The Daily Rundown - December 2, 2025
🖋️ Governor Joe Lombardo signed the last of the bills from Nevada’s special legislative session yesterday. Eight of 13 had already been signed, leaving five remaining, including Lombardo's crime bill. This bill has seen several iterations at this point. Fentanyl trafficking penalties are no longer part of the signed law. The Resort Corridor Court did make it into the final version. The court faced some opposition from groups like the ACLU, which argued it would violate First Amendment rights by restricting freedom of movement. Perhaps the most notable change from the special session prevents Nevada schools from allowing law enforcement to access school grounds or records without a warrant.
⛰️ With that state business coming to a close, the Henderson City Council meets today to discuss future business. On the docket this afternoon: public land. Several items on the agenda pertain to the annexation of nearly 200 acres of Bureau of Land Management land by the city. The land to be annexed is situated between the western boundary of the city and Interstate 15, from St. Rose Parkway to the southern boundary of the city. The documents on the agenda also note there will be a public hearing on the matter dated Jan. 6, should the items pass as written. The Bureau of Land Management has delivered to the city a written statement indicating there is no objection to the annexation from the agency.
🐈 The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas took in 76 cats from two homes the day before Thanksgiving, and they say they are so over capacity that some cats are doubled up in kennels. They now have more than 100 cats available for adoption. Every adoption includes spaying or neutering, vaccines and a microchip. If you can't adopt, cats are available for short-term fostering. Details are on their website and Facebook page.
🚜 The patchwork of irrigated and fallow land foreshadows a difficult future for agricultural valleys across Nevada and the West, where policymakers and irrigators are looking for new ways to address water overuse. For decades, irrigators in Smith Valley and elsewhere have pumped groundwater far faster than it could be replenished, causing declines in water storage and depletion of river flows.
Across the state, the declines have prompted officials to threaten shutting off wells — and farmers and communities to engage in costly legal battles. They've also given rise to locally based efforts to conserve and test once-unthinkable ideas as solutions to use less water.
Read more about how Nevada's water usage is affecting the state in this story from Desert Companion.
🎨 The Nuwu Art Gallery and Community Center is growing its Las Vegas presence with a new spot in the Arts District. Rents have been steadily rising in the Las Vegas Arts District over the past several years. The nonprofit IndigenousAF saw an opportunity to bring more arts businesses to the 18-block neighborhood. Artist and IndigenousAF founder Fawn Douglas says she's noticed that people of color typically don't own their own art spaces. It's why the Nuwu Art Gallery and Community Center, which she opened on Maryland Parkway in 2022, is owned by people of color. She says it offers artists an affordable alternative.
Read more about the Nuwu Art Gallery expansion from KNPR's Jimmy Romo-Buenrostro
