Las Vegas Sun

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Searchlight)U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) penned an opinion piece in Sunday's Las Vegas Sun, saying that expanded use of renewable energy sources was the nation's key to lower fuel prices and energy independence.

Reid, who will host the National Clean Energy Summit  in Las Vegas later this month, said that the Silver State is uniquely positioned to benefit from renewables.

An exerpt from the op-ed is posted below:

"Right here in Nevada, the solar projects awaiting Bureau of Land Management approval could power millions of American homes in the not too distant future. The total solar thermal energy potential in the desert Southwest is seven times the nation’s entire electricity demand — enough to consistently charge millions of plug-in hybrid cars and trucks. We also sit atop one of the largest supplies of geothermal energy in the world."

"This is an ambitious vision, but I believe by working together, we can accomplish these goals. Companies and venture capitalists are lining up to invest in renewable energy, but local, state and federal governments must do much more to ease the transition. Congress has been trying to pass long-term tax credits for renewable energy, but political opposition could delay billions of dollars in investment and shut out many economic opportunities and new green jobs important to Nevada."

U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Carson City)The Las Vegas Sun ran a story Friday analyzing the national reaction to U.S. Rep. Dean Heller's (R-Carson City) comments that the Republican Party needed to "clean house."

After an initally strong reaction against Heller's remarks, the Sun noted that many conservatives came out in support of the freshman Congressman.

U.S. Rep. Jon PorterThe Las Vegas Sun ran a story in Sunday's paper detailing U.S. Rep. Jon Porter's (R-Henderson) efforts to create a government fund to promote U.S. tourism abroad.

The paper noted that Porter has led a spirited charge to marshall support for tourism since taking over as co-chair of the U.S. House Travel and Tourism caucus early last year.

A key source of economic activity in Porter's Las Vegas-area district, tourism has been sluggish in recent months thanks to the rising cost of gasoline and flagging attendance at area casinos.

The Las Vegas Sun ran a story in Monday's paper profiling Sean Fellows, a Republican running for state assembly against April Mastroluca in District 29.

According to the Sun, Fellows doesn't mention his party affiliation in any of his campaign materials, and he brings it up only when asked during door-to-door campaigning. 

The paper's story says Fellows is hoping to sidestep the issue of partisanship in an attempt to target Democrats and other voters who are down on Republicans because of the unpopular policies of the Bush administration.

Gov. Jim Gibbons' response to a Nevada Appeal photo of him embracing a woman in a parking lot is drawing attention from some national media outlets.

After the Appeal snapped a secret shot last month of Gibbons with his arms around Leslie Durant -- a former Playboy and the ex-wife of a former Reno mayor -- the governor railed against the insinuation that the relationship was sexual.

"What troubles me is all these people speculating every time I bump into somebody that happens to be of the opposite sex," Gibbons told the Las Vegas Sun.

"You can talk to Leslie, but I think she will tell you if (there's something that) takes the romance out of a friendship it’s being there when her child is born. I held her hand when her child was born."

That remark drew the attention of Talking Points Memo, which posted a story about the flap Monday. AOL followed with a story on one of its news blogs Tuesday.