Nevada state employees won a round in preserving their rights. The public employees initiative failed to qualify for the ballot. The initiative would have prevented any state employee from serving in the state's citizen legislature.

Working on getting the Western Water Clearing House up and running. If you're interested in following the Las Vegas water grab from rural Nevada or the issues around the Colorado River and its water check it out.

I had a great lunch yesterday with a couple of Senator Reid's staffers. We met to talk about a great program - Nevada Boys' State. It's a program I participated in while in high school and was a counselor for the next year. I look forward to getting back involved with a great program. We also had a great discussion of issues that we don't see eye to eye on. For example we discussed the LIncoln County Development Act of 2004 which the Senator co-sponsored. It reminds me though, why I choose to go back to work in education. It is refreshing to be in an institution where open discourse and debate can occur without people walking away hurt afterwards.

Natalie Everett's article in the current Rebel Yell (UNLV's student newspaper) explores where the blame lies for Southern Nevada's pernicious water problems. The article cites the Southern Nevada Water Authority in stating that more than 85,000 acre feet of water are wasted each year in the Las Vegas area because of improper irrigation (broken sprinklers, watering sidewalks etc.)