LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — North Las Vegas police are participating in a statewide impaired driving enforcement campaign that runs through February 22, targeting drivers and riders operating vehicles while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both.
The North Las Vegas Police Department is conducting saturated patrols as part of Nevada’s Joining Forces initiative, a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement program aimed at reducing preventable crashes, injuries and fatalities on local roadways.
WATCH | Nevada police launch statewide DUI crackdown following Super Bowl weekend
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Nevada police launch statewide DUI crackdown following Super Bowl weekend
During the campaign, NLVPD officers will focus specifically on identifying impaired drivers and riders. Officials say impaired driving remains one of the most dangerous and preventable behaviors on Nevada roadways.
For families like Martina Suarez, the enforcement campaign carries deep personal meaning. Four months ago, her son Cristofer was struck and killed by an impaired driver while walking to school.
“There’s a lot of innocent people and a lot of the times which I feel like was my son’s case, people party all night, so you’re not even, you didn’t get drunk at 7 in the morning, you were drunk all night and there’s innocent people going to work. Walking to the bus stop. Kids like my son going to school and it’s not fair,” Suarez said.
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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol-impaired driving accounts for approximately one-third of all traffic fatalities in the United States. Even small amounts of alcohol or drugs can significantly impair judgment, reaction time, coordination and decision-making.
Drug-impaired driving including impairment from prescription medications, illegal drugs or cannabis also poses a serious and growing risk to roadway safety.
Police emphasize that impaired driving doesn’t only endanger the impaired driver or rider. It places passengers, other motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and first responders at risk every time someone chooses to get behind the wheel while impaired.
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The Joining Forces program is funded by the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety and supports agencies across Nevada in conducting targeted traffic enforcement. The campaign is part of Nevada’s Zero Fatalities initiative, an ongoing statewide effort to eliminate traffic-related deaths on Nevada roadways.
Officials urge drivers to plan ahead: designate a sober driver or use alternative transportation if impaired. The message is clear if you’re impaired, don’t drive.
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.
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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.
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.
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“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.”
Regional employment
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.