If you suddenly discovered your household income for 2009 would be about 30 percent less than what you had budgeted to spend, what would you do? Wouldn’t you sit down with your family and look for ways to drastically cut expenses? This is the same situation the state of Nevada is in, but when Governor Jim Gibbons proposed making painful cuts to the state budget for the … [Read more...] about Tough Times, Tough Choices: Governor’s Budget Deserves Support
Archives for March 2009
March 2009: Business Up Front
Commercial Real Estate Down in 90 Percent of Markets Hundreds of SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors) market experts across the country weighed in on local industrial and office market conditions for the Fourth Quarter 2008 SIOR Commercial Real Estate Index. The members’ account of their local markets reflected the lackluster of the general U.S. economy. In fact, … [Read more...] about March 2009: Business Up Front
Renewable Energy: Nevada’s Evolving Energy Production
Throughout the state, companies are changing the way businesses and consumers perceive and consume energy, specifically renewable energy sources. In Reno, custom homebuilder Hamilton Homes installs sun roof tiles as a standard feature on its new homes in its Spanish Springs community, Pebble Creek; Henderson-based Aerofortis Energy Solutions Inc. manufactures small wind … [Read more...] about Renewable Energy: Nevada’s Evolving Energy Production
Industry Focus: Golf Courses
Recently, golf course executives gathered at the office of Holland & Hart, LLP to discuss the current landscape of both public and private golf courses. The discussions ranged from surviving the drastic decline in discretionary incomes to water rates and the intense competition that golf courses currently face. Connie Brennan, publisher of Nevada Business, served as … [Read more...] about Industry Focus: Golf Courses
Multi-Family Housing: Construction & Development in a Recessionary Economy
The 2009 multi-family market will continue to be characterized by instability due to loitering economic woes. Deep job cuts, particularly in construction and gaming, are at the very core of the high vacancy numbers plaguing the apartment industry. A handful of Strip projects, Encore Hotel, MGM MIRAGE’s CityCenter Complex and Fountainbleu are due for completion in 2009 and will … [Read more...] about Multi-Family Housing: Construction & Development in a Recessionary Economy
Eliminate Nevada’s Hidden Healthcare Tax on Business
In this challenging economic climate, one topic that needs more attention is government’s under-funding of Medicare and Medicaid, which costs private businesses more than half a billion dollars a year as a hidden healthcare tax. For years, the government has under-funded Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to physicians and hospitals resulting in huge shortfalls in the … [Read more...] about Eliminate Nevada’s Hidden Healthcare Tax on Business
Curing the Data Disaster Disease
In this age of information dependence and the digital storage of essential corporate intellectual assets, the tape backup system relied upon by so many businesses for years is fast becoming the ‘cure that is worse than the disease’, as statistics defining the failure ratio of tapes and downtime show clearly that recovering from either hardware failure or real catastrophic … [Read more...] about Curing the Data Disaster Disease
March 2009: Nevada Briefs
Northern Nevada Development Authority Announces New Strategic Direction The Northern Nevada Development Authority (NNDA) announced organizational changes that will better position itself—and the region—for economic development success in the new economy. The changes include restructuring NNDA’s key positions by merging the executive director position with business development … [Read more...] about March 2009: Nevada Briefs
Developers, Brokers, Contractors Must Change With the Times: Service and Competency First
The tables have shifted and incompetence in customer service is an unforgivable sin that will lead to a companies failure. With the large number of firms competing for customers, a focus on responsiveness, quality and value are leading factors for survival. The prior incompetence of many firms in years past was easily forgiven by market conditions and demand that was so great … [Read more...] about Developers, Brokers, Contractors Must Change With the Times: Service and Competency First
Commercial Office Summary: Fourth Quarter 2008
Las Vegas The Las Vegas Valley office market continued to deteriorate in 2008 as new supply outpaced market demand. The latest economic conditions resulted in fewer office-using business expansions and relocations, pushing the vacancy rate to a record-high 17.3 percent. The latest availability figures represented a 0.5 point increase from the 16.8 percent vacancy rate reported … [Read more...] about Commercial Office Summary: Fourth Quarter 2008
Brian A. Roush: ROEL Construction Co. Inc.
Regional Manager Las Vegas, NV Number of Employees: 14 Years in Nevada: 15 Years with Company: 2.5 Describe your leadership style: Provide opportunity, lead by example and be fair, but firm. Biggest business challenge: Cultivating work in a slower economy. In today’s soft market, I feel this is the time to really put our heads down, work harder, and focus on … [Read more...] about Brian A. Roush: ROEL Construction Co. Inc.
How is your company contributing to the green movement?
Bill Noonan, Senior VP of Administration, Boyd Gaming Corp., Las Vegas One of our most innovative energy-saving efforts is our central laundry facility, which serves our nine Las Vegas Valley properties. By using special detergents and heat-recycling systems, we’ve cut our electricity consumption by 27%, our natural gas by 50%, and reduced water consumption by 22 million … [Read more...] about How is your company contributing to the green movement?
March 2009: Business Indicators
The November and December indicators show an economy caught in a firestorm—an uncontrolled self-reinforcing decline in which job layoffs create further job losses. A sustaining economic firestorm shows in the preponderance of double-digit percentage declines from year-ago levels. The severity of the contraction shows in sharp cuts in consumer spending. The Nevada … [Read more...] about March 2009: Business Indicators
2009 Power Poll
As Nevadans continue to grapple with the affects of an economic recession, the state’s business leaders expressed guarded optimism about the strength of the economy in 2009 when they responded to Nevada Business’ seventh annual Power Poll survey. In contrast to the strong growth rates of just a few years ago, the majority of respondents reported they expect their bottom … [Read more...] about 2009 Power Poll
Saving Kids . . . And Money: Nevada has much to gain from Corporate Tuition Tax Credits
As the Nevada Legislature convenes in Carson City to discuss how to cover the imaginary budget shortfall—imaginary, in that it’s a shortfall between the money projected to come in and the 17 percent increase in spending that politicians want—the fate of taxpayers and businesses hangs in the balance. Reports at this time suggest that leadership aims to double or even triple … [Read more...] about Saving Kids . . . And Money: Nevada has much to gain from Corporate Tuition Tax Credits