Dave Berns

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CEOs share optimism for national economy: Wednesday, March 30, 2011; Chief executives of the nation's largest companies are optimistic about the prospects for hiring and sales during the next six months, according to the results of a quarterly survey released today by the Business Roundtable.
Report: Private sector sees recovery, but government workers feeling pinch: Wednesday, March 30, 2011; A nationwide reduction in private sector job cutting curtailed the broader economic impact of government layoffs during the first quarter of this year, according to a report released Wednesday.
Gas prices, decline in consumer confidence rattle Las Vegas: Index shows confidence level at lowest point in 3 months; Tuesday, March 29, 2011; Consumer confidence has been shaken as gas prices have topped $4 a gallon in some locations, raising concerns about the near-term recovery of the U.S. jobs market and the Las Vegas economy, according to figures released today by The Conference Board.
Entrepreneurial spirit gets nudge from recession: Sunday, March 27, 2011; Scott Schmitt is the face of Nevada’s new generation of hopeful entrepreneurs. He was a construction foreman at CityCenter for nearly four years, a 35-year-old native of upstate New York who earned up to $118,000 a year plus benefits.
Rising gas prices add insult to economic uncertainty: Nevadans hear of recovery, don’t see much; Sunday, March 20, 2011; Enough already. Record unemployment. Widespread foreclosures. Rising food and clothing costs. Round-the-clock anxiety images of the multiple disasters in Japan. And suddenly gas prices are spiking.
Note to GOP: Grow a pair: Pols should give the media equal access; Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008; My buddy Fast Jimmy says too many politicians lack “nails.” “They’re almost as bad as reporters,” Jimmy says, flashing his best Jersey-boy smirk. “Their egos are weak, and they need the attention. Besides, they got no nails.”
Minority report: Nativism is an ugly byprodect of uncertain economic times; Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; The e-mail sat in my in-box, an angry bullet fired by a frustrated white man. Minutes before, he’d heard San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Ruben Navarette refer to white Americans as “lazy.”
There’s wind in them thar hills: Why a billionaire’s proposal to pursue alternative energy may not be so crazy; Thursday, July 24, 2008; The green crowd is at it again, this time pushing for wind farms throughout much of the West and Great Plains. TV commercials are appearing nationally making the case, saying that a sea of wind towers could free us from our oil dependency, with a boost from cars fueled by natural gas.
The Gibbons follies: Hey, someone’s got to be the worst governor in the country; Thursday, July 17, 2008; It’s ridiculous, just plain ridiculous to assume that Gov. Jim Gibbons used any political influence to receive a special designation that lowered his annual property tax liability from about $5,000 to $15 on 40 acres of sagebrush in rural Elko County.
Read between the party lines: If we don’t talk to each other, our country can’t heal; Thursday, July 10, 2008; We’re reeling from a series of jolts: $4.50-a-gallon gasoline, neighborhoods shaken by empty homes, rapidly rising food prices, growing unemployment and a war in its sixth year. We’re seeking solace, a sense that things will be okay, but there’s no consensus on solutions. It’s the American way. Greater wisdom can come from the partisan divide that passes for enlightened debate in Carson City and Washington, D.C. But it feels as though we’re lacking enlightenment and debate
United we stand?: Bits of stress all over have us looking for political change; Thursday, June 26, 2008; The young couple stands in their Summerlin driveway, an impromptu yard sale illustrating their plight. They need cash. Their house, once the symbol of a personal dream, is now a burden.
Oil’s not well: Our woeful economy has started a blame game of epic proportions; Thursday, June 12, 2008; Sales are down. Tips are off. Work is disappearing. The national unemployment rate climbed to 5.5 percent from 5 percent in May, the largest jump in 22 years, with the loss of 49,000 jobs. Longtime Nevadans/immigrants; men/women; young/old—it doesn’t matter. Many sense something is wrong.
Desert Divide: Recent murder case raises questions of racism; Thursday, June 5, 2008; The 20-year-old woman walked into Rick Aco’s restaurant, a sad look covering her face. It had been almost two weeks since Zulma Yessenia-Pena lost her boyfriend to an apparent gang shooting, leaving the young woman to raise the couple’s three-year-old daughter. Las Vegas police had not found the killer.
Show them the money: If Nevada wants its continued quality of life, it’s time to put up or shut up; Thursday, May 29, 2008; There’s always the Duke with his sing-song voice, the miles of attitude that stretched from mesa to mesa and that athletic swagger. Surrounded by marauding Indians or searching for his kidnapped niece, the Duke remained the Western idyll of the self-reliant settler. John Wayne didn’t need no stinkin’ help.