Ric Anderson

Story Archive

RTC chief bullish on bird’s-eye view of transportation in the valley

Monday, Nov. 1, 2021

As CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, M.J. Maynard’s job is to help make it easier for people to get around in the Las Vegas Valley ...

The story of SB452: How an unlikely alliance helped block a plan to allow casinos to become gun-free zones

Sunday, July 4, 2021

The defeat of the proposed legislation was a stunning and frustrating setback for gun-safety advocates, who had argued that the bill was an appropriate reaction to a recent rise ...

State treasurer digs into the details to try to make life better for Nevadans

Monday, May 24, 2021

Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine forged a successful career as a casino executive and business consultant before entering public service. Why did he make the switch — and take the pay cut that came with it?

Why Nevada deserves special federal aid

Friday, April 17, 2020

By early March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued an advisory against crowds of more than 250 people, yet Florida’s beaches were jumping with spring breakers. Nevada was different — it moved quickly to shoulder the responsibility for the safety of its workers, our residents, our guests and …

Las Vegas’ Asian businesses felt the coronavirus’ financial effects sooner than most

Monday, March 23, 2020

The Asian community in Las Vegas was the first to feel the economic effects of the outbreak and therefore has suffered the longest, starting in late January, when the Trump administration imposed restrictions on travel to the U.S. from China.

With video billboard messages in heart of Strip, Bloomberg turns the tables on Trump

Friday, Feb. 21, 2020

As Donald Trump staged a rally Friday in Las Vegas, Mike Bloomberg found a creative way to try to get under the president’s notoriously thin skin — bigly. Bloomberg, the New York billionaire and Democratic presidential candidate, bought time on ...

Mecum Auctions event rolls into final day with cars, guitars and neon

Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019

Mecum Auctions has sprinkled some distinctive local flavor into the company’s third-annual car auction this year in Las Vegas ...

Former regents chair disapproved of Page's behavior toward UNLV

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

For the first time, an overseer of the state’s higher education system has indicated that Nevada Regent Kevin Page acted inappropriately in 2015 when he pressed UNLV to give special treatment to one of his relatives. Rick Trachok, who has served twice as the board’s chair since becoming a regent in 2011, said in an email that ...

Sources say Page violated regents ethics policy in strong-arming UNLV

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Before Nevada Regent Kevin Page tried to pressure UNLV into giving special treatment to one of his family members in 2015, the Board of Regents had adopted ethics standards specifically prohibiting ...

Analysis: Was threat against UNLV part of a power play by regents?

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Recently, it was revealed that Nevada Regent Kevin Page threatened UNLV officials with retaliation in 2015 if they didn't give special treatment to one of his relatives who was a student at the time. Now, the campus community wonders if the threat led to ...

Analysis: Venomous politics once again surround ESAs in Nevada

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts were born and reared amid heated political rancor, and on Monday it appeared the controversial voucher-type program was ...

State Democrats' 'to-do' list will spur big changes. But how big?

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019

In past sessions of the Nevada Legislature, the Democrats’ “Nevada Blueprint” could have been described as a wish list. Not this year. With Democrats in control of the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature, the blueprint — a collection of the party’s goals and ...

Brookings expert: Light rail would be an antidote to sprawl, LA-like commutes

Friday, Feb. 8, 2019

For Southern Nevada residents who may be on the fence about whether to support development of light rail, the Brookings Institution’s Adie Tomer offered some compelling food for thought during a visit to UNLV …

Mayor: NLV thriving, 2 new wings on way to Nellis

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019

North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee’s annual State of the City address on Tuesday included many of the usual elements of such a speech — a rundown of private and public ...

Another bubble? Experts assess housing market and more

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019

Business people from across the Las Vegas valley gathered at UNLV today to see a snapshot of the Southern Nevada economy and hear experts offer outlooks on the region’s future. The Las Vegas ...

5 things to know about Mecum's second Las Vegas car auction

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018

Local residents who’d like to get beyond their TV screen and into the immersive experience can do so this week when Mecum holds its second car sale in Las Vegas ...

Analysis: Expert cautions against current plan for UNLV med school

Monday, Oct. 15, 2018

A two-phase plan to build out the UNLV Medical School was created as a way to move the school forward, but it could become a major setback that turns off donors and results in ...

In bid for younger customers, motorcycle makers modify their offerings

Friday, Oct. 12, 2018

The motorcycle industry’s sales are sagging as its core customers are aging out and younger generations aren’t replacing them. To reverse the slide, the industry is creating new products and changing ...

Energy expert: ‘When people can make money fixing a problem ... the problem gets fixed’

Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018

When Samantha Gross visited UNLV in 2018, President Donald Trump had just announced that he planned to rescind the Clean Power Plan. Fast-forward a year, and Gross was back in Las Vegas on the day when António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, told global leaders that the world had less than two years to avoid “runaway climate change.”

Q+A: Chancellor discusses UNLV president search, med school's future and more

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018

When will UNLV start looking for a new president? Will Gov. Brian Sandoval be the university's next leader? Those were among the issues Chancellor Thom Reilly discussed ...

Loss of donations over Jessup ordeal looms over UNLV med school future

Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018

For all of the new plan’s support, it hasn’t fixed a major part of what’s broken about the medical school — the loss of millions of dollars in gifts from major donors ...

Jessup urges UNLV supporters to keep rallying for the university

Friday, June 29, 2018

Len Jessup says his lasting memories from UNLV include a number of big-splash moments, such as celebrations of fundraising and enrollment milestones as well as the opening of the university’s medical school. But things that happened far more quietly were just as ...

Trump protest shows political engagement is on the rise in Las Vegas

Saturday, June 23, 2018

When Donald Trump got elected, Sandy Huggard got off the sidelines. The lifelong Las Vegas resident, who was among several hundred people who protested Trump’s visit to the city today, said she had stepped away from political activism in recent years but became re-engaged in outrage over ...

TEDx event at UNLV aims at opening eyes, minds

Monday, June 11, 2018

It’s repeated so often that it goes largely unchallenged: In economically disadvantaged communities, young people are at extreme risk of drug usage, gang activity, violent crime and unplanned pregnancies ...

Q+A: UNLV med school dean grateful for outpouring of support

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

The turmoil surrounding UNLV President Len Jessup in recent weeks spilled directly into the university’s School of Medicine, where Dean Barbara Atkinson found herself facing uncertainty over whether she would be ...

Analysis: UNLV supporters on high alert toward NSHE, regents

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

At last Tuesday’s meeting of the UNLV Foundation, members were told that Chancellor Thom Reilly was encouraging them to speak with him about the future of ...

Analysis: Why UNLV faculty and staff are frustrated with state leaders

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The tone was civil and the exchanges were polite, but the crowd’s questions and comments carried an underlying message of concern about the state officials’ leadership ...

Analysis: Stirrings on Yucca Mountain bring out foes

Friday, April 27, 2018

Alarmed by what they feared was movement toward easing Nevada lawmakers’ long-standing opposition to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository ...

UNLV medical students: ‘If we lose, nobody in the state wins’

Friday, April 20, 2018

Five UNLV medical students discuss what’s happening at the school, how it’s affecting them and how they feel about the situation that led to President Len Jessup ...

Q&A: Expert describes why Congress is ‘broken’

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

As shown by dismal approval ratings — an anemic 15 percent in the most recent Gallup poll — Americans have a low opinion of Congress. That disdain is justified, says Molly Reynolds. Reynolds, a Brookings Institution expert on ...

Nevada State College president: ‘We’re not just changing lives, we’re changing family trees’

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Fifteen years ago this spring, Nevada State College consisted of three classrooms, a library and 177-member student body in a converted …

Building a better education in the post-recession world

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

While job prospects have improved for many Americans since the recession, Martha Ross says the recovery hasn’t been so kind to those who …

It's official: Jessup resigning as president at UNLV, taking job in California

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Citing what he described as “unfounded and unjustified” attacks by members of the Nevada Board of Regents and Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Thom Reilly, UNLV President Len Jessup announced today that he was reluctantly ...

UNLV’s Jessup said to be leaving for prestigious California college

Thursday, March 29, 2018

UNLV President Len Jessup is rumored to have accepted a job at Claremont Graduate University in California, and sources told the Sun an announcement may be coming in the next 24 hours that he’s leaving Las Vegas. It’s unclear what position Jessup has taken, but the rumors came less than two weeks after he announced to to the campus community that he had begun looking for opportunities elsewhere. Jessup made that announcement amid ...

Amodei, the teen and the F-word: Answers to 5 burning questions

Thursday, March 29, 2018

In the days it was first reported that U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei's office reported a Reno high school student who used coarse language in a phone call, more details have become clear ...

Analysis: Advocates look to 2018 midterms to restore, protect ACA

Monday, March 26, 2018

With a voice that was nearly taken from him by a rare form of cancer in his larynx, Joe Merlino makes a powerful argument in favor of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion ...

Analysis: Chancellor’s announcement appears to ease pressure on UNLV's Jessup

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Days after it was revealed that a faction within the Board of Regents was pressuring UNLV President Len Jessup to leave the university, the third-year president appeared to ...

Q+A: Why this Brookings expert took the VA to task over medical marijuana

Monday, March 19, 2018

The title of John Hudak’s January report examining the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ response to a congressional inquiry on medical marijuana pulls no punches. “When the VA lies to Congress about medical marijuana, it lies to our wounded warriors” ...

Analysis: Jessup shouldn’t be targeted for contract, supporters say

Thursday, March 15, 2018

An agreement signed by UNLV President Len Jessup for the university to receive a $14 million gift for its medical school has become ammunition in a behind-the-scenes attempt ...

Analysis: Funds, talent could bleed away from med school if Jessup departs UNLV

Thursday, March 15, 2018

UNLV’s medical school could suffer major losses in funding and talent if UNLV President Len Jessup leaves Las Vegas. Barbara Atkinson, the dean of the medical school, said the disruption in leadership threatened to halt progress in ...

Analysis: Concerns over regents’ leadership put UNLV medical school funding in doubt

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Funding for UNLV’s medical school building may be collapsing as two megadonors, citing concerns over the Nevada Board of Regents’ leadership, have rescinded or begun reconsidering gifts totaling $39 million. Future gifts also ...

Analysis: Jessup’s uncertain future at UNLV alarms supporters

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

UNLV President Len Jessup and Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Thom Reilly have been in discussions over the past several weeks about Jessup leaving the ...

NRA can’t help in lawsuit over gun background checks

Friday, Feb. 23, 2018

Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s chummy relationship with the National Rifle Association may win him votes in his campaign for governor, but ...

How Trump’s attack on renewable energy and the EPA hurts Nevada

Friday, Feb. 23, 2018

The proposed cuts, along with tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imported solar panels, threaten to slow the development of Nevada’s renewable energy industry ...

Anti-Trump activist Steyer targets GOP's Heller, Laxalt

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018

Billionaire anti-Trump activist Tom Steyer visited Las Vegas today with a vow to defend “Dreamers” and immigrant families facing deportation. Steyer, whose campaign against Trump has ...

A biography of ‘a real billionaire’: William Rempel delivers a look into the life of Kirk Kerkorian

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018

Kirk Kerkorian never defaulted on a loan, was allergic to taking credit for his accomplishments, hated being the center of attention and didn’t want his name on anything — not even his company parking space. So imagine William Rempel’s surprise when, while writing a new biography on Kerkorian, he discovered that ...

Q&A: Will your kid’s teacher soon be replaced by a robot?

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018

As a researcher who specializes in education, Michael Hansen was watching closely as President Donald Trump took office in January. Trump had made a campaign promise to steer billions of dollars into expanding ...

State of the Union: What might it mean for Nevada?

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018

Las Vegas drew a mention early on in Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, when the president alluded to the Oct. 1 tragedy as one of the challenges the nation faced during his first year in office. But how might Las Vegas be affected by the policies and initiatives that ...

Tourism chief: Raiders will spur growth of sports medicine in Las Vegas

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018

Nearly a year after Steve Hill told an audience at the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance’s annual outlook event to hold out hope that the Raiders stadium deal hadn’t fizzled, he ...

Mecum auction turns Las Vegas into 'motorcycle mecca'

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018

Winter weather makes January a bleak time for motorcycle riders in much of the United States, but an event in Las Vegas offers a warm spot on the calendar. The annual Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction has grown into a gathering place for bike enthusiasts around the ...