Las Vegas, Nevada — In the richly diverse state of Nevada, opportunities abound, and business thrives, creating a vibrant landscape of growth and innovation. Among the initiatives fueling this progress is NV Grow, a distinctive small business program tailored for Southern Nevada’s flourishing enterprises. Working closely with the Asian Community Development Council, NV Grow collaborates with a variety of programs to support and elevate local businesses.

One such success story is that of Kim Dung Ho, a passionate photographer who began her journey in 2016. Running a one-woman show, Kim faced numerous challenges, but her determination to capture life’s moments kept her going. When the pandemic struck, her business, deemed non-essential, was hit hard. Kim had to navigate through difficult times, searching for resources to keep her business afloat.

“I didn’t have any income coming in, and I still had bills to pay,” Kim shared. “I looked for resources around Vegas and found NV Grow through the Asian Chamber of Commerce. They created a path for my business and gave me lots of opportunities.”

Kim credits NV Grow for connecting her with crucial data, marketing strategies, and business intelligence tools that helped her business survive and thrive.

“The counseling team at NV Grow is very helpful,” she added. “As a member and a counselor, I can reach out to them directly whenever I need guidance.”

Another entrepreneur benefiting from NV Grow is Ben Kang, a web developer and software engineer. Ben received a grant from NV Grow that allowed him to kickstart his business, hiring developers, designers, and engineers to launch a software that enables restaurants to have digital menus.

“It was a pivotal moment for me and many other business owners in Las Vegas,” Ben said. “To this day, a lot of restaurants and other businesses still use the software I created.”

Ben encourages fellow entrepreneurs to utilize programs like NV Grow, emphasizing their accessibility and value in helping businesses not just maintain but grow.

“Programs like NV Grow should be utilized by all the different business owners here. Running a business can be difficult, so it’s important to be aware of these programs to help grow your business,” Ben advised.

The success stories of Ben and Kim resonate deeply within the Fil-Am business community, inspiring others like Marilou and John Soriano to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. Marilou, the owner of a water store, hopes to enhance her business with the support of NV Grow.

“I hope NV Grow can help me with marketing so I can reach more people, not just within the Filipino community but other Asian communities as well,” Marilou expressed. “I also need more inventory to make this place more comfortable and accommodating for customers.”

John Soriano, who founded a thriving office and residential cleaning enterprise three and a half years ago, believes that partnering with NV Grow could significantly impact his company’s success and expansion.

“We want to continue hiring and providing opportunities for people in the community,” John shared. “We aim to create a positive culture and system, and if we can add more people, we can bring more jobs to them. We want to make an impact in the community.”

NV Grow offers Fil-Am entrepreneurs the opportunity to join dynamic peer learning groups, engage in roundtables with diverse companies, participate in stimulating discussions, and receive expert mentoring. The program connects them to essential data, marketing strategies, and business intelligence tools, empowering business expansion and job creation.

If you are in Nevada and looking to grow your business, contact NV Grow for free assistance and resources. Visit their website at www.nvgrow.org.

Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN News, Las Vegas

Litigation related to the defunct Badlands golf course might again appear before the Nevada Supreme Court.

The Las Vegas City Council could vote Wednesday on whether to petition the state’s highest court to review one of the four cases against the city, according to this week’s meeting agenda.

Lower court judgments in that case have ballooned to just over $80 million for 17 acres of the defunct golf course near Alta Drive and Rampart Boulevard, court records show.

The cost includes nearly $48 million for “fair market value” of the land, more than $2 million in property taxes and attorney fees and nearly $30 million in back interest, court documents show.

Interest is accumulating at a daily rate of $21,121.53 until the $48 million is paid, records show.

The yearslong court battle began shortly after EHB Cos. bought the 250-acres golf course in 2015. The company, which is led by CEO Yohan Lowie, has argued that the city illegally “took” the property by not allowing the developer to exercise land-use entitlements and build homes on the property.

Judges in three of the lawsuits — one each for three of the four parcels Lowie had purchased — have agreed. The Nevada Supreme Court previously upheld a $64 million judgment in another one of the cases.

Meanwhile, city officials are bracing for a fallout that could exceed more than half a billion dollars if court opinions don’t shift, Las Vegas City Manager Mike Janssen wrote to staff earlier this summer.

“The cost to file the frivolous appeal is unjustifiable,” wrote EHB partner Vickie DeHart to council members in a letter shared with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The letter outlined the city’s losses in the previous Supreme Court decision for a 35-acre plot.

The city has began paying that $64 million judgment, earmarking $60 million from the 2024 fiscal year liability fund.

EHB argued in the letter that city attorneys have previously admitted that the case is “factually identical” to the one involving the 35 acres and that the Supreme Court could enter a summary judgment based on previous deliberations.

Both parties have expressed interest in settling the cases out of court, and an attorney for EHB said recently that talks appeared promising.

To offset accumulating costs, Janssen told staff that the city was exploring freezing open positions, and that officials were considering pausing projects and selling public land and properties.

The potential city liability of half a billion dollars would represent a quarter of the city’s total annual $2 billion budget.

A previous version of this story misattributed a statement that cases involving 17- and 35-acre portions of EHB’s property are “factually idential.” The statement was made in a filing by attorneys representing the city of Las Vegas.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.

Cannizzaro said the proposed legislation will do several things. It will protect patients and providers of assisted reproductive technologies like IVF under state law, and make treatment more affordable by expanding insurance coverage. The price tag can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

According to the World Health Organization, one in six people is affected by infertility globally.

“As a mother of two myself, and soon to be in the next few days three wonderful little boys, I want to ensure all Nevadans in their reproductive years have the ability to start or grow their families regardless of income, gender identity, ethnicity, or sexual orientation,” Cannizzaro said.

According to the CDC, nearly 700 babies were born in Nevada with this type of assistance in 2021.

“I want to state very unequivocally and very clearly, this issue of infertility and access to those services should not be a politicized issue that places families at risk,” she said.

Earlier this summer, U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a federal right to IVF and other fertility treatments. On Thursday, former President Donald Trump said his administration would fund IVF treatments if re-elected but didn’t provide a specific plan.