Monthly archive

As prepared for delivery:       It is a pleasure to return to Carson City and an honor to speak with you.   It has been my good fortune to address the Nevada Legislature during 15 joint sessions. Each occasion has been an opportunity to reflect on the unique nature and responsibilities of our state and our state legislature.   Serving in the legislature is a blessing, but it can also be a burden. Let me tell you why. The laws of the land are written by the men and women in this chamber – not by...
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will tell Nevada legislators in about 90 minutes to pass same-day registration, and he will also oppose photo ID laws, a clear shot at Secretary of State Ross Miller's proposal before lawmakers for a so-called visual verification bill, a source familiar with his speech said. Same-day registration could easily pass the Democratically controlled Legislature. But Reid's position on photo ID could kill a Miller bill already on life support. The majority leader...
When Neena Laxalt saw the NPR article forwarded this morning by a cousin, she was stunned. And so, she says, was the rest of the family to learn that her nephew, Adam Laxalt, was the son of Pete Domenici, the ex-New Mexico senator. “My mom went to her grave (in 2004) not knowing,” Laxalt, a lobbyist in Carson City, told me in the Legislative Building. “I was shocked.” Neena Laxalt and Michelle Laxalt are not close – the latter left Nevada when Paul Laxalt defeated Harry Reid for the U.S. Senate...
UPDATE: Five days after I posted this, the county has made it public. I have attached Walker's letter here. UPDATE NO. 2: County Manager Don Burnette today informed commissioners he will appoint Rosemary Vassiliadis, Walker's longtime assistant, to replace him. here's his email to commissioners, who must ratify the choice:   As you are aware, Randy had recently informed me that he was considering retirement from the County after many years of service.  After some thought and consideration,...
What better place than the Las Vegas Country Club, where time seems to have stopped in 1974 or so, for a group of conservatives to gather to figure out how to capture the glory days. And what better man to deliver the message than Frank Fahrenkopf, who chaired the state and national Republican Parties during the time of The Gipper and Bush 41 and helped rebuild the GOP in Nevada and nationally. Ironically, it was almost exactly 18 years ago, sitting with Steve Wynn and others under the low...
UPDATE: Just got a voicemail from Heck: "My statement was in reference to the idea of gun control grab coming out of Washington DC. Of course there is no way that I think that Gabby Giffords is a prop...Should I have come to her defense? You know, in a fast-moving interview, in retrospect, I should have said something but I didn't. I was just looking to get past that and talk about gun control in general." ---- In an interview with KDWN's Alan Stock, Rep. Joe Heck today appeared to agree with...
UPDATE: After I posted this, Bilbray wrote a clarifying post, as it were, on Facebook: I think I need to clarify. I have not decided anything. Running for office is going to be life changing for my family and I need to make sure all pieces are in place. But thank you for all of the support and friendship. ------- Here's what Democratic National Committeewoman Erin Bilbray posted on her Facebook page last night about the race against Rep. Joe Heck: Friends, I have two great parents. This race is...
  No   68% (73 votes) Yes   31% (33 votes) Total votes: 106
That and more Friday evening on "Ralston Reports" as fellow Democrats and Clark County Commissioners Steve Sisolak and Tom Collins went at it:  
After he settled with the city of Henderson for a paltry sum, indicating the government was eager to release him, attorney Christopher Stephens, through his lawyers, lambasted what they called the "pulp fiction" of a lawsuit. The statement, from the law firm of Campbell and Williams, is a brutal denunciation of Henderson's lawsuit against Stephens and others, including developer Chris Milam, who once promised to build a stadium near the "M" Resort. Don't take my word for it. Read it and cringe...

Pages