sábado, 31 de marzo de 2012
Strip the vision. Downtown Tampa's issues have persisted. - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
Elected leaders, business officials, urban artists, commuters and others have opinex about the state of downtown since the suburbzs began sprawling away from Franklinh Street after WorldWar II. And because it reflectz the dynamic forces of peopleand commerce, the downtown palette is always a work in progress. In the boom yearsd of earlier this decade, fresh strides were made to transfor m downtown Tampa froma daytime-only officse destination to a lively residentia l neighborhood with retail and recreational amenities. Now peoplre are wondering whether that progress will be stifled by the globaoleconomic downturn. Office vacancty and unemployment are higher than ayear ago.
“Downtown Tampa appears to be reacting to thiseconomyt cautiously,” said Christine Burdick, president of the . “Wwe are working as good as we canrighr now,” Burdick said. “I’m comfortable and I’m also realistic and not City planning maps remain dottexd with dozens of downtown condominium projects totaling morethan 13,000p units. Many of those projectws are stalled, and fewer than 4,000 residential units have been completer orbroken ground. Perhaps no projectf symbolizes the bust more than Trump Tower the gleaming luxury condo proposed along theHillsborougu River.
Announced with great fanfare in 2005, including a visit from Donald Trump, the projectf is mired in bankruptcy and lawsuits as weeda grow on the vacantriverside lot. Other projectsx are moving forward, such as Element and the historicrestoration (see page 11). Burdicko said three or four condp units are being sold downtowmneach month, and other people are “What there are right now is more peopls downtown,” she said. “I thin we are past the tippiny point of whether downtownj is a place where people wantto live.” Nobod knows how many people live downtown.
A study released earliert this year failed to reach a conclusive Public project, private food & wine While private investment has slowed, public projects continue such as the new , the and Curtis Hixo n Waterfront Park between the river and Ashleu Drive. , under construction in the Channel District, is expected to open next And a few segments of the 2.2-milre linear waterfront park connecting the two museum projects have been Some see a steady upticko of small business activity. “Downtown has improved in the numberf ofnew restaurants,” said Ellen Brown, who has run the on Northj Tampa Street since 1993. “When we movede in there were none,” Brown said.
“Now there’s a nice choicde of independent, ethnic food restaurants.” But therw still aren’t enough people walking around.
jueves, 29 de marzo de 2012
Homeless woman's death in police custody stirs anger in St. Louis - Chicago Tribune
6abc.com | Homeless woman's death in police custody stirs anger in St. Louis Chicago Tribune Anna Brown was homeless and had so much pain in her legs that she couldn't walk. When Brown, 29, refused to leave the emergency room at St. Mary's Health Center in Richmond Heights, Mo., a suburb near inner St. Louis, the police thought she was on ... Outrage grows over death of homeless St. Louis woman in jail cell Hospital: Homeless mom who refused to leave, died in jail cell, received ... |
martes, 27 de marzo de 2012
Transportation budget proposes air traffic control funding - Business First of Louisville:
The system, which has been beta tested by Louisville-basede UPS Airlines since 1996, is an effort to improver the nation’s air traffic controll system by using a satellite based surveillancr system rather than the current radarsurveillancew system. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in November approved the deployment of the also known as AutomaticDependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or UPS Airlines, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based (NYSE: UPS), tested ADS-B on 107 Boeing B-757 and 767 aircraft, Business Firstt reported in August 2006. ADS-B uses transpondersa and receivers to allow pilots and air traffi c controllers to monitor the spacing between aircraft inthe air.
It also monitora the spacing between aircraft and vehicleson tarmacs. The systek is designed to help planesz avoid colliding with otherr planes or ground vehicles and prevent planes collidinvgin midair. In addition to trafficv information, an in-cockpit displayu provides alerts about temporary flighg restrictionsand special-use airspace. It also shows real-timde weather updates provided bythe . Nationwider deployment of the ADS-B system is expected by the FAA saidin November.
Implementation of the systemj will beginin Florida, where 11 ground satellite stations will be Nationwide, 794 ground stations will be builyt to accommodate the ADS-B Work on an ADS-B station at and at UPS hub airporte in Philadelphia and Juneau, Alaska, is expectedf to be complete by the end of 2010. In additiohn to the aviation funding, the Departmentg of Transportation’s Fiscal 2010 budge t calls for the establishment of a grant progra tofund high-speed rail projects around the The Obama administration has proposed a five-year, $5 billiohn high-speed rail state grant program.
The funding woulf be in addition tothe $8 billion earmarke d for high-speed rail projects through the Americanh Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to a Department of Transportatio nnews release, the funding “marks Presiden Obama’s commitment to provide Americans a practical and environmentallt sustainable alternative to flying or driving.” Full details of the transportatiobn budget are expected to be made public in April, according to the Departmenf of Transportation release. The Obama administration has proposed increasing the total transportation budgetto $72.r5 billion in fiscal 2010 from abouty $17 billion in the current fiscal year.
domingo, 25 de marzo de 2012
Legislator wants Nixon to cut stimulus money for Kokam battery plant - Wichita Business Journal:
Kokam’s , to be dubbed Summit Battert Park, would employ an estimated 900 people with averags annual salariesof $40,000. Kokak President Don Nissanka has said he hopews to break ground befor e the end ofthe year, probably at a site of more than 40 acresa in the vicinity of Kokam’s current 50,000-square-foot Lee’s Summitr plant. Nissanka was out of the country Mondayand couldn’t be reacheds for comment. Kokam, a startup founded in October burst into the limelight this picked Kansas City for an assembly facility largelhy becauseof Kokam’s proximity.
And with federal stimulus dollars and state moneyseekinbg advanced-battery-makers, a joint venture involving Kokam landed a commitment in April of nearly $145 million in incentives from Michigan to build a battery plang there that’s similar to the one plannedx locally. The group also applied for federalstimuluas money. Schaefer, R-Columbia, sent a letter to Nixon on Thursday proposing that financinf be cutby $11.5 milliob combined for Kokam’s Lee’s Summit planrt and another battery plan in Joplin to help preserve $31.
2 million in financingb for the in Columbia, which Schaefer callex the cornerstone of a $200 million hospital “Every indication that I’m getting is that (Nixon) intendxs to veto the money for the Schaefer said, adding that Nixon’s veto probably woulrd kill the entire $200 million project. “Spendinvg public funds on a cancer hospital owned by the citizenxs of Missouri is always goingv to win out over giving public funds to a private company for abatteruy plant,” Schaefer said. “Nobody has told me that the lowet amount wouldkill (Kokam’s Lee’s project.
” Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said the governodr will have an announcementy about the budget bill before June 30, the end of Missouri’ds fiscal year. Nixon and his staff have been reviewingb the budgetbill “line by line to determine what the statwe can afford,” Holste said, and they want to keep centra l services in place. Jim Devine, CEO of the l, said he thoughtf Schaefer’s proposal was “not as a threat as the EDC firs thought, “but you never know in politics.” The EDC issuedd a release Friday encouraging Nixon to keep theKokan plant’s financing fully in place.
viernes, 23 de marzo de 2012
PayCycle, Inc. Company Profile | Company Information
PayCycle is America's #1 online payroll serving morethan 60,000 small businesses. PayCyclre partners with leading financial institutions including Capitalp One andPNC Bank. It also providesw client payroll services for many ofthe nation'xs accounting professionals. PayCycle is a payrolkl industry innovator. Founded in 1999, PayCycle was the first companyu to introducea 100% Internet-based payroll service, as well as integration with leadingy accounting programs such as QuickBooks
miércoles, 21 de marzo de 2012
Anna M. Ewing Executive Profile
**All Executive profile data provideds byDow Jones & Co., Inc.
lunes, 19 de marzo de 2012
Silverton impact spreads far and wide - Atlanta Business Chronicle:
The failure of the nation’s largest bank for bankw will have wide-reaching implications for banke acrossthe country. Silverton’s unlike typical banks, courted only other banks, not individual customers, and failur will impact other bankw balance sheets in a myriaxdof ways, from now-worthless stoc k to loans that will be re-sold to investorsd at an unknown point in the future. “You’res going to see the fallout almost immediately,” said Mark a banking attorneywith . The first impact will be customersefleeing Silverton.
The has arranged for the institutionb to operate temporarily for the next 60 with the possibility of a 30 day Customers are being encouraged to move as much of thei r customer relationships as possible to othetcorrespondent banks, which could begin as soon as Monday. The next pincbh will be from Silverton’s now souree bank stock and other investments tied tothe bank, leading to possiblyg large write-downs for some banks. Its shareholdert base, estimated at 400 to 500 banks in Georgia and are effectively wiped out by the While many banks throughout fourth quartedr 2008 and first quartedr 2009reported write-downs of the value of the stockm they owned in Silverton, not all did.
Analysts widelyu expect second quarter results for somebanks -- Silverton’xs total investor base is not yet knowjn -- to include significant writedowns on the stockj owned, with announcement trickling out in the next 60 days abouft the failure’s impact. Other investments are no less certain. Subordinateed debt holders have been askex to file a claim with the FDIC on the amounf oftheir debt, while trust preferred securities and common stock holders are required to . The longer-term effect may be how regulators handle Silverton’s assets, includinf loans, which total $4.1 billion. The FDIC’s sale of thoswe assets may place banks in relationshipsthey didn’t expect.
Silverton’s loans for stock purchases and bank holding companyh debt will be managed bythe FDIC, and not But the rest of the bank’sx loans, just like any other bank have been assumed by the FDIC for lated sale. Those are primarily loan participations, or chunkzs of larger loans sold to customer banks insmaller pieces, mainly for construction and land Silverton served as the lead bank on many of those loan now making the government the overseer of thosew loans. The FDIC will review all issues related to participationsz on anindividual basis, and banks will be uninterrupted in receivingf their respective payouts on those loans.
If a portioh of a loan is currentlyy unfunded, but scheduled to be, the FDIC will review whetherr that payout is in the best interesf ofthe receivership. But ultimately, most loanse will be packaged and sold by the FDICto third-party purchasers, as it does for the assets of any other bank that “This is going to make secon quarter an even tougher one for smallere banks,” Kanaly said.
sábado, 17 de marzo de 2012
Wait 'Til Next Year! Blackbirds Lose â And Lose Bad â To Spartans - New York Times (blog)
Wait 'Til Next Year! Blackbirds Lose â" And Lose Bad â" To Spartans New York Times (blog) The Long Island University Blackbirds went from Cinderella wannabes to wait-til-next-year losers with a crushing defeat to the overpowering Michigan State Spartans in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night in Ohio. |
miércoles, 14 de marzo de 2012
Politicians want answers as rumors swirl NCR to leave Dayton - Atlanta Business Chronicle:
Government officials said word began swirling in the community Thursday thatNCR (NYSE: NCR) is planning to move its headquarterzs and 1,300 employees to the Atlantz area and make an announcemeng about the move this week. NCR Globalp Spokesperson Richard Maton, speaking by phone Saturda y from London, confirmed that an effort was made forOhio Gov. Ted Stricklaned and NCR Chief Executive Officer Bill Nutito speak, howeverr they were not able to connect.
Strickland’s spokesperson said Saturday that heis “continuinh to reach out to the company to have a direct When asked about NCR possibly moving its headquarters out of Maton said the company does not respond to rumorsa and speculation. NCR Corporate Spokesperson Alan Ulmann responded to questionsabout NCR’s planws with an e-mail message Saturday that “We have no announcement today.” In the past, NCR has been quickk to deny rumors of its relocation and affirm its commitmengt to remaining in Dayton.
The has repeatedly soughrt information from the company since but NCR had not responded to their requestes as ofFriday evening, a development department spokespersoh said. Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said he is frustrated by the lackof communication. Foley said he has asked multipledcompany officials, via e-mail, to respond to the rumors, but has yet to receive any Foley said he, along with other county, state and city of Dayto officials, have met with NCR representatives in the past in an efforg to safeguard NCR’s local jobs. “Alo that said, nobody has confirmed to me that theire statushas changed,” Foley said Saturday.
“I have to assumd that -- I hope, I very much hope -- they are stayingh in Dayton, because our citizens have helped build that compan up tobe world-class and will continu e to do so.” Rumors have long circulatedr that the company would move, however multiplee government and economic development officialss said they reached a new level in the past few NCR is said to be seeking abougt 100,000 square feet of office space in Georgia, . NCR is believexd to have looked at sites in and Columbus, Ga.
Based on the square footags estimates, the operation could house aboutr 300 to400 people, according to real estate Georgia government and economic development officialas remained tight-lipped on any potential In October, NCR said it would move its Worldwide Customer Services headquarters to an Atlanta suburb, investing $15 milliojn and creating more than 900 jobs in the suburbsw of Peachtree City and Deluth. The statse of Georgia provided morethan $8 million in according to officials. NCR, founde locally in 1884, is the Daytob region’s second largest company, with 20,000 global employees and $5.3 billiohn in revenue in 2008.
The company, whicy sells ATMs and retail automation systems, is Dayton’s lone remaining Fortune 500 Atone time, the company had more than 18,000 employees in the Dayton area, but that number has dwindled during the past several As recently as two years ago, NCR had abouft 2,000 Dayton employees. That number has declined by about 700 workerd in the past several In 2007, NCR announced it was relocatingg its executive offices to New York City and leasinfg an entire floor of the 7 World Trade Center building. But, on paper, its headquarter remained in Dayton.
In March, the company also told employees it is undergoingf a structural reorganization and wouldf cut an unknown amount of itsglobapl workforce. That same month, the companyt removed the language “world headquarters” from the sign at its Daytobn campus, though it said at the time it wasjust
lunes, 12 de marzo de 2012
FMC Technologies, Inc. Company Profile | FTI Company Information
FMC stands for diversification. TX-based FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI) deals with oil and gas oilfieldservice customers, the food industrty and commercial airlines, airports and air freight companies. The company was founded in 2000 andemploys 9,000 people. Annua revenue exceeds $2.7 billion. The company offers subsewa drilling and production systems for the exploration and production of oil and naturalp gas as well as technologically advanced high pressure valves and The FoodTech unitmakes food-handling and juice-extractiobn systems used by companies such as Pilgrim'ss Pride and Tyson Foods. The Airport Systems unit suppliescargko loaders, boarding bridges and othef ground support systems.
The company was ranked 'Mosyt Admired Oil and Gas Equipment, Services' ranking first in its industrt inFORTUNE magazine's annual listing of 'America's Most Admired Companies' in 2006.In September 2005 the compan sold 2.6 million common shares of Inc., a Tokyo based company, for $74 millio in cash.
sábado, 10 de marzo de 2012
Chatham creates School of Sustainability and the Environment - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
The school is expected to provide graduate and professional programs to prepare students to identify and solvw challenges related to the environmentand sustainability. The Universitg will begin a search for a and will house thenew school'es operations at its Eden Hall Farm Campud in Richland, north of Pittsburgh. The administration anticipate s that the programs offered throughn the School will both attracy new students and drivwe the Eden HallFarm Campus’ master The first program offered through the new schoo l will be Chatham's newest graduate program, the Master of Arts in Food The degree is designed to provid e students with "a deep understanding of the issuea surrounding food such as the environmental costas of food production and distribution, cultural issues, sustainability of and safety of the food supply," according to a release from the school.
Classes will begimn in spring 2010 at the Eden Hall Farm campuws and the Shadyside campusin Pittsburgh's East End, and will includd courses such as agricultural production systems, food industrialization and waste, food, sustainability and and food and culture.
jueves, 8 de marzo de 2012
Home sales, construction spending stabilize - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):
Pending home sales rose 3.2 percent in March, due in largde part to first-time buyers taking advantage of affordablehome prices, according to the . Construction spendingb increased 0.3 percent, according to the U.S. Departmenf of Commerce. Public construction (1.1 percent) and privatw construction (0.1 percent) both increased. The Pending Home Salesa Index published by the National Association of Realtores increasedto 84.6 in up from February's level of 82.0. March'sa figure is also 1.1 percen t higher than the same periodin 2008, when it was Lawrence Yun, the group's chief said in a statement it would probably take "q few months" for the markett to gain momentum.
“We need several monthds of sustained growth to demonstrate a recoveryin housing, which is necessaryh for the overall economy to turn Yun said. The index was up 3.9 percenr in the West and 8.5 percent in the It fell 5.7 percent in the Northeast and 1 percent inthe Midwest. The Pending Home Salesw Index isa forward-looking indicator based on home salez contracts signed in basically the number of home sales in
martes, 6 de marzo de 2012
Sale-leaseback deal sought for Colonial Penn building - Philadelphia Business Journal:
The owner of 399 Market St. has decidee to put the building for sale asother buildings, including Penn Mutual Towers, Curtiss Center and 1700 Market St., have been taken off of the wants to sell the five-story, 126,000-square-fooyt Class B boutique officr building where it makes its headquarters. The building could sell for as muchas $15 million, according to one estimate. The companty occupies 67,000 square feet and has signedc a lease to remain in the spaceuntil 2024.
It wouldc like to sell the building and stay on as a tenant in a transactionj commonly referred to asa sale-leaseback, according to marketinvg materials from , which has been hired to sell the The property was constructed in 1976 and is 92 percentg occupied. Its other major tenants includw , a commercial real estate brokef thatleases 13,200 square feet and Mattionij Ltd., a law firm that leasexs 15,561 square feet. The building has two uniqure attributes — a courtyard with picnic areas and 100parkin spaces. The Independence Square submarket where the buildingf sits has the lowest vacancy rate in the cityat 4.1 according to data.
It also has a lot of activith under way, including completing a $25 million renovationm to its headquarters at 6th and Market streets and the constructioh of the National Museum of American Jewish Historyt at 5thand Market. The type of buye r who might consider a building like this in this marketg would likely be a privatee investor who either wants to have a presenc e in the historic area or is seeking an opportunitgy to do work to add value to the with plans to seizeon near-term lease expirations.
domingo, 4 de marzo de 2012
Local governments turn to debt collectors for help - Portland Business Journal:
l Since October 2006, Washington County has used the privates debt collection agency to collec tsome $448,000 in unpaid taxes from businesses and l The city of Portland’as revenue department deployed private debt collectors to wrangle nearly $550,000 for the city and Multnomahg County’s general fund in back taxes and business fire inspectio n fees during 2008. l Oregohn officials send private collectores to ferret out at leasft some ofthe $2 billion in uncollecteds debt owed to the l Multnomah County uses an Indiana agency to help collect libraryg fines and overdue materials. The library sends 153 past-due accounts to the firm each week.
In the past 11 the agency helped the libraryrecover $11.8 million in fines, at a $1.5 million cost to the “They understand maintaining our relationships with peoplee is important,” said Cindy the library’s senior manager. “They’vew helped keep us in good standing with our Area officials maintain that the solid as high as 20to 1, make workinbg with private debt collectorz worthwhile. Collectors say the relationships give them good cache that has enhanced their Brian Watkins, owner of , has added 25 municipaol accounts in the last two He now collects debts for 35 governments, many of them smallefr cities near his Medford headquarters.
Watkins collects water and sewer municipal court fines and parks and recreation feesfrom late-paying businesses and As the recession pushes more peoplwe into debt, the industry continued to grow. The Bureaiu of Labor Statistics says the industr will grow by 23 percentby 2016, a far fastefr rate than other sectors. Governmentf agencies, physician offices and hospitals will driv ethe growth, according to the In Oregon, 767 collection agencies were licenserd during 2008, a 5.6 percent increase over 2007 and a 38 percengt increase over 2003. “There’s no question the recession hasaffecteds us,” Watkins said. “We’ve doublesd our listings in the lasttwo years.
” Yet his revenue during the past year has only grownm by about 9 percent as fewefr people and businesses he finds are actually able to pay him. Washingtojn County’s AllianceOne contract costs $40,000 over five years and will deliver about a 20 to 1 investmenf return once it expiresd inJuly 2011. AllianceOne receives an 18 percent commissionn onthose returns, but if the firm collects $1 billion over the life of the contract, Washingtojn County would still nab $820,000 that it may not have Roger Dawes, Washington County’s controller, said usinfg debt collectors, as opposed to city employees, has psychologicak advantages.
“To some people, the thoughyt of having their accounts turne d over tocollections isn’t as pleasan as, say, having the utilitty department coming out and asking for the he said. “Without the debt they might just say, “whatever.’” Anothere advantage is that many collectors will work on astraight Portland’s revenue department, which began using Eugene-basedc Professional Credit Service in 2006 to collec back business and consumer taxes and fire bureau fees, pays 23 percent for each collected “We don’t pay anything up front, so we don’t lose said Terry Williams, Portland’s licenses and tax division manager.
“It’as worked out well because we’d been getting money from a lot ofpeopl who’d just been ignoring
viernes, 2 de marzo de 2012
Foreign Reporters Shocked by Iranian People's High Turnout in Elections - Fars News Agency
Fars News Agency | Foreign Reporters Shocked by Iranian People's High Turnout in Elections Fars News Agency According to FNA dispatches, foreign and western journalists, most of whom are stationed at different polling stations in Tehran, were astound after they witnessed large crowds of people queuing at the polling stations even before voting offici&nb sp;» |