With less than two months to go before Nevada’s June 11 primary, establishment-backed candidates in key legislative races generally have the financial edge over their opponents heading into the final pre-election stretch. In nine legislative races tracked by The Nevada Independent, all but one of the candidates backed by either Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) or their party’s caucus in their respective chamber held a significant lead in money raised from January through March, according to an analysis of first quarter campaign finance reports released last week. Though 10 state Senate races and 42 Assem ..read more

Apparently, the Clark County Commission is fine with Formula One converting the resort corridor into a private raceway each year — but heaven forbid a taco cart is allowed to operate near a public park.  Last year Gov. Joe Lombardo signed Senate Bill 92, providing street vendors with the promise that their line of work would soon be legitimized throughout the state. However, local governments were still free to impose their own slew of regulations, restrictions and permitting requirements as part of a “legalized pathway” for vendors — and last week the Clark County Commission did precisel ..read more

Almost a year after major pharmacy chains began waffling at the prospect of filling mifepristone prescriptions, Walgreens and CVS began dispensing the abortion pill in Nevada during the last few weeks. The decision comes after a concentrated push by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), who called on the chains to follow through with Food & Drug Administration (FDA) guidance updates finalized in 2023 allowing mifepristone to be dispensed and sold at pharmacies. Now the most common means of terminating a pregnancy, mifepristone is the first of a two-pill drug regimen that patients can take wi ..read more

Un nuevo club en la Preparatoria Carson está dirigiendo sus esfuerzos para hacer una diferencia, empezando con una iniciativa para brindar apoyo tecnológico a personas mayores. El Club Interact, afiliado al Club Rotario de Carson City en el norte de Nevada, y que se enfoca en el servicio comunitario, empezó en enero. La trabajadora social de la escuela, Bailee Barber, es la asesora del club y dijo que decidió iniciar el club después de hablar con los estudiantes que participaron en el campamento de verano del Club Rotario. "Ha sido muy hermoso ser testigo de todos estos estudiantes que simplem ..read more

One of the most critical steps the Biden administration can take to improve public health for all is to ban menthol cigarettes. This isn't just about curbing smoking rates nationwide. It’s about addressing a deadly, cancer-causing product that has been aggressively marketed to minority communities for far too long. As a pediatrician, son of a daily smoker and proud Latino, I urge the White House to act now to save lives, protect kids and reduce health disparities. The industry’s efforts perpetuate a particularly vicious cycle in Hispanic and Latino communities, where significant health care ba ..read more

A chance to step out of the shadows, to run a legitimate and legal business. That’s what a state law passed last year represented for hundreds of street vendors in Nevada. Whether it be a local elotero selling corn from a push cart or a family selling agua fresca at a corner stand, Nevada’s street vendors have for years worked without permits, facing the possibility of fines and financial calamity if their equipment and wares are seized by local health authorities. Lawmakers pushed to change that last year, passing SB92. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas) and signed in Jun ..read more

It’s spawning day at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex, and volunteers clad in rubber boots and jackets move quickly around the south Gardnerville building, fishing nets in hand. They swoop the nets into giant pools of water chilled to mimic temperatures found in local waterways, extracting mature male Lahontan cutthroat trout one at a time. The fish, which are sedated but still active, squirm as they are carried across the hatchery. There, a group of biologists waiting to handle the fish reach into the nets, gently extract a fish, and begin massaging its abdomen from head to tail, m ..read more

Good morning, and welcome to The Indy D.C. Download newsletter, a weekly look at what's going on in the nation's capital as it relates to Nevada.  If a colleague or associate emailed this newsletter to you, please click here to sign up and receive your own copy of Indy D.C. Download in your inbox. At this point I’ve done several newsletters on the topic of Ukraine aid — its passage in the Senate, eroding Republican support and a constant will-they-or-won’t-they about whether Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will bring foreign aid to the floor. Given the bleak outlook of the war and the fact th ..read more

NO The 73% figure refers to a subcategory of vegetable waste found in one of several studies cited in a larger analysis, and researchers cautioned against viewing any individual figure as an average of all school meal waste. Gov. Joe Lombardo cited this figure from a 2021 study in his veto message against a 2023 bill, AB319, that would have funded universal free breakfast and lunch for Nevada pupils. He argued that the free meals would increase the amount of food purchased and thrown away, and he made similar claims at a March IndyTalks event. The Washoe County School District conducted its ow ..read more

La semana pasada legisladores de Nevada asignaron a varios proyectos cerca de $39 millones de dólares en recursos que son reutilizados del Plan de Rescate Estadounidense (ARP), destinando casi la mitad de ese dinero a iniciativas de salud mental. La asignación surge después de que el Gobernador Joe Lombardo dijo que el estado debería dar prioridad a ese gasto en esa área. El Presidente Joe Biden firmó la Ley del Plan de Rescate Estadounidense en 2021, que otorgó a Nevada $2.7 billones en ayuda estatal flexible que se debe asignar antes de que termine este año y gastarse para fines del 2026. Le ..read more