At its March meeting the the commissioners on the Nevada Board of Wildlife wisely tabled a proposed regulation that would have required hunters to obtain permission of the occupant of a dwelling before discharging a weapon within a certain distance. The board was responding to reported instances of hunters engaging in unsafe practices near residences, but such a rule would … [Read more...]
Latest Wind Turbine Project Is a Bad Idea
Less than a year after backers of a proposed wind turbine farm near Searchlight threw in the towel after failing to convince a federal judge their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was accurate, an even bigger project just 10 miles to the west has started the environmental review process. A week ago a notice was published in the Federal Register by the Bureau of Land … [Read more...]
PERS Should Stop Trying to Hide Public Records
The Public Employees’ Retirement System should stop wasting taxpayer money and release the records of Nevada public employee retiree payments as the courts previously ordered them to do. The Reno Gazette-Journal sued for these records in 2013 and won in the state Supreme Court, which found the records are clearly covered under the state public records law. The records were … [Read more...]
How Schools Must Handle Diverse Gender Identities
In 2017 Nevada legislators passed a bill requiring schools in the state to establish policies for “addressing the rights and needs of persons with diverse gender identities or expressions.” A month ago the state Department of Education published a draft spelling out changes to the Nevada Administrative Code to comply with the law. As written, the policy requires all school … [Read more...]
Second Amendment Is Not a Second-Class Right
Do the courts treat the Second Amendment like a second-class right? Supreme Court Justice Clarence believes they do and makes a compelling argument. This past week the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding a California law requiring a 10-day waiting period for the purchase of any firearm. Justice Thomas penned … [Read more...]
Wild Horse Issue Needs a Compromise Solution
Let the caterwauling continue. The headline over a press release by a group calling itself the American Wild Horse Campaign reads, “80+ Organizations Oppose Trump Administration Plan to Slaughter America’s Mustangs.” The trigger for the press release — more a fundraising appeal than legitimate polemic — was the release of the Interior Department’s FY2019 budget. The … [Read more...]
Head of EPA Bemoans ‘Weaponization’ of His Agency
Under the Constitution the duty of the executive branch of the federal government is to enforce the laws enacted by Congress. Somewhere along the way some presidents and many of their appointed administrators of the various executive branches have lost sight of this distinction and usurped powers not accorded them. Fortunately this trend appears to be on the decline. Take … [Read more...]
Judge Orders More Studies for Water Grab
It is not too often a judge’s ruling is greeted by all sides as a victory, but that is what happened after federal Judge Andrew Gordon issued a 39-page opinion in the fight over the Clark County water agency’s bid to tap groundwater beneath White Pine, Lincoln and Nye counties. Judge Gordon said the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) could grant the right-of-way for a 300-mile … [Read more...]