federal

UPDATE 10:30PM: Plans to raise the speed limit within South Lake Tahoe along Highway 50 were presented to the South Lake Tahoe City Council on Tuesday.

After El Dorado County supervisors agreed in fall to table the concept, plans are in the works to again bring federal protection measures to the Upper Truckee River.

CARSON CITY – Members of the Nevada chapter of a small business organization say the state’s minimum wage and construction defects laws are hampering job growth in the state.
The state’s prevailing wage law was also cited as a drag on economic development in the survey of its members by the Nevada chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business.

MINDEN, Nev. - A federal auditor is recommending that $2.7 million in recovery act grant funds received by the Nevada Fire Safe Council be paid back, and the council not receive any more grants ...

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Federal auditors say a nonprofit Nevada fire safety group mismanaged $2.7 million in federal grants and should repay the money issued for fuel reduction projects at Lake Ta...

HOMEWOOD - A federal judge recently denied a request from local conservation groups that the same judge who ruled on the 2010 Shorezone plan also preside over the lawsuit challenging the multimilli...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Lance Armstrong says he's relieved by the end of a nearly two-year federal investigation into doping allegations against him, and that he always remained confident he would not...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A former preschool teacher at Under the Magic Pine Tree is suing the city of South Lake Tahoe, numerous police and fire officials and ambulance operators in federal court...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Federal health officials on Monday said California cannot force Medi-Cal recipients to make a co-pay for doctor visits and prescription drugs, a decision that brings relie...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court has declared California's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, paving the way for a likely U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the voter-approved la...

CARSON CITY – A broader measure of Nevada’s unemployment picture, including those who have given up looking for work, showed some improvement through the end of 2011, a federal report released this week shows.
The rate in Nevada dropped to 22.7 percent in the 12 months through Dec. 31, down from 23.3 percent in the 12 months through Sept. 30, 2011.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal prosecutors closed their investigation of Lance Armstrong without charging him over allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs Friday, ending a nearly two-year effor...

RENO — From a cheering crowd of several hundred at a brief but energetic Mitt Romney rally to a more subdued event for Rick Santorum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition to another well-attended rally for Ron Paul, it was a trifecta of presidential candidates in Reno ahead of the Saturday GOP caucus.

Romney got the balling rolling at the Grove, with an estimated 800 supporters packed inside and standing outside the event center in South Reno. Romney spoke briefly to those standing outside before giving a short but enthusiastic speech to those crowded inside.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The federal government should help police departments nationwide obtain the tools and training needed to attack a rising scourge of driving under the influence, two U.S. senator...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge issued a tentative ruling Monday to stop 10 percent cuts to payments many medical providers get from serving Medi-Cal patients in California.In a tentative ruling...

A workshop to help companies learn to compete for federal research and development grants is scheduled in Reno next month.About $2.5 billion a year is available through the federal government's Sma...

Prescribed fires are scheduled to continue on Monday at various locations throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin. These controlled fires will take place around Kingsbury Grade, Emerald Bay and the Kings Beach area, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The following is the complete text of President Obama's State of the Union address as written.
Remarks of President Barack Obama - As Prepared for Delivery
State of the Union Address
"An America Built to Last"
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Washington, DC

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

CARSON CITY — Nearly 250 capital city Democrats took time out today to participate in the party caucus, supporting President Barack Obama in a process that held no surprises for the party faithful.
The caucus at the Carson City Middle School was one of 118 held around Nevada today as the state Democrat Party gears up for the 2012 election.
Unlike 2008, when the Democrat nominee was still undecided at the time of the caucus, the nonbinding ballot had two options: the president or uncommitted. Obama was getting strong support among participants.

View Washoe Drive Fire (1/19/2012) in a larger map

UPDATE 10PM: Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said tonight the Washoe Drive Fire has consumed and estimated 3,700 acres, burned at least 20 structures and has resulted in one fatality.
Hernandez would not go into details of how the person died. He said the 250+ firefighters on the scene have stopped the forward progress of the fire. He said the fire started in the East Lake area, and then followed the Highway 395 corridor north, where it was stopped just south of Galena High School.
Highway 395 will be closed until further notice due to damage to debris and damage to guard rails, power poles and other item near the roadway. Gov. Brian Sandoval told state workers who commute by this route to stay home Friday. Evacuations have been lifted for the Galena area. About 2,000 people are still unable to go back to their homes tonight.
Hernandez said firefighters saved more than 800 homes that were in the path of this destructive fire.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
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UPDATE 9PM: Reno Fire officials report forward progress on Washoe Drive fire has stopped. Fire behavior is moderating due to diminishing winds, lowering termperatures and increasing humidity/moisture moving over the Sierra Nevada/Carson Range. Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 10,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

U.S. Highway-395 remains closed between 1.8 miles north of Carson City to the Junction of SR 341/431 (Mt. Rose Junction) in south Reno. U.S. Highway 395 could remained closed on Friday (1/20) through the morning commute - make alternate plans.
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At 4:40 pm Thursday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.”
Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

A prescribed fire in the Angora area near Tahoe Mountain will begin Thursday and in the Ward Canyon area over the weekend weather permitting, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

A day after heavy smoke from a west slope prescribed fire in the Eldorado National Forest carried into the Lake Tahoe Basin, another controlled burn is planned closer to home before the onset of winter storms, according to the U.S. Forest Service. A prescribed fire is set for Wednesday in the McKinney and Rubicon Bay areas of Lake Tahoe's west shore.

CARSON CITY — A conservative Nevada think tank today announced the second case taken on by its Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation (CJCL), this one aimed at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for allegedly flooding a Pahrump church camp through negligent and illegal work on two streams.