Industry

By Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval announced today he plans to appoint Terry Johnson as director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry in his administration. 
Sandoval also announced he will reappoint Teresa Thienhaus as director of the Personnel Department and Dino DiCianno as executive director of the Department of Taxation.
Johnson has 15 years of experience in state and local government administration.

A Lake Tahoe area public-private energy organization and the U.S. Energy Department have teamed up to make renewable energy more commercially available.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Incline Village-based Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization today announced their collaboration to accelerate the commercialization of a clean technology innovation owned and developed by the Laboratory.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval today announced two more appointments to his administration, naming Stacey Crowley as director of the Nevada State Office of Energy.
Sandoval also named Leo Drozdoff as director of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Sandoval will take office in January.

Winter is the time of year that seems to go on forever. Shorter daylight hours, cold temperatures and house-bound kids. And if you do go outside you wear so many clothes your knees won't bend.
What type of exercise would tempt you to brave the cold --- Sledding! Remember when you were young and fresh snow was an exciting part of your day? I’ll bet as you aged you lost sight of all that fun. Just imagine the calories you can burn when you force yourself to have fun with a sled!

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The Nevada State Medical Association believes consumers should have access to clear and understandable information about the cost and coverage provided under health care insurance policies before they sign on the dotted line.

CARSON CITY — Wally Murray, president and CEO of Greater Nevada Credit Union was honored as the outgoing Nevada Credit Union League board chairman during the League’s recent annual meeting and convention.

During the convention, the Nevada Credit Union League received a national award for its outstanding advocacy efforts. Greater Nevada Credit Union was also recognized by the California and Nevada Credit Union League and awarded Nevada Credit Union Advocate of the Year.

A book signing by former Nevada Appeal and Tahoe Daily Tribune sports reporter Jeremy Evans will be on Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. at Borders Books in Carson City. Evans is the author of the new book "In Search of Powder: A Story of America's Disappearing Ski Bum."

Squaw Valley USA will have a new owner after a Denver-based equity firm bought virtually all of its shares.

KSL Capital Partners LLC of Denver, which owns stakes in resort-related businesses, announced Tuesday that it hopes to complete the sale by the end of the year and that it will put $50 million into the exclusive Lake Tahoe area resort, home of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games.

Squaw was opened in 1949 by the late Alexander Cushing. It has about 4,000 acres and 2,850 vertical feet that spans over six peaks.

With 300 jobs added to the labor force, the unemployment rate in Carson City fell to 12.5 percent in October from 13.3 percent in September, according to a report released today by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Carson City area employers added 300 jobs in October, and are down just 500 or 1.7 percent from the same month a year ago, the report states.

"We are delighted. It is always a good sign when new businesses come in such as Kohl's and Big Lots and hire people," said Ronni Hannaman, executive director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce. "The retail community has pulled us out of some of the hiring doldrums."

If you place X's on a map of Nevada to mark areas used for nuclear testing and O's to mark areas examined as potential nuclear sites, you end up with a tic-tac-toe game board in the shape of the Silver State, says Western Nevada College Emeritus English Professor Michon Mackedon.

A breakfast Thursday morning hosted by the Northern Nevada Development Authority will feature a panel of experts who will discuss the business of energy, industry and innovation.
The meeting will be held at the Carson Nugget. Doors open at 7 a.m. with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $20 for NNDA investors with reservations and $35 for guests or at the door. Questions, contact NNDA at (775) 883-4413.

With the focus on business development, the discussion will focus on ways to make the region innovative and profitable.

The panel includes:

LOCAL AUTHOR SCORES TOP HONORS IN THE 7th ANNUAL USA BOOK NEWS “BEST BOOKS 2010” AWARDS

Northstar-at-Tahoe can now be added to the Vail Resorts ownership roster.

Company officials announced today that a $63 million deal was struck between the Colorado-based ski giant Vail Resorts and Booth Creek Resorts, owners of Northstar-at-Tahoe.

The Obama Internet policy is taking a bit of a different turn besides calling for increased internet connection accessibility. Currently, the Obama administration and law enforcement and security agencies are pushing for new regulations of the Internet and the telecommunications industry. If these new laws pass, it will grant the government greater access for surveillance purposes. Washington already has accessibility to a broad array of communications for monitoring purposes, and this will expand that access.

By Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is joining a 49-state bipartisan mortgage foreclosure working group as part of a coordinated national effort by states to review the practice of so-called “robo-signingâ€� within the mortgage servicing industry.

By Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada is projected to lose more than 50,000 residents by 2014 because of the ongoing state economic slump, state Demographer Jeff Hardcastle said today.
The short term projections are bleak under either of two models developed by Hardcastle to forecast Nevada’s population growth through 2030.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
Taxes, the state budget and a looming revenue shortfall in 2011 took center stage Thursday in the second debate between the two major party candidates for Nevada governor.

Squaw Valley USA at Lake Tahoe has announced the appointment of JP Martin as the mountain’s new terrain park manager.

JP comes to Squaw Valley with 19 years of experience in the ski and snowboarding industry and a resume that includes experience at Whistler, Mt. Hood, Jackson Hole and many resorts in Japan. Most recently, Martin worked as the terrain park manager at Sugar Bowl Resort on Donner Summit in Lake Tahoe.

Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – An effort to change Nevada state law to expand the ability to raise money through charitable lotteries is having a tough time gaining support, the sponsor of the proposal said today.

Posted in the comments on our last Nugget Project story, there appears to be the text of a marketing plan to help sell this project to the public.

The text was posted by Michael Douglass, the author of a Nevada Appeal guest column in favor of the project. He is also the brother of Tammy Westergard, who has been deeply involved in the project, first with the Office of Business Development, and now with the Carson City Library.

Here it is:

There is an interesting discussion going on over at the Nevada Appeal site concerning the Nugget Project.

The story begins two week ago when Guy Farmer wrote a rather harsh column that slammed the Nugget Project. In response, last week there was a guest column by Michael Douglass criticizing Farmer's take on the subject.

Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
Underdog Democratic candidate for governor Rory Reid took the opportunity at a first debate today with leading GOP candidate Brian Sandoval to challenge his opponent’s commitment to spending on public education.

CARSON CITY – A Nevada group that offers training to non-union construction workers has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford alleging an improper pro-union bias by some members of the State Apprenticeship Council.

CARSON CITY – Half a dozen former employees of a Las Vegas-based gaming company laid off last year say they are still owed about $500,000 in severance pay and other compensation even as the firm continues to receive financial support from high profile investors, including the brother of President Obama’s chief of staff.
One of the former TableMAX Gaming employees, Tyson Wrensch, said efforts to contact current company officials to resolve the compensation issue have not produced any results so far.

Around 30 representatives from law enforcement, emergency management and the Carson City Health and Human Services Office conducted a test run today of its portable emergency facility designed for health emergencies such as mass casualty disasters.

The 20 foot by 40 foot inflatable facility, which would serve as a temporary morgue, underwent the test to activate an HVAC cooling system, said Pam Graber, public information officer for the Carson City Health and Human Services Office.

Last week we reported that the governor's office sent a letter to Nugget Project consultant Mark Lewis taking issue with certain parts of the feasibility study for moving three state agencies into the Carson City Center/Nugget Project.

The one big item missing in that story was the Meridian Business Advisors feasibility study itself, which we now have a copy of.

CARSON CITY – The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld Nevada state laws that limit brothel advertising, ruling to deny a petition for rehearing filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales fell 1.9 percent in May over May 2009, a decline following April which saw the first positive month for the economic indicator in 20 months, the state Department of Taxation reported today.
May statewide taxable sales totaled $3.1 billion compared to $3.2 billion in May 2009.

By Nevada News Bureau Staff
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s unemployment rate hit another record high in June, reaching 14.2 percent as 193,000 residents looked for work, a state agency reported today.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s unemployment rate hit another record high in June, reaching 14.2 percent as 193,000 residents looked for work, a state agency reported today.
The rate in Las Vegas hit 14.5 percent, up four-tenths of a percentage point from May.