Inside East Valley Business

Everybody loves an April Fool’s Day prank, right? Think again, especially if the prank is pulled on a co-worker, according to local human resources expert Aaron Witsoe. He is president of Valley-based Creative Business Resources.

“We want to make sure people aren’t getting hurt in the April Fool’s thing,” he said. ”A lot of it just depends on the (workplace) culture that you have all year long regarding things of that nature. It’s just common sense.”

It may not be a good idea to pull a prank on a co-worker you’re not friendly with and if you’re unsure how he or she will react, Witsoe said.  It’s definitely not a good idea to pull a prank on a co-worker who already feels left out of social interaction in the workplace, he said. If pulled on the wrong co-worker, the prankster could end up in hot water with human resources.

“Save it for people you know … who are going to take it in the spirit in which it’s meant to be sent,” he said. “You’re better off using restraint, and there is no point in upsetting the apple cart for no reason.”  

Insurance fraud is a growing problem in Arizona and the nation.

AAA of Arizona estimates that insurance scams cost the average Arizona family an additional $300 in premiums a year.

“Anyone with an insurance policy has felt the adverse effects of insurance fraud,” said John Lawson, AAA Arizona vice president of insurance services. “And because this affects everyone with an insurance policy, it is important for consumers to know that this is a real and serious problem that authorities can’t fight without their help.”

Lawson said the first protection against insurance fraud is to remain alert and follow the proper procedures should you become involved in or witness an auto collision. Here are some things to remember:

* If you’re approached by someone at the scene of an accident who suggests a doctor or lawyer who can help you “make money” or by a mechanic who offers to “bury” your deductible by inflating the estimate for repairs, don’t accept these offers.

* Report accidents to the police, whether you are involved or are simply a witness. If you’re involved, let your insurance company know, regardless of who was at fault. Your report is important to establish the legitimacy of your claim, as well as to determine if claims made by others are fraudulent.

* Keep a record of what happend at an auto crash and what was said. Get the names and phone numbers of all involved parties, passengers and witnesses along with the name of their insurance company.

* Keep a disposable camera in your glove compartment so that you may take pictures of any damage to vehicles immediately after a collision.

* If you are approached with a fraud scheme, report it. Call the Arizona Department of Insurance Fraud Unit at (602) 912-8418 and keep your records of the incident.

Insurance fraud, basically, occurs when a person intentionally deceives another about an insurance matter to receive money or other benefits to which they are not otherwise entitled, warns AAA Arizona. The impact of insurance fraud is felt after insurance companies divide the costs of claims among policyholders who must pay for increased premiums. This effects all policy holders.

An insurance industry study shows that 10 percent or more of property and casualty insurance claims are fraudulent. This amounts to an estimated $30 billion a year, according to the Insurance Information Institute.  For more information visit www.AAAAZ.com.

Scottsdale city leaders can’t seem to work out a multi-year commitment with one of the area’s most lucrative tourism-generators, but Scottsdale-based auto auction giant Barrett-Jackson and SPEED Cable TV Channel have sealed a three-year deal that will keep all three versions of the collector car extravaganza on national TV through 2011.

SPEED started broadcasting the annual Scottsdale show in 1997 with six hours of TV time. Fast forward 11 years, the car-focused channel provided 40 hours of live coverage of the 2008 Scottsdale event.

SPEED crews are now broadcasting Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach, Fla. show. SPEED has also signed on to showcase Barrett-Jackson’s newest event, which will rev up in October in Las Vegas.

Barrett-Jackson chairman Craig Jackson and SPEED senior vice president Rick Miner have both said in the past that the hook-up between the two car-focused businesses has spurred growth of both.

Barrett-Jackson coverage, even in reruns, typically attracts SPEED’s biggest audiences, according to Miner. And SPEED’s coverage of the Scottsdale auction has brought Barrett-Jackson not only nationwide fame, but also lots of new buyers and sellers over the years, Jackson has said.

Neither would disclose the financial details of the deal.

The Renaissance Scottsdale Resort could be losing its brand name.

The old resort is tucked into a secluded, lushly landscaped pocket of land west of
Scottsdale Road, next to the Kerr Cultural Center and the elegant Borgata shopping center.

It is in dire need of an upgrade to stay upscale.

But the property, owned by a Chicago-based investor group, reportedly has been on the market for some time, and the current owners are not opting to do necessary maintenance to save the resort’s upscale reputation.

Renaissance is a Marriott International brand, and Marriott gets to say whether a property can use the name or not.

Steve Hart, Marriott’s regional vice president, admitted the company is studying the
langushing resort, but he stopped short of saying Marriott would remove the Renaissance name.

Hart said the company has three or four options and high hopes that a potential buyer would invest enough money into the property to restore it to its former elegance.

Another planned Renaissance never got to adopt the brand name in the first place. But Hart is hopeful that Chandler will eventually get its Renaissance ClubSport.

That’s a specialty hotel aimed at health-conscious travelers. It includes an attached
full-sized gym, not the closet-sized spare room with a couple of treadmills that serves as a fitness center in most urban-style hotels.

A developer started building a Renaissance ClubSport at Elevation Chandler, near Chandler Fashion Center, but he ran out of money before finshing the project.

Marriott still likes the location, Hart said, and he hopes the project is eventually
resurrected.

“We love Chandler, especially that location,” he said. “We still want to be a part of it.”

YouTube addicts can now use their favorite online streaming video service to clear up confusion on how to claim the upcoming economic stimulus payment.

The Internal Revenue Service has partnered with the American Payroll Association to post four instructional videos regarding the tax rebates. The videos can be veiwed on the Pay News Network channel, at www.youtube.com/paynewsnetwork, the association’s YouTube channel

The videos seek to clarify basic confusion of the tax rebate process among many taxpayers.  To find out if you’re eligible for a rebate, and to use a calculator to estimate your rebate amount, visit www.irs.gov. The economic stimulus package signed into law last month pledges to put up to $600 in each taxpayer’s pocket, with an additional $300 for each qualifying child.

Shoppers apparently weren’t in the holiday spirit this Easter.
Weekly chain store sales decreased .4 percent during the run-up to the Easter holiday, according to a report by the International Council of Shopping Centers on Tuesday.
Year-over-year sales increased, but at a slower clip of 1 percent than retailers were hoping.
The trade groups officials reported mixed results for stores with stronger customer traffic, and soft demand for apparel and spring merchandise “in part, due to the cool weather this year and a result of the historically early Easter combined with high economic anxiety and a penny-pinching mentality by consumers,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist in a press release.

Former Arizona Diamondback Luis Gonzalez and partner Anthony Conti, a “digital executive,” have launched IsTalking, a Phoenix-based company that develops new social networking Web sites exclusively for college students.
The business partners just debuted ASUIsTalking.com, its flagship site, for those who have an Arizona State University e-mail address.
Gonzalez, who currently plays for the Florida Marlins, still calls the Valley home and chose ASU as the pilot school.
IsTalking also partnered with the Tempe university’s alumni association to launch ASUAlumniIsTalking.com, which aims to keep the university’s grads connected.
The IsTalking sites will allow students to communicate with other students, find common interests and develop relationships, the company claims.
On ASUIsTalking.com, students can create a profile, post pictures and videos, lounge in the “social lobby,” join common interest groups and learn about upcoming events.

Arizona State University’s Photovoltaic Testing Lab has received an $800,000 grant through the Solar America Initiative to speed up the testing of solar energy modules. It marked the fifth grant ASU has received through the federal initiative, which aims to reduce to cost of solar energy to make it competitive with conventional energy by 2015.

The goal of the latest grant is to conduct reliability tests of concentrator photovoltaic modules, a type of solar device that is not as well developed and tested as other forms of solar energy.

The program will test modules provided by SolFocus of Mountain View, Calif. and Soliant Energy of Pasadena, Calif., providing data for them to certify their products and develop warranty information. The tests, which will take place at ASU Polytechnic campus in east Mesa, will subject the modules to extreme conditions to simulate what they’d experience during their operational lifetimes.

The east Mesa lab is one of the few in the world that can perform those types of tests, including simulating extreme temperatures, hail impact and high humidity, ASU said.   

Military personnel serving in combat zones can include non-taxable combat pay on their 2007 or 2008 federal income tax returns if it helps their eligibility for the upcoming economic stimulus payment, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Those who normally would not file a return because their 2007 income isn’t taxable can file a Form 1040A with the IRS if they want to receive a payment. They should report their non-taxable combat pay on Line 40b of the form to show at least $3,000 in qualifying income. The Department of Defense lists the amount of excluded combat pay, along with the designation “Code Q,” in Box 12 of Form W-2.

If a military person is serving in a combat zone, his or her normal filing requirement is extended until at least 180 days after leaving a combat zone. However, spouses or others with power of attorney can prepare and file a 2007 return on their behalf so that the payment is received this year. To ensure a payment will be received this year, returns must be filed by Oct. 15 to allow sufficient processing time.

A federal judge has upheld a Georgia man’s First Amendment right to criticize Wal-Mart’s business practices by comparing their destructive effects on communities to the Holocaust and al-Qaida terrorists, according to Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.

The U.S. District Court in Atlanta found that Charles Smith’s parody Web sites, www.walocaust.com and www.walqaeda.com were protected speech, and a reasonable person would not confuse their use with Wal-Mart’s legitimate trademarks.

“This is a resounding victory for First Amendment rights and sends a clear message to big corporations that would try to use their deep pockets to intimidate and silence their critics,” declared Paul Alan Levy, Public Citizen attorney, who defended Smith.