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The cost of healthcare benefits rose 11.2 percent in 2004, according to a survey of 3,000 companies conducted between January and May. The figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust survey mark the fourth straight year of double-digit increases in health-benefit costs. Large and small businesses alike face complex choices in … [Read more...] about Factors to Consider When: Selecting the Right Health Plan

What’s ahead for the red-hot housing market in Southern Nevada? Now that housing prices seem to have peaked, are we heading for a crash? Or will the scarcity of land drive prices out of range for the average wage earner? On September 9, Tom McCormick, president of Astoria Homes, and Dennis Smith, president of Homebuilders Research, Inc., met with Nevada Business Journal … [Read more...] about Southern Nevada Homebuilders Forecast: Charting a Volatile Market

Question: What services does the Department of Business & Industry provide for Nevada citizens and businesses? Describing the Department of Business & Industry (B&I) is like trying to herd cats. The 16 agencies that comprise B&I are all over the spectrum in scope, authority, purpose and constituency. Insurance Division licenses and regulates all insurance … [Read more...] about Nevada Department of Business & Industry: Provides Many Services Under One Roof

Have you ever received an e-mail from a business associate that made you wonder what side of the bed he got up on? You probably suspected the tone conveyed was unintentional, but it still left you irritated. It seems that as our inboxes fill up, our e-mail etiquette goes down. Increasingly, we lack the time (and the patience) to craft well-thought-out, complete responses. The … [Read more...] about Maintaining Your E-Image: Nine Tips to Better E-Mail Etiquette

Since its inception in 1986, REMSA (Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority) has dramatically improved the quality and responsiveness of emergency services in the Truckee Meadows and has put Reno on the map as the home of one of the nation’s highest-performing emergency medical services (EMS) systems. REMSA has grown from an agency of 50 employees in 1986 to more than … [Read more...] about REMSA Provides Northern Nevada: With Emergency Services

High net-worth individuals and business owners face a unique host of estate-planning challenges, along with wealth preservation issues. For families and business owners of means, concerns do not generally revolve around whether they will retire comfortably, educate their children or live the lifestyle they want. Instead, the wealthy fret about incurring tax liabilities, … [Read more...] about Managing Millions: Trusted Advisors Help Preserve Wealth

Local groups such as the Boys and Girls Club, 4-H, the senior center and Great Basin College benefit from the bank’s outreach efforts and financial support. It is also a key sponsor of the Elko County Fair and Livestock Show. "We really believe in giving back to the community and helping it grow," said Sullivan, who served for 10 years on the Advisory Board for Great Basin … [Read more...] about Banking On It

The CEO of MagnuM Opus can sum up his company’s philosophy in one simple sentence: "If MagnuM Opus is driven by the market and the market is changing, then so is MagnuM Opus." The privately held corporation was formed in 1997 by local development partners Michael A. Panciro, CEO, and his wife, Maranda S.J. Chen, president. As a resident of Nevada for over 30 years, Panciro has … [Read more...] about MagnuM Opus: Changing to Keep Up with Market Trends

Office and industrial real estate are featured in two special supplements this month for the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). Coupled with the cover story on retail development, this issue of Nevada Business Journal covers all three segments of the commercial real estate industry. As regular readers know, we also devote a separate section each … [Read more...] about Real Estate as an Engine of Growth: Our Votes Help Keep It Rolling

Non-profits are discovering more and more each day that bake sales, car washes and other traditional fundraising sources are simply not meeting budgetary requirements. These organizations are now turning to a new faith-based, fundraising network available through Reno-based MightyWorks.com. This Internet company is not only making a substantial difference for local Nevada … [Read more...] about MightyWorks.com: Making A Mighty Difference

Conventions draw consumers. According to the International Association of Conventions, people who attend trade shows and conventions spend far more than mom-and-pop visitors. A leisure visitor’s non-gaming expenditures average $634, while the convention delegate spends an average of $1,053, and trade show delegates average $1,395. Reasons to attend a convention or trade show … [Read more...] about Convention-al Economics: Meetings Bring Big Bucks to Nevada

It’s very rare that we get to use the words "check processing" and "exciting" in the same sentence, but this is one of those rare times. The banking industry is at the crossroads of what could prove to be one of the largest changes to the back office since MICR-encoding (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, those odd-looking figures on the bottom of checks and deposit slips) was … [Read more...] about Exciting Check Processing? Check 21 Arriving This Month

Obtaining a home-equity loan or line of credit provides access to cash and a boost to your tax deductions, but if not used wisely, it may put your financial well-being at risk. The Nevada Society of CPAs outlines the pros and cons of tapping your home equity. Before deciding whether to borrow against your home’s equity, it’s helpful to know the difference between a … [Read more...] about Borrowing Against Your Home: The Pros and Cons

Not retaining a lawyer at all. Hiring someone who represents himself or herself to be a "paralegal" or acquiring paperwork from a legal document center can prove costly in time and expense. Many times, clients ultimately find they must hire a lawyer to clean up the mess. Choosing a lawyer based solely upon price. While fees and costs should be factors when choosing a lawyer, … [Read more...] about Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Choosing A Lawyer

A funny thing happened on the way to collect the rent checks; commercial property managers found themselves sitting at the boardroom table with the property owner’s financial team. Once considered a minor player whose primary responsibility was to pick up tenant rent checks and make sure the garbage was collected, today’s property manager is a complex professional often … [Read more...] about Team Players: Commercial Property Managers Help Owners Succeeed