Political Eye: Las Vegas a lot like Kazakhstan capital, former ambassador says

When Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she got some advice in 2010, in advance of her trip to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

The advice, from Derek Shearer, a former ambassador to Finland under the Clinton administration, compared the city to Las Vegas. It's contained in a batch of emails the State Department released last week.

"Astana is a strange place — kind of a Las Vegas in the high plains with architectural monuments but no unifying style," Shearer wrote in a Nov. 26, 2010, email that he asked a Clinton aide to forward to Clinton. "Enjoy the weirdness."

The central Asian country's weirdness is famous, though possibly not as well known as that of Las Vegas. A CNN piece from 2012 about the city was headlined: "Astana: The world's weirdest capital city."

That CNN story listed features that include a mention of the White House. Among them: "a flying saucer-shaped circus, a presidential palace designed to replicate the White House, and Baiterek, a 100-meter-tall tower that has drawn comparisons to a giant lollipop," according to CNN's account.

— Ben Botkin

Carson campaign names state chairman

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson's campaign has named the Rev. Paul Marc Goulet of Las Vegas as its Nevada state chairman.

Goulet will help in grassroots efforts leading up to the Nevada caucuses in February, when voters of both parties indicate their preference for who should be the presidential nominee.

In a statement, Carson Campaign Manager Barry Bennet said Goulet's "ability to communicate Dr. Carson's powerful story will surely be critical to the campaign's success in Nevada."

The two have already worked together in public venues. Carson spoke about his life's journey from a troubled boy to a neurosurgeon on Nov. 15 at International Church of Las Vegas, a megachurch where Goulet is senior pastor. Later that same day, Goulet gave the invocation at a Carson campaign rally in Henderson.

— Ben Botkin

All the numbers fit to print

Just in time for the Thursday meeting of the state Economic Forum for an update on Nevada's economy and finances, the number crunchers at the Legislature have issued their appropriations report for the current two-year budget.

The Nevada Legislative Appropriations Report, prepared by the Fiscal Analysis Division, will tell you everything you need to know about the state budget, from tax revenues to spending by budget category. It also provides comparisons between Gov. Brian Sandoval's proposed executive budget recommendations and final actions by the Legislature from the 2015 session.

Available online at: http://leg.state.nv.us/Division/fiscal/Appropriation%20Reports/2015AppropriationsReport/2015_78th_AppropriationsReport.pdf, the report is the go-to place for information about programs approved by lawmakers, from funding for autism services to general fund support for higher education.

But at 304 pages, only the most die-hard budget watchers are likely to peruse the document.

The report shows on page 28 that the general fund revenue for the current budget as estimated by the Economic Forum on May 1 is $7.5 billion. When tax credit programs approved by lawmakers are factored in, the number declines to $7.34 billion.

The Legislature approved about $7.3 billion in general fund spending for the two-year budget that began July 1.

Public education received 38.5 percent of the pie, or $2.8 billion, a 7.7 percent increase over the prior budget. Education in total, including $1.1 billion to higher education, represents 53.2 percent of the total state general fund budget.

The other big spending category is human services, including Medicaid, at $.2 billion for nearly 30 percent of the budget.

The report shows that 644 positions were added for the current budget, primarily in welfare and corrections, for a total number of 19,378. This number of state positions excludes the Nevada System of Higher Education.

The overall tax policy for Nevada, including the controversial new commerce tax for large businesses, runs 20 pages in the report starting at page 74.

"The report is designed to be as brief as possible, while at the same time provide meaningful information to all interested persons," the document states.

— Sean Whaley

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.