LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Now a staple of Nevada legislators, the Southern Nevada Forum began in 2013 as a way for members of the business community and others to select issues for lawmakers to consider during the 2015 Carson City session. It started in .
This year's forum, which essentially acts as a steering committee, met for the first time Tuesday at Las Vegas City Hall.
The group was divided into a number of smaller committees tasked with considering how to best address some of the region's biggest issues, including economic development, education, health care, transportation and infrastructure, and governance.
“It's important to get involved and have a voice,” said Monica Pappas, co-founder of Fingerprinting Express, a local background company.
Pappas said education and health care are areas he wants the state to improve on.
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Nevada is often lumped together as the state with the lowest public education ratings in the nation, and has long faced a shortage of medical professionals such as doctors and nurses.
On the education side, members of the Clark County Education Association teachers union held public demonstrations for months before reaching a contract agreement with the Clark County School District late last year.
One of the union's biggest concerns is that public school teachers here have been underpaid for years.
Democratic state Rep. Steve Yeager of Las Vegas, who served as Assembly Speaker during last year's legislative session, was in attendance at Tuesday's forum meeting.
“This is an opportunity for legislators, business leaders and other concerned citizens to come together and discuss issues that are important to our community,” Yeager said. “The Legislature only meets for 120 days every other year, so this is an important time to prioritize what is important to Southern Nevada.”
From now on, each section of forum members will meet once a month until the final results are announced in July.
