Nevada Briefs - September 2000

Nevada Briefs

Personal Golf Trainer Hits Marketplace

American Golf Technologies, Inc. (AGT) of Henderson has introduced the Personal Golf Trainer, a new alternative to the standard driving range. This portable, computerized device allows the golfer to select an unlimited variety of uphill, downhill, hilside, or level ground lies, as well as a selection of surfaces including Fairway Rough, Deep Rough and Sand Bunker. "Every golfer can now practice how to make those specialty shots from the convenience of their home, day or night, regardless of the weather," said AGT Vice President Jeff Jones, the 1999 PGA Teacher of the Year in Nevada. American Golf Technologies was formed in 1999 by Ray J. Sobol, who based his invention on large, commercial golf training devices but scaled it down for individual use and designed it to be portable as well as affordable. AGT intends to produce 200 units per month at its factory by the end of the year.

Paragon to Manage Nye County Investments

Nye County Commissioners have awarded a contract to Henderson-based Paragon Asset Company, a professional advisory firm, to manage federally received funds for the county. Paragon’s principals, Ted Schlazer and Bob Kasner, will manage funds valued at $6 million, with investment income used to fund county projects. The funds are expected to be augmented yearly by the federal government until 2003. Paragon manages funds for Clark County, the City of North Las Vegas, the City of Henderson and several other government agencies.

Gabbs Seeks Redevelopment Help

The tiny town of Gabbs is setting economic development goals and devising a plan to revitalize its economy, with help from the University of Nevada. The Center for Economic Development at UNR received a grant from the U.S. Forest Service to assist Gabbs, a central-Nevada town whose population has dropped from 1,130 in 1987 to about 400 today due to the closing of several nearby mines. Gabbs, Nevada’s smallest incorporated city, was a major producer of magnesium following World War II. Professor Tom Harris of UNR says the process of goal-setting will include community input, followed by extensive work with the Nevada Commission on Economic Development and other agencies. One idea for bringing more dollars into the economy is by promoting the town as a gateway to the recreation area at Berlin-Icthyosaur State Park, 23 miles away. The town contains four churches and one bar, and is home to the "Sandy Bottom" golf course, a nine-hole, largely abandoned course played completely on sand.

Nevada Population Poised to Exceed Two Million

More than 2.6 million people will call Nevada home in 2010, according to state demographer Jeff Hardcastle, who predicted that Nevada’s 1.9 million residents will be joined by an additional 644,000 newcomers during the next 10 years. The demographer, based at the University of Nevada, Reno, projects the state will break the 2 million mark this year, largely due to the continuing boom in Clark County. The population projections report, which may be viewed at www.nsbdc.org/demographer, contains predictions and growth rate projections for each county.

Clark County is expected to experience a 2.9 percent average growth rate, which will bring its 2010 population to 1.8 million. Nye County will be the fastest-growing county, nearly doubling its population from 33,000 in 1999 to 59,000 by 2010. Hardcastle predicts Washoe County will grow at a 1.7 percent rate, increasing its population from 324,000 to 390,000 in 2010. "It appears at first glance that there will be strong regional growth in the northwestern part of Nevada," according to Hardcastle, who attributes the increase to a diversifying economy and commuter lifestyle. Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties are all expected to enjoy a small population boom.

Nevada Hospitals Set Up E-Nurseries

Friends and relatives from around the world can now view pictures of newborns on web sites sponsored by Nevada hospitals. Among the hospitals offering the service are St. Mary’s (Reno), Sunrise Hospital, Valley Hospital and University Medical Center in Las Vegas, and St. Rose Hospital in Henderson. With the permission of new parents, hospitals photograph the babies and post their pictures on the site within 48 hours after birth, where they remain for 30 days. Each infant’s first name and last initial is posted along with vital statistics such as weight, length and time born. Some sites allow parents to customize their baby’s entry by posting a story about the birth or describing the baby for those who are too far away to make a personal visit. Friends and family can log onto the virtual nursery, leave a message for the parents, and even arrange to send flowers to the happy family.

SBA Lender Opens Las Vegas Office

Business Lenders LLC, a non-bank, Small Business Administration lender, has established a presence in Nevada by opening a branch at 8620 S. Eastern Ave. in Las Vegas. Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, Business Lenders is one of the nation’s top ten, non-bank SBA lenders, with approval to make loans in 47 states. It is a member of the Medallion Financial Group, a New York-based specialty finance company. Pamela Wilson, chosen as loan officer for the state, brings more than 15 years of small business finance experience to the position. She came to Business Lenders from Bank of America, where she was responsible for all aspects of SBA loan development for the Las Vegas region.

Utility Companies Employ Videoconferencing Software

Nevada Power Company in Las Vegas, Sierra Pacific Power in Reno and Portland General Electric in Oregon held a "virtual launch" in July of a new video conferencing system allowing the three related entities to hold two-and three-way meetings. Thomas Moore, corporate communications officer for Nevada Power, reports that video conferencing using SPECTRUM computer network software saved the company an estimated $271,000 in its first five months of operation. Savings were based on reducing the number of trips required between Las Vegas and Reno, including airfare, meals, lodging, and lost productivity. The company averages about seven video conferences a day, according to Moore. SPECTRUM is a software-based network management solution used to monitor and manage networks. Nevada Power’s high-speed network is powered by switching and routing equipment from Enterasys Networks.

Jamcracker Opens Reno Office

The latest hi-tech company to open an office in Reno is Jamcracker Inc., which provides a web-based workspace for information technology (IT) and business applications for small and mid-sized companies. Jamcracker helps small IT departments create custom systems using pre-tested application service provider (ASP) packages for email, finance, human resources and web conferencing. The new sales office will help support all client and partner relationships in the state of Nevada. Jamcracker, with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, has grown in its one year of business from its three co-founders to 240 employees and has offices in southern California, Phoenix, Denver, New Mexico and Chicago.

Fastest Growing Community Bank Announced

First Independent Bank of Nevada, based in Reno, qualifies as Nevada’s fastest growing community bank according to data available from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). First Independent’s assets exceeded $58 million after its first nine months of operation through June 30, 2000, with deposits averaging $5 million a month and loans averaging $3.7 million a month. A survey of Nevada’s nine newest banks also listed First Independent Bank first in transaction account growth and growth in total loans. Grant Markham, president and CEO, said, "our growth rate continues to be beyond expectations. We expect to double all of our company projections within the first year of operation." The bank opened in September 1999 with $10 million in capital raised through a local, private stock offering. Nearly 96 percent of the bank’s shareholders are Nevada residents.

New Airport Planned for Southern Nevada

Randall H. Walker, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, discussed the future of air travel in Southern Nevada at a meeting of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) in Las Vegas. Figures for 1999 show that McCarran is already the seventh busiest airport in the world, and McCarran passenger traffic has increased 95 percent since 1990. Walker detailed plans to add gates, roadways, a new terminal and another rental car facility to keep up with growth in the next few years. Even after this expansion, he estimated the airport will reach its maximum capacity of 55 million passengers in 2006. Plans are currently underway to acquire federally-owned land in the Ivanpah valley near Jean to construct a totally new facility, which could handle an additional 30 million passengers.