Monthly archive
Nevadans are not a happy lot but they believe in renewable energy, although they are split on whether the government should provide incentives and pick winners and losers.
Those are the findings of a new poll paid for by "A Renewable America," a project of Wind Energy Foundation. It was conducted by The Winston Group of 750 registered voters with an oversample of 330 registered voters in CD2 (where a lot of this stuff might be built) and conducted November 13th-16th.
In general, the poll, which...
Try to follow along, and try to believe this is actually happening, not the product of a Rod Serling and Jerry Lewis screenplay:
On Wednesday Assembly Speaker-Designate John Hambrick notified Majority Leader-Designate Michele Fiore that he was booting her from taxation, on the same day KNPR covered her $1 million in tax liens.
Shortly thereafter, at 7:02 PM, Fiore sent out an "Urgent Caucus Memo" threatening her colleagues:
Dear Caucus Members,
It has come to my attention that apparently a...
Lawrence VanDyke, named Wednesday as AG-elect Adam Laxalt's solicitor general, is not just a reliable social conservative like his new boss but once did a fellowship with a group that believes in "complete and total dependence upon God for everything."
Several media outlets, including The New York Times, have detailed VanDyke's social conservatism, including his advocacy for creationism and against Roe v. Wade. But his roots in those beliefs go much deeper.
In 2003, Van Dyke, a Harvard Law grad...
When I first wrote about Engage Nevada, I thought it would be a noble but probably futile effort by one of the state's premier operatives, Chris Carr.
But after the smoke cleared Nov. 4, Carr's efforts had paid off in the most dramatic Republican sweep the state has seen.
And the last filing of the year by the federal PAC for the "nonpartisan" 501c4 he set up shows who Carr encouraged to give money in the last month to ensure registration numbers were turned into voters. In late October, the...
In a response this week to a lawsuit by disgruntled medical marijuana applicants, the state acknowledged it granted dispensary licenses to supplicants who did not comply with the law mandating approval from local governments and asked a judge to decide who gets awards.
I am not kidding.
"The Division (Health and Human Services) does not dispute that they (sic) issued registrations to applicants who did not comply (with the law) and denied registrants who had been issue a special permit from...
Nevada could improve the tax structure by broadening the sales tax and payroll tax and reforming its property tax, but not by approving a new gross receipts or corporate profits tax, according to a new study by The Tax Foundation paid for by the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce.
The full study will be released later but the executive summary is attached here.
The Tax Foundation folks interviewed people in Nevada and did a forensic look at the state's antiquated tax structure. The analysts...
UPDATED, 5:15 PM, 12/8/14: It appears, based on what tax attorneys say, that the IRS, shockingly, can be quite capricious in how it handles such cases. But it's clear Fiore has a lot of exposure here, as the agency does not take kindly to those who withhold and do not pass on the money, seeing it as stealing from the government.
Here's the applicable statute, which says penalties can range from fines to prison, or both.
UPDATED, 2:15 PM, 12/8/14:
I have discovered more than $200,000 in...
UPDATED, 1 PM: Gov. Brian Sandoval sent out a statement after his team presented the grim picture to lawmakers. It used some of the same verbiage he has previously brandished about revenue not keeping pace with growth and having to look to new sources. This ain't subtle, nor is it rocket science, folks: Ask for savings (remember Kenny Guinn's "fundamental review" of state government, then lament that it's not enough, propose taxes.
This time, like last time (2003), the need is real; it's just...
A popular Republican governor de facto unopposed for re-election and planning a tax increase.
A willing state Senate majority leader who wants to bolster education funding.
An unpredictable Assembly with some strong-willed no-tax absolutists.
The state’s most powerful special interest mobilizing to get businesses to pay more.
Business folks talking a good game about wanting to pay more for education.
Here we go. Again.
The run-up to Session ’15 looks a lot like the prelude to Session ’03, the...