A few weeks ago, I blogged that attendance at the Nevada caucuses is liable to be light.  I hope not.  Nevada has a chance to shine in the national spotlight, and it would be wonderful to see attendance break all expectations!  We have a chance to show the nation that our opinion counts, and that our views matter. 

      To find out where to attend a caucus of either party, check out our Nevada Votes section on lasvegasnow.com, or check the website of the Nevada political parties.  Attending a caucus will be an exciting way to get involved with your community.

     ARE YOU GOING? IS IT YOUR FIRST TIME?

POSTED BY PAULA FRANCIS

Nevada’s budget is bleeding red ink. Late Friday afternoon, Governor Jim Gibbons announced that the deficit is getting bigger.

The budget hole now sits at $440 million. It’s growing because of falling tax revenue.

The governor has said certain areas of state government, including education, will not face cuts. But Friday, Gibbons changed his course. He now says more parts of the state budget will see cuts, including lower education.

Read the rest of the story

Add your comments to LasVegasNOW blogs.

Some say it will be the most historic event governing the use of the Colorado River since 1922. Thursday, the Secretary of the Interior will be in Las Vegas to sign a plan which outlines what will happen to the river’s water if drought conditions worsen.

It been 85 years since the law that governs the river was adopted. In water circles, it is called the “law of the river.” Back then — the west was a far different place.

Read the rest of the story here.

Senator Hillary Clinton made two speeches in Las Vegas in October. One, at a senior center, about her health care plan, the other at the Springs Preserve, which was more question-and-answer.

Both crowds were enthusiastic and you could assume that many of the attendees want to vote for Mrs. Clinton in Nevada’s primary. Trouble is, Nevada doesn’t have a primary.

We hold caucuses, a strange and arguably outdated way for political parties to argue out who to nominate. It’s designed for the kind of person who is much, much more involved in politics than the vast majority of voters.

Many people don’t even feel comfortable about attending them, because they don’t want their preference to be a matter of public record. I can hear analysts telling me I’m naive, and that these caucuses are good because it SHOULD be only the most informed party faithful who make the choice.

What do you think?

Posted by Paula Francis
(my interview with Senator Clinton can be seen in its entirety on lasvegasnow.com)

Lawmakers in Washington have reached an agreement on immigration. They have a new plan to grant quick legal status to millions of people, but with big conditions attached.

The key breakthrough came when negotiators struck a bargain on a "point system" that would for the first time prioritize immigrants’ education and skill level over family connections in deciding how to award green cards.

The proposal would allow illegal immigrants to come forward and obtain a "Z visa." The illegal immigrants would then pay fees and a $5,000 but would be on track for permanent residency.

Another stipulation is that illegal immigrants who are heads of household would have to return to their home countries and then apply for probationary cards. They would begin the path to permanent residency after border security improvements and a high-tech worker identification program were completed.

It’s a complicated agreement but lawmakers on both sides are hopeful. Are you? Do you agree with the stipulations? Share your thoughts, concerns and reactions on the IMMIGRATION BLOG:

The top seven major Democratic presidential candidates will square off Thursday night in a debate at UNLV that starts at 5 p.m.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will debate in the nationally televised debate.

Which of these candidates communicates with you best. Are they abswering your questions and addressing your pressing concerns?

If you had the opportunity to ask your candidate of choice one question, what would that question be?

State Senator Bob Beers believes guns in the hands of highly trained, law-abiding citizens can serve as a deterrent to criminal activity, and what better place to stop crime than in the classroom, he told the I-Team in an exclusive interview.

Should school staff in Nevada be allowed to have concealed firearms in their classrooms? Would that promote a safer environment for students?

What do you think?

Do you support the ban or do you support the taverns? Sound off on Nevada’s smoking ban.

    In the new spirit of bi-partisanship, may I recommend the abolition of references to "red" and "blue" states?

   At first it was novel, and somewhat useful to see the US in those terms during the 2004 Presidential election.  The media certainly picked up on the paradigm, and most media outlets are still referring to the two colors, now, 2 years later. 

   Staring at the entire US map as a whole, it’s not hard to deduce that Democratic and/or liberal-leaning areas make up densely populated centers primarily on the East and West coasts (blue); and states verging on the right, or Republican-leaning, held sway in-between and in the South.  Or at least that’s what seemed convenient as a stereotyped tool when you need to talk generalities, and there are some exceptions (Minnesota, for example).

   But if you take care to examine any state’s county-by-county outbreak of red and blue, you realize what a mish-mash of colors it is…almost purple.

    Statisticians and electoral college vote-counters HAVE to paint each state one color according to constitutional principles, but if the US ever forsook that system, and went for a majority-vote-rules system, we’d see shades of red, bleeding into purple, seeping over to blue in a never-ending blend of color. 

    Right-leaning Country ‘n’ Western music fans abound in New York City, and left-leaning Joe six-packs proliferate in Birmingham, Alabama.  Gone are clear distinctions, only broad generalities apply, and even then, they’re frequently wrong.

    So it’s with those thoughts in mind that I again say:  Red and Blue State references need to go the way of an all-Republican Congress, in favor of a purple bi-partisanship.

—-submitted by Dave Courvoisier