Throughout his long legislative career, Joe Neal used his bully pulpit to call for death penalty and prison reforms, national health care, women’s rights, increased funding for public education and libraries, better environmental protection for Lake Tahoe, greater commercial fire safety and higher taxes on the gaming industry.

Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam says Wilbur Ernesto Martinez Guzman, a Carson City resident who is either 19 or 20, was taken into custody Saturday afternoon on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property and immigration law violations. He’s being held in the Carson City Detention Center under 24-hour watch from medical and mental health personnel.

Gov. Steve Sisolak unveiled his two-year $8.9 billion state budget during his State of the State address on Wednesday. Here's how the proposal stacks up to the state's last budget, and what areas will see increased spending.

The appointments include both executive branch agencies and appointments required of the governor, who under state law is given wide latitude to appoint members to dozens of agencies, boards, regulatory agencies, commissions and certain vacancies. (A list of Sandoval’s appointments between 2011 and 2013 runs for 36 pages, and the section of state law referencing various required gubernatorial appointments references 230 separate entities).

The state approved a first-of-its-kind plan to reduce water use in Diamond Valley, a community caught between a desire to maintain its agricultural industry and the realities of water availability in the high desert. The plan revolves around the concept of a water market. But it also deviates from Western water law — and will almost certainly be challenged in court.

Congress remained in a partisan stalemate over the partial government shutdown last week, which was on track to continue indefinitely as of Friday.

Clark County Superintendent Jesus Jara spent Friday walking the School Board of Trustees through the proposed strategic plan that, ultimately, becomes the measure by which they evaluate his effectiveness. The superintendent has shared parts of the plan with principals and community members over the last month, but the board retreat marked the first time trustees saw the 32-page document.

Nearly 20 drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers submitted reports to the state detailing the costs of manufacturing and distributing diabetes drugs in advance of a Tuesday deadline, and state officials continue to comb through others received this week as they prepare to undertake their first examination of the factors contributing to the costs of treating Nevadans with diabetes.