December 05, 2006 — EPA honors water authority — Turf rebate program cited as reason for award — Thanks in large part to the success of its cash-for-grass program, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has been named the nation's most water efficient utility by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Citing the "innovation and simplicity" of the turf rebate program, the EPA named the authority as the only utility to win the inaugural Water Efficiency Leader award . . . But one vocal critic of the water authority said the award doesn't mean much to him. "This is the same EPA that gave an award for putting a mega-city in the middle of the dry Mojave Desert," said Bob Fulkerson, state director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "If they're going to give an award to Coyote Springs, they might as well give one to the SNWA. Both are equally undeserving." — Las Vegas Review Journal

November 22, 2006 — Study: Health premiums rise 5 times faster than Nevada earnings — RENO, Nev. -- The cost of health care insurance in Nevada rose nearly five times faster than wages in the past six years, according to a new report. . . . A provision in the law exempts employers who offer workers "qualified" health care coverage. A qualified plan is one in which employees and their dependents are covered at a cost to the employee that does not exceed 10 percent of the worker's gross taxable income. That means, health insurance for an employee who makes about $10,000 a year must cost no more than $1,000.

Given the escalating costs of insurance, that's a tall order, concedes Bob Fulkerson, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance and a major force behind Nevada's minimum wage initiative.

Still, Fulkerson said it's better than nothing.— By SANDRA CHEREB Associated Press Writer

November 16, 2006 — 3 billion high and rising — How much will the rural water pipeline cost? More by the minute —HOW DO YOU QUENCH THE THIRST of a rapidly growing Southwest tourist mecca in the throes of a historic drought? The Southern Nevada Water Authority's answer, quite notoriously, is to tap groundwater in rural Clark, Lincoln and White Pine counties. . . . "Back when I was with Citizen Alert in 1989, it was a billion dollars then," says Bob Fulkerson, state director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "During the hearings in September, they kept saying $2 billion. Then last week ... J.C. Davis said, 'Oh no, it's $3.6 billion.' To me it really calls into question the credibility of the water authority. — Las Vegas City Life -By ANDREW KIRALY

November 9, 2006 — NEVADA PROGRESSIVES REACT TO ELECTION RESULTS — (Reno and Las Vegas, NV) Leaders from the Progressive Leadership Alliance (PLAN) of Nevada today said the state is moving in a more positive direction, thanks to this week's election results. In four out of six statewide races, more progressive candidates won, ending an eight-year conservative lock on constitutional offices. In addition, progressive candidates defeated two of the most conservative members of the legislature.

October 24, 2006 — Report says southern Nevada water pipeline plan flawed — Southern Nevada water authorities don't have enough research to predict the cost or effectiveness of a proposed multibillion dollar water pipeline from rural Nevada to Las Vegas, according to a report released Tuesday by environmental groups — AP

Read the Reports (1) and (2)

More Press Coverage - Las Vegas Review Journal

October 09, 2006 — Group adds hundreds of immigrants to voter rolls — The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada registered 500 to 700 Nevada immigrant voters this year in an effort to give the immigrant community a stronger voice in issues that affect it. ssues such as immigration and minimum wage appear to be on the near horizon, said Ireri Rivas, organizer of the voter registration effort for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, also known as PLAN. . . . .Beginning in June, PLAN sent people to special events to register voters. On Sept. 16, it targeted the Wells Avenue area, where it registered about 50 people, Rivas said. — Reno Gazette Journal

Photo of PLAN volunteers who are registering hundreds of voters in northern Nevada! This is from the Wells Avenue Voter Registration Day.

Click photo for a print quality version.

September 16, 2006 — Voters favor minimum wage increase — A minimum wage ballot initiative Nevada voters approved by a wide margin in the 2004 general election, appears to have even broader appeal in 2006 as it faces a second mandated vote. A Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV News 4 poll of 600 likely voters found 77 percent in favor of Question 6, an initiative that would raise the state minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.15 per hour. . . . "I think the fact that people are overwhelmingly in favor speaks to the innate sense of fairness that people have," said Bob Fulkerson, state director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "It should be very encouraging to know that people in our state feel a hard day at work should be rewarded." —GUY CLIFTON RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Posted: 9/16/2006

September 16, 2006 — PIPELINE PROJECT: Opponents get their say — Several Las Vegas residents among those criticizing proposal — For four days, Las Vegas water managers have testified about their plans to pipe billions of gallons of water a year out of White Pine County's Spring Valley. On Friday, opponents of the $2 billion pipeline project got their turn, and not all of the criticism came from the wet end of the straw. . . . Kyle Barber, a Henderson resident and activist with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, put it another way: "I'm here to tell you that the people of Las Vegas are sick and tired of dealing with the negative impacts of growth," he said. "They know that this project will only make things worse." — Las Vegas Review Journal

September 13, 2006— Editorial: Agreement a plus for water —A roadblock is set aside as the Interior Department signs pact on pipeline project — Opponents may disagree, but the case for pumping excess water here from the Spring Valley area of White Pine County was made stronger when the Interior Department dropped its protest against the long-planned, $2 billion proposed project. . . . Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and a leader in opposing the Water Authority's plan, said the agreement with the Interior Department won't change the opponents' case. But he did add that his group was "incredibly disappointed" by the department's action. — Las Vegas Sun

September 12, 2006 — $2 billion project: Water authority gets deal — Federal agency ends protest of plan to tap rural county — CARSON CITY -- Hours before the start of a state hearing on the Southern Nevada Water Authority's plan to tap groundwater in White Pine County, the U.S. Department of Interior agreed to drop its protests against the $2 billion project . . . Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and a leader of the opposition to the plan, said the federal agreement will not tip the scales in favor of the Water Authority. "We think we have a very strong case without the federal agencies," he said. "However, we're incredibly disappointed for them abrogating their responsibilities to the environment of this state."They were under an incredible amount of pressure." — Las Vegas Sun

More Coverage -- and more from PLAN (Thirsty Las Vegas seeks OK to pump water from rural Nevada valley - AP)

More Coverage — September 10, 2006, Battle for rural water heads to capital . . . These hearings are about the largest water grab in the last 100 years, since Los Angeles turned the Owens Valley from a thriving agricultural community to an ecological wasteland," says Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, a group that has become an outspoken opponent of the ground water plan.

Fulkerson compares Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy to William Mulholland, the man who built Los Angeles' water system.

"Neither Mulroy nor Mulholland said they wanted to do damage, but there will be damage, just as there was in the Owens Valley," Fulkerson says. "There's no getting around that." — Las Vegas Sun

August 28, 2006 — Protesters sue to force Taylor to reopen SNWA comments — A group of White Pine County residents and conservationists are suing for the right to participate in upcoming state hearings on a $2 billion plan to pipe groundwater to Las Vegas from across Eastern Nevada . . . In 1989, the Las Vegas Valley Water District filed 147 applications for water rights in rural Clark, Lincoln, Nye and White Pine counties. The applications drew almost 275 protests, but no new protesting parties have been allowed to join in since then.

"The irony is the fact that the Southern Nevada Water Authority didn't even exist 16 years ago. It wasn't even a concept 16 years ago," said Bob Fulkerson, state director for Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, which is supporting the lawsuit but is not a plaintiff. — By HENRY BREAN Stephens Media Group

August 15, 2006 — Northern Nevadans Don't Want to Gamble With Their Water — WHITE PINE COUNTY, Nev. — Las Vegas is a parched desert city in a four-year drought, with new residents pouring in at a rate of at least 5,000 per month. So water officials plan to tap a great system of aquifers that form underground lakes in a swath across Nevada, some of them hundreds of miles away. But the water is not free for the taking.

August 03. 2006 — WATER: Nevada, Utah craft agreement for Las Vegas pipeline — Nevada and Utah officials have developed a draft agreement allowing Las Vegas to receive thousands of acre-feet of water from an aquifer that borders the two states, but the water transfer proposal has drawn the ire of critics who fear even a preliminary framework may help advance a project they say would devastate local communities and wildlife in the Snake Valley. . . . Bob Fulkerson of the Great Basin Water Network believes Nevada is hoping that having a draft agreement in place will help the water authority make its case at upcoming hearings before the state engineer, who will decide whether to grant its request for the diversions. "The [proposed] pipeline is 84 inches in diameter -- that's enough to suck western Utah dry," Fulkerson said. — Greenwire

July 31, 2006 — Appointment of Bunker angers water-transfer foes — Gov. Kenny Guinn has appointed a strong advocate of the contentious plan to pump water from rural Nevada to Las Vegas to a team negotiating related water issues with Utah . . . Bob Fulkerson, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said Bunker was a poor choice for the negotiations with Utah: "He is the biggest cheerleader for this project outside of Pat Mulroy," who is general manager of the Water Authority. "His commitment to science and his impartial judgment are suspect because he wants this project to go forward as soon as possible. Will he be a reasonable negotiator? No, he won't." — Las Vegas Sun

July 10, 2006 — Activists say pollution law omits public — Environmental groups are launching a two-pronged attack on a law passed last year they said bans public participation in state decisions, such as water pollution permit hearings and appeals. . . . Nobody saw it coming," said Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "The (law) monopolizes the control of the mining industry in permit decisions and shuts out the public interest.

"The law is now based on financial interest, but we all have to drink the water and breathe the air. Of course the public has an interest in these things, it may not be financial, but it's vital." . . . Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said she will try to ensure public access through changes in the 2007 Legislature. She said the law must be clear and ensure public participation and review of any administrative actions that have far-reaching consequences.

Leslie said she wasn't on the Assembly Government Affairs Committee that heard testimony on the bill, and she voted to approve the measure when it reached the Assembly floor.

"I was not aware of any controversy before casting my yea vote, which I now regret," she said. "Had I known the full impact of this bill, I definitely would not have supported it; nor do I believe the majority of the Legislature would have voted to take away the public's right to appeal a decision."

She said the law "goes against the basic tenets of our democracy and the value we place in an open and transparent government."— Reno Gazette Journal

June 22, 2006 — IT'S GOING TO GET EVEN HOTTER IN LAS VEGAS! — With the enviro-documentary An Inconvenient Truth shining a harsh spotlight on global warming, now seems like the perfect time for environmentalists to capture the moment. Cue the U.S. Public Interest Research Group's latest report, "The Carbon Boom," which offers a stateby- state look at carbon dioxide output based on Department of Energy numbers from 1960 and 2001 (the most recent year on record). . . . The grim report has quotes from the Nevada state climatologist, the Sierra Club, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and the National Conservation League. "Nevada needs to increase the amount of energy we generate from renewable sources such as geothermal and solar," says PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson in the report. "It's in our self interest because coal and oil contribute to global warming, and Nevada's already hot enough. Ask anyone who lives in Las Vegas." — LasVegasCityLife.com

June 15, 2006 — Planning director, panel chairman to resign on eve of annexation vote — The regional planning director and Regional Planning Commission chairman are quitting as a vote approaches over a controversial plan to give Reno and Sparks massive new territories for growth. Dave Ziegler said he resigned his staff job for personal reasons, but Fred Lokken, on the commission 10 years, said he'll quit in protest. . . . Community activist Bob Fulkerson said the region is losing a leader who took on a difficult job and handled it with integrity and fairness. But he also believes politics are at work. "This is a huge blow for planned growth and regional planning and a great victory for the developers and people on the governing board who want to annex everything from here to the Winnemucca Ranch," he said. The ranch is west of Pyramid Lake. — Reno Gazette Journal

June 04, 2006 — Liberal activist's death leaves void — The death of political activist Maya Miller last week cost Nevada its largest benefactor for progressive causes in a politically conservative state, leaving many organizations without a mentor and financier. Miller, 90, died Wednesday at her Washoe Valley home after a lifetime of promoting liberal causes, the environment and women's rights. Miller, who inherited a sizeable fortune, was a rarity in Nevada, which has long been a conservative state with libertarian leanings.

"She was an incubator for every social justice cause and organization in the state," said Bob Fulkerson, executive director of Progression Leadership Alliance of Nevada, a consortium of liberal organizations that Miller helped organize and funded for its first year. "She was a great strategist and tactical master in terms of how to play politics against the good old boys." — Reno Gazette Journal

June 07, 2006 — Remembering Maya Miller 1915-2006 — By Dennis Myers

June 05, 2006 — Miller was committed to principles ( Editorial — Reno Gazette Journal)

June 02, 2006 — Women's rights leader Maya Miller dies at 90 - Activist recalled as philanthropist with 'a very hard, fighting side' — AP

June 02, 2006 — Editorial: Recalling a Nevada activist — Las Vegas Sun

June 01, 2006 — Poll reveals how we view immigration — Reno resident Bruce Kelley doesn't believe Nevada's economy depends on immigrant workers. The 50-year-old manager of an automotive repair center also said illegal immigrants are a burden on the state's education system and social service programs.  "I think they use more than they contribute," he said.

While the poll reflects voter sentiment, Ireri Rivas, an organizer for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said the opinions are not based on fact. "A lot of our likely voters were not necessarily actively informed on the issues of immigration in Nevada," Rivas said. "We can say that our economy is complimented by immigrants to Nevada. They make up about a fourth of our gross state product, $20 million."

The alliance is nonprofit, trying to create progressive state policies through research, public education and leadership development. The agency issued a 2004 report on the economic contribution of immigrant Hispanics to Nevada. . . . .

Rivas said undocumented immigrants cannot take part in or benefit from social entitlement programs. "They do not qualify for Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance, Medicare, Social Security or public housing," she said. Everyone qualifies for emergency health services and education. . . .
I think they do have to be held responsible," she said. "They should be held up to a standard. The community has a responsibility to be well-informed on immigration, Rivas said. "Active participation requires knowledge of the issue at hand," she said. "I want Nevadans to be informed on the issues of immigration and the implication of comprehensive immigration reform. That way a better dialogue can take place." — Reno Gazette Journal

May 25, 2006 — Ensign comes alive — U.S. Senator John Ensign, normally a below-the-radar lawmaker, broke into the news with a splash--three splashes, actually--this week. The Nevada Republican successfully sponsored an amendment that was tacked onto the immigration bill under consideration in the Senate. The amendment allows state governors to authorize governors to use their national guard annual training periods to patrol the Mexican border. . . . Ensign's immigration amendments aroused fierce, even inflammatory criticism. The Progressive Leadership Alliance sent out a message asking its supporters to contact Ensign and oppose him on immigration matters. It linked Ensign to the White Peoples Party.

"John Ensign is clearly out of touch with all but the most extreme elements of his own political party and a cabal of political extremists, nativists and racists," the message said. "A CBS poll released May 18, 2006 shows that 77 percent of Americans support a program that would clear the way for illegal immigrants to seek citizenship if they've been in the United States for at least five years, pay a fine and back taxes, learn to speak English and have no criminal record. Yet Nevada's junior senator ignores this overwhelmingly positive number and refuses to support the 'path to citizenship' that has the endorsement of President Bush, a bipartisan majority in the Senate, all of Nevada's employer and employee organizations, a broad spectrum of religious organizations, and on and on. — RN&R NEWSREVIEW.COM

Your Turn: Voters can get rampant growth here under control
By STEPHEN TCHUDI

SPECIAL TO THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

May 15, 2006 — Truckee Meadows Residents have every reason to be bewildered, skeptical and angry over a surge of development proposals, which, if implemented, would exacerbate our present urban sprawl, turn deserts into suburban tract homes, decimate wildlife and drain desert aquifers. The cost of much of this growth would be passed on to those who now live in and appreciate the quality of life in "our" Truckee Meadows.

Stephen Tchudi is president of Voters for Sensible Growth.

May 14, 2006 — Water mines not in the cards — Nevada's mines make more than gold. They pump a lot of water from the ground, too, and that's a resource the state's urban areas might one day put to use . . . . Bob Fulkerson, chairman of the advocacy group Great Basin Mine Watch, said the mining industry leadership will look to sell water to Nevada's cities:"They're probably looking at the fact that Reno is going to be out of water. We have 10 years of growth left, and then they're also of course looking at Las Vegas and the pipeline that's supposed to end in White Pine County.

"Somebody forgot to tell them it's not an infinite supply of water and building a pipeline can cost billions of dollars."

Fulkerson, also director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, has also opposed the Water Authority ground water plans. Any pumping from the mines to urban areas adds to his fears. "The damage to the ecosystem from the loss of those massive quantities of water is unfathomable," he said. "It boggles the mind to consider what they're thinking of doing to the land and the resources out there. Even for the mining industry, it's reprehensible." Las Vegas Sun

May 9, 2006 — Press Advisory - Notice of News Conference Today — Citizen groups to float dollar bills down the gutter to dramatize the current and potential waste of ratepayer money to provide water for new growth.

May 9, 2006 — Notice From Plan – Hallmarks for Success for Western Communities

May 08, 2006 — EDITORIAL: Culinary tries to block new jobs —A thinly veiled attack on Station Casinos in Reno — Bob Fulkerson of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada is backing a petition drive to slap a special tax on casinos built outside of Reno's decaying urban core, supposedly to help pay off the debts of earlier, failed downtown redevelopment schemes. "This is for fiscally responsible growth," says Mr. Fulkerson. "If downtown declines, taxpayers are going to be on the hook for the debt." — Reno Gazette Journal

May 05, 2006 — Renewable Energy Takes Center Stage in Nevada Politics — Dina Titus, one of the major contenders in the race for Governor in Nevada, has made support for renewable energy one of her strongest and most vocal positions. Some of her opponents say they're not far behind . . . Joe Edson, with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), agreed the state has done relatively little to tap into its abundant renewable resources. He welcomed her very public stance on the issue and especially likes her connection to renewable energy as a key part of strengthening and diversifying the state's economy.

"It's a well thought out perspective of hers that ties into economic diversity," Edson said. "Nevada is a boom and bust economy based on gaming and tourism. The push has been on diversifying the economic engines that operate in Nevada. Renewable energy is not something that's necessarily, from an environmental point of view, on the radar screen of Nevada voters but the economy does tend to be. I see the two dovetailing nicely so I was glad to hear this stance. — by Jesse Broehl, Editor, RenewableEnergyAccess.com

May 04, 2006 — Guest Comment

The Great Terrain Robbery — By Bob Fulkerson

Developers and their lawyers are making a killing by converting resources like water and public lands into private assets. And they're getting away with murder. It's time to deputize every citizen to resist their abuse of the public trust. . . . R&R - newsreview.com

May 04, 2006 — $1 billion cost for new water — Existing residents could pick up a portion of a $1 billion tab to import water needed a decade from now to provide for continued growth in the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area, according to a study to be presented tonight to regional water officials. ... "We are seeing a full-court press by some of the major developers in the valley to consolidate their power and make sure they don't bear any of the costs," said Bob Fulkerson, head of a new group called Voters for Sensible Growth. It was formed to oppose a substantial growth area for the region favored by local elected officials.

Fulkerson said he expects citizens will become more vigilant over the growth issue now that their pocketbooks might be affected. "People are paying a lot more attention," he said. "There could be a huge backlash." — Reno Gazette Journal

May 04, 2006 — Petition drive seeks help to retire downtown debt —A petition drive filed Wednesday seeks a Reno ballot measure that, if successful, would force new casinos outside of downtown, near the airport or convention center to help retire debt for downtown redevelopment projects . . . "This is for fiscally responsible growth," said Bob Fulkerson of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Northern Nevada. "If downtown declines, taxpayers are going to be on the hook for the debt." — Reno Gazette Journal

April 21, 2006 — Judge lets planning commission take charge of growth amendments — A Washoe district judge Thursday gave authority to the Regional Planning Commission to deal with proposed changes in the regional plan that would guide growth for 100 years and told the Regional Planning Governing Board to stop trying to bully the commission. . . . "We filed this lawsuit to force them to comply with the law and to get them to stop playing games with the planning commission and the people of this valley," said Bob Fulkerson, speaking for the groups that filed suit. — Reno Gazette Journal

April 18, 2006 — Development wins EPA award — The Environmental Protection Agency has honored a controversial Southern Nevada development - faulted by critics as sprawl-inducing - with an environmental achievement award . . . "You're kidding me," said Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, whose group opposes the wells and pipelines proposed for the project.

"I don't know why anyone would get an award for plopping 80,000 homes down in the middle of the desert," Fulkerson said. "Maybe they'll give an award to Yucca Mountain (the proposed nuclear waste dump northwest of Las Vegas) next. "This project ... has nothing to do with environmental stewardship and everything to do with making money." — By Launce Rake -- Las Vegas Sun

April 13, 2006 — Planners schedule workshop on urban growth issue — The Regional Planning Commission scheduled a workshop later this month to hear more public testimony on amendments to expand the urban growth boundary by up to 140,000 acres, after listening to testimony and debating the matter Wednesday night. . . . A day before, six citizens groups including Voters for Sensible Growth filed a lawsuit to stop the processing of the regional plan amendments. . . . . In the lawsuit filed by Reno lawyer John Marshall, the citizens groups contend state law gives only the planning commission the power to determine whether it will hear amendments outside of the annual review of proposed amendments and that decision is not appealable.

"We filed this lawsuit to force them to comply with the law and to get them to stop playing games with the planning commission and the people of this valley," said Bob Fulkerson, spokesman for the citizen groups. — Reno Gazette Journal

April 11, 2006 — Reno immigration rally might not be the last — Activists say movement going strong — A grass-roots movement that drew thousands Monday to Reno streets in solidarity for immigration rights will continue until Congress passes fair immigration legislation, community activists said.

The crowd, which police estimated at more than 6,000, set a record in Bob Fulkerson's years of activism —— "In my career of being an activist, which began in 1984, you could probably add up all the demonstrations and rallies in the last 20 years and maybe you'd get close to today's numbers," he said Monday.

"What it means is that this is truly a social movement." The majority of the people who participated in the rally do not belong to organizations or coalitions, Fulkerson said. "But they do belong to this mass movement that is just being born today," he said. — Reno Gazette Journal

April 09, 2006 — Workers to walk out over immigration — Hundreds of Northern Nevadans are expected to participate Monday in the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice, showing the economic impact immigrants have on the state. .... "The immigrants have an impact of $20 billion in the Nevada economy," said Rosa Molina, citizen project director for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "If the bill is approved, the Nevada economy will collapse. The new immigrant contribution is 40 percent. You are talking about 40 percent of the $20 billion."

It is a myth that immigrants have access to public benefits and do not work, Molina said. Immigrant Hispanic workers in Nevada paid nearly $3 billion in state, local and federal taxes, according to a 2004 report issued by PLAN. —Reno Gazette Journal

April 07,2006 — Group would restrict sprawl in area growth — A citizens group will present an alternative plan next week for the Truckee Meadows that would stop growth in more distant hills and valleys until the region decides which areas should be protected first.

Voters for Sensible Growth are calling for strengthening the 2002 regional plan by concentrating future growth in central Reno and Sparks, regional centers and transit corridors rather than open up new lands as far as the Winnemucca Ranch east of Pyramid Lake.

"We're trying to focus on a populist wave opposed to developers' control of our planning," said Bob Fulkerson, of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and a leader of the group. — Reno Gazette Journal

April 05, 2006 — Breaking the chain of corruption — Gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus has a 12-step plan for the ethically challenged

Opportunistic political maneuver or clever campaign-trail politics?

Either way, state Sen. Dina Titus' 12-step ethics plan -- rolled out at a March 23 news conference in front of the Clark County Detention Center -- is serving to further distinguish the Democratic gubernatorial candidate from her chief opponent, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson. (As if their opposing positions on abortion -- he's against it in all but the most extreme cases -- weren't enough.) . . . Tara Smith, Southern Nevada director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, says the plan is a good start but doesn't go far enough. The alliance is in favor of publicly funded campaigns and tracked a 73 percent increase in campaign contributions in the 2004 state Supreme Court races.

"It's nice to see a public official take the initiative," Smith says. "PLAN has long advocated for publicly funded campaigns. ... [Limiting campaign contributions] is key to making sure politicians are working for the people, not for those who are writing the checks." . . . BY EMMILY BRISTOL -- CityLife staff writer -Las Vegas

April 06, 2006 — Military — Explosive comment — A Pentagon official who joked about mushroom clouds over Las Vegas has raised some hackles. — By Dennis Myers RN&R - Newsreviw.com

April 1, 2006 — School kids march on birthday of Cesar Chavez — As 150 mostly Latino protesters -- the majority of them middle and elementary school children -- marched north on Neil Road, two children joined the chant from the second-story balcony of their apartment complex. . . . Ireri Rivas, a Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada member, said the student march was a good closing to a week where about 700 Northern Nevada students on Monday walked out of school to protest of the proposed immigration law.

"It's not really for a certain group," Rivas said of the celebration and the protests. "It's for all people, and I'm sure this is something Cesar Chavez would support." — Reno Gazette Journal

March 28, 2006 — Hundreds of students march to protest immigration bills — An estimated 700 Northern Nevada students walked out of school Monday to march in protest against proposed legislation that would make being an undocumented immigrant a felony. . . . Rosa Molina, an immigrant-rights advocate for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, applauded the Latino students. "I think this is a good thing that the youth are willing to fight for the rights," said Molina, who also works as the immigration coordinator at Nevada Hispanic Services. "This is a united front now -- from young to old. Even the undocumented are not afraid now to stand up for their rights." — Reno Gazette Journal

March 21, 2006 — Coalition forms to protest plans for growth in Reno, Sparks areas — A coalition is forming to fight elected officials' plans for 100 years of growth north of Reno and east of Sparks in court and in upcoming hearings.The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada is organizing opposition to changes to the regional plan that could designate 140,000 acres for development in Reno, Sparks and elsewhere in Washoe County. "We're fighting for an alternative to sprawl," said Bob Fulkerson, PLAN executive director. "We're fighting to protect what quality of life exists in our region. We're fighting for people who live here, who want water to drink and clean air to breathe." — Reno Gazette Journal

March 17, 2006 — Board orders Regional Planning Commission to make decision about 100-year growth plan — Local elected officials on Thursday night sent a plan outlining up to 140,000 acres for 100 years of growth back to the Regional Planning Commission with orders to make a decision. The planning commission didn't make a decision last week, instead sending the proposed regional plan amendment to a technical committee for more analysis. — Reno Gazette Journal

March 16, 2006 — Officials say gifts not issue in appeal —Reno, Sparks and Washoe County elected officials say donations from builders and developers that fuel their political campaigns will not be an issue when they meet today to act on an appeal that could lead to doubling the size of the metropolitan area. . . . No matter how they spin it, the large amount of campaign money from the industry doesn't look good, said Bob Fulkerson, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada executive director, who has organized opposition against the growth amendments. "I'm sickened by it," he said. "I don't want to say any candidate for public office is, like, taking a bribe. But the system encourages this unseemly tit-for-tat. "Developers are not giving them the money to find a cure for cancer." — Reno Gazette Journal

March 2, 2006 – Media Advisory — News conference/Press Briefing:
“Planning Under Siege: The Case Against Annexation” — Proposed annexation rife with costs and controversy; the process steamrolls public participation

WHERE: Vacant Lot, corner of Winter and Second Streets.
WHEN: Monday, March 6, 2006--11 a.m. press conference and protest.

WHY: The Regional Planning Commission and Regional Governing Board should put more effort into planning and catalyzing infill—not creating opportunities for developers out in the desert.

Read Meida Advisory

Additional Background: information from Dr. Bob Johnston, Catherine Smith, and former BLM State Director Bob Abbey.

February 28, 2006 — Growth area vote could come next week — It's the biggest land grab ever. Or it's an unparalleled opportunity for the future. Local residents, environmentalists, city officials and even labor unions took to the podium Monday night to tell the Regional Planning Commission their views on a plan to add 140,000 acres for growth north of Reno and east of Sparks. The regional plan amendment, sponsored by Reno, Sparks and Washoe County officials, lays out large growth areas on mostly public lands for the next 100 years -- Reno Gazette Jounral

EDITORIAL: Unions to help craft tax-limit measure The next step in the spending restraint initiative

Note to Reader: This editorial was published in the Las Vegas Review Journal

February 27, 2006 — Back on Feb. 3, a consortium of pro-tax groups and labor unions that represent government employees -- including the Nevada State Education Association, the AFL-CIO and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (itself representing more than 40 outfits that favor massive tax-funded spending on "social programs") -- filed a last-minute lawsuit designed to delay petition-passing for the Tax and Spending Control of Nevada (TASC) initiative.

By Tara Smith -- Southern Nevada Director
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada

February 22, 2006 — Residents get another chance to voice opinions on annexation — Residents will have another chance tonight to tell the Regional Planning Commission their views on a plan for developing 140,000 acres in the Reno-Sparks area for the next 100 years. . . . Bob Fulkerson, of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, calls the regional planning staff report "a pretty serious indictment of the scheme of the cities and county. Just the water issue alone will put us in a serious water deficit." The region consumes 115,000 acre-feet of water a year and would require another 86,700 acre-feet for approved growth. The proposed plan amendments, including building on suitable federal lands, would require 137,000 acre-feet more water. — Reno Gazette Journal

February 20, 2006 — West a model for politics, radio host says — National talk radio personality and author Laura Flanders says the nation is looking to the West for political direction. "Common sense trumps stereotypes," Flanders said Sunday afternoon from the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada offices in Reno where she broadcast her three-hour call-in program — Reno Gazette Journal

February 2006 — Pleading poverty, By Bob Fulkerson — Like last year's budget, which passed by the narrowest of margins earlier this month (with Congressmen Gibbons and Porter among those casting deciding votes), the president's proposed budget would slash funding for veterans, poor children and seniors--in order to make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent. The Bush budget would terminate food assistance to more than 400,000 low-income seniors. Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program would lose $5 billion over five years and $12 billion over 10 years. — Reno News and Review.

January 24, 2006 — Nevadans support women's rights — All Nevadans should stand up and take notice if and when the U.S. Senate votes on Samuel Alito's nomination. The right to reproductive choice is in very real jeopardy, and Samuel Alito's record shows that he is likely to increase the danger of losing a woman's meaningful right to choose.

By Jan Gilbert Note: This article was published in the Reno Gazette Journal on January 24, 2006 at the following location: http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/OPED04/601240343/1102/OPED

January 11, 2006 — Map lays out growth for up to 100 years — Local officials will vote Thursday on a blueprint for growth in Washoe County for the next 100 years, planning for new communities on what are now public lands far north of Reno and east of Sparks.If approved, the expanded growth area eventually could double the size of the current metropolitan area. . . . . . "At some point we have to ask what are the natural resource restraints to growth," said Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, who sits on the Truckee Meadows Growth Task Force. "Nobody is asking that? It's time we answer it right now. Our kids deserve nothing less. The people who live here deserve nothing less." — Reno Gazette Journal

January 01, 2006 — Groups hope to rescue state program to import Canadian prescriptions — Senior citizens, labor unions and public employee groups are amassing to convince the Nevada Pharmacy Board to move forward with the state's Canadian drug program and disregard an attorney general's opinion that the new law is flawed. . . . Chanos' opinion has sparked an outcry from advocates for senior citizens, the uninsured and others who can't afford the high cost of prescriptions. "The AG was wrong," said Bob Fulkerson, director of Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada that is organizing rallies in Carson City and Las Vegas in support of the program. "He has gravely erred in his decision. His job is to make it easier for seniors to get access to these drugs and not throw up these impediments."