For three months, the Affordable Care Act has been all about website and enrollment glitches, with the former often the cause of the latter. Make no mistake, these problems haven’t gone away just because the calendar turned to Jan. 1, 2014 — when Obamacare officially became the so-called law of the land. But the new year was supposed to bring a new phase of the law: people actually having health insurance.
Editorials
The federal government picks winners and losers all the time. Mostly losers.
The rush to replace retiring water czar Pat Mulroy is a testament to her political clout and the importance of the valley’s water agencies. Nevada’s power brokers — Ms. Mulroy among them — have no interest in seeing an unfamiliar outsider fill her considerable leadership void. Not when the job of keeping potable water flowing from every tap, every minute of every day, is at stake.
If a government agency is warning about potential service cutbacks with public safety and pocketbook ramifications, it’s a sure sign said agency is dialing up the pressure to get more tax money.
The holidays brought the terrible news that Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman, son of current Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and former Mayor Oscar Goodman, had been found in a park restroom with a serious head injury.
Welcome to the brave new world. Obamacare finally becomes the law of the land on New Year’s Day.
When elections come around, there’s no shortage of information available for high-profile positions, particularly at the federal level, with the deluge of advertisements for presidential candidates and congressional office seekers. Closer to home, statewide offices such as the governorship, attorney general and Senate/Assembly contests gain sufficient attention. But one area that tends to get overlooked is judges. Voters often don’t have the information they need to cast an informed ballot.
The new year brings with it a milestone moment in Nevada: 150 years since joining the union as the 36th state, on Oct. 31, 1864. The Review-Journal has been celebrating since Nevada Day 2013, on Oct. 25, when it launched a yearlong project in the run-up to the official sesquicentennial anniversary of Nevada Day 2014, on Oct. 31 — exactly 150 years to the day marking Nevada’s statehood.
While no one in their right mind favors animal abuse, a state lawmaker’s proposed animal abuse registry is a massive overreach, creating a list of people who will be permanently and openly identified as criminals for life.
The valley’s new Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been a model of consistency — it’s had problems from the very beginning. The facility’s cost ran way over an initial estimate of $286 million to about $1 billion. Since opening in 2012 (some three years late), there have been issues with quality of care, highlighted most recently by the case of Navy veteran Sandra Niccum.
When it comes to Obamacare hypocrisy, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has plenty of company. That masquerader’s club now includes Nevada’s junior senator, Republican Dean Heller.
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