Taxicab panel chief Moore quits

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 | 10:01 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Yvette Moore, administrator of the Nevada Taxicab Authority, has resigned as head of the agency that regulates the cab industry in Clark County.

Moore, who has been in the job for two years, told state officials she wants to pursue other interests. The job pays $88,740 a year.

Sydney Wickliffe, director of the state Department of Business and Industry, Tuesday named Ken Mangum as acting administrator. He has worked as administrative services officer with the Taxicab Authority for the past two years. Prior to that he was a contract monitor for the Department of Corrections in Ely.

Mangum will serve until Wickliffe appoints a new administrator. Ken Smith will continue to serve as chief of enforcement of the agency, which has been in the center of a controversy over installing security cameras in taxicabs.

Moore ruffled some feathers of law enforcement officials when she informed cab companies that the authority would have jurisdiction over all crimes committed on or by drivers. She instructed cab dispatchers to call the authority instead of Metro Police in the future.

But Liesl Freedman, general counsel for Metro, informed the cab companies that police would continue its jurisdiction over the taxicab drivers in the event of a crime.

Before being hired in June 2003 as taxicab administrator, Moore worked for 10 years in human resource management positions at Mikohn Gaming Corp. and the San Remo hotel.

The Taxicab Authority, according to its website, has 26 certified peace officers to investigate violations involving taxis, seven vehicle inspectors to make sure the cabs are safe and eight control officers at McCarran International Airport.

In another announcement from the Business and Industry Department Tuesday, Carol Tidd, commissioner of the Financial Institutions Division, said she appointed Steven Kondrup as deputy commissioner.

Kondrup has worked for Bank of America in Las Vegas for more than 15 years, serving as vice president and banking center manager for the last eight years. Prior to that he was operations manager of the leasing division for Nevada First.

During the 2005 Legislature, the division was given increased authority to crack down on the payday loan industry that was charging high interest and penalty rates. The division intends to conduct public hearings soon on new regulations to control the industry.