As school ratings show some statewide gains, education officials call for more sharing of best practices

Castro’s strategy, perhaps more so than any other presidential campaign here, hinges on winning Nevada, the first state in the West to hold a presidential nominating contest and the most diverse of the four early nominating states. Not only has he visited the Silver State more than any other presidential hopeful, he has also participated in the widest diversity of events while he’s here.

“Often the argument for solitary is for safety, right? It's to keep the prison safer, to keep society safer,” said Elena Vanko, one of the Vera Institute researchers who worked on the Nevada report. “But there really isn't the evidence to support that solitary ... changes people's behavior or deters misbehavior.”

Facing six figures of mounting health care debt, Navy veteran John Weigel told Bernie Sanders he had lost all hope.  “I can barely take care of myself,” Weigel said. “I do not have any energy to fight these people and every time I get on the phone with them, they piss me off.”

Speakers included White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who encouraged a crowd that organizers pegged at 1,500 to counter the latest Democratic wins in the state. Laxalt, who said he is not running for office next year, said his mission is to help re-elect President Trump and help other Republican candidates win.

Back from their August recess, the Democratic-controlled House last week approved three bills to ban offshore oil and gas exploration off the nation’s eastern and western coasts, off the coast of Florida and in Alaska’s Arctic wildlife refuge, all which split the Nevada delegation along party lines.

Las Vegas chamber representatives came to the nation’s capital last week to advocate for a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, but Nevada delegation members expressed concerns about worker protections and election-year politics holding up the deal.

Tina Quigley, the longtime head of the Regional Transportation Commission, announced Thursday that she’s retiring from her post in November, ending her career in the public sector. She previously spent 15 years working at McCarran International Airport. While mum on her next steps, Quigley sat down for an interview on the Indy Matters podcast to discuss her tenure with the RTC.

The Clark County School Board of Trustees approved a contract Thursday night with the union representing licensed educators, formalizing a tentative agreement reached last month amid threats of a teacher strike.