Nevada
Nevada’s chief officers disclose sponsored trips to foreign lands, Burning Man
Nevada’s constitutional officers journeyed to foreign lands and Burning Man last year for what they claim is better governance, state financial disclosure reports show.
Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, led the pack of six officers with $45,000 in travel expenses paid by outside groups. He went to South Africa, Poland, Israel and South Korea, trips sponsored primarily by the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), according to his financial disclosure report for 2023.
Trips with the AGA, whose members include U.S. states and territories, are essentially paid for by corporations and lobbyists, who then get an opportunity to rub elbows with officials who regulate their businesses, the Associated Press reported in August.
Companies that have picked up the bill and sent representatives in recent years have been from the pharmaceutical, auto, financial, online gaming and tech industries, among others, the AP reported.
Ford “makes decisions based on the impact they will have on the lives of Nevadans and these trips help him stay abreast of current or prospective issues or concerns that might affect the state,” John Sadler, the communications director for the Office of the Attorney General, wrote in an email to the Review-Journal. “There is nothing untoward occurring on these trips, and the AGA itself is an organization that helps facilitate necessary bipartisan cooperation in tackling issues that affect Americans across state lines.”
Ford, chair of the AGA, reported that the purpose of a $15,000 trip to South Africa sponsored by the AGA centered on “AI, gender violence, animal trafficking.” A $15,000 trip to Poland and Israel, also sponsored by the group, was to “study antisemitism & Palestinian issues.” The purpose of a $15,000 trip to South Korea, sponsored by the AGA and the Korea Foundation, was “intellectual property & Democracy issues.”
Nevada law requires filing the annual report disclosing gifts and meetings, events and travel paid for by outside groups.
Travel, tickets disclosed
Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, a Republican, traveled to Germany, Mexico and Greece — as well as Iowa and Illinois — at a cost of $15,000 paid by a variety of sponsors: the National Lieutenant Governors Association, Travel Nevada, the Hellenic Council and the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association, according to his disclosure report.
The American Hellenic Council is a non-partisan political advocacy organization with the stated goal of informing the American public and government about issues in southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, according to its website.
The purpose of the Mexico trip was listed as “tourism” and the rest as “informational.”
Most of the costs listed in the constitutional officers’ disclosure forms are not funded by tax dollars. However, Travel Nevada — a state agency promoting tourism that is funded by a lodging tax — paid for a $3,000 trip to Mexico for Anthony, who chairs the Nevada Commission on Tourism.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, stayed closer to home. He disclosed a $575 day visit to Burning Man, sponsored by organizers of the week-long counterculture event in the Nevada Black Rock Desert. The stated purpose was to learn about the festival.
Aguilar also disclosed an $875 ticket to the men’s semifinal of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York City, provided by ESPN, to “visit a Nevada ESPN broadcaster.” He reported a total of $10,660 in meeting, event and trip expenses, primarily for government or charity dinners and events, as well as one ticket to a UNR football game and another to a UNLV game.
Controller Andy Matthews, a Republican, disclosed $2,060 for travel expenses for a public policy conference in Florida sponsored by Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian student activism organization. He also reported $2,600 in travel expenses to public policy conferences in New Hampshire and Texas sponsored by the State Financial Officers Foundation, a conservative, free-market organization.
State Treasurer Zach Conine, a Democrat, disclosed $1,695 in travel expenses for a Vegas Chamber event in Washington, D.C. He disclosed $474 in travel expenses to speak on a conference panel in Seattle sponsored by the Washington CannaBusiness Association. He also reported as a gift a $650 ticket from Republic Services for event access to the Formula One race in Las Vegas last November.
Earlier this year, four Clark County commissioners confirmed to the Review-Journal that they had received a notice of investigation from the Nevada Commission on Ethics in connection with accepting F1 race tickets.
Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, reported no sponsored events, meetings or travel and no gifts.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.
Home prices in Southern Nevada dropped from record highs to end 2025 and less homes sold last year compared with 2024.
Approximately 28,498 existing homes sold in the region last year, which is down almost 9 percent from the 31,305 homes that sold in 2024, according to trade association Las Vegas Realtors, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service. This is the lowest number of homes sold in a year in Southern Nevada since 2007 right before the Great Recession.
The median sale price for a house sold in Southern Nevada in December was approximately $470,000, a 3.9 percent drop from November, according to LVR. By the end of December, LVR reported 6,396 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 28.8 percent from one year earlier.
Despite a down year in sales, the local market did end on a high note.
George Kypreos, president of Las Vegas Realtors, said he is optimistic the housing market could turn around this year. The LVR report noted that home sales in Southern Nevada have seen “peaks and valleys” in recent years, generally declining since 2021 when a record 50,010 properties sold.
“Although it was a relatively slow year for home sales, we’re seeing some encouraging signs heading into the new year,” said Kypreos in a statement. “Buyer activity locally and nationally is starting to improve. Home prices have been fairly stable, and mortgage interest rates ended the year lower than they were the previous year. Most trends are pointing to a more balanced housing market in 2026.”
Freddie Mac currently has the average price for a 30-year fixed-term mortgage rate at 6.1 percent. That mortgage rate has not gone below 6 percent since 2022.
The all-time high median home sale price in Southern Nevada was broken multiple times last year, and currently sits at $488,995 which was last set in November while the condo and townhome market has dropped substantially from an all-time high that was set in October of 2024 ($315,000) to $275,000 to end 2025.
Major residential real estate brokerages are mixed as to where the market will head this year as Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com have all put out their 2026 projections, and they expect a similar market to 2025. Mortgage rates aren’t expected to drop enough next year to unlock the country’s housing market, new builds will continue to lag, and prices will remain relatively elevated.
Realtor.com said in its report that it predicts a “steadier” housing market next year and a slight shift to a more balanced market. Redfin’s report says 2026 will be the year of the “great housing reset,” which means the start of a yearslong period of “gradual increases in home sales and normalization of prices as affordability gradually improves.”
Finally, Zillow said the housing market should “warm up” in 2026 with “buyers seeing a bit more breathing room and sellers benefiting from price stability and more consistent demand.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
TRUCKEE, Calif. — An avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada on Monday buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said.
Rescuers responded after a 911 call around 2:20 p.m. reported a possible avalanche near Johnson Peak and Castle Peak in Truckee.
The snowmobiler was initially reported missing but then was found under the snow several minutes later, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Fellow recreationists found him but he didn’t survive despite lifesaving efforts, according to the statement.
Emergency personnel were working to safely extract the victim late Monday and to confirm no others were buried.
The sheriff’s office said more avalanches could occur and recommended that people avoid the area.
Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center. The center’s current map shows high risk spots in Utah and Washington and areas of considerable risk in California, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming.
Nevada Preps Winter Sports Rankings
Records through Sunday
Boys basketball
Class 5A
1. Liberty (10-5)
2. Democracy Prep (9-6)
3. Coronado (5-6)
4. Bishop Gorman (9-7)
5. Desert Pines (11-4)
Class 4A
1. Clark (8-5)
2. Las Vegas High (10-4)
3. Losee (7-5)
4. Faith Lutheran (11-5)
5. Shadow Ridge (11-4)
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (9-2)
2. The Meadows (9-5)
3. Boulder City (9-5)
4. GV Christian (8-6)
5. Pahrump Valley (5-7)
Games to watch
All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Tuesday
Losee at Las Vegas
Faith Lutheran at Liberty
Wednesday
Bishop Gorman at Desert Pines
Virgin Valley at The Meadows
Thursday
Coronado at Mojave
Clark at Durango
Friday
Desert Pines at Las Vegas
Virgin Valley at Boulder City
Saturday
Big City Showdown at Coronado
Liberty vs. Desert Pines, 4:30 p.m.
Bishop Gorman vs. Coronado, 8 p.m.
Girls basketball
Class 5A
1. Bishop Gorman (11-1)
2. Democracy Prep (7-4)
3. Centennial (6-3)
4. Liberty (10-7)
5. Shadow Ridge (3-4)
Class 4A
1. Mojave (9-4)
2. Mater East (10-4)
3. Losee (14-5)
4. Del Sol (13-3)
5. Cimarron-Memorial (9-2)
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (6-5)
2. Boulder City (8-6)
3. Moapa Valley (8-4)
4. Coral Academy (7-4)
5. Pahrump Valley (4-7)
Games to watch
All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Wednesday
Faith Lutheran at Shadow Ridge
Centennial at Liberty
Mojave at Desert Oasis
Thursday
Sierra Vista at Cimarron-Memorial, 5 p.m.
Friday
Mater East at Desert Oasis
Virgin Valley at Boulder City
Saturday
Big City Showdown at Coronado
Bishop Gorman vs. Centennial, 6:15 p.m.
Flag football
Class 5A
1. Desert Oasis (8-0)
2. Shadow Ridge (10-1)
3. Arbor View (10-1)
4. Palo Verde (10-3)
5. Liberty (6-2)
Class 4A
1. Virgin Valley (5-3)
2. Sierra Vista (5-2)
3. Mater East (6-3)
4. Clark (7-4)
5. Spring Valley (5-2)
Games to watch
All games at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Palo Verde at Desert Oasis
Coronado at Bishop Gorman
SECTA at Arbor View
Friday
Shadow Ridge at Palo Verde
Canyon Springs at Arbor View
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