LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Joyce Woodhouse, a longtime Nevada educator and state senator who spent decades fighting for Nevada families, has died.

Woodhouse retired after 40 years as a teacher and administrator with Clark County School District. She also served many years as a member of the Nevada State Senate.

“We lost a true champion for educators, for children, for our union,” said Dawn Etcheverry, president of the Nevada State Education Association.

MORE ON FOX5: Former Nevada state senator Joyce Woodhouse dies

Etcheverry said Woodhouse was known for her mentorship and dedication to education policy.

“She was truly a teacher. Every moment she spoke to you, she took time to give you some insight and teach you the latest thing you needed to know, because we definitely do this job on the shoulders of the people who came before us,” Etcheverry said.

Former state Sen. Maggie Carlton worked alongside Woodhouse for years on public education reform.

“If things were really tough, she was the one in the room that was kind and made sure that everyone was in a good place when the conversation was over,” Carlton said.

Carlton called Woodhouse a Nevadan by choice.

“She left the state better than she found it,” Carlton said.

Attorney General Aaron Ford said Woodhouse influenced his early political career.

“I think the very first campaign I ever worked on was for Senator Joyce Woodhouse, knocking doors for her to be elected to the state Senate,” Ford said.

Ford praised Woodhouse’s professionalism and commitment to public service.

“She was such a constant professional who was dedicated to doing what was best for not only her own district, but for the state,” Ford said.

When asked how Woodhouse should be remembered, Etcheverry said her focus on children defined her career.

“None of us went into this job for anything but what was best for children. And that’s where she led from. And so she was always the teacher in the room. And I want people to remember her for that,” Etcheverry said.

Woodhouse was inducted into the Clark County School District Hall of Fame earlier this year in honor of her lifetime of work in the district. She was also welcomed into the Senate Hall of Fame last year.

Several state and local law makers shared their condolences following Woodhouse’s passing, you can see more here.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t admit it, but a move by President Donald Trump is especially helpful to drivers in California — and Nevada.

Gasoline prices are pressuring consumers around the country. On Friday, the average U.S. price was $4.55 a gallon. In California, that would be a bargain. The average there was $6.16 a gallon. Nevada’s average was $5.23 a gallon, the result of around 88 percent of the state’s gasoline coming from California.

It might be getting worse — regardless of what happens in Iran.

In recent months, two major California refineries have shut down. That represented a 17 percent reduction in California’s refining capacity. Their closures weren’t caused by the Iran war, but by Gov. Newsom and California’s relentless attacks on fossil fuels.

To make up for the fuel it won’t extract or refine in-state, California depends on imports from foreign countries.

“We are importing 30 percent of our crude oil from the Middle East,” Mike Ariza, a former control board supervisor at the Valero Benicia Refinery, said in an interview. He has been warning the public about California’s potential fuel shortage. “There are not very many ships left on the way that have fuel,” he said last month.

Last week, KCRA-TV in Sacramento reported that “about 2 million barrels of oil are in the process of being unloaded in Long Beach off of the last California-bound tanker that got through the Strait of Hormuz.”

At a California legislative hearing Tuesday, Siva Gunda, the vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, said the state has enough gasoline to accommodate demand for the next six weeks. That’s not a very long time, especially given that it takes weeks or months for oil to travel from the Middle East to California. And that process won’t begin until the Strait of Hormuz reopens.

There is a region, however, with abundant oil available for sale and safe passage — the southeastern United States. Unfortunately, the Jones Act, an antiquated 1920 law, mandates that only U.S.-flagged ships may move cargo between U.S. ports. But only 55 of the more than 7,000 oil tankers worldwide comply with this requirement.

This is where Mr. Trump rode to the rescue. Late last month, the White House announced Mr. Trump would suspend the Jones Act for another 90 days. In March, he originally waived it for 60 days. This will make it easier for California and Nevada to obtain domestic product.

If only Mr. Trump could also suspend the destructive energy policies imposed by Gov. Newsom and California Democrats.