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7/23/2008 9:52 PM

Cetus portfolio: $60 million
by John Seelmeyer, 7/21/2008
Cetus Mortgage Ltd. had about $60 million in loans — many of them delinquent — on its books when it was taken over by state regulators earlier this month. The state, however, is stepping back after U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno said it will appoint a trustee to oversee the affairs of Cetus Mortgage. The Reno company, which specialized in so-called “hard money” lending on real estate projects, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection shortly after its operations were taken over by the Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending. Its biggest unsecured creditor is U.S. Bank, which provided a $50,000 line of credit to Cetus. The list of secured creditors, however, spills across more than 30 pages that list 11 or 12 creditors — predominantly Washoe County residents and businesses — on each page. A meeting of creditors is set for August 11. State regulators said it’s unclear who will look out for the interests of those creditors until the bankruptcy court names a trustee — but the
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NORTHERN NEVADA BUSINESS DAILY

Vacancy rate stands at nearly 10 percent
7/23/2008 1:11:58 PM
NAI Alliance Retail Division says second quarter findings show 14,006,006 square feet of total rentable space and 1,175,717 square feet of total vacant space. The overall vacancy rate stands at nearly 10 percent.

Board of Commissioners approved easements
7/23/2008 1:11:09 PM
Washoe County Board of Commissioners approved easements and infrastructure from Vidler Water Company, the managing partner of Fish Springs Ranch, LLC. The agreement finalizes the ability to deliver 8,000 acre feet of water nearly 38 miles to the north valleys.

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Musicians tap into broad base of clients
by Pat Patera, 7/21/2008
Musical talent — soloists, bands and orchestras — abounds in the \ Truckee Meadows. And the means those musicians employ to make a living are as varied as their styles. Jazz singer Cherie Shipley books her own gigs. A family friend works the phones to book duet- turned-quartet Shanti Shanti. And Reno Jazz Orchestra tackles grant writing with all the strategy of a battle master. Shipley has worked vocally as a jazz singer and had formed several bands — disco, country and variety. “In a small market like Reno, one must do a variety of things,” she says. She currently sings jazz on Sundays at Roxie in the Eldorado and is booked at Genoa’s upcoming Concert in the Park. And she continues to wear a variety of hats, including operation of Lake Tahoe Entertainment, a booking agency she bought five years ago.
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Effort to woo manager brought big fine to Mack
by Rob Sabo, 7/21/2008
An inconspicuous meeting at a Reno Wendy’s restaurant in 2000 was the first step leading to a $1 million fine for Mack Associates, operator of 11 Reno McDonald’s restaurants, for knowingly employing illegal immigrant workers and providing two workers with false names and Social Security numbers. Mack Associates, headed by Luther Mack, will pay the fine as part of a plea agreement entered last week in a case heard before U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan. Three of its executives pleaded guilty to related charges and now face possible fines and jail time. The plea stemmed from a late September 2007 U.S. Immigrations and Customs sweep of area McDonald’s that netted 58 illegal immigrants. Court documents spelled out the story: Joe Gillespie, director of operations for Mack Associates, and Jimmie Moore, a company vice president, approached former McDonald’s manager Felipe Garcia in May 2000 to see if he’d return as manager of a McDonald’s store in the Reno area.
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