May 28, 2019

Reported gunshot at mall on Las Vegas Strip evokes memory of Oct. 1

A reported gunshot Monday night at the Fashion Show mall on the Strip sent crowds running and prompted a heavy police response.

Nearly 20 months after a mass shooting about 2 ½ miles south on the same Las Vegas Boulevard took 58 lives, the response on Monday was a startling reminder of how quickly a normal day can turn chaotic.

Las Vegas police said the gunshot was reported shortly after 6 p.m. The preliminary investigation revealed a fight occurred, but as it broke up, one shot was fired, police said.

No one was injured, but the shooting prompted a precautionary evacuation, according to police. Authorities did not say if anyone had been apprehended in the shooting.

Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/the-strip/reported-gunshot-at-mall-on-las-vegas-strip-evokes-memory-of-oct-1-1673440/

May 28, 2019

Congressional delegation helps defeat Yucca funding as disaster aid bill stalls in the House

The Nevada delegation narrowly fended off a push last week to revive a plan to store nuclear waste in Nevada while the House passed a bill to block White House efforts to curb the Consumer Financial Protection bureau, which until recently was led by acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

The Senate capped off the week with an 85 to 8 vote on a $19.1 billion disaster relief package. The GOP-led Senate took the lead on wrapping up negotiations with the White House on the aid measure, which did not include $4.5 billion in border funding sought by President Donald Trump but did include $1.4 billion for Puerto Rico—funding Trump opposed.

The House was expected to clear the measure on a voice vote Friday, but Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy objected over, among other things, the lack of border funding. It’s an open question whether House Democratic leaders will try to pass the measure next week or wait until after the Memorial Day recess, which ends June 3.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who has called for aid for Puerto Rico over Trump’s opposition, praised passage of the bill.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-dc-download-congressional-delegation-helps-defeat-yucca-funding-as-disaster-aid-bill-stalls-in-the-house

May 28, 2019

New York City mayor pushes his education agenda during presidential campaign stop in Las Vegas

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently joined the growing list of Democrats vying for the Oval Office, touted his plan to make universal pre-kindergarten a nationwide reality when he met with educators Sunday in Las Vegas.

De Blasio, 58, announced his bid for the presidency earlier this month and, since then, has been visiting key early-nominating states. His swing through Las Vegas this weekend marks his first campaign stop in Nevada, which hosts the first caucus in the West.

Like other presidential hopefuls, de Blasio has made public education a centerpiece of his campaign strategy. He wants to expand the pre-K-for-all approach that he implemented in New York City, which has more than tripled the number of students receiving that kind of early childhood education. Now, the city’s pre-K program enrolls about 70,000 students.

“Research has shown now conclusively that the time of greatest, most fundamental intellectual development is zero to five (years old),” he said. “We now know that kids from zero to 5 are going through that incredible growth and development, but the American education system starts full day at 6 in a lot of parts of this country. So we literally bypass the time when we could have the biggest impact.”

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/new-york-city-mayor-pushes-his-education-agenda-during-presidential-campaign-stop-in-las-vegas

May 28, 2019

Senate Democratic leader's bill would extend expiring payroll tax, tie it to school safety,

Senate Democratic leader's bill would extend expiring payroll tax, tie it to school safety, education


Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro has introduced a bill that would allocate roughly $98 million in set-to-expire proceeds of the state’s payroll tax to school safety, Pre-K programs and expanding educational programs serving English-language learners and low-income students.

SB551, which was introduced on the Senate floor on Monday, proposes to restore all of the $30 million in funding for school safety programs that was cut from Gov. Steve Sisolak’s budget earlier this month by legislative budget committees, allocate an additional $4 million for Pre-K programs and boost funding of the state’s Zoom and Victory School programs by $63 million.

It comes as schools — most prominently the Clark County School District — are clamoring for more funding beyond the $62 million that lawmakers added to the general school budget over the weekend. It could put pressure on Republicans, who have called for more education funding and decried school safety cuts as lawmakers freed up more than $200 million from the governor’s budget, but who have been staunchly opposed to extending the payroll tax rate.

The funding would be directly allocated from a portion of the Modified Business Tax, which is assessed on payroll, that would not exist if the rate decreases at the end of the fiscal year because of provisions of a 2015 law requiring the tax rate to drop if certain taxes overperformed. Legislative Democrats earlier this month received an opinion from the Legislative Counsel Bureau stating that a two-thirds vote wasn’t needed to extend the tax rate — something Republicans have warned could spark a “constitutional crisis.”

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/senate-democratic-leaders-bill-would-extend-expiring-payroll-tax-tie-it-to-school-safety-education

May 28, 2019

The 2019 Legislature's most magnificent flop

Read more: https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2019/05/24/the-2019-legislatures-most-magnificent-flop/

May 28, 2019

Utah's rotten, stinky food can now be transformed into natural gas and fertilizer.

Utah’s rotten, stinky food can now be transformed into natural gas and fertilizer. Grocery stores and restaurants rejoice.


North Salt Lake • Imagine Utah as home to a voracious beast, able to consume 5 million gallons of food scraps — from rotten lettuce and rancid hamburger to spoiled milk and dirty frying oil.

What if this giant creature could grind and liquefy the waste, keeping it out of landfills and turning it into useful products such as natural gas and fertilizer?

This animal isn’t make-believe. It exists and is just waiting to be fed the stinkiest, sourest, most disgusting leftovers the state can scrape off its plates.

Utah’s first anaerobic food digester revved up in late February and, as of last week, was taking in about 100,000 gallons of food waste a day — one-third its capacity.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/05/27/utahs-rotten-stinky-food/

May 28, 2019

Beating Utah's grim suicide statistics: LGBT-focused center to open in St. George

Families and individuals in St. George's LGBT community will soon no longer be without direct services thanks to a suicide prevention-focused center that hopes to open as early as the end of this year.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Utahns in two major age groups:10-17 and 18-24, according to the Utah Department of Health, and LGBT youth are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers.

Though these numbers may "just be statistics" to some, for others, it's their daily lives.

Encircle, an LGBT family youth and resource center, plans to open a "home" in St. George near the end of 2019 or early 2020 in the heart of downtown. The resource center is in the process of reconstructing a pioneer home, located at 190 S. 100 E. into Encircle's future St. George center.

Encircle currently has two locations in Utah: one in Salt Lake City and another in Provo. Encircle focuses on LGBT youth ages 12-25 and their families; however, the center doesn't turn anyone away.

Read more: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2019/05/22/utah-suicide-statistics-lgbt-center-open-st-george/3754756002/

May 28, 2019

Mormon county commissioner in Utah comes out as gay

Republican lawmaker Nathan Ivie says it took him more than 20 years to come to terms with his identity.

But on Wednesday morning the 40-year-old Utah County commissioner sat in front of his computer and publicly shared the secret that has caused him pain and confusion since he was nine years old: He is gay.

In a video posted to Facebook that has since been viewed more than 4,000 times, Ivie embraces his sexual orientation and recounts the difficult experience of growing up feeling at odds "spiritually and biologically." Ivie is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but he declined to comment on his faith. The Utah-based faith strictly opposes gay marriage and still considers same-sex relationships to be a serious transgression.

Many residents of Utah County, which is south of Salt Lake City and includes the church-owned Brigham Young University, are members of the church.

Read more: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2019/05/23/mormon-county-commissioner-utah-coming-out-gay/1207919001/

May 28, 2019

More airmen, F-35s from Hill AFB deploy overseas to Europe

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Combat F-35s and associated crews from Hill Air Force Base continue with a heavy deployment load.

According to a press release from the base, one squadron of F-35As, airmen and other equipment from Hill’s 388th and 419th fighter wings have deployed to Aviano Air Base in Italy. The group is in Italy to participate in exercises and complete training with other European aircraft as part of a “Theater Security Package,” the release says.

In the release, 388th spokesman Micah Garbarino said the mission is funded through the European Deterrence Initiative and “provides a more robust U.S. military ... presence in the European theater, capable of deterring adversaries and assuring partners and allies of U.S. commitment to regional security.”

The F-35s and members of the 421st and 466th Fighter Squadrons arrived at Aviano on Friday, Garbarino said, and will remain in Europe for several weeks.

Read more: https://www.standard.net/news/military/more-airmen-f--s-from-hill-afb-deploy-overseas/article_1f1a0bec-7af9-5ea9-9707-c512c8923a97.html

May 28, 2019

Morgan County facing federal lawsuit after official allegedly forced out of job; highlights issues w

SALT LAKE CITY — A whistleblower lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this month accuses Morgan County officials of government mismanagement and retaliating against two former county employees after reporting an alleged incident with a county councilman to state auditors.

The lawsuit also highlights the history of contention between Morgan County and the Utah State Auditor’s Office.

Filed on May 9, the county’s former emergency services director and fire director, Ian Nelson, is accusing one current and two former members of the county’s council of “harassment and retaliation” after speaking with the county’s human resources director and members of the state auditor’s office.

In the lawsuit, Nelson claimed that while he worked for the county in the spring of 2016, Morgan County Councilman Robert Kilmer asked Nelson to fill up a well on private property using a fire truck owned by the county. Nelson claims in the lawsuit that he was told the well needed to be filled because “citizens were running out of water,” and he proceeded to fill the well with water.

Read more: https://www.standard.net/police-fire/courts/morgan-county-facing-federal-lawsuit-after-official-allegedly-forced-out/article_bf1c929f-1910-5393-9aa6-db31d270f9fe.html