The boom or bust nature of the Southern Nevada economy jeopardizes our growing gig economy. “Gig workers” are self-employed individuals who file 1099 forms instead of W2 forms to the IRS, where the employer withholds payroll taxes from their employees’ earnings. Payroll taxes fund government safety-net programs, notably unemployment insurance. However, 1099 workers do not receive many of the benefits that W2 workers do since they do not pay into those safety-net taxes.

Nevada’s colleges and universities plan to continue to offer a large majority of classes remotely during spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Dec. 11, the UNLV Performing Arts Center will host a special Zoom concert featuring world-class guitarist Ricardo Cobo. It’s part of UNLV’s part of its “Live from” series.

Now that a COVID-19 vaccine is starting to be distributed, provided it works as well as everyone hopes, life might return to normal sooner than what had been expected. That’s the optimistic position gaming analysts and executives are taking, and they now eye a possible 2022 return to pre-coronavirus levels. If this holds true, it will beat previous expectations considerably, as some industry analysts have previously asserted that a return to normal levels wouldn’t be possible in Las Vegas until at least 2023.

Nevada could have its first allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine as early as mid-December, Gov. Steve Sisolak said Wednesday.

The pandemic may have hit the local and national economies like a ton of bricks, but economists are optimistic that both will undergo speedy recoveries.

The League of Women Voters of the United States’ governing board voted Wednesday to dissolve the venerable voter rights group’s Nevada chapter after a series of apparent battles with local leadership.

Throughout the pandemic, teachers’ unions in many states and large districts have played a powerful role in negotiating school closures and reopenings. And with coronavirus cases surging around the nation, the labor groups are continuing to flex their political muscle, most often pushing for a more conservative approach to getting teachers and kids back in buildings.

On November 17, U.S. Sentator Rand Paul of Kentucky compared the effectiveness of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines with "naturally acquired COVID-19" on Twitter. He folllowed-up by asking, "Why does the left accept immune theory when it comes to vaccines, but not when discussing naturally acquired immunity?" Besides ignoring the point of vaccines, which is to protect the public BEFORE they get sick, the comparison of natural COVID-19 infection and vaccine efficacy is inaccurate. Reinfections have not been confirmed and the efficacy of naturally-acquired immunity is still not understood. A person has to survive or suffer through the infection to get protection from naturally acquiring COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises all people, including those who have recovered from COVID-19, to continue to physically distance, wear masks, wash their hands and avoid crowds.