KUNR Public Radio: Local News Feed

Lawmakers in Nevada are slated to gavel into a special session Wednesday morning to address a looming budget crisis. According to a report released by the Governor’s Office, Nevada is looking at a $1.2 billion deficit in the state’s general fund.

In a little more than a month, students across Nevada will settle into the 2020-2021 academic year, but as COVID-19 continues to spread, school officials in Washoe County are rethinking what in-person instruction may look like.

A 60-game Major League Baseball season is poised to get underway later this month, but Minor League Baseball Triple-A affiliates across the nation recently announced that their 2020 season has been canceled, and that includes the Reno Aces. Contributor Brian Bahouth of the Sierra Nevada Ally reached out to the team’s general manager to break down the details.

The City of Reno held a virtual town hall on June 22 with top county law enforcement officials to discuss a study on policing in Washoe County. The study was completed back in 2018 by the Guinn Center, a nonprofit, bipartisan organization. Town hall participants examined what work has been done to improve community policing since the study was released, along with what work remains to be done. KUNR’s Jayden Perez spoke with Nancy Brune, executive director of the Guinn Center, to learn more.

Starting this month, Nevada’s new Cannabis Compliance Board will take over regulatory authority of the state’s growing marijuana industry from the Department of Taxation. Originally proposed by Gov. Steve Sisolak last year, the new agency is now tasked, in part, with inspecting cultivation facilities, testing cannabis products and determining who can grow and sell cannabis in the state. KUNR’s Paul Boger spoke with Tyler Klimas, executive director of the board, to better understand what that

Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a directive that gradually lifts the moratorium on evictions starting this week. The eviction moratorium has been in place since late March to protect Nevadans from housing insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck talked to Deonne Contine, the executive director of Washoe Legal Services, about what tenants can expect moving forward.

Reno saw one of its first major wildfire events of the dry season this past weekend with the Poeville Fire. And with the pandemic going on, agencies across the West are having to rethink how to fight fires while fighting the novel coronavirus.

When Governor Steve Sisolak issued stay-at-home orders in mid-March, colleges and universities in Nevada took the unprecedented step of moving all classes online. Now, much like the rest of the state, schools are looking for ways to safely reopen ahead of the fall semester.

Between a global pandemic, the economic downturn and civil unrest across the country, Americans are facing high levels of stress and uncertainty, and many are turning to video games for relief. This reporter happens to be one of them. But can these virtual experiences help in the real world?

Top law enforcement officials in Washoe County spoke during a town hall on Monday, June 22, about some of the steps their agencies are looking at to improve community policing as the national discussion on law enforcement reform continues to unfold.