Nevada
‘Water does have a memory’: Indigenous lecturer stresses importance of conservation
Looking out at a crowd of about 150, Melanie Smokey grinned as she told the story of her upbringing with Native American elders to a captive audience.
Smokey, who is of Western Shoshone and Washoe descent, argues the water we use every day is a resource worth saving.
“Water does have a memory,” she said. “It does have emotions and feelings, and we know that because it comes out of us.”
She was the first lecturer in the Nuwu Pasats Speakers Series, where members of Nevada’s Indigenous tribes will discuss the importance of natural resources. The series leads up to the opening of a new garden at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas in the fall, where staff will grow native plants and describe their value to local tribes.
Throughout the talk, Smokey shared different cultural traditions related to water and the land, such as the importance of willow plants used in traditional basket-weaving. Smokey’s grandparents, Art and Alice Hooper, were instrumental in establishing the reservation for the Yomba Shoshone Tribe in Nye County.
As tribal elders age and die off, it can be a challenge for those who belong to lesser-known tribes to make sure the language and culture doesn’t die with them, Smokey said.
“Our people pray this forward with tears, even. Their sacred water praying for all of us to be here today,” she said. “One day, like these willows, you can be formed into something good.”
Preserving the Southern Paiute culture
Before the lecture, Springs Preserve archaeologist Ian Ford-Terry led nearly 60 people on a walking tour of the botanical gardens where staff are beginning to grow seeds for the new garden with the help of the federal Bureau of Land Management.
Not only will the garden help bolster native plants in the valley, but there are efforts underway to make the garden a historical site that will feature audio clips of the native language, thanks to the help of a group of Southern Paiutes.
Native American culture and native plants coming together at the garden will hopefully make the Southern Paiutes more visible, he said.
“That’s one of the reasons why we’re really focusing on those plants,” Ford-Terry said. “They can teach us about how to live better in a balanced way.”
Kenny Anderson, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribal Council’s cultural committee chairman who is leading the language preservation effort, said he’s thrilled to see so much interest in preserving the culture of the Southern Paiutes, who don’t have a recognized historical footprint in Las Vegas.
“To me, it’s a good thing that we’re going to try to help people understand the history of the Paiutes of this area and learn how they survived,” Anderson said.
Contact Alan at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on Twitter.
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The defending 5A state champion Centennial Bulldogs (7-3) open conference play with a challenging road test Wednesday night when they travel to Henderson to face the Liberty Patriots (10-7) in a Nevada 5A Southern basketball clash.
Coach Karen Weitz’s Bulldogs, seeking their second consecutive state title, will rely on their formidable frontcourt duo of forwards Nation Williams and Inieye Oruh, complemented by standout guard Sanai Branch. They will face a Patriots squad that has shown marked improvement under head coach Lorenzo Jarvis, powered by senior leaders Samantha Chesnut and Kiana Harworth alongside junior standout Neviah Nick.
With Liberty’s home court advantage potentially neutralizing Centennial’s championship pedigree, this early conference matchup could set the tone for both teams’ title aspirations in the competitive 5A Southern division.
Opening tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, January 7 with a live TV broadcast on NFHS Network.
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What: Defending champ Centennial faces resurgent Liberty in 5A Southern showdown
When: Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, January 7
Where: Liberty High School | Henderson, Nevada
Watch live: Watch Centennial vs. Liberty live on the NFHS Network
Nevada
Tahoe man loses $20K at Nevada casino and threatens to bomb facility before arrest, police say
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.
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