NV Energy’s planned multibillion-dollar transmission line connecting wide swaths of the state has turned into a regulatory battle between the state electric utility and a watchdog agency over the potential and timing of future rate hikes for customers already grappling with rising power bills.

Read for a summary of the most interesting storylines in the Legislature this year, and how discussions are playing out across different policy areas.

We told you many stories — more than 1,800 — with an ever-growing crew of reporters, interns, podcast and video producers and dedicated editors. In this article, we've highlighted some of our favorites.

But even with more stringent steps to combat the pandemic local governments have had widely divergent responses to the situation.

A division has emerged among Nevada Resort Association members over revisions to legislation that would allow laid-off gaming and tourism workers to return to their jobs. One company vows to oppose the modified bill and even seek a veto from Gov. Steve Sisolak.

But 2020 wasn’t an anomaly. Issues of grid management and resource adequacy — having enough power to meet demand, the same issue that befell California last year and Texas this year — aren’t going away anytime soon. The future for the planet is an increase in extreme weather events, and Nevada is in the bullseye of states most likely to experience massive temperature swings and the full effects of climate change.

The governor, who in the past has been hesitant to require mask-wearing, said he was concerned with both the rising COVID-19 caseloads in the state as well as well-documented photos and videos of crowded Las Vegas casinos with most people not wearing any kind of facial covering.

Nevada recorded its first two presumptively positive coronavirus cases last week. Still, no one knows how widespread the coronavirus will emerge in Nevada or how long it will last, making public health and economic predictions difficult, if not, impossible.

“It’s a really exciting time because all of our competitors and peers on the Strip — Caesars, Sands, Wynn — we’re all sitting together at a table talking about the issues surrounding food insecurity and food donations and how we can collectively come together as a unit to help drive and scale food donations even more within our city,” said Price. “It’s amazing to see all of us coming together to help drive this very important cause.”

The proposed contract and pricing system were given a thumbs up from the state’s Public Utilities Commission in a draft order released last month and was officially approved on a 2-0 vote during the commission’s Wednesday meeting.

Eldorado Resorts CEO Thomas Reeg said the Reno-based company will need to sell at least one of the three casinos it will own in Tahoe once a $17.3 billion merger/buyout of Caesars Entertainment is completed early next year.

Until recently even avid NFL fans would have been hard-pressed to give you an in-depth read on Josh Shaw. Although in his fifth season in the league, the cornerback from USC hadn’t made much of an impression in the professional ranks.

The deal, which is up for approval at the water authority’s board meeting on Thursday, is worth $2.5 million with an automatic annual four percent increase that will see the annual payment top out at about $3.5 million by 2029.

Phil Satre and his wife, Jennifer, were planning their next visit to a U.S. national park when Elaine Wynn approached the long-time gaming figure more than a year ago about joining the board of Wynn Resorts as it dealt with allegations of sexual harassment and assault against CEO Steve Wynn.

In a short, one-page letter submitted to the Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, Two Blackbirds Hospitality Management LLC (parent company of The Drew) announced that it was withdrawing its application to depart NV Energy and purchase electric power from another provider. The $3.1 billion project, which took over from the failed Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort casino, isn’t scheduled to open until 2022.

The two contracts offer a unique view into just how far NV Energy — which is owned by the Warren Buffet-run Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate — is willing to go to entice large Nevada power users to remain utility customers, as many of the largest businesses in the state have openly weighed or taken proactive steps to buy power from other electric providers.

Democratic Sen. Chris Brooks’ bill setting new restrictions and limits on the ability of large businesses to leave NV Energy is moving forward, but with a major amendment stripping out sections that would affect businesses that have already left or are in the process of leaving the utility.

In a joint hearing Thursday held by the Assembly and Senate Growth and Infrastructure Committees on SB547, bill sponsor Democratic Sen. Chris Brooks made the case for the bill as a needed upgrade for the state’s so-called 704B law, created in 2001 as a way for businesses with a large electric load to leave NV Energy’s electric service and purchase power from another provider.

In a joint press release sent late Monday, the two companies announced they had reached a “long-term energy supply agreement” and have “recommitted” to a partnership — signaling an end to the constant sniping and internecine warfare between the two corporate giants that had in many ways defined the state’s energy landscape for the last five years.

Pete Buttigieg, an Indiana mayor and rising star in the crowded 2020 Democratic field, delivered the keynote address at the annual Human Rights Campaign dinner, held this year at Caesars Palace. Buttigieg shared his coming-out story during a speech anchored in his belief that Americans need to tear down the metaphorical walls between each other and recognize that everyone has their own story.