Happy Friday, Nevadans!

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is holding a giveaway to celebrate.

Library card holders can enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to a Vegas Golden Knights home game, a pair of tickets to a Las Vegas Raiders home game, or Library District branded t-shirts, caps, tote bags, or stainless steel water bottles.

Entries must be received by Sept. 30, and winners will be selected by random drawing in October and notified by email. 

Library cards are completely free, by the way!

In today’s newsletter:

Have a safe weekend!

Labor Day is the best time to kick back by the pool. (Kateryna Hliznitsova/Unsplash)

By Aleza Freeman

Labor Day weekend is here! Looking for something to do without breaking the bank? 

🗓 121st Annual Pioche Labor Day Celebration

Where: Pioche Town Park, Pioche
When: Sept. 4-7

The four-day weekend event promises activities and entertainment for all ages, including food trucks, games, races, music, dancing, theater, a pet show, a craft fair, a parade, and a fireworks and drone show. 

🗓 Virginia City Labor Day Parade

Where: C Street, Virginia City
When: Sep. 7, noon-1 p.m.

The historic and haunted Old West destination perpetually seems to be gearing up for a spirited celebration, a patriotic parade, a themed train ride, or a wacky race (including annual ostrich and outhouse races).

🗓 5th Annual Reno LaborFest

Where: Idlewild Park, Reno
When: Sept. 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

During the daylong festivities, local unions will demonstrate trades from plumbing and pipefitting to painting and bricklaying. Attendees can get hands-on with a heavy equipment simulator and a virtual welder.

Close-up of early voting directional sign outside of polling place. (File photo: Getty Images)

By Martin Nieves Sanchez

Today, Sept. 4, is the last day to opt out of receiving a mail ballot for the November midterm election. 

Every active registered voter in Nevada is automatically mailed a ballot. You don’t have to request one.

But if you don’t want to receive one, you can opt out by updating your voter registration online (the blue button) or by completing and filing a form to your county clerk.

🟣 Falling Lake Mead threatens Hoover Dam’s power output. ABC 15

“Recent technical assessments show several of Hoover Dam’s older turbines could suffer severe cavitation damage if Lake Mead falls below elevation 1,035 feet … At that elevation, updated federal data indicate Hoover Dam’s generating capacity could be more than 70% lower than officials previously estimated.” 

🟣 Suspected arsonist caught setting brush fire near Nevada’s destructive wildfires, officials say. KTLA

“The suspect, 29-year-old Damien Pineda-Contreras, was arrested after (Washoe County Sheriff’s Office) deputies witnessed a vehicle leaving the scene of a brush fire set in the dry hillside near Washoe County’s Emergency Management office in Reno … Inside the front cab of Pineda-Contreras’ vehicle, deputies allegedly found multiple split wooden logs, matches, lighters, charcoal lighter fluid and tumbleweed fire starters.”

🟣 Stadium Authority approves another $75 million in public funding for upgrades. Nevada Current

“(Allegiant Stadium) opened just six years ago but is already poised for a facelift, courtesy of taxpayers. The Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board, without a comment or question from a single member … voted unanimously Wednesday to allocate up to $75 million to fund about half of a $158 million expansion of Allegiant Stadium. The Las Vegas Raiders are paying for the balance.”

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Jannelle Calderón, featuring stories by Aleza Freeman and Martin Nieves Sanchez. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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