Workers were busy inside the Northern Hotel's parking garage Wednesday painting the parking lines, the finishing touch before it opens again for monthly contract parking.

Before cars and trucks can park there again, however, the garage needs an elevator permit and an occupancy permit. No parking reservations will be taken until the permits are issued.

Mike Nelson and his brother, Chris Nelson, are seriously remodeling the historic Northern Hotel and its garage in downtown Billings. Sprucing up the garage took about six weeks and $100,000, Mike Nelson said.

Meanwhile, he and his staff moved their offices to the basement, into the former Petroleum Club space. The temporary quarters with a sealed-off air supply will have to do for the next four months.

A dozen workers from Schroeder Contracting Inc. of Billings have tackled the hotel's extensive asbestos abatement and demolition project starting on the top floors.

"We're started in earnest two weeks ago, knocking down some walls to see what's behind them," he said. "We'll be going full time until the end of February."

Tax time again

Other than two large tax hikes for the Huntley/Worden Project and Laurel areas, the latest round of Yellowstone County tax statements was pretty normal, said Treasurer Max Lenington.

"We had quite an increase in the Huntley/Worden area, 65 mills, because of their new school and in Laurel because of the high school addition and their athletic facility," he said.

Billings taxpayers are seeing a slight increase for 2009, he said.

The county sent out $180 million in tax statements due at the end of the month. NorthWestern Corp., is the largest taxpayer in the county, followed by the ConocoPhillips and CHS (Cenex) refineries.

Scams du jour

Beware of fake grant letters posing as Fidelity Investments, a legitimate and well-known investment company.

One scam asks recipients to pay $2,000 in taxes upfront to receive a $15,000 U.S. government grant. The grant check is phony, according to the Better Business Bureau. Remember, you can't receive money from a grant you never apply for.

Meanwhile, as holiday shopping gets going, you should expect scammers and phishers to gear up as well.

The Federal Trade Commission offers these tips for protecting your financial ID: select intricate passwords online and verify sources before sharing any information. Also, as you hit the retail stores, keep your purse and wallet secure. That means not just physically guarding your wallet, but carrying only an ID and the credit or debit cards that you are using. Never carry your Social Security card, which could be lost if you become a theft victim.

Laugh lines

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

Why don't we ever hear father-in-law jokes?

Why do we try to keep the house as warm in winter as we did last summer, when we were complaining about the heat?

Contact Jan Falstad at jfalstad@billingsgazette.com or 657-1306.