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

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.

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!

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

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