Civil Rights
Complaint over ‘excessive discipline’ of people of color marks start to SEIU-Clark contract talks
As SEIU Local 1107 begins contract negotiations this week for its 7,000 county employees, the union has said Clark County has withheld “vital documents” to aid in bargaining, including information on the number of people of color who have been disciplined. President Michelle Maese, the president of the union, asked the county on Oct. 13 […]
‘Heartbreaking’ findings in survey of Nevada LGBTQ+ students
Nevada LGBTQ+ students say they don’t feel safe talking with school staff and face discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, according to new findings from Silver State Equality. The LGBTQ+ advocacy group recently released the results of its “2023 Nevada LGBTQ+ Student Survey and Listening Campaign” report, which collected stories from Nevada […]
Lawsuit filed against CCSD in 2022 Las Vegas High School beating
A lawsuit accuses Clark County School District of being “deliberately indifferent” to a Las Vegas High School student who was beaten in her geometry class in February 2022. Law firms Bertoldo Carter Smith & Cullen and Robert L. Langford & Associates filed the case, Lainez Lemus v. CCSD, in Clark County District Court. They allege […]
King’s lifetime saw substantial economic progress for Black Americans. It has slowed to a crawl.
This January marks what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 95th birthday. Nearly a century after the late civil rights leader’s birth, it’s a good time to reflect on the work still to be done. Just over 60 years ago, in his famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the 1963 March on […]
Horsford, Cortez Masto call for investigation into credit union rejecting Black, Hispanic mortgage applicants
Nevada Congressional members are calling for an investigation into Navy Federal Credit Union, the nation’s largest credit union for service members, after reports found it rejected nearly half of its Black and Hispanic mortgage applications. The Congressional Black Caucus, which is chaired by U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, sent a letter to the credit union Friday […]
Looking back (and a little forward): 2023 selections & reflections from the Nevada Current staff
Note: As we do near the end of every year, each writer on the Nevada Current staff took a little time to highlight some of their work from the year, and say whatever they wanted to say about it. An embarrassment of riches. That’s how I’d sum up 2023 for its news value. In case […]
Russia’s ramped up rhetoric against LGBTQ+ groups is winning Putin far-right fans abroad
With LGBTQ+ rights continuing to expand across much of the world, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has doubled down on restricting them – and a new ruling has made the future even more uncertain for Russian LGBTQ+ groups and individuals. The LGBTQ+ “movement” is “extremist,” and its activities will be banned beginning in 2024, according to a […]
Harm of anti-LGBTQ laws includes economic pain for communities, families
Roberto Che Espinoza had been thinking about leaving Tennessee after the 2024 election, but in June they noticed that the state attorney general was seeking medical records on gender-affirming medical care, which Espinoza, a nonbinary transgender man, said included their own records. “Being on any kind of list … I knew after the release of […]
‘What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?’
Editor’s note: It is a tradition at the Nevada Current that each Fourth of July we publish excerpts from the famous speech delivered by Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852. Last year this introductory note cited recent laws passed in several states designed to limit discussion of the role of race […]
A conservative’s conservative on the affirmative action ruling (via ouija board)
Political parties have fundraising arms in Congress which blast out fundraising emails and press releases, the sensationalism of which are matched only by their crude oversimplification. A lot of them end up in my inbox, because every campaign cycle Nevada has a competitive Senate/House race or three. Friday I opened one from the National Republican […]
Colorado designer does not have to make websites for same-sex couples, Supreme Court rules
Colorado cannot compel a website designer to create custom sites for same-sex couples, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an opinion released Friday. The 6-3 ruling, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, came in 303 Creative v. Elenis. Plaintiff Lorie Smith argued the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, violates her constitutional right to free […]
In contrast to red state anti-LGBTQ push, NV’s Republican governor signs 2 trans protection bills
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo recently signed two bills enhancing protections for transgender and gender nonconforming people at a time when Republican-led states have been passing record numbers of anti-LGBTQ legislation. Lombardo also vetoed a bill that protected providers offering gender-affirming care. One bill signed Monday prevents insurance companies from discriminating against trans people on the […]