A seemingly straightforward resolution introduced by Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) failed to advance out of the Legislature thanks to a confluence of factors most notably including Rep. Mark Amodei's (R-NV) failed last-minute federal amendment to sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of public land in Nevada as part of the Republicans' budget reconciliation package.

Nevada's public land hosts mines, supports recreation, houses wildlife in need of conservation and generates renewable energy. Now, its public land is being asked to pull more weight as it is considered as a solution to the state's affordable housing shortage.

Because the Vegas Loop is privately operated and receives no federal funding, it is exempt from the kinds of exhaustive governmental vetting and environmental analyses demanded by the other cities that Elon Musk's company sought to host the project.

When Clark County commissioners unanimously agreed earlier this month to an $80 million settlement with an aggrieved developer hoping to build thousands of homes across from Red Rock National Conservation Area, they closed the book on a years-long string of litigation that had threatened to bankrupt the county.

Once named the nation's "dirtiest coal plant," NV Energy's Reid Gardner in Southern Nevada is now a battery storage facility.