Business Briefly 6/13

Recycle old TVs

Television's conversion to digital broadcasting has rendered many older TVs obsolete.

All analog broadcasts of television signals officially ceased this week, making TVs without digital reception capabilities unable to receive signals unless they are attached to a cable network or have a digital receiver box.

But officials at the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection say people who want to dispose of older model TVs should recycle them, not just throw them out.

A spokesman said electronics can be recycled to recover circuit boards, metal wiring, glass and plastics.

For more information got to ndep.nv.gov/ewaste/index.htm

ElectraTherm readies geothermal test

ElectraTherm Inc., a Carson City manufacturer of equipment to generate electricity by using waste industrial heat, said last week its system will be tested in a geothermal application.

The company said it signed a deal with Gulf Coast Green Energy of Bay City, Texas, which will use ElectraTherma equipment to generate electricity using heat capture in geothermal brine. The brine is a common byproduct of oil-drilling operations.

The test is funded by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, a nonprofit headquartered at Sugar Land, Texas. Financial terms weren't disclosed by privately held ElectraTherm.

Bill Olson, senior vice president of business development for ElectraTherm, said the company believes it may be able to develop a niche selling its generation equipment to small geothermal sites, those generating 50 to 500 kilowatts.

Reese joins Noble Studios in Carson

Kevin Reese joined Noble Studios in Carson City as a Web developer.

Reese is a graduate of Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

He previously worked for Boeing and Sony Pictures Imageworks Interactive and as a freelance developer for Creative Circle.

Scandia Plus closing

Jennifer Shequen, owner of Scandia Plus in downtown Carson City has said she will close the store for the last time at 9 p.m., June 20, the same night as the Taste of Downtown event. She wishes to thank all of her customers for their years of business.

Dayton tire center under construction

Construction is under way on a 7,843-square-foot D&D Tire Center facility in Dayton.

The building will include 4,717 square feet of sales area along with service bays, room for storage and facilities for employees.

The building is on a 1.43-acre site in the Riverboat Road area.

Bartlett Architecture of Reno designed the masonry-and-steel building.

Miles Construction is general contractor on the project, which is overseen for Miles by project manager Stacy Reid and superintendent Brian Tom.

Construction is scheduled for completion in November.

Learn to make your space more efficient

Business owners and managers, as well as property owners, can learn more about how they can save energy at free workshops presented by the University of Nevada, Reno's Nevada Small Business Development Center in Carson City on Thursday.

Presenters will give tips on conserving energy by increasing building efficiency with windows, insulation, lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation and more. They also will discuss how businesses can change things such as use patterns and operating procedures to become more energy efficient.

Information will be given on tax credits and tax deductions available for energy-saving investments, cash incentives available from NV Energy and their Sure Bet program, and potential savings and rates of return that can be realized with energy-saving measures. Financing options also will be discussed.

The workshops will be held 1 - 4 p.m., Thursday at Western Nevada College, 2201 W. College Parkway. Interested members of the business community can register by calling 866-638-7232 or e-mailing registra

tion@nsbdcbep.org.

Gas prices rise for 45 straight days

NEW YORK (AP) - Gas prices rose Friday for the 45th consecutive day as summer travelers hit the highways and refineries hold back on fuel production.

Pump prices added less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.639 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

Gas is 37.2 cents a gallon more expensive than last month. Yet prices have risen all year after slumping to around $1.60 in December.

The average cost of a gallon of gas in Carson City is $2.71, according to AAA.

Crude prices are surging as well, but not as consistently as gasoline.

GM, Chrysler executives defend dealership closings

WASHINGTON (AP) - Under withering criticism in Congress, General Motors and Chrysler executives on Friday called the closings of hundreds of dealerships painful steps needed to right-size the auto giants. Down-on-their luck dealers said the moves would needlessly devastate their local economies and livelihoods.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson told the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee the dealer cuts were "quite painful" but necessary to save over 200,000 jobs at GM's remaining dealers. Chrysler Deputy CEO Jim Press said the cuts were part of the shared sacrifices by the United Auto Workers union, bondholders and others needed to avoid liquidation.

But the committee also heard from hard-hit shutout dealers such as Frank Blankenbecker III of Waxahachie, Texas, and the carmakers' explanations won few converts from House members.