Inside East Valley Business

Long–time Scottsdale jeweler Ed Marshall and his store got tapped by Hollywood.

A Sony Pictures location scout first discovered the high-end store, tucked into an aging shopping center on the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard, as the perfect setting to stage a jewelry heist for an upcoming full-length movie slated for Spike TV.

Then the director saw Marshall, minding his shop as the production crew swarmed in, and decided the 63-year-old businessman looked the part, surprisingly, of a jewelry salesman.

He got a part  — a speaking part. Could more roles follow?

Ed said of his sudden step toward stardom that he might do a gig for the same director, who became a buddy. But he’s not giving up his day job. Or joining the Screen Actors Guild, although he does qualify for membership.

The Scottsdale businessman got a little check, he said, and a big free ad. Although the movie, a pilot for a possible cop series dubbed “SIS,” is set in L.A., the producer plans to name the store E.D. Marshall Jewelers, Marshall said.

Milk? Check. Motor oil? Check. Annual physical? Check.

If you live in Tempe, that’s what your next shopping list may look like once a Tennessee-based company opens its first walk-in medical consultation kiosk in the East
Valley.

The Little Clinic has teamed up with Fry’s Food & Drug Stores to offer shoppers with medical visitations with nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The company already has locations in several Fry’s in the west Valley.

The Little Clinic’s medical staff can diagnose, treat and write prescriptions for non-emergencies ranging from minor illnesses to small injuries.Company officials said most of their services cost around $60 and appointments aren’t necessary. A spokeswoman confirmed plans to bring the unusual concept to the East Valley with a location in Tempe, however they wouldn’t say where store would be located or how many other locations they plan to open.

Arizona experienced 14 fewer train derailments and collisions in 2007 compared with the previous year, according to the Association of American Railroads.

That 39 percent reduction was in line with a nationwide trend that caused 2007 to be the safest year in freight railroad history, the association said. Arizona was one of 34 states that had a reduction in incidents. The biggest declines were in California (-46) and Texas (-45).

Nationwide there was a 6.9 percent decrease in highway-rail crossing collisions.

The association attributed the decline to more investments in safety, improved infrastructure maintenance and employee training programs. The industry spent $9.4 billion last year on their networks and on safety technology such as the use of satellites to keep track of trains.

A Pennsylvania-based company wants to acquire the Valley’s oldest private school operator. Nobel Learning Communities Inc. officials announced they signed a letter of intent to buy Scottsdale-based Camelback Desert Schools for an undisclosed sum and expect the acquisition to take 90 days. Camelback Desert Schools operate elementary schools in Paradise Valley and Scottsdale.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued its 2008 list of the 12 worst tax schemes and scams.

Topping the list is a con known as phishing, which encompasses numerous Internet-based ploys to steal financial information from taxpayers.  The most common are e-mails impersonating the IRS, claiming the recipients are owed refunds totaling hundreds or thousands of dollars, and asking for personal information to receive the money.

The No. 2 scam involves telephone calls and e-mails claiming to speed the process for taxpayers awaiting their economic stimulus rebate checks.

The list also includes frivolous schemes to avoid paying taxes, unfounded fuel tax credit claims, hiding income offshore, unlawful retirement plan arrangements, phony wage or income related information, false refund claims and abatement requests, tax preparer fraud, disguised corporate ownership, misuse of trusts, and abuse of charitable organizations and deductions.

Suspected tax fraud can be reported to the IRS using Form 3949-A, available for download at www.irs.gov. The completed form or a letter detailing the alleged activity should be addressed to the Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA 93888.

Starbucks Coffee’s customers were unimpressed by the company’s decision to close stores nationwide in order to sharpen their employees’ coffee-making skills, a restaurant industry trade magazine reported.

Nations Restaurant News cited a survey conducted by Synovate, a research division of Aegis Group, said only 3 percent of coffee drinkers said the company’s three-hour in-store training session, during which Starbucks closed 7,000 cafes, proved the company was improving its service.

The study also showed that few patrons were inconvenienced by the closures.

Arizona power plants are getting dirtier rather than cleaner, at least when it comes to pollution tied to global warming, according to the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project.
Arizona had one of the biggest one-year increases in greenhouse gas emissions from 2006 to 2007, the organization said Monday.The top 10 states in increases of carbon dioxide were Arizona, Georgia, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia and North Carolina.  

There’s big news today in the East Valley’s pooper-scooping industry.

Pet Butler acquired GotPoop-AZ, one of its competitors serving the Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee Foothills and Queen Creek.

The two companies made the joint announcement over the weekend.

Pet Butler, which proudly bills itself as “#1 in the #2 business”, charges a small per-visit fee for its technicians to collect dog and cat waste, carry it away, and dispose of it properly. They say if the doggie-doo doesn’t get picked up, it can ruin lawns and present a significant source of water pollution.

“The acquisition of GotPoop-AZ pet waste cleanup customers is part of our continuing effort to build the Pet Butler brand into a household name so that when people think of dog poop, they think Pet Butler,” said Matt “Red” Boswell, CEO, or Chief Excrement Officer. “Both in Arizona and across the country, we want to be synonymous with clean yards and quality service”.

Pet Butler currently has 97 franchise operations in 27 states and recently celebrated their 40- millionth pile scooped.

Now that is something to be proud of.

Companies planning price hikes due thanks to rising gas costs had better be upfront with their customers about it lest they risk alienating them, according to an online consumer ratings and review service.
Poll results from AngiesList.com said 85 percent of the nation’s service providers report high gas prices affecting their profits. Sixty percent of them plan to pass the cost onto their customers.
The poll showed that only 43 percent of companies feel their patrons understand the reasons behind the higher costs, which are come in the form of surcharges and higher service fees.
The average cost of gas per gallon is rapidly approaching the $4 mark.
“Done properly, most customers will understand the added cost. Done on the sly, most customers will be unhappy,” a press release form the online service said.
“Our advice is to be upfront about passing along the costs; most customers will understand if they’re alerted to it because they’re paying more, too,” said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List, in a press release.