rebecca Edgeworth <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=iwf56BHlhOY3yz8nvu924Q%253d%253d">raised more than $27,800</a>.</p>
  1982.  
  1983.  
  1984.  
  1985. <p>Edgeworth received $5,000 from the pro-Lombardo Nevada Way PAC, $2,500 from the Clark County Firefighters PAC and $1,500 from NEV MED Political Action. She also received $1,000 donations from Republican Assemblymembers Melissa Hardy, Brian Hibbetts, Heidi Kasama, Greg Hafen and Bert Gurr.</p>
  1986.  
  1987.  
  1988.  
  1989. <p>Wahab received $10,000 from Lange, $2,000 from Yeager, $1,000 from Assemblyman Duy Nguyen (D-Las Vegas), $1,000 from Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) and $1,000 from Assemblywoman Erica Mosca (D-Las Vegas).</p>
  1990.  
  1991.  
  1992.  
  1993. <p>Edgeworth has $51,000 in cash on hand, and Wahab has about $20,800. Edgeworth reported spending more than $7,500 while Wahab reported about $515 in expenses.</p>
  1994.  
  1995.  
  1996.  
  1997. <p>Neither candidate is facing a primary.</p>
  1998.  
  1999.  
  2000.  
  2001. <p><strong>Recovery advocate posts six-figure haul</strong></p>
  2002.  
  2003.  
  2004.  
  2005. <p>The race for Assembly District 4 — open because Assemblyman Richard McArthur (R-Las Vegas) is running for Senate District 18 — offers a pickup opportunity for Democrats.</p>
  2006.  
  2007.  
  2008.  
  2009. <p>Democrats have hitched their wagons to Ryan Hampton, a political newcomer who served as an aide to former President Bill Clinton and has led many addiction recovery campaigns (Hampton is in recovery from a decade-long opioid addiction).</p>
  2010.  
  2011.  
  2012.  
  2013. <p>Hampton <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=DHyOkLV7%252bnSaFand75H5MA%253d%253d">reported raising</a> $125,000 in the first quarter and has more than $200,000 in cash on hand. His haul included donations from addiction recovery groups — We Stand for Recovery ($10,000) and Get Help ($8,000) — and legislators, including $2,000 each from Jauregui and Yeager. He also received $10,000 from a California law firm that has filed opioid litigation.</p>
  2014.  
  2015.  
  2016.  
  2017. <p>Meanwhile, Lisa Cole, a conservative businesswoman backed by Lombardo, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=7iQkEn7%252by4p6%252ftqu0GyIVg%253d%253d">raised around $51,000</a> in the first quarter and has around $88,000 in cash on hand. She received $2,500 from the Nevada Way PAC, another $2,500 from the Clark County Firefighters PAC and $1,000 each from Kasama and Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen (R-Sparks).</p>
  2018.  
  2019.  
  2020.  
  2021. <p>In the northwestern Las Vegas district, nonpartisans make up the largest share of registered voters, while Republicans have a narrow voter registration advantage over Democrats.&nbsp;</p>
  2022.  
  2023.  
  2024.  
  2025. <p>Without any primary challengers, both candidates will advance to the general election.</p>
  2026.  
  2027.  
  2028.  
  2029. <p><strong>Tides turn in Assembly District 37</strong></p>
  2030.  
  2031.  
  2032.  
  2033. <p>Earlier this year, the GOP groups pounced on a fundraising lead in Democrat-controlled Assembly District 37.</p>
  2034.  
  2035.  
  2036.  
  2037. <p>Republican David Brog in 2023 more than doubled the fundraising haul of incumbent Assemblywoman Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas). A Lombardo-affiliated PAC <a href="https://twitter.com/BetterNevadaPAC/status/1747716477829140772">tweeted</a> that Brog was “well-positioned to flip this crucial seat.”</p>
  2038.  
  2039.  
  2040.  
  2041. <p>Three months later, the tides have shifted.</p>
  2042.  
  2043.  
  2044.  
  2045. <p>Backus <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=UjN2zNLRMmpXUqES3fdNMg%253d%253d">reported raising</a> $63,000 in the first quarter, buoyed by a $10,000 donation from a PAC led by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) and $25,000 from other legislators, including Yeager and state Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas). She reported&nbsp; around $140,000 in cash on hand.</p>
  2046.  
  2047.  
  2048.  
  2049. <p>Brog, who is running unopposed in the June primary, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=7CgD0AN%252byy5dqrCLH5lGNw%253d%253d">reported raising</a> $32,000 in the first quarter and has around $130,000 in cash on hand. He received $10,000 from Miriam Adelson and $2,500 from the Nevada Way PAC.&nbsp;</p>
  2050.  
  2051.  
  2052.  
  2053. <p>The race is likely to be close. Backus won her 2022 race by around 800 votes and lost the same race in 2020 by a similar margin. Democrats have a slight voter registration advantage in the Summerlin-area district.</p>
  2054.  
  2055.  
  2056.  
  2057. <p><strong>Six remaining districts</strong></p>
  2058.  
  2059.  
  2060.  
  2061. <p>In the six other competitive districts, five incumbents running for re-election far outraised the candidate backed by the opposite party who will likely face them in the general election.&nbsp;</p>
  2062.  
  2063.  
  2064.  
  2065. <p>Assembly District 29, which is open after Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen (D-Las Vegas) announced she would not run for re-election, the Lombardo-backed Republican candidate, Annette Dawson Owens, outraised Democrat Joe Dalia by nearly $12,000.&nbsp;</p>
  2066.  
  2067.  
  2068.  
  2069. <p>Dalia <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=MtcZ6RcEy4lsD0kQfGRG4A%253d%253d">reported raising</a> more than $13,200 during the first quarter, compared to <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=6hkm329urL1VpZGkTZXZiQ%253d%253d">Dawson Owens’ almost $25,200</a>. However, Dalia spent $2,500 more in campaign expenses and had a war chest of nearly $123,200 in cash on hand heading into the primary, while Dawson Owens had about $51,000 in cash on hand.</p>
  2070.  
  2071.  
  2072.  
  2073. <p>Dawson Owens’ received $500 each from Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) and Assemblyman Ken Gray (R-Dayton). She also received $2,500 from the Nevada Way PAC, $5,000 from the M Resort and $500 from the Nevadans for Integrity in Politics PAC, which is a PAC registered with former Sen. Keith Pickard (R-Henderson).</p>
  2074.  
  2075.  
  2076.  
  2077. <p>Dalia received $2,500 from a PAC associated with Laborers Local 872, $2,500 from Southwest Gas, $1,000 from Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola (D-Henderson), $1,000 from New Day Nevada PAC and $1,000 from former state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse (D-Henderson).</p>
  2078.  
  2079.  
  2080.  
  2081. <p>In other competitive Southern Nevada legislative races:</p>
  2082.  
  2083.  
  2084.  
  2085. <ul>
  2086. <li>In Southern Nevada’s Senate District 5, represented by Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson), <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=ba7ekW7%252fFvnKatTs3gqYkQ%253d%253d">Buck raised</a> nearly $53,000, outraising Senate Democratic Caucus-backed candidate <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=SQ9a%252fNgPeNO%252fdu0liKK%252flg%253d%253d">Jennifer Atlas</a> by more than $12,700.&nbsp;</li>
  2087.  
  2088.  
  2089.  
  2090. <li><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=6HZt9PPPFrzMlZc5fegqsQ%253d%253d">Marzola</a> raised about $44,500, about $30,000 more than the Lombardo-backed Republican candidate <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=N9i8NID2cBF%252b92CxW7bM3Q%253d%253d">April Arndt</a> in Las Vegas’ Assembly District 21.&nbsp;</li>
  2091.  
  2092.  
  2093.  
  2094. <li>Assemblywoman <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=uDJ8UcVks1hkfdkERjRLeQ%253d%253d">Sandra Jauregui</a> (D-Las Vegas) raised about $62,000, outraising Republican <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=y6Pko0ekM19vdte%252f0X%252bGEg%253d%253d">Rafael Arroyo</a> by nearly $48,500 in Southern Nevada’s Assembly District 41.&nbsp;</li>
  2095. </ul>
  2096.  
  2097.  
  2098.  
  2099. <p>In the only Northern Nevada district where a Lombardo-backed candidate is preparing to square off against a Democratic incumbent — Assembly District 25 — Assemblywoman <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=jZC60ZUh9ue7pAOjFaUcZQ%253d%253d">Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno)</a>, raised $16,200 more than her Republican challenger, <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=CLy46TA64TZaYgQi1TKiSQ%253d%253d">Diana Sande</a>. The district, which includes portions of southwestern Reno, is considered a swing district.</p>
  2100.  
  2101.  
  2102.  
  2103. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=rTQCm8bpy8%252bPQsZt5nhuUw%253d%253d">Kasama reported</a> raising nearly $153,000 more than her Democratic challenger, businessman <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=AQk0XcjmTn6UGbE08%252fvdeg%253d%253d">Ronald Nelsen</a>, who only reported raising $2,100. Nelsen announced his bid on March 15, two weeks before the fundraising quarter ended. The majority of the funding Kasama reported raising came in the form of a $129,200 refund from a super PAC that she had donated to before dropping her congressional bid in favor of running for re-election.</p>
  2104.  
  2105.  
  2106.  
  2107. <p><em>Editor’s note: This story is part of Indy Elections, The Nevada Independent’s newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2024 elections. Sign up for the newsletter </em><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/newsletters"><em>here</em></a></p>
  2108. ]]></content:encoded>
  2112. </item>
  2113. <item>
  2114. <title>Urged by Cortez Masto, CVS and Walgreens begin dispensing abortion pill in Nevada</title>
  2115. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/urged-by-cortez-masto-cvs-and-walgreens-begin-dispensing-abortion-pill-in-nevada</link>
  2117. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Gabby Birenbaum]]></dc:creator>
  2118. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2119. <category><![CDATA[Courts]]></category>
  2120. <category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
  2121. <category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
  2122. <category><![CDATA[A1C Pharmacy]]></category>
  2123. <category><![CDATA[AmerisourceBergen]]></category>
  2124. <category><![CDATA[Catherine Cortez Masto]]></category>
  2125. <category><![CDATA[CVS]]></category>
  2126. <category><![CDATA[Denise Lopez]]></category>
  2127. <category><![CDATA[Jason Guinasso]]></category>
  2128. <category><![CDATA[Rebecca Gill]]></category>
  2129. <category><![CDATA[Renown Pharmacy]]></category>
  2130. <category><![CDATA[Reproductive Freedom for All]]></category>
  2131. <category><![CDATA[Walgreens]]></category>
  2132. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=158971</guid>
  2133.  
  2134. <description><![CDATA[Mifepristone is available in Nevada via mail or at clinics, but abortion rights advocates say the pharmacy option will make access as simple as patients visiting their regular doctor’s office (which often are not certified to stock the abortion pill), obtaining a prescription and then picking it up at their local pharmacy. ]]></description>
  2135. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2136. <p>Almost a year after major pharmacy chains began waffling at the prospect of filling mifepristone prescriptions, Walgreens and CVS began dispensing the abortion pill in Nevada during the last few weeks.</p>
  2137.  
  2138.  
  2139.  
  2140. <p>The decision comes after a concentrated push by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), who called on the chains to follow through with Food &amp; Drug Administration (FDA) guidance updates finalized in 2023 allowing mifepristone to be dispensed and sold at pharmacies.</p>
  2141.  
  2142.  
  2143.  
  2144. <p>Now the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/01/health/abortion-pills-cvs-walgreens.html">most common means</a> of terminating a pregnancy, mifepristone is the first of a two-pill drug regimen that patients can take within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The pro-abortion rights <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-more-half-all-us-abortions">Guttmacher Institute</a> estimates that medication is now used for more than half (54 percent) of all abortions.</p>
  2145.  
  2146.  
  2147.  
  2148. <p>Mifepristone is available in Nevada via mail or at clinics, but abortion rights advocates say the pharmacy option will make access as simple as patients visiting their regular doctor’s office (which often are not certified to stock the abortion pill), obtaining a prescription and then picking it up at their local pharmacy.&nbsp;</p>
  2149.  
  2150.  
  2151.  
  2152. <p>But the drug’s new availability in Nevada could be imperiled — or made more significant — by a case before the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to consider the legality of the drug itself and the FDA’s recent moves to expand its access.</p>
  2153.  
  2154.  
  2155.  
  2156. <p>And if the Supreme Court rules against the FDA, its impacts would be felt even in states that have legalized abortion — such as Nevada.</p>
  2157.  
  2158.  
  2159.  
  2160. <p>“It's not a red state-blue state thing,” said Rebecca Gill, a political science professor at UNLV. “There is no state law … that exempt[s] us from this.”</p>
  2161.  
  2162.  
  2163.  
  2164. <p><strong>To dispense or not to dispense</strong></p>
  2165.  
  2166.  
  2167.  
  2168. <p>In January 2023, the FDA issued a rule permitting pharmacies to dispense mifepristone at their physical locations to patients with a prescription, circumventing the need to return to a doctor’s office or rely on the mail to receive the time-sensitive drug. As part of the Biden administration’s effort to make abortion more accessible, the dispensing of mifepristone quickly became the latest battleground in a protracted war between the Democrat-led federal government and Republican-run states aiming to restrict abortion access.</p>
  2169.  
  2170.  
  2171.  
  2172. <p>When drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen and retail pharmacy chain Walgreens <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/business/walgreens-abortion-pill.html">announced</a> last March they would not move forward with dispensing the pill in states where they faced legal blowback from Republicans — potentially imperiling access in other states where abortion is legal, given the need for a certification process from the FDA — Cortez Masto pounced.</p>
  2173.  
  2174.  
  2175.  
  2176. <p>In both public letters and private conversations, the senator made the case that the patchwork of state abortion laws should not preclude Nevadans, who are guaranteed the right to an abortion through 24 weeks of pregnancy, from being able to access prescribed mifepristone at pharmacies.</p>
  2177.  
  2178.  
  2179.  
  2180. <p>“I started with the fact that Nevada is a proud pro-choice state,” she said in a recent interview. “Nevada should not be penalized because other states wrongly have restricted a woman's access to abortion.”</p>
  2181.  
  2182.  
  2183.  
  2184. <p>After months of deliberation and then a certification process, Walgreens and CVS — which initially had been mum on their plans — announced this March that they would begin dispensing the abortion pill in pharmacies in select states. Nevada was not included in the initial rollout, and the recent expansion to the Silver State, first reported in <em>The Nevada Independent</em>, was not publicized.</p>
  2185.  
  2186.  
  2187.  
  2188. <p>Now, Nevada patients with a mifepristone prescription can pick the pill at either pharmacy. Without making any formal announcements, the companies each confirmed to <em>The Nevada Independent</em> that mifepristone is now available at their pharmacies in Nevada. CVS began dispensing the abortion pill in Nevada on March 19, and Walgreens followed suit on April 17.</p>
  2189.  
  2190.  
  2191.  
  2192. <p>Two <a href="https://genbiopro.com/roster/">independent pharmacies</a> — A1C Pharmacy in Las Vegas and three locations of Renown Pharmacy in Reno — have also elected to begin dispensing mifepristone.&nbsp;</p>
  2193.  
  2194.  
  2195.  
  2196. <p>Denise Lopez, the Nevada director of abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, said pharmacy dispensing will also make it easier for people seeking abortions and coming from neighboring states, who have at times <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/las-vegas-sees-big-spike-in-out-of-state-abortion-seekers-2800219/">overwhelmed</a> Nevada’s reproductive care providers.</p>
  2197.  
  2198.  
  2199.  
  2200. <p>“In Utah and Arizona and Idaho, there's a lot of restrictions and bans,” Lopez said. “So this [new pharmacy policy] is going to definitely help people who are trying to get access to the services that they need.”</p>
  2201.  
  2202.  
  2203.  
  2204. <p>Jason Guinasso, the attorney for the Coalition for Parents and Children PAC, a Nevada group that sued to stop a pair of statewide abortion ballot questions, said he has concerns about patients receiving mifepristone in the mail and having complications. But he was accepting of the new pharmacy policy.</p>
  2205.  
  2206.  
  2207.  
  2208. <p>“If they're doing that under the supervision of their doctor and it’s dispensed through a pharmacy, then at least you've got some oversight,” Guinasso said.</p>
  2209.  
  2210.  
  2211.  
  2212. <p><strong>Legal threats</strong></p>
  2213.  
  2214.  
  2215.  
  2216. <p>However, pharmacies could stop filling prescriptions for mifepristone in July when the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the case brought by a group of doctors seeking to end the FDA’s approval of the drug.</p>
  2217.  
  2218.  
  2219.  
  2220. <p>The case has been <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/d-c-download-are-democrats-right-that-abortion-is-on-the-ballot-in-2024">working its way</a> through the courts since 2023, when a group of conservative doctors filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA’s 2000 approval of the abortion pill and subsequent updates expanding how far into a pregnancy it can be used and means of access. The plaintiffs sued on the basis that the FDA’s approval process for the drug was improper, rather than presenting an incident in which the doctors suffered.&nbsp;</p>
  2221.  
  2222.  
  2223.  
  2224. <p>In April 2023, a federal district court judge <a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/medication-abortion-fda-supreme-court-alliance-hippocratic-medicine/">ruled</a> in favor of the plaintiffs, temporarily ending the FDA’s approval of the drug and blocking its use. FDA approval — and ability to send the drug in the mail — was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-ruling.html#:~:text=After%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20overturned,pill%20withdrawn%20from%20the%20market.">quickly restored</a> by an appeals court and the Supreme Court while the case continues to move through the courts.&nbsp;</p>
  2225.  
  2226.  
  2227.  
  2228. <p>In August 2023, a federal appeals court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/health/abortion-pill-ruling.html">ruled</a> that mifepristone is legal but that sending it in the mail is not, setting up the Supreme Court to make a final ruling.&nbsp;</p>
  2229.  
  2230.  
  2231.  
  2232. <p>Despite the fact that abortion is legal in Nevada, a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would in effect eliminate mifepristone access in the state, including the new availability at drugstores.&nbsp;</p>
  2233.  
  2234.  
  2235.  
  2236. <p>If the justices affirm the appeals court’s ruling that mifepristone cannot be sent in the mail, then the fact that pharmacies can distribute it at their physical locations would become more significant, especially for rural Nevadans for whom multiple trips to a doctor’s office is impractical or who are unlikely to live anywhere near a clinic or practice that is certified to dispense abortion pills.</p>
  2237.  
  2238.  
  2239.  
  2240. <p>“This would put more pressure on those pharmacies to dispense, because they would be the only means of access,” Gill said.</p>
  2241.  
  2242.  
  2243.  
  2244. <p>And if the justices rule in favor of the FDA or throw out the case, then access to mifepristone will remain as is in the state.</p>
  2245.  
  2246.  
  2247.  
  2248. <p>Guinasso said the case will represent an important data point in the post-<em>Roe</em> landscape about the parameters in which the justices are willing to issue decisions on abortion.</p>
  2249.  
  2250.  
  2251.  
  2252. <p>On March 26, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/26/politics/takeaways-from-the-supreme-court-arguments-over-the-abortion-drug-mifepristone/index.html">heard arguments</a> in the case. Several justices — including the three Trump appointees, who have become swing votes within the court’s 6-3 conservative majority — seemed skeptical of the conservative doctors’ claims, suggesting the case might be decided on the plaintiffs’ standing rather than the merits of the case.</p>
  2253.  
  2254.  
  2255.  
  2256. <p>Cortez Masto, who has <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-democrats-keep-abortion-top-of-mind-one-year-after-roe-overturned">sounded alarms</a> about conservative groups going after additional abortion rights through the federal judiciary, said the mifepristone case is one of several threats she’s monitoring.&nbsp;</p>
  2257.  
  2258.  
  2259.  
  2260. <p>“We have to be vigilant about everything — every potential challenge and restriction that right wing-Republicans want to do to further restrict women's rights in this country when it comes to reproductive freedom,” she said.</p>
  2261. ]]></content:encoded>
  2265. </item>
  2266. <item>
  2267. <title>OPINION: Economic development: Street vendors need not apply</title>
  2268. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/opinion-economic-development-street-vendors-need-not-apply</link>
  2270. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hali Saylor]]></dc:creator>
  2271. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2272. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  2273. <category><![CDATA[Clark County Commission]]></category>
  2274. <category><![CDATA[Fabian Donate]]></category>
  2275. <category><![CDATA[Formula One]]></category>
  2276. <category><![CDATA[Joe Lombardo]]></category>
  2277. <category><![CDATA[Major League Baseball]]></category>
  2278. <category><![CDATA[SB1]]></category>
  2279. <category><![CDATA[Street vendors]]></category>
  2280. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=158979</guid>
  2281.  
  2282. <description><![CDATA[Even without those harsher restrictions, Clark County’s strict approach to regulating street vendors isn’t going to provide much of a pathway for individuals with limited financial means.]]></description>
  2283. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2284. <p>Apparently, the Clark County Commission is fine with Formula One converting the resort corridor into a private raceway each year — but heaven forbid a taco cart is allowed to operate near a public park.&nbsp;</p>
  2285.  
  2286.  
  2287.  
  2288. <p>Last year Gov. Joe Lombardo signed <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/9698/Text">Senate Bill 92</a>, providing street vendors with the promise that their line of work would soon be legitimized throughout the state. However, local governments were still free to impose their own slew of regulations, restrictions and permitting requirements as part of a “legalized pathway” for vendors — and <a href="https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/apr/16/commissioners-ok-street-vendor-regulations-despite/">last week</a> the Clark County Commission did precisely that.&nbsp;</p>
  2289.  
  2290.  
  2291.  
  2292. <p>Under the ordinance, vendors will be required to maintain liability insurance, hold a permit with the health district and pay a $45 application fee as well as an annual fee of $150.&nbsp;</p>
  2293.  
  2294.  
  2295.  
  2296. <p>Even beyond the cost, however, the ordinance severely limits when, how and where vendors will be allowed to operate — requiring food carts to maintain a distance of at least 15 feet from any crosswalk or intersection, 150 feet from any licensed food establishment and a minimum of 500 feet from permitted events, schools and local parks. Commissioners also limited what hours vendors will be allowed to operate — forbidding any sales later than 9 p.m.&nbsp;</p>
  2297.  
  2298.  
  2299.  
  2300. <p>Ignoring even the most arbitrary of these restrictions will be costly for would-be food cart operators — with fines as much as $500 and up to six months in jail for certain violations.&nbsp;</p>
  2301.  
  2302.  
  2303.  
  2304. <p>Sure, the ordinance provides a pathway to legalization in Clark County, but that doesn’t mean the “pathway” is actually going to be navigable in any meaningful way. No wonder the primary sponsor of SB92, State Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas), described last week’s commission meeting as “<a href="https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/04/17/clark-county-approves-strict-regulations-on-sidewalk-vendors/">bittersweet</a>,” adding that the Legislature might have to revisit the issue next year.&nbsp;</p>
  2305.  
  2306.  
  2307.  
  2308. <p>Of course, not everyone believes the regulatory burdens are too excessive. The restaurant and food service industry, for example, was pushing for even <a href="https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/04/17/clark-county-approves-strict-regulations-on-sidewalk-vendors/">harsher restrictions</a> — ostensibly out of concern for consumer “safety” and trespassing concerns rather than a desire to quash potential <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regulatory-capture.asp">competition</a>.&nbsp;</p>
  2309.  
  2310.  
  2311.  
  2312. <p>Even without those harsher restrictions, Clark County’s strict approach to regulating street vendors isn’t going to provide much of a pathway for individuals with limited financial means. Indeed, a quick look to the west provides a glimpse into just how ineffectual and unworkable a heavy handed approach to “legalization” is in practice.&nbsp;</p>
  2313.  
  2314.  
  2315.  
  2316. <p>When&nbsp;<a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/gov-brown-signs-bill-legalizing-street-vending-in-california/">California passed a similar law to SB92 in 2018</a>, local licensure and regulatory requirements in Los Angeles rendered the statewide legalization of street vendors effectively useless.&nbsp;As an editorial in the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-12-13/editorial-legalize-street-food"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a> reported in 2021, the city’s restrictions on the industry were so onerous it made it virtually impossible for most vendors to comply.&nbsp;</p>
  2317.  
  2318.  
  2319.  
  2320. <p>For example, health standards at the time required vendors to prep all their food in commercial kitchen facilities — facilities that are far beyond the means of most low-income individuals trying to enter the market. Los Angeles regulators even went so far as to prohibit the “slicing [of] fruit or reheating [of] previously prepared food” at food carts, making it impossible for most street taco stands to become licensed at all.&nbsp;</p>
  2321.  
  2322.  
  2323.  
  2324. <p>While Clark County’s adopted ordinance isn’t anywhere near as draconian as that of Los Angeles, it will still be similarly exclusionary to a great number of would-be food cart operators throughout the Las Vegas Valley. From licensing fees to the restrictions on when and where vendors will be able to operate, last week’s ordinance will force far more vendors back into the shadows than it will legalize.&nbsp;</p>
  2325.  
  2326.  
  2327.  
  2328. <p>Unfortunately, such barriers and obstacles aren’t unique only to this one industry. As it turns out, Nevada has long had a problem with overregulating predominantly low-income occupations and vocations. The <a href="https://ij.org/report/license-to-work-3/ltw-state-profile/nevada/">Institute for Justice</a> regularly ranks our state as the most burdensome jurisdiction in the nation for licensure requirements on low-income professions.&nbsp;</p>
  2329.  
  2330.  
  2331.  
  2332. <p>For workers and entrepreneurs struggling to build a livelihood in Nevada, this hostile regulatory environment undoubtedly feels at odds with the way our electeds endlessly drone on about the need to <a href="https://goed.nv.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GOED-Provides-Pathway-to-Southern-Nevada-Diversification-03.07.2024.pdf">diversify and grow</a> our local economy. After all, what better way to improve the economic lot of ordinary Nevadans than reducing the barriers so many of them face when trying to enter the legal marketplace?&nbsp;</p>
  2333.  
  2334.  
  2335.  
  2336. <p>Clark County’s decidedly hostile approach toward legalizing street vendors also exposes just how unserious and hypocritical “economic development” policies have actually become in this state. Sure, politicians will rush to give <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/35th2023Special/Bill/11735/Overview">$380 million in public financial incentives</a> to one of Major League Baseball’s <a href="https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/runs-per-game">worst performing team</a>s — or tear up a large portion of the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/500m-paddock-building-topped-off-5-months-ahead-of-las-vegas-f1-race-weekend">resort corridor</a> for a brilliant weekend of F1 racing — but allowing a low-income entrepreneur to set up a “<a href="https://www.ktnv.com/news/street-stands-known-as-puestos-popping-up-across-las-vegas-valley">puesto</a>” after 9 p.m. is apparently a bridge too far.&nbsp;</p>
  2337.  
  2338.  
  2339.  
  2340. <p>Conservative or progressive, such obvious favoritism in Nevada’s economic development approach should scream out for reform. After all, a “pathway” to legitimacy isn’t of much use if it’s made too expensive, burdensome and narrow for the vast majority of would-be business owners to navigate. Maybe, before saddling an entire industry with regulations that will price countless individuals out of the market, the county should spend at least as much time collaborating with street vendors as they do with politically connected mega corporations and international motorsport organizations.&nbsp;</p>
  2341.  
  2342.  
  2343.  
  2344. <p>Surely, if commissioners can find a way to turn Las Vegas Boulevard into a raceway for one weekend each year, they can figure out an amicable way to let a few enterprising individuals sell tacos to passing tourists and hungry locals the rest of the time.</p>
  2345.  
  2346.  
  2347.  
  2348. <p><em>Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and founder of&nbsp;</em><a href="https://schauscreative.com/"><em>Schaus Creative LLC</em></a><em>&nbsp;— an agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses and activists tell their story and motivate change. He has more than a decade of experience in public affairs commentary, having worked as a news director, columnist, political humorist, and most recently as the director of communications for a public policy think tank. Follow him at SchausCreative.com or on Twitter at&nbsp;</em><a href="https://twitter.com/schausmichael"><em>@schausmichael</em></a><em>.</em></p>
  2349. ]]></content:encoded>
  2353. </item>
  2354. <item>
  2355. <title>Establishment-backed candidates have financial lead in key legislative primaries</title>
  2356. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/establishment-backed-candidates-have-financial-lead-in-key-legislative-primaries</link>
  2358. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tabitha Mueller]]></dc:creator>
  2359. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  2360. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  2361. <category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
  2362. <category><![CDATA[State Government]]></category>
  2363. <category><![CDATA[Aaron Ford]]></category>
  2364. <category><![CDATA[Alex velto]]></category>
  2365. <category><![CDATA[American Nevada Holdings LLC]]></category>
  2366. <category><![CDATA[Angela Taylor]]></category>
  2367. <category><![CDATA[Angie Taylor]]></category>
  2368. <category><![CDATA[Anthem Blue Cross]]></category>
  2369. <category><![CDATA[April Arndt]]></category>
  2370. <category><![CDATA[Brittney Miller]]></category>
  2371. <category><![CDATA[Charles Mark Neumann]]></category>
  2372. <category><![CDATA[Chelsy Fisher]]></category>
  2373. <category><![CDATA[Christian Bishop]]></category>
  2374. <category><![CDATA[Citizens for Justice]]></category>
  2375. <category><![CDATA[Clara Thomas]]></category>
  2376. <category><![CDATA[Craig Kidwell]]></category>
  2377. <category><![CDATA[Dina Neal]]></category>
  2378. <category><![CDATA[Elaine Marzola]]></category>
  2379. <category><![CDATA[Eric Hockstedler]]></category>
  2380. <category><![CDATA[Geoconda Arguello-Kline]]></category>
  2381. <category><![CDATA[Geoconda Hughes]]></category>
  2382. <category><![CDATA[Golden Entertainment]]></category>
  2383. <category><![CDATA[Harry Reid]]></category>
  2384. <category><![CDATA[Heather Goulding]]></category>
  2385. <category><![CDATA[Heidi Gansert]]></category>
  2386. <category><![CDATA[Howard Watts III]]></category>
  2387. <category><![CDATA[James Thomson]]></category>
  2388. <category><![CDATA[Jay Kenny]]></category>
  2389. <category><![CDATA[Jennifer Atlas]]></category>
  2390. <category><![CDATA[Joe Lombardo]]></category>
  2391. <category><![CDATA[John Ellison]]></category>
  2392. <category><![CDATA[John Steinbeck]]></category>
  2393. <category><![CDATA[Johnny Kerns]]></category>
  2394. <category><![CDATA[Jon McMahon]]></category>
  2395. <category><![CDATA[Jon Petrick]]></category>
  2396. <category><![CDATA[Joseph Lombardo]]></category>
  2397. <category><![CDATA[Josh Leavitt]]></category>
  2398. <category><![CDATA[Joyce Woodhouse]]></category>
  2399. <category><![CDATA[Kathleen Taylor]]></category>
  2400. <category><![CDATA[ken gray]]></category>
  2401. <category><![CDATA[LA Wireless]]></category>
  2402. <category><![CDATA[Laura Perkins]]></category>
  2403. <category><![CDATA[Michelee Cruz-Crawford]]></category>
  2404. <category><![CDATA[Mike Ginsburg]]></category>
  2405. <category><![CDATA[Minddie Lloyd]]></category>
  2406. <category><![CDATA[Naomi Duerr]]></category>
  2407. <category><![CDATA[Nevada Auto Dealers]]></category>
  2408. <category><![CDATA[nevada Justice Association]]></category>
  2409. <category><![CDATA[Nevada State Education Association]]></category>
  2410. <category><![CDATA[New Day Nevada]]></category>
  2411. <category><![CDATA[New Day Nevada PAC]]></category>
  2412. <category><![CDATA[Pamela Goynes-Brown]]></category>
  2413. <category><![CDATA[PK O&#039;Neill]]></category>
  2414. <category><![CDATA[R&S Leasing]]></category>
  2415. <category><![CDATA[Resorts World]]></category>
  2416. <category><![CDATA[Richard McArthur]]></category>
  2417. <category><![CDATA[Robin Titus]]></category>
  2418. <category><![CDATA[Rochelle Nguyen]]></category>
  2419. <category><![CDATA[Sandra Jauregui]]></category>
  2420. <category><![CDATA[Scott Black]]></category>
  2421. <category><![CDATA[Seevers Gansert]]></category>
  2422. <category><![CDATA[Sharron Angle]]></category>
  2423. <category><![CDATA[shelley berkley]]></category>
  2424. <category><![CDATA[Skip Daly]]></category>
  2425. <category><![CDATA[Stavros Anthony]]></category>
  2426. <category><![CDATA[Steve Wolfson]]></category>
  2427. <category><![CDATA[Steve Yeager]]></category>
  2428. <category><![CDATA[T-Mobile]]></category>
  2429. <category><![CDATA[The Ferraro Group]]></category>
  2430. <category><![CDATA[Toby Yurek]]></category>
  2431. <category><![CDATA[William Eric Hockstedler]]></category>
  2432. <category><![CDATA[Yvanna Cancela]]></category>
  2433. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=158986</guid>
  2434.  
  2435. <description><![CDATA[The establishment-backed candidate in all but one of the important primaries identified by The Nevada Independent had a fundraising lead in the first quarter.]]></description>
  2436. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2437. <p>With less than two months to go before Nevada’s June 11 primary, establishment-backed candidates in key legislative races generally have the financial edge over their opponents heading into the final pre-election stretch.</p>
  2438.  
  2439.  
  2440.  
  2441. <p>In nine legislative races tracked by <em>The Nevada Independent</em>, all but one of the candidates backed by either Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) or their party’s caucus in their respective chamber held a significant lead in money raised from January through March, according to an analysis of first quarter campaign finance reports released last week.</p>
  2442.  
  2443.  
  2444.  
  2445. <p>Though 10 state Senate races and 42 Assembly races are on the ballot in 2024, <em>The Nevada Independent</em> identified nine potentially competitive or notable races where either the winner is effectively guaranteed to prevail in November because of a lopsided party registration breakdown in the district, or because the winner will take part in a closely watched general election that could determine whether Lombardo keeps his veto power.</p>
  2446.  
  2447.  
  2448.  
  2449. <p>Democrats control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one short of a two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto) and 27 seats in the 42-member Assembly.&nbsp;</p>
  2450.  
  2451.  
  2452.  
  2453. <p>The campaign finance reports released last week are the last reports legislative candidates will have to file before the state’s June 11 primary — the next quarterly reporting deadline is in July, about a month after the election.</p>
  2454.  
  2455.  
  2456.  
  2457. <p>Financial advantages do not necessarily lead to electoral success, but more money raised allows candidates to spend more on anything from advertising to campaign supplies. A <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/how-much-does-money-matter-in-close-nevada-legislative-races"><em>Nevada Independent</em> analysis</a> found that more than two-thirds of winners in close legislative elections since 2016 had a fundraising lead at the start of the election year.</p>
  2458.  
  2459.  
  2460.  
  2461. <p>Here’s how the money breaks down in the key legislative primaries in the first quarter, separated by races that will be effectively or actually decided in the primary and those likely to be competitive in the general election.&nbsp;</p>
  2462.  
  2463.  
  2464.  
  2465. <p>Values above $1,000 have been rounded to the nearest $100. The partisan lean was determined based on voter registration data and prior election results.</p>
  2466.  
  2467.  
  2468.  
  2469. <p><strong>RACES DECIDED IN THE PRIMARY</strong></p>
  2470.  
  2471.  
  2472.  
  2473. <p><strong>Senate District 1 Democratic primary</strong></p>
  2474.  
  2475.  
  2476.  
  2477. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=wJNsEyMzjLW7rgcCAW3uMw%253d%253d">Michelee "Shelly" Crawford</a></p>
  2478.  
  2479.  
  2480.  
  2481. <ul>
  2482. <li>Money raised: $27,200</li>
  2483.  
  2484.  
  2485.  
  2486. <li>Money spent: $4,300</li>
  2487.  
  2488.  
  2489.  
  2490. <li>Cash on hand: $101,000</li>
  2491. </ul>
  2492.  
  2493.  
  2494.  
  2495. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=9VJyq9G1y%252bi9NaB7Jf8Ajg%253d%253d">Assemblywoman Clara Thomas (D-North Las Vegas)</a></p>
  2496.  
  2497.  
  2498.  
  2499. <ul>
  2500. <li>Money raised: $3,200</li>
  2501.  
  2502.  
  2503.  
  2504. <li>Money spent: $11,100</li>
  2505.  
  2506.  
  2507.  
  2508. <li>Cash on hand: $3,200</li>
  2509. </ul>
  2510.  
  2511.  
  2512.  
  2513. <p>Crawford, who’s endorsed by the Senate Democratic Caucus, raised almost nine times as much as Thomas in the open North Las Vegas state Senate seat held by termed-out Sen. Pat Spearman (D-North Las Vegas).</p>
  2514.  
  2515.  
  2516.  
  2517. <p>Crawford, a regent and principal, received $5,000 from a Southern Nevada building trades union and Citizens for Justice, the political arm of the Nevada Justice Association, a trade association for trial lawyers. She also received $2,500 from the New Day Nevada PAC, a group tied to Democratic consultants, and $100 from former state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse (D-Las Vegas).</p>
  2518.  
  2519.  
  2520.  
  2521. <p>Thomas, meanwhile, only reported raising around $3,000 in the first quarter. She received $1,000 from North Las Vegas City Councilman Scott Black, $500 from North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown and $500 from Las Vegas mayoral candidate Shelley Berkley.</p>
  2522.  
  2523.  
  2524.  
  2525. <p>The election winner will likely be decided in the primary because of the district’s heavy Democratic lean.</p>
  2526.  
  2527.  
  2528.  
  2529. <p><strong>Assembly District 27 Democratic primary</strong></p>
  2530.  
  2531.  
  2532.  
  2533. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=cs0rhiUzKet6Xg0ImA0qpg%253d%253d">Alex Velto</a></p>
  2534.  
  2535.  
  2536.  
  2537. <ul>
  2538. <li>Money raised: $32,500</li>
  2539.  
  2540.  
  2541.  
  2542. <li>Money spent: $24,300</li>
  2543.  
  2544.  
  2545.  
  2546. <li>Cash on hand: $50,600</li>
  2547. </ul>
  2548.  
  2549.  
  2550.  
  2551. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=6heH9TdMttl%252fmuT8gFHYZw%253d%253d">Heather Goulding</a></p>
  2552.  
  2553.  
  2554.  
  2555. <ul>
  2556. <li>Money raised: $29,800</li>
  2557.  
  2558.  
  2559.  
  2560. <li>Money spent: $11,100</li>
  2561.  
  2562.  
  2563.  
  2564. <li>Cash on hand: $25,800</li>
  2565. </ul>
  2566.  
  2567.  
  2568.  
  2569. <p>Velto, an attorney endorsed by the Assembly Democratic Caucus, had a slight fundraising lead over Goulding, a longtime Northern Nevadan who has done work with community organizations focused on breast cancer and high school dropouts.&nbsp;</p>
  2570.  
  2571.  
  2572.  
  2573. <p>Velto’s top donor was Citizens for Justice, which donated $7,500. He also received $3,000 from Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) and $1,000 donations from Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas), Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) and Assemblywoman Brittney Miller (D-Las Vegas).</p>
  2574.  
  2575.  
  2576.  
  2577. <p>Goulding had a much higher share of small-dollar donations, including $120 from former state Sen. Yvanna Cancela (D-Las Vegas).</p>
  2578.  
  2579.  
  2580.  
  2581. <p>Democrats have a voter registration advantage in the northern Reno district, so the primary winner will likely be elected in November. The seat is open after Assemblywoman Angie Taylor (D-Reno) decided to run for the open Senate District 15 election.</p>
  2582.  
  2583.  
  2584.  
  2585. <p><strong>Senate District 3 Democratic primary</strong></p>
  2586.  
  2587.  
  2588.  
  2589. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=m%252bkV9LdXJPuTZxw8jPEEvQ%253d%253d">Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas)</a></p>
  2590.  
  2591.  
  2592.  
  2593. <ul>
  2594. <li>Money raised: $72,300</li>
  2595.  
  2596.  
  2597.  
  2598. <li>Money spent: $67,800</li>
  2599.  
  2600.  
  2601.  
  2602. <li>Cash on hand: $222,200</li>
  2603. </ul>
  2604.  
  2605.  
  2606.  
  2607. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=HTs4ykHBY4mN%252bN24jXmfOA%253d%253d">Geoconda Hughes</a></p>
  2608.  
  2609.  
  2610.  
  2611. <ul>
  2612. <li>Money raised: $6,900</li>
  2613.  
  2614.  
  2615.  
  2616. <li>Money spent: $3,800</li>
  2617.  
  2618.  
  2619.  
  2620. <li>Cash on hand: $6,000</li>
  2621. </ul>
  2622.  
  2623.  
  2624.  
  2625. <p>Nguyen raised $65,000 more than Hughes, a nurse practitioner who is backed by the Culinary Union.</p>
  2626.  
  2627.  
  2628.  
  2629. <p>Nguyen received a $10,000 donation from Assemblyman Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas) and $5,000 from New Day Nevada PAC, a group linked to Democratic consultants.</p>
  2630.  
  2631.  
  2632.  
  2633. <p>Hughes raised less than $7,000 in the first quarter after announcing her candidacy just a few weeks before the quarter ended. She received $1,000 from fellow state Senate candidate Christian Bishop and $1,000 from her mother, Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the former secretary-treasurer for Culinary Local 226.</p>
  2634.  
  2635.  
  2636.  
  2637. <p>The Democratic primary winner of this deep-blue district in central Las Vegas is essentially guaranteed to win in November.</p>
  2638.  
  2639.  
  2640.  
  2641. <p><strong>Senate District 4 Democratic primary</strong></p>
  2642.  
  2643.  
  2644.  
  2645. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Z4NqZUVN7KNMElwZEVUDpQ%253d%253d">Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas)</a></p>
  2646.  
  2647.  
  2648.  
  2649. <ul>
  2650. <li>Money raised: $14,700</li>
  2651.  
  2652.  
  2653.  
  2654. <li>Money spent: $24,800</li>
  2655.  
  2656.  
  2657.  
  2658. <li>Cash on hand: $26,800</li>
  2659. </ul>
  2660.  
  2661.  
  2662.  
  2663. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/soscandidateservices/anonymousaccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=hKLNg6oIngF32Mbcp2eJwA%253d%253d">Laura Perkins</a></p>
  2664.  
  2665.  
  2666.  
  2667. <ul>
  2668. <li>Money raised: $2,000</li>
  2669.  
  2670.  
  2671.  
  2672. <li>Money spent: $560</li>
  2673.  
  2674.  
  2675.  
  2676. <li>Cash on hand: $2,700</li>
  2677. </ul>
  2678.  
  2679.  
  2680.  
  2681. <p>In the primary for Senate District 4, which covers portions of North Las Vegas, Neal outraised her primary competitor Perkins, a Nevada System of Higher Education regent, by more than $12,700. Neal also outspent Perkins and has a larger war chest of more than $26,800 in cash on hand.</p>
  2682.  
  2683.  
  2684.  
  2685. <p>Neal received $5,000 from the Citizens for Justice, $1,000 from T-Mobile, $1,000 from the New Day Nevada PAC and $1,000 from Anthem Blue Cross.</p>
  2686.  
  2687.  
  2688.  
  2689. <p><br>Perkins received donations from American Nevada Holdings LLC and LA Wireless.</p>
  2690.  
  2691.  
  2692.  
  2693. <p>The primary winner will likely be heading to Carson City because no other candidates filed to run in the heavily Democratic district.</p>
  2694.  
  2695.  
  2696.  
  2697. <p><strong>Senate District 18 Republican primary</strong></p>
  2698.  
  2699.  
  2700.  
  2701. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=F7%252fLyAACbLNn9ecdygfTmg%253d%253d">John Steinbeck</a></p>
  2702.  
  2703.  
  2704.  
  2705. <ul>
  2706. <li>Money Raised: $69,500</li>
  2707. </ul>
  2708.  
  2709.  
  2710.  
  2711. <ul>
  2712. <li>Spent: $56,700</li>
  2713.  
  2714.  
  2715.  
  2716. <li>Cash on hand:&nbsp; $104,400</li>
  2717. </ul>
  2718.  
  2719.  
  2720.  
  2721. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=5I4Z9UFWCGdXoG9H0HhCTw%253d%253d">Assemblyman Richard McArthur (R-Las Vegas)</a></p>
  2722.  
  2723.  
  2724.  
  2725. <ul>
  2726. <li>Money raised: $21,000</li>
  2727.  
  2728.  
  2729.  
  2730. <li>Money spent: $15,800</li>
  2731.  
  2732.  
  2733.  
  2734. <li>Cash on hand: &nbsp; $43,300</li>
  2735. </ul>
  2736.  
  2737.  
  2738.  
  2739. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=plpBz7KjwYUC7e7BOlsn9w%253d%253d">Josh Leavitt</a></p>
  2740.  
  2741.  
  2742.  
  2743. <ul>
  2744. <li>Money raised: $17,900</li>
  2745.  
  2746.  
  2747.  
  2748. <li>Money spent: $35,100</li>
  2749.  
  2750.  
  2751.  
  2752. <li>Cash on hand: $47,000</li>
  2753. </ul>
  2754.  
  2755.  
  2756.  
  2757. <p>Of the three Republican contenders in the open Senate seat in the northwestern Las Vegas Valley, Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck, whom Lombardo has endorsed, led the first quarter fundraising by more than $43,500. He was followed by Assemblyman Richard McArthur (R-Las Vegas), who supported himself with a $20,000 loan, and Josh Leavitt, the CEO and Founder of IONnovate, LLC, an application development firm.&nbsp;</p>
  2758.  
  2759.  
  2760.  
  2761. <p>Notable donations to Steinbeck included $5,000 from Lombardo’s Nevada Way PAC, $5,000 from Golden Entertainment, $5,000 from Resorts World, $1,500 from Assemblyman Toby Yurek (R-Las Vegas) and $1,500 from Democratic Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.</p>
  2762.  
  2763.  
  2764.  
  2765. <p>Steinbeck also outspent his competitors.</p>
  2766.  
  2767.  
  2768.  
  2769. <p>Three Democrats are also competing in the primary, though the Senate Democratic Caucus has not endorsed in the race. The district has a Republican voter advantage.</p>
  2770.  
  2771.  
  2772.  
  2773. <p><strong>Senate District 19 Republican primary</strong></p>
  2774.  
  2775.  
  2776.  
  2777. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=g2sctT8i4kLZAa1cnbCEhw%253d%253d">John Ellison</a></p>
  2778.  
  2779.  
  2780.  
  2781. <ul>
  2782. <li>Money raised: $12,700</li>
  2783. </ul>
  2784.  
  2785.  
  2786.  
  2787. <ul>
  2788. <li>Spent: $10,000</li>
  2789.  
  2790.  
  2791.  
  2792. <li>Cash on hand: $46,700</li>
  2793. </ul>
  2794.  
  2795.  
  2796.  
  2797. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=DLU4RNyuJC%252bH4L%252f18A2N3g%253d%253d">William Eric Hockstedler</a></p>
  2798.  
  2799.  
  2800.  
  2801. <ul>
  2802. <li>Money raised: $2,500</li>
  2803.  
  2804.  
  2805.  
  2806. <li>Money spent: $1,300</li>
  2807.  
  2808.  
  2809.  
  2810. <li>Cash on hand: $1,000</li>
  2811. </ul>
  2812.  
  2813.  
  2814.  
  2815. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Mg6cenjtakUX9U40ZQxs0Q%253d%253d">Chelsy Fischer</a></p>
  2816.  
  2817.  
  2818.  
  2819. <ul>
  2820. <li>Money raised: $350</li>
  2821.  
  2822.  
  2823.  
  2824. <li>Money spent: $310</li>
  2825.  
  2826.  
  2827.  
  2828. <li>Cash on hand: $40</li>
  2829. </ul>
  2830.  
  2831.  
  2832.  
  2833. <p>In a Republican primary race that will determine who represents the ruby-red Senate district because no Democrat filed, Ellison — a former assemblyman — is the fundraising front-runner. The district covers a vast swath of rural Nevada, including Lincoln and White Pine counties and parts of Clark, Elko, Eureka and Nye counties.</p>
  2834.  
  2835.  
  2836.  
  2837. <p>Endorsed by Lombardo, Ellison raised $10,000 more than his nearest competitor, Hockstedler, an Army and Air Force veteran who unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022. Hockstedler is mainly supported by an approximately $1,500 loan to himself.</p>
  2838.  
  2839.  
  2840.  
  2841. <p>Ellison’s highest donations include $5,000 from personal injury attorney Craig Kidwell, $2,500 from R&amp;S Leasing and $1,500 from Nevada Auto Dealers.</p>
  2842.  
  2843.  
  2844.  
  2845. <p>Fischer, a Nye County School Board trustee, raised the least out of the three Republican contenders, reporting only a $350 loan to herself.</p>
  2846.  
  2847.  
  2848.  
  2849. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
  2850.  
  2851.  
  2852.  
  2853. <p><strong>COMPETITIVE PRIMARY, COMPETITIVE GENERAL ELECTION</strong></p>
  2854.  
  2855.  
  2856.  
  2857. <p><strong>Assembly District 21 Republican primary</strong></p>
  2858.  
  2859.  
  2860.  
  2861. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=N9i8NID2cBF%252b92CxW7bM3Q%253d%253d">April Arndt</a></p>
  2862.  
  2863.  
  2864.  
  2865. <ul>
  2866. <li>Money raised: $14,400</li>
  2867.  
  2868.  
  2869.  
  2870. <li>Money spent: $16,700</li>
  2871.  
  2872.  
  2873.  
  2874. <li>Cash on hand: $18,300</li>
  2875. </ul>
  2876.  
  2877.  
  2878.  
  2879. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=FG5Nw1eoh249fiR2wNfagg%253d%253d">Jon Petrick</a></p>
  2880.  
  2881.  
  2882.  
  2883. <ul>
  2884. <li>Money raised: $20,500</li>
  2885.  
  2886.  
  2887.  
  2888. <li>Money spent: $20,500</li>
  2889.  
  2890.  
  2891.  
  2892. <li>Cash on hand: $18,100</li>
  2893. </ul>
  2894.  
  2895.  
  2896.  
  2897. <p>Arndt, a retired police officer endorsed by Lombardo last year, is the lone establishment candidate in a key primary with a financial disadvantage after raising $6,000 less than her primary opponent Petrick, a chiropractor and the CEO of a Las Vegas pain relief center. Arndt received $5,000 from the pro-Lombardo Nevada Way PAC ($2,500 coming last year) and donations from Assembly members Ken Gray (R-Dayton) and P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City).&nbsp;</p>
  2898.  
  2899.  
  2900.  
  2901. <p>Meanwhile, Petrick’s top donation ($5,800) came from Jon McMahon, a Las Vegas real estate agent. He also received $5,000 from James Thomson, a frequent Republican donor, and $2,500 from a development group in Henderson.</p>
  2902.  
  2903.  
  2904.  
  2905. <p>The primary winner will face Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) in the general election to represent this blue-leaning district primarily covering south central Las Vegas.</p>
  2906.  
  2907.  
  2908.  
  2909. <p><strong>Senate District 5 Democratic primary</strong></p>
  2910.  
  2911.  
  2912.  
  2913. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=SQ9a%252fNgPeNO%252fdu0liKK%252flg%253d%253d">Jennifer Atlas</a></p>
  2914.  
  2915.  
  2916.  
  2917. <ul>
  2918. <li>Money raised: $40,100</li>
  2919.  
  2920.  
  2921.  
  2922. <li>Money spent: $5,000</li>
  2923.  
  2924.  
  2925.  
  2926. <li>Cash on hand: $71,600</li>
  2927. </ul>
  2928.  
  2929.  
  2930.  
  2931. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SoSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=5ppJDR2Hacnp7DtQrbcFNA%253d%253d">Christian Bishop</a></p>
  2932.  
  2933.  
  2934.  
  2935. <ul>
  2936. <li>Money raised: $2,900</li>
  2937.  
  2938.  
  2939.  
  2940. <li>Money spent: $19,400</li>
  2941.  
  2942.  
  2943.  
  2944. <li>Cash on hand: $72,000</li>
  2945. </ul>
  2946.  
  2947.  
  2948.  
  2949. <p>In swingy Senate District 5, which covers parts of Henderson and Paradise, two Democrats are squaring off in the primary for a chance to challenge the district’s representative, Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson).&nbsp;</p>
  2950.  
  2951.  
  2952.  
  2953. <p>The Democratic Caucus-endorsed candidate, Atlas, raised almost double that of her Democratic challenger Bishop in the first quarter. Bishop, however, outspent Atlas.</p>
  2954.  
  2955.  
  2956.  
  2957. <p>Bishop has a slightly higher cash-on-hand advantage over Atlas heading into the second quarter, but 34 percent of it consists of a $25,000 contribution he gave himself in <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=uZBdtxoCRpNIPcISKDUX4g%253d%253d">December</a>.</p>
  2958.  
  2959.  
  2960.  
  2961. <p>Atlas drew a $5,000 donation from the Citizens for Justice, $5,000 from Yeager’s Nevada Strong PAC and $2,500 from the Laborers International Union Local 169. She also drew $5,000 from Yeager and $1,000 from Jauregui. State Sen. Skip Daly (D-Sparks) donated $5,000 and Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) donated $1,000 to her campaign.</p>
  2962.  
  2963.  
  2964.  
  2965. <p>Bishop’s highest donations came from Las Vegas residents Minddie Lloyd, who donated $1,000 to his campaign, and Merila Tinio, who donated $500.</p>
  2966.  
  2967.  
  2968.  
  2969. <p><strong>Senate District 15 Democratic primary</strong></p>
  2970.  
  2971.  
  2972.  
  2973. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=2xE4ht61wzQ0Q5oTLOWT5w%253d%253d">Assemblywoman Angie Taylor (D-Reno)</a></p>
  2974.  
  2975.  
  2976.  
  2977. <ul>
  2978. <li>Money raised: $69,500</li>
  2979. </ul>
  2980.  
  2981.  
  2982.  
  2983. <ul>
  2984. <li>Money spent: $26,100</li>
  2985.  
  2986.  
  2987.  
  2988. <li>Cash on hand:&nbsp; $163,000</li>
  2989. </ul>
  2990.  
  2991.  
  2992.  
  2993. <p><a href="http://nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=sOzcef1DZQuYpo5Ev5Zydw%3d%3d">Reno City Councilmember Naomi Duerr</a></p>
  2994.  
  2995.  
  2996.  
  2997. <ul>
  2998. <li>Money raised: $28,800</li>
  2999. </ul>
  3000.  
  3001.  
  3002.  
  3003. <ul>
  3004. <li>Money spent: $11,200</li>
  3005.  
  3006.  
  3007.  
  3008. <li>Cash on hand:&nbsp; $66,000</li>
  3009. </ul>
  3010.  
  3011.  
  3012.  
  3013. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=sOzcef1DZQuYpo5Ev5Zydw%253d%253d">Johnny Kerns</a></p>
  3014.  
  3015.  
  3016.  
  3017. <ul>
  3018. <li>Money raised: $1,000</li>
  3019. </ul>
  3020.  
  3021.  
  3022.  
  3023. <ul>
  3024. <li>Money spent: $695</li>
  3025.  
  3026.  
  3027.  
  3028. <li>Cash on hand:&nbsp; $305</li>
  3029. </ul>
  3030.  
  3031.  
  3032.  
  3033. <p>Three Democrats and three Republicans are competing in primary races in Northern Nevada’s Senate District 15, open after Sen. Heidi Seevers Gansert (R-Reno) opted not to run for re-election. The district includes much of the northern and western edges of Reno and leans in favor of Democrats.</p>
  3034.  
  3035.  
  3036.  
  3037. <p>In the Democratic primary, Senate Democratic Caucus-endorsed Taylor outraised Duerr, a Reno city councilwoman, by more than $40,700.&nbsp;</p>
  3038.  
  3039.  
  3040.  
  3041. <p>Duerr, a geologist by training, received $2,500 from the Reno Engineering Corps, $2,500 from the Atlantis Casino Resort, $2,500 from Nevada Mine Properties and $500 from Reno City Council candidate Kathleen Taylor.&nbsp;</p>
  3042.  
  3043.  
  3044.  
  3045. <p>In her last election for city council, Duerr was outraised by her opponent, Jay Kenny, the owner of DoughBoys Donuts, but defeated him in the general election.</p>
  3046.  
  3047.  
  3048.  
  3049. <p>Taylor, who served on the Washoe County School Board for eight years before being elected to the Assembly last cycle, received $5,000 from the New Day Nevada PAC, $5,000 from the NV Resort PAC, $5,000 from Yeager, $2,500 from the Ferraro Group and $2,000 from the Nevada State Education Association.</p>
  3050.  
  3051.  
  3052.  
  3053. <p>Not much information is available on the third candidate, who is primarily supported by a self-donation of $1,000.</p>
  3054.  
  3055.  
  3056.  
  3057. <p><strong>Senate District 15 Republican primary</strong></p>
  3058.  
  3059.  
  3060.  
  3061. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=jlBHNuC1YiPe2bprWHM61A%253d%253d">Mike Ginsburg</a>&nbsp;</p>
  3062.  
  3063.  
  3064.  
  3065. <ul>
  3066. <li>Money raised: $12,600</li>
  3067. </ul>
  3068.  
  3069.  
  3070.  
  3071. <ul>
  3072. <li>Money spent: $5,800</li>
  3073.  
  3074.  
  3075.  
  3076. <li>Cash on hand: $6,800</li>
  3077. </ul>
  3078.  
  3079.  
  3080.  
  3081. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=ZCM1CsSySaTp3rqdylpJng%253d%253d">Sharron Angle</a></p>
  3082.  
  3083.  
  3084.  
  3085. <ul>
  3086. <li>Money raised: $4,500</li>
  3087.  
  3088.  
  3089.  
  3090. <li>Money spent: $3,400</li>
  3091.  
  3092.  
  3093.  
  3094. <li>Cash on hand: $1,100</li>
  3095. </ul>
  3096.  
  3097.  
  3098.  
  3099. <p><a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=1pRz3BtC0ZIgfaq9MUzkSw%253d%253d">Charles Mark Neumann</a></p>
  3100.  
  3101.  
  3102.  
  3103. <ul>
  3104. <li>Money raised: $0</li>
  3105.  
  3106.  
  3107.  
  3108. <li>Money spent: $729</li>
  3109.  
  3110.  
  3111.  
  3112. <li>Cash on hand: $271</li>
  3113. </ul>
  3114.  
  3115.  
  3116.  
  3117. <p>Ginsburg, a longtime member of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada who spent more than 39 years working in the energy industry, raised about $8,100 more than the second-highest fundraiser during the first quarter.&nbsp;</p>
  3118.  
  3119.  
  3120.  
  3121. <p>Though Lombardo has not endorsed Ginsburg, he did receive an endorsement from the Nevada Senate Republican Caucus, Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony and Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington). Ginsburg also gave himself a $1,000 loan.</p>
  3122.  
  3123.  
  3124.  
  3125. <p>His campaign finance reports list a $5,000 donation from Seevers Gansert. He also received a $5,000 donation from the NV First PAC, which Seevers Gansert established, and a $1,000 loan.</p>
  3126.  
  3127.  
  3128.  
  3129. <p>Angle served in the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007 and rose to the national stage with the Tea Party movement during an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate against late Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) in 2010. She gave herself a $3,900 self-loan.</p>
  3130.  
  3131.  
  3132.  
  3133. <p>Angle’s reported spending centers around advertising and candidate filing costs similar to Ginsburg, who has focused on advertising and office expenses.</p>
  3134.  
  3135.  
  3136.  
  3137. <p>Neumann reported raising no money during the first quarter.</p>
  3138. ]]></content:encoded>
  3142. </item>
  3143. <item>
  3144. <title>Estudiantes de Nevada ayudan a personas mayores a usar la tecnología</title>
  3145. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/estudiantes-de-nevada-ayudan-a-personas-mayores-a-usar-la-tecnologia</link>
  3147. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Luz Gray]]></dc:creator>
  3148. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 08:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3149. <category><![CDATA[Educación]]></category>
  3150. <category><![CDATA[En Español]]></category>
  3151. <category><![CDATA[No Email Signup]]></category>
  3152. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=159018</guid>
  3153.  
  3154. <description><![CDATA[ Los alumnos empezaron a visitar un centro para personas mayores para enseñarles a enviar correos electrónicos y usar las redes sociales, entre otras actividades.
  3155. ]]></description>
  3156. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  3157. <p>Un nuevo club en la Preparatoria Carson está dirigiendo sus esfuerzos para hacer una diferencia, empezando con una iniciativa para brindar apoyo tecnológico a personas mayores.</p>
  3158.  
  3159.  
  3160.  
  3161. <p>El Club <em>Interact,</em> afiliado al Club Rotario de Carson City en el norte de Nevada, y que se enfoca en el servicio comunitario, empezó en enero.</p>
  3162.  
  3163.  
  3164.  
  3165. <p>La trabajadora social de la escuela, Bailee Barber, es la asesora del club y dijo que decidió iniciar el club después de hablar con los estudiantes que participaron en el campamento de verano del Club Rotario.</p>
  3166.  
  3167.  
  3168.  
  3169. <p>"Ha sido muy hermoso ser testigo de todos estos estudiantes que simplemente quieren cambiar nuestra comunidad", dijo Barber.</p>
  3170.  
  3171.  
  3172.  
  3173. <p>Barber dijo que los 20 integrantes del club identifican qué ayuda hace falta en la comunidad y eligen en qué proyectos quieren trabajar para satisfacer esas necesidades.</p>
  3174.  
  3175.  
  3176.  
  3177. <p>Barber añadió que el club obtuvo la idea por parte del director de Tecnología Informática del distrito y del director del Centro Para Personas Mayores de Carson City.</p>
  3178.  
  3179.  
  3180.  
  3181. <p>"Las personas mayores necesitan acceso para funcionar en el mundo actual y es una sensación de aislamiento quedarse atrás", dijo Courtney Warner, directora ejecutiva del centro. "Los estudiantes de la Preparatoria Carson se están asegurando de que las personas mayores obtengan la capacitación y herramientas que necesitan para acceder a los servicios".</p>
  3182.  
  3183.  
  3184.  
  3185. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="900" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/f55b5c66-chs-njrotc-student-dennis-dzwir-provides-tech-support-to-don-rowe-an-elderly-veteran-at-the-carson-city-senior-citizen-center-1200x900.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158748"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dennis Dzwir, estudiante de la Preparatoria Carson, izquierda, brinda apoyo técnico a Don Rowe en el Centro Para Personas Mayores de Carson City el 13 de febrero de 2024. (Distrito Escolar de Carson City/Cortesía)</figcaption></figure>
  3186.  
  3187.  
  3188.  
  3189. <p>En febrero, los integrantes del club empezaron a visitar el centro dos veces al mes para ayudar a las personas mayores a enviar correos electrónicos, usar las redes sociales, hacer compras vía internet, e instalar aplicaciones, entre otras actividades.</p>
  3190.  
  3191.  
  3192.  
  3193. <p>Barber dijo que el club ha notado que las personas mayores también están interesadas en establecer una conexión personal con los estudiantes.</p>
  3194.  
  3195.  
  3196.  
  3197. <p>"Se siente que realmente estamos marcando una diferencia, no sólo en ayudarles con la tecnología sino también siendo amigables y ayudándolos en sus vidas, hablando con ellos y estableciendo esas conexiones", dijo el presidente del club, Jax Whatley.</p>
  3198.  
  3199.  
  3200.  
  3201. <p>El club tiene planes de regresar al centro para personas mayores el próximo año escolar y dar capacitación acerca de cómo identificar estafas en internet.</p>
  3202.  
  3203.  
  3204.  
  3205. <p>Los integrantes del club han notado que muchas personas mayores reciben correos electrónicos afirmando que les llegó un paquete y que necesitan la información de su tarjeta de crédito.</p>
  3206.  
  3207.  
  3208.  
  3209. <p>"Si no conoces bien acerca de eso, es muy fácil ser víctima de esas estafas", dijo Whatley.</p>
  3210.  
  3211.  
  3212.  
  3213. <p><em>¿Usted conoce a estudiantes o personal escolar cuya historia de éxito deberíamos reportar? Comparta sus nominaciones enviando un correo electrónico a la reportera Rocío Hernández: rocio@thenvindy.com.&nbsp;</em></p>
  3214. ]]></content:encoded>
  3218. </item>
  3219. <item>
  3220. <title>One recovery effort, two strains of fish. The complex comeback of Lahontan cutthroat trout</title>
  3221. <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/one-recovery-effort-two-strains-of-fish-the-complex-comeback-of-lahontan-cutthroat-trout</link>
  3223. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Amy Alonzo]]></dc:creator>
  3224. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  3225. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  3226. <category><![CDATA[Chris Crookshanks]]></category>
  3227. <category><![CDATA[Jason Barnes]]></category>
  3228. <category><![CDATA[Lisa Heki]]></category>
  3229. <category><![CDATA[Nevada Department of Wildlife]]></category>
  3230. <category><![CDATA[Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe]]></category>
  3231. <category><![CDATA[Trout Unlimited]]></category>
  3232. <category><![CDATA[US Fish and Wildlife Service]]></category>
  3233. <category><![CDATA[Weekend Roundup]]></category>
  3234. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://thenevadaindependent.com/?post_type=article&#038;p=158786</guid>
  3235.  
  3236. <description><![CDATA[Federal and tribal spawning operations are vital in the ongoing recovery of Lahontan cutthroat trout on the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake, but it is unclear whether the fish can continue to rebound without intensive human intervention.]]></description>
  3237. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  3238. <p>It’s spawning day at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex, and volunteers clad in rubber boots and jackets move quickly around the south Gardnerville building, fishing nets in hand.</p>
  3239.  
  3240.  
  3241.  
  3242. <p>They swoop the nets into giant pools of water chilled to mimic temperatures found in local waterways, extracting mature male Lahontan cutthroat trout one at a time. The fish, which are sedated but still active, squirm as they are carried across the hatchery.</p>
  3243.  
  3244.  
  3245.  
  3246. <p>There, a group of biologists waiting to handle the fish reach into the nets, gently extract a fish, and begin massaging its abdomen from head to tail, manually extracting milt — the semen-filled fluid of male fish. The milt is stored in small vials marked with letters and numbers like a game of bingo — G83, H24, F17 — and is later manually mixed with the eggs of fish deemed genetically compatible.</p>
  3247.  
  3248.  
  3249.  
  3250. <p>The biologists handle each fish for only a matter of seconds, but there are hundreds of trout, and the process takes hours.</p>
  3251.  
  3252.  
  3253.  
  3254. <p>“We know what male is spawning with what female, which doesn’t normally happen in a hatchery,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service project leader Lisa Heki. “It’s not random.”&nbsp;</p>
  3255.  
  3256.  
  3257.  
  3258. <p>It’s a scene that plays out once a week from early February through mid-May in an elaborate effort to breed pure Pilot Peak Lahontan cutthroat trout, a unique strain adapted to grow large and live long. According to the service, the Pilot Peak strain directly descended from trout that once swam in Pyramid Lake before the fish were believed to be extirpated from the Truckee River corridor.&nbsp;</p>
  3259.  
  3260.  
  3261.  
  3262. <p>Miles from the hatchery and much closer to the original spawning grounds of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, members of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe spawn trout of their own.</p>
  3263.  
  3264.  
  3265.  
  3266. <p>The fish don’t spend their lives in a hatchery. Instead, each spring they swim upstream from Pyramid Lake, blocked from going further than 3 miles up the Truckee River by the Marble Bluff Fish Passage and Research Facility.&nbsp;</p>
  3267.  
  3268.  
  3269.  
  3270. <p>Although the facility has a passageway for fish to move upstream, only select Lahontan cutthroat trout raised at the Gardnerville hatchery move past Marble Bluff. Fish that were raised by the tribe instead swim into a manmade channel, where staff net and spawn them before returning them to Pyramid Lake&nbsp;</p>
  3271.  
  3272.  
  3273.  
  3274. <p>The federal and tribal spawning operations are vital in the ongoing recovery of a population of fish that is culturally significant to the tribe and valuable to sportsmen, but it’s unclear whether the fish — once listed on the federal endangered species list and since downgraded to threatened — can continue to rebound without such intensive human intervention.</p>
  3275.  
  3276.  
  3277.  
  3278. <figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
  3279. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158888" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/275e104c-fish-031324_lct-usfws-gardnerville_01461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158888"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff member strips eggs from a female Pilot Peak strain Lahontan Cutthroat Trout eggs at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery in Gardnerville on March 13, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3280.  
  3281.  
  3282.  
  3283. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158873" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/9ae65bed-031324_lct-usfws-gardnerville_01540-1200x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158873"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Volunteer Lisa Irving-Peterson rinses fertilized Pilot Peak strain Lahontan Cutthroat Trout eggs at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Gardnerville on March 13, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3284.  
  3285.  
  3286.  
  3287. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158897" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/a00c6a1b-040424_lct-plpt-pyramid_03487-1200x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158897"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Justin Jackson, a member of the e-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone, sorts fish during spawning activities at the hatchery at Pyramid Lake in Sutcliffe on April 4, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3288. </figure>
  3289.  
  3290.  
  3291.  
  3292. <p><strong>Preserving populations</strong></p>
  3293.  
  3294.  
  3295.  
  3296. <p>Lahontan cutthroat trout are the only trout native to the Tahoe Basin. The largest cutthroat trout species in the world, they grow half an inch per year in the wild and are known for reaching <a href="https://www.fws.gov/species/lahontan-cutthroat-trout-oncorhynchus-clarkii-henshawi#:~:text=Lahontan%20cutthroat%20trout%20can%20grow%20up%20to%204%20feet%20long.&amp;text=Lahontan%20cutthroat%20trout%20can%20weigh%20up%20to%2040%20pounds.">4 feet in length</a>.</p>
  3297.  
  3298.  
  3299.  
  3300. <p>They evolved in ancient Lake Lahontan, which spanned more than <a href="https://nevadamagazine.com/issue/january-february-2017/4103/">8,600 square miles</a> of the western Great Basin. As the lake dried up thousands of years ago, the trout persevered in the region’s remaining waterways.</p>
  3301.  
  3302.  
  3303.  
  3304. <p>Prior to European settlement, it is believed the fish occupied more than 7,400 miles of streams and numerous lakes. As Europeans settled in the region, the fish population steadily declined due to the introduction of nonnative fish, overharvesting, mining, water diversions and dams.</p>
  3305.  
  3306.  
  3307.  
  3308. <p>The 1905 construction of the Derby Dam on the Truckee River proved particularly devastating to the trout. It diverted <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/pyramidlakepaiute.htm">nearly 50 percent</a> of the river’s water, and the <a href="https://www.tu.org/magazine/voices-from-the-river/voices-from-the-river-a-salty-cutthroat-with-a-challenging-future/">last natural run of Lahontan cutthroat trout</a> down the Truckee River was in the 1940s.</p>
  3309.  
  3310.  
  3311.  
  3312. <p>For decades, there were few, if any, Lahontan cutthroat trout in Pyramid Lake, according to Chris Crookshanks, fisheries division administrator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. But in the 1970s, Lahontan cutthroat trout were pulled from other Northern Nevada lakes to build up the population at Pyramid Lake and, in 1973, Pyramid Lake Fisheries was formed.&nbsp;</p>
  3313.  
  3314.  
  3315.  
  3316. <p>Around the same time, a federal biologist discovered fish in remote Morrison Creek on the Nevada-Utah border that looked like trout — but not the Bonneville cutthroat trout he was looking for. They looked like Lahontan cutthroat trout, yet they weren’t in a waterway considered part of their native range.</p>
  3317.  
  3318.  
  3319.  
  3320. <p>There were no live samples to compare DNA with, so samples were compared to museum specimens of Lahontan cutthroat trout <a href="https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2018/lahontan-cutthroat-paper">harvested between 1872 and 1911.</a> Genetic testing confirmed the remote desert fish were descendants of the Lahontan cutthroat trout that once called Pyramid Lake and the Truckee River home.</p>
  3321.  
  3322.  
  3323.  
  3324. <p>In 1995, fertilized eggs from the remote fish — dubbed the Pilot Peak strain after a nearby mountain — were transported back to Northern Nevada. That effort was the start of the now expansive hatchery program in Gardnerville. In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe restocked the Pilot Peak strain back into Pyramid Lake.</p>
  3325.  
  3326.  
  3327.  
  3328. <p>The next year, a fire burned through the Morrison Creek area. Few Lahontan cutthroat trout survived, according to Danelle Lloyd, hatchery manager.</p>
  3329.  
  3330.  
  3331.  
  3332. <p>“That is why these types of programs can be instrumental in preserving these populations,” she said.</p>
  3333.  
  3334.  
  3335. <div class="wp-block-image">
  3336. <figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/d49cdee4-truckeemap_pagesize-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158773" style="width:379px;height:564px" width="379" height="564"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Map of the Truckee River Basin. (Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey)</figcaption></figure></div>
  3337.  
  3338.  
  3339. <p><strong>Maintaining genetic diversity</strong></p>
  3340.  
  3341.  
  3342.  
  3343. <p>Each spring, hundreds of thousands of Lahontan cutthroat trout — both Pilot Peak strain and not — are stocked into water across Nevada and Eastern California, including nearly a half million in Pyramid Lake alone.&nbsp;</p>
  3344.  
  3345.  
  3346.  
  3347. <p>The fish were listed as endangered in 1970, but in 1975, they were reclassified as threatened, opening them to recreational fishing, and the lake, as well as the Truckee River, are now renowned angling destinations.&nbsp;</p>
  3348.  
  3349.  
  3350.  
  3351. <p>The Gardnerville hatchery’s broodstock — the mature, genetically sorted fish used for breeding — will never be planted in Pyramid Lake or Tahoe. Those fish will be used as broodstock for the duration of their lives — about five to six years at the hatchery — to continue producing what Heki describes as genetically strong offspring.</p>
  3352.  
  3353.  
  3354.  
  3355. <p>Each of the hatchery’s mature fish is tagged and has a clipped fin. Before the fish spawn, fin clippings are sent to a lab in Montana that determines the best crosses to get maximum genetic diversity and prevent inbreeding of the fish.</p>
  3356.  
  3357.  
  3358.  
  3359. <p>“We’re not directing the genetics here, but we are trying to maintain the genetic diversity,” said Jason Smith, the hatchery’s broodstock coordinator.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  3360.  
  3361.  
  3362.  
  3363. <p>The hatchery has done a good job maintaining that diversity, said Jason Barnes, a biologist with Trout Unlimited who focuses on Lahontan cutthroat trout.&nbsp;</p>
  3364.  
  3365.  
  3366.  
  3367. <p>“In the wild, those genes would plummet,” Barnes said.&nbsp;</p>
  3368.  
  3369.  
  3370.  
  3371. <p>After the milt is extracted from the males and eggs are extracted from females, the two are mixed in plastic bags and the fertilized eggs are placed in trays where they develop into “eyed eggs” — eggs that appear to have tiny eyes in them — and then fry. As fry — tiny fish — they live in large troughs filled with grooves that mimic the protection that gravel and small rocks would provide in the wild.</p>
  3372.  
  3373.  
  3374.  
  3375. <p>About 150 of the thousands of new offspring produced this year will be kept on-site and raised to replace the broodstock that is aging out, separated, as are all the fish, by age and gender. By about 3 years of age, they will be ready to spawn.&nbsp;</p>
  3376.  
  3377.  
  3378.  
  3379. <p>The Gardnerville hatchery’s process is effective but goes against nature, according to officials from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The fish that swim into the tribe’s channel are those that nature has chosen, they say, rather than those that are artificially selected by scientists, and their reproduction and survival should not hinge on humans.&nbsp;</p>
  3380.  
  3381.  
  3382.  
  3383. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/50840bb2-fish-040424_lct-plpt-pyramid_03134.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158884"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Brandon Brady, right, a Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe member, sorts fish during spawning activities at the hatchery at Pyramid Lake in Sutcliffe on April 4, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3384.  
  3385.  
  3386.  
  3387. <p><strong>Locked out of the Truckee River</strong></p>
  3388.  
  3389.  
  3390.  
  3391. <p>Pelicans swoop overhead and buzzers sound at the Marble Bluff Fish Passage Facility. Just 3 miles upstream from Pyramid Lake, the facility plays a pivotal role in which Lahontan cutthroat trout can spawn upstream and which can’t.&nbsp;</p>
  3392.  
  3393.  
  3394.  
  3395. <p>Prior to the 1900s, Lahontan cutthroat trout would travel as far as the Sierra Nevada to spawn — more than <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/nevada-derby-diversion-dam.htm#:~:text=In%201975%2C%20the%20Bureau%20of,into%20the%20river%20to%20spawn">100 miles upstream</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  3396.  
  3397.  
  3398.  
  3399. <p>After Derby Dam was built, Truckee River water was diverted throughout the region, resulting in lowered flows to Pyramid Lake. With the lowered flows, a large sandbar formed at the mouth of the river, blocking upstream migrations except in high flow years.</p>
  3400.  
  3401.  
  3402.  
  3403. <p>In 1975, Marble Bluff Dam was built 3 miles above Pyramid Lake to help manage the sandbar problem. Its associated facility allows fish to move upstream through a passageway with a contraption similar to an elevator, added to the facility in 1998. The elevator can hold up to 3,000 <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/esa_works/profile_pages/CuiUi.html">cui-ui</a>, a type of sucker fish found only in Pyramid Lake, or up to 120 of the much larger Lahontan cutthroat trout.&nbsp;</p>
  3404.  
  3405.  
  3406.  
  3407. <p>But the elevator doesn’t just move the fish upstream — that could be accomplished with a simple fish ladder. Instead, the elevator deposits them into holding pens, where biologists measure their length, weight and sex. They also note which trout were raised in the hatchery, and which were not.</p>
  3408.  
  3409.  
  3410.  
  3411. <p>The fraction of fish that are determined by Marble Bluff biologists to be Pilot Peak strain are dropped into a tube that connects to the Truckee River upstream of the dam, where they can swim upstream and spawn; the fish of questionable heritage are deposited back in the river below the dam.</p>
  3412.  
  3413.  
  3414.  
  3415. <p>Installed in 2016, the tube is touted by federal fish managers as the key to creating a pure strain of Lahontan cutthroat trout that will repopulate the Truckee River on its own.</p>
  3416.  
  3417.  
  3418.  
  3419. <p>But to others involved in the fish’s recovery, the tube represents a hindrance that focuses too much on the Pilot Peak strain and not enough on the recovery of the species as a whole.</p>
  3420.  
  3421.  
  3422.  
  3423. <p>Mike Sevon, retired fishery supervisor for the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s Western Region, recalls more than a decade ago watching members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extract federally-raised fish from the tribal spawning channel so that those raised in the Gardnerville hatchery did not mix with non-hatchery fish.&nbsp;</p>
  3424.  
  3425.  
  3426.  
  3427. <p>The Gardnerville fish come from a strain Sevon describes as “special” and “the real deal.” But he doesn’t believe they should be separated from other Lahontan cutthroat trout.</p>
  3428.  
  3429.  
  3430.  
  3431. <p>“I don’t see anything wrong with mixing up fish that traditionally were in the headwaters of the Truckee and the Pilot Peak lacustrine (lake) fish,” Sevon said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  3432.  
  3433.  
  3434.  
  3435. <figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
  3436. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158886" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/f9237b92-fish-032124_lct-usfws-marblebluff_02607.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158886"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff member Dylan Corpron moves Lahontan cutthroat trout into a tank to sort and separate Pilot Peak strain fish for spawning at the Marble Bluff Fish Passage and Research Facility along the Truckee River in Nixon near Pyramid Lake on March 21, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3437.  
  3438.  
  3439.  
  3440. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158885" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/da527f58-fish-040424_lct-plpt-pyramid_02911.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158885"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fishermen at Pyramid Lake in Sutcliffe on April 4, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3441.  
  3442.  
  3443.  
  3444. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158929" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/49976178-032124_lct-usfws-marblebluff_02745-1200x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158929"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish biologist Erik Horgen at the Marble Bluff Fish Passage and Research Facility along the Truckee River in Nixon near Pyramid Lake on March 21, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3445. </figure>
  3446.  
  3447.  
  3448.  
  3449. <p><strong>Letting nature prevail</strong></p>
  3450.  
  3451.  
  3452.  
  3453. <p>Driving along Interstate 80 east of Reno, Heki, the Fish and Wildlife project leader, points to stands of cottonwoods and gravel bars. They didn’t exist when she started her career decades ago. Instead, they were developed and planted over the years to facilitate Lahontan cutthroat trout spawning and provide bank stability and shade to cool the fish — a shift in the way the river was utilized.</p>
  3454.  
  3455.  
  3456.  
  3457. <p>For much of the 20th century, the Truckee River was viewed as little more than a ditch conveying water to downstream agricultural users, Crookshanks said. Habitat and wildlife were rarely considered as more and more water was diverted for agriculture.&nbsp;</p>
  3458.  
  3459.  
  3460.  
  3461. <p>That mindset shifted in the late 20th Century, as officials and lawmakers <a href="https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2021/steamboat-ditch-lessons">sought a balance</a> between preserving natural resources and agricultural needs.&nbsp;</p>
  3462.  
  3463.  
  3464.  
  3465. <p>Those river enhancements include efforts to aid fish seeking to move upstream.&nbsp;</p>
  3466.  
  3467.  
  3468.  
  3469. <p>In 2020, a fish bypass at Derby Dam opened to allow fish to swim past the dam for the first time in more than a century.&nbsp;</p>
  3470.  
  3471.  
  3472.  
  3473. <p>And last year, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe secured nearly $8.3 million from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build a rock ramp at Numana Dam, located between Pyramid Lake and Derby Dam, to help fish swim past the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/dam-bypass-to-open-endangered-northern-nevada-fish-spawning-grounds-cut-off-for-a-century">diversion</a>.</p>
  3474.  
  3475.  
  3476.  
  3477. <p>But the further the fish stray from Pyramid Lake, the more likely they are to spawn with nonnative fish such as <a href="https://www.ndow.org/waters/truckee-river/">rainbow trout</a>.&nbsp;</p>
  3478.  
  3479.  
  3480.  
  3481. <p>Nonnative fish — including rainbow trout — were introduced to the Truckee River more than a century ago. Having thrived in the river for so long, the state department of wildlife considers them “naturalized.”&nbsp;</p>
  3482.  
  3483.  
  3484.  
  3485. <p>Sometimes, rainbow trout wash down toward Pyramid Lake near the mouth of the river, Barnes said. Although the lake’s salinity prevents them from living in the lake, they can survive in the lower stretches of the river during the spring before the water temperature gets too high, allowing them to mix with some Lahontan cutthroat trout.</p>
  3486.  
  3487.  
  3488.  
  3489. <p>Further upstream, rainbow trout thrive in less saline water. As the Pilot Peak strain make their way up the river to spawn, they can mix with the rainbow. About 8 percent of recently studied river Lahontan cutthroat trout were hybridized, according to Barnes.&nbsp;</p>
  3490.  
  3491.  
  3492.  
  3493. <p>There are also brown trout, which spawn in the fall and don’t represent a hybridization problem for the Lahontan cutthroat trout — but do represent a predatory threat.</p>
  3494.  
  3495.  
  3496.  
  3497. <p>“[Wildlife managers] can’t get rid of them, and the cutthroat can’t compete with them,” Sevon said.&nbsp;</p>
  3498.  
  3499.  
  3500.  
  3501. <p>Moving forward, the goal is to achieve a naturally reproducing population of the Pilot Peak strain in Pyramid Lake and the Truckee River, Heki said, and rangewide to have the fish recover enough so they can be delisted.</p>
  3502.  
  3503.  
  3504.  
  3505. <p>But a self-sustaining population would negate the need of the elaborate efforts at the hatchery, which, along with the Marble Bluff Fish Passage Facility and its associated conservation office, received $6.3 million in funding last year.</p>
  3506.  
  3507.  
  3508.  
  3509. <p>Sevon said he doesn’t see a self-sustaining population coming back to the river. There are too many obstacles, including the nonnative fish in the Truckee River that threaten to spawn with the Lahontan cutthroat trout and create hybrids.&nbsp;</p>
  3510.  
  3511.  
  3512.  
  3513. <p>“We tried to explain to the Fish and Wildlife Service when they proposed all of this, that their objective will never be met without using that hatchery until the end of time,” he said.</p>
  3514.  
  3515.  
  3516.  
  3517. <p>What the fish are left with is a mishmash of plans to propel their populations forward, with diverse groups each doing what they believe is best for the Lahontan cutthroat trout.</p>
  3518.  
  3519.  
  3520.  
  3521. <p>“In the end, there’s just a whole bunch of us who care about the fish,” Sevon said.&nbsp;</p>
  3522.  
  3523.  
  3524.  
  3525. <figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
  3526. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158890" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/9dd54150-fish-031324_lct-usfws-gardnerville_00570.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158890"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff member William Dutton nets Pilot Peak strain Lahontan cutthroat trout broodstock before spawning activities at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery in Gardnerville on March 13, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3527.  
  3528.  
  3529.  
  3530. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158910" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/7b52ab51-031324_lct-usfws-gardnerville_01551-1200x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158910"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A Pilot Peak strain Lahontan Cutthroat Trout during spawning activities at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Gardnerville on March 13, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3531.  
  3532.  
  3533.  
  3534. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" data-id="158896" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.thenevadaindependent.com/2024/04/2a847fa0-040424_lct-plpt-pyramid_03536-1200x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-158896"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A channel dug during spawning season for Lahontan cutthroat trout at the hatchery at Pyramid Lake in Sutcliffe on April 4, 2024. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)</figcaption></figure>
  3535. </figure>
  3536. ]]></content:encoded>
  3540. </item>
  3541. </channel>
  3542. </rss>
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