Desert Dodge closed its doors Friday night at 5 p.m. Longtime customers showed up, only to learn the dealership suddenly closed. Employees are out of work as Desert Dodge is just one victim of Detroit's downsizing.

The sign on the showroom was quickly covered up as employees and patrons left the lot for the last time.

“It's getting pretty dramatic around the area right now,” said customer Carmine Foglia.

Foglia has been a loyal customer for 12 years. He dropped by to check on some parts for his car, only to learn this dealership suddenly shut down with little warning, “I'm quite concerned. I don't know what these poor people are going to do. For me, it's a small inconvenience compared to what everyone else is experiencing.”

The closure of Desert Dodge was part of a consolidation plan by Chrysler. The auto company is reducing its number of dealers nationwide as it tries to become profitable.

“It's not really a surprise. It's unfortunate, we don't like it to happen, but there are too many dealerships out there, and when Chrysler comes and asks for your participation, you've got to help,” said Marc Cannon, Senior Vice President of Communications with AutoNation.

The Desert Auto Group will spend the next two weeks trying to place dozens of workers at other dealerships.

“This came down pretty quickly and what we have found is we always go to our associates as quickly as possible,” said Cannon. “It's not something we wanted to happen for our associates, especially in this economy.”

Meantime, customers like Foglia will turn to other Dodge dealers and start trading there, “He said to me the past week that their business was picking up. They were busier than most other Dodge dealerships in town, so they were really caught off guard that this occurred so suddenly.”

The Desert Auto Group is the largest auto retailer in the Las Vegas market. A spokesman for parent company, AutoNation, says the company remains profitable and emphasizes all other Desert Auto Group dealerships will remain open.

If customers have some unfinished business with Desert Dodge, they can still call the dealership. That number is 221-0000 and it will be operational until Tuesday.

After 59 years, the Las Vegas Art Museum is getting ready to close its doors. Recent economic woes have dramatically reduced the amount of donations to the museum, and now they say they'll have to close their doors.

The museum will close with the Sahara West Library this Saturday, and for the first time, members don't know when they will re-open.

Four years ago the museum turned its focus to contemporary art, displaying exhibits like L.A. Now, a showing of about 20 different artist offering everything from paintings to sculptures.

Although the museum has a thousand members and many devoted members of the community, they recently announced the current economic situation has forced them to close their doors, but with a hope it will not be forever.

“Our hope is to keep the entity alive and, if I might say, on cryogenics as it were, so that at the right point and time, perhaps when all of this economic malaise finally subsides, we can reemerge more than likely much stronger,” said Patrick Duffy with the museum.

The museum currently has nine full time and five part time employees, along with more than 100 volunteers that work to keep the museum running. The museum closing is not only hard for them but for an entire community.

A former Durango High School teacher will spend at least the next 16 months in prison. Angel Menes was sentenced for having sex with two students.

District Court Judge Jackie Glass sentenced him to a minimum of one year and four months and up to four years in prison.

Menes was a driver's education instructor at the school. He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct between an employee of a school and a pupil and one count of open or gross lewdness. He'll be eligible for parole after serving the minimum sentence.

You might think it's too risky to start up a new business in the middle of a bad economy, but more women are braving the storm and taking the leap to help out their families.

It's definitely not an easy undertaking, but the co-owner of Retro Bakery, Kari Haskell, says she did a lot of planning and researching before making the commitment, and so far so good.

For Haskell, work has never been so fulfilling, “We're the new generation of bartenders. Instead of ‘I need a drink,' it's ‘I need a cupcake.'”

For 10 years, Kari researched what kind of business would make it in Las Vegas. She chose cupcakes.

One year later, Haskell finds herself in the middle of a recession. Just this past week, three restaurants in the Durango and Farm area closed their doors, including Retro's next door neighbor.

But Haskell says her small business is doing exceptionally well, “It's scary, but at the same time, I know we are all here for the common good and the common goal and we're able to do it.”

Opening a business is a risk more women in the Las Vegas valley are taking. Anna Siefert, with the Women's Business Center, says they've seen a 20-percent increase in the last few months of women wanting to start up a business, “This is time for them to say, ‘What can I do to help? What can I do to subsidize the income that my husband lost?'”

The Women Business Center says they're seeing women taking a smart approach. They're being forced to start out small, which helps them succeed.

And although it is risky right now, Siefert says women tend to have a better success rate, “Women are really good at establishing and maintaining relationships.”

 ”I think it's that we truly care. I really want to know how your kids are doing. I really want to know if you got the new job. It's part of the business — especially for cupcakes. We're here when you celebrate and we are here when you need a pick me up,” said Haskell.

And though the road hasn't been easy, Kari says it's worth every minute. Not only is she doing what she loves, she's helping bring home a paycheck.

One the largest employers in the Las Vegas valley has announced it plans to file for bankruptcy protection. Station Casinos says it will formally make the move sometime after March 2, 2009. Station Casinos employs 14,000 people in the Las Vegas valley.

Gaming analysts say the company going private, combined with the economy, was the one-two punch leading to bankruptcy.

In what could be a single picture that captures the state of the locals gaming market, a dealer stands with no players at his table. Many slots are also idle. It is a scenario seen at resorts throughout the struggling Las Vegas gaming market.

Deutsche Bank Analyst Bill Lerner says it is only part of the problem for Station Casinos, “If this was a public company right now we would not be in this situation. So the debt burden that was assumed to take the company private by taking out the public shareholders was problem one.”

The local company was founded in 1976 by the Fertitta family. In 2007, the company went private with partner Colony Capital. Now the company says it will file what is called a pre-packaged bankruptcy.

“What this really means is business as usual. Our employees and our guests will see absolutely no difference. Our properties remain exactly the same. Our operations will continue business as usual,” said Lori Nelson with Stations.

Lerner says the nature of a planned bankruptcy filing suggests some bondholders have already agreed, in advance, to the terms, “I think it is relatively good news for employees and customers. Best guess is that nothing really changes from the customer experience or from the level of employees.”

Two well known Station properties are not a part of this bankruptcy filing — Aliante Station in North Las Vegas and Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. They are both a partnership with the Greenspun family and, as with all Station properties, the company says it will be business as usual.