Local business briefs

Stew's Lucky Spur has been fined by the state for failing to make unemployment insurance contributions for its employees.

The judgment entered in Carson District Court orders Spur's owners to pay the state $17,919 in back employment security contributions. According to the court records, no payments had been made on behalf of employees since September 2005, despite reporting more than $160,000 in employee wages paid each of the past three quarters.

Employers are required to pay a percentage of total wages to provide unemployment insurance coverage for workers. The contributions are held in a trust account by the Nevada Employment Security Department to cover the cost of benefits to those who lose their jobs in Nevada.

According to the judgment, the Spur's owners must pay interest on the judgment until it is paid off and make the payments as required by state law in the future.

President appoints Nevadan to arts advisory committee

President Bush has appointed Larry Ruvo, senior managing director for Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada, to serve as a member of the prestigious Advisory Committee to the Arts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Ruvo and his wife are longtime residents of Las Vegas and Glenbrook. Kennedy Center is in Washington, D.C., and known as a living memorial for President Kennedy.