![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/86226a8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/222x296+8+0/resize/150x200!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6e%2Fce%2Fcce9e6ba42fcb42fa23c1d21ac4c%2Fnvpr-staffphoto-2022-fernandezy-img-2616.jpg)
Yvette Fernandez
Regional Reporter, Mountain West News BureauYvette Fernandez is the regional reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau. She joined Nevada Public Radio in September 2021.
Before joining, she worked as a reporter in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Phoenix in both radio and television. She has won awards including a regional Emmy for spot news coverage, a national award for investigative reporting from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and several others.
Yvette has also been a consulting professor with C.A. Specialized Training Institute, teaching first responders and public information officers how to conduct various types of interviews and prepare for news conferences in emergencies
Yvette is bilingual in English and Spanish and jokes she learned French in Mexico, having attended a trilingual school there. She earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism at Arizona State University. Yvette enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, Maya.
-
Tribal communities across the country are being allocated $45 billion for “climate resiliency.” This includes big projects such as improving community electric grids and creating solar, wind and battery storage.
-
This week, the Biden administration announced more than $300 million in funds are being distributed to states and local communities aimed to help make housing more affordable.
-
The Heat Resilience Lab in Las Vegas is one such project, and it is taking a closer look at "urban heat islands" — places in cities that don't have as many natural features to mitigate heat and are hotter than surrounding areas.
-
A study focused on the Great Salt Lake in Utah looked at the correlation between decreasing water levels and and increase in harmful air particles. It's an issue that could affect other lakes around the country.
-
Currently, there is no national standard for worker protection during extreme heat, only a patchwork of state guidelines. New federal guidelines call for minimum standards, such as access to water and shade, and an acclimation period for new workers.
-
Forbes released a list of the most expensive cities to visit, and three Mountain West cities made the top 10: Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque.
-
Most states have “winter protections”, meaning a utility company can't shut off power when the weather is below a certain temperature. But less than half of states have similar “summer protections.” And utility rates have risen almost $300 more than they were a decade ago.
-
Latinos want an immigration policy that “fair, firm and free of cruelty” – that's according to a new survey from UnidosUS that polled 800 registered Latino voters. Latino voters believe providing a path to citizenship for long-term undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients can be accomplished alongside strong enforcement.
-
The study, called “Climate Change in the American Mind”, shows a majority of people prefer to vote for a candidate who supports “action on global warming.” But the sentiment in our region is most prominent among liberals and less of a concern for conservatives.
-
Bump stocks are devices that attach to guns and allow a rate of fire similar to machine guns. The accessory was banned by the Trump administration in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, which happened a country music festival in Las Vegas in 2017.