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Which Nevada legislative leader travelled to Rio and Dublin, Norway and Normandy?

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Which Nevada legislative leader travelled to Rio and Dublin, Norway and Normandy?


Rio and Dublin, Norway and Normandy, are popular tourist destinations. They are also locations of “legislative leaders study tours” taken by a leader of Nevada’s Assembly last year.

The trips, paid for by outside groups, were among those reported by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager in a financial disclosure statement required under Nevada law.

Yeager, a Las Vegas Democrat, disclosed about $15,500 in expenses for sponsored travel outside the U.S. in 2023, as well as $11,000 in sponsored travel within the country.

“These working trips are never funded by taxpayer dollars, obviously,” Yeager wrote in an email to the Review-Journal.

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The National Conference of State Legislatures sponsored legislative leaders study tours to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Bayeux in Normandy, France; Dublin, Ireland; and Mexico City, Mexico. The State Legislative Leaders Foundation sponsored a study tour to Oslo, Norway, according to Yeager’s disclosure statement.

“National nonprofit, non-partisan groups such as NCSL and SLLF support state legislators with leadership development seminars as well as information sessions and legislative updates from around the country,” Yeager wrote.

NCSL’s mission includes advancing the effectiveness of legislatures and fostering interstate cooperation, according to its website. SLLF is dedicated to professional development for current and future state legislative leaders, it states.

The speaker reported trips in the United States for training, meetings and summits sponsored by the aforementioned groups as well as by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. The locations included Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Newport, Rhode Island.

Yeager also disclosed $12,100 in expenses for tickets, food and beverage related to a Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee fundraiser in Las Vegas. The DLCC works to elect Democrats to state legislatures.

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Asked for specifics on the fundraiser, he said it was in connection with the 2023 Formula 1 race.

“As an unpaid member of its national board, I attended a DLCC fundraiser in Las Vegas around last year’s F1 race,” he wrote. “F1 tickets have a high retail face value, no question about it, and I disclosed that value to maintain transparency. The race was, and remains, an event important to Las Vegas’ local economy.”

He also disclosed $1,500 in expenses for a leaders in technology program sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association. The trade group owns and produces the CES trade show.

Yeager and his counterpart in the Nevada Senate – Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas – were both re-elected earlier this month.

Cannizzaro disclosed $9,100 in expenses for tickets, food and beverage for the DLCC fundraiser. She also reported $2,200 in expenses for a summit in Vail, Colorado, sponsored by the DLCC

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She reported accepting gifts of $2,900 in tickets to events and non-profit dinners, including $1,600 in tickets from Allegiant Stadium to two unspecified events.

In October, the ethics commission required training for the executive director and staff of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District in connection with accepting free Super Bowl tickets. An ethics commissioner also urged government officials not to accept tickets to sporting events offered in Las Vegas.

Among the leaders across the aisle in the Nevada Legislature, Sen. Robin Titus, R-Wellington reported $500 in sponsored travel to attend the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education annual meeting in Phoenix. She was named the Senate minority leader in January when state Sen. Heidi Seevers Gansert, R-Reno, stepped down from the post.

Gansert and Assembly Minority Leader P.K. O’Neill, R-Carson City, reported no sponsored meetings, events, travel or gifts.

The Review-Journal has reported on the disclosed gifts and sponsored travel of Nevada’s constitutional officers, Clark County commissioners, Las Vegas City Council members, and Henderson City Council members.

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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.



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28-year-old inmate at Southern Nevada prison dies

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28-year-old inmate at Southern Nevada prison dies


A man serving time at the Southern Desert Correctional Center for felony reckless driving died last month, the Nevada Department of Corrections said Tuesday.

Shiloh Walker, 28, died at the Indian Springs facility on Nov. 24, a news release said. Cause of death was not listed.

Walker was serving a sentence of up to six years after a plea agreement was reached in 2022 following a DUI crash that happened May 31, 2021 in Las Vegas, according to online court records.

An autopsy was requested following Walker’s death, though results were not available as of Monday evening. Attempts to reach Walker’s family members have been unsuccessful, according to the department.

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Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.



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Is USPS breaking vow not to use Sacramento for Northern Nevada mail?

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Is USPS breaking vow not to use Sacramento for Northern Nevada mail?


After widespread condemnation last year, the U.S. Postal Service backed away from plans to move its Reno mail-processing operations to Sacramento — but did it stay true to what it told the public?

The question arose recently after letters sent from one Carson City address to another in Carson City were both postmarked in Sacramento.

Northern Nevadans did not want first class mail sent from one Northern Nevada address to another going first to California. They sent a unified message to the USPS all the way up to the postmaster general.

Critics of the USPS plan were especially worried about delays from mail having to go back and forth over the Sierra during winter.

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The Washoe County District Attorney’s office filed a lawsuit over the plan, the Washoe County Commission voted to oppose the plan, public comment was universally opposed, and Democratic and Republican elected officials from across the state joined to stop it.

Could it possibly have happened anyway? The answer is yes, temporarily, for a brief time.

How letters sent in Carson City came to be processed at Sacramento USPS facility

A reader told the Reno Gazette Journal they’d twice had letters internal to Carson City postmarked in Sacramento, so we asked USPS if the policy had changed.

“Mail processing for First Class mail that originates in Northern Nevada and is destined to Northern Nevada has not changed,” USPS spokesperson Sherry Patterson responded by email.

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“However,” she added, “without the specific mail piece and class of mail, we cannot determined if there is an issue.”

The reader then supplied a photo of the two envelopes postmarked Nov. 5 in Sacramento, and this was shared with USPS.

“Our processing machine in Reno was temporarily out of service while we awaited a replacement part,” Patterson said after viewing the postmarks to nail down the specific date the letters went through Sacramento.

“To ensure that mail was not delayed during this time, we implemented a contingency plan that involved routing certain mail to our Sacramento facility for cancellation and processing. This measure allows us to maintain service continuity and minimize disruptions for our customers. We understand that this may cause some confusion, and we are committed to ensuring that all mail is processed efficiently and accurately.”

Bottom line: Regarding first class mail that’s being sent to and from Northern Nevada addresses, it’s still USPS policy to process that in Reno at its Vassar Street facility, she said.

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The path these particular letters took, Patterson added, “is indeed an unusual occurrence.”

Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.



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Holiday loneliness affects thousands in Nevada as many face Christmas away from loved ones

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Holiday loneliness affects thousands in Nevada as many face Christmas away from loved ones


LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Loneliness has become a significant health issue for people everywhere, and the holiday season sometimes intensifies those feelings. For many, December looks like family gatherings, matching pajamas and bustling homes. But this time of year can also be very difficult for those who may be battling distance, work commitments or recent life changes.

Marc Valli, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, has lived in Las Vegas since 1988. He moved to Nevada to join a ministry and be closer to his wife’s parents.

WATCH| Shellye Leggett talks to an army vet who’s recently moved into Escalante at the Lakes assisted living facility

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Holiday loneliness affects thousands in Nevada as many face Christmas away from loved ones

“I wanted to come and join ministry here. Also my wife’s parents lived here,” Valli said.

Valli’s wife Barbara, known to friends and family as Bobby, passed away in 2018 after 54 years of marriage.

“I’m still counting the years. We’ve been married 54 years,” he said.

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His children moved him into Escalante at the Lakes assisted living facility in June, making this his first holiday season in his new home.

“People are very nice, they treat you good,” Valli said.

Come Christmas Day, the facility’s common room will be filled with residents ready for holiday activities, but Valli hopes to get outside these walls to see his family that still lives nearby.

“I have grandkids. One goes to Cal Poly. He’s here right now, but he’s on vacation, and then I have two little granddaughters, one’s 11, one’s 7,” Valli said. “I don’t know if they’re gonna come for Christmas or I’m going there.”

Gus Farias, the executive director of Escalante at the Lakes Assisted Living, says many of his residents don’t have family nearby. Keeping their spirits high throughout the holidays is an important task.

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“We can tell when our residents are feeling down. There’s a lot of pressure during the holidays because some of our residents don’t have families that are nearby, but they have us,” Farias said.

The organisation A Mission for Michael released a study showing just how many people are expected to spend the holidays alone this year. Nevada ranked 43rd on the list of loneliest states, with more than 212,000 people expected to spend Christmas by themselves.

“It’s pretty surprising that there’s so many Nevadans that are gonna spend the holidays by themselves,” Farias said.

He says combating loneliness will take a community effort.

“When you’re at the grocery store or whatever, reach, look back and ask them, you know, wish them a merry Christmas or happy holidays and ask them how they passed their holidays in the past because we, we as a younger generation than our seniors, we can learn a lot from that,” Farias said.

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It’s an effort that Valli says makes the holidays a little brighter.

“Oh, it makes a big difference,” he said.





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