Monthly archive

A new analysis of the Las Vegas housing market cites the "unintended consequences" of Nevada's construction defect statute as inhibiting the recovery of a slowly mending sector. The study, which I am told was given to lawmakers and I have attached here, was done by UNLV economist Stephen Brown for the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association, which has long sought reforms to Chapter 40 of Nevada law. Brown's general conlcusion: The Nevada housing market is finally showing signs of recovery....
I told you Thursday about that ill-fated NRA meeting in which the gamers were not buying the UNLV NOW financing proposal for that new stadium. That's an intangible problem for Don Snyder & Co. that could become tangible. But, I have learned, the stadium has another, more immediate problem: It can't be built the way it has been designed. So says the Federal Aviation Administration in a series of "presumed hazard" findings (I have attached one here) that indicate the structure could interfere...
      On this Valentine’s Day, with apologies to my wife, I must send greetings to my longest love affair. I refer, of course, to my undying ardor for Nevada politics, which has more ups and downs in a year than most three-decade marriages but never ceases to excite and exhilarate as happy unions are supposed to do. The thrill is never gone. Just look what we have enjoyed together in our 26-plus-year match made in heaven. Indeed, it was love at first sight. Back in 1986, when the relationship...
If you had told me two years ago that Steven Horsford's first bill as a congressman would have the word "Yerington" in it, I would have laughed out loud. But after that district was drawn to include seven counties, and Horsford discovered the wonders of the rurals during his campaign, maybe it's not that surprising. And he has just introduced this bill, and I have attached it here. Somewhere, the Dini family is smiling.    
You may have read this story in the morning "newspaper" about MGM Resorts curbing its enthusiasm for the UNLV stadium project. And now, as Paul Harvey used to say, for the rest of the story: Last Friday, stadium guru Don Snyder and Majestic Realty's Craig Cavileer made a presentation to the Nevada Resort Association, of which MGM Resorts is a member. It did not go well, I'm told. Although NRA boss Virginia Valentine was diplomatic in the RJ story, I'm reliably informed that there was near-...
This arrived at 12:10 AM on Thursday from Las Vegas Constable John Bonaventura, sent to various media outlets as a defense one day after he was arrested for drunk driving. I post it here, unedited, just as is, a remarkable piece of barely literate writing:   If anyone wants to know.  Here is the TRUTH! Thanks! Subject: Fwd: Foul Play by County Officials and Henderson and Laughlin Constables     Other township constables breaking the law. County not enforcing the law. NRS and...
You just can't make this stuff up. Former U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle, now searching for voter fraud across this great land, has posted her reaction to the inauguration. If you loved Second Amendment remedies and Hispanics who look Asian to her, you are going to love this, too: In a piece headlined, "Boycotting Obama," Angle begins by teling everyone she did not watch the president's Jan. 21 speech "in protest of Obama." She did so to emulate -- wait for it -- Martin Luther King. So her...
With memories of the failed gross receipts tax the industry pushed still fresh a decade later, the gaming industry's lobbying arm has announced it will "not take an active role or position" in the Carson City tax debate. For now, at least. The Nevada Resort Association, responding to my request for its position, released a statement to me that clearly indicates that the 2003 tax debate, with the gamers driving a tax train that went off the tracks, is affecting its strategy 10 years later. For...
It's called "Fix Education First," which would seem to imply another message: "Fix education before you pour more money into it." The ostensible goal of the PAC, according to its organizing documents: "Dedicated to improving education in Southern Nevada." Maybe it's just about "fair share" for the South then? Wonder how much money the chamber can raise.....    
Clark County Commissioners have asked for a special addendum to their agenda next week "regarding a possible process for appointing a qualified state legislator," a clear reference to a possible vacancy if Assemblyman Steven Brooks resigns or is expelled. The rationale explained in the backup -- attached here -- is that Commissioner Mary Beth Scow asked for the item in December -- before the Brooks affair -- to examine the appointment process. I understand this came in the wake of the quick...

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