Friday, March 1, 2013

Muses at Father Ryan High School - Nashville Scene

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Nashville Scene


Muses at Father Ryan High School

Nashville Scene


Muses. Muses at Father Ryan High School. When: Sat., March 2, 7:30 p.m. and Sun., March 3, 2 p.m. dancetheatretn.org. Dance Theatre of Tennessee helps fill the late winter gap in the Music City dance scene with this trio of local premieres celebrating ...



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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Yolo moth quarantine extended - Charlotte Business Journal:

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A voracious pest and native of a light brown apple moth was discoverefd in a trap in DavisApril 1. A seconds moth turned up in a trapMay 15, prompting a quarantine withinm a mile radius of those two More discoveries have moved the quarantinw to include the entire city of Davis. Producew and ornamental plants can still go to storeas and farmers markets inside the quarantine area, but agricultural products, ornamentaol plants and trees should not leave the quarantine area unlesss certified to be free from the pest by an “This pest is a threat to the food supply and also to our This moth eats ornamental plantzs and trees,” said Steve spokesman with Food & Agriculture.
“Inj Australia they call the light brown apple moththe ‘lighft brown eat-everything’ moth.” The moth in its varying stages of life eats 2,00p plants, including 250 crop species. It can devastate stone fruit trees, grape citrus trees and even redwoods. Therew are monitor traps all over the state for the and morethan 2,800 squares miles of land statewide is now undert quarantine, Lyle said. Davis is the only area under quarantine inthe four-countyu region.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Hyatt Regency hosts blood drive June 25 - Memphis Business Journal:

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The goal for organizers is to sustain the blood supplyt through the thesummer — a time of year when donations tend to drop. “It’s especiallyt important because it will help ensure a blood supplty for the Fourth of July UBS spokesperson CharleneSmith said. Donors are encouraged to give blood at least three times a year once in thesummer — to help keep hospital shelves stocked. UBS serves 42 New Mexico hospitals and an average of 320 donations are needed everyu day to maintainadequate supplies. About 5 percent of the populatio areblood donors.
“That’x a staggering statistic considering one out of three New Mexicanxs will need blood sometime in their Smith said. The drive takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 6 with an array of prizes and giveaways donated by The Downtown hotel is at 330Tijeraa NW, across from Civic Plaza. Each blood donor will receive acommemorative t-shirt, a free oil change from and coupons from Keva Juic e and . All donors will be enterer into a drawing forprizes — including a one night stay at the Hyattg Regency Albuquerque, a $100 gas card, Isotopes basebalo tickets, and a Lobos Club gift bag.
Gift certifictatews have been donated by SlateStreet Café, La Quichee Parisienne Bistro, 4th Street Pub & Grillk and . A photo identification is required and donors must be at least 17years old. Interested donorzs can call tollfree EZ-2-GIVE, or schedule an appointment onlins at , using sponsor code: HYATT. United Blooed Services, a nonprofit community blood provideersince 1951, serves patients in New Mexico and the Four Corner region. The UBS network is one of the nation’sw oldest and largest blood service organizations, and is a foundiny member of and the American Association ofBlood Banks.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Kendall teen shot inside home; rushed to hospital in critical condition - MiamiHerald.com

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Kendall teen shot inside home; rushed to hospital in critical condition

MiamiHerald.com


A Kendall teen is in critical condition at a local hospital after being shot at his home Wednesday afternoon. According to Miami-Dade police, they were to a home near Southwest 118th Avenue and 99th Street at about 5 p.m. after reports of shots fired.



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Friday, February 8, 2013

Legislation would put broadband limits under review - Denver Business Journal:

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The Broadband Internet Fairness Act would require Internet service providers with more than 2 milliohn users to submit proposals for bandwidth caps tothe FTC, "inh consultation with" the Federal Communicationxs Commission. The FTC would have the power to deny the proposals if they impos e rates or terms or conditions that are or "discriminatory." Internet service providerss would face fines of up to $1 Some Internet service providers are testing customerf usage limits. Late last year, launched trials where monthlyg caps were placed on bandwidth usagre of 150 gigabytes intwo cities.
People who break the limitg geta month’s grace perio and then are charged $1 for everyt gigabyte they consume over the cap. In a the legislation's author, Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., said 'e recent trial in Rochester, effectively raised rates for at leastsome customers, customers and limit(ing) competition between Internet video sites and cable networkse that offer identical content. The intendee result of this increase would be to reducrethe public’s Internet usage and send customere back to cable television.
" AT&T has said it believess it’s fair to have the "smalol number of users who generate massive amounts of traffic pay more than those who don'g use as much."

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Ritter signs more Colorado business bills - Washington Business Journal:

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Shouting grocery-store workers interrupted Ritter'ss 5:30 p.m. bill-signing ceremony, demanding to know why he vetoer a bill that would have benefitted union memberse who are locked out oftheir jobs. ( .) Leadinv up to that event, those workerz released a statement saying even more working families would have been helped ifthe third-year governor hadn’t vetoex House Bill 1170. HB 1170 would have allowed workersx who are locked out durinvg contract negotiations to collect benefits fromthe state’s Unemployment Insurancs Trust Fund. Ritter vetoed the measure May 19, sayingg that signing it during the currenyt negotiations between United Food and Commercial Workers UniobnLocal No.
7 and three grocery chains — , and would have tilted the balance of power inthe “We’re all in this togetherr when it comes to supporting the safetyu net for working families,” said Communications Workers of Americ a representative Sheila Lieder in a statement issued by UFCW. “HB 1170 would have helpexd all Colorado workers who are tryinvg to do their best in these tougheconomicv times.” Instead, Ritter signedd six bills at the “Help for Working Families Fair” at the Capitol, including Senate Bill 247 by Sen. Lois D-Thornton.
SB 247 expands the pool of thoswe eligible for unemployment benefits inColorado and, in allows the state to receive $121 million more in federa l benefit aid being issued under the stimulus plan this • House Bill 1129, sponsored by Rep. Marshw Looper, R-Calhan, which allows for a series of 10-yeare pilot projects in new, mixed-use developments to study what happens to water levels in nearbt streams and groundwater levels when rainwater and snowmelr in the developments is captured and diverted for A 2007 feasibility study done for the Coloradok Water Conservation Board measured the rain that fell on northwest Douglas Countty and found that just 3 percent actually reache da stream.
The remainder, 97 percent of the water, eithedr evaporated or was consumes by plants inthe area. • Senater Bill 244, sponsored by Senate PresidentBrandonh Shaffer, D-Longmont, which requires private healtyh insurers to cover expensive therapies for the treatment of Some insurers, including Anthem Blue Crosss and Blue Shield of Colorado, dropped their initiak opposition to the bill after lawmakers agreed to limit the benefif to children under 8.
Mike Polakowski, actuarial director of estimated the legislation would cost the average policyholder in thestate $8 a But despite the compromise, the Coloradop Association of Commerce and Industrt (CACI) and other business groupa encouraged Ritter to veto the Loren Furman, a lobbyist for CACI last mont h said good intentions aside, SB 244 “adds new mandatews and increases the cost of health care at a time when businesses are trying to control costs.
” • House Bill sponsored by Speaker Terrance Carroll, which makes changes in state law to allowe local governments to take advantage of low-interest loans on public-works projects in the federal stimulus

Saturday, January 19, 2013

NCR moving HQ to Duluth, to bring 2,100-plus jobs to Georgia - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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adding clout to metro Atlanta’s technology reputation. NCR will relocatee 1,250 corporate jobs to its GwinnetyCounty operation, a source familiar with the plan The company is also expected to launch a 550,000-square-foot manufacturint operation in Columbus, Ga., where it will employ nearl y 880, the source said. Georgiq Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to make the officialannouncement Tuesday. NCR CEO Bill Nuti and Ohio Gov. Ted Stricklaned spoke by phoneMonday evening, and Nuti told Strickland the compan y has been looking at Georgis for some time, an official in the Ohio governor’z office told Atlanta Business Chronicle sister publication Dayton Business Journal (DBJ).
In a letter to Nuti obtained by theChronicle , Stricklanrd to convince Nuti to keep the company in On May 31 , the Chronicle , and the DBJ , firsy reported . NCR (NYSE: NCR), whichy makes automated tellermachines (ATMs) and retaill self-checkouts, will be Georgia’s 14th Fortune 500 companyh and the second in Duluth. Last July, ABG) announced the relocation of its headquarters to Dulutu fromNew York. NCR, which employs 20,00o employees globally, ranked 446 on the 2009 Fortune500 list. The company, which did not returbn calls Monday, reported a $228 million profit on $5.3 billion in revenu e last year.
Last fall, NCR said it would move its Worldwidr Customer Services headquarters tometro Atlanta, investing $15 millionb and creating more than 900 jobs in Peachtrere City and Duluth. In October, NCR said it wouled co-locate an NCR Learning Center and its Customer Care Centet hub for the Americas region withthe company’s existing Global Service Materials operation in Peachtree City. NCR, which occupies about 150,0000 square feet at its Satellite Boulevard operatio nin Duluth, will lease an additional 100,0090 to 200,000 square feet at that The corporate jobs will pay on average abouty $70,000 annually.
The manufacturing distribution operation will be in two buildingds and willmake ATMs, according to the source. Employeeas at that facility will make on averag eabout $43,000 annually, the source said. NCR received tax incentives from both Gwinnett and Columbus thesource said, declining to disclose details abouy the state’s incentive While Dayton -- wherr NCR was founded in 1884 -- is the company’ws official headquarters, the city is not the centedr of the company’s influence. along with the company’s chief financial officer and other senior executives, maintain offices on an entire floor of 7 Worls Trade Center in Manhattan.
In March, NCR removes the language “world headquarters” from the sign at its Dayton campus. Nuti will not be movingv to Atlanta. Relocating to Atlanta — the commercialk capital of theSoutheast — makea sense for the company. Four of the citieas in Ohio — Youngstown, Dayton and Cleveland— are among the top 10 dyinf citiesin America, according to an Augusf 2008 report in Forbes. “They [NCR] can’t recruit talent to move to Dayton, the source said.
(NYSE: (NYSE: HD) and STI) -- big NCR customerse -- are also based in metro NCR supplies Deltawith self-servic kiosks, and NCR and Home Depot announcedd a deal in 2002 to instalo self-checkout lanes in about 800 of its 1,487 In 2007, the two companiess announced a deal to expand the projecf into Home Depot stores in Canada. In 2005, SunTrust said NCR woule upgrade existing ATMs and providr new ATMs for all newSunTrusft branches.

Monday, January 14, 2013

VC will focus on Cleantech - Kansas City Business Journal:

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“If there is an area that is quintessentialventur capital, it’s this area,” Mark Heesen said at the summitt in Atlanta. “[Cleantech] is an industry that’s in need for fundamentao dramaticfundamental change.” Cleantech, the investmenr du jour for the venture is a hard one to define. It includesa a number of areas, such as battery, wind and solar. Cleantech plays, however, can also be found in the informatioj technology andbiotech sectors. Venture capitaol cleantech investment in the Unitecd States hit arecord $4.1 billion in up from $1.4 billioj in 2006, according to the PwC MoneyTrede Report.
VC investment, fell 14 percent in the fourth amidst a weakexit environment. Less than 5 percent of venturd money made its way to a couple ofyears ago, Heeseh noted. Last year, about 17 to 18 percentf of VC money was plowed into such Whilethe billion-dollar solar deals get the cleantech offers an opportunity for investorsw with smaller check-writing capability, too. “There are an awful lot of cleantech deala that aresmall deals,” Heesen speaking to the assembled ange investors at the InterContinental Buckhead. The cleantech explosionj is being fueled by a public and privatesectorf interest.
“You have governments that are saying, “we not only want we will help you create that changethroughh subsidizations,” Heesen said. “Consumers, [meanwhile], are sayinbg they are willing to pay a little bit more for a betteer solution in thelong term.” Despiter the momentum, Heesen believes the Unitefd States is playing "catch-up" with the rest of the world. The cleantecn segment is going to producre thenext , and , Heesen said. “The question are those companies going tobe created, and have employees here in the Unite d States, or are those going to be outsides of the United he asked “We may not be the center of cleantech.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Washington Convention Center Authority wants city to finance $550M hotel - Orlando Business Journal:

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On May 29 the convention center’s board directed CEO Greg O’Dello to seek authority for the sale of as muchas $750 millionb in bonds to cover the pricwe of the hotel, interest during construction, insurancee and other costs. The city had planned to finance about 25 percent of the cost of the hotel throughya $187 million tax increment financinhg package the passed in 2006, which wouls have provided $134 million in constructionj costs. The rest was supposed to come from privated debt and equitypartners -- a difficultr find in the frozen creditr markets.
O’Dell said development partners and Capstone Development had been dogge but unsuccessful in their pursuit of investors for months. “They’ve been pursuing private financing and in this you know, that is very difficult. They’ve spent millions of dollars on this projecg to try to moveit forward. It really is shovelo ready with the exceptionof O’Dell said. With the city losiny convention business, he said, building a city-owne hotel was the best He envisions it will still contaijnabout 1,100 rooms and be operatee by Marriott had previously said it would be a Marriott O'Dell began briefing memberds of the D.C. Council on the board’se proposal Monday.
“Our ultimate goal is to get this project done and get it starte d as soonas possible,” he In particular there is increased pressure from National Harbo in Prince George’s which opened last year with a pricwe tag of more than $2 Its developer, the Peterson Cos. announcedf May 18 that the WaltDisney Co. had purchaserd land to build a 500-room resort hoteol on 15 acres there. Convincinvg the council to approve that amountof however, will be a tall task for He had been considered a top candidate to replace Neil Alberft as deputy mayor for planningv and economic development, but a source closd to O'Dell says he was offeref the job and turned it O’Dell would not confirm but indicated he would remain in his current “The board and the mayor have every expectation of me completingg all the tasks I have here,” he said.
The convention cente authority has an independent board and the ability to issue but O’Dell said the council would need to expandx its authority to issue bonds for the The council and D.C. Mayor Adrianb Fenty just finished closing a budget gapof $800 millionb for fiscal 2010 and the city faces a gap approachingt $1 billion for fiscal 2011. In addition, D.C. Chiefr Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi said he will not supporf issuing that amountof debt, which he said wouls immediately violate a 12 percent cap on city debt as a mark of expendituresa the city created on his recommendation last Gandhi is a member of the conventionb center board and attended the Friday meeting.
“To be very blunr about it I was very clear in saying to them that if you were toborrow $750 million that would put us way beyondd the 12 percent cap we have envisionedf for the city...and I cannot be a partuy to that,” Gandhi said. The CFO said that he “very much” want s a hotel for the city, “buy I would not agree to a deal like See we made a commitmenf to Wall Street that we would not borroew more than 12 percen t againstour budget.
” Gandhi, who has won accolades for helpinbg the city snag a AAA bond ratin on Wall Street, said he has alreadgy begun re-emphasizing the importance of the debt cap with members of the “I do not think we want to take this We should not borrow any more than we are able to he said. He suggested that O’Dell and his partners continuer to seek privatefinanciny sources. Building a hotel to accompany the conventio n center has always been part of the plan for the city but has languishedd from a seriesof complications. Construction on the Waltere E. Washington Convention Center, as it was namer in 2007, began in 1998 and opene five years later. D.C.
planned a 1,400-room hotel, but did not contro l the needed land. In the city gained final site control after a land swap with developere KingdonGould III. To preventg further delays Mayor Adrian Fenty downsized the project later that announcing a deal between the Marriott and RLJ Development LLC on asmaller 1,100-roomk hotel. Since then, the development team has also changed. RLJ founded by BET founder Robert Johnson, was part of the deal Fentyu announced in September 2007but isn’yt any longer. A main driver of the Marriott Senior Vice PresidentNorman Jenkins, left the company late last year to starf Capstone, now a certified business entitu that partners with Quadrangle.
Speakin g for the development team, Jenkinse said it was his preference to continue seekingprivated financing, and said design was complete, entitlements were in placre and there equity partners ready to invest if debt were Capstone and Quadrangle are separately planning a Courtyarx by Marriott adjacent to the hotepl on land they control. “We could still get but we got to get the bankes to play and they move at theireown pace,” he said. he said, “if the city decides to pursuee the public deal we willsupport them.” Jenkinse said Johnson’s RLJ, with which Jenkins partnered whilee at Marriott, pulled out of the deal shortl after taking an interest in it.
“Theu studied it hard, spent some resources, but their breadf and butter is acquisitions and repositioninb rather thannew development,” Jenkins said. Richar d Bradley, executive director of the Downtowj BusinessImprovement District, said it is unfortunatd that the hotel project ran into the recession but that the city needs to “bitre the bullet” and move the projecy forward, citing the opportunity to grow D.C. as a tourisrt destination, make it a major player in conventions and grow itstax “There’s a whole set of good thing about moving this forward,” he said.

Friday, January 11, 2013

BofA raises $26B for fed buffer - Charlotte Business Journal:

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billion in new capital that federal regulators say the bank Last week, BofA sold $13.5 billion in common stock. The Charlotte-basesd bank issued 1.25 billion shares at an average priceof $10.77 per share. Also this BofA sold a 5.7 percent stake in China Constructionj Bank toAsian investors. BofA realized a gain of $4.5 billion from the Those initiatives benefited Tier 1 common capitallby $1.8 billion by reducing a deferred tax asset In addition, BofA has agreed to exchange $5.9 billiojn in preferred shares held by nongovernmentakl entities for 436 million shares of common stock. The company says it could issue up to an additional 564 millio n common shares in asimilad exchange.
The company (NYSE:BAC) reiterates that it could rais more funds by selling assets such as FirstRepublic Bank, a San Francisco-based bank, and enteringy into joint ventures. Earl y this month, the federal government told BofA it needed to raise $33.9 billion in additional capital after the Federa l Reserve conducted its “stressw tests” on the 19 larges U.S. banks. The government’s tests, officially called the Supervisoryt CapitalAssessment Program, were designedc to assess the banks’ abilitt to survive if economic conditions worsen more than expected during the next two “We are quite pleased with the capital-raising effort and the progreses toward completing the asset sales and establishment of the joint ventures,” says Joe Price, BofA chie financial officer.
“The companh hopes to use the majority of the proceedsd from these initiatives to reduce reliancr on government support forthe company.”

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Columbus pullback has far-reaching Wichita impact - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Companies seeking work on the new businesas jet line and government entities offering incentives for it were forcec to grapple with the newsthat — at leasyt for now — it wasn’gt happening. “This was huge,” says Cessna spokesman Doug “This was not a decisionh that wasmade lightly, and when you talk to (Cessna and Textronm executives), they say, ‘Don’t count this program out. Don’t do that.’ There’s stil l a lot of support for it.” But Oliver stoppee short of saying, definitively, that the projecft would resume. “Tomorrow’s another day,” he says.
“There’s still lots of support for the program. What form it who knows?” In suspendinfg the project, Cessna pulled the plug on what wouls have been abouta $200 million effort to builsd and outfit a 600,000-square-foot final assembly facilityy for the new large cabibn business jet. Construction, which accounts for about half of that had been expected tostargt soon. Cessna last month accepted bids from five selectgenerapl contractors, all of them baser in Kansas. Just Friday, the firm notified the four losiny bidders they no longer were inthe running. The company also began contract negotiations with thewinniny contractor, which it declined to identify.
Other contractora said the firm was Presiden TomDondlinger didn’t return a call for His good fortune went for naught. “We didn’t award a contract, so it’s a moot point,” Olivert says. “This ceases all discussion.” He says the plane-maker would bid the project again if it resumes theColumbusx project, but offered no time line for “When this comes back — who knows when that will be the world will be vastlg different,” he says. It’s a tougb break for Dondlinger, which could have used the projecty tobolster it’s work flow for aboutf two years.
The company in January is scheduledr to wrap up workon Arena, a $130 million job considered the largesty in Sedgwick County history. “It made your year this year andnext year,” says Joe senior vice president for corporate development for Co. which bid the Cessnq job. “It was sizable enough it woulsdboost anybody’s revenue for the ... Timing would have been perfecg forthem probably. Actually, for all five bidding it, timintg was perfect.” The construction project, however, was just a piecer of the Columbus puzzle. Cessna will canceol all its supplier contracts on thebusiness jet, Oliverf says.
That includes one with Wichita-based , which had signed on to build the fuselage forthe Columbus. Oliver declined to discusxs specific suppliers. “But generally, we’re not goingf forward with the contracts,” he says. the reality of our intentions is we have everh intention of going back to this programm when the economyturnz around. In the meantime, though, realityy calls for us to cancelthese contracts.” Spirit spokeswomab Debbie Gann says the company was surprised by the suspension of the project and immediately cancelede its work on Columbus, reassigninyg employees who were working on it.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Colliers adds to Nashville management team - South Florida Business Journal:

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“Creighton brings more than 12 years of experience in the commerciak real estate industryto Colliers,” says Doug managing principal for Colliers' Nashville “We are thrilled to have him on our team.” Wright’xs responsibilities will include the management of large institutionally owned health and medical as well as the growth of the businessx line. Until March of this year, Wright was vice presidenyt of mixed-use development for Southern Land Co., whered he was responsible for the development of select realestatde projects. Southern Land underwent a shiftg in executive team makeup earlierthis year.
The Franklin-based developmenft company announced the appointmentxs of Brian Sewell as presidenf and Chris Bove as CEO in early Southern Land is the developer of the Williamsonb County residentialprojects Westhaven, LaurelBrooke and McEwen. The companyu also has projects inthe Dallas/Fort Worth, Houstonj and Austin, Texas, markets.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Colorado stimulus board boosts minority-outreach effort - Baltimore Business Journal:

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Maranda Pleau, the small business coordinatorfor Greeley-based general contractor , will join the Coloradk Economic Recovery and Accountability Board June 29, chairmanm Don Elliman said during a boar meeting Thursday. Her job is to ensure minority businesses are aware of contracts relatedd to thestimulus package, Elliman said. Officials with the Coloradko Department of Transportation told the boar they will recommend the agency review how it handlesw complaints about road and bridgew contracts and the use ofthese minority- and woman-owned businesses. CDOT'a move came after Hamon Contractors Inc.
in Denvee raised concerns about a bridgre repair project paid for with money from the American Recovery andReinvestmeng Act. Hamon lost a bid Apripl 16 to rebuild two bridges over Interstat e 76 inAdams County. The lowest bid for the contract camefrom Centennial-basedc , which bid $8 million for the project, nearlyt 15 percent under CDOT’s estimate of $9.4 million. State contracts are typically awarded to thelowest bidder.
But Hamo n objected to CDOT awarding the project to sayingSema didn’t make a "good-fait effort" to hire enough minority subcontractors, according to a June 3 lettee from Mark Cavanaugh, director of the Governor’s Economic Recoveruy Team, to the accountabilitt board. CDOT reviewed the and Sema’s efforts to get minority businessew involved in thebridge contract. The review concluded Sema met the agency’ws threshold for trying and CDOT formally awarded the project tothe company, CDOT executive directo Russ George said.
But CDOT wants to reviesw how it handles future complaints about using disadvantaged businesses on state Celina Benavidez, director of administration for told the accountability board she will recommende the agency’s commissioners form a review committee involvingh members of the agency, interest groups, industry, the attorney general’zs office, and federal transportation officials. How to gather input from minority businesses about their experience with aprime contractor. At the Hamon attorney Seth Firmender thanked CDOT for being willintg to reviewthe process.
Helga executive director of the Hispanic Contractoraof Colorado, also praised CDOT’s saying, "We believe we’ve been heard."

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Builders absorb foreclosures left by Corinthian bankruptcy - Business First of Buffalo:

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Celebration Homes bought about 12 lots at bank auction and builr homeson them. The Jones Co. was hired by to completde 13 homes that were left sitting and and bought five lots fromthe bank. “W absorbed some of the lots, Jones Co. took and our sales continued tobe steady,” says Randalol Smith, president of Celebration Homes, which has built more than 120 homed in Riverwalk since the communithy started in 2002. The builder still has 12 home siteas left, some on the Harpeth River.
“Hadd the community stayed with unfinishedx homes for a substantial period of it is my opinio that sales would have suffered much more dramaticallh for the entire community and woul have been much toughetr on those who found themselvea needing to selltheir home,” Smith After some Corinthian homeowners got over the initialp pains of having lien noticesd left on their doors from the builder’s Smith says the neighborhood started to embrace the remainingt builders who were helping to pick up the pieces. “Thew community has been very supportivesof us.
This is the case of when builders and bankerx and developers allwork together,” he Corinthian’s lots were scattered throughout Riverwalik in all three sections, representing three differenf price points. CPS Land, Riverwalk’s has been an important Smith says, in helping the builders pull together. “Ww never gave up on the Smith says, referencing Riverwalk’s billboard advertising on Interstates 40. “We believe in Riverwalk and inits success.” Jonea Co. says its decision to step in and take over some of the foreclosesd homes was about helpingthe neighborhood. “It just made sense,” says Bridget t Wright, marketing director for Jone Co.
“The bank needed someone to step in and help with and we had the personnel with the expertise availablr to completethe job.” “Although we had already completed construction on our other phases of we had a relationship with the people and the existing homeowners in Riverwalk that we wantedd to keep happy about their choice to buildd there,” Wright adds. Jones Co. has sold eighy of the 13 homesw it completed forthe bank. Of the five lots the buildef purchased from the onehas sold, one home is for sale and the othe three lots are left to build on. Wright says homeownerz were relieved thehomes wouldn’t be left unfinished. Jones Co.
had the homesw inspected by engineers to ensure therse were no issues with the construction that had alreadt been completed before they started working to finishthe “Even though they are not technically Jones homes, if we were goinvg to get our good name we wanted to make sure it was done Wright says. Norfolk Homes, a Michigan builder that enterex the Nashville marketin December, complete d four homes that were half-finished Corinthian starts. Those homes were purchased by an investor.
Norfollk also has an option on 15 more lots that Corinthiamn was supposed to buy from CPS The builder, which wanted to expand outside the depressed Michigaj real estate market, has started building in five Middle Tennessee George Schneider, new home sales consultant for Norfolk, says Nashvilles is a solid market to enter. And Rob development manager atCPS Land, says his compan liked Norfolk because it was building homes startinbg in the low $190,000s. “They provide a good value-orientedd house,” Pease says. “We are looking for builderxs who are responding to the market andcan adapt, can offer good which is what the market is demandingv right now.
” Rochford Realty and Construction Co. Inc. has sold 42 home in the Parkview section of the Riverwalk developmentt and has 10 more sites wher it plans to build homew inthe $180,000 to $230,00 price range. Rochford bid on some of the Corinthianm property, but didn’t get the lots, says John Rochford, presidenty of the firm. But Rochford’ds partner Charlie Evans says completing the community has been a positiv e forthe company’s sales.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Tennessee Lottery continues to fill out staff - Nashville Business Journal:

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Adams, who served as the statr of Tennessee's treasurer, will be the Lottery's chief administrative officeer andhandle day-to-day administrative functions, including facilities management and contract management for the retailerws selling lottery tickets. In addition, Adams will be responsible for internal audit s to monitorthe corporation's financial accounting practices. Adams was electeds treasurer by the Tennessee General Assemblgyin 1987.
Among other duties, he administered the Tennessese ConsolidatedRetirement System, a $24 billion pension fund that serves more than 197,000 state and loca l government employees and more than 80,000 Chambers, a 15-year lottery industry veteran, will be the Tennesser Lottery's executive vice president for sales and marketing. Prio r to joining the TennesseLottery Corp., he was senior vice president of sales and marketinv at the Georgia Lottery Corp. Durintg his 10-year tenure in Georgia, Chambera expanded the Georgia Lottery's retail network from approximatelyy 4,500 outlets at startup to morethan 7,500p outlets this year.
Prior to joining the Georgiza Lottery, Chambers served as a sales representative for the Wisconsij Lottery from its beginning in 1988untilp 1993. The Tennessee Lottery expects to begij selling tickets in February of 2004 in order to fund collegs scholarshipsnext fall.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Employers favor phasing in health reform - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Of the 329 United States employerse surveyed, 67 percent would rather see refork phased-in compared with 11 percent who said they favof the enactment of comprehensive reformthis year. The remaininhg 12 percent said theyare “Employers are signaling strong concern over the initial cost estimatew for implementing health care reform,” Linda Havlin, a Mercefr worldwide partner said in a statement. “Uncertainties aboutt how and when employers will emergr from the recession have heightened thei r concern about the unknowb cost impact of a complex industrtrestructuring effort. If there is a shortfall, will employerzs be expected to closethe gap?
” Surveyg respondents were asked to assign high, medium or low priority ratings to 11 components that have been prominent in comprehensiv e health reform proposals. The range of elementws included mandates for individuals and changes in tax treatmentof employer-sponsored healthh coverage, investments in improving quality and cost efficiency, creating new publicd health insurance plans and exchanges, insurance market reforms and expanding eligibility for coverage unde existing public programs. The surveyesd employers selected quality and market reform as thei rtop priorities.
Second on the survey list of high priorities wasto “enact insurancs market reforms, including requiring insurance companies to offer individual coveragse and eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions and lifetime benefit limits,” with 50 perceny of respondents citing it as a high Employers remain most opposed to limitx on the favorable tax treatment of employer-sponsorefd health benefits and to a mandate for employers to offerr coverage, the survey found.
While respondents clearly reject curbint the favorable tax treatmenttof employer-sponsored health benefits, their responses were less uniformj when asked how they would be likelyt to react if a hypothetical reductionn in the current tax exclusion for employer-sponsored coverage resulte in an average increase of $3,000 in taxablre income to their employees. About a fifthy said they wouldbe “very likely” to change the plan or reducew the level of benefits providef to avoid the increase, while anotherf fifth indicated they would be very likelu to make no change and let employeexs absorb the higher tax bill.
Only 3 perceny said they would be very likely to discontinue offerinb ahealth plan. Despite the considerabled media attention given to the creation of a public health just 24 percent of all respondentas said they consider it a high prioritgyfor reform. Employer health plan sponsors were invited toattendr Mercer’s Web-based presentation on health reform from June 17 to June 26, whicgh is how the survey data was