John L. Smith
@nevadasmith.bsky.social
Father, husband, writer, native Nevadan. Columnist with The Nevada Independent. Still throwing rocks at castles.
Three more wars stopped during this post.
February 8, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Three more wars stopped during this post.
OPINION: America’s runaway sports betting obsession ensures that ‘Everybody Loses’ thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: America’s runaway sports betting obsession ensures that ‘Everybody Loses’ - The Nevada Independent
OPINION: America’s runaway sports betting obsession ensures that ‘Everybody Loses.' Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:37 PM
OPINION: America’s runaway sports betting obsession ensures that ‘Everybody Loses’ thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
Judge criticizes Nevada DMV’s response about communications with ICE thenevadaindependent.com/article/judg...
Judge criticizes Nevada DMV’s response about communications with ICE - The Nevada Independent
Judge Kristin Luis order the agency to provide all records unredacted for her review and sworn declarations about its record-searching process and use of the encrypted messaging app Signal.
thenevadaindependent.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Judge criticizes Nevada DMV’s response about communications with ICE thenevadaindependent.com/article/judg...
A scoop interview that reveals more about its subject than meets the eye. The other party is having a field day: Mark Amodei explains his surprise decision to retire from Congress this year thenevadaindependent.com/article/mark...
Mark Amodei explains his surprise decision to retire from Congress this year - The Nevada Independent
Amodei said concerns about Republicans losing the House in 2026 did not shape his decision. He is the latest of nearly three dozen House members to hang up their hats ahead of the midterms.
thenevadaindependent.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:54 PM
A scoop interview that reveals more about its subject than meets the eye. The other party is having a field day: Mark Amodei explains his surprise decision to retire from Congress this year thenevadaindependent.com/article/mark...
Reposted by John L. Smith
Wanna-be Gestapo leader is antisemitic??? Ya don’t say!
February 1, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Wanna-be Gestapo leader is antisemitic??? Ya don’t say!
Nevada school budget heyday was short-lived. Why several districts are now in dire straits thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Nevada school budget heyday was short-lived. Why several districts are now in dire straits - The Nevada Independent
Three years after Nevada school leaders celebrated a historical, 26 percent K-12 education funding increase, a number of their districts now face dire financial outlooks.
thenevadaindependent.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Nevada school budget heyday was short-lived. Why several districts are now in dire straits thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Today's column for @TheNVIndy -- OPINION: He’s no prize: Trump’s ignoble gestures remind us how far we’ve slipped thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: He’s no prize: Trump’s ignoble gestures remind us how far we’ve slipped - The Nevada Independent
OPINION: He’s no prize: Trump’s ignoble gestures remind us how far we’ve slipped. Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
January 25, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Today's column for @TheNVIndy -- OPINION: He’s no prize: Trump’s ignoble gestures remind us how far we’ve slipped thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
Good reading from the author, Jon Ralston: How my fascination with Harry Reid became a book thenevadaindependent.com/article/how-...
How my fascination with Harry Reid became a book - The Nevada Independent
How my fascination with Harry Reid became a book. Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Good reading from the author, Jon Ralston: How my fascination with Harry Reid became a book thenevadaindependent.com/article/how-...
Lieutenant governor staffer says she was pushed out, replaced with Turning Point alum thenevadaindependent.com/article/lieu...
Lieutenant governor staffer says she was pushed out, replaced with Turning Point alum - The Nevada Independent
The former staffer was replaced by Amy Wood, a prominent anti-vax activist and former regional manager for Turning Point Action USA, a major conservative political action group founded by the late Cha...
thenevadaindependent.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Lieutenant governor staffer says she was pushed out, replaced with Turning Point alum thenevadaindependent.com/article/lieu...
Reposted by John L. Smith
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrating a 16th-century vision of the Virgin Mary near Mexico City, took place on Friday. At one Las Vegas church, hundreds gathered to celebrate a symbol of Latino pride and holy protection.
Read about the Mass: thenevadaindependent.com/article/at-c...
Read about the Mass: thenevadaindependent.com/article/at-c...
At celebration of Lady of Guadalupe, gratitude for a towering figure in Mexican culture - The Nevada Independent
Las Vegas' Saint Anne Catholic Church drew hundreds of attendees to religious festivities taking place over multiple days, all dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
thenevadaindependent.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:48 AM
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrating a 16th-century vision of the Virgin Mary near Mexico City, took place on Friday. At one Las Vegas church, hundreds gathered to celebrate a symbol of Latino pride and holy protection.
Read about the Mass: thenevadaindependent.com/article/at-c...
Read about the Mass: thenevadaindependent.com/article/at-c...
How about this Reno sunset? Sweet dreams.
December 16, 2025 at 12:56 AM
How about this Reno sunset? Sweet dreams.
OPINION: The road to fascinating reading by Nevada writers starts here thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: The road to fascinating reading by Nevada writers starts here - The Nevada Independent
OPINION: The road to fascinating reading by Nevada writers starts here. Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
December 14, 2025 at 7:16 PM
OPINION: The road to fascinating reading by Nevada writers starts here thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
My latest column for The Indy -- OPINION: The corporate stranglehold on housing only tightens with the death of SB10 thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: The corporate stranglehold on housing only tightens with the death of SB10 - The Nevada Independent
OPINION: The corporate stranglehold on housing only tightens with the death of SB10. Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:33 PM
My latest column for The Indy -- OPINION: The corporate stranglehold on housing only tightens with the death of SB10 thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: Jacky Rosen takes heat after voting to end shutdown — but does she deserve it? thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: Jacky Rosen takes heat after voting to end shutdown — but does she deserve it? - The Nevada Independent
OPINION: Jacky Rosen takes heat after voting to end shutdown — but does she deserve it? Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:42 PM
OPINION: Jacky Rosen takes heat after voting to end shutdown — but does she deserve it? thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
Nevada Sens. Rosen, Cortez Masto explain why they voted to end the shutdown thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Nevada Sens. Rosen, Cortez Masto explain why they voted to end the shutdown - The Nevada Independent
Nevada Sens. Rosen, Cortez Masto explain why they voted to end the shutdown. Read more from The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Nevada Sens. Rosen, Cortez Masto explain why they voted to end the shutdown thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Ralenkotter boosted Vegas tourism, but a former Strip CEO's company helped push him out thenevadaindependent.com/article/rale...
Ralenkotter boosted Vegas tourism, but a former Strip CEO's company helped push him out - The Nevada Independent
Ralenkotter boosted Vegas tourism, but a former Strip CEO's company helped push him out. Read more from The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Ralenkotter boosted Vegas tourism, but a former Strip CEO's company helped push him out thenevadaindependent.com/article/rale...
Anti-hunger groups in Nevada strain to meet record demand. SNAP pause is just one reason. thenevadaindependent.com/article/anti...
Anti-hunger groups in Nevada strain to meet record demand. SNAP pause is just one reason. - The Nevada Independent
Food banks in NV face a triple whammy: cuts in federal grants that help them buy food, rising costs of groceries and the impending end of federal food benefits.
thenevadaindependent.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Anti-hunger groups in Nevada strain to meet record demand. SNAP pause is just one reason. thenevadaindependent.com/article/anti...
Reposted by John L. Smith
Nevada representatives are blaming their political opponents for the shutdown and highlighting the harms it could — or already has — inflicted on Nevadans’ food, health care and paychecks.
thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-g...
thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-g...
As government shutdown drags on, Nevada reps sound alarms over food stamps, health care costs - The Nevada Independent
Nevada’s congressional delegation have been active in town halls and press calls, blaming their political opponents for the fallout.
thenevadaindependent.com
October 26, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Nevada representatives are blaming their political opponents for the shutdown and highlighting the harms it could — or already has — inflicted on Nevadans’ food, health care and paychecks.
thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-g...
thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-g...
Reposted by John L. Smith
Reading proficiency is improving among Nevada elementary students. But literacy rates still largely lag behind pre-pandemic numbers as the state approaches the rollout of a policy to hold back underperforming third graders.
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Nevada 3rd grade reading rates up, but fewer than half proficient as retention rule looms - The Nevada Independent
Across the past three school years, third graders are doing better every year in reading proficiency. But less than half of the more than 35,000 Nevada third graders read at grade level.
thenevadaindependent.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reading proficiency is improving among Nevada elementary students. But literacy rates still largely lag behind pre-pandemic numbers as the state approaches the rollout of a policy to hold back underperforming third graders.
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
Reposted by John L. Smith
Elon Musk’s Boring Company has purchased a handful of properties near the proposed pathways of its Vegas Loop transportation tunnels. Observers say the plan — and its prospects for success — is an open question.
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/why-...
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/why-...
Why has Musk’s Boring Co. quietly been buying real estate along Las Vegas Loop? - The Nevada Independent
Is construction along Boring Co.’s Las Vegas Loop part of Elon Musk’s master plan? Or, as critics say, a gamble with long odds?
thenevadaindependent.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Elon Musk’s Boring Company has purchased a handful of properties near the proposed pathways of its Vegas Loop transportation tunnels. Observers say the plan — and its prospects for success — is an open question.
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/why-...
Read about it here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/why-...
OPINION: NBA betting scandal surprise anyone? I didn’t think so. thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: NBA betting scandal surprise anyone? I didn’t think so. - The Nevada Independent
One veteran of the legal side of the sports betting industry puts it bluntly: If the bookies used were legal, they were dangerously unsophisticated. If they were illegal, they were asking for trouble ...
thenevadaindependent.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
OPINION: NBA betting scandal surprise anyone? I didn’t think so. thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
New Mexico is providing free childcare for all. It’s time for others to do the same | Katrina vanden Heuvel
October 13, 2025 at 10:33 PM
New Mexico is providing free childcare for all. It’s time for others to do the same | Katrina vanden Heuvel
OPINION: Two Nevada data center developers settle in for a long legal fight for AI profits thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...
OPINION: Two Nevada data center developers settle in for a long legal fight for AI profits - The Nevada Independent
OPINION: Two Nevada data center developers settle in for a long legal fight for AI profits. Read more at The Nevada Independent.
thenevadaindependent.com
October 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
OPINION: Two Nevada data center developers settle in for a long legal fight for AI profits thenevadaindependent.com/article/opin...