2018 Nevada Appeal Year in Review

January

2: Carson City legalized recreational marijuana, so that residents over 21 years old no longer need a medical marijuana card to buy cannabis.

3: Carson City was chosen for the third consecutive year for the Levitt AMP Grant, which helps fund the Brewery Arts Center’s free summer concert series.

4: About two dozen protesters from several wild horse advocacy groups gathered outside the Nevada Capitol to call on Gov. Brian Sandoval to overrule his Agriculture Department and protect the Virginia Range horses.

9: Nevada’s total number of registered voters increased by 40,225 over the course of 2017, finishing the year at 1,645,409.

12: The Salvation Army celebrated its new Carson location, branded as a family store at 3320 Research Way, with a ribbon cutting attended by city officials and community members.

14: The capital city’s got its first community radio station when KNVC-FM, the brainchild of Joe McCarthy and Brian Bahouth, went live on the air.

18: Carson City will receive $43,408 of the nearly $16 million awarded to Nevada by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for programs benefitting the homeless.

21: Demonstrators from Los Angeles to New York, including Reno, marched in support of female empowerment and denounced President Donald Trump’s views on immigration, abortion, LGBT rights and women’s rights on the anniversary of his inauguration.

24: Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell returned to the nation’s capital to meet with President Donald Trump about the city’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant application.

25: Tech Mahindra, the contractor hired to revamp and modernize the Department of Motor Vehicles’ computer system, has been fired.

26: Rachel Lindgren, a Carson City native, ran a five-day winning streak on the game show “Jeopardy!” The Carson High School graduate walked away with a total of $75,999.

27: The American Buildings Co. facility on Conestoga Drive is closing. The closure, due to the company moving out of state, is affecting at least 100 workers in Carson City.

30: Ethan Thomas Galloway of Dayton earned the Master Engraver designation from the Firearms Engravers Guild of America — the youngest to do so in the history of the organization.

31: Addressing a deeply divided nation, President Donald Trump summoned the country to a “new American moment” of unity in his first State of the Union, challenging Congress to make good on long-standing promises to fix a fractured immigration system and warning darkly of evil forces seeking to undermine America’s way of life.

February

2: Carson City is thriving thanks to its citizens and city staff, said Mayor Bob Crowell in his annual State of the City address given at the Gold Dust West.

6: Snowpack levels at Mount Rose indicate the area is a month behind of normal snow amounts — which could be considered drought conditions.

8: A new entrance was unveiled at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada with the purpose of enhancing the safety of club-goers.

9: Director of Corrections James Dzurenda promised lawmakers major changes to reduce or eliminate excessive overtime in the department. Overtime recently became a huge issues when auditors reported the prison system had run up a $15.5 million deficit in just the first half of the fiscal year.

10: Nevada’s Silver State Health Insurance Exchange took the first step to remove itself from the federal healthcare.gov system and build its own exchange.

13: Following multiple collisions involving wild or feral horses on Highway 50, the Nevada Department of Transportation is planning a major fencing project along the highway through the Dayton corridor.

14: The Board of Examiners voted unanimously to approve a $5.1 million contract with Washington lawyers to fight President Trump’s proposed restart of the Yucca Mountain project.

15: A former student opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at a Florida high school, killing 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets in the nation’s deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

16: Eric Buhl, 27, of Carson City, was given a life sentence with parole eligibility for the death of a 2-year-old. The District Attorney’s Office argued Buhl beat the toddler to death after she wouldn’t stop screaming.

17: The Carson City Library opened its doors for a grand reopening ceremony to show off the results of a refresh project. The work reflected a new floor plan, polished concrete floors in place of 20-year-old carpet, repainted walls and new florescent lighting.

18: Carson City is rolling out new voting equipment that features electronic kiosks with touchscreens where voters make their selections.

20: Joe Arpaio, the controversial Arizona lawman who gained a reputation as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” spoke at the annual Lincoln-Reagan Republican Dinner hosted by the Douglas County Republican Central Committee.

23: The Carson City Fire Department’s first End of the Year Awards Banquet honored several new hires and other firefighters for going above and beyond the call of duty.

27: After 40 years of operating Cafe at Adele’s at 1112 N. Carson St., Charlie and Karen Abowd have plans to retire and sell the restaurant.

28: Partnership Carson City is adding yoga and other therapeutic exercise classes as part of an expanded mission of working with doctors and people who want to stay pain free.

March

1: Carson High School hosted its annual Career and Technical Education Career Expo to showcase the variety of post-secondary options for students.

2: Statewide taxable sales are up for 90 consecutive months in Nevada, a mark Department of Taxation Director Bill Anderson says is unprecedented.

3: A 178-home project north of Sunridge won approval by Douglas County commissioners. Land use that would allow the Valley Knolls project has been on the books since the turn of the century.

7: Carson City has been awarded a $7.5 million federal grant it needed to complete the South Carson Street project.

10: The Golden Dragons, Carson Montessori School’s First Lego League Jr. Team, became the first junior level team from Carson City to make it to the world competition in Houston.

13: Carson City’s Elks Lodge celebrated 150 years of service, ranging from helping veterans, honoring teachers and funding scholarships for students.

14: Kenneth Moen was chosen to run the Carson City Airport. Moen brings experience as the former general aviation property program manager at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

15: Hundreds of Carson High School students gathered to promote school safety during the National School Walkout, an event that saw students across the country rally a month after a mass shooting in Florida left 17 dead.

16: Plans to convert Empire Ranch Golf Course into a soccer complex were dashed when the sale of the site fell through.

20: A March Miracle-type storm delivered precipitation at almost the same rate as during the miracle March of 1991, meteorologist Chris Johnston said.

22: Rain didn’t deter throngs of Carson City students — as well as Gov. Brian Sandoval and his puppy Charley — from walking to school on the annual Nevada Moves Day.

24: The State Charter School Authority voted unanimously to close the Argent Preparatory Academy — formerly Silver State Charter School.

25: Despite cold conditions, hundreds gathered in Carson City for the March for Our Lives rally, a movement calling for stricter gun regulations.

April

1: Mayor Bob Crowell presided as the Northern Nevada community remembered those who served in the Vietnam War with a ceremony in Mills Park near the Nevada Vietnam War Memorial.

4: Former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and former Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry visited Reno to tell an audience of nearly 1,000 the nation needs to reclaim democracy from the forces that have reduced Congress to a body unable to serve the American people.

5: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Sen. Dean Heller joined Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell and other elected officials to officially announce a $7.5 million transportation grant for Carson City.

6: The Board of Supervisors decided on the basic requirements for the city’s next waste management services contract, including the establishment of mandatory trash pickup.

8: In honor of Child Abuse Prevention month, the Legislative Grounds were decorated in silver and blue pinwheels to symbolize the bright future each child deserves.

12: After being warned Nevada could face another major fire season, the Board of Examiners voted to add just more than $1 million to the Division of Forestry budget.

13: The C-SPAN bus stopped in Carson City to engage students, teachers and local government officials about problems plaguing individual areas.

14: The sheep have returned to the Carson City hills, reducing wildfire threat by eating cheatgrass, weeds and native bunch grasses.

17: CHS celebrated the instillation of a new digital marquee. The animated sign was made possible by Greater Nevada Credit Union.

19: Thought to be extinct since the early 2000s, Nevada’s state fish, the Lahontan cutthroat trout, was rediscovered in a “dinky” stream near the Nevada-Utah border.

20: Carson City Manager Nick Marano announced he wouldn’t seek to renew his contract when it expires on June 2.

24: Carson City’s first spin cycle studio — Lifecycle — opened its doors on Hot Springs Road.

25: The Carson Middle School band traveled to Vallejo, Calif., to compete in the Music in the Parks Festival where it ended up with several awards, including first place in the middle school division, second place overall and the Espirit De Corps award for exemplary behavior.

May

1: City officials broke ground on the $3.99 million roads project to replace water and sewer lines, widen sidewalks, and repave a portion of the downtown street between Robinson and Musser streets as well as one block of each side street.

2: Korean War activist Hannah Kim was in Carson City — during her 90-day, 50-state tour — to visit the Korean War Memorial at Riverview Park and to lay a ceremonial wreath as a thank you to vets.

4: Hundreds gathered at the 21st annual Law Enforcement Memorial ceremony at the Capitol Grounds to honor those who laid down their lives for the sake of the community.

6: After leading Carson Tahoe Health for nearly a quarter of a century, Ed Epperson announced he’s retiring by the end of the year.

10: Carson City became home to a Charters of Freedom Monument, containing exact replicas of the three major founding documents of this country — the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, on display at the Carson City Courthouse.

16: Attorney General Adam Laxalt filed suit against Purdue Pharma, the company that manufactures OxyContin, accusing the company of deliberately deceptive marketing that’s fueling Nevada’s opioid epidemic.

18: Lyon County commissioners unanimously voted to draft language to place an advisory question on the November ballot, giving residents of Lyon County the chance to weigh in on the future of legal prostitution in the jurisdiction.

20: More than 60 CHS seniors were recognized for collectively earning $1.4 million in scholarships, a feat celebrated at the an awards ceremony at Senator Square.

22: Western Nevada College made history with more than 300 students in attendance for graduation.

27: Sierra Lutheran High School graduated its largest class to date with 41 students.

29: More than 200 people gathered at Lone Mountain Cemetery to honor fallen servicemen and women during a Memorial Day ceremony.

30: Carson City’s Nevada Humane Society animal shelter is getting a new animal control truck thanks to the ongoing work of Carson Animal Services Initiative.

31: The Planning Commission went with staff guidance and voted to recommend the Board of Supervisors pass a growth management ordinance allowing 659 residential building allocations in 2019.

June

1: Argent Preparatory Academy graduated its last class as more than two dozen students walked across the stage to receive their diplomas.

3: In light of a nationwide rise in school violence, the Carson City Juvenile Probation Services hosted a training so local agencies have more tools, resources and connections to help prevent a tragedy.

6: Fifty-four students graduated from Pioneer High School with more than 700 people filling the Community Center with cheers and laughter.

8: The Board of Supervisors approved three contracts for the second phase of construction at the Water Resource Recovery Facility.

10: An estimated 5,000 people were in attendance as CHS celebrated the Class of 2018, which had 400 seniors walk across the stage to accept their diplomas.

12: Voters across Nevada are going to the polls to pick who will face off in the November general elections.

13: A wildfire broke out in Voltaire Canyon and was reportedly started by campers attempting to burn excrement and toilet paper.

14: Students, adorned in maroon and silver caps and gowns, filed onto the Dayton High School football field one last time to graduate and say goodbye to their high school careers.

15: Jack’s Bar, a long-vacant historic landmark at the corner of Carson and Fifth streets, has been sold to the Nevada Builders Alliance for $300,000.

16: Chloe Woodruff and Tristan Uhl are the new criterium champions of the Carson City Off-Road event.

17: Citing the convergence of drought, record precipitation and warm temperatures, researchers announced Lake Tahoe’s famed clarity declined 9.5 feet in 2017.

19: Emergency crews from the Division of Water Resources are fighting to plug a leak in the 100-year-old Washoe Dam. The earth and rock dam is leaking at its base beneath the spillway from Little Washoe Lake.

20: Officers with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office have been upgraded with the implementation of body cameras, complying with the legislative statute requiring body cameras on all law enforcement officers in the state.

24: The Carson City Airport celebrated its 90th anniversary at its annual open house.

26: Casino Fandango is in the midst of a makeover and expansion, spending several million dollars on multiple projects, including the addition of upscale convention space.

29: Attorney General Adam Laxalt issued a series of recommendations to improve school safety, including increasing patrols, modernizing safety features and creating active-assailant training programs for law enforcement.

July

8: Another chapter in Western Nevada College leadership is underway with Vincent R. Solis settling in as the college’s new president.

10: Flames raged between homes located above Jacks Valley Road near James Canyon Road with firefighters from across the region responding the blaze.

11: A blessing ceremony took place to kick off a renovation project that will bring a new cultural center and museum to the Stewart Indian School.

12: The 10th annual Concert Under the Starts to benefit the Greenhouse Project featured Jefferson Starship at the Brewery Arts Center’s Minnesota Street Stage.

13: Shaquille O’Neal visited Carson City to keynote a speech at the Governor’s Dinner to benefit University of Nevada athletics.

14: The cast of the 2018 Senior Follies opened its annual production, this year titled “Follies Favorites: A Sentimental Journey,” at the Community Center.

15: The Nevada Appeal published its final Sunday edition before moving to a reduced print publishing schedule.

18: Carson City’s new restaurant inspection process — rating local bars and eateries with A, B, or C grades — went into effect.

21: The Cultural Commission celebrated its 10th anniversary recognizing three of its most instrumental members: Peter Barton, Jeffrey Scott and Karen Abowd.

25: Amid loud protests from wild horse advocates, BLM announced it’s preparing to remove up to two-thirds of the horses from the Fish Springs herd, saying the range in that area can’t support the 78 wild horses there.

28: A brainstorm session characterized Carson City’s workforce housing shortage as a “crisis” and considered it a problem not just for those with low income, but for residents across the board.

August

1: Smoke from several fires in the region inundated Carson City and significantly diminished air quality.

4: The National Weather Service stated July was the hottest month on record for Carson City with an average of 75.8 degrees. That edged out the previous record of 75.5 degrees set in July 2014.

8: What’s being called the finest known set of 19th century silver dollars struck at the historic Carson City Mint from 1879-1883 has been acquired intact from an anonymous Nevada resident for $1.2 million by rare coin expert Barry Stuppler of Woodland Hills, Calif.

15: A new Lompa Ranch development — consisting of 137 single-family houses and 296 multifamily units, with 12 acres of total common open space and a three-acre park — is under review.

18: Two fast-food restaurants, including a Chick-Fil-A franchise, and another 6,000 square-foot retail building are planned on 2.5 acres on the southeast corner of Appion Way and Cochise Street.

22: Target shooting at the rifle range caused a fire, estimated at 218 acres, in Brunswick Canyon.

25: The renovation of Jack’s Bar, the historic and decaying building at the corner of Carson and Fifth streets, is underway.

29: Carson City resident Florence Phillips is CNN’s Hero, a weekly feature honoring “everyday people changing the world.” Phillips is the founder and director of the ESL In-Home Program of Northern Nevada.

September

1: The Planning Commission met to consider a casino at the former Grandma Hattie’s, a move for the Salvation Army, a new residential development in part of Lompa Ranch and a zoning change for an RV park on Old Hot Springs Road.

5: Carson City closed out the fiscal year with an 8.5 percent increase in taxable sales that pushed the capital over the $1 billion mark for the first time.

8: Runners and walkers participated in the annual memorial run-walk on the anniversary of the Sept. 6, 2011, shooting at the International House of Pancakes in Carson City.

12: Carson City residents were told never to forget 9/11 in a remembrance ceremony in Mills Park commemorating the terrorist attack that occurred 17 years ago.

15: Four years after Gov. Brian Sandoval brought the long-dormant Nevada Commission for Women back to life, members christened their first major exhibit: Silver State Sisters: Women Transforming Nevada.

21: Carson City is sending a message to cannabis businesses hoping to open more pot shops here — it’s not going to happen. The city posted a letter on its website stating city ordinance doesn’t allow any more marijuana dispensaries or retail stores.

26: Dean DiLullo, the owner of the Carson Nugget, is expanding his business into Dayton with the Nevada Nugget at 6 Retail Road.

29: Crews are working to build the Battle Born Memorial to fallen soldiers behind the state Capitol.

OCTOBER

3: Two Carson City parks facilities — the Carson Aquatic Facility and the Bob Boldrick Theater — will be closed at the end of the year and into the new year for major rehabilitation projects.

6: The museum upstairs in the Capitol reopened with a completely new design and approach to telling Nevada’s story.

10: An estimated 12.4 percent or 281,355 Nevadans suffer from diabetes and the cost of insulin to the patient in some cases has risen by 17 to 27 percent in the last two years, a preliminary state report shows.

13: Carson High School students Jill Beglin and Jack Dudley were crowned Homecoming King and Queen.

17: State agencies have filed proposed budgets with the Governor’s Office that would require $9.5 billion in General Fund cash and a total of $27.5 billion for the coming two years spending cycle when all revenue sources are added together.

17: Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch, died at the age 72.

20: Carson City Public Works is working on roughly two dozen large and small stormwater projects around town. The two biggest projects — separate projects that together run from 5th Street to Clearview Drive — are on the drawing board as part of the multimillion dollar project to redesign South Carson Street.

24: Carson City is reevaluating plans to dispose of land on the city’s east side after nearby property owners voiced opposition. The 17.45 acres of vacant land is located east of Edmonds Drive at Bennett Avenue, between Conte Drive and Gentry Lane and surrounded by residential development.

27: State forester Casey KC told lawmakers 1.3 million acres of Nevada was burned in the 2017 fire season and another 1.1 million acres through October in 2018.

31: . The Martin Hotel, a Basque restaurant, in Carson City is set for a Nov. 1 opening.

NOVEMBER

3: Casino Fandango threw a party to celebrate the opening of its new convention space. The casino has added 7,000 square feet of meeting space, which can be sectioned off into four separate break out rooms, with state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment.

7: Democrats Jacky Rosen and Steve Sisolak won races for Nevada Senator and Governor during the mid-term elections.

10: Gold Star families and friends of the military, gathered behind the Capitol for the dedication of the Battle Born Memorial to Nevada’s fallen heroes.

14: Businesses and organizations throughout Northern Nevada raised funds and collected donations to help fire victims affected by the Camp Fire in the Paradise, Calif. The fire killed 86 people and destroyed more than 18,000 buildings.

17: The Board of Supervisors voted to reinstate a traffic enforcement program that was dropped in 2011 due to budget cuts. The enforcement program will include enforcement and education, add two deputies and a support specialist, all full-time, and cost $267,826.46 annually.

21: Teens riding scooters and bikes cracked three granite slabs causing $45,000 worth of damage to the newly dedicated Battle Born Memorial behind the state Capitol.

24: Vintage at Kings Canyon, the controversial westside development approved in 2016 but stalled since, is delayed. The planned unit development was scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on Wednesday, but the action on the agenda item is to continue the request to a date uncertain.

28: Carson High School students and the community gathered for a balloon release. Along with being a tribute to their lost loved ones, the balloon release also was a way for those who participated to show how this community has come together, how it has become stronger and to cope with their loss.

December

1: The Carson City Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors a zoning map amendment and tentative subdivision map to build 270 single-family houses on 68.3 acres of a 119-acre development that will also include multifamily apartments on 18 acres and commercial space on 14 acres at the east end of town. The commission also recommended a zoning map amendment to convert five parcels at the south end of town, between Cochise and Voltaire streets, to retail commercial, paving the way for plans to build a multifamily development of 140 or more apartments there.

5: The renovation of Jack’s Bar — soon to be renamed the Bank Saloon, a return to its original identity ?? is moving along. Aaron West, CEO, Nevada Builders Alliance, which bought the Carson City icon and is rehabilitating it, gave a presentation on the project to a joint meeting of the Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee and the Historic Resource Commission.

8: Nancy Paulson is Carson City’s new city manager. The Board of Supervisors directed staff to craft a two-year contract for Paulson, who has been serving as the interim city manager since Nick Marano left midyear.

12: Pointing to the progress in dealing with issues ranging from rape test kits to military legal assistance and opioid addiction, outgoing Attorney General Adam Laxalt praised the efforts of his leadership team and staff.

15: Nevada’s Native American community is hoping its traditions and values aren’t overlooked in favor of a more scientific process with the repatriation of objects and remains as a new legislature comes on board in 2019.

19: Northern Nevada celebrated a crowning achievement with the ribbon cutting for a new $47 million state veterans home. Located at 36 Battle Born Way in Sparks, the new 102,000 square foot, state-of-the art facility must receive state and federal credentials before it begins to accept residents in the spring.

22: The 15th annual Holiday with a Hero event for Carson City children paired 239 youngsters with officials and military representatives from Carson City, Douglas, Storey and Lyon counties and Walmart representatives to help them pick out Christmas gifts for family members or themselves.