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If you find the word “corporeal” in a new law, I would suggest: 1. Someone has been using a Thesaurus. 2. Someone has been taking part in seances. 3. Someone is desperate to justify a new law’s raison d’etre. That was my initial reaction when I saw the word meaning one’s actual body (as opposed to the spirit) in a new, probably unnecessary bill that is a response to a political situation and not really a substantive one. Yes, that never happens in Carson City. Assembly Bill 407, sponsored by...
It isn't on many folks' radar, but the woman who has been the driving force behind the margins tax is leaving the Nevada State Education Association. Lynn Warne's term expires in June, and the election to replace her is later this month. It's a three-way race, I'm told, between Ruben Murillo, who heads the Clark local; John Carr of the Education Support Employees Association; and ex-Assemblyman Doug Bache. I make Murillo the early favorite. But this will be very interesting to watch.  
As the national media continues to regularly chronicle some national politician "evolving" on gay marriage, Nevada's governor is not joining the supposedly Darwinian progression on the issue: Brian Sandoval remains opposed to gay marriage, he told a Spanish-language interviewer in an exchange posted this week on the station's website. Sandoval twice told Martha Saldaña that he opposes gay marriage, saying when she followed up, "As I said, marriage should be between a man and a woman." In the...
In 1969, two freshmen Democratic assemblymen from Southern Nevada introduced a bill that would have mandated a statewide three-day waiting period for gun purchases. The measure was introduced on Feb. 6 and referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. It was never seen again. It wasn't for lack of trying, though. One of the young lawmakers even flew to the rural city of Battle Mountain, where he was not met with a welcome reception at the Rod and Gun Club. On March 26, the two Democrats tried...
  SECOND UPDATE: Mujahid Ramadan, a longtime activist who worked for Gov. Bob Miller and Sen. Harry Reid, has applied. As an African-American who has been at the forefront of many issues, he could be a factor. I have attached his application here. UPDATED: I have also attached resumes for other applicants, including ex-North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson's son.   Las Vegas Councilman Ricki Barlow is urging Clark County commissioners to appoint former city employee Meli Pulido to fill...
The Nevada governorship leans to Brian Sandoval next year, and Rep. Joe Heck is a favorite to retain his seat while Rep. Steven Horsford's district is not in play. That's according to The Rothenberg Political Report, an authoritative newsletter edited by renowned pundit Stu Rothenberg, with superb assistance from Nathan Gonzales and Jessica Taylor (now leaving for NBC News). In its latest edition, dated April 5, the report lists Sandoval among four "Lean Republican" gubernatorial seats. (Terry...
Yes, I know I am late to the "House of Cards" party. But I insist on celebrating the series, no matter how tardy I may be, because it is the kind of heroin TV, without the side effects, that justifies my Netflix subscription and makes me eager with anticipation for the next chapters. Not since I tore through all the DVDs of "Breaking Bad" have I been so transfixed by a series centering on a profoundly amoral character (all right, Frank Underwood is more immoral). But "House of Cards" is...
State Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson and Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey were in Utah this weekend attending a regional meeting of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee. The meeting (flier attached here) at the St. Regis in Deer Valley ends today (Hickey is still there; Roberson left already). I'm told that the group discussed immigration reform and outreach to Latinos, with well-known GOP pollster Public Opinion Strategies doing focus groups in Las Vegas to figure out how...
I hope there was no ballot-stuffing: Which leader has done the best job in the session's first half?   Primary tabs View Edit Outline Results(active tab) Votes Michael Roberson   45% (47 votes) Marilyn Kirkpatrick   27% (29 votes) Pat Hickey   11% (12 votes) Mo Denis   9% (10 votes) William Horne   5% (6 votes) Total votes: 104  
  Amid headlines about NV Energy's bombshell, sports betting kiosks and, of course, pot, largely unnoticed were two interesting Senate Joint Resolutions passed this week with the votes of the most conservative members of the GOP caucus. First piece of evidence is SJR 5, which urges Congress to pass The Marketplace Fairness Act, which has to do with Internet sales tax collections and is considered by some lawmakers to be a state budget booster worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The act...

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