Aug. 31, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

INSIDE BUSINESS

[[[Rustin Williams]]]
[[[Sheria Spleen]]]

Credit union names staff appointments

Nevada Federal Credit Union named Kathleen Maasry, Kimberlie Ferrand and Alejandra Croy contact center representative I; Peggy Goodloe, team financial service representatives II; TaShonna Knox, Barbara Beasley, Kesia Whatley, Reina Rocha, Barbara Van Horn, and Zaahira Paul financial service representatives II; Anthony Tuason real estate loan officer; Fred Morales financial service associate; Susan Messina insurance agent; Jackie Bell recruitment specialist; Adrian Cipriano community title receptionist; Maria Harman secretary and Trudy Botonis northern district assistant vice president.

Sierra Health Services, a Las Vegas health insurer and health maintenance organization operator, named Managed Health Care unit President Jonathon Bunker president and chief operating officer.

In a statement, the company said Bunker will replace Anthony Marlon, who will remain as chairman and chief executive.

Sierra Health also said Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Paul Palmer will retire in May. Marc Briggs, vice president of finance and chief accounting officer, will replace Palmer.

Business Bank of Nevada named Rustin Williams assistant vice president and commercial loan officer in its corporate banking group.

Preferred Public Relations & Marketing, a Las Vegas-based public relations agency, named Sheria Spleen account executive.

St. Jude's Ranch for Children, a nonprofit group, named Normand Bilodeau chief financial officer and Joseph Jackson human resources director.

Cox Communications-Las Vegas named Paul Warrick customer care director.

Payroll Solutions, a Las Vegas-based human resources and administration company, named Angela McDonald compliance specialist.

Inside Business is prepared by the Las Vegas Business Press. Send information about new hires, promotions and new businesses to Las Vegas Business Press, 1385 Pama Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89119; fax to 871-3298; or e-mail to lists@lvpress.com. To subscribe to the Las Vegas Business Press, call 383-0400.

Aug. 22, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SHOW IS ON IN LAS VEGAS
City home to fastest-growing conventions in U.S.
By CHRIS JONES
GAMING WIRE

[[[Visitors to the Aristocrat booth discuss downloadable games during the 2005 Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The convention is one of many fast-growing shows in the United States held in Las Vegas.]]]
Photo by John Gurzinski.

[[[A man reads a newspaper by a display at the Sharp booth at CES in 2005. CES is one of the large shows that has made Las Vegas home.
Photo by John Locher.]]]

[[[People flock to Global Gaming Expo, one of the fastest-growing shows in the U.S., in Las Vegas in 2005.
Photo by John Gurzinski.]]]

Las Vegas was home to nearly 40 percent of last year's 50 fastest-growing U.S. trade shows, a respected industry publication reported.

Tradeshow Week, a Los Angeles-based magazine published by Reed Business Information, on Monday released its fourth-annual Fastest 50. The list measures which events enjoyed the largest growth in net square footage leased from 2003 through 2005.

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Las Vegas hosted 18 such events in 2005, and Tradeshow Week Publisher Adam Schaffer said the city's performance among up-and-comers mirrors its longtime status as the nation's top host of major industry events.

"Shows that come to Vegas do grow," Schaffer said. "Vegas is on the radar screen of every convention center and convention and visitors bureau in the country because it continues to be a very, very strong draw."

Southern Nevada has long been known for hosting major conventions such as Comdex or the International Consumer Electronics Show.

But with much less fanfare, the community has padded its reputation -- and businesses' bottom lines -- by welcoming an assortment of smaller, lesser-known events, such as Global Gaming Expo and the National Association of Television Program Executives.

Schaffer said those attending and exhibiting at smaller shows are drawn to Las Vegas because it's relatively easy to get to, has multiple hotels and convention centers, and offers visitors plenty of things to do while in town.

"In the post-9/11 world, attendees and exhibitors are making much harder decisions about leaving the office and leaving the family," Schaffer said. "If they can have a good experience while they're doing that, then that's the draw."

Patti Shock, a professor and department chair of the Tourism and Convention Administration Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said this city's many amenities have trade show organizers lining up to come here.

"The industry cries and complains that we don't respond fast enough to them, but they don't understand how we're deluged with people that want to come here," Shock said.

"Even with three convention centers and as many hotel rooms as we have, we cannot accommodate the number of people who want to come here.

"Think about it: if you have a choice between going to Cleveland and Las Vegas...," Shock added without finishing her comments aloud.

Southern Nevada is home to 133,000 guest rooms and approximately 9.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibition space, including three of the nation's largest venues in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Mandalay Bay Convention Center and the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

With so much space to fill, it makes sense to see so many up-and-coming events take place here, Shock said.

But local hotel-casino companies also take risks when booking unproven events because it's more difficult to forecast how well an unproven show will draw. A show organizer may promise to fill 5,000 hotel rooms but instead draw just 500, for example.

Including events large and small, Las Vegas hosted 22,154 conventions last year that attracted 6.16 million attendees and $7.6 billion in nongaming spending.

Through June, those figures slipped by 2.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, for conventions and attendees. But spending was up 2.6 percent in the first half of 2006, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported earlier this month.

Jul. 31, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Great Mall of Las Vegas will have 'hybrid' look

Indoor and outdoor shopping planned

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The 1.6 million-square-foot Great Mall of Las Vegas planned for the Centennial Hills area in northwest Las Vegas is designed as a "hybrid" mall with both indoor and outdoor retail components, architect Howard Perlman said.

The indoor portion is three stories, with anchor tenants at each end and three levels of shops, all in an air-conditioned environment for hard-core shoppers who easily spend eight hours in a mall, he said.

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The outdoor "lifestyle" component is similar to The District at Green Valley Ranch, developed by American Nevada Co., Perlman said. It will have a mix of entertainment and retail with 900 residential loft units on top. Maximum height for the two condo towers is 200 feet.

The 50-acre site plan includes retail, offices, a food court, theaters, common areas and enclosed park.

"It's hard to compete with retail on the Strip, but as far as neighborhood malls, this will be one of the best in the country. It'll have some national and international retailers," Perlman said.

Perlman Design Group has been working on the mall's design for a couple of years.

The project is being developed by Triple Five Nevada, the builder of Boca Park at Charleston and Rampart boulevards.

"Malls are really at the mercy of their anchors," Perlman said. "That's where it's at. The owners have been working with them for a long time."

David Ghermazian of Triple Five said it will take about a year to finish construction drawings and begin grading the site.

In the meantime, Triple Five is working on its portion of Montecito Town Center, as stipulated by City Council when the mall was approved.

Triple Five purchased 65 acres from Montecito Cos. in July 2004 and originally projected the mall would be completed in 2007.

The Great Mall of Las Vegas would be the first enclosed mall built in the valley since 1995, when the Galleria at Sunset mall opened in Henderson.

MID-RISE CONDOS: Noteware Development plans to build a 178-unit mid-rise condominium community called Brickwater in the South Strip area of Giles Street and Mesa Verde Lane, near the Las Vegas Outlet Center.

A sister project will be built on a separate corner of the same intersection, bringing a 356 luxury condo units to the neighborhood, Chief Executive Officer Jim Noteware said.

The property was purchased in August 2005 for $15.9 million by Noteware and his partners, Edward Kalikow of The Kalikow Group and Eugene Shalik of Shalik Realty Ventures.

JMA EXPANSION: JMA architecture and design firm has reorganized to meet the company's growth and focus on expansion into Southern California, principal Tom Schoeman said.

CHERRY LOCATION: Sam Cherry, developer of SoHo Lofts in downtown Las Vegas, has opened a new office at 714 S. Fourth St., where a marketing and sales staff of 80 people will work on future Cherry Development projects.

Breslin Builders served as general contractor for the 7,800-square-foot office. Jones and Greenwell Architecture and Interiors did the design work. Estimated project cost was $1.1 million.

In addition to SoHo, Cherry is a partner in Newport Lofts under construction downtown and plans to develop StanHi. The three projects are estimated at $500 million, he said.

Jul. 20, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

IN BRIEF

[[[Cox Communications Vice President of Public Affairs Steve Schorr, left, unveils the sign for Cox Communications Las Vegas' new headquarters at a press conference Tuesday. The former site of the Veterans Administration building off Martin Luther King Boulevard will give Cox a larger work site.
Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.]]]

Earnings increase for LV bank companies

The holding companies for Community Bank and Valley Bank, which plan to merge, on Wednesday announced higher profits during the second quarter.

Community Bancorp reported that second-quarter net income increased to $3.8 million, or 50 cents per diluted share, for the period ended June 30, up from net income of $2 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, a year ago.

Valley Bancorp earnings rose to $2 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, for the period ended June 30, up from $1.4 million, or 48 cents diluted per share, a year ago.

In late June, Community Bancorp announced the proposed acquisition of Valley Bank. Community Bank has $1 billion in assets. Valley bank reported $441 million in assets.

Community Bancorp shares gained $1.38, or 4.47 percent, and closed at $32.25 on Wednesday. Valley Bancorp shares gained 20 cents, or 0.45 percent, and closed at $44.40.

................................

Jul. 14, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

INSIDE BUSINESS

[[[Lyssa Simonelli
Sandy Chavez
Amanda Hill
Trinese Lee]]]

Builder's series will cover development

The certified graduate builder's 2006 series will cover land development, site planning and zoning in its next course, running 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 5.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies will present the course with the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

Robert Fielden will teach the course, which will run at the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors office at 1750 E. Sahara Ave.

Cost is $195 per course or $1,675 for a nine-course package. All 11 courses are available for $1,995.

Call 895-4492 for information.

Southwest Airlines, the busiest carrier at McCarran International Airport, said it will offer a new round-trip flight to Las Vegas from Dulles International Airport starting Oct. 5.

The Dallas-based carrier will occupy two gates at Dulles.

Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario, a law firm, named Lyssa Simonelli general counsel.

Manpower of Southern Nevada named Sandy Chavez staffing assistant.

Consultants in Marketing named Amanda Hill public relations specialist.

Roel Construction named Trinese Lee receptionist.

Clark County Credit Union named Sheila Norris teller.

Inside Business is prepared by the Las Vegas Business Press. Send information about new hires, promotions and new businesses to Las Vegas Business Press, 1385 Pama Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89119; fax to 871-3298; or e-mail to lists@businesspress.com To subscribe to the Las Vegas Business Press, call 383-0400.

Jun. 28, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Real-estate company finds niche by offering short-term leases to businesses
By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Small-business owners who can't afford or don't want to commit to long-term office leases are turning to an emerging trend in commercial real estate, paying only for services and space they need, an industry executive said Monday.

Tenants at WaterMark Executive Suites on Rainbow Boulevard near the Las Vegas Beltway pay as little as $750 a month for a small office with support staff, general manager Donna Haydocy said.

The concept appeals to companies that want to sign a lease for six months rather than five years, Haydocy said.

"It's real popular among startups. We go in and do all the hookups, the phones and water and electricity, so it's turnkey. It's like checking into a hotel room," she said.

WaterMark finished the 22,000-square-foot suites at South Rainbow Business Park in February and is building a second project at Cheyenne Fairways Business Center near Cheyenne Avenue and Durango Drive.

Executive suites range from 146 square feet to 616 square feet, some with private access and courtyard views. They have high-speed Internet access, high-tech telephone and security systems and a common reception area with a water wall.

"With the receptionist out front, it eliminates $1,000 to $2,000 a month and also gives you the presence of a professional office," Haydocy said.

The going rate for office space in Las Vegas is $21.82 a square foot on an annualized basis, a second-quarter market report from Coldwell Banker Commercial ETN shows. That's up 6 percent from $20.50 in the first quarter.

HQ Global Workplaces found pent-up demand from clients in Las Vegas who prefer not to be saddled with traditional long-term office leases, said Michael Berretta, the Dallas-based company's vice president of business development.

Typical clients include accountants, attorneys and Fortune 500 companies that want to open a regional office in Las Vegas, he said. Instead of leasing space, they pay a certain amount per hour for a service agreement. It can range from a receptionist and administrative staff to word processing, printing, copying, delivery and Web design.

"We take on the long-term liability and offer flexibility to the clients," Berretta said.

HQ Global signed a 10-year lease worth $2.54 million in November to take 7,400 square feet of office space 901 N. Green Valley Parkway. The company also leases office space at Hughes Center and other locations around the Las Vegas Valley.

Nathan Singer of Intelligent Office, 10161 Park Run Drive, said business owners can rent an office for $10 an hour with a prestigious Summerlin address. It beats meeting at Starbucks for those who work from home, he said.

"This is not just a meeting place. This facility becomes your own," he said. "You can have your own office, your own desk, your own space to meet clients on your turf in a professional office building. It creates an image for these folks."

The 20,000-square-foot Intelligent Office specializes in what Singer calls the "virtual office," though clients can also have their own dedicated space from 140 square feet to 300 square feet. For $8 a month, they can be listed in the lobby directory. The largest user group is attorneys, he said.

Jun. 13, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SILVER STATE HITS GOLD

Bank holding company has 30.28 percent return on equity in '05

BY JOHN G. EDWARDS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
CEO Corey Johnson said Silver State Bank hopes to become a $2 billion asset, multistate bank holding company within five years.
Photo by Gary Thompson.

When Silver State Bank opened for business in Henderson 10 years ago, some competitors wondered how well it would perform.

Unlike some community banks, Silver State's majority owners came from out of state. The investors, Tom Nicholson and the Yanke family of Idaho, also were among the early investors in Micron Technology. They remain the largest shareholders of the bank holding company, Silver State Bancorp.

Since its start, Silver State has prospered either thanks to good management, the area's strong economy or both.

"All the banks here are good competitors. It seems like their's a big enough pie for everybody to get their share," Chief Executive Officer Corey Johnson said.

The company has $875 million in assets today and hopes to become a $2 billion asset, multistate bank holding company within five years, Johnson said.

SNL Financial, a Charlottesville, Va., research firm, reported that Silver State last year was the second-most profitable publicly owned bank in the country as measured by return on equity, which is profit divided by shareholders' equity.

The bank holding company, which has shares trading in the over-the-counter market, earned a 30.28 percent return on equity last year. Return on assets was 2.09. Nonperforming loans were low at 0.18 percent of total loans.

Some of the credit goes to Tod Little, Silver State's chairman and chief executive officer, who resigned abruptly in January. Johnson declined to comment on the reason for Little's departure; attempts to contact Little failed.

Silver State shares' have yet to hit a new 52-week high since trading at $23 on Jan. 6, a few days before Little's departure.

The bank holding company continues to grow and reach out to new markets. In late March, Silver State announced an agreement to acquire $91 million-asset Choice Bank of Scottsdale, Ariz., for $31.2 million. Choice Bank taps the deposit-rich Phoenix suburbs, including Mesa and Sun City West. It focuses on making residential home mortgage loans and then selling them.

Johnson sees Choice as a good fit for Silver State. The Henderson bank wants to follow some of the residential developers who borrow from it as they pursue opportunities in the rapidly growing Phoenix area. Johnson figures Choice can offer home mortgage loans to families buying homes from home builders who obtain construction loans from the bank.

Also, Silver State sees an opportunity to make Small Business Administration loans, which get SBA guarantees for 75 percent of the total in the Phoenix area.

Maricopa County (Phoenix) generates three times the number of SBA loans as does Clark County, Johnson said.

Silver State has been the top SBA lender in dollar volume for Nevada for seven consecutive years.

"We continue to still focus on the Clark County market. We would like to (open) at least a branch a year here in Clark County," Johnson said. "It's always cheaper to grow internally."

Silver State, like many community banks, focuses on small businesses. Customers include construction subcontractors, plumbing companies, air conditioning companies, doctors, veterinarians and other professional firms.

It also makes loans to residential builders that sell to first-time home buyers. In Southern Nevada, "we see a lot of (development) going on the outside of the 215," Johnson said, but the bank also is finding opportunities to make loans for in-fill developments, projects located in pockets of already built out areas.

Silver State has nine bank locations now and is preparing to open another at he entrance to Aliante, a community in North Las Vegas.

The bank plans to open a branch on Elkhorn Road between I-215 and U.S. Highway 95 toward the year's end. It has put money into escrow to buy a site at Patrick Lane and Durango Drive and to buy a second site at Blue Diamond Road and Durango. The Patrick Lane location is scheduled to open in late 2007; the Blue Diamond branch may open in 2008.

Also, the bank holding company is preparing to move 95 employees into a new, 35,000-square-foot administration building at Russell Road and US 95.

Silver State has loan production offices in Phoenix; Los Angeles; Sacramento, Calif.; Seattle; Reno; Salt Lake City; Denver and Portland, Ore.

In addition to succeeding financially, Silver State is ranked as outstanding in its compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that encourages banks to lend money to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Its sponsorship of the Silver State's Women's Business Group also counts in CRA evaluation. The group helps women business owners with financial seminars and information.

Apr. 29, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BACK FOR MORE, ENCORE
Wynn breaks ground for $1.74 billion hotel project
By ROD SMITH
GAMING WIRE

Steve Wynn speaks Friday during a ground-breaking for Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, a $1.74 billion, 2,054-room hotel-casino project. The new hotel tower and its amenities will take 30 months to complete.
Photos by Clint Karlsen.

Steve Wynn, center, with his wife, Elaine, turn over sand Friday during a ground-breaking ceremony for Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Wynn said the project will open at the beginning of December 2008.

Steve Wynn celebrated the first anniversary of Wynn Las Vegas Friday with a ground-breaking ceremony for the resort's second hotel-tower.

Encore will be a $1.74 billion, 2,054-room hotel-casino project adjacent to the developer's $2.7 billion, 2,716-room Wynn Las Vegas resort.

The new hotel tower and its amenities will take 30 months to complete.

Wynn said the tower will open at the beginning of December 2008, in time to complete trials before the heavy holiday season.

As with previous projects, Wynn said Encore will break ground with never-before-tried hotel features, but he declined to elaborate.

Instead, he shifted his sights to the Wynn Las Vegas, the year-old resort that will provide the foundation for Encore as well as the development of the golf course lands around it that will follow.

Wynn spent much of the past week meeting with his 9,000 employees and reminiscing about the first 12 months Wynn Las Vegas has been in operation.

"Every expectation (for Wynn Las Vegas) has been exceeded, and the metrics for the building -- average room rates, occupancy rates -- have been climbing," Wynn said.

The occupancy of Wynn Las Vegas has been in the 96 percent to 98 percent range and rates have outpaced Strip competitors by $70 to $80 a night, Wynn said.

"The customer response has been most satisfying," he said. "There was an element of risk. I changed the dynamic from the grandeur of looking at the building from the outside.

"Now, the audience is the people in the hotel and the theater is reversed for them. That's a tremendous paradigm change (for Las Vegas resorts)," Wynn added. "The place was risky because guests would have to work to find things. But it lets them reset their clocks and the public loves it."

University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Bill Thompson, who specializes in gaming studies, said with Wynn Las Vegas added a touch of class to the Strip.

"He's a catalyst again. He's doing his own development, but he's also the force behind the redevelopment craze on the Strip," Thompson said.

Brian Gordon, a partner in the Las Vegas-based financial consultants Applied Analysis, said Wynn Las Vegas raised the bar in the high-end market and appears to have expanded that segment of the Las Vegas market.

One frequent guest from Chicago, who asked not to be named to avoid solicitations, agreed, saying "The Wynn" has become the place to see and be seen.

Not everyone agrees. John Jenkins, a tourist from New York City, said the resort is just too big.

"I like the green space, but it feels cold walking through," he said. "The restaurants are nice, but I'd prefer staying in the center of things."

But Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett said the comment misses the point.

"Steve built the place for people who stay there. The people who walk through will come in anyhow, if just to try it out," he said.

The important point is that Wynn met all his promised performance standards, probably a record for any new hotel here in its first 12 months of operations.

"And since opening, not only has Wynn achieved record room rates, but citywide occupancy and room rates continue to rise as well," Zarnett said. "For those who think new competitors don't grow Las Vegas, think again."

Zarnett said the only fair criticism of Wynn Las Vegas was that it was "under-roomed" from the outset.

But analysts warn that there have been some rough spots and more may lie ahead.

Wynn missed fourth-quarter 2005 analyst projections, although the company narrowed its loss and is expected to report a first-quarter profit next week.

In general, however, Wall Street welcomes the newest player on the Strip and the stock which financed it.

Wynn shares closed Friday at $76.11, up 42.3 percent from $53.50 on opening day a year earlier.

Wynn shares are trading near their 52-week high of $80.19 set earlier this month and the stock trades at about 96 times its estimated earnings for 2006, compared with an industry average of about 27, according to Reuters Analytics.

Apr. 27, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

STATE ECONOMY: Sales still booming in Nevada
Receipts from February show another double-digit increase
By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's economy continued on its 2 1/2-year boom in February as businesses sold taxable products valued at $3.636 billion, a $372 million, or 11.4 percent increase, over February 2005, the Department of Taxation reported Wednesday.

Over the last 30 months, sales tax receipts in Nevada have risen by at least 8.7 percent each month compared with the same month in the previous year. In all but five months, the increase has been greater than 10 percent.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year last July, businesses have sold products valued at $31.6 billion, an 11.7 percent increase over the same period last year.

The boom has produced $641 million in sales tax revenue for state government, a $67 million increase over the previous year. About one-third of the state government's revenue comes from sales taxes.

The increase is $20 million more than anticipated by the Economic Forum, the group of business leaders that determines how much money is available for state government spending. Historically any extra money has been used by the Legislature for special projects, although last year lawmakers rebated $300 million in surplus revenue to taxpayers.

"It is a surprise to me it has continued at this pace," Taxation Director Dino DiCianno said.

"But look at the economic engine that is driving it. Consumer spending is up. More people are coming to this state. It is the fastest growing state. And it doesn't appear fuel costs are hampering people from traveling to the state," DiCianno said.

DiCianno noted that one sector of the business economy, as might have been expected, was down: sales by automotive dealers and gasoline stations were off by 2.7 percent. He said the days of rebates on new cars have ended and their sales were bound to drop.

Clark County businesses posted February sales of $2.73 billion, an 11.2 percent increase over the same month in 2005, while Washoe County companies sold products valued at $525 million, an 11.9 percent increase.

As in recent months, the biggest gains were posted in rural counties. Eureka County sold goods valued at $31 million, a 92 percent increase; Storey County, $6 million, a 96 percent increase; and White Pine County, $11.6 million, a 61 percent increase. Only two of the state's 17 counties, Douglas and Lincoln, showed a drop.

The rural counties have been helped by the surge in gold, silver and copper prices. Gold sold for nearly $639 per ounce and silver for $12.81 an ounce on Wednesday.

The price increases have spawned a jump in exploration. Sparsely populated Nevada counties benefit because mineral companies often purchase pieces of taxable equipment valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Taxation Department reported sales of all types of industrial and commercial machinery increased by 101 percent during February. Sales at general merchandise stores were up 17.4 percent, while building materials and hardware sales increased by 16.3 percent.

"I don't know if we will see an end to it, what with the growth we see in Nevada," said Liz MacMenamin, a spokeswoman for the Retail Association of Nevada. "The growth has been phenomenal here."

MacMenamin added that other states are not seeing the kind of increases that regularly are posted in Nevada.

"Nevada is not going to stop growing," she added. "More people from Southern California and Northern California are moving here."

The Taxation Department also reported that real property transfer tax through February had brought in $88 million in taxes, up 18.5 percent from the same period a year ago, while insurance premium taxes were $120 million, a 12.4 percent increase.