June 27, 2008

Voices for a Sustainable Washoe County, an organization behind a citizen-led initiative petition requiring land-use planning to consider available water recourses, turned in 28,388 signatures to the Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office Friday morning, in hopes to qualify and appear on Nevada’s November 2008 ballot.

Sparks Tribune: PLAN and allies promised and delivered far more than the 18,000 signatures needed to get a sustainable-growth measure on the the November ballot - overturning the decision by Washoe County Commissioners who ordered the citizens to "go home and watch Oprah"  three months ago when they asked the commission to put it on the ballot.

June 29, 2008

RENO – A citizen initiative designed to limit sprawl around Reno appears headed for the November ballot. Supporters on Friday turned in petitions with more than 28,000 signatures — about 10,000 more than the 18,093 signatures required to qualify the measure for the ballot.

AP via Sparks Tribune:  PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson warns that developers will fight hard against sensible, sustainable planning.

June 29, 2008 

Leaders in an effort for the growth initiative recently sat down to at the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada's offices to answer some questions on what their initiative would do. 

Reno Gazette Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson explains the needs for a Washoe County initiative to plan for sustainable growth.

June 25, 2008 

Thursday night, Gov. Jim Gibbons will address the people of the state of Nevada, setting the stage for this weekend's special session. The governor is expected to promote a 21-point plan for helping Nevada out of its budget crisis. The latest estimates put the state deficit at nearly $1.2 billion.

KVBC News 3 - Las Vegas: PLAN's Launce Rake says more cuts will affect essential services.

June 25, 2008

Valerie Soto on Wednesday offered up her 3-year-old daughter, Yvette Diaz, as an example of who would be hurt by further state budget cuts.

"She has autism," Soto told about 75 people gathered under the blistering afternoon sun at the Sawyer Building. "Previous cuts delayed services for special needs kids. Additional cuts would have devastating effects and hurt the most vulnerable."

Soto joined members of several advocacy groups representing children, families and seniors for a 20-minute rally held to send a message to Gov. Jim Gibbons and state legislators.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN's Launce Rake says Nevada's elected officials need to fund essential services.

June 25, 2008

PLAN and allies rallied to let the Governor and Legislators know that we have cut to the bone - now it's time to find additional revenue to fund critical programs.

Click on the YouTube video here.

June 20, 2008

The National Congress of American Indians has approved a resolution opposing a controversial project to pump water from western Utah and eastern Nevada deserts to Las Vegas.

The congress, comprised of Native American tribes nationwide, contends the plan would lower Great Basin groundwater tables, dry up springs and wells that sustain those lands and irreparably harm plants, animals and people.

Deseret News: PLAN's Launce Rake says the Las Vegas Water Grab is all wet. 

June 19, 2008

Vicki LoSasso spent several years as a Nevada state employee and benefited from the state health plan. Then she broke off on her own to work as a freelance artist. She encountered a problem she had not anticipated.

“But a year ago, when I had to go to the market as an individual seeking health insurance for the first time, I became uninsurable to one company and only partially insurable to two others,” she said. “In Nevada, I was told by my agent, these three insurers are the only options available to someone seeking an individual health plan.”

RN&R: PLAN Field Organizer Joe Edson points out that Nevada health insurance companies can yank insurance, raise premiums and engage in other skullduggery at will.

Arizona, California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania are among states that must slash spending or raise taxes to straighten out their finances.

USAToday: PLAN's Launce Rake says it is not clear how Nevada will balance books and fund needs.

June 4, 2008 

PLAN's Cinthia Zermeno, whose work is funded with a grant from environmental group 1Sky, spoke June 4 at a press conference hosted by the NRDC for the national group's La Onda Verde outreach effort to Hispanics on the climate crisis. The press conference preceeded a concert by Spanish-language indie rock duo Joy Y Jesse. 

Watch the video here!

Reno growth advocates meet with City officials

A diverse panel of Reno city leaders and sustainable growth advocates discussed the future of development in northern Nevada.

Bob Fulkerson, the director of The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, has helped gather more than half of the 23 thousand signatures required for two sustainable growth measures to qualify on the November ballot.

 Channel 4 KRNV.com; PLAN director Bob Fulkerson represented sensible growth advocates at a meeting with city officials to discuss northern Nevada development and the initiative petitions to limit leap frog growth and the overuse of water resources.

May 22, 2008

For months, advocates of tying growth in this region to the available water have claimed that local government officials are planning for a population of more than a million people, which is generally considered well outside what water supplies will sustain.

Reno News & Review: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson notes local officials have publicly discussed plans for more than 1 million people in Washoe County, despite politically motivated disavowals.

May 20, 2008

Brian Baxter is Executive Director of the Reno based gay support organization A Rainbow Place and he expects many same sex couples from Nevada will go to California to get married, but once they return to the Silver State, neither the state nor the federal government will recognize the union. 

KUNR: PLAN Field Organizer Joe Edson supports California Supreme Court decision allowing same gender marriage and urges gay Nevadans to support the growing national significance of recognized same gender marriages by getting married in the Golden State even if the marriage will not be recognized in the Silver State.

May 9, 2008

The Regional Planning Governing Board on Thursday approved plans to educate the public about water and growth issues in the Truckee Meadows to counter a resident's drive for signatures for ballot questions on annexations and water importation.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson argued against a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to benefit developers.

May 8, 2008 

The Washoe County (NV) Regional Planning Governing Board is meeting today to discuss a public relations campaign against a citizen initiative for sustainable growth. Their water plan projects a maximum of 528,456 homes with up to 1.2 million people as the region's "ultimate size" but the Board concedes that there is only enough water for half of those homes.

Blue Sage Views: PLAN works for sustainable growth in Washoe County, while organizer Beverly Rodriguez says Rep. Dean Heller has better things to do than push his "English-only" voting bill.

May 7, 2008

Nevada's business owners have hardened their stance against fresh taxes in recent months, a poll shows... The results reveal greater resistance to corporate taxes than a Review-Journal survey found in December, and they point to a looming battle between business advocates and those looking to stanch $914 million in cuts to Nevada's two-year operating budget.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN's Launce Rake says businesses have legitimate concerns about Nevada's tax system, but we all have a stake in making a community that works.

May 7, 2008 

It's best not to dwell on the idea too much, but about 90 percent of our drinking water comes from the same place our toilet water ends up. Clark County Water Reclamation District officials hope customers will think about that when they start receiving higher bills later this year.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN's Launce Rake says existing residents should not pay for sprawl developments miles from the urban center.

April 24, 2008

Earth Day began with a sunny but finger-numbing 39 degrees and ended only about 10 degrees higher in a blustery wind. The weather—rarely a collaborative partner at Reno Earth Day celebrations in Idlewild Park—didn’t deter the roughly 5,000 people who came for the April 20 event.

Reno News & Review: PLAN gathers petition signatures for Washoe County growth initiatives.

April 23, 2008

In 1985, Steve Francis, then the majority leader of the Nevada Assembly, co-sponsored legislation that offers insight into his environmental track record. Francis, serving the second of two terms in the Assembly, joined other Republicans to push a bill that would have eliminated the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, a joint California-Nevada commission charged with the stewardship of Lake Tahoe.

April 18, 2008

Tax Day would seem to be an appropriate time to inject some bottom-line reality into the long-running debate over whether or not immigrants in the United States "pay their own way" as taxpayers.   As with nearly all aspects of the immigration debate, the controversy over how immigrants impact the public treasury is far too often dominated by emotionally charged rhetoric rather than hard facts. 

Arab American News: PLAN's 2007 study on the positive economic impacts of immigration cited in online news service story.

April 14, 2008

Nevada’s invisible workers are causing trouble for the state. After dozens of interviews, the Sun concluded in an April 6 story that 60 percent to 80 percent of the Las Vegas Valley’s residential construction workers are illegal immigrants. Tens of thousands of these immigrants who have lost construction jobs are no longer feeding money into the economy. Many are leaving Las Vegas.

April 14, 2008

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says media attention works for conservationists, too.

April 11, 2008 

Reno City Council has agreed to ask Washoe County and Sparks officials to join a task force to determine how Spring Mountain at Winnemucca Ranch should be governed. Councilman Dave Aiazzi, who proposed the task force, also wants to invite Voters for Sensible Growth leaders to the group. The group has been fighting the project for three years.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says the invitation to join the task force indicates growth skeptics have gotten the attention of policy makers.

April 10, 2008

A momentous announcement made news the other day, and no one thought to throw a party.

Nevada’s population growth, it said, slowed in 2007 from 4.1 percent per year to 3.6 percent. This is a small victory, but in desperate times, you find solace where you can.

Reno News & Review: PLAN leads effort to block leapfrog development.

April 5, 2008

Whether growth was termed "smart," "sustainable" or "green," residents at a Friday meeting expressed their concerns that Reno is growing too quickly and using up too many natural resources, especially water.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says Reno's population growth is outstripping the water supply. 

April 8, 2008

There will be a special screening and panel discussion Wednesday of "Unnatural Causes," a PBS series examining America's racial and socioeconomic inequities in health care.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN hosts screening of groundbreaking documentary in Reno.

April 8, 2008

In a region increasingly plagued by drought and water shortages, conserving water has become not only a virtue but the standard.

How to get Clark County water users to live up to that standard isn’t entirely clear.

Las Vegas Sun: PLAN's Launce Rake says conservation pricing can help save water, a critical desert resource.

April 7, 2008

Gov. Jim Gibbons last week came out all in favor of the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s pipeline project that aims to pump rural groundwater down to thirsty Las Vegas. In a Thursday speech to the Perspective 2008 crowd, Gibbons said Nevada must invest in the in-state groundwater project, and that we must decrease our dependence on the Colorado River as the main source of water for Las Vegas.

Then, in a news conference later that day, Gibbons added that he would not oppose the pipeline project, and that it is “part of the solution” for Southern Nevada.

Now, this was news primarily because Gibbons had previously declared exactly the opposite, and more than once.

Various Things and Stuff blog: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson notes that the governor has been inconsistent in his public statements on the Southern Nevada Water Grab.

April 3, 2008

Gov. Jim Gibbons and other anti-tax crusaders have long asserted that Nevada’s budget shortfall will not require real spending cuts. Rather, the deficit will merely cut into the 16.8 percent spending increase passed by the Legislature and signed by Gibbons in 2007. A Sun analysis shows that argument collapsing, however, under the weight of population growth, inflation and new revenue shortfall projections of $900 million.

Las Vegas Sun: PLAN's Launce Rake says we have to open up the discussion on new, stable revenue sources to fund essential human services.

April 1, 2008

Local government representatives from Western Nevada told lawmakers Monday they should have sufficient water to accommodate planned growth. But others said Reno and Sparks are pushing more development than available water can support.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says local governments are pushing for more growth than the region's water supplies can support. 

April 1, 2008

Nevadans react to the news that the state may see a nearly $900 million budget shortfall by mid-2009.

Reno Gazette-Journal: Jan Gilbert, PLAN Northern Nevada coordinator, warns that cuts to human services will be a double hit because Nevada will lose federal matching dollars.

February 29, 2008

Poor people have less say at the polls in Nevada than in most of the nation — and public assistance offices appear to be partly to blame, according to a recently released report.

Las Vegas Sun: PLAN's Launce Rake says it is relatively easy to find people eager to register. Why aren't government agencies able to find them as the law requires?

March 21, 2008

A new study estimates that five working-age Nevadans die each week because they lack health care coverage. We take a look at how state leaders are responding to the report and what they're doing about it. 

KNPR/KUNR State of the Nation: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says avoidable deaths are just that - avoidable.

March 21, 2008

More than five people die prematurely in Nevada each week because they lack health insurance, according to a report Thursday by a health advocacy group. Families USA concluded that at least 290 people in Nevada between the ages of 25 and 64 died in 2006 because of a lack of coverage. Uninsured adults are three times more likely to delay seeking medical care. They are diagnosed with disease at a more advanced stage, which is difficult and costly to treat, the group said.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says deaths from lack of insurance are not necessary.

As the West dries up, water managers, politicians and environmental groups alike are searching for an option — any option — to create water. Recently, desalination has been the popular answer. Even the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which has said the technology is no silver bullet, is considering desalting despite its many challenges.

Las Vegas Sun: PLAN's Launce Rake says desalination is an achievable technology - if we have the political will to do it.

Sandy McGill lives in Rancho Haven, a hamlet of perhaps 110 people on the western boundary of Washoe County north of Red Rock. Its bucolic setting is part of its appeal to her. So she’s alarmed by plans of local developers to get an island of land 16 miles north of Reno annexed to the city, putting Rancho Haven between two blocs of urban congestion.

Reno News & Review: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says residents have turned to the initiative process as a last resort to battle out-of-control sprawl.

Blue Sage Views: Nevada blogger posts PLAN news release on potential hits from Medicaid rule changes.

The heady revenue-generating prospects of $1,000/oz gold prices are not only attracting institutional investors, but advocates of higher mining tax revenues, both internationally and within the United States.

Mineweb: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says the time has come for the hardrock mining industry to contribute more to the Silver State.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson announces the kickoff of the initiatives to manage out-of-control growth in Washoe County.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says mining needs to do more for Nevada than take resources out of state.

Reno Gazette-Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson says Reno needs real planning, not a "scheme" to grease leapfrog development.

Reno Gazette Journal: PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson tells Washoe County Commissioners to let the residents of Washoe County have a voice in growth and development of the county. 

Water gave birth to the town, and then buried it. Now years of drought combined with the thirst of a burgeoning Las Vegas Valley have forced Lake Mead to give up all of St. Thomas’ silted remains, revealing a past that serves as a cautionary tale.

Las Vegas Sun: PLAN's Launce Rake warns that the fate of other Southwest cultures should remind us to live in a sustainable way today.

Public News Service: PLAN's Launce Rake says the government needs to shut down environmentally hazardous activities at the Nevada Test Site.
 

If the new rates are approved, Las Vegas Valley ratepayers would effectively subsidize the improvements, raising concerns that developers will flock to the rural areas to take advantage of the new sewer rates and connection fees.

Las Vegas Sun: PLAN's Launce Rake says existing residents shouldn't pay for developers' profits from growth.

Tony Lesperance, a Paradise Valley rancher and former Elko County commissioner, was a vocal member of the Jarbidge Shovel Brigade that, back in 2000, marched down the tiny northeastern Nevada town's Main Street in defiance of the federal government, according to reports at the time.

Review-Journal: PLAN's Launce Rake says conservationists have concerns about Gov. Jim Gibbon's new appointment.

AP: Launce Rake's quotes expressing concern about the new Ag Commissioner are included in the Associated Press story.

Las Vegas CityLife: PLAN's Launce Rake says the science is showing that the proposed pumping of rural groundwater to support urban growth is a dangerous idea.  

That's the gist of a 2004 study commissioned by the Southern Nevada Water Authority that asked: What would happen if we stopped or even slowed growth? The study concluded that even a minor slowdown could ravage the valley's economy. The report says the slowdown would begin in the construction industry, sparking a trickle-down to all industries, creating mass unemployment and poverty and forcing businesses to close.

PLAN's Launce Rake speaks about the impact of growth, and pro-growth public policy, on the Las Vegas community.  

PLAN's Launce Rake discusses the governor's statement of opposition to the Southern Nevada Water Authority's plans to use rural water to fuel Las Vegas' urban growth. 

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN's Launce Rake says the price increases need to hit the high-volume users, not limited income people who use minimal amounts.
 

The initiative also would require a public vote before water could be imported from outside the county, adding that rule to the regional plan.

Reno Gazette-Journal: Bob Fulkerson, PLAN Executive Director, says it is time regional growth plans are based on sustainable resources.

Blue Sage News: Progressive blog picks up PLAN release on threats to Lake Mead. 

But don't mistake that for widespread support for the project.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority's pipeline network still faces loud opposition from rural residents and environmental activists.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: PLAN's Launce Rake voices concerns about the impacts of the SNWA's efforts to use rural water to fuel urban growth.

Bob Fulkerson discusses the sorry state of Nevada's tax system.

PLAN Executive Director Bob Fulkerson comments on the impact of money on politics.