Nevada

Debates don’t tend to have a lasting impact. Could last week’s be different?

Published

2 days ago

July 2, 2024

Debates don’t tend to have a lasting impact. Could last week’s be different?

While last week’s debate prompted further concerns about President Joe Biden’s cognitive fitness among pundits and some national Democrats, both Nevada Democrats and Republicans are shying away from the topic on the campaign trail.

Debates and campaign events usually have only temporary effects, according to Dan Lee, a political science professor at UNLV. Polls might change, but the effects dissipate over a couple of weeks, he said. Bigger predictors of election outcomes are partisanship and the state of the economy, he said.

But last week’s debate is different, Lee said. It was not like Biden gave a bad answer; rather, it brought up questions about his ability to be president, he said.

“Debates tend not to have lasting effects, but because this debate was more, you know, highlighting his perceived shortcomings in terms of his cognitive capabilities, that’s kind of something that could stick and what Democrats are worried about,” Lee said.

Voters have long expressed their concerns about both presidential candidates’ ages and ambivalence over the rematch. The debate heightened those concerns. A recent CBS News poll, for instance, found that 72 percent of 1,130 registered voters surveyed — including many Democrats — do not think Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 election. He cited multiple polls showing Biden running substantially behind Democratic senators in key states.

“I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.”

Nevada campaigning to shy away from cognitive concerns

Nevada Democrats, however, are sticking with the president — though Sen. Jacky Rosen and other candidates have been maintaining a distance from the president, who has not polled well in Nevada — and the Nevada Republican Party does not plan to focus on Biden’s health as a top campaign strategy.

The state’s Democrats have been focusing on the actions the Biden administration has taken, from investing in affordable housing and infrastructure and trying to lower health care costs.

Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, who has campaigned for Biden and was named to his re-election advisory board, stands by the president.

“I’ve known him, I’ve supported him, I’ve worked with him for a long time,” Titus said. “And do I wish he’d have been stronger? Of course. Do I wish he’d have called out the lies better? Yes. Do I wish he’d focused on all the good things the Democrats have done under his leadership? Yes. But you’ve got to remember, you can’t just focus on the superficial.”

Instead, you have to focus on the substance, she said.

“You play the hand you’re dealt, and that’s what we’re going to do,” she said. Democrats’ goal is to show Nevadans who Biden really is and what he’s accomplished.

A spokesperson for Sen. Jacky Rosen’s campaign painted the election as a choice between an administration “focused on lowering costs, growing the middle class, and restoring reproductive freedom” and “Trump’s MAGA agenda,” while distancing her from the president.

“Senator Rosen is focused on her own reelection campaign and continuing her track record as one of the most bipartisan, independent, and effective Senators,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

‘Feel sorry’

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald told the Review-Journal he felt sorry for Biden.

“I know he had a bad night, but I think it’s deeper than that,” he said Monday. “I feel sorry for his family. It’s a major concern of who is running the country right now.”

That said, the Republican Party won’t focus on those cognitive concerns at a state level, said McDonald, who took on the role as senior campaign adviser for the Trump campaign.

Rather, McDonald said, the party will push on Trump’s record of helping working people and will highlight his plans and outlook for the future.

“We’re going to show the difference between the two,” he said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.

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Nevada

Nevada DMV temporarily suspending 'Walk-In Wednesdays' due to extreme heat

Published

3 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Nevada DMV temporarily suspending 'Walk-In Wednesdays' due to extreme heat

NEVADA (KTNV) — Planning to make use of Nevada’s “Walk-In Wednesdays” at your local DMV? Well starting July 10, that service will be temporarily suspended at some locations due to extreme heat.

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles announced July 3 that it will be temporarily moving to appointment-only services on Wednesdays at metropolitan offices starting July 10.

These locations include offices in Henderson and Reno as well as the offices on Decatur, Flamingo, and Sahara in Las Vegas.

The DMV said until temperatures reach normal levels and move away from extreme heat, Walk-In Wednesdays will resume.

“June was by far the hottest month in Las Vegas ever recorded,” said DMV Director Tonya Laney.

“Customers continue to line up outside of our Las Vegas offices hours before the doors even open, and temperatures are soaring above 100 degrees before 8 a.m. We are noticing increasing temperatures in Reno and want to be proactive for our customers there as well. In order to limit heat exposure both inside and outside our offices, we have decided to revert Wednesdays back to appointment-based only. This is a temporary change until temperatures decrease.”

State and health officials say excessive heat poses a serious health risk, especially in Nevada. The DMV said in 2023, 226 Nevadans died from heat-related illnesses—close to 10% of all heat-related deaths in the nation.

Remember to stay hydrated and stay cool as the temperatures rise.

Beat the heat:

Wednesday appointment bookings will open Tuesday afternoons.

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Nevada

Heat records fell, some shattered, in June across parts of Arizona, Nevada and Texas

Published

10 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Heat records fell, some shattered, in June across parts of Arizona, Nevada and Texas

LAS VEGAS — Parts of Arizona, Nevada and Texas just endured their hottest June on record, where sweltering conditions shattered several long-standing marks.

The broken records herald yet another summer of extremes — both in the U.S. and around the world — and offer a worrisome outlook for the weeks and months ahead, as July and August are typically the hottest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

In Phoenix, an average temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit made it the hottest June in the city’s more than 100 years of temperature records, according to the National Weather Service.

Last month beat the previous record, set in June 2021, by almost 2 degrees. Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport recorded 14 days in June at or above 110 degrees, the weather service said.

The scorching conditions have already taken a toll. So far this year, there have been 13 heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and many of its suburbs. Another 162 deaths are under investigation, according to the county’s Public Health Department.

Last year, a record 645 people died from heat-related causes in Maricopa County, in what was an extraordinary year for extreme heat in the region. Temperatures of 110 degrees or above were recorded for 31 consecutive days in Phoenix last summer, breaking an 18-day streak that was set in 1974.

And July is already off to a rough start, with 110 million people across 21 states under heat warnings and watches for the Fourth of July holiday period.

Brutal heat was felt throughout the Southwest last month.

In neighboring Nevada, Las Vegas sizzled to its own temperature record in June.

“Almost any way you slice it, June 2024 was the hottest ever in Las Vegas,” the local office of the National Weather Service wrote Sunday on X. The previous record was set eight years ago, in 2016.

Triple-digit temperatures were recorded nearly every day last month, the weather service said. The average temperature in June was 94.6 degrees, which was 7 degrees above normal and 1.8 degrees hotter than the previous record, according to the National Weather Service.

The heat was also persistent. The average high temperature hit 106.2 degrees, and the average low temperature touched 83 degrees, meaning the city had little relief from the heat even overnight.

Heat waves are expected to be more common as a result of climate change. Studies have shown that as the world warms, heat waves will be more frequent, longer and more intense.

But it wasn’t just the new milestones that were notable, the National Weather Service said.

“What’s more impressive is how much we beat the old records by,” the National Weather Service wrote on X, adding that June’s average high temperature beat the previous record by 1.2 degrees, a bigger margin than separates second and eighth place.

It was a scorching June in West Texas, as well. El Paso had its hottest June on record, breaking a record that had stood for 30 years, according to the National Weather Service.

The average temperature in the border city hit 89.4 degrees, which was 0.4 degrees warmer than the previous record set in 1994.

Extreme heat is expected to persist this week across the West Coast and parts of the South. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings are in effect in Washington state, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.

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Nevada

Overnight closures announced July 7 into July 8 in south Colorado Springs

Published

17 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Overnight closures announced July 7 into July 8 in south Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Heads up, night owls and early birds: If you’re on the road really late Sunday or really early Monday, you might hit some construction on the south side of the Springs!

The city announced Wednesday upcoming work happening on South Nevada just south of I-25.

“South Nevada Avenue between Brookside Street and the Interstate 25 ramps will close overnight for construction barrier movements starting on Sunday, July 7, at 9 p.m.,” the city said in a news release Wednesday morning. “The closure is expected to end on Monday, July 8, at 5 a.m.

The closure is part of the ongoing I-25 ramp improvement project along the South Nevada and Tejon corridor. Work began in May and is expected to continue through early winter. It’s divided into three phases (Source: City of Colorado Springs):

Phase 1 of the project includes the construction of a new median on Nevada from Brookside to I-25 to facilitate increased queuing capacity for left-turns to northbound I-25. Additional improvements to be completed during this phase include a new pedestrian bridge across Cheyenne Creek and sidewalk improvements on Tejon under I-25.

Phase 2 of the project improves traffic flow by widening the I-25 South Connector Road to accommodate a new right-turn lane at Nevada Avenue. Additional improvements include the construction of new sidewalk facilities on Nevada from Brookside to I-25 and a new traffic signal at the Nevada and Brookside intersection.

Phase 3 of the project will complete the remaining sidewalk, bicycle, and intersection improvements on Tejon from I-25 to Motor Way.

The city says when completed, citizens will see the following benefits:

Upgraded pedestrian facilities and traffic signals.
Construction of a pedestrian bridge over Cheyenne Creek, providing safe passage for pedestrians through the busy corridor.
Improved traffic flow from the southbound I-25 exit to South Nevada Avenue.
Pavement rehabilitation will improve the driving experience and safety.
High-visibility pavement markings and bike ramps at crosswalks will increase safety for bicyclists on S. Tejon Street.
Curb protection at the South Tejon Street and Motorway intersection will improve comfort for bicyclists.

The work on July 7-8 is in order to let crews relocate construction barriers at the site from the inner lanes to the outer lanes.

Drivers can use the following detours:

Northbound traffic is advised to take South Nevada Avenue to Brookside Street to South Tejon Street to I-25 South Connector Road to South Nevada Avenue.

Southbound traffic is advised to take South Nevada Avenue to the I-25 North Connector Road to South Tejon Street, to Brookside Street to South Nevada Avenue.

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