There are suddenly a lot of empty motel rooms in Carson City now that the Legislature has wrapped up its work.
As Nevadans, we thank those legislators for their dedication - none of them were getting rich by serving as elected officials, after all. And serving as public officials often puts a strain on family and professional life.
We hope they've done their jobs well. In the whirlwind of bills and amendments that gust through the Legislature in the final weeks, it often takes a while for those answers to become clear.
But it's certain that what they've done will change lives. Some prisoners will be set free, for example. Some young children will be attending kindergarten all day. Some people down on their luck will be less likely to fall prey to payday loan businesses charging exorbitant rates.
Will there be unpleasant surprises, like the "green" tax break bill from the previous session that will cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in much needed tax revenue? Somehow, no one anticipated that problem after the 2005 session.
We already know legislators have left town with many problems unsolved, but at least we can be happy that progress was made on most issues. That includes education, road construction and the battle against meth. We guarantee that those will still be at the forefront of the pressing issues they will address in 2009, along with the same primary obstacle that prevented them from implementing wholesale solutions this time around - there's just not enough money to fund every good program that comes along.
In Sunday's Appeal, we'll take the measure of what our legislators have accomplished and how it will affect you.