On the afternoon of April 1, President Barack Obama pulled out the pom-poms and assumed the role of cheer captain at the White House Rose Garden to celebrate the great Obamacare victory. The Affordable Care Act had reached its purported goal of 7 million sign-ups, and by the March 31 deadline, no less.
Editorials
RJ
Speaking of local government cuts: The Southern Nevada Health District soon will lay off 50 to 60 employees.
RJ
The city of North Las Vegas needs to find ways to save big money. Its budget deficit for the coming fiscal year is $18 million, and the government’s estimated seven-year shortfall is $152 million. City management can’t attack those numbers with scissors — it needs a chainsaw.
RJ
The federal government’s incompetence in public land management has been obvious for decades. Far from protecting natural resources, many of Washington’s practices are killing off species and harming the environment. But that doesn’t stop agencies from regulating the public’s use of public land with a heavy hand while allowing costly federal failures to continue in perpetuity.
RJ
Unions are desperate to boost declining membership. Through 2013, only 11.3 percent of wage and salary workers belonged to unions. Growing public-sector membership is the only reason the figure is that high — 35.3 percent of government employees belong to a union, while just 6.7 percent of private-sector workers are union members. Where can unions go to organize new members? Where left-leaning thought and indoctrination rule the day: college campuses.
THE LATEST
RJ
Now we know why the Public Employees Retirement System of Nevada worked so hard for so long to keep pension data hidden from state taxpayers. A new study has determined that Nevada provides its government workers with the most generous retirement benefits in America.
RJ
Imagine the outrage from local public employee unions if any Nevada government tried to cut worker pay outside the collective bargaining process. The North Las Vegas City Council tried only to freeze employee pay and block costly pay raises through an emergency declaration, but the city’s unions successfully sued to restore those raises. (Never mind that the city couldn’t afford them.)
RJ
The left is predictably apoplectic over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the cap on the total amount of money an individual donor can contribute to federal candidates and party groups during a single, two-year election cycle. One candidate declared Wednesday’s 5-4 ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC the court’s worst decision “since the Dred Scott case reaffirmed slavery in 1857.”
RJ
Nevadans legalized medical marijuana more than a decade ago. Last year, the Legislature finally caught up to the constitutional amendment by authorizing dispensaries to sell the drug to patients. Soon more sick Nevadans will be buying and using medical marijuana — fully within the law.
RJ
Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller is no fan of anonymous political speech, never mind the country’s long history of such protected expression. But the collective push from Democrats to root out conservative donors reveals the backers of such speech have good reason to keep their names secret.
RJ
Voting to strike and actually going on strike are two very different things. On Thursday, the Culinary Local 226 did the former. If the union follows through on the latter, it will be the group’s most significant work stoppage in Las Vegas in 30 years.
RJ
Every Republican wants the Sheldon Seal of Approval. And they’re more than happy to come to Las Vegas to get it.
RJ
This Obamacare mandate couldn’t change. On March 11, a mere 20 days ago, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokeswoman Julie Bataille said of the March 31 Affordable Care Act enrollment deadline: “We have no plans to extend the open enrollment period. In fact, we don’t actually have the statutory authority to extend the open enrollment period in 2014.” On March 12, Rep. Kevin Brady of the House Ways and Means Committee asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “Are you going to delay the open enrollment period beyond March 31?” Ms. Sebelius replied, “No, sir.”
RJ
Plenty of government bodies can be criticized, justifiably, as unresponsive. The Behavioral Health and Wellness Council isn’t one of them.
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LETTER: Guess who’s in the middle of another scandal?
Jeremy Renner took break from ‘Knives Out’ to open Nevada camp for foster kids
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