By J.D. Morris, Las Vegas Sun

A recent report that found federal employees improperly used government credit cards at casinos could have unnecessary consequences for the gaming industry, the American Gaming Association warned today.

In a May 19 report, the Department of Defense Inspector General’s Office said it discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in transactions where department credit card holders probably used their cards for personal purposes at casinos and “adult entertainment establishments.”

The report made several recommendations, including that the government consider blocking cards from being used at specific casinos or adult entertainment businesses. The gaming association is taking issue with that recommendation.

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By William Yardley, Los Angeles Times

In April 1989, a Michigan developer named John Rapanos dumped fill on 54 acres of wetlands he owned to make way for a shopping center. He did not have a permit, and when the state told him to stop, he refused. Courts found him in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Prosecutors wanted to send him to prison.

Rapanos took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which found that the wetlands on his property, about 20 miles from a river that drained into Lake Huron, did not fall under the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction over discharges into “navigable waters.”

Rapanos became something of a celebrity among property rights advocates, but the ruling raised as many questions as it answered. Although the court upheld federal protections for wetlands and streams when they connected with navigable waters, it left unclear what constituted a connection.

Now, nearly a decade later, the Obama administration is seeking to clarify those ambiguities, and the effort is causing controversy of its own. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release a new rule to protect a significantly larger percentage of streams and wetlands that provide habitat for wildlife and sources of drinking water.

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By Ray Hagar, Reno Gazette-Journal

Last week, state lawmakers passed what will be a $7.2 billion general fund budget, complete with new programs for education and $8 million for a new medical school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

As the 2015 Nevada Legislature enters its final week, Job One for legislators will be passing a tax plan to fund the budget.

Lawmakers cannot go home until the state budget is balanced for the next two years. And the only way to balance this budget is to find a tax plan that will produce $1.1 billion in new and extended taxes.

Most lawmakers see the need. The issue is finding a plan that can get the required two-thirds votes for new taxes in both houses.

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The South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Department is being joined by the Lake Tahoe Historical Museum and Lake Tahoe Visitors Center to celebrate the city’s 50th anniversary.

The June 6 event is one of several the city is hosting leading up to the big party in November.

From 10am-2pm will be the Spring into Summer party, which includes tours of the recreation center, an opportunity to sign up for South Tahoe Adventure Recreation (STAR) Summer camp, enroll in swim lessons, enjoy refreshments and more.

The Recreation and Swim Complex is located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. For more information, call 530.542.6056.

By JJ Feinauer, Deseret News

In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act as part of then president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. As a result, the 40-hour workweek (based on the eight-hour workday) became fully integrated, and legislated, as part of American corporate culture.

CNN Money’s Jeanne Sahadi argues that it may be time for change.

The 40-hour workweek, according to Sahadi, may actually be stunting worker productivity. But not because it stops employees from working more, but because it leads to too many instances of overwork.

According to Sahadi, the notion of a 40-hour workweek is, in general, a myth in the first place. Salaried employees, he argues while citing a Gallup poll from last year, typically work seven hours more than what’s required of them each week, and they feel pressure to work above and beyond the legislated limits.

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On June 6, more 100 volunteers in Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista, Carnelian Bay and Crystal Bay are expected to take to the streets to pick up trash as part of the annual North Tahoe Community Clean Up Day.

Registration will be at 9am at Community House located at 265 Bear St., Kings Beach for Carnelian Bay, Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach and Crystal Bay.

At registration volunteers will be assigned specific locations and receive gloves, bags, snacks and volunteer appreciation goodies, while supplies last.

After the “dirty work”, volunteers are invited to a party from 11:30am-1pm at Tahoe Central Market. Following the volunteer party, Tahoe Central Market will host the second annual summer kick-off party featuring live music, local farmers, vendor booths and craft beer and wine tasting.

Last year, more than 2,800 pounds of garbage were collected at the clean up day.

By Riley Snyder and Michelle Rindels, AP

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Friday that he wants to launch a teacher training scholarship program and a series of bonuses aimed at tackling Nevada’s severe teacher shortage.

Lawmakers have expressed concerns that a workforce shortage will hamper some of the Republican governor’s ambitious education reform initiatives, and groups including the Latino Leadership Council have recommended bonuses to combat high turnover and teacher inexperience in some of Nevada’s toughest schools.

“Attracting and preparing educators for success in the classroom (is a) key component to changing Nevada’s education system for the better,” Sandoval said in a statement, saying the program was “an idea prompted by the ongoing struggle across Nevada to recruit and retain high-quality teachers in our public education system.”

The measure was introduced as SB511, and was expected to be up for a hearing before the full Senate in coming days.

Sandoval is seeking $5 million over the next two years to launch the Teach Nevada Scholarship. Funds would go to Nevada’s public and private colleges and entities that provide alternative routes to licensure programs, and would help future teachers complete their degrees.

A second program would offer $5,000 bonuses for 1,000 new teachers each year. The incentive program, which is expected to end after two years, aims to fill teaching positions in at-risk schools and make Nevada more competitive relative to other states that are also struggling with shortages.

“We really decided that the best way to do this was to provide as much financial assistance as we could,” said state Superintendent Dale Erquiaga. “Five thousand dollars per individual per year is a substantial increase. That’ll get those salaries to almost California levels.”

Clark County School District alone is trying to hire about 2,600 new teachers for the upcoming school year. Nevada’s public colleges are only expected to graduate about 800 teacher candidates this year, while the Teach for America program is expected to provide fewer teachers than planned, and enrollment in teacher preparation programs in California — Nevada’s main supplier — is about half what it was five years ago.

Lawmakers expressed concerns that the teacher shortage and lack of a teacher pipeline could unravel the progress Sandoval hopes to make by investing millions in Zoom Schools for English language learners and Victory Schools for students in poverty. Many of those initiatives require additional teachers to provide intensive reading instruction or to staff kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs.

Joyce Haldeman, a lobbyist for Clark County School District, said she thinks incentives and scholarships are a step in the right direction.

“This is another piece of the puzzle that we think is part of a long-term solution,” she said.

By Kyle Stock, BloombergBusiness

Polaris Industries has built an empire (and an impressive stock market run) on cool and quirky machines—motorcycles, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles. Its newest toy is particularly strange: the snow bike.

Picture a dirt bike with a ski in the place of a front wheel and a snowmobile tread instead of a rear wheel. A small crew of people in northwern Idaho has been perfecting the weird winter whip, and Polaris just bought their business, Timbersled. Essentially, Timbersled sells kits that converts the lower half of a traditional dirt bike into something that canporpoise through deep powder. Its bestseller, the “Mountain Horse,” costs about $5,300.

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By Alana Horowitz, Huffington Post

Fox News is hurting the Republican Party,according to a study conducted by a top official in the first Bush administration.

The study, authored by Bruce Bartlett, who worked in the Treasury Department under George H. W. Bush and was also a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan, found that Fox viewers tended to be less informed about current affairs than people who watch mainstream news — and even people who don’t watch the news at all.

“Republican voters get so much of their news from Fox, which cheerleads whatever their candidates are doing or saying, that they suffer from wishful thinking and fail to see that they may not be doing as well as they imagine, or that their ideas are not connecting outside the narrow party base,” Bartlett said.

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Sparky

Sparky is a cute little boy who looks older in his photo than he actually is. He’s only 1 year old. Sparky is a spaniel mix, about the size of a large Chihuahua, with beautiful long fur.

He loves attention and is very affectionate, and is a little bundle of happy, friendly energy. Sparky loves to go for walks, but won’t object if you carry him part of the way.

Sparky is neutered, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz