The Intermountain West will be a good place to further research into energy, given the assets from universities and national research operations already in the region, according to a Brookings Institute study out Wednesday.

The study calls for the development of “centers of invention” to connect New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Utah, with hubs for various renewable energy infrastructure.

Four to six federally funded research centers should be developed in Colorado and other western states to find better ways to develop and commercialize clean energy, a report Wednesday from the Brooking Institution and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, recommends.

The report says Colorado should be considered as a site for clean-energy "innovation centers" focused on advanced biofuels, "smart grid" projects and carbon management.

The Intermountain West will be a good place to further research into energy, given the assets from universities and national research operations already in Arizona and the region, according to a Brookings Institute study out Wednesday.

The study calls for the development of “centers of invention” to connect Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah, with hubs for various renewable energy infrastructure.

Arizona could be a key member of a regional clean-energy research network proposed in a report released today.

The report from Brookings Mountain West calls for an expanded network of federally funded research and innovation centers focused on solar, biofuels, geothermal and other alternative-energy sources, with the centers to be established in Arizona or five nearby states.

In 19th-century America, the government awarded land grants to start what would become the transcontinental railroad and establish universities such as Rutgers and Michigan State.

Tom Skancke, president of The Skancke Company and transportation consultant to the LVCVA says now is the time to focus on building Interstate 11. The proposed freeway would connect Phoenix and Las Vegas and be part of a redesigned Boulder City bypass. But who would benefit from this highway? And how will it be funded? Tom Skancke joins us to discuss how and why we should build the I-11.

If Las Vegas hopes to recharge its sputtering economy, the city should increase exports to other countries by developing an international trade center where business deals “get done” and encouraging more consultants to set up shop in Southern Nevada.

Southern Nevada has long struggled to build a sense of community, and now a crossroads of sorts is approaching.

A new federal grant program appears to be tailor-made for the Las Vegas Valley — hundreds of millions of dollars to help at-risk children succeed in school and life, with a cradle-to-college approach.

LOS ANGELES — The West may not be the geographic center of the country, but these days it sits at the heart of its political culture.