Friday, June 2, 2017
Donald Trump's Unpaid Business License Fees
State doesn’t track how much Nevada businesses
owe
by Kyril Plaskon
President Elect Donald Trump has
been president, treasurer, manager of six Nevada Corporations that owe $31,550 to the state in unpaid fees
and penalties according to the Nevada Secretary of State fee tracking system, NVSilverFlume.gov.
Many of the companies licenses have been cancelled, dissolved or revoked. Some haven't paid fees
in more than a decade.
In an e-mail response to questions about Trumps unpaid
fees, Kim Perondi, Deputy Secretary for Commercial Recordings wrote that state statute requires that
a business obtain a license to practice in the state, but different statutes may apply to foreign
corporations. She also said that fees only apply to businesses with
“revoked” or “default” statuses.
Trump's ACE Entertainment Holdings
is in “revoked” status with $5,900 in unpaid fees. Perondi said that in some cases unpaid
fees may also be waived.
Trump Ruffin Payroll LLC owes $3,900
according to the state site. It has been “cancelled” according to state records but it may still be operating.
A search for Trump Ruffin Paroll LLC brings up the phone number for the Human
Resources department of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
Donald
Trump and Phil Ruffin are partners on the Trump International Hotel in Las
Vegas. It has butted heads with the Culinary Worker's Union Local 226 for years. (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/labor-board-trump-hotel-230720)
When asked how the state finds out if someone who hasn’t paid their fees
is conducting business, Perondi wrote, “upon receipt of a formal complaint, filed in accordance
with NAC 76.220, our office may investigate and refer matters accordingly.”
Trump
is likely not alone among the tens of thousands of business that owe back fees.
The state couldn’t provide a figure for how much businesses owe in the state.
“The Secretary of State’s office does not compile comprehensive data on unpaid fees,”
Perondi wrote. “This information is not available and challenging to calculate due to the variation of scenarios.”
When billionaires like Trump don’t pay their Nevada bills, there isn’t
much of a penalty either.
“Generally the penalty for not renewing the business
registration is $100 plus applicable back filing fees,” according to Perondi.
So as not to appear partisan, we also searched Hillary Clinton. She is not listed as an officer on any
Nevada Corporations. However, a corporation bearing her name “Hillary Clinton for President” does owe $2,900 according
to the state. It's license was withdrawn.
The records of unpaid fees on president elect Trump and other businesses can be found by searching
https://www.nvsilverflume.gov/businessSearch
COMPANY: TRUMP RUFFIN PAYROLL LLC – CANCELLED
MANAGER: Donald J. Trump
UNPAID FEES: $3,900. Last fee payment 2009
COMPANY: TRUMP LAS VEGAS MARKETING AND SALES LLC – CANCELLED
MANAGING MEMBER:
Donald J. Trump
UNPAID FEES: $4,925. Las fee payment 2005
COMPANY: TRUMP CASINOS II, INC – MERGED/DISOLVED
PRESIDENT: Donald J. Trump
UNPAID FEES: $7,925. Last fee payment 2005
COMPANY: THCR HOLDING CORP – WITHDRAWN
PRESIDENT
AND TREASURER: Donald J. Trump
UNPAID FEES: $7,325. Last fee payment 2005
COMPANY: ACE
ENTERTAINMENT HOLDINGS INC – REVOKED
PRESIDENT: Donald J. Trump
UNPAID FEES: $5,900. Last fee payment 2011
COMPANY: TRUMP LAS VEGAS MANAGING MEMBER II LLC - CANCELLED
MANAGING MEMBER: Donald J. Trump
UNPAID FEES: $1,575. Last fee payment 2014
Fri, June 2, 2017 | link
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Economic Boosting Ideas
The Reno Gazette-Journal is soliciting ideas to boost Reno's economy. I sent in a couple of ideas and since I sent them
for anyone to look at, I figured I might as well publish them too. You can send your ideas to Mark Robinson at rebirth@rgj.com.
I hope you enjoy my ideas and if you decide to put them into action I would be happy to help.
IDEA 1: Buy Local App
We all know that “Buying local” is a big economic booster because money spent here stays here. But how
do you find the locally-owned places that have what you want to buy? Well, a “Buy Local” application for smart
phones that allows you to search for products seems like a no-brainer right? Believe it or not, I could only find one “buy
local” app in Apples App Store. It is produced by tourist powerhouse The City of Orlando. Reno could partner with this
prime tourist destination to expand the buy local app nation-wide, catering to locals in every city. The app would be exclusive
to locally-owned businesses and provide discounts to customers that mention its name. Producing an app like that would also
raise Reno’s image as a tech-savvy spot. The app should give some control to the businesses themselves so that they
can automatically control their discounts and update information.
IDEA 2: Video News Releases Direct
Until
recently, television has had a stranglehold on advertising. But increasingly the public is searching the net for detailed
information about businesses and products they are considering buying. Small local businesses can now have longer-format,
news-style advertisements posted on YouTube and other sites for these customers to view with unlimited access at a fraction
of the cost of a television advertisement. On-line video news releases are tremendously valuable to customers. The numbers
don’t lie. For instance, Plato’s Closet Reno has an advertisement posted on YouTube from Fox 11. It only has 145
views. However, a Plato’s Closet in Fort Collins has a lengthy YouTube video explaining what they will buy. In just
6 months, that video news release has more than 10,000 views. By producing a local video news release you can have nearly
unlimited “air-time” and market direct to your customers with valuable information they need.
Ky Plaskon
is owner of Video News Releases Direct (www.NewsRoomExclusive.com), a former web developer and news anchor with 20 years of
award-winning media experience. He is author of Silent Heroes of the Cold War and a fluent Spanish Speaker. Find him on Twitter
@kyplaskon.
Tue, December 25, 2012 | link
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Backcountry Snowboarding
The first time I ever went backcountry snowboarding it was in a snow storm in an avalanch shoot in a class four avalanch
area outside of Las Vegas. There are avalanch dangers in the Lake Tahoe area too, but it is an incredible experience. The
high mountains and viewes offer an unparalleled experience. Here is a short video of the second time I went boarding. I used
my iPhone to make it.
http://youtu.be/m6M8BTSTBx4
If you are interested in backcountry skiing or boarding, start with the Backcountry Forum posted on the left hand side
of this site: http://www.thebackcountry.net/
Click on Backcountry Ski/Board Trip Reports and General Guide
And then Lake Tahoe Backcountry Ski Tours - FREE MAPS AND DETAILS!
It has logged more than 43,800 views. See you on the snow!
Tue, December 18, 2012 | link
Friday, November 30, 2012
Garbage Fires Go Mobile
It's a quiet morning in your neighborhood, all is routine. Eat breakfast, comb your hair, brush your teeth,
take out the garbage. But then the routine turns into one of the most disgusting scenes imaginable, delivered right there
to your doorstep: A burning garbage truck. It's more common than you might think.
It happened yesterday in Sparks,
Nevada. Neighbors recalled the heat and smoke as the massive truck and its ton of garbage burned and caught another car on
fire, a line of hydrolic fluid fire rolled down the street gutter and into a storm drain. It took a large contingent of emergency
workers to get the situation under control. KOLO TV sent a reporter to sniff out the story.
Yes, it's terrible and it is a lot more common than you might think. Jut in the month of November alone
there have been 8 reported garbage truck fires throughout the United States. Fire Safety Sales out of Bloomington, Ill says
on its web page that garbage truck fires are “extremely common.” How common? “On average, there are seven refuse truck
fires each day.”
Fire Pro Sales says they have a product that can extinguish the fires. It may be something
municipalities want to explore, because the way garbage truck fires are handled right now is pretty alarming. The burning
garbage is usually dumped out in a huge random pile wherever the garbage truck happens to be at the time, weather it is the
middle of a busy street, a business park or neighborhood. Yeah, that gets a lot of attention. When it gets attention, people
pull out their camera phones. In the past 5 years, 16 burning garbage truck have been caught on video and posted to YouTube.
On the videos you can hear amazed people as they watch the smoking and flaming trash. They can hardly contain their excitement.
Yesterday's garbage truck fire in Sparks, Nevada was the second in the Reno area over the past year. YouTube user
"disneyr" posted this video in August.
It is shot out the front window of a car driving on an un-named road. There is the pleasant sound of
a car radio and a man’s voice can be heard undramatically narrating: “fire, fire, fire. There is a ha ha, garbage
truck, caught on fire.” His camera phone rings and the camera pans down to the BMW steering wheel, then back up to the
closed lanes of traffic and the firefighters. A large plume of brownish smoke can be seen rising out of the green garbage
truck. “Ooooo, stinky too. Good job firefighters. The communities favorite civil servants.”
In another incident, office workers wandered away from their desks on February 19, 2012 to watch another garbage truck fire out the window of
their upper-story building.
“Holy crap," the person with the camera says. "I have never
seen that before. Yeah, that's going to suck. Dump your load. I am recording it. That is freaking awsome! This is going on
YouTube. Oh, it is going to be in the middle of the street and it is going to go up in flames and he pulls away. Now if he
gets out with a fire extinguisher I am going to laugh my ass off... poor guy. His day just got a lot longer . . . at least
its Friday. God the clean up on this. Ugh!"
Most of the videos posted on YouTube are shot out on the street.
YouTube user “SkylarWallace” posted one in November 2011. He said he was on his way to “Planet Sub” when the burning garbage grabbed his attention. He
was really excited.
“Then I would really get 100-thousand hits! So I guess the backs of those (trucks) are
fire proof? I mean this is awsome! It is taking off, look at it go. I gotta film the whole thing. Hey! I know that guy. That
is the fire chief in the white shirt. It's awsome. The guy got back in it. Can he dump it? Oh, he is going to dump it. Oh!
Yes! This is the best video I have ever filmed. Look at that! Dude there is a lot of stuff. If all that catches, this is going
to go from awsome to scary. Woah! Oh. There it is Oh!”
Another woman nearby says, “That is a bad day
at work right there! Ha ha ha.”
Despite hoping he would get 100,000 hits, his video has 2,769 views. But
he is not far off. Some of these mobile trash fires are getting tens of thousands of views. One in December 2010 shows a fire spreading in a neighborhood in McQueeney, TX. It has 64, 000 views.
Here is another with 45,000 views
And, if you have't had your fill of burning garbage deliveries, here are a couple more
http://youtu.be/Ejmx1R8ulg8
http://youtu.be/Tqkdr3xAChQ
While it is interesting for the bystanders, it truly is a bad day at work for the drivers, firefighters
and clean up crews involved. One video actually shows shows a firefighter climbing inside the burning garbage truck. The comments posted by the public on these
videos show that garbage truck fires are a sensitive topic too. One man posted: We own a garbage business and if that was
our truck, we would have dumped the trash on the road. The fine and the clean up would cost less than replacing the
truck. Another wrote: “Maybe one of u pencil pushers should have called the Fire Dept instead of watching.”
Analysis
Like it or not, the public is intrigued with the mystique of garbage trucks (two videos of garbage
trucks simply operating have more than 11 million views on YouTube). The additional spectacle and prevalence of garbage truck
fires could become an increasing public relations problem for garbage companies.
As I have explored this topic
this morning a few ideas have occured to me that garbage companies might want to explore. A heat sensor in the refuse compartment
connected to an alarm in the cab could quickly alert drivers to a fire. Maybe the trucks already have that. I don't know.
They also might want to explore the "First Responder Stat-X Grenade" by Fire Safety Sales. Here is the video of how it works. The driver could throw it in the refuse compartment giving them enough time to get out of a neighborhood
or off the street and to a safe place. One can is $150, a small price to pay when neighborhoods, lives and expensive trash
trucks are in danger. For now, insurance companies are likely eating the cost when burning garbage strikes. Maybe if garbage
trucks have a Stat-X grenade on board the companies could get an insurance discount? Doesn't hurt to ask.
See
you on the road!
Twitter: Transporter @kyplaskon
Fri, November 30, 2012 | link
Monday, November 5, 2012
Natural Gas Study Outlines Geopolitical Shift
Reno, Nevada (IRIS)--The
first federal world petrolium report in more than a decade was released this year and it shows two major shifts that could
impact our personal and geopolitical futures. There is nearly 1 trillion feet of recoverable natural gas than previously thought
in the world and where that natural gas is located could result in geopolitical shifts.
“By looking at the amount of oil and gas this is exactly the kind of information
for long and medium term planning,” said USGS Director Marsha McNutt in a brief press conference call. She added that
governments will use the information to look at “what will be the infrastructural needs and environmental impacts.”
In terms of gas, look for that development impact in the
arctic and East Africa according to McNutt.
But, the
real money is still in oil and the new report has big news in that arena too. Previous report from 2000 showed the largest
recoverable oil reserves in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. But the new report show the largest oil reserves
are closer to home and in poor countries. Sub-Saharan Africa; Caribbean and South American regions are both ranked higher
than the Middle East and Soviet Union.
Now, countries
in Africa and South America that were previously considered resource poor, could be seen as resource rich. But
much of the oil sits in a tough-to-get place “Off-shore areas, many (countries) don’t have the capabilities to
do the drilling,” said Chris Schenk, USGS Research Geologist
You can view the reports
at:
New Report:
Old Report:
Mon, November 5, 2012 | link