News Briefs | Week of Oct. 28

Rural Transportation Grant

For the third year in a row, Nevada has been awarded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Highly Rural Transportation Grant (HRTG) to support transportation programs in Nye and Elko Counties.

This year’s award of $100,000 will be used to assist rural veterans travelling to Veterans Administration medical clinics and hospitals.

Nevada State Contractors Board

The following local contractors disciplined by the Nevada State Contractors Board were:

Reno Renovators, a carpentry contractor, based in Reno, had its license revoked. The company was found in violation for abandonment of a construction project and failure to establish financial responsibility.

Second Generation Builders, Inc., a residential and small commercial and plumbing contractor, based in Carson City, had its license revoked. The company was found in violation for failure to establish financial responsibility, failure to keep in force a bond or cash deposit, failure to include Residential Recovery Fund information on a contract, contracting beyond the scope of the license and failure to ensure all bidders are properly licensed. Licensee was fined $2,400 and assessed investigative costs.

Alternative Drilling Company, LLC, a well drilling, pump installation, pressure tanks company based out of Spring Creek, had its license revoked. The company was found in violation for abandonment of a construction project, diversion of funds, failure to comply with a notice to correct, failure to respond to a request from the board, failure to include Residential Recovery Fund information on a contract and failure to establish financial responsibility. Licensee was fined $6,000 and assessed investigative costs.

Universal Value Advisors

Universal Value Advisors, an investment advisory firm headquartered in Reno, has joined The Fieldstone Financial Advisors Network of Foxborough, Mass.

The co-founders of Universal Value Advisors — Dr. Robert N. Barone, and Joshua A. Barone, the firm’s managing partner — will also join the research collaborative at Fieldstone Research. Dr. Robert Barone will become a partner of Fieldstone Research the firm.

Barrick Gold Corp.

Barrick Gold Corp. reported net earnings of of $175 million ($0.15 per share), and adjusted net earnings of $278 million ($0.24 per share), for the third quarter of 2016.

Barrick also has declared a dividend 2 cents per share, payable on Dec. 15, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 30.

Newmont Mining Corp.

Newmont Mining Corp. reported net income attributable to shareholders from continuing operations of $169 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to $159 million, or $0.30 per share in the prior year quarter of 2016 improved adjusted net income of 1 to $202 million, or $0.38 per basic share, compared to $70 million or $0.13 per share in the prior year quarter of 2015.

Newmont also declared a quarterly divdend of $0.05 per share of common stock, payable on Dec. 29, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 8.

Itronics Inc.

Itronics Inc., a green technology headquartered in Reno, reported its third quarter GOLD’n GRO fertilizer sales were up 17 percent compared to the prior year.

The sales increase is partially a result of new application development by the company’s fertilizer distributor in California. Trucking delays also prevented sales from reaching more than 20 percent.

Employers Holdings

Employers Holdings, Inc. on Oct. 26 reported net income and net income excluding the impact of the LPT of $22.6 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, and $19.6 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, respectively, for the third quarter of 2016. Operating income was $18.7 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2016.

The company’s loss ratio before the LPT decreased approximately two percentage points in the quarter.

The company’s commission expense and underwriting and other operating expense ratios increased slightly over the previous year’s third quarter. Per diluted share amounts benefited from the impact of $11.6 million in share repurchases.

FirstService Residential

FirstService Residential with a main office in Reno, has been chosen to manage the Riverbend Association.

Commercial real estate listing

Todd Blonsley, vice president investments with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Company, exclusively listed for sale, the property leased to O’Reilly Auto Parts, at 345 East Prater Way in Sparks. The 4,950-square-foot building sits on one-half acre in the Ironhorse Shopping Center.

Golden Pine Cone Awards

Local nonprofit GREENevada in partnership with Environmental Leadership, Nevada EcoNET and more recently greenUP!, will present the 2016 Golden Pinecone Award ceremony, Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Peppermill Resort Spa Casino.

Winners include:

Educator: Leigh Metcalfe, Reed High School.

Educational Program: Envirolution Project Recharge.

Individual / Volunteer: Sue Jacox, Great Basin Outdoor School.

Nonprofit Organization or Federal/State Agency: Sierra Nevada Journeys.

Public Servant or Agency Representative: Carol Perry, Regional Transportation Commission.

Small Business: Envirohaven.

Envirohaven • Medium to Large Business: One Nevada Credit Union, Reno.

Youth Leadership - Cecy Cervantes, Student Assistant, USAC, Sparks.

Innovation Award: Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful/Nevada Land Trust for the One Truckee River Management Plan.

VanessasMallStore.com

VanessasMallStore.com, an online clothing store based in Winnemucca, has been launched by owner Vanessa Huaman.

VanessasMallStore.com is an online e-commerce resource dedicated to clothes and products for both kids and babies, as well as a wide range of seasonal items.

Apricot Lane Boutique

Apricot Lane Boutique, a new women’s boutique store, has been opened by Reno resident Star Anderson.

For details, go to: https://www.facebook.com/apricotlanereno/.

Statewide Halloween spending

Nevada consumers will be spending an estimated $127 million on costumes, candy, and spooky decorations to celebrate Halloween this year, according to projections by the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN).

Across the country, Americans will spend $8.4 billion according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Unemployment Rates

In September, the unemployment rates in all three of Nevada’s major population centers fell more than one percentage point over the year, in addition to experiencing a drop of 0.4 percentage point each over the month.

Carson City and Las Vegas were home to unemployment rates of 5.6 percent, both down from August’s rate of 6 percent.

In Reno/Sparks, unemployment stood at 4.5 percent in September, down from 4.9 percent in August, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the same month last year.

As reported earlier this month, the statewide unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.8 percent.

Gaming Win

All major gaming areas in Nevada reported an increase in “gaming win” in September 2016, compared to the same month the previous year.

Overall, Nevada’s nonrestricted gaming licensees reported a total “gaming win” of $948,961,678 for the month of September 2016. This amounts to a 3.55 percent increase compared to September 2015, when licensees reported a gaming win of $916,466,663.

For the fiscal period from July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2016, the gaming win has increased 2.84 percent.

In Clark County, the gamining win at $808,961,678 was up 3.63 percent.

The Washoe County win at 74,016,873 was up 3.60 percent.

South Lake Tahoe was $21,730,716, up 2.27 percent.

The Carson Valley area, which includes Carson City as well as Gardnerville and Minden, was $8,826,197, for 1.54 percent increase.

The Elko County win was $23,483,413 for a gain of 4.86 percent.