Today's Opinions

Since the first newspaper was published here in 1869,  dozens of newspapers have emanated from Las Vegas, as we noted at the beginning of this series. 

We began with the Optic, our town’s most enduring newspaper, and recounted how it was started by Russell Kistler in 1879, and how the irascible founder helped forge the separation of East and West Las Vegas.

In an executive message attached to the state budget bill signed into law last week, Gov. Susana Martinez states that she is committed to ensuring that state government never grows beyond its means.

Martinez’s stance on fiscal matters is refreshing, particularly given the excesses and binge spending of her predecessor. The $5.9 billion budget that Martinez signed maintains reserves at a projected 11 percent. Maintaining a healthy reserve is critical, given economic uncertainties and looming federal spending cuts.

The plan was to make this my last column. Yes, the idea was to end on this topic, ideally with Column No. 1000, which would have been during the first few months of 2022. Figure, 52 columns a year (I’ve never missed a week!); today’s column is around No. 540, so we’re more than halfway there.