What's Next?

Apparently, we're not done checking up on our original homeland. And sadly, we have to discuss another heartbreaking Orange County story here.

In June, Zoraida Reyes was found dead in the parking lot of a Diary Queen in Anaheim. She was a fierce activist who advocated tirelessly for immigrant and trans* civil rights. When she passed away, the local DREAMer and transgender communities were shocked by this horrifying loss.



But now, they're a little closer to justice. On Tuesday, Anaheim Police arrested Randy Lee Parkerson for suspicion of murder. Anaheim Police are not investigating the Zoraida Reyes case as a hate crime, even though local trans* activists suspect Reyes' transgender identity was a "huge factor" in her death.

Southern California LGBTQ community advocates are also asking questions in the death of Aniya Parker in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. LA Police initially described Parker's death as the result of a "robbery gone bad", but video surveillance shows the assailants shooting Parker after she ran away from them, then leaving her purse behind.



The untimely deaths of Zoraida Reyes and Aniya Parker in Southern California serve as sorrowful reminders of the dangers so many LGBTQ Americans still face in this nation. And they serve as reminders to LGBTQ civil rights activists that we still haven't reached the end of the long road to equality just yet.

Now, we're finally a bit closer here in Nevada. Just moments ago, Jon Ralston posted the document showing the usual H8 filled suspects withdrawing their respective petitions to the US Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit for an emergency stay in Sevcik v. Sandoval. They can still try requesting an en banc hearing in the Ninth or an appeal to the US Supreme Court. But as we've explained before, Perry v. Brown will ultimately be cited in their dismissal due to lack of standing.

So now, finally, after this very long wait, marriage equality is coming to Nevada. And already, we can hear folks asking, "What's next?" "What do those people want?" "Can't they leave all us 'normal people' alone now?"

As long as injustice persists, the beautiful struggle for equality continues. As the old saying goes, "No Justice, No Peace." Hate crimes are still happening, and perpetrators are still claiming "panic defense". People are still being fired, and perpetrators are still claiming "freedom". People still face wrongful discrimination on a number of matters daily, and perpetrators are still claiming "segreation laws".

While we've come a long way here in Nevada, there is still more progress needed here. And yes, there's still far more progress needed nationally. Today, we can't help but feel relieved that the Nevada case is finally coming to an end as marriage equality is fast on the move nationally. However, this doesn't mean the LGBTQ civil rights movement is now finished.

So what's next? Justice. And equality. For everyone. As long as people like Zoraida Reyes and Aniya Parker are losing their lives because of who they are, we should all know what's next for the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

Bloody Victory

Sadly, this has become all too common in America today. All this year, mass shootings and epic gun violence have made headlines. We've even seen it awfully close to home recently with the Sparks Middle School shooting up north and yet another Las Vegas Strip shooting down south.

Last Friday, history repeated itself again. And this time, it happened at LAX.

The unemployed motorcycle mechanic suspected in the deadly shooting at the Los Angeles airport set out to kill multiple employees of the Transportation Security Administration and hoped the attack would "instill fear in their traitorous minds," authorities said Saturday.

Paul Ciancia was so determined to take lives that, after shooting a TSA officer and going up an escalator, he turned back to see the officer move and returned to finish him off, according to surveillance video reviewed by investigators.In a news conference announcing charges against Ciancia, U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. spelled out a chilling chain of events at LAX that began when Ciancia strode into Terminal 3, pulled a Smith & Wesson .223-caliber assault rifle from his duffel bag and fired repeatedly at point-blank range at a TSA officer. The officer was checking IDs and boarding passes at the base of an escalator leading to the main screening area.

After killing that officer, Ciancia fired on at least two other uniformed TSA employees and a civilian airline passenger, who were all wounded. Airport police eventually shot him as panicked passengers cowered in stores and restaurants.

Apparently, Paul Ciancia was motivated by "New World Order" and anti-government conspiracy theories and ready to kill anyone in sight. He succeeded in killing on-duty TSA officer Gerardo Hernandez. He also wounded Calabasas High School performing arts teacher Brian Ludmer, along with TSA officers James Speer and Tony Grigsby.

So how did this happen? How did one of the world's busiest airports become a bloody battlefield? As usual, we can thank the NRA for this.

Over the last decade, the NRA hasrepeatedly lobbied against airport firearm restrictions. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, states including Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin either expressly allow firearms in specific sections or only prohibit firearms in airports beyond checkpoints.

And in California in 2012, the NRA formally opposed Assembly Bill 2182, which would have required a person be arrested if they brought a firearm into the airport and ban them from entering in the future. The bill never moved from committee. More recently, bills introduced in Virginia, Georgia, and Ohio would allow people to carry their weapons inside. [...]

When the TSA subjected a girl carrying a firearm-shaped purse to extra questioning, the NRA responded that this extra precaution constituted harassment. “We shouldn’t be surprised that security personnel who see nothing wrong with humiliating 85-year-old women at our nation’s airports might see a teenage girl sporting a purse with a firearm motif as a potential danger,” NRA President David Keene said at the time. “But it should upset us as much as it did her and her parents.” The extra scrutiny may be needed: TSA agents have confiscated 30 percent more guns from passengers, many of them loaded, in 2013 compared to last year. Most travelers say they “forgot” they had the firearm, which has made sociologists think the trend is a result of people being permitted to carry their guns virtually anywhere.

Once again, the NRA can declare bloody victory. The gun lobby has pushed hard in Carson City and on Capitol Hill to kill even the most modest gun safety legislation. So why is anyone surprised by the bitter fruit of the gun lobby's bloody victory?

There's "something evil in our society". And what are we doing about it? What are we willing to do to root it out and end the senseless bloodshed? What will we do to stop this bloody victory from claiming even more innocent lives?

Sounding the Alarms

For some time, we've been sounding the alarms on Nevada's patient dumping scandal. We've been warning everyone that trouble was brewing. And we sensed that trouble was about to spill all over our fine state.

Today may be the first day of reckoning. And we can't say we didn't see it coming. Los Angeles and San Francisco launched their own respective criminal probes last month into the numerous discharges from Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital who ended up in their cities, in other parts of California, and even in other parts of the country without any support system and/or treatment plans waiting for them. And now, the City of Los Angeles looks ready to sue Nevada.

Los Angeles is able to take a hard line because it has an ordinance that defines patient-dumping explicitly and lays out criminal penalties for violations. Other agencies are making use of state and federal laws that apply more broadly to hospital discharge practices – often targeting emergency rooms – or that don't list specific penalties.

"Doesn't this represent to you a crime?" asked Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, soon after the investigation was launched.

Rawson-Neal bused about 150 patients to the Greyhound bus station near Los Angeles' Skid Row in the past five years, far more than were sent to any other city.

To build their case, Trutanich's investigators are searching for former Rawson-Neal patients to learn if the circumstances of their discharges violated the city's ordinance against patient-dumping. That ordinance says patients cannot be transported from hospitals to anywhere but their homes, or the location they give as their home, without written consent.

Uh oh. But wait, there's more. Again, Nevada may soon face some very serious consequences for neglecting many of our state's most vulnerable.

If the investigation ends like several others, the hospital could settle with the city, be forced to adopt stringent discharge protocols and pay a fine.

Alternatively, the case could go to court, potentially leading to a misdemeanor criminal conviction for the hospital or some of its employees, Trutanich said.

"This is 150 people allegedly on the streets of L.A.," Trutanich said. "We're already stretched as it is."

And that's not all. The City & County of San Francisco is looking at the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and investigating whether Rawson-Neal violated this federal law. If so, San Francisco will sue in federal court. In addition, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are conducting their own investigation to determine whether Nevada's mental health patient dumps violated federal law.

Again, we've been sounding the alarms. And after decades of letting our social safety net fall apart, we're now beginning to feel the consequences. The supposedly wise sages in Carson City thought they were being so penny wise in shortchanging investment in our community's health care, but they're now just being revealed to be incredibly pound foolish. And we may all soon pay the price for their pound foolishness.

California Outrage Grows as Nevada Patient Dumping Scandal Thickens

Despite their best attempts at denial, they just can't avoid it any more. Of course, we're talking about Governor Brian Sandoval (R-Denial), his staff handling mental health care in this state, and the burgeoning patient dumping ("DumpGate"?) scandal. San Francisco launched a probe on Monday, followed very closely by Los Angeles (City) yesterday. So of course, Jon Ralston had to follow up his interview with Mike Willden (Nevada's mental health care director) with an interview with Dan Morain. He's The Sacramento Bee's Senior Editor, and he actually personally traveled to Carson City in search of answers as his paper has been conducting a thorough and riveting investigation into the matter.

(The segment starts at 20:05.)



Governor Brian Sandoval continues to deny any widespread wrongdoing on the part of his administration and Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas. Yet despite Sandoval's continuing denials, questions persist in California. Los Angeles officials continue to ask.



And now, Orange County officials are chiming in as well.

Health care officials have been looking for the woman, whose first name is Monica, but haven’t had any luck, according to Mary Hale, Orange County’s behavioral health director. At least one Nevada patient has previously been found in Orange County.

“This facility in Nevada is doing Greyhound [bus] therapy,” Hale told county supervisors on Tuesday amid growing outrage over the issue statewide.

And there could be many more patients locally who have yet to be identified.

Nevada’s main psychiatric hospital sent 28 patients to Orange County in recent years, according to data collected by the Sacramento Bee. In many of the so-called “patient dumping” cases examined by the paper, Nevada officials simply sent clients on their way without ensuring they received treatment or housing. [...]

Hale also recalled that a former Nevada patient, diagnosed with schizophrenia, was found in Newport Beach “a couple of years ago” and subsequently received treatment.

Hale emphasized that Orange County officials ensure that family members are contacted and outpatient care is arranged for when patients are discharged.

It’s “extremely rare” to ever send a patient out of state without contacting family, Hale added, saying she couldn’t remember that ever happening in Orange County.

Mary Hale testified yesterday at the Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting. They're OC's version of the Clark County Commission... Except that they're all conservative Republicans. Yet with that being said, they nonetheless unanimously approved a two year, $8.7 million for mental health inpatient services at hospitals in Anaheim and Costa Mesa. Jeez, even Orange County Supervisors know it's better to actually solve their problems than attempt to cut corners by dumping them somewhere else!

Oh, and of course, OC Supervisors are joining the growing chorus of outrage over Nevada's "Greyhound Therapy" scandal. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera still awaits a response from Nevada officials to his request for documents relating to the allegations swirling around Rawson-Neal. KQED's California Report also provided an update on the scandal. And they're finding even more mental health officials in California who are shocked to learn of what Nevada has been doing.



What started as The Sacramento Bee wondering why James Flavy Coy Brown nearly committed suicide in a Sacramento homeless shelter has become a far-reaching investigation by The Bee and other California media outlets into the 1,500+ incidents of Nevada patient dumping. And we'll find out soon if/when California municipalities begin suing Nevada over this. And on top of all this, federal funding for Rawson-Neal is at risk pending a federal investigation into Nevada patient dumping.

We've said this before, and we must say this again today. This didn't have to happen. Nevada could have fully funded mental health care, properly handled the cases of these patients, and probably saved money (considering the likely forthcoming legal action against Rawson-Neal)! What else will it take for Governor Sandoval to learn this lesson? Hell, what will it take for Governor Sandoval to even admit this problem is real?!

Learning the Hard Way

Yesterday, news broke of San Francisco launching a probe into Nevada's habit of dumping mental health patients into other states, most notably California. Today, San Francisco has company. The City of Los Angeles is launching its own probe into Nevada patient dumping.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Los Angeles officials are investigating reports that Nevada’s primary state psychiatric hospital bused indigent mentally ill patients with few or no resources to California cities.

Spokesman Sandy Cooney said the L.A. city attorney's office was “gathering information and ... trying to determine whether what we gather warrants an investigation.”

The Sacramento Bee reported last month that more than 200 Nevada psychiatric patients were given bus tickets and sent to Los Angeles County after their release from hospitals. [...]

Los Angeles’ inquiry follows the San Francisco city attorney office’s announcement Monday that it had launched a formal investigation into the allegations against Nevada’s facility.

The Bee was the first to bring the allegations of so-called "patient dumping" to light. The paper reported that at least 36 of 1,500 patients discharged by Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas over the last five years had been sent to San Francisco on Greyhound buses.

San Francisco is now requesting documents from Nevada. And pretty soon, Los Angeles will be doing the same. And they may yet have more company. Ever since The Sacramento Bee first noticed the story of James Flavy Coy Brown, this scandal has been steadily growing. And now, it's threatening accreditation and federal funding for Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital, the state's only public mental health treatment hospital in Southern Nevada. Ironically enough, what's likely been clumsy state effort to cut corners and cut costs may end up costing the state far more.



Yesterday, Nevada Mental Health Services Director Mike Willden went on "Ralston Reports" to defend the actions of his staff and Governor Brian Sandoval's (R-Denial) office. Well, he tried. What else could he say?

That's the problem. What else can we say? How is this even defensible? Who can condone the dumping of human beings somewhere else, and do so just because their needed treatment "costs too much"?

Again, the ultimate irony here is that Nevada may very well pay far more now. We didn't have to fall into this mess. We could have just done the right thing, cared for our own, sent those who requested to go to places where care was already lined up... And saved ourselves this lurid legal fiasco.

Ultimately, cutting corners and ripping the social safety net to shreds don't make for good public policy. We're now learning this lesson the hard way. But really, we didn't have to.

#SOTU Open Thread

5:50 PM:

This certainly isn't your typical State of the Union night. President Obama is speaking right on the heels of the epic final battle in Big Bear, California, between Christopher Dorner and law enforcement. Two San Bernardino County Sheriffs were shot earlier today. One died, while the other is still alive and undergoing surgery in a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, the cabin that Dorner was occupying is burning to the ground as I write. It's unclear yet whether Dorner himself is dead or alive.

Obviously, everyone will be awaiting what President Obama says on gun safety. However, that won't be the entirety of his speech. Obama will also be calling for jobs programs and more economic recovery, as well as for action on climate change and comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).

Stay tuned here for more updates on #SOTU, as well as for any new updates on the Dorner case in Southern California.

6:00 PM: Notice all the green ribbons in the House chamber? They're honoring victims of gun violence. It's especially poignant tonight considering what's still unfolding in Southern California.

6:20 PM: The President is starting with a conciliatory tone in stating his willingness to be a "partner in progress" with Congress. He's also noting recent economic improvement, as well as the end of the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars. And of course, he says the state of our union is strong.

6:22 PM: And here it is. The President is talking about "restoring the middle class. It's our task to make sire this government is working for the many... & opens the doors of opportunity to all our children." The President is hitting hard on economic justice... & hinting at his strategy to fend off threats of double dip recession.

While Obama touts recent deficit reduction, he also wants economic growth. Simply put, this is why we can't afford "The Sequester", aka Fiscal Cliff 2.0. It's imperative on Congress to stop the austerity madness.

6:27 PM: Obama is trying to thread the needle on Medicare & Social Security. He says he's open to reform, but he won't accept hurting seniors in need. Progressives will probably remain on the edge of their seats as Congress keeps wrangling over "The Sequester"... And Medicare & Social Security are still on the table.

6:29 PM: And here come taxes. Obama demands more revenue and fewer synthentic fiscal crises. Again, if we have to pursue deficit reduction, we must be careful in doing so while the economy is still in early stages of recovery. And the super-rich are the ones who can most afford to pay for it.

"Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan."

6:33 PM: President Obama is talking about the real deficit problem we still face: the jobs deficit. He wants to continue beefing up manufacturing here in America. And he's promoting scientific research! Yes, it works. And you know what? It also helps the economy.

Again, we can't afford austerity.

6:35 PM: Yay, energy time! But boo, fossil fuels.

Oh yay, he says, "We must do more to combat climate change." So what will we do? He offers an olive branch to one-time rival John McCain on cap-and-trade. Remember when Republicans liked that?

But if Congress won't act, the President must do something. And Obama is promising that. He's offering executive action on expediting renewable energy programs, an "energy security trust", and some sort of carbon cap should Congress decline to implement a cap-and-trade system.

6:42 PM: "We can get this done". That's what President Obama said on infrastructure repair & reinvestment. That will be nice. Check out our roads, our libraries, our schools, and more. We need it. Oh, & we need jobs!

6:45 PM: "The sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road."

Ah, universal pre-school. I'm down with that... But are #NVLeg & Brian Sandoval? They've yet to agree on universal kindergarten.

But really, more education tends to mean less crime and less poverty. If we're serious about crime prevention and economic empowerment, we need to do better in supporting our schools.

6:48 PM: Obama also talks about higher education. He wants to reform the Higher Ed Act so that the feds consider affordability of colleges when determining federal funding.

6:50 PM: And now, #CIR! Obama again demands reform... Including a "responsible path to earned citizenship". He again shouts out bipartisan efforts in Congress to tackle this issue. Will they take kindly?

He's also addressing the Violence Against Women Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act, & ending the overall War on Women. See, he hasn't forgotten.

6:54 PM: Here, Obama returns to economic justice. He calls for investment in hard hit (by the recession & decades of neglect) communities. And in a surprising twist, he also calls on a raise in the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour. When was the last time we heard poverty discussed in a State of the Union speech?

7:00 PM: In the foreign policy portion, Obama talks North Korea, arms reduction, drones, bringing home 34,000 troops from Afghanistan, and continuing to support flourishing "Arab Spring" democracies.

7:07 PM: In discussing the military, Obama shouts out #DADT repeal and equal service for women. The military is (again) becoming a catalyst for civil rights.

7:10 PM: Obama also shouts out the fundamental right to vote. Remember that? And remember all those efforts to block people from voting?

7:15 PM: Obama is closing with gun safety. Obama is hitting all the major policy points: assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, gun trafficking, and background checks. He evokes Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago, along with the 20 kids of Newtown. And Gabby Giffords & Tucson.

"They deserve a simple vote. Our actions will not prevent every senseless violent act in this country... But we weren't sent here to be perfect. We were sent here to do what we can... We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans."

And while he's speaking, Southern California is still reeling from the Christopher Dorner manhunt.

7:17 PM: Obama closed in calling for collective action. And he closed in reminding the audience of our duty to help each other. Again, he evoked economic justice. And he reiterated his drive to solve CIR, gun safety reform, climate change, and more. This was a moving speech, especially considering the saddening backdrop of tonight.

A Chilling Reminder Before #SOTU

As I'm writing this now, the Big Bear standoff continues. Christopher Dorner is apparently barricaded in a cabin there now after shooting two police officers in an earlier gun fight. He likely used semi-automatic rifles, as apparently he began smuggling them after being fired from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Dorner is suspected of murdering two people in Orange County, shooting two Riverside Police Officers & killing one in an armed conflict there, and now shooting two police officers in Big Bear.

Authorities believe Dorner came to the cabin after tying up a couple inside a different cabin off California 38 and stole their white pickup truck Tuesday afternoon. At some point, he engaged in gunfire with California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers who spotted Dorner and attempted to stop the vehicle.

Dorner crashed the truck during the ensuing chase and allegedly exchanged gunfire with the officers as he fled into what appeared to be Martin's cabin, where he was quickly surrounded by San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies. A source said one deputy was struck by a bullet as Dorner fired out of the cabin. A second was injured when Dorner exited the back of the cabin, deployed a smoke bomb and opened fire again in an apparent attempt to flee.

Dorner was driven back inside the cabin, the source said.

The Fish and Wildlife officers were not hurt, authorities said.

There was initial confusion as to where a helicopter should land to evacuate the injured officers, so deputies used their own smoke bombs to provide enough cover to carry the wounded to a pickup truck that took them to the waiting helicopter.

Officers from multiple agencies raced to the scene and continued to surround the cabin. Sources said it was not known if Dorner remained inside or if he fled.

Against this terrifying backdrop, President Obama will be giving his State of the Union Speech. Yet again, Americans are being reminded of the brutal and frightening reality of gun violence throughout the nation. It's just saddening (and maddening) to think of what it's taken to bring this issue to the forefront.

What will the President do to reassure a shaken nation? And what will Congress actually do to solve this problem? We need solutions now more than ever before.

We'll be liveblogging the State of the Union tonight. And tweets will go out @atdleft.

Flashpoint

Yesterday, Assembly Member Steven Brooks was arrested. Again. This time, it was on domestic violence charges. Police also accuse him of attempting to take an officer's weapon when fighting arrest.

Police on Sunday again have arrested embattled Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks, D-North Las Vegas, this time after a report that he allegedly attacked a family member.

Officers arrived at Brooks' home around 12:30 a.m. at 6007 Turtle River Avenue to find that he was “agitated and refused to obey officers’ commands,” Metro Police said.

As officers tried to take him into custody, police said, Brooks fought them. In a news release, Metro said the 40-year-old “at one point attempted to secure one of the officers' weapons.”

Police arrested the Las Vegas resident on counts of obstructing police and domestic battery.

Steven Brooks was arrested last month for allegedly making death threats on Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick. And since then, he's exhibited plenty of bizarre behavior. And amidst all the bizarre behavior and lurid scent of scandal, some started asking new questions on the state of mental health care and gun safety here in Nevada.

Even more questions have arisen since last week's Southern California shootings that police suspect Christopher Dorner of committing. Dorner has owned a home in the Southwest Vegas Valley since 2007. And he frequented Lock N' Load, a gun store just south of The 215 in Henderson. Lock N' Load owner Tony Melendez insists his store never sold any actual weapons to Dorner, but he has admitted that the store sold him accessories. Melendez wouldn't specify what they were, but Dorner himself declared in his manifesto that Lock N' Load sold him suppressors. These are often used in gun crimes to reduce the noise of the bullet release, and California is one of 11 states to ban civilian possession and use of them.

The manhunt for Christopher Dorner continues as the City of Los Angeles has now offered a $1,000,000 reward for information leading to his capture. LA police were actually stretched quite thin yesterday as they were simutaneously continuing the manhunt, providing extra security for the Grammy Awards, and proceeding with regular police activity.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Ever since news broke of the Dorner manhunt, more questions are being asked on how and why this is happening. And again, issue of easy access to firearms has become the central flashpoint. The Los Angeles Times' George Skelton examined how the Dorner incident may soon unravel the gun lobby's central argument for resisting gun safety reform.

Dorner seemingly was law-abiding — until he wasn't.

And that brings up a larger point: At minimum, he is another example of a so-called law-abiding, innocent gun owner who apparently went berserk and used his arsenal to kill people.

It makes such comments as this one recently uttered by National Rifle Assn. executive Wayne LaPierre look particularly inane and off target: "Law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals."

News flash: Some law-abiders do become violent criminals. And their kill rate too often increases with their firepower.

Of course, this gets into the whole definition of "law-abiding." Unfortunately, you don't need to be exactly law-abiding to legally purchase a gun.

"It's one of the really pervasive myths," says Garen Wintemute, director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. "If you ask people the question, 'Can criminals legally buy guns?' they laugh and say, 'Of course not.' But a large segment of the population has a criminal recordandcan still buy guns."

The NRA has claimed that the only way to "stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun". Supposedly, Christopher Dorner was one "good guy with a gun". And supposedly, Steven Brooks was one as well. So what went wrong?

The NRA has already dismissed the push for real gun safety reform as "The Connecticut Effect". Apparently to the gun lobby, the merciless slaughter of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown has just been a political nuisance. I guess they will do the same today with the courthouse shooting in Wilmington, Delaware.

Delaware State Police Sgt. Paul Shavack confirmed three people died in the shooting Monday morning at the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington. He said the suspected gunmen and two women are dead. Shavack said police had not confirmed that one of the women was the shooter's estranged wife, though earlier in the day the city's mayor said that was the case.

Two police officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Shavack said officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter in the courthouse's lobby before he passed metal detectors. Shavack did not say whether the shooter killed the two women or whether they were killed in the gunfire. Shavack also did not say how the shooter died.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that the nation has a serious problem with gun violence. And it's becoming increasingly obvious that gun industry lobbyists can't simply sweep this matter under the rug. Newtown won't let them. Neither will Wilmington. Neither will Southern California. And neither can Nevada.

While various states are working on gun safety reform legislation, it's become painfully obvious that we ultimately need a national solution. Nevada's Members of Congress must keep this in mind as they tackle this issue on Capitol Hill.

It Keeps Hitting Home.

He may be on his way out, but he refuses to go away quietly. Even as Assembly leaders take steps to force him out, Steven Brooks remains defiant. And he made this surprising comment when speaking to The Sun's Anjeanette Damon.

Asked for reaction to the Democrats’ decision [to remove him from their caucus], Brooks said: “It’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever done.”

Then he added: “No, don’t say that. I love them still.”

Brooks said he has no plans to join the Republican caucus.

“Why would I do that? I just like to fight for my 2nd Amendment rights,” he said, in apparent agreement with a Republican stance. “Other than that, I stand alone. Only God stands with me.”

No really, he said that. And frankly, considering the chain of events there, "fighting for 2nd Amendment rights" takes a chilling new meaning. It's a reminder of how close Carson City might have been to a very dangerous situation.

And that's not all. Back down south, Southern Nevada law enforcement are participating in a massive multi-state man-hunt. A former Los Angeles police officer is wanted on a murder charge in Orange County, California, he's a person of interest in other recent shootings in Southern California, and he now may be hiding here.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Authorities issued a statewide "officer safety warning" and police were sent to protect people named in the posting that was believed to be written by the fired officer, Christopher Dorner, who has military training. Among those mentioned were members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," said the manifesto.

Dorner has available multiple weapons including an assault rifle, said [Los Angeles P]olice Chief Charlie Beck. [...]

Dorner is wanted in the killings of Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence. They were found shot in their car at a parking structure at their condominium on Sunday night in Irvine, authorities said.

Quan, 28, was an assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton. Lawrence, 27, was a public safety officer at the University of Southern California. There was disbelief at three college campuses, Fullerton, USC, and Concordia University, where the two met when they were both students and basketball players.

Dorner was with the department from 2005 until 2008, when he was fired for making false statements.

Quan's father, a former LAPD captain who became a lawyer in retirement, represented Dorner in front of the Board of Rights, a tribunal that ruled against Dorner at the time of his dismissal, LAPD Capt. William Hayes told The Associated Press Wednesday night.

Christopher Dorner owns a home about 9 miles from The Strip, and Metro Police are now participating in the search for Dorner. He is also suspected of killing a Riverside police officer and wounding another early this morning.

Yet again, we're being reminded of what happens when the right guns fall into the wrong hands. Trouble ensues. And real people's lives are at risk. This is not a game.

Unfortunately, the people of Aurora, Colorado, know this all too well. Dave Hoover's nephew was killed in last July's movie theater massacre. And he's now speaking out on gun safety reform.



And he isn't alone. The latest national Quinnipiac Poll shows that 92% (!!!) of Americans support universal background checks. And on top of that, 56% of Americans support both a high-capacity magazine ban and a military grade assault weapons ban.

In recent days, we've been reminded of the real policy problems we have on gun safety. We've especially seen this here in Nevada. Something must change.

House Democrats are releasing their own gun safety plan, but apparently it's very similar to Vice President Biden's and President Obama's. We now know two of Nevada's Members of Congress (Steven Horsford & Dina Titus) support the entirety of President Obama's gun safety plan, including the assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and a ban on high-capacity magazines. It just remains to be seen how brave Harry Reid, Dean Heller, and Joe Heck will be. Perhaps they need to check in on what's happening here in Nevada.

Move Me Like That.

Yes, I know the above video may seem silly... But we can't laugh at the success of San Diego County's Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which so far has handled 3.6 million more trips in Fiscal Year 2012 than in FY 2011. And San Diego isn't the only metropolitan area where drivers are converting to mass transit commuters.

Ridership on the nation's trains and buses hit one of the highest levels in decades, with officials crediting high gas prices, a stronger economy and new technology that makes riding public transit easier.

In 2011, Americans took 10.4 billion trips on mass transit -- which includes buses, trains, street cars and ferries, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

That's a 2.3% increase over 2010 and just shy of the number of trips in 2008, when gasoline spiked to a record national average of $4.11 a gallon.

"As people get jobs and go back to work, they get on mass transit more," said Michael Melaniphy, president of APTA. "And then when people look at gas prices, they really get on transit more."

And as worries over climate change, smog, gas prices, and just plain traffic jams continue to grow, cities like Los Angeles are finding opportunities in expanding mass transit options to service increasing demand for efficient mass transit. Later this month, LA Metro Rail will be expanding service with a new light rail line from Downtown LA to Culver City.



We're even seeing this phenomenon of renewed use of public transportation hit here in Nevada.

Mark Harris, who has caught the intercity bus at Meadowood Mall to ride to his job at the Public Utilities Commission in Carson City for the last five years or so, notices the difference.

“I’m seeing more people riding it more days during the week. I’m seeing more people ride it every day,” Harris said.

To him, catching the bus is a no-brainer. It saves money and avoids stress.

“You’re not wearing out your car, you’re not buying as much fuel, and in the wintertime, you don’t have to drive in whiteout conditions,” Harris said. “You can sleep, relax, read the paper. It’s a much better 40-minute experience than having to drive.”

Ronald Zendejas of Reno started using RTC RIDE more often a few months ago and now rides the bus to get to school, to shop, or to do most anything.

“I’ve been riding it a lot more, actually,” Zendejas said. “I use it pretty much wherever I’ve got to go. It’s not as fast, but it works. It gets me there.”

To Zendejas, it’s a matter of dollars and cents. He buys a monthly bus pass for $60 but could easily drop $40 during a single stop at the pump.

After slumping in 2009 and 2010, ridership for RTC Ride in Washoe County is on the rebound. And considering the rising demand for mass transit here in Nevada, we'd be preparing to offer more services to more riders. But sadly, that's not the case. Instead, RTC Ride in Washoe is facing financial woes and difficult decisions on how to fund future transit operations. Meanwhile down south, RTC Southern Nevada is facing public anger over proposed rate hikes and cuts in paratransit service... Again, despite increasing ridership.

It really doesn't make sense to punish transit riders for choosing to use mass transit. I mean, isn't that what we want? Don't we want less clutter on our streets and freeways? Don't we want cleaner air and fewer greenhouse gas emissions? Why would we do something to discourage people from using RTC in Reno and Las Vegas?

I have a confession to make. I have a stake in this myself, as I regularly use mass transit. I don't even drive, as I'd rather not pay through the nose (for everything from gas to insurance) and feel guilty while doing so. It's sometimes difficult to make this work, especially when trying to get to places not covered well by RTC. But so far in my last three years living here, it's mostly worked.

By using RTC instead of driving everywhere, I'm helping reduce traffic on I-15 and I-215 while contributing more money to the local economy (instead of seeing it disappear at the gas pump). So why does it look like I'm about to be punished? And why does it look like the many other thousands of transit riders in Northern and Southern Nevada are about to be punished for using mass transit? It just doesn't make sense.

Especially when Nevadans are complaining about high gas prices and continuing traffic snarls, shouldn't we be working to provide more transit alternatives?