WEEK IN REVIEW: Top news
Gov. Brian Sandoval put his official pen to work this week, signing notable bills into law and vetoing a gun background check bill.
In a surprise, the Republican signed the bill to create state-regulated marijuana dispensaries and grow farms to provide pot to the state’s 3,785 medical marijuana patients.
Sandoval’s signing was in doubt over concerns about startup costs for the program that in the long run could provide millions of dollars in new tax revenue.
That same day, Sandoval signed a bill into law to provide $50 million to schools over the next two years to improve the academic performance of students learning English.
There had been no statewide program tailored for the 70,000 Nevada students who speak English as a second language and lag behind their peers academically.
The governor made more headlines Thursday when he kept his promise to veto a bill to require universal background checks for firearm purchases in Nevada.
He said the bill would have imposed “unreasonable burdens and harsh penalties upon law-abiding Nevadans, while doing little to prevent criminals from unlawfully obtaining guns.”
Since the legislative session adjourned June 4, more than 100,000 people had called Sandoval’s Carson City office to urge him to vote for or against the bill. The National Rifle Association had advised its members to call and make their views known. By better than a 3-to-1 margin, callers wanted the veto.
Monday
Stateswoman dies
Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, R-Nev., died in hospice in Reno after a brief illness. The 91-year-old was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and served seven terms. She was the first person elected to Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District seat and the first woman from Nevada elected to the House of Representatives.
TUESDAY
Child Haven runaways
Five siblings went missing for about 24 hours after they walked out of a Clark County emergency children’s shelter.
State officials were investigating how the children, between ages 7 and 14, left Child Haven and turned up 10 miles away the next day.
The head of the Clark County-run shelter said staff followed state law in letting the children go.
WEDNESDAY
Desai mistrial denied
District Judge Valerie Adair denied a defense motion for a mistrial in the hepatitis C outbreak trial of Dr. Dipak Desai but cited the lead prosecutor for misconduct.
That came as the slow-moving trial, now in its eighth week, appeared to be testing the patience of the jury. Adair told lawyers that several jurors asked her to write letters to their employers to let them know how much longer the case will take.
THURSDAY
Twitter contrition
U.S. Rep. Joe Heck apologized after BuzzFeed.com posted tweets from the Twitter feed of 16-year-old Joey Heck that included inflammatory remarks about President Barack Obama and homophobic slurs.
“I am extremely disappointed in my son’s use of the offensive and inappropriate language on Twitter,” the Republican said in a statement. “That type of language has never been permitted in our home.”
FRIDAYday
Black hole sun
A Chinese company’s plan to build a solar energy plant near Laughlin has died.
ENN Mojave Energy failed to obtain the necessary power purchase deal with any utility companies. The company persuaded county officials to approve the big land deal in 2011 with promises of bringing hundreds of jobs to the Laughlin area.
NUMBERS
7
Number of two-year terms in the U.S. House of Representatives served by the late Barbara Vucanovich, the first woman elected to represent Nevada in Congress.
19
Percentage of Nevada high school graduates who passed the U.S. Army’s mandatory entrance exam, ranking the state 36th.
24
Number of minutes it took for Las Vegas to reach the 500-application limit for firefighter recruit job openings.
22
Number of newly hired mental health workers by the Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Healthcare System.
QUOTES
"Based on the VA, he was denied for an increase because he cannot see out of his ears."
Johnnette Fafard, widow of Vietnam War veteran Raymond Fafard, on the U.S. Veterans Affairs’ denial of his disability claim for legal blindness.
"After a day in the sun and with nothing to eat, it appears that a couple of drinks had a greater impact than I had realized."
Erin Brockovich-Ellis, consumer advocate and movie subject, in an apology after her drunken boating arrest at Lake Mead.
"I don’t know that I’d catch and eat any fish until we know more."
Christie Vanover, spokeswoman for Lake Mead National Recreation Area, where a mystery foam was suspected in the deaths of an "unusual number" of carp.
"They endangered our lives. They might as well euthanize us. They might as well get rid of us."
James F. Brown, former patient of Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital, on patients being improperly bused out of state.
"I am an American military wife, and I have my awards to prove it."
Sharon Courtney, wife of a wounded Army veteran, who faced deportation because she entered the United States illegally as a teenager.
