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Margin tax poll for foes shows it passing, 53-42
The Coalition to Defeat the Margin Tax has a new poll that shows The Education Initiative winning by 53 percent to 42 percent. The survey, conducted by national Democratic pollster Peter Hart, was taken last month of 800 Nevada voters, with about a 3 percent margin of error. The poll is the first I know of that used the language of the ballot question: Shall the Nevada Revised Statutes be amended to create a 2% tax to be imposed on a margin of the gross
Tesla coming, special session in works
Lawmakers have been briefed about a special session to begin as soon as next week as Gov. Brian Sandoval is poised to announce Tesla Motors will build its gigafactory in Nevada, sources confirm. CNBC also has the story. Let the tax breaks begin!
GOP attorneys general group tries to rescue Adam Laxalt
The Republican Attorneys General Association has produced an ad for attorney general hopeful Adam Laxalt, an attempt to define him in other ways than a devastating law firm evaluation that described him as a "train wreck."
UNLV economists revise controversial margin tax study
Remember that UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research margin tax study that caused all the hullaballoo, except in the two major Las Vegas newspapers that all but ignored it? Well, it has now been "revised," and re-posted on the center's site.
Two potential 2016 Reid foes coming to DC to raise money
UPDATE: Sandoval, who is usually not so partisan, is hooking up with the National Republican Congressional Committee for another event while he is in DC. So now he's a "special guest" of Speaker John Boehner & Co. And....Johnny Bench, too! At Nationals Park! Invite attached here. ---- Gov. Brian Sandoval and his proposed understudy, state Sen. Mark Hutchison, are going to DC later this month to raise money, right in the backyard of a man either could challenge in 2016.
AG files seven-count complaint against Washoe County school trustees for violating public trust
UPDATED WITH TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERVIEWS WITH TRUSTEES AND MARTINEZ The attorney general's office has filed a seven-count complaint against the Washoe County School District for its botched firing of Superintendent Pedro Martinez. Martinez is back at work and took a $25,000 settlement, but the AG is not done with the trustees. The AG wants up to $500 for each count from each trustee for violating the Open Meeting Law and the public trust. More to come, but complaint attached here.
How do you like them apples?
The Nevada Jobs Coalition, which raised nearly seven figures last cycle and is run by Team Hutchoval, mailed its first pieces into key state Senate districts during the last few days, with a common theme: Apples. It seems both Becky Harris, running against state Sen. Justin Jones, and Patricia Farley, taking on Assemblywoman Marilyn Dondero Loop, have a lot in common, including apples and Gov. Brian Sandoval. See what I mean by looking at the pieces, which are attached here.
Culinary parent launches new Obamacare site
Two months before the general election, UNITE HERE has erected a new site with a quixotic name: "Fixing Obamacare: An Honest Discussion." The site contains a column by the union's leader, D. Taylor, who has been very critical of the Obama Administration, but also has sections criticizing the GOP. The union appears to have an eye toward 2016 here but the impact could be felt in 2014, where Democrats had hoped the deleterious political effects of Obamacare had subsided.
GOP treasurer candidate Schwartz kicks off general election TV ad season
On Labor Day, GOP Treasurer contender Dan Schwartz has made a small TV buy with a couple of 15-second spots.
MY COLUMN: Time for Democrats to take responsibility for lack of education plan, poor taxing choice for voters and Sandoval juggernaut
News item: State Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson is named “Legislator of the Year” by the "National Education Association’s Pacific Region Republican Educators Caucus.” So now we know what it takes to get Nevada Democrats angry and activated. Not the putrid state of education funding in Nevada leaving the state near the cellar.