JOhn Smith

1 week ago | thenevadaindependent.com | John L. Smith |JOhn Smith

Trump bankrupted his casinos, and now it looks like he’s trying to bankrupt ours. Nevada legislators for weeks have waited like root-canal patients for the projections that were delivered at Thursday’s Economic Forum. The lawmakers anticipated pain, but no one knew just how much to expect. What they heard through their groans and grimaces this week was what can playfully be described as good news and bad news. The good news? At this moment, things aren’t so bad.

2 weeks ago | thenevadaindependent.com | John L. Smith |JOhn Smith

I joined the Nevada Humanities Committee in 1999 thinking I knew a little something about our state and its people. After all, I was born and raised in Nevada. Members of the Smith family tree have rambled and roamed around the Great Basin for generations without ever striking gold or owning a gambling hall. We’re lucky that way. As a committee member, I soon realized my Nevada education was only beginning.

3 weeks ago | thenevadaindependent.com | John L. Smith |JOhn Smith

Elaine Wynn brought an uncommon light to the Las Vegas Strip, a softer hue amid the gaud and gild. Lithe and elegant, she was stronger than she looked. Her recent death at 82 is bringing a deserved outpouring of affection and remembrance from her many admirers and friends. Those who knew her best praise her philanthropy, strength of character and class. She was a member of Vegas royalty, part of a historic and star-crossed casino partnership, but so much more than that.

1 month ago | thenevadaindependent.com | John L. Smith |JOhn Smith

When it comes to hurling an epithet, Gov. Joe Lombardo can’t hold a candle to Mike O’Callaghan. During O’Callaghan’s first term as the state’s 23rd governor, I heard him roar the F word dozens of times in early-morning phone calls to his administrative assistant, my mother Jan Smith. I wasn’t listening in on the conversation. His voice could be heard two rooms away. Blessed with a street vocabulary as salty as any sailor, mom would return fire and slam down the phone.

1 month ago | thenevadaindependent.com | John L. Smith |JOhn Smith

You’re forgiven for not remembering the second Trump administration’s first choice to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The announcement came in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, and Hillsborough, Florida, County Sheriff Chad Chronister wasn’t exactly a household name.