LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — State officials say they are ready to provide assistance to the 999 people laid off from Spirit Airlines.

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) said it will support former Spirit employees with reemployment services, retraining opportunities and more.

Impacted workers can also file for unemployment insurance at NUI.nv.gov.

“DETR is committed to supporting every Nevada worker affected by the Spirit Airlines layoffs,” department Director Christopher Sewell said in a statement. “Our team is ready to provide timely resources, guidance, and individualized assistance to help impacted employees navigate their next steps.”

Rapid Response is a free program that provides strategies for layoffs and plant closures. It quickly coordinates services and provides immediate support to employers and affected workers.

Employees can access no-cost career and training services through EmployNV. This includes career counseling and job-search assistance, skills assessments and re-skilling opportunities, and training grants for high-demand career fields.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo encouraged anyone who was laid off to use DETR’s resources.

“Our priority is getting folks back to work right away, and the state stands ready to assist with no-cost employment services to help with the transition,” Lombardo said in a statement.

Spirit ceased operations on May 2 after failing to secure a government bailout. The company notified Nevada DETR that it was laying off 999 employees based at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas as a result.

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A case out of Southern California is raising new concerns for parents across Nevada as high-powered electric motorcycles grow in popularity.

In the California case, a mother is facing criminal charges after prosecutors said her 14-year-old son hit and killed an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran with an e-motorcycle. She is now charged with involuntary manslaughter after law enforcement reportedly warned her about her son using the device a year ago.

Legal experts said similar consequences could apply in Nevada, depending on the circumstances.

“I think that warning is what’s triggering the criminal liability and this intention of involuntary manslaughter case,” Ray Johnson, a Nevada attorney and former FBI assistant special agent in charge, said. “In Nevada, you would have something similar, but it’s got to be around willful misconduct and delinquency. So, if a mom, the dad, the parent, or the guardian is willfully involved with not teaching them to do the right things, or it’s improper equipment, or they’re allowing them to do things, they could get a criminal charge.”

Across the Las Vegas Valley, electric motorcycles and other high-speed e-devices are becoming more common, especially among young riders. Law enforcement said some can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour, raising safety concerns when used by minors.

Under Nevada law, parents can be held financially responsible, up to $10,000, for damages caused by a minor’s willful misconduct, which results in any injury or death to another person or injury to the private property of another or to public property.

In some cases, parents could also face criminal consequences if they knowingly allow a child to engage in illegal or unsafe behavior involving vehicles.

Officer Luis Vidal with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said those situations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with investigators looking at the circumstances.

“I think it’s very important for parents to understand that when the police department investigates anything that is something that we look at.”

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office would formally file charges in a case. News 3 has reached out to the office and is waiting for a response regarding what prosecutors would consider in a case involving a minor and an e-motorcycle.

North Las Police shared with News 3, “The topic of potential parental liability related to incidents involving e-motorcycles or e-bikes is best addressed by the City Attorney’s Office, as it involves legal interpretation and potential charging considerations.

Additionally, the City of North Las Vegas does not currently have a finalized version of specific e-bike or e-motorcycle ordinances in place. As such, any enforcement or liability would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis under existing laws.”

As these devices continue to surge in popularity, authorities said awareness and supervision are key to preventing serious accidents and potential legal consequences.

With another cup of Turkish coffee poured, the Brewing Better Health series continues, this time turning to a conversation about data, trust and how people make sense of changing information.

In Episode 5 of Brewing Better Health, Matt Strickland, Ph.D., joins Dean Muge Akpinar-Elci, M.D., MPH, to talk about how data, communication and evolving evidence shape the way people understand health and make decisions.

Strickland is a professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health. He studies how environmental exposures, such as air pollution and wildfire smoke, affect population health. That research often relies on large data sets, tracking outcomes like asthma, cardiovascular health and emergency department visits across entire communities.

But, as he explains, the work is never just about numbers.

“We are so used to working with big data sets, we can forget that those entries in the data sets are people,” Strickland said. “These are families.”

That perspective took shape early in his career while working with a birth defects surveillance system. Listening to families helped him see that public health data is not just about analysis. It is about answering real questions, helping people understand what lies ahead and making information useful in their daily lives.

“We are so used to working with big data sets, we can forget that those entries in the data sets are people,” Strickland said. “These are families.”

As they continue talking, Akpinar-Elci and Strickland reflect on how this work connects to decision-making. Much of the research contributes to the evidence used to set air quality standards under the Clean Air Act, helping identify which pollutants pose the greatest risk and where action can make the most difference.

In Nevada and across the western United States, that focus increasingly includes wildfire smoke, dust and other environmental challenges shaped by climate and geography. While the health risks tied to air pollution may seem small at the individual level, Strickland explains that they look very different across a population.

“When everybody is breathing air, those tiny little increases in risk add up day after day,” he said.

As the conversation turns to trust, Akpinar-Elci raises a challenge many in public health are facing right now: how to communicate science as it changes.

“Science is constantly changing right now,” she says. “But when the message is not connected, that creates not trusting the results.”

Strickland sees that shift as well.

“Maybe part of the loss of trust in science is our fault as scientists,” he said. “People often have to rely on authority because they don’t always have the tools to evaluate the information themselves, and who people trust has changed over time.”

With so many voices and perspectives, knowing who to trust is not always straightforward. For both, the challenge is not just producing good science, but helping people understand how and why that science evolves over time.

Even with those challenges, Strickland remains optimistic. Looking at long-term trends, he notes that air quality in the United States has improved significantly over time, even as new issues like wildfire smoke continue to emerge.

For him, progress in public health is not about quick wins, but steady, long-term commitment.

“You have to kind of focus on the long game,” he said.

Brewing Better Health features faculty and public health leaders from the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health and beyond. Each episode pairs thoughtful conversation with the tradition of Turkish coffee, emphasizing connection, listening and shared understanding.

Watch Episode 5 of Brewing Better Health featuring Matt Strickland, Ph.D., on YouTube or listen on Spotify.