Below are excerpts from the new chapters in the 2024 Almanac on the state of Nevada and Gov. Joe Lombardo, written by Louis Jacobson.

A law, passed amid the Western energy crisis, let big businesses leave NV Energy. But times are changing, and regulators are looking at what happens if businesses return.

A new online platform, developed in part by Nevada researchers, aims to address a major data gap in Western water management. Daniel Rothberg writes more about the recently launched platform in his weekly environmental newsletter.

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.

President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure package could lead to a new Amtrak line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, help fund an expansion of I-15 between the two cities and help finish I-11 from Southern Nevada to Phoenix.

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.

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.

This week's edition of the Indy Environment newsletter looks at legislation in Congress that would fund a regional assessment of saline ecosystems in the Great Basin.

In Nevada’s second most-populated county, two seats on the five-person County Commission are up for grabs in races that will shape how Washoe County approaches planning and development decisions and navigates the fallout from a coronavirus pandemic that has devastated Nevada’s economy.

A public water district for the country’s largest industrial park has agreed to settle an eminent domain case weeks after a judge ruled that the state Constitution gave a nearby family the right to a jury trial in determining whether seizing their private land for a pipeline project was valid.

The safety-minded closures have limited, if not paralyzed, revenue for small businesses already operating on thin profit margins. Business chamber leaders in both Northern and Southern Nevada acknowledge that even if the governor gives the green light for businesses to reopen, some simply won’t be able to welcome back customers.

In September, Mayor Hillary Schieve announced a pilot program designed to address the area’s housing shortage called "1,000 homes in 120 Days," offering developers local permit fee deferrals that act as no-interest "loans" to attract more construction. By the end of the 120-day application period on Jan. 30, developers had proposed 4,628 housing units scattered throughout Reno.

Details from the 2019 contribution and expenses reports, due on Jan. 15, detailed how much legislative incumbents and candidates raised over the last calendar year and painted a more hopeful picture for Republicans in several “swing” Assembly races, with a more mixed view in competitive state Senate seats.

As a crowd protested outside of Las Vegas City Hall on Thursday, Mayor Carolyn Goodman defended the city’s efforts to end homelessness, describing them as “humanitarian and compassionate” and pushing back against critics of an ordinance that makes it illegal to sit or lie down in public rights-of-way. Criminal penalties for the ordinance are scheduled to go into effect on Feb. 1.

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.

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.

Documents, election records and interviews show an insular county gave a private water company controlled by the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) the power of a public entity. The deal reflects greater tensions about whether certain companies are benefiting from the region’s rapid growth and which politicians have given them an upper hand.

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.

Introduced by Democratic Sen. Chris Brooks on Wednesday, SB5XX would substantially alter the state’s so-called 704B law for the first time since it was created in 2001, adding numerous new restrictions and requirements — including a new licensing structure, additional payments and more requirements for a departure — for businesses that already have or are in the process of departing NV Energy’s electric service.