An effort was launched in Congress on Thursday to designate 350,000 acres of government-protected conservation land and wilderness northeast of Las Vegas.

The valley’s wholesale water supplier and its largest water utility have adopted spending plans for the coming year that seem to mirror the local economy at large — mostly flat but showing signs of growth.

At the deepest reaches of a tunnel 600 feet beneath the shore of Lake Mead, workers have spent the past few weeks swapping out parts and repairing damage to the business end of a massive tunneling machine.

A bill introduced in Congress Thursday seeks to elevate the fight against the quagga mussel, an invasive species that has spread from the Great Lakes to the lakes on the Colorado River. The mussel would be added by the bill to the list of species covered by the Lacey Act, the federal law that seeks to halt the import and spread of potentially dangerous nonnative plants and animals.

If Chuck Muth has his way, Las Vegas residents will see the sun rise over Mount Reagan each and every morning in America.

The mercury soared in the valley on Monday when temperatures hit the triple digits for the first time in 2013.

In Snake Valley, the sun comes up in Utah and sets in Nevada. The man in the middle has worked both sides of the line for more than 50 years.