Even late in his term, Gov. Steve Sisolak’s tenure was defined by his COVID response — a response he argued saved lives, even if it caused collateral economic damage. 

Citing a lack of a “champIon” in Nevada, Blockchains is backing away from its request to build a smart city in Northern Nevada.

Tuesday marked the first public hearing for the Innovation Zone proposal, a concept that was embraced by the governor and originally pushed by Blockchains. The company, which owns about 67,000 acres of land in Storey County, wanted to create a new local government.

In the last installment of our legislative "Follow the Money" series for 2021, we break down more than $2.8 million in legislative campaign spending from more than a dozen major industries.

After stonewalling, Gov. Steve Sisolak's office addresses questions about the governor's relationship with Blockchains LLC, which is proposing a massive project that is being cast as an important part of the state's post-pandemic economic strategy.

This week’s Indy Environment newsletter looks at a legislative effort to protect a unique population of Rocky Mountain juniper trees in an area known as Bahsahwahbee, or “the sacred water valley” in Shoshone. For Indigenous communities, the area means everything.

This week’s Indy Environment newsletter looks at a new report, led by researchers at UNR, that shows declining butterfly populations as landscapes warm across the West.

In a special edition of the IndyMatters podcast, Blockchains CEO Jeff Berns sat down with The Nevada Independent to answer questions about the company’s plans, its funding, its relationship with the governor, and its push to acquire water in rural Nevada.

This week’s Indy Environment newsletter looks at a long-awaited congressional bill that would change the way federal public land is managed in Clark County, creating a path to expand the Las Vegas metro area toward California while setting aside land for conservation.

Storey County commissioners voted to oppose “separatist governing control” within their jurisdiction after Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak backed a legislative effort that could result in a private technology company and major donor forming its own local government.

“I just ask that all involved understand that the end goal is a massive economic development investment in Nevada, and a chance ... to set down a marker that Nevada is the blockchain technology center of the world.”

In this edition: A bill on “Stablecoin” that is totally not related to Innovation Zones, increasing utility regulator fines, changes to wrongful conviction compensation and heartburn on abolishing education-focused commissions, including one created by beloved former Assemblyman Tyron Thompson.

In this edition: We track campaign contributions from Blockchains LLC, including to a PAC run by Treasurer Zach Conine. Capitol Police are also severely understaffed, and the “death with dignity” bill is back after falling short in 2019.

Cryptocurrency company Blockchains wants to build a new city in the desert. That will require water in an area where it is scarce. To get the water it needs, Blockchains is looking to rural Nevada. Last year, the company acquired water rights in northern Washoe County.

The proposal by Blockchains LLC would create essentially autonomous districts that function as a county-within-a-county, taking over responsibilities such as tax collection, K-12 education and other services normally provided by county governments. Such “zones” could only be created by a private developer who owns more than 50,000 acres of land (such as Blockchains), promises to invest up to $1 billion in the Zone and agrees to levy an industry-specific tax on an “innovative technology” based in the Zone itself.

Documents obtained through two public records requests offer new insight into the relationship between business and government at an industrial park that lured companies with incentives and support from the state. The letter comes amid new scrutiny of those practices. Last month, The Nevada Independent detailed how the industrial park’s public water district, which wants to use eminent domain to build the pipeline project, blurred the line between a government and private utility for decades.

Comments and suggestions submitted by the Financial Service Centers of America — a trade group for high-interest, short term lenders — caused concern by attorneys with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, who warned state officials during a workshop held by the state’s Department of Business and Industry to draft regulations to implement a new law (SB161) that payday lenders should not be allowed to participate once it goes into effect next year.

After blurring the line between a private and public utility for nearly two decades, the water district that serves the world’s largest industrial park is looking to part ways with a developer. Those actions come after The Nevada Independent reported this month that the public water district, with the governmental power to seize private property, is operated by a private entity.

Those meetings and others held between Sisolak with high-powered lobbyists, legislators with major pending bills, federal government officials and a slew of well-known business leaders were revealed in a public records request submitted by The Nevada Independent for the governor’s calendar through the legislative session.

Though it may be less exciting than the techno-future vision heavily promoted by the company,  Berns (who will own the bank through a separate holding company and not through Blockchains) said the acquisition of the Las Vegas-based Kirkwood Bank of Nevada is a small but critical step in helping the nascent company achieve its wildly ambitious goals.