A memo sharing the results of regular health and sanitation inspections of Nevada’s state prisons revealed several “critical” violations in multiple facilities.
In advance of next week’s meeting of the State Board of Prison Commissioners, the Nevada Department of Corrections shared a memo detailing the results of these inspections by the Division of Public and Behavioral Health from the office division’s chief medical officer, Ihsan Azzam.
Six state prisons had critical dietary and sanitary violations, and the two prisons inspected for medical and dental services both had deficiencies.
These inspections must be conducted regularly under state law, but only two prisons per year have to be inspected for medical and dental compliance.
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Sanitary violations
High temperature dishwashers were found in disrepair at three prisons: High Desert State Prison, Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center and Northern Nevada Correctional Center, according to the memo.
At High Desert State Prison, some sinks were found without sanitizer. Cockroaches — both alive and dead — were found in food storage areas.
Chemical containers were found without labels to prevent misuse at Southern Desert Correctional Center.
According to the memo, Northern Nevada Correctional Center was “operating under unsafe conditions which involved the culinary wastewater plumbing system,” with floods of wastewater found in a crawl space under the culinary from a broken pipe that had been left in disrepair.
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Also at the facility, signs of rodents were found in the warehouse though not in the culinary or bakery. The memo said that the prison is making efforts to “eliminate the ongoing infestation.”
Medical deficiencies
This year, Northern Nevada Correctional Center and Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center were up for inspection.
Only one deficiency — damage to the vinyl material of an examination table and dental chair — was found at the woman’s prison. This type of damage presents an infection control risk, according to the memo.
Six deficiencies were found at Northern Nevada Correctional Center, including an exposed electrical hazard, obstructed fire sprinklers and damaged vinyl.
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Inspectors found that the facility had not been following its policy on the sterilization of medical and dental instruments, the memo said. Several drugs and biological supplies were also found to be outdated or expired.
The Nevada Department of Corrections did not respond to requests for comment on the violations and deficiencies.
The State Board of Prison Commissioners is scheduled to meet in Carson City on Dec. 19, with a remote viewing site available in Las Vegas at the Nevada State Business Center.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinson.bsky.social on Bluesky.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford confirmed he plans to challenge Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV) in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race.
This week’s announcement made him the first Nevada Democrat to publicly state his intentions and the highest-profile member of his party to consider a bid to oust Lombardo.
“I do intend to seek higher office, and I have been having informal conversations with people across the state to better understand what they believe Nevada needs in its next governor,” Ford said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, confirming months of speculation about his candidacy. “These discussions are an important part of determining how I can best serve our state.”
Ford was first elected as Nevada’s attorney general in 2018 and decisively won a second term four years later.
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He previously represented Nevada’s 11th district in the state senate, subsequently rising to top leadership positions in the chamber.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks at the Biden-Harris for Nevada team first-in-the-West celebration, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Lombardo has already declared his intention to run for a second term next election cycle “because it’s a huge challenge, and I thrive off the challenge.”
“And there’s a lot of broken pieces that need to get fixed,” he told the Nevada Independent in April.
Ford will face a likely grueling battle in a bid to defeat Lombardo.
The incumbent Republican has built a “getting s**t done” brand that has propelled his rise to become one of the most popular governors in the country.
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I caught up with Gov. Lombardo as he left the Legislative Building after his first State of the State Address. I asked him what he is most looking forward to:
Since he assumed office in 2022, with a victory that made him the only Republican in the country that year to flip a Democratic gubernatorial seat, Lombardo has signed more executive orders than any other Nevada governor. His hardball approach seems to have garnered favor with voters, who handed him a 58% approval rating, per January polling from Morning Consult.
Often the lone GOP voice in a state where Democrats hold majorities in both legislative chambers, Lombardo helped lead Republicans to key victories in Nevada this election cycle. After Nov. 5, Democrats lost their supermajority in the assembly and failed to gain a supermajority in the state senate. The election results scored a tactical victory for Lombardo, as without coveted two-thirds supermajorities in both legislative chambers, Democrats can’t override his vetoes.
As Ford prepares for his campaign against Lombardo, he attracted attention this week for breathing life into controversial charges against six Nevada Republicans labeled as “fake electors.” While the GOP efforts to name President-elect Donald Trump as the winner in the state during the 2020 presidential election were prosecuted, a state judge dismissed the case earlier this year.
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In a new complaint in a Carson City court filed Thursday, Ford asserted that “the actions the fake electors undertook in 2020 violated Nevada criminal law and were direct attempts to both sow doubt in our democracy and undermine the results of a free and fair election.”
“Justice requires that these actions not go unpunished,” the attorney general said.
BOTTOM LINE: Pacific and UNLV square off in Henderson, Nevada.
The Rebels have a 4-4 record against non-conference oppponents. UNLV is ninth in the MWC scoring 72.9 points while shooting 44.5% from the field.
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The Tigers are 5-6 in non-conference play. Pacific ranks seventh in the WCC with 14.7 assists per game led by Lamar Washington averaging 6.5.
UNLV makes 44.5% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.8 percentage points higher than Pacific has allowed to its opponents (40.7%). Pacific averages 71.9 points per game, 0.7 fewer than the 72.6 UNLV allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Dedan Thomas Jr. is shooting 40.4% and averaging 16.8 points for the Rebels.
Elias Ralph is scoring 17.3 points per game and averaging 8.0 rebounds for the Tigers.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
This Saturday December 14th is the 33rd Annual Nevada County Food and Toy Run at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.
Nevada County Food and Toy Run 2023. Photo: YubaNet
Traffic will be impacted from 12 to 1:30 on the main roads from the Rood Center in Nevada City through downtown and proceeding through to downtown Grass Valley and out to the fairgrounds. If the weather is good we are expecting a record turn out!
This is a rain or shine event!
This year the need for families has increased beyond what we have ever seen before. For this reason, we are holding a Toy and Gift Card drive this Friday.
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Toys and Gift Cards can be dropped off at Gate 1 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds on Friday the 13th from 9 am to 6 pm. We will also take donations up to noon on Saturday at Gate 1. Donations after that will need to be coordinated with our team.
We are unsure what the weather will be on Saturday, it’s possible it will rain, which will affect the number of bikes that are able to participate, making the need that much greater.
At this time we have 660 families signed up, with over 1900 kids. We have 80 families on a waitlist and have other local organizations that need our help.
Please join us in celebrating the 33rd Annual Toy Run on Saturday, by watching it from your favorite spot, and by donating in the drive through Toy and Gift Card drop off Friday all day and Saturday morning until noon. Thank you for your support!
