IN BRIEF

Fisher Sand and Gravel suing county, rival

Paving company Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. is suing Clark County and a competitor after being denied the winning bid for construction on a stretch of the Las Vegas Beltway.

Fisher first filed the lawsuit in District Court on Tuesday against the county and against the winning bidder, the unionized Las Vegas Paving Co., and blamed union influence.

The nonunion Fisher claims it has lost millions of dollars as a result of the July 21 County Commission decision. Fisher filed a petition to move the case to federal court late Tuesday.

Fisher seeks damages, a restraining order and an injunction against the county and Las Vegas Paving, claiming its civil rights were violated when Fisher was deprived of the job award.

The complaint also claims the commission violated Nevada law by not awarding the contract for a public project to the lowest bidder.

Fisher, a North Dakota company, claims it underbid the local Las Vegas Paving by $4.6 million. Fisher's January bid for the project -- a stretch of the 215 Bruce Woodbury Beltway from Tenaya Way to Decatur Boulevard -- was just over $112.2 million. Las Vegas Paving's bid was a little more than $116.8 million, according to the complaint.

Wells Fargo will hire 150 tellers, bankers

Wells Fargo Bank said on Wednesday that it plans to hire 150 tellers and personal bankers in Nevada, including 100 in Southern Nevada. The bank employs 1,700 workers in the state.

The bank is holding four open houses for job applicants:

• 2-4 p.m., Saturday at 4425 W. Spring Mountain Road.

• 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 6, at 2103 Civic Center Drive, North Las Vegas.

• 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 13, at Wells Fargo Green Valley Conference Room, 2231 N. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson.

• 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 1700 E. Charleston Blvd.

The bank recommends applicants bring résumés to the open houses. Also, it suggests visiting the company's career site: wellsfargo.com/careers and apply to requisition No. 3294145 (tellers) or No. 3294146 (personal bankers) before attending the open house.

SAN FRANCISCO

Microsoft lassos Yahoo in Web partnership

Microsoft Corp. has finally roped Yahoo Inc. into an Internet search partnership, capping a convoluted pursuit that dragged on for years and setting the stage for them to make a joint assault against the dominance of Google Inc.

The 10-year deal announced Wednesday gives Microsoft access to the Internet's second-largest search engine audience, beefing up the software maker's arsenal as it tries to better confront Google, which is by far the leader in online search and advertising.

Microsoft didn't have to give Yahoo an upfront payment to make it happen, as many Yahoo investors had been counting on since Microsoft dangled $1 billion in 2008 in an attempt to forge a search partnership then.

Google tried to stop Yahoo from falling into Microsoft's camp.

Last year it formed its own proposed search advertising deal with Yahoo, only to be forced to retreat from that after U.S. antitrust officials threatened to sue.

Now the extended reach Microsoft is gaining will let it introduce its recently upgraded search engine, called Bing, to more people. The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker believes Bing is just as good, if not better, than Google.