[Excerpt] In response to public pressure by Nevadans for the Common Good to expand funding for Meals on Wheels in Nevada, Henderson and Boulder City Councils approved resolutions urging the state legislature and Governor Brian Sandoval to increase state funding for the program by $5 million every two years. Already, the Governor has responded by including $1.5 million in his budget proposal for the food program, a +100% increase over current funding levels. Leaders are pushing for more. The meal delivery program targets vulnerable seniors. At current funding levels, the program is reported to provide more than 300 Henderson seniors +112,000 meals per year. However, a city spokesperson reports that nearly 300 additional seniors are on the waiting list. "What was the special session (the Legislature) had all about?" asked NCG leader Barbara Paulsen... "We committed $750 million to build a stadium. I think we can give $5 million to feed hungry seniors." In discussion surrounding the vote, Boulder City Councilmember Duncan McCoy agreed. Henderson City Council Backs Push to Boost State Funding for Meal Delivery Program, Las Vegas Review-Journal NonProfit to Push State Legislature to Boost Budget for Meals on Wheels, Las Vegas Review Journal Council OKs Plan to Become More Financially Sound, Boulder City Review Henderson City Council Backs Push to Boost State Funding for Meal Delivery Program, Las Vegas Review-Journal Photos from assembly, Facebook Page

When news of the potential closure of Fremont Middle School emerged, parents and teachers at Fremont reached out to 'Nevadans for the Common Good' and nearby Christ Church Episcopal Lutheran Church. Through community conversations, leaders are exploring the causes of the potential closure, its potential impacts on students and families and potential alternatives. NCG leaders are additionally pressing on the Nevada state legislature to fund the weighted student funding formula.   CCSD and Fremont Middle School Start to Communicate on Potential School Closure, Downtown News Parents Pursue Alternatives as Fremont School Faces Closure in Las Vegas, Las Vegas Review- Journal Education Topics Will Tug Hard on Nevada Purse Strings When Legislature Convenes, Las Vegas Review Journal Indy Explains: Southern Nevada Education Groups, Nevada Independent  

Naming "seven hidden risks" that public funding of a new Adelson-backed Raiders' stadium would bring to taxpayers, leaders of Nevadans for the Common Good publicly voiced their opposition to the plan with a well-attended press conference. Read below for full coverage: Opponents of Adelson-Backed Stadium Get Little Attention in Adelson-Owned Newspaper, Las Vegas Tribune Politicians Place a Bet on a Stadium, and Vegas Pays For It, New York Times Group Against Stadium Proposal Because It 'Contains Unacceptable Level of Risk for Residents,' Las Vegas Sun Seven Hidden Risks in the Stadium Plan, Nevadans for the Common Good Group Has Concerns About Funding for New NFL Stadium, CBS Channel 8 Critics Outline Raiders' Stadium Objection, Las Vegas Review Journal Two Nevada Groups Announce Opposition to Proposed Raiders Stadium in Las Vegas, Las Vegas Review Journal Pair of County Commissioners, Uneasy About Stadium Plan, Las Vegas Sun

[Excerpt] Nevadans for the Common Good, "is calling for the school district to end the teacher shortage by 2020. The district filled fewer than 1,700 of the estimated 2,600 teaching positions to start the school year in the fall. The district still had more than 700 vacancies about halfway through December.... Nevadans for the Common Good plans to address the shortage and other topics during its May 9 convention at the Cashman Center. Poling-Goldenne said the organization expects about 2,000 attendees, including Republican and Democratic leaders, School Board President Linda Young, and Adam Johnson, who is challenging Young for her seat in the November election." [Photo Credit: Natalie Bruzda, Las Vegas Review-Journal] Religious Coalition Tells School District to Fix Teacher Shortage, Las Vegas Review Journal

Backed by 300 leaders at a 'Nevadans for the Common Good' accountability assembly, Marsha Rodriguez told her story about the fragility of independence as a senior. 72 years old, Rodriguez described waiting 6 months to get into a Nevada Medicaid waiver program, the Home and Community Based Waiver, which helps pay for non-medical services that are essential for some aging seniors to continue living at home. After seven years of receiving non-medical care, she fears that privatization of Medicaid services would reduce access to those services and push her into a nursing home. NCG leader Barbara Paulsen noted that the cost of at-home services for six or seven people is about equal with the cost of covering one person in a nursing home. State legislators in attendance carefully listened and soon followed up with a delegation of NCG leaders, promising that Medicaid privatization of services would NOT happen in 2016, and that the legislative proposal would move more slowly, transparently, and inclusively. Potential Move to Privatize Some Medicaid Services in Nevada Draws Scrutiny, Las Vegas Review-Journal Officials Assure Advocates That Push to Privatize Medicaid Services Will Move Slowly, Be Transparent, Las Vegas Review-Journal

At a 300-person assembly of 'Nevadans for the Common Good,' state legislators publicly supported NCG goals to address the state's teacher shortage and to ensure that a plan to privatize some medicaid services in Nevada is transparent and includes meaningful public participation. State legislators Senator Michael Robertson and Assemblymen Paul Anderson and John Hambrick listened as Marsha Rodriguez told her story about the fragility of independence as a senior. 72 years old, Rodriguez described waiting 6 months to get into a Nevada Medicaid waiver program, the Home and Community Based Waiver, which helps pay for non-medical services that are essential for some aging seniors to continue living at home. After seven years of receiving non-medical care, she fears that privatization of Medicaid services would reduce access to those services and push her into a nursing home. NCG leader Barbara Paulsen noted that the cost of at-home services for six or seven people is about equal with the cost of covering one person in a nursing home. When pressed by NCG leaders on whether he would ask the State Department of Health and Human Services to fold stakeholders into planning meetings, Anderson -- the chairman of the Interim Finance Committee, said yes. He also responded that he "recognize the need for these services. How they they are provided must be to the benefit of those receiving care." Regarding the state's teacher shortage, Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson and Senator Joyce Woodhouse committed to making the shortage crisis a top priority and working with NCG to address the issue. The organization is calling on State officials to include the teacher shortage in a special session of the legislature, as well as raising the issue with the Clark County School Board. 1,400 on Waiting List for Nevada's Independent Living Program, Las Vegas Review Journal Potential Medicaid Privatization Affecting Elderly, Disabled Worries Advocates, Las Vegas Sun Parents, Teachers Meet with Lawmakers to Talk Clark County Teacher Shortage, ABC News 13

Las Vegas, NV - Leaders of Nevadans for the Common Good cried 'foul' when a dead bill proposing to privatize the provision of Medicaid services was kept alive through unnatural means. Though voted down, it remained in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee through an exemption sparing it from normal deadlines. That same language was then grafted onto a separate bill (SB 514) and approved by the legislature the day before it adjourned. "We are just concerned about transparency," said Barbara Paulsen, whose church in Boulder City is a member of NCG. The proposed change could impact 54,000 people statewide. ""If there's a transition, it needs to be carefully planned," Paulsen said Wednesday. "It's a major decision and people need to be aware of it and need to have an understanding of the steps being taken and the rationale and ability to comment on them." Section 37 of the bill enables the state to consider the possibility of privatizing long-term care and services provided to the blind, elderly and disabled -- but only after submitting a an analysis of fiscal impact. Leaders argue that there should be an analysis of the impact on the people receiving those services as well. Bill Proposes Privatizing Provision of Medicaid Services, Las Vegas Review Journal Possible Privatization of Medicaid Services Raises Concerns, Las Vegas Review Journal

Leaders of 'Nevadans for the Common Good' were among the heavy-weights listed as supporters of a proposed tax plan that would generate $430 million for Nevada public schools over the next two years. At a press conference the morning of Governor Sandoval's presentation of the proposal, NCG leader Rev. Dr. Marta Poling-Goldenne called this "a historic opportunity to improve our public schools and invest in our children." One week prior, 'Nevadans for the Common Good' met with the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Las Vegas; both organizations voted to support the business license proposal. LVGEA cited a study it had commissioned on the impact of the business license fee proposal, which concluded that the "negligible negative impact" in Southern Nevada would be far outweighed by the benefits of improved public schools. Business, Interfaith Groups Support Sandoval's Proposal to Pay for Education Reform, Las Vegas Sun Sandoval, 3 Past Governors Urge Lawmakers to Pass the Tax Plan, Associated Press Tax Day in Carson City About to Change the Debate, Las Vegas Review-Journal  

When Nevadans for the Common Good (NCG) decided to host an information session on the executive order on immigration (DPA & DACA) hundreds piled into St. Christopher Catholic Church in Las Vegas. NCG leaders, with St Christopher, is integrating immigrants into the fabric of community while building non-partisan political power for the common good.

More than 1,500 leaders from across Nevada convened at the packed Cashman Theatre in Las Vegas to celebrate the passage of anti-sex trafficking legislation last year to and issue challenges to a broad range of public officials around multiple issues. The organization obtained solid commitments from public officials after sharing stories about elder abuse in unlicensed group homes, public transportation problems for wounded veterans and disabled, and the need for immigration reform and respite care for caregivers. The organization has grown over the last two years to include 33 member institutions. [Photo Credit: L.E. Baskow, Las Vegas Sun) Building Off Legislative Success, Interfaith Group Eyes New Set of Social Concerns, Las Vegas Sun Photo Gallery 1, Las Vegas Sun Photo Gallery 2, Democratic Faith