Transportation Projects Awarded Grants
The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County is receiving $25 million in federal funding for the Lemmon Drive Improvements and Resiliency Project. The money is being awarded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and is part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. The competitive program received $15 billion in requests from state, county, municipal and tribal governments, among others. Only $2.26 billion in funding is available. In addition, the San Bernadino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) received $25 million from the RAISE grant program to fund the final design and construction of two Brightline West intercity passenger and rail stations in Hesperia and Apple Valley, CA. The $12 billion Brightline West’s high-speed rail system is expected to connect southern Nevada and California. Nevada’s Department of Transportation has also applied for $3.75 billion in funding from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program in tandem with Brightline West.
Nevada Home Prices Stabilize
According to a report from Las Vegas REALTORS® (LVR), the median price of existing single-family homes sold in southern Nevada during June was $440,990. That number is down over 8 percent from the same time last year but down less than half a percent from the previous month. In Reno-Sparks the median price for single-family homes in June was $575,000, a nearly 4 percent increase from the previous month, but just over a 4 percent decrease from June 2022. According to a study from TexasRealEstateSource.com, Nevada is second in the nation to see the biggest increase in home value from 2016 to 2023. The Silver State saw an average house price increase by 113% in the seven-year period. The average Nevada home price in 2016 was $174,800 compared to $373,000 this year.
Governor Awards Grant Funding for Rural Development
Governor Joe Lombardo has announced nearly $3 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds has been awarded to six projects in rural Nevada. Of the funding the Governor said, “This year’s CDBG projects will benefit nearly 14,000 Nevadans across Fallon, Fernley, Wells, West Wendover, Esmeralda County, and Nye County.” In addition, the Nevada counties and cities invested just over $17 million in matching funds for the projects. Since the program’s inception in 1982, the state has awarded over $100 million to rural Nevada communities through CDBG. The program is overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by the Rural Community Development Division of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) for Nevada.
Lake Tahoe Has High Microplastics Concentration
According to research led by a visiting postdoctoral scholar at the University of Nevada, Reno, Lake Tahoe has the third highest concentration of plastics of the 38 lakes tested around the world. Microplastics, which are small fragments of fibers from clothing, packaging and other plastic residue, have been found in freshwater lakes and watersheds globally. Tahoe is known for the water purity and high-level of legal protection, adding a level of alarm to this study. The plastic level found at Lake Tahoe was higher than in the surface water at the ocean’s rotating currents where the floating islands of debris have been found. It’s unknown how the plastics are entering freshwater ecosystems, particularly in the Tahoe Basin.
Ten Workforce Development Programs Funded
The Nevada GOED Board approved nearly $6 million from the Workforce Innovations for the New Nevada (WINN) fund to four colleges in the state to address industry needs. Dale Erquiaga, recently retired chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) was quoted in late-June, “With these funds, NSHE institutions can align our work with the needs of business and the economic mobility goals of Nevada workers.” The funding will operate ten programs at Truckee Meadows Community College, Great Basin College, Western Nevada College and College of Southern Nevada.
