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A controversial method to help underwater homeowners by deploying eminent domain is coming to Southern Nevada. The effort is being pitched to local municipalities and will be on the North Las Vegas council agenda next week. The agenda item asks the council to approve an agreement with a national group called Mortgage Resolution Partners. For months, local business folks now affiliated with MRP have been briefing elected officials and others about the plan, which has been embraced in some small...
UPDATE: A couple of folks reminded me of the 2009 battle over a similar provision, which closes the loop because it was an attempt by Republicans to try to affect then-Speaker Barbara Buckley's potential gubernatorial run. The measure flew out of the Senate (thanks to Sir Bill of Reno) but was entombed in the Democratic-controlled Assembly. As I say below, all politics is personal. Here are some hearing minutes and I have attached some more above. ----- This is the Legislature -- or any...
It seems like yesterday. The year was 2006. A maverick secretary of state named Dean Heller was seeking a vacant congressional seat as incumbent Jim Gibbons sought the governorship. Heller was the anointed choice, but there were two obstacles: Gibbons' wife, Dawn, and a backbencher assemblywoman named Sharron Angle filed against him in the primary for the guaranteed GOP seat. Heller would have won easily except for one factor: The Club for Growth spent a million bucks against him, calling him a...
Nugget No. 1 -- So Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins' effort to take over his turf in North Las Vegas by promoting his community liaison's candidacy took a bizarre turn as he put out a piece -- see it at right -- paid for by his campaign to make sure everyone knows he has not endorsed incumbent Anita Wood. Love the boldface words almost as much as the vitriol in the mail piece designed to help Janice Ridondo. I guess Collins really wants a voice on that city's council. Nugget No. 2 -- My...
For any good fantasy to work, you have to suspend your disbelief for a time. So when I heard – again – Monday that legislative Democrats are discussing (they do know how to discuss!) a revenue plan for education, I wanted to believe. Truly. I do. After all, there they all were , 15 of them arrayed behind state Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis, a few of them rotely reading prepared statements about education enhancements. It was a forced scene, as they all are, with the Democrats earnestly trying...
Despite opposition among business groups and in the Legislature, the public widely supports the margins tax, according to a new poll by the Retailers Association of Nevada. The survey, by well-known national pollster Glen Bolger, was conducted February 16-18, 2013, among 500 likely voters, with 125 cell phone interviews, and has a margin of error of +4.38%. Among the findings, which crossed a wide spectrum of issues (and you can see details in the attachment here): Margins tax: 58-39, support (...
Welcome to The Weekly Report, where you will get exclusive information, columns and analysis. This week: 1. The Weekly Insiders Survey: An early report card on the freshmen 2. The Weekly Insiders Survey:  The chances of real construction defect reform 3. A trio of web poker post-mortem nuggets   THE FIRST FRESHMAN REPORT CARD   Three weeks into the session, I decided to see which rookies were distinguishing themselves – or not. I asked my lobbyist focus group what the initial impressions are,...

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