Bruce Spotleson
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Story Archive
- Appreciating Nellis, Dorinson
- Air Force base, recycling pioneer have done a lot for this community
- Monday, March 18, 2013
- For many Southern Nevadans, Nellis Air Force Base comes to mind only when they see contrails in the sky. But Nellis’ impact on the economy is unmistakable.
- Kids’ education affects us all
- Nonprofit group works to improve state’s economy by cutting dropout rate
- Monday, March 11, 2013
- Even if you don’t have a child enrolled in the Clark County School District, its success rate should concern you. The state of education locally long ago became an issue that transcends parental concerns.
- Miller’s fascinating memoir
- Former governor’s story of the city’s evolution parallels that of his own family
- Monday, March 4, 2013
- The first time I met former Gov. Bob Miller, it was in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City. I stood with a long line of kids waiting to meet him, my son among them.
- Where does Las Vegas rank?
- If there’s a list to be published, for better or worse, this city is probably on it
- Monday, Feb. 25, 2013
- Everybody likes a list, and a city such as Las Vegas naturally makes it onto quite a few.
- Growing literary reputation
- Black Mountain Institute adds to Las Vegas’ recent cultural emergence
- Monday, Feb. 18, 2013
- Las Vegas may be many things to many people. But it’s fair to say we rarely are seen as a literary center. We should be.
- Every day is a celebration
- Coming months bring appreciation for listening, procrastination and ... lawyers?
- Monday, Feb. 11, 2013
- To everything, there is a season. And sometimes, a dedicated day, week or month. Take February, for example. We celebrate Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day and Mardi Gras. But there are several other, more obscure observances that fall on the calendar.
- How to keep the city growing
- Transportation projects are vital to the health of our economy in a global era
- Monday, Feb. 4, 2013
- Tom Skancke spoke Jan. 24 at the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual Preview Las Vegas about globalization and the central role transportation plays in economic development. He easily described the connection.
- Fun with science and history
- Museum exhibits, popular with locals, keep children as well as adults entertained
- Monday, Jan. 28, 2013
- Museums and tourists typically go hand in hand, but here in Las Vegas, the Natural History Museum is busier with locals than out-of-town visitors.
- Good year for United Way
- Surprisingly, the economy has not hurt the charitable organization’s fundraising
- Monday, Jan. 21, 2013
- Like so many other charitable organizations around the world, the United Way of Southern Nevada relies heavily on contributions from businesses and their employees. So it would come as little surprise to hear it had struggled in the recent economy.
- How’d we live without cellphones?
- They have become increasingly important to our everyday lives
- Monday, Jan. 7, 2013
- If it seemed tough to put away the cellphone over the holidays, you weren’t alone. Under oath, many of us would plead guilty as charged.
- Looking back and forward
- Conference examines global, national, regional economic outlooks
- Monday, Dec. 24, 2012
- There is a season to everything, including in the business world, and soon your inbox will fill with invitations to previews and forecasts to help us see where the economy is headed.
- Blue Man Group still making noise
- Incomparable show business success story stays relevant by reinventing itself
- Monday, Dec. 17, 2012
- Big-name performers and well-branded productions may enhance a hotel’s brand on Las Vegas Boulevard, but the simple reality of show business is that true success is measured only in ticket sales. The number of posteriors in the pews at curtain time is what counts most, and the box office can be a harsh judge of talent.
- Back in the saddle again
- When it comes to self-diagnosed muscle strains, beware the advisers you choose
- Monday, Dec. 10, 2012
- One of the first real lessons for many managers is learning the importance of leading by example. One can say or promise anything, but actions alone determine whether subordinates will follow a leader into battle — and whether they’ll have your back once you’re there.
- Don’t bother to ask the TSA
- Workers with criminal records and thefts from baggage raise plenty of questions
- Monday, Dec. 3, 2012
- A few years ago, a friend told a group of us that she had valuables stolen from her luggage while traveling for business. An experienced traveler, she insisted it had to have happened at our very own McCarran International Airport.
- Giving thanks after holidays
- Nevadans will get another chance to show how big their hearts are April 25
- Monday, Nov. 19, 2012
- Suddenly, it’s that season again, when the business world relaxes just a bit and succumbs to tradition. Business meetings soon will give way to the holidays’ more jubilant gatherings as we wave goodbye to 2012 and join in the optimism of a new year.
- The maturation of our city
- Las Vegas has gotten a bad rap for its cultural sophistication, but we’re getting there
- Monday, Nov. 12, 2012
- I’ve never agreed with folks who complain that Las Vegas lacks culture. It seems to me Las Vegas has had, for quite some time now, more culture than most other cities.
- Change the tone of discourse
- If the business community can talk politics in a civilized way, maybe politicians will
- Monday, Oct. 29, 2012
- As Election Day nears, one needn’t look at Congress to see how politically polarized our nation has become. Our own business community offers a closer example.
- Where there’s never a bad day
- The most uplifting story of Opportunity Village is that it continues to thrive
- Monday, Oct. 22, 2012
- Some of us wince at the ring of the morning alarm. Not the workforce of Opportunity Village. Few locals are happier to go to work.
- UNLV minds its business
- Monday, Oct. 8, 2012
- It didn’t quite offset all the recent budget cuts, but the impact of the Lee family’s $15 million gift to UNLV’s business school can hardly be overstated — even a year later.
- FedEx and real estate
- Shipping giant influences where businesses settle here, and maybe soon overseas
- Monday, Oct. 1, 2012
- When it was announced that FedEx managers would speak at the Sept. 12 luncheon for the local chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, I stuck around to hear why they were on the agenda, which is typically related to real estate.
- Wynn sets the precedent
- Court victory in slander case could determine how future rulings are made
- Monday, Sept. 24, 2012
- People in my line of work usually learn the terms “libel” and “slander” in journalism school, but many folks confuse the two. They are not interchangeable. Both can result from defamation, which is unjustified injury to a person’s reputation, but they are not the same.
- A case worth watching
- Across the country, a discrimination case could affect hiring practices here
- Monday, Sept. 17, 2012
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been investigating the Marylou’s chain of coffee shops because the Massachusetts company routinely hires young, attractive women as servers.
- Well-deserved recognition
- Media banquet celebrates work of TV, radio journalists who covered tragedies
- Monday, Sept. 3, 2012
- Northern Nevada has had a run of tragic news recently. The calamities that hit the region in 2011 and 2012 were epic. A train wreck in Fallon. The IHOP shooting in Carson City. The Reno air races crash. The devastating Caughlin and Washoe fires. So it seemed right that the Nevada Broadcasters Association would salute the TV and radio journalists who reported them. Those “first responders” were honored Aug. 27 at the annual Hall of Fame gala at Red Rock Resort.
- Medical tourism in practice
- Las Vegas could learn a thing or two from a small town in Arizona
- Monday, Aug. 27, 2012
- Unless you’ve been comatose, you’ve probably heard by now plenty about the concept of medical tourism in Las Vegas. It’s the talk of the town, given our clinics, attractions, tourist access and climate. Other places like it, too, and it’s a concept you can see at work just down the highway from here — in Goodyear, a suburb southwest of Phoenix.
- Investing in financial health
- EMBA program at UNLV lets employees take development into their own hands
- Monday, Aug. 20, 2012
- Most leaders know that employee development is a smart investment in a company’s long-term financial health. But when things get tight, it’s often the first area to get cut back or cut out. Organizations tend not to think of tomorrow when the wolf is at the door today.
- Movie theater, Chinese restaurant set to open at Green Valley Town Center in Henderson
- Friday, Aug. 17, 2012
- Green Valley Town Center in Henderson will receive a much-needed boost when Galaxy Theatres opens an eight-screen, 40,700-square-foot cineplex there in October.
- Southern Nevada is ready
- Building officials consider what’s to come in busier times
- Monday, Aug. 6, 2012
- It was one of those meetings that makes you feel optimistic, even at 7 a.m. That’s the time people get together from NAIOP, the commercial real estate organization.
- Stability is the last ingredient
- NSC beat odds in formative years, turns to new president to lead it into next decade
- Monday, July 30, 2012
- There were doubts about its future, especially given the many challenges of its infancy. But in just a couple more moons, a healthy Nevada State College will mark its 10th anniversary.
- Overcoming the big fear
- Public speaking is something people dread, but it doesn’t have to be so frightening
- Monday, July 23, 2012
- There’s a Jerry Seinfeld joke about how public speaking is the average person’s greatest fear.
- Attorneys: The marriage of Jones Vargas and Fennemore Craig
- Monday, July 16, 2012
- It wasn’t anything directly related to torts or writs that convinced the law firm of Jones Vargas it was time to form an alliance. It was the writing on the wall.
- The other benefits of McCarran's new Terminal 3
- Monday, July 9, 2012
- The local airport isn’t a place where most of us would choose to linger. But an airport like ours is more than a collection of gates; it’s part of our economic engine.
- Michael Schivo remembers the scene as early promoter
- Monday, July 2, 2012
- At the age of 20, at a time in life when most young people are trying to figure out how to pay for their entertainment, Michael Schivo was producing it. He already was on his way to becoming an impresario in the entertainment capital of the world, his hometown of Las Vegas.
- Mergers, health care and salads
- Monday, June 18, 2012
- Business lunches hold a special place on calendars, probably because they enable a person to accomplish several important things in one sitting. You can build relationships, discuss serious matters in a neutral environment and, of course, eat, ensuring survival for at least the afternoon. Like most of us, I usually sit down to lunch with glee — only to soon be confronted with the difficult choice between the tasty and the healthy.
- A chat with the owner of the Las Vegas Wranglers
- Monday, June 11, 2012
- At first, Gary Jacobs seems like the sort of person you’d be likely to meet at a think tank event, the kind held in Lake Tahoe or Sun Valley that’s focused on deep global topics. Looking at his resume, I’d guess he has been to a few.
- In health care, a history and reputation for quality go a long way
- Monday, May 28, 2012
- When it comes to health care, few things matter more than trust.
- Nevada insurance firm merges with national brokerage
- Friday, May 25, 2012
- Insurcorp, a Nevada health and welfare brokerage and consulting firm, has merged with Brown & Brown Insurance, a national company with a local presence.
- Dress for Success helps get and keep jobs
- Monday, May 21, 2012
- Let’s begin with the May 10 official location opening of Dress for Success Southern Nevada, a nonprofit organization that helps women seeking employment. Much credit is due founder Paige Candee and Executive Director Paula Lawrence for putting long hours into a project with long-term benefits to our business community and residents.
- The smartphone industry takes overdue steps
- Monday, May 7, 2012
- There had been too many events in too short a time, so it was probably inevitable that I’d finally get my signals crossed. After concluding that I was at the wrong place, I headed back to my parked car at the Hughes Center, whipped out my iPhone, again checked the calendar in it, made a phone call and quickly dispatched some emails.
- The commotion about an NBA franchise in Las Vegas
- Monday, April 30, 2012
- By most any definition, Las Vegas is a world-class city. If our major attractions and global tourism appeal weren’t already enough to earn such a distinction, the arrival of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Smith Center for the Performing Arts downtown made it more official.
- Talking franchising on a spring day
- Monday, April 23, 2012
- Though it’s usually brief in this desert, spring is a season in which daydreaming is a constant threat to productivity. No matter what activity you’re engaged in, a perfect spring day can get your mind wandering about things you’d rather be doing.
- Tony Plana wants to use the arts in our schools
- Monday, April 9, 2012
- As a successful stage, film and television professional, Tony Plana knows the role the performing arts play in society. And as a Latino American, he knows they represent even more than culture and entertainment.
- Entrepreneurs Organization is built on candor and openness
- Monday, April 2, 2012
- Acting as their own bosses and assuming their own risks, it makes sense that entrepreneurs are by nature an independent breed. So I must say the concept of a formal organization for entrepreneurs seemed to me an oxymoron at first.
- Mufflers, guns and small business
- Monday, March 26, 2012
- The free enterprise system and gun ownership are two of the better-known aspects of our American culture, and this being Las Vegas, where almost anything can be seen or done, I recently came upon an intersection of the two worlds.
- Steve Hughes rethinks the elevator pitch
- Monday, March 19, 2012
- Just as they do in the rest of our society, fads and trends come and go in the business world. For many, the business fad of 2011 was the elevator pitch.
- Dialogue about philanthropy is important for the community
- Monday, March 12, 2012
- Regular readers know that in addition to reporting bread-and-butter business news, we also cover subjects related to philanthropy. The reason is pretty basic: charities often draw both financial support and board members from the business community, and the two worlds are at times virtually interwoven.
- Marketing: For small-business operators, it’s good to remember the basics
- Monday, March 5, 2012
- Looking back, things were probably challenging enough for small-business owners even before the economy got redefined. For them, the responsibilities are endless, the hours thankless, and the job description includes everything from sales to service to fixing the plumbing.
- Getting together with business, civic leaders
- Monday, Feb. 27, 2012
- Local real estate organizations often seem to be best known by their acronyms. It always seems that a broad part of the business community knows who you’re talking about whenever they hear the initials NAIOP, CCIM or GLVAR.
- A CPA's life: In a small firm, personal relationships are key
- Monday, Feb. 20, 2012
- It being tax season, I pictured a harried fellow who might have trouble pulling himself away from piles of paper. But accountant Adam Hodson arrived right on time, and seemed calm when he did.
- Academy’s goal: Create ‘SEALs’ of business leaders
- Monday, Feb. 13, 2012
- A new program that we might all be able to get behind, the Las Vegas Business Academy was unveiled at a Jan. 26 luncheon. It’s the result of a lot of work by longtime food and beverage figure Rino Armeni, whose impact in the industry and our community was reflected in an impressive show of support for the event, held at Guy Savoy Restaurant.
- Chamber leader out to add pizazz to events
- Monday, Feb. 6, 2012
- It was the lunch hour and I was enjoying the down time as I waited at the Famous Dave’s at Craig and Losee. When you’ve got a mobile device with you, you’re never really idle, anyway.