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Election 2018: Who should win, according to Nevada children
Much has been written — and will continue to be written ad nauseum — about the “youth vote,” typically meaning voters between the ages of 18 and 24, and their potential to disrupt the political establishment and bring baby boomers to tears. Forget about them for a moment. Let’s talk about literal youth! More than […]
Charter school authority under fire for lax oversight
The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority is supposed to conduct evaluative site visits at each of the dozens of schools it oversees. None have been conducted. And staff have no immediate plans to start them. This position was reiterated during an Oct. 24 Interim Finance Committee meeting where legislators asked the charter school authority […]
New report, same bad ranking: Nevada worst for mental health
Mental Health America released its 2019 “State of Mental Health” report and rankings Wednesday. Nevada placed 51st — behind every other state and the District of Columbia. Nevada ranked 51st in last year’s report. And in the previous year. Mental Health America uses 15 different measures for its rankings. They include prevalence of mental health […]
Sisolak: Delay Red Rock decision until new commissioners seated
Opponents of a proposed housing development near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area received a strong statement of support this week from Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak, who is currently running for governor. Last week, the developers of the proposed project, which would turn a former gypsum mine into a single-family homes, submitted a […]
Who are these people? An overview of CCSD, NSHE races
The Nevada Republican Party last week warned that the outcome of top-ballot races will have a tremendous impact on the state’s education policy, especially in regards to K-12 charter school growth and voucher programs. Both gubernatorial candidates have released education policy plans and gone on the offensive attacking one another over them. For all that […]
Guinn Center to district charters: Be more like state-sponsored ones
The Guinn Center on Wednesday released a report on district-sponsored charter schools. Among their recommendations: Clark County and Washoe County school districts should consider transferring oversight of their underperforming charter schools to the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority or Achievement School District. Short of that, the report recommends school boards encourage their low-performing charters […]
NV GOP promises more charter schools, vouchers if key races won
At an education forum Tuesday night, Nevada Republicans issued a warning to their base: School choice policies will be difficult to pass if Democrats control both the state legislature and the governorship. It’s a rallying cry that works equally well for the Democrats, and it highlights the growing partisanship of education politics, especially at the […]
Proposed development near Red Rock looms over commission race
Three Clark County Commission seats are up for grabs this November. The most contentious of the three races has divided support between sitting commissioners and renewed interest in the board’s role in approving major developments within unincorporated parts of the valley. Setting the tone is Democratic candidate Justin Jones, a former state senator and the […]
Lack of affordable child care: Tough on families, drag on the economy
Elizabeth and her husband pay $1,000 per month to keep their two young girls — ages 2 and 4 — in daycare four days a week. The couple considers themselves lucky. They should be paying $1,400 per month but the friend who referred them to their daycare is buddies with its owner, so they snagged […]
What top-rated charter schools have in common: fewer poor kids
When the Nevada Department of Education released its performance ratings last month, “school choice” advocates were quick to boast that charter schools outperformed traditional public school districts, but demographic data at the individual school level paints a more complicated picture. Thirty percent of traditional public schools (meaning schools within Clark County School District, Washoe County […]
Improper work classification puts people at risk. Just ask Route 91 bartenders.
Fly-by-night staffing companies that choose to hire people as independent contractors or under-the-table are able to accept lowball contracts from event operators. When these events go smoothly, which is typically the case in a city like Las Vegas that is built off hospitality and special-event expertise, no red flags are raised and all parties involved […]
Environmental groups praise NV Energy but are mixed on Question 3
Clean energy advocates turned out en masse to a meeting of the Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday to heap praise upon NV Energy for promising to invest more in renewables. Back in June, NV Energy unveiled its latest “integrated resource plan” — a lengthy, wonky document it is required to submit to its regulatory body […]