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The Democrats in Nevada are in a state of alarm. They should be.

The Trump administration is doing what it does best—cutting through waste and ensuring taxpayer money doesn’t rot in bureaucratic slush funds.

On Wednesday, Democratic leaders warned that the state might lose millions in unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, but the truth is that the money isn’t theirs to hoard. Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager made their concerns known during a meeting of the Interim Finance Committee.

Their worry arose after Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, a Republican, dismissed the panic as unfounded.

“There’s a lot of worry and a lot of panic out there,” said Titus, the Republican voice of reason. “I’m not sure anyone really knows for sure. But we do know that we have these (ARPA) funds in bank accounts, earning interest for the State of Nevada, and they’re there.”

Nevada received $2.7 billion from ARPA, with nearly half—about $1.3 billion—still sitting there, unspent. And yet, the Democrats act as if it has already been lost, rather than admitting sitting on it while everyday Nevadans struggle.

Trump, not one to let bloated spending slip through the cracks, issued an executive order Monday freezing federal grants and loans, throwing the usual D.C. bureaucrats and state-level spenders into a frenzy. Legal challenges followed, with a federal judge blocking the freeze. Another judge, predictably, appeared ready to do the same on Wednesday.

The money isn’t gone—it just isn’t being thrown around carelessly, and that’s what frustrates Democrats.

Cannizzaro, eager to stir fear, pushed back.

“I don’t think we have that much clarity,” she said, citing conversations with state agencies unsure what the funding freeze might affect.

Yeager, another Democrat scrambling to keep federal dollars flowing unchecked, urged state agencies to spend the money “as quickly as you can” before Trump could reclaim it. That advice speaks volumes.

If the funds are for essential projects, then what’s the sudden rush?

According to reports, the remaining funds are for housing initiatives, broadband expansion, public health infrastructure, education, and childcare. All noble causes on paper, but with billions still unspent, the question isn’t whether Trump is overreaching—it’s why hasn’t the money been put to use.

Legal experts, predictably aligned against Trump, claim the executive orders represent an overstep of presidential power. But the real issue is whether taxpayer money should sit idle in government accounts, waiting for the next spending spree, or whether a businessman-turned-president has the right to demand accountability.

The Saga of Rotten Moon

A Mine and the Broken Promise

The land was quiet before they came. The wind moved through the pass, and the people went there like always.

They called it Peehee mu’huh, Rotten Moon, because of what had happened long ago.

The soldiers came in 1865, and they left bodies behind. The blood dried, and the people remembered.

The miners followed. The Bureau of Land Management gave them a permit.

They wanted lithium. They said the country needed it. They authorized the permit in January 2021.

The pandemic made things bad. Tribal offices were closed. The virus had taken too many.

There was no consultation, but the digging began anyway. The United States had signed papers agreeing to protect Indigenous rights, but the law did not require it.

The Winnemucca Indian Colony and the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe said no. The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, the Burns Paiute Tribe, and the Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute Tribe said no.

They fought in the courts. The Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute wrote to the United Nations.

The land was sacred. It had been for a long time.

But the mine went up. A fence came first—barbed wire and signs telling the people to stay away.

They guarded the road, the old places where they had gathered food and medicine locked behind gates. Lithium Americas said they had done what was required, following the law.

A report came out. Human Rights Watch and the ACLU said the mine was illegal under international law. The government had not gotten consent.

The consultation had been rushed, done poorly, done in a way that made sure it would not change anything.

The mine is still there. The earth is being torn open.

The promise was fragmented, like before.

High Penalties, Low Payments

In Nevada, candidates and political action committees must file campaign finance reports on time or risk fines of up to $10,000. But in practice, these penalties rarely translate into full payments.

Over the first 11 months of 2024, the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office assessed more than $440,000 in fines for campaign finance violations. One of the largest—more than $20,000—was levied against the PAC tied to Attorney General Aaron Ford—for which no one is surprised.

Despite these figures, most fines remain unpaid, with many likely to be waived or reduced. The state has little means of enforcement.

The only tool—filing a lawsuit—is too costly and time-consuming, which is why Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has not pursued a single case in his two years in office.

The problem has prompted officials to push for reform in this year’s legislative session, aiming for a system that ensures accountability without imposing disproportionate penalties. Under current law, candidates and PACs face fines ranging from $25 to $100 each day a report is late, with a $10,000 cap per violation.

However, some of the steepest fines have fallen on candidates in unpaid positions who neither raised nor spent money, contradicting existing rules meant to limit such penalties. Derek Stonebarger, candidate for the Beatty Water and Sanitation Board, was hit with a $18,000 fine—later reduced to $250.

Since 2008, the state has never collected more than $37,000 in campaign finance fines in a single year. During the 2020 election cycle, fines worth more than $2 million were assessed–but over half remain unpaid.

Officials hope legislative changes will provide a balance: strict enough to ensure compliance but reasonable so penalties don’t become punitive exercises in futility.

But at What Cost?

The Nevada Senate voted 20-0 on Wednesday to ease restrictions on egg sales, sending AB 171 to Governor Joe Lombardo for his signature. The Assembly passed it 41-0 the day before.

The bill, backed by lawmakers and the Nevada Department of Agriculture, would allow retailers to sell eggs from non-cage-free facilities, small local farms, or other classifications in times of emergency or national supply chain disruptions. The Retail Association of Nevada praised the move, calling it a step toward solving the egg shortage.

“Our legislative leaders stepped up to support Nevada’s retailers in bringing more eggs into the state,” said the association’s senior vice president, Bryan Wachter. “We are grateful to the U.S. Humane Society and other stakeholders who joined this process to ensure consumers receive much-needed relief.”

Relief for now, maybe. But Nevadans have seen bipartisanship before.

They know nothing comes cheap.

UPDATE–Jeffrey Chapman walked into the VA hospital on Kirman Avenue before dawn. He had a weapon.

Officers told him to stop. He did not.

The medical examiner said Chapman, 58, of Reno, lunged at police. They fired. He died there in the emergency room.

The FBI has taken over the investigation. There are no further details.

They looked for him. They found him. They took him in.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender Task Force started the hunt on February 6. A man in Fernley. A Tier 3 sex offender who wasn’t playing by the rules.

His name was Rogelio Barocio. Thirty-nine years old.

He was supposed to register. He didn’t.

On February 11, they got him. He’s locked up in the Lyon County Jail on one felony count.

Lyon County has more like him. Too many.

The Sheriff’s Office knows it. They check, they watch, they keep after them.

If a person is on the list, they stay on the list. If they try to slip away, they bring him back.

The Sheriff’s Office says they want total compliance–100 percent.

The people of Lyon County can help. See something, say something.

The law moves fast, but it moves faster with eyes everywhere. Contact the Task Force.

Send them an email at sotf@lyon-county.org.

The wreck sits just past Geiger Lookout, northbound on State Route 341, heading to Reno.

It’s 8:51 in the morning. What a bad time for it.

Traffic crawls, brake lights stretching down the grade. Law enforcement is on the scene.

Men in uniforms move slowly but surely. Drivers sit in their cars, waiting.

Some drum their fingers on the wheel. Others stare.

No way around it. If you’re going that way, you’ll be late.

The shots came early, before dawn. Then a call for help.

Police at the VA hospital needed backup. Reno officers answered, securing the scene, but the case was no longer theirs.

The FBI took over.

It happened at 2:30 the morning of February 12, near the ER entrance, where Locust and Burns meet.

No one says what led to it. No one says who fired first. No one says if anyone fell.

The FBI keeps its mouth shut, calling it an active investigation. States there’s no danger to the public.

The emergency room stays open, but the way in is blocked. Patients find another door.

People ask questions. The hospital says nothing. The FBI says nothing.

Maybe in time, the truth will come out. Maybe not.

If you know something, say something. Secret Witness takes anonymous tips at 775-322-4900.

A Fight Over History

The law says one thing. The calendar says another.

If you look it up, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is October 13. That also happens to be Columbus Day.

But in Nevada, the law marks Indigenous Peoples’ Day as August 9. Democratic Assemblywoman Shea Backus wants to change that with Assembly Bill 144.

Backus, who represents northwest Las Vegas, learned last year that even her bank didn’t recognize the August date. The signs on the door were clear.

They were observing the holiday alongside Columbus Day. That, it turns out, is where the real fight is.

“I don’t oppose an Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” Janine Hansen said. She leads Nevada Families for Freedom and has run for office more than once. “But when you put it on Columbus Day, you erase Columbus Day.”

That, some would argue, is bad for history. Columbus never set foot in what is now the United States.

He sailed to the Caribbean. He never saw the Great Plains, crossed the Mississippi, or laid eyes on the lands that later became Nevada. Whether that history is seen as a triumph or tragedy, erasing it does not change the past.

During the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs hearing in Carson City, all parties spoke in a politically correct manner. But no one wanted to say what was obvious.

“Indigenous Peoples’ Day isn’t just about recognition,” Backus said. “It’s about placing Indigenous voices at the forefront of decisions that shape the future of the state.” She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Tuesday was Nevada Tribes Legislative Day, and the room filled with supporters of AB144.

Speakers from at least four tribes stood up for it.

“Our history exists whether or not it’s in your textbooks,” said Mathilda Guerrero Miller of the Native Voters Alliance of Nevada. “Our contributions shaped this state long before Nevada was even a name on a map.”

Nevada has 20 federally recognized tribes, 28 bands and colonies, and over 60,000 urban Indians. Supporters included Make the Road Nevada, UNLV, and members of the Walker River Paiute Tribe.

Now, the bill sits in the Assembly’s hands. If it moves forward, the Senate will decide.

The date on the calendar may change. The fight over history will not.

Washoe County has a new Registrar of Voters. His name is Andrew McDonald.

He is the fourth or maybe the fifth. No one is sure anymore.

His job does not include cleaning up the voter rolls. That is the voter’s problem.

McDonald replaces Cari-Ann Burgess, who left last September. He has worked in elections before, in Clark County and San Diego, Calif.

Now, he will make $175,240 a year to screw things up even more–here.

The county commissioners approved him. One of them, Clara Andriola, gave a speech.

She thanked McDonald. She thanked the process.

She said he was professional. Then, she seconded the motion.

Now, the county has a new registrar until they need another one.