LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Attacks on RTC bus drivers were such a serious problem in the Las Vegas area, last year drivers voted to strike. RTC then added dozens of security officers. Now there’s a new push to add even more protection for bus drivers across the state. Assembly Bill 361 would add barriers around drivers to protect them from unruly passengers and give them immediate access to panic buttons.
Last session, lawmakers approved putting cameras on public buses and because of that law we are seeing video of a shocking attack on a driver.
Video from inside a bus in Sparks on February 3, 2025, recorded a passenger yelling at the driver and as the driver closes the doors to the bus, that passenger unleashes a brutal attack. The driver, Thomas Parsons, is punched in the face twice tries to defend himself getting up from the seat and falling down the steps as the bus is moving. The attacker continues to wail on him and then stomps on him when he is on the ground.
Parsons suffered six broken ribs. The passenger, Ryan Mastelotto who had prior convictions including battery, was arrested.
Lawmakers in Carson City were shown this video during a hearing Thursday on the need for better protections for bus drivers.
“Transit workers have been spit on, have things thrown at them, have been punched and kicked, and have even been targets of stabbings,” shared Assemblymember Linda Hunt who represents Clark County/North Las Vegas. Hunt is sponsoring AB 361 because, as she told FOX5, her nephew is a transit driver in Las Vegas.
“He had expressed to me about how they felt unsafe and some of the traumas that a lot of the bus drivers had experienced,” Hunt recounted. Supporters say the shocking video of the recent attack shows the dire need to add barriers around drivers and a quick way for them to call for help in an emergency.
“This is what workers have really been needing for a long time, and we’re going to make it happen,” Hunt promised.
It would be up the RTC to pick up the cost of adding panic buttons and dividers to all buses. Taxpayers would not be responsible.
Hunt explained another bill on the Senate side now in the works would seek to mandate an increase in transit security officers, something that’s already been done in Southern Nevada.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
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