Week of November 25 | News Briefs

Nevada Housing Division

The State of Nevada Housing Division is relocating to new offices at 1830 College Parkway, Suite 200 in Carson City.

Services will be limited due to the move, November 23, 28 and 29, with full service resuming on November 30.

For details, email NHDinfo@housing.nv.gov, or call 1-800-227-4960 or 775-687-2040.

Conformance Technologies

Conformance Technologies, a privately held corporation and provider of automated compliance and sensitive data protection systems and services headquartered in Reno, has partnered with Conformance Technologies of Tempe, Ariz., for use of Conformance’s PCI ToolKit for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard merchant portfolio compliance validation.

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc.

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has completed its new parking structure at Monarch Casino Black Hawk in Colorado and secured from the City of Black Hawk the necessary temporary certificate of occupancy for the garage.

Monarch, which also owns the Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, announced that it has begun preparations for the demolition and removal of the old parking structure and is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2017, at which time Monarch will break ground on the hotel tower and casino expansion. Upon completion, the hotel tower and casino expansion will nearly double the casino space and will add a 23-story hotel tower with approximately 500 guest rooms and suites, an upscale spa and pool facility, four restaurants and additional bars.

Sotheby’s International

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC has launched its Apple TV app, available now on all 4th generation Apple TV devices.

The app showcases nearly 50,000 properties currently represented by the Sotheby’s International Realty brand worldwide, and in the Lake Tahoe, Truckee and surrounding areas.

Lyon County

Lyon County Manager Jeff Page is seeking authorization from the Board of County Commissioners to partner with the University of Nevada’s University Center for Economic Development to develop a strategic plan for Lyon County.

On Dec. 1, the Board of Commissioners will be asked to approve a project proposal and an expenditure of $29,000 to the University Center for Economic Development to facilitate and prepare a strategic plan.

Foundry

Foundry (formerly Bauserman Group), an integrated advertising, marketing and strategic communications agency in Reno, Mustang Heritage Foundation and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wild Horse & Burro Program received a Bronze Spike from the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for their work on behalf of the Extreme Mustang Makeover event.

The Extreme Mustang Makeover (EMM) events were created by the Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wild Horse & Burro Program in order to recognize and highlight the value of Mustangs through a national training competition to showcase the beauty, versatility and trainability of the rugged horses.

Noble Studios

Noble Studios was presented with four awards at the 2016 MarCom Awards for creative work for clients in the travel/tourism, transportation, technology and nonprofit sectors.

Noble’s honors were:

Platinum Award of Excellence in Corporate Website Design for Autodesk Research.

Gold Award of Excellence in Small Business Website Design for ITS Logistics.

Gold Award of Excellence in Nonprofit Website Design for The Discovery.

Honorable Mention for Excellence in Tourism Website Design for Yosemite/Mariposa County.

The awards are judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

Noble also announced the winner of its annual pro bono award to Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary. Each year, Noble awards one nonprofit courtesy of its Noble Deeds community outreach program.

Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery

Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery has been nominated for the 2016 Independent We Stand Independent Small Business of the Year award, presented by the national small business movement.

Artsy Fartsy was one of 222 nominees cast during the nomination from more than 13,000 entries. It was the third year in a row Artsy Fartsy was nominated for the award and made it to the quarterfinals.

Voting is now underway at www.IndieBizAward.com through Dec. 11 to determine this year’s grand prize winner. Voters may cast one vote every 24 hours by going to http://www.independentwestand.org/indies/profile.php?id=79 .

The 2016 Indie winner will be announced Dec. 14 and will receive prizes with a combined value of more than $10,000.

Paul Mitchell the School Reno

Paul Mitchell the School Reno is launching a nail technician program.

The program and institution was started in response to the region’s growing population and demand for salon services.

National Federation of Independent Business

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s largest and leading small-business association, announced one month remains for business-minded high school seniors to apply for a scholarship from the organization.

High school seniors who run their own business and plan to attend a two- or four-year university, college, or vocational institute during the fall of 2017 are eligible to apply. The application period is open through December 18, 2016.

Interested students can apply at: www.nfib.com/year.

JAG Nevada

46 Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates (JAG Nevada) students from across Nevada recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the JAG National Student Leadership Academy (NSLA).

More than 600 students from 32 states across the country attended the event. Leadership Development seminars, speakers and activities are a significant part of the NSLA, including tours of the nation’s capital for participating students. Nine of the 46 Nevada JAG students engaged in national competitions in employability, public speaking and math skills.

Olga Garcia from Reed High School in Reno, was the recipient of the first-place award for the Employability Skills competition. In this competition, competitors were to demonstrate their ability to secure employment through proficiency in the job application process and complete a job interview.

Happiest workers

Nevada ranks fourth among all states in a survey of the happiest workers, according to Sokanu, a career discovery platform designed to help people find their ideal career based on their personality traits, interests and abilities, released new datalast week that reveals where the happiest — and unhappiest —workers in America live.

The top states with the happiest workers were Hawaii, West Virginia and Maine. The five unhappiest worker states were: Vermont, Rhode Island, Washington, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico.

The infographic can be found at https://www.sokanu.com/blog/happiest-workers-in-america/.

Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corp. announced the tender offer consideration and total consideration for specified series of outstanding notes. The terms and conditions of the tender offer are described in an offer to purchase and the related letter of transmittal.

The offer commenced on Nov. 2, with Barrick and Barrick North America Finance LLC offering to purchase for cash the series of Notes for an aggregate purchase price of up to $650,000,000, plus accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes from the last applicable interest payment date up to, but not including, the settlement date.

Barrick Gold also announced employees from the Turquoise Ridge mine volunteered time to build a swimming area for a new bear enclosure at Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary, a non-profit wildlife rehabilitative center, located near Imlay, NV, that provides permanent placement for wild and exotic animals in need.

Chase International

Sue Lowe, corporate vice president of Chase International represented the boutique real estate firm at a high-end real estate show at Bloomsbury Square in London.

The annual October show is recognized as one of the premier gatherings featuring the finest homes around the world. Attendees consisted of affluent buyers from throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

IGT

International Game Technology PLC reported revenues of $1,266 million for the third quarter ended on Sept. 30.

DETR

Weekly wages in Nevada averaged $874 during the second quarter of 2016, up from $854 a year ago, a gain of 2.3 percent, according Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

The department also reported 10,795 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed in Nevada during October, a decline of 7 percent from October of last year.

RSCVA

The Reno Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA) released its Room Tax and Occupancy Statistics for October 2016 and are now available at: http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/about-us/finance-accounting.

Nevada Indian Commission

The Nevada Indian Commission has announced its 2016 American Indian Achievement Award winners.

The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony won several awards

The RSIC honorees were:

Contributor/Supporter of the Year: Scott Nebesky.

American Indian Community Leader of the Year: Ralph Burns, Jimmie James and Johnny Williams, Jr.

American Indian Youth Services/Role Model of the Year: Patricia Williams Hicks.

American Indian Youth Ambassador of the Year: Sierra Reel.

NDOT

The Nevada Department of Transportation has substantially completed a project to reconstruct the State Route 431 Mt. Rose Highway truck escape ramp. Commercial trucks are now permitted on both directions of Mt. Rose Highway.

The truck ramp, located on the westbound side of the highway in Incline Village, has been converted from the previous rock surface to asphalt. A series of six pre-tensioned drag nets were installed on the truck ramp to catch the front grill of runaway vehicles and help safely absorb the impact to slow, then ultimately stop, the vehicle. The asphalt surface of the truck ramp will be heated to ensure that snow or ice does not hamper use of the nets during winter months.

Two roadside flashing signs and one large overhead digital message sign have also been installed to alert drivers when a vehicle is in the truck ramp.

The approximately $4.6 million project by Q&D Construction was completed on schedule.