Nicole Lucht

Story Archive

Federal land sales to create jobs: Friday, Sept. 11, 2009; When the federal government sets aside land for public use, it creates jobs, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said as he authorized $135 million for projects in Nevada and Lake Tahoe.
Good energy-related jobs fueled by stimulus: Friday, Sept. 4, 2009; There is decent green in jobs to weatherize energy inefficient homes.
CityCenter might budge the jobless rate. Budge.: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009; Las Vegas’ economy is going to need more than CityCenter’s opening — and massive hiring — to rebound to pre-recession employment levels, a local economist says.
Q&A: Nevada Democrat Rep. Dina Titus: Friday, Aug. 28, 2009; In Rep. Dina Titus’ office in Henderson, the health care reform bill sits on the desk once used by Democratic Sen. Howard Cannon. Because the bill has drawn controversy in recent weeks, she has the pages tabbed to sections for easy reference when discussing health care with someone.
Prospects are grim for job growth in Las Vegas: Friday, Aug. 28, 2009; Las Vegas’ economy is going to need more than CityCenter’s opening — and massive hiring — to rebound to pre-recession employment levels, a local economist said. Prospects for job growth in the next six months are few.
Souped-up Three Square food bank could serve as model: Friday, Aug. 28, 2009; As an employed businessperson, whenever you feel a pang of hunger, you know it’s temporary. But for 70,000 people in the Las Vegas Valley, their hunger isn’t temporary.
Employers told to brace for swine flu’s return: Friday, Aug. 28, 2009; The flu — be it seasonal or a recent outbreak — attacks more than just an individual. It can cripple a business.
Economy's bust stings hospitals built for boom: Officials of Southern Hills, St. Rose in southwest valley try to stay upbeat despite low demand; Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009; It made all the sense in the world a few years ago for entrepreneurs to focus on the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley as the next boom area. Everything pointed to that — the construction of the Las Vegas Beltway, the emerging master plans, the building permits. Among those who positioned themselves for the boom — along with the big box stores, slot bars and pizza parlors — were two private hospital chains. They built Southern Hills Hospital and the San Martin campus of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals.
Germany has socialized health care, here’s one look at how it works: Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009; I’m not so sure a socialized health care system is such a bad idea. I lived it, and I’m certainly no worse for wear. During the 1990s I lived in Germany, both as an American Army brat and as a German citizen.
Hospital capacity outpaces slower growth in valley: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; Southern Hills Hospital and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals — San Martin Campus were built during the residential and commercial development boom. At the time it was expected that both hospitals would be surrounded by homes and businesses, attracting physicians to medical buildings and servicing a high demand for medical care.
Regulators shut down local bank operators, credit union: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; Three financial institutions with operations in Las Vegas have been shut down by state and federal regulators.
A German perspective on reform: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; I’m not so sure a socialized health care system is such a bad idea. I lived it, and I’m certainly no worse for wear.
CityCenter's Aria to protect blackjack dealers from smoke: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; Go ahead, blow smoke in your blackjack dealer’s face. If you’re playing at the soon-to-open Aria at CityCenter, they will hardly notice. That’s because Aria’s blackjack tables will be equipped with an air curtain that shoots straight up from the table, dividing dealer and players. That’s the next-to-best thing Aria could do to protect dealers’ health, aside from not allowing smoking in the casino, said Cindy Ortega, senior vice president of energy and environmental services for MGM Mirage, an owner of CityCenter.
Sports medicine docs enjoy strong demand: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; Las Vegas doctors who specialize in sports medicine say there is “plenty of work to go around,” and are welcoming any competition.
Doctors seeking insurance burden relief: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; There is not much that is certain about how health care reform efforts will play out in Congress, but for many doctors there is one issue that is crystal clear.
Community Bank of Nevada handed to FDIC: Friday, Aug. 14, 2009; Community Bank of Nevada was seized by the state’s Financial Institutions Division today, and was handed over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as its receiver. Nevada State Bank has been contracted to manage the banks during this time.
Clinton expands his clean energy challenge: Friday, Aug. 14, 2009; Four years after former President Bill Clinton challenged the Las Vegas business community to lead the nation in conservation and renewable energy, he challenged the rest of the nation.
Desert Community CEO plays pint-size pitchman: Friday, Aug. 14, 2009; If a half-foot tall man offering banking services has set up shop under your bed, you might have just spotted Desert Community Bank CEO Jim Howard.
Cindy Ortega: Senior vice president of MGM Mirage's energy and environmental services division; Friday, Aug. 7, 2009; Cindy Ortega is in charge of transforming MGM Mirage into the green giant of gaming — and we’re not talking about the color of the company’s flagship casino on the Strip.
Does going green bring the promise of jobs?: Prospects for green jobs may not be as positive as proponents think; Friday, Aug. 7, 2009; As the recession wears on, there’s a lot of enthusiasm for renewable energy’s potential to create jobs. This economy, proponents say, promises to rebuild communities, restore jobs and reinstate America as a global leader. But not so fast.
Summit to address workforce's role in clean energy shift: Friday, Aug. 7, 2009; Jobs and the economy will take center stage during the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 on Aug. 10 at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.
Water conservation efforts don’t have to be expensive: Friday, Aug. 7, 2009; For businesses looking to conserve water, it’s the simple things that can make a big difference.
FTC delays enforcement of identity theft rules: Friday, July 31, 2009; The federal government is expected to start enforcing its red flag rules Aug. 1 to cut down on identity theft stemming from electronic transactions.
Reform makes sense for small businesses, Sebelius says: Friday, July 31, 2009; The Obama administration reached out to the masses last week to discuss health care reform live on Facebook.
Hospitals wait on reform details: Friday, July 31, 2009; You’d think that, given the high cost of providing service to uninsured patients, Las Vegas Valley hospital executives would be falling all over themselves as they express enthusiastic support for health care reform initiatives that would provide coverage for the uninsured. And you would be wrong.
Jobless jump is fueled by end of school year: Friday, July 24, 2009; The dramatic increase in June’s jobless rate can be partially attributed to jobs cut at the end of the school year, economists said. Las Vegas’ jobless rate in June was 12.3 percent; statewide, it was 12 percent.
Women of Color event to focus on recession: Friday, July 24, 2009; The third annual Women of Color Conference will be Aug. 11 at Mandalay Bay.
Capitol deal frees up capital: Friday, July 24, 2009; Capitol Bancorp is banking on the sale of 1st Commerce Bank to help it better spread its capital and resources to the four community banks it owns in Las Vegas.
Punam Mathur: Vice president of human resources, NV Energy; Friday, July 24, 2009; Punam Mathur is not just a businesswoman, but a mother of three, a champion for workplace diversity and an advocate for the less fortunate.
Small businesses: Health care mandate a burden: Friday, July 24, 2009; Some small-business owners are concerned that a federally imposed mandate to provide health insurance to their employees, now under consideration in Congress, would impose a difficult burden as they struggle to keep their enterprises afloat during the recession.
Ink in the Inc.: Workplaces face growing popularity of tattoos; Friday, July 17, 2009; Toodeloo, tattoo taboo. It’s those crazy kids, don’t ya know, with their crayon-inspired hair, metal-pierced faces and tattoos, well, everywhere, that can give employers nightmares. Not so much the chance of having an employee with an affinity for body art — they probably do — but how to enforce a dress code appropriate for the business.
Perfect time, place for clean energy summit: Friday, July 17, 2009; What better place to host the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 than Las Vegas, a potential hot spot of green energy?
Ruvo Center begins treating patients: Friday, July 17, 2009; The patient care component is up and running at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
Brain Institute to take first patient Monday: Friday, July 10, 2009; The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute will see its first patient Monday morning, according to Maureen Peckman, CEO of Keep Memory Alive, the fundraising arm of the institute. Within a year, the clinic expects to have 2,000 patients.
NV Energy details its long-term renewables outlook: Friday, July 10, 2009; The day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a federal initiative to open up federal land in the West to renewable energy development, NV Energy filed its three-year integrated resources plan that places emphasis on renewable energy and conservation instead of traditional energy sources.
A new incentive for hiring out-of-work veterans: Friday, July 10, 2009; A recent expansion of the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit rewards employers who hire jobless veterans.
Loans weigh down Nevada banks: Friday, July 10, 2009; Nevada banks have loaned out more than they have taken in, and the higher the number, the more concern banking regulators have, state Financial Institutions Commissioner George Burns said.
Data highlight need for reform: Friday, July 3, 2009; Still skeptical of the nation’s need to reform its fragmented health care system?
After the layoffs ...: Experts say employers should be understanding, honest as they manage their post-cutback workforce; Friday, July 3, 2009; The day many in the office had worried about has come and gone. The round of layoffs has been made. Experts say that smart employers will try their best to help remaining workers deal with a range of issues.
Interior bets big on Western solar energy: Friday, July 3, 2009; Solar energy development in Nevada and five other Western states has been put on a fast track by the federal government, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced this week.
Look who’s in the jobless line: Bosses: Managers’ claims grew faster than others’; analyst blames construction bust; Monday, June 29, 2009; The biggest percentage increase in unemployment from May 2006 to May 2009 was among those in the ranks of management, state unemployment statistics show.
D. Taylor: Culinary Union secretary-treasurer; Friday, June 26, 2009; To step into Culinary Union boss D. Taylor’s Commerce Street office is to step into a museum of Las Vegas union activity. There is the collection of buttons relaying Culinary campaign slogans.
NV Energy inks solar deal: Friday, June 26, 2009; NV Energy has agreed to buy energy from Massachusetts-based American Capital Energy’s 20-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant to be built near Searchlight.
Construction slowdown fuels male, Hispanic job losses: Friday, June 26, 2009; In Nevada, men far outnumber women on the unemployment line, and the number of Hispanics filing jobless claims has grown much faster than other ethnic groups’, according to state statistics.
Culinary’s unemployed offered low-cost coverage: Monday, June 22, 2009; Culinary Union members who are unemployed or working part time are being offered a low-cost health insurance that covers doctor visits, prescriptions and laboratory tests.
Businesspeople unite to save pets left behind: Friday, June 19, 2009; We’ve all heard the heart-wrenching stories of animals left behind when families vacate their foreclosed homes. Sometimes the animals are rescued; other times their discovery comes too late.
Jobless rate hits all-time high: Friday, June 19, 2009; Nevada’s unemployment rate hit 11.3 percent, an all-time high for the state since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the rate in January 1976, officials said.
Culinary to offer low-cost health care coverage to laid-off hotel workers: Friday, June 19, 2009; Culinary Union members who are unemployed or working part time are being offered a low-cost health insurance that covers doctor visits, prescriptions and laboratory tests.
Institute board changes leaders: Friday, June 19, 2009; A founding member of Nevada Cancer Institute is stepping down as chairwoman July 1 to let the new CEO better run the organization.
Reform could take many years: Friday, June 12, 2009; SAN DIEGO — If you thought the federal bills bailing out financial institutions and U.S. automakers or the recent wrangling over the state’s budget were complicated, you haven’t seen anything yet.