Good for business

Nevada leaders have worked to diversify the state's economy for the better part of three decades. The ongoing, devastating downturn has brought renewed focus to an effort best characterized by wavering urgency.

New Gov. Brian Sandoval has made economic diversification -- and the new jobs it would bring -- a personal priority. He said he intends to telephone the CEOs of targeted businesses every day to pitch a move to Nevada. He has vowed to hold the line on taxes, and on Monday, just after his inauguration, Gov. Sandoval signed an order suspending new executive branch regulations until 2012.

Gov. Sandoval's administration is sending all the right signals. They want everyone to know they will fight to make Nevada's business environment as friendly as possible.

It's also important that Gov. Sandoval and others working toward economic diversification -- from the Nevada Development Authority to state lawmakers and local governments -- pay close attention to keeping the businesses already operating here.

Plenty of entrepreneurs around town will tell anyone who'll listen that while they're worried about stalled sales, the undetermined cost of ObamaCare and the possibility of new or higher taxes on businesses, the thick web of county or municipal regulation also threatens to shut them down.

A campaign to help existing Nevada businesses cut through red tape and restrain overzealous regulators should go hand-in-hand with work to lure new businesses to the Silver State.

Every business owner who has made Nevada home is a potential ambassador for companies yet to come. What better message to send to prospective industries and entrepreneurs than one that shows we won't stop looking out for them once they get here?