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What to know today: Dec. 13, 2022

Solar panels
A new agreement could finally end the empass between NV Energy and supporters of rooftop solar.

Harvard’s Peabody Museum says it will repatriate a large collection of hair samples taken from Indigenous people. Hundreds are from children who were forced to attend Indian boarding schools. And many samples are from the Mountain West, including Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah. Wyoming Public Radio’s Taylar Stagner reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.

The federal government wants to develop more solar energy on public lands in our region. The Bureau of Land Management is updating an Obama-era plan that picked places in six western states with high solar potential and a low risk of creating conflicts with other resources. Now, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland says that plan is getting an update.

The Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office has announced a two-year segregation of 6,239 acres to allow for consideration of the proposed Bonanza Solar Project in Clark County. The lands are located between U.S. 95 to the north, the community of Indian Springs to the east and a utility corridor to the south. A Notice of Segregation published in the Federal Register this week sets the identified land aside from appropriation under the public land laws for two years. In a release, the BLM’s Nevada State Office says using temporary segregation authority gives the time and space they need to make thoughtful decisions on the proposed right-of-way. They say efficient deployment of renewable energy from our nation’s public lands is crucial in achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.

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Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus this week for a conference in Las Vegas about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River. This year's Colorado River Water Users Association meetings are addressing crisis concerns after more than two decades of record drought attributed to climate change. One top federal water manager said recently, “The Colorado River system is in a very dire condition.” The Bureau of Reclamation is collecting ideas about possible actions through Dec. 20. That has officials from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming focusing this week on how to use at least 15% less water next year, or have restrictions imposed on them.

Nevada’s most populous county and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have received subpoenas related to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of former President Donald Trump. Smith was appointed last month to oversee not only the Justice Department investigation into the presence of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, but also aspects of a separate probe involving the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump’s scramble to remain in power. The subpoena received by Raffensperger’s office Monday follows subpoenas served last week in other states and counties. And as of yesterday (Mon), that includes ones sent to local election officials in Clark County. The subpoena seeks similar information as the ones sent to other states.

A man has been sentenced to seven-to-18 years in state prison for shooting a waiter multiple times during a botched after-hours robbery at a restaurant in the Chinatown district of Las Vegas. Rashawn Gaston-Anderson said nothing in court when he was sentenced Monday. The wounded former waiter told the judge he was shot more than 10 times. Chengyan Wang had moved to Las Vegas from China just months before the attack. Gaston-Anderson pleaded guilty in November to felony mayhem and attempted armed robbery under a plea deal that also could lead to dismissal of other criminal cases against him.

The Vegas Golden Knights say leading scorer Jack Eichel was placed on injured reserve because of a lower-body injury. The designation means Eichel must miss at least seven days dating back to when he couldn’t physically play. Eichel has missed three of the past four games. He played in Friday’s 2-1 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. He was out of the lineup in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. Eichel leads the Knights with 13 goals and 29 points.

An environmental group is petitioning federal officials to help reintroduce the jaguar to the Southwest, where it ranged for hundreds of thousands of years before being whittled down to just one of the big cats known to roam the region. The male jaguar named Sombra has been seen roaming in southern Arizona several times since it was first captured on a wildlife camera in the Dos Cabezas Mountains 2016. The Center for Biological Diversity wants the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help launch an experimental population in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest along the border with Arizona.

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An apartment complex near Formula One’s developing race track is up for sale. The Harmon at 370 went on sale for $189M million. The landlord, Laguna Point Properties, said they expect the new owner to demolish the property and create a project that will cater to tourism.

KNPR’s Morning Edition Host, Rick Andrews, joined Nevada Public Radio as an announcer in 2003, shortly after we split into two stations.
Yvette Fernandez is the regional reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau. She joined Nevada Public Radio in September 2021.