Free Republic

"Nevadans from all walks of life gathered Monday morning to protest among other issues, the governor's proposed cuts to state workers. Roughly 500 protestors from Planned Parenthood, the Douglas County Republican Central Committee and various labor unions all combined their efforts to rally outside the state's capitol". Excerpt, balance of text at original article

More than 200 companies are under criminal investigation for mortgage fraud with ties to such things as identity theft and prostitution, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto says. Edith Cartwright of the attorney general’s office said many of those companies have 50 to 100 complaints against them. Masto outlined her budget to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee on Monday, saying she has two attorneys and three investigators to handle the criminal cases. The office also has a federal grant to hire two lawyers and four more investigators.

As investigators probe the potential abuse of sick leave by firefighters, Clark County officials say they will find many instances of employees scheduling sick time off weeks or months in advance. Among them is a firefighter who used the benefit to help carve out 53 consecutive days off in 2009.

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada reportedly has the largest share of illegal workers in the nation, yet many local companies say they support efforts to curb their hiring. Across the country, more than 1,000 companies learned they'll face an inspection by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents. Stats from the Pew Hispanic Center shows 10 percent of the people working in Nevada aren't authorized. ICE is taking steps to stop them, but local companies are doing their part to protect the credibility of their business. Every time there's an opening, the response at Rebel Refrigeration and Air Conditioning is overwhelming. "For just...

The founder of the Drudge Report website has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit with a company that sued on behalf of the Denver Post newspaper over a photo showing an airport pat-down, federal court documents in Las Vegas showed. ... Righthaven has filed more than 230 lawsuits in Nevada against bloggers, nonprofits and others. The company has copyrights rom Stephens Media LLC, the owner of the Review-Journal. The Review-Journal has reported that settlements average about $5,000.

MyNews4.com - Anjeanette Damon, Host of To The Point, has learned from multiple sources that Reno City Manager Donna Dreska abruptly resigned from her post Friday morning. News 4's Mackenzie Warren spoke Dreska late this morning. Dreska refused to comment until a 2:00pm news confernce today. Dreska had met last week with the State Department of Taxation about whether city staff had illegally transferred funds between accounts. There is no proof of any connection between the investigation and today’s resignation.

Reno, Nev. (AP) -- The latest in a string of powerful storms is dropping heavy snow and causing widespread school closures and traffic delays Friday in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area. The Alpine Meadows ski resort just north of Tahoe reports receiving up to 4 feet of snow over a 24-hour period ending Friday morning for a total of as much as 9 feet of snow since the storms began on Monday. Other Sierra resorts are reporting 4 to 7 feet of new snow this week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee met this morning, February 16, 2011, to discuss three bills before it; SB29, SB88, and SB126. The most interesting of the three was SB126 which revises certain provisions relating to permits to carry concealed firearms. The bill was introduced by Senator James A. Settelmeyer (R – Capital Senatorial Dist.) and Senator John J. Lee (D – Clark County 1) in a bipartisan effort to bring Nevada into alignment with other “Shall Issue” states regarding conceal carry permits. Under existing law, a person who applies for a permit to carry a firearm concealed is required to list...

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A bill to streamline concealed weapon permit requirements in Nevada received strong support Wednesday in a Senate committee. Backers said allowing permit holders to qualify for a type of weapon, as opposed to specific makes and models, would save time and money. SB126 is sponsored by Sens. James Settelmeyer, R-Minden, and John Lee, D-North Las Vegas. Under current law, a permit holder must qualify on each individual weapon they want to carry concealed, even if they are similar. The bill would allow qualification for a type of weapon — such as a revolver or semi-automatic. But...

In what must have been one of his most painful tasks in office, UNLV President Neal Smatresk warned faculty leaders Tuesday to prepare for a budget catastrophe — news that left some in tears. (SNIP) The faculty was angry and indignant. “I’m sick we are destroying much of what we’ve built,” said Cecilia Maldonado, an educational-leadership professor and chairwoman of the Senate. (SNIP) The emotion built again when Maldonado read a list of grievances, each beginning with “I’m sick.” She said she is sick of politicians caricaturing professors with “our fat salaries and easy living.” She said she is sick...

Clark County is continuing to investigate abuse of sick leave in the fire department and is looking into the possibility of seeking reimbursement from the firefighters’ retirement program. Assistant County Manager Ed Finger gave an update to county commissioners Tuesday on the use of sick leave in the fire department. In their last meeting, Finger presented evidence to commissioners that some firefighters have abused the sick-leave policy. Finger said the county has implemented new administrative procedures for sick leave use, which he said will prevent abuse.

CARSON CITY – Abolishing Nevada's minimum wage would hurt low-paid workers who are spending their money locally while executives and higher-paid workers wouldn't see a change, labor representatives said Wednesday. But representatives of employer groups urged a Senate committee to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to scrap the minimum wage law and requirements they say result in businesses not hiring, in some cases. Before a packed hearing room, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Energy took testimony on Senate Joint Resolution 2, which would put the issue before voters over whether to eliminate the requirement that employers pay a minimum...

The former executive director for the American Conservative Union has agreed to serve on the advisory council for GOProud, a homosexual lobby that has approved of same-sex "marriage" and the repeal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy that allowed homosexuals to serve in the military if they didn't make an issue of their lifestyle choice even though the law banned that. According to an announcement today from GOProud, Chuck Muth, the former executive director of the ACU, is joining the GOProud leadership team. Christopher Barron, chairman of GOProud's board, said in a prepared statement the organization was honored to...

DENVER -- In the past two years, welfare recipients have withdrawn more than $2.3 million in taxpayer money at locations outside the state, including in exotic vacation spots like Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Las Vegas... Public assistance recipients took out $5,100 in Hawaii, including a one $200 withdrawal at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa. Welfare recipients withdrew more than $7,000 in Puerto Rico and nearly $5,000 in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, the 7News analysis shows. And in the country’s top gambling destination, welfare recipients took out more than $51,000 in two years,...

In a state with the nation’s highest unemployment rate, it then seems sensible to ask how many jobs were created with the $2.9 billion dollars Nevada has so far received as part of the Federal (ARRA), otherwise known as the federal stimulus. The bill was passed Feb. 13, 2009. Two years later, the state’s unemployment rate hovers near 15 percent. So how many jobs did the stimulus save or create? The answer has even eluded lawmakers like recently-retired Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who was on a taskforce to oversee stimulus funds. The short answer is: it’s hard to say. The...

One day after Reno's City Council approves the proposed budget, the city's fire chief and police chief start letting go of employees. We're already seeing the effects of the layoffs around town.

Las Vegas copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC received a boost this week when a federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against a Southern California real estate agent. Jeffrey L. Nelson of San Clemente was hit with a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement June 30 in U.S. District Court for Nevada after an entire 17-paragraph story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal was posted on Nelson’s website, allegedly without authorization. Righthaven is the copyright enforcement partner of the Review-Journal and the Denver Post. A court exhibit shows the Review-Journal was not credited as the source of the story on Nelson’s...

WASHINGTON - Republicans care about Social Security, too. Or at least that appears to be the message Nevada Rep. Dean Heller is trying to send with a new bill he’s filed this week, prioritizing Social Security over other spending in case of a doomsday scenario everyone is talking about but no one is yet trying to fix: a crash into the country’s legal debt ceiling. That would precipitate a shutdown of the government until the debt either comes back below legally permissible levels, or Congress tweaks the law. If that happens, Heller’s bill says, there should be only two priorities...

David Duke, the nation's best-known white supremacist, is being sued by Las Vegas copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC. Righthaven, which sues over alleged online infringements of material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post, filed suit against Duke last week in U.S. District Court in Denver. Also sued was Duke's nonprofit Louisiana-based European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO). Righthaven charged in its lawsuit that a Denver Post photo of a Transportation Security Administration officer patting down a passenger at Denver International Airport from Nov. 18 was posted on a website controlled by Duke and EURO, whitecivilrights.com. "The defendants...

Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - A woman is sharing an emotional account of what she calls an unexpected and frightening confrontation. The 59-year-old says she felt forced to open fire after a pair of 20-year-olds forced their way into her apartment. The two intruders accused that woman of throwing dog feces onto their porch. However, the woman who grabbed her gun believes the duo was just looking for trouble. "I thought they were on drugs. They had eyes so black, like a shark's eyes. It was horrendous. I couldn't believe it," said Lorraine Dipaola, who fired a single bullet. Officers...