Nevada
Trades high school marks first year: ‘Experience, that helps you a lot more’
Wyatt Foster is excited to get excavating training and do excavating work in the upcoming school year.
The incoming junior at Southern Nevada Trades High School, an east Las Vegas charter school that focuses on educating students to work in trades in the construction industry, spoke of his goals at Saturday’s open house at the school.
“College is nice, it helps you get jobs,” Foster said. “But experience, that helps you a lot more.”
Foster was joined by dozens of people, including Gov. Joe Lombardo and school faculty members, at the open house. The event was held to mark the end of the high school’s first school year and to showcase what the still-under construction facility offers for its close to 90 students and to highlight the fact enrollment is now open for grades 9, 10, and 11 for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.
That relatively small student body is expected to grow next year to almost 200, with school officials hoping to teach up to 400 students once the building’s construction is finished, speakers said at Saturday’s open house, which also featured food trucks.
The school, at 1580 Bledsoe Lane, differentiates itself from other high schools by focusing on giving students experience, skills and the certificates they would need for their chosen career path, school officials said.
“What makes (this school) special is that we’re not only preparing them for college. We acknowledge that college is not for everyone. We want to give students skills so that they know if college is not the path they want to take, they can get good-paying jobs straight out of high school,” said Principal Candi Wadsworth.
While students receive a typical education in math, English and science, they also receive hands-on training in various trades as electives. The school has regular classrooms, but also boasts a construction workshop, where students can work on larger projects.
Wadsworth said that students will construct, from start to finish, a tiny home as their final project. Working on a tiny home will allow students to try different aspects of construction, like flooring, insulation, HVAC and electrical work, she said.
“This structure used to be a church whose purpose was to teach and prepare the community spiritually,” said Brett Willis, the chair of the school’s board. “Now, this building has been given new life as a high school, ready to teach and train 400 students to go out into the community prepared for both college and career.”
Parents at the open house spoke of how the curriculum offered at the trades-oriented high school is a much better fit for their child.
“College is not for everyone. I know my child. I know that’s not his thing and I’m glad he has something else,” said Natasha Garcia, whose son is enrolled for the upcoming school year.
Lombardo, who met with students, parents and school administrators, said he hopes to see more similar trade schools opening up.
“Of course, I want more trades schools like this to open but that’s dependent on the private sector to make that leap,” Lombardo said. “The basis of a charter school is a private-public partnership, so we need private parties to take on the hurdle of funding it and maintaining it to the future.”
Lombardo, spoke about signing into law the highly-contested Assembly Bill 400, which allowed cities to sponsor charter school development.
As a result of the bill, the City of North Las Vegas and the City of Henderson were approved to sponsor charter schools.
For parents like Garcia, the focus on real-world job experience is something that has, for the first time, ignited an eagerness to learn in her son.
“It’s not just learning about something, they’ll be doing something, hands-on. This is the first time I’ve seen him excited for school. I think its going to be the change that he needs. You know, you can’t force a love for school,” joked Garcia.
Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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