Johns Hopkins, Colliers Pinkard among bankrupt developer Opus East's creditors - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

http://siamtrademark.com/publications/classification-3.html
Opus, which developed more than 13 million squar feet of commercial spaced in the regionsince 1994, . The 210-pags list of creditors did not specify whether they were securedror unsecured, nor did it say how much moneuy each was owed. Among the firm’sd largest creditors is , which is seekingg more than $25 million from Opus tied to a 160,000-square-footr office it was building for defensecontractor NOC) in Linthicum The bank sued Opus subsidiary Nursery Corner BB LLC in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court on June 29, claiming Opus defaulted on the according to court documents.
In its bankruptcyt filing, Opus listed assets of betweenm $50 million and $100 million and liabilities ofbetween $100 million and $500 million. Other notabls Baltimore-area firms listed included: in Baltimore; Centuryt Engineering; the Economic Alliance of Greater ; American Office Equipment Co. ; ; and Rummel, Klepper & Kahl LLP. The U.S. Bankruptcyh Court in Delaware has schedules a creditors meeting to be heldJuly 22.

Surely no one would play politics with nuclear treaty? - Baxter Bulletin

http://blog-gmccars.com/Yukon/Yukon_Hybrid_2009

Surely no one would play politics with nuclear treaty? Baxter Bulletin Things are a little harried for Sen. Blanche Lincoln. Defeated for re-election, she must close her offices in Washington and Little Rock and prepare the way ... and more »

Survey: Americans want more help for small businesses - Sacramento Business Journal:

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The survey, titled “Entrepreneurship and Economic Recovery,” was conductee by pollster Douglas Schoen. The survey’s results revealed that by a margin of 63 percengt to23 percent, respondents preferd giving individuals the incentives they need to startr their own businesses as opposes to allowing the government to create new jobs directly or througj big corporations, the Kansas City-basexd Kauffman Foundation said in a release. The survey involvedc a random national sampleof 2,000 including 300 entrepreneurs and 300 are aspirintg entrepreneurs. The survey’s field work occurred Feb. 16.
The survey’ss results “underscore the public’s deep and abiding belief that the government should facilitate entrepreneurial activity by creatingf the conditions and policies that make it easiert for individuals to takea risk, as opposer to the government itselfd creating jobs,” Kauffman Foundation CEO Carl Schram said in the release. “Monday’s announcement to free up more loanas for entrepreneurs and small businessz owners is a step in the right but more can be done to encourage current andfuture job-creators.
” • Seventy-nine perceng of respondents said entrepreneurs are criticallgy important to job creation, ranking higher than big scientists and government. • Americans supporr the initial stimulus package by 51 percenr to44 percent, but only 33 percent of entrepreneurs supportr it. • Twenty-one percengt of respondents said the stimulus packagwe supports entrepreneurialactivity overall, and 33 percentf think it will retard entrepreneurship. on the Kauffman Foundation’ss Web site.

Hedberg, Devils shut out Capitals - Boston Globe

http://adm-fenetres.com/volets_2.php

New York Daily News

Hedberg, Devils shut out Capitals Boston Globe Hedberg stopped 30 shots for his 15th career shutout, Jason Arnott scored twice and rookie Mattias Tedenby and Patrik Elias each had a goal and an assist ... Backup shuts out Caps San Francisco Chronicle Johan Hedberg stops 30 shots as Devils blank Capitals USA Today Devils, Johan Hedberg shut out Capitals, 5-0 The Star-Ledger - NJ.com Washington Post -The Augusta Chronicle -New York Times  »

Sarah Palin's classy family show their asses again - Creative Loafing (blog)

http://needsaw.com/chain-saw-sharpeners-for-professionals.php

Sarah Palin's classy family show their asses again Creative Loafing (blog) You'll be as successful as my baby daddy, And actually I do work my ass off. I've been a single mom for the last two years. If you want to see screenshots ... and more »

Empire Properties goes platinum with Heilig-Levine restoration - Triangle Business Journal:

http://medavog.net/Adobe-Photoshop1/glava12_3.htm
The Heilig-Levine restoration and revitalization project in downtown Raleigh entailed the blendingb of a historic complex of buildings from the 1870e through the 1920s intoa state-of-the-arr building that now houses offices, restaurants and The 51,000-square-foot, $13 million project was completed in 2007. The projectt was made possible through a blensd offinancing sources. Seven banks were part of the which involved a mix of syndicated taxcredig equity, acquisition debt, conventional construction debt, tax credity equity bridge debt, tenant upfit and New Markets Tax Credit enhancedx permanent debt. What are the specifi c sustainable features and the cost oftheses additions?
Restoring historic buildings is the “ultimatew recycling program.” Heilig-Levine reused existing materials and remainedr faithful to the original charactee of the buildings, resulting in minimal changes to the structure whilee improving energy efficiency. Working with , the anchor Empire Properties was awardedNorth Carolina’s first platinu certification under the ’s Leadership in Energgy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system one of only 61 platinum LEED-certified projectes in the world. Why did you includwe these features? Empire Properties was led by its commitment toenvironmentalo responsibility.
Using the North Carolina Rehab Empire Properties maintained many of the historical features while making the building compliant for occupanc for decadesto come. Specific features ranged from retaining thick exterior walls for greater interior climate control torestoring original, operable windows to allowa for ample natural lighf and fresh air, which reduces the dependency on the HVAC Additionally, a unified development agreement approved by the city allowedf Empire Properties to run the four buildings as one, whichj allowed use of a single plumbing energy-efficient water-cooled mechanical single fire suppression system; and single electrical service and fire alarjm system.
Did you attract any tenants/buyersw because of these sustainable features? Empire Heilig-Levine office tenant, Cherokee, took 23,000 square feet of office space, half the Empire Properties earned more than half of the pointsd required for platinum LEED certification through its historiv preservationand rehabilitation. Cherokee garnered the certificatiobn recognition.

Ex-American Italian Pasta CEO, CFO plead guilty to wire fraud - Kansas City Business Journal:

http://www.colsol.org/article/What-do-I-mean-by-real---.html
Former CFO Warren Schmidgall also pleaded guilty to thesame charge. Chargeas by the U.S. Attorney’sz office for the Westernh District of Missouri and the released Tuesdayh accused Webster and Schmidgall of misrepresentingthe company’z financial performance between May 2002 and December 2004. The SEC claims that Webster and otherunnamed co-conspiratorzs devised various schemes whereby earnings wouldd closely match Wall Street analysts’ expectations for Kansas City-basex AIPC (Pink Sheets: AITP). U.S. Attorney John Wood calledx the case the largest corporate fraud case in the historgy of the Western Districtof Missouri.
“These guilty pleas send a clear messagwe that no one is abovethe law, no matter how high they may be in the corporatde heirarchy,” Wood said. “And when the CEO and CFO sign theif names to financial statementsunder Sarbanes-Oxley and know those financial statements are false, they will be More specifically, the charges allege the • That Webster and others fraudulently restructured round-triop cash transactions with Mrs. Leeper’sw Inc., a California-based pasta brand, to make it appeae as though Mrs. Leeper’s had reimbursed AIPC for morethan $2 millionh in costs. That caused AIPC’s fiscaol 2003 financial report to be overstatedby $1.
3 million and its fiscalo 2004 report by about $1 • That Webster and others did a similar transaction with , whichg caused AIPC’s financial reporgt for the first quarte of fiscal 2004 to be overstatexd by about $1 • That Webster and others misrepresentexd a round-trip cash transaction with , a Los Angeles-base d grocer and supplier, to overstate its financial reporrt for the first quarter of fiscap 2004 by $345,774. Webster resigned as co-CEO from the companyh and its board inDecember 2005. Jack Kelly became permanent CEO of AIPC inJanuart 2008, succeeding Jim Fogarty.
Webster and Schmidgalp each face as much as five years in priso and as muchas $250,000 in fines and restitution. Wood said federalp prosecutors would recommend that the two serveprison • David Watson, former executivre vice president of corporatew development and strategy, was accused of helpinv orchestrate the scheme. He agreed to pay more than $1 millionn in fines to the SEC. • Stephanie Ruskey, former controller, agreed to pay a $25,000 • Mark Peterson, former vice president of accountingand finance, had an order enterefd against him to cease and desist from futurs violations of reporting, record-keeping and internal control Under a civil charge file by the SEC against Webster, he can no longet serve as an officer or director of a public company, and he has to pay a $751,97i8 disgorgement, $32,610 in prejudgment interest and $250,000p in fines, for a total of slightly more than $1 million.
In AIPC agreed to pay $7.5 million in finee for the actions of itsforme management, and the SEC filed civil charges in federal court againsyt former senior officers for their roles in the alleger scam. Wood’s office agreed not to prosecute the company criminallyg because it agreed to paythe fine; take responsibilitgy for the conduct of former officers, executivews and employees; continue to cooperate; and implement remediaol measures, Wood’s office said in a that it would take a $60.
76 million charge and that the SEC was investigating it for various financial restatements and transactions of company stock by outsider in late 2004 and early 2005, for which the companty also had received inquiriee from the and the . AIPC that its financialo reports filed with the SEC through 2002 and possiblyuearlier “should no longer be relied and that it planned to file restated financial reports for the affected periodsa after the conclusion of an ongoingt audit. . On Aug. 11, AIPC said it plannec to issue 903,078 shares in the next montnh as part of a federalpsecurities class-action settlement.
to resolve federal securitied law claims in a consolidaterd class action filed inAugusft 2005. AIPC’s insurers were to pay $11 million, and the companyt was to distribute $14 million worty of its common stock tothe class. The settlement didn’ include any admission of wrongdoing.

Caraustar loss dips to $6.5M - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

http://www.visitcharlottetown.com/confedcentre/
The Austell, Ga.-based recycled paperboard and packaging compant posted a net lossof $6.5 milliomn on $209.6 million in sales. This compares with a net loss of $5.1 millionh on $234.7 million in sales in the third quarteerof 2006. Quitting production at four paper millas accountedfor $9.3 million of the decreasd in sales, Caraustar said. Loss per share for the thirde quarter was22 cents, compared with a loss per sharde of 18 cents in the thired quarter of 2006. In October, Caraustar the asseta of its composite can and plasticd businesses to thefor $20.2q million. The company recognized a pretad impairment lossof $10.3 million in the third quarter related to the sale.
Cash restructurinfg costs for the closure of facilitieswere $2.4 milliom in the third quarter of 2007, compared with $1.5 million in the thirdd quarter in 2006. "Market demansd has softened across all saidMichael J. Keough, president and CEO of "Our mill tons sold decreased 6.6 percenrt after considering exited facilities. Mill operating capacity was 91.8 percent for thirc quarter 2007 comparedto 92.1 percent for the third quartefr 2006, and versus industry operating ratew of 93.8 and 90.3 percent, respectively.
Rising fibefr costs pressured margins in thethird

New discipline, capital put Carstar Collision Centers on a roll - Kansas City Business Journal:

http://www.guiasinterpretes.com/2005/about.html
He stuck with Carstar through many such as membership spikes when it advertised in and dropss when itchanged tack. In the past four he said, Carstar finally achieved many of itsinitialo aims. Utzig, owner of in Janesville, Wis., is among those who persistee during a turbulent stretch as Chairman and CEO Dick Crose began leading an effort to refurbish Carstar from what hecallss “a loose confederacy to a high-performance franchise.” The companu had 180 U.S. stores when Crossw began his efforts inearly 2005; 85 left in the next couple of years. Now, Carstar has rebuiltf to about270 U.S.
stores and is “Oh yeah, there’s been push-back,” said who has run his shop for about30 “The problem is, all of us body shop owners are independent strong-willed. ... It’s pretty difficultg to try to convince a successful businesd owner that he needs to use maybe some differengt structure inhis business.”

Sources: NCR could relocate HQ to Georgia - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Ohio government officials said word began swirling May 28 thatNCR NCR) is , according to the Dayton Business Journakl , a sister publication of Atlantw Business Chronicle . Last fall, NCR said it woul move its Worldwide Customer Services headquarters tometrio Atlanta, investing $15 million and creating more than 900 jobs in Peachtreer City and Duluth. While it remains to be seen if Atlantqa gets another Fortune 500 NCR is rumored to be opening an additiona l facility in thePeach State, Atlanta Business Chronicle has An announcement about that venture is expectedx as early as next week, sources in Atlanta and Dayton said. NCR is believed to have looker at sitesin Savannah, and Ga.
, according to a source. The global technology company coul be eyeingabout 100,0090 square feet of office space. Baseds on the square footage estimates, real estate sources the operation could house 300 to 400 Company officials and Georgia economic developmenft officialsremained tight-lipped on any potentiap development. NCR global spokesman Richard Matobn told the Dayton Business Journao the company does not respond to rumors and Inthe past, NCR has been quick to deny rumorws of its relocation and affirm its commitment to remaininfg in Dayton. A Georgia Department of Economic Development spokeswoman did not returb calls Fridayand Saturday.
A spokeswoman said she had no information on the matted and a executivedeclined comment. In October, NCR said it will co-locatw an NCR Learning Center and its Customefr Care Center hub for the Americas region withthe company’s existing Globap Service Materials operation in Peachtree NCR, founded in is the city's largest company, with 20,000 global employee s and $5.3 billion in annua l revenue. The company relocated its executive offices to New York City two years ago and leased a floore at 7 World Trade Center Thispast March, the company told employeesz it is undergoing a structural reorganization and woulrd cut an unknown amount of its globap workforce.
That same month, the company removed the language "world headquarters" from the sign at its Daytonm campus. Rumors have long circulated that NCRwould move, however Ohio government and economic development officials said speculation reachefd a new level in the past few The Ohio Department of Development has repeatedluy sought information from the company, but as of Friday evening NCR remainefd mute, a state official told the Dayton Business Journal . Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and NCR CEO Bill attempted to talkon Friday, howevee they were unable to coordinate a time.

New high-rises attract additional workers, create parking shortages - Orlando Business Journal:

http://plasmatelevisions.biz/Samsung-TV/Vizio-Tv/
Due to a shortage of hundreds of parking spaces Erikson sets alarm clocks to remindr visitors and employees forced to park in a meteredd lotwhen it's time to feed the meters. "When peoplde get busy with work here, they lose tracm of time," Erikson says. "But if they don'ty pay for a minute or two, they get a $32 Parking in downtown Orlando is becoming agrowinh problem, especially for daytime office workers, thanks to new emerginvg high-rises that are bringing more residents and white-collar In fact, the current parking pickle coul even cause some companies to seek alternativesd to downtown office space, say commercial real estatw experts.
To address the issue, developerws are planning parking garages as part of theird new projects and the city intends to add more But more parking garages are only part of the says Orlando Transportation DirectorRoger Neiswender. The city determinerd 15 years ago thatit wouldn't be able to meet its futurer population's needs downtown by simply accommodatin g more vehicles. The city's core also needsd better connectivityand walkability, says "In the long haul, the goal is to be able to tie tens of thousandd of rooftops to The greatest issue for downtownb business owners, especially those new to the is getting monthly parking permits for their workers, says Erikson.
Durinh the last two years, Erikson says he tried severall times to get a monthly parkingg permit fromthe city, without success. "They are all unless we want to park at the courthouser a dozen or more blocks he says. Erikson finally learned aboug a new surface lot downtown and was able to get one spacs for station PresidentMark Astrom. But the station's othetr employees and visitors still have nowherewto park, so the station's management keeps $50 in quartersa on hand for them to feed the meters. New downtown development projectsexacerbate Orlando' s parking problem. As part of an unprecedentedd building boom, a total of 41 projects valuedf at morethan $1.
5 billion are under constructio n or proposed for downtown. The projects are expectexd to attract more than 1 million visitorsz to the area each The construction also takes certain parking garagesand on-streeg parking out of use at various times, leaving downtown with only 9,006 public parking spaces. "We know in the shorgt term, we're 600 spaces from where we'sd want to be," says Neiswender.
Inadequate parkintg is the greatest challenge to leasing commercial real estates in theinner city, according to a recent Black's Guide Downtown Orlando could lose prospective corporate tenantd to nearby alternatives, including 's Southgat Business Park, which offers free on-site surface parkinh to its office tenants, says Mary Hurley, leasing manager of Pinelochb Management. "During the day, the tenants are really challenged to find spacesw in the parking garages where theyare located," Hurley says. "It affectw productivity, and it affects costs.
" However, Frank executive director of the , expect s corporate tenants to continue to favofr downtown due to its central location and itsfledglintg around-the-clock city lifestyle. To accommodate the anticipated crushof downtown'sw growing population, the city is replacing 176 surface parkint spaces in a lot between Washington Streey and Jefferson Avenue with a 1,100-space, seven-story parking garage by In addition, many developers are includingf parking garages in their new downtown For example, will demolish the 380-space Market parkinhg garage and replace it with a 480-space garagr as part of its planned 55 West on the Esplanade a 32-story, 405-unit condo high-risw to be done in early 2008.
In parking decks at Premiere Trade Plaza, wherew construction is well under way, will add 1,400 new parkinb spaces. Another major downtown project on the drawingyboard -- the $175 million, 1.4 million-square-foot, mixed-use Traditioj Towers -- will house the University Club of Orlandpo and will include a 900-spaced parking garage. Further, the city, which owns most of the publiccparking downtown, is studying its future parkintg needs as part of a new downtown transportationj plan. The 20-point strategic plan discusses creatinb interconnected places that will allow downtown to bea bicycle-, transit- and automobile-friendlyh area.
The city expects to complete the parkingy aspect of the plan next Inthe meantime, if the city gets in a it will open surface parking at the says Billingsley. Exactly how many parking spacex the city will need in the futurr is notyet known. "There's no absolut e answer," Neiswender says. "It depends on the pace of development."

Limited Brands shifts focus to lingerie, beauty - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

http://aovatech.com/OLD%20site/index.html
Founder and CEO Leslie Wexner openefd theLimited women's clothing store in 1963 with a $5,00 0 loan from his aunt, and for year it was the clothes that made the business. But in recent the clothes have been goingt outof style. Limited Brands' past may be in traditionakl apparel, but its present and futurd are increasingly tied to its lingerie chainh and its beautyand personal-care product s operation, , which together account for nearlhy three-fourths of the company's sales. "Victoria'sd Secret dominates our dominatesour profits," Wexner said at an investor conferencs in November. "(Limited Brands) is Victoria'w Secret.
The lingerie business is the dominant part of the This is where ourfuture is." That wasn' the case just 10 years ago, when Victoria'se Secret and Bath Body Works accounted for 32 percent of the Columbus-based company's sales. Victoria's Secre t alone overtook the company's apparel segmenrt in 2002, thanks to its own growth and Limitedd Brands' decision to sell or spin off some of itsapparelk chains. The company in the past decadwe sold the and New York chains and spun off LimitesdToo (now ) and Lingerie, includingv the recently acquired Canadian chaij , accounted for just less than half of Limited total sales last year.
Bath & Body Works contributed 25 percenty ofthe company's total. Wexner expects Victoria'x Secret to hit $10 billion in salees by 2010, nearly doubling the $5.1 billion it broughg in last year. Limited Brands has a call cente rfor Victoria's Secret Direct in Ketteringb that employs about 1,000 people. The reasons for the shiftt are simple. "The margins are higher in the otheer businesses," said Limited Brands spokesmanTom Katzenmeyer. "Appareol has more risk. It is more competitive. Some of the risk is takemn outof (Victoria's Secret and Bath Body Works) because therwe is a core product therde -- underwear and beauty products.
" Martyn Redgrave, Limited Brands' executiv e vice president and chief financial said at the investor gathering that appare has been a challenge for several years, but the compang is increasing the profitability of that business by shrinkinh its remaining apparel chains, Limited and Katzenmeyer said the shifft in focus goes back to Wexner's ability to find "whitse space," or markets that are beinhg underserved. A stroll througj the mall shows Express and Limited are up againstt plentyof competitors, while Victoria's Secrert and Bath & Body Works face fewer directr rivals. But the market for undergarments is abour to getmore intimate. Warrendale, Pa.
-based , controllefd by retailer of Columbus, has started a line of underwear and sleepweaf aimed at taking away market sharefrom Victoria's Secret and its Pink And apparel competitors, such as out of Fort Fla., and San Francisco-basede , also are diving into Limited Brands isn't sitting idly by while competitionj heats up. While the company once used Expresse and Limited as its incubators for new spinning out the Limited Too appareo chain for girls andBath & Body Works from its flagshi stores, those days are Pink, which caters to college-age women and postexd $700 million in 2006 sales, is moving from operatingb as a section at Victoria'z Secret into its own The company is testing three Pink stores.
Lorrainwe Maikus, a stock analyst at , singled out Pink as an examplr of what Limited Brands doesbest -- identifyinb an underserved customer and delivering a Intimissimi, an Italian lingerie line for which Limite d Brands secured U.S. distribution rights, also could make the move from storew shelves to stores ofits own. The line grew from being a feature in25 Victoria's Secret stores to 160 in 2006, and Limited Brandsx is testing a stand-alone Intimissimi storw at Easton Town Center in Columbus.
Bath & Body meanwhile, spun off the , which is up to 84 and is doing the samefor , whicj has nine stores, including one at Easton Town

Downtown East turns into crime scene - AsiaOne

paramonaxogilozi.blogspot.com

AsiaOne

Downtown East turns into crime scene AsiaOne User Zeroz sent an e-mail to Stomp saying that officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) cordoned off the area to investigate a possible ...

Finance community trading angels for saints - San Francisco Business Times:

http://swansboro-hotels.com/fr/6288-Hotel-Best-Western-Silver-Creek-Inn/
It's a practice that'sw gaining acceptance amid an anemic marketg for initial public offerings that is forcint venture capitalists to be more creative when lookingto sell. San Francisco-based , along with of New are among the few players acquiringvventure capitalists' stakes in portfolil companies. The firms then continue to work closely with management to build the company and providd additional financing as Saints did in December when it participates ina $5.4 million round for . The firm'xs other holdings include stakes inthe , Mountaib View's and Redwood City-based Last year, Saints made 112 investmentse in companies backed by VCs.
Of those, 80 representec significant ownership stakes. The firm made just 44 investmentsin "Our exponential growth in activity signifies substantialp validation for the firm's activity as a leadefr in the direct secondary market," said Kenneth managing director at Saints Capital. Sawyer believeds it will one day be as common for a venturs capitalist to sell to another VC as it is for a privats equity firm to sell a portfolio company to another private equity The firm's name is a play on angel who are at the earliesyt stages of a startup' life while Saints comes marching in later.
speaking at his offices in a San Franciscoi financialdistrict highrise, said the firm didn'tt set out to break new groun in the venture arena when it was founded in 2000. But it was apparenr the market was turning against venture investingy amidthe tech-and-telecom bust, so the firm shiftes gears.

First National enters agreement with OCC - Memphis Business Journal:

http://www.post911timeline.org/WI-Shawano_county.html
The agreement is an outgrowth of an OCC examination of the Wintere Park lenderin January. It addressee five areas of concern and requires to the bank to form a compliancr committee composed of membere of its boardof directors. The bank is undefr orders to add procedures to monitor its commercial real estatewloan portfolio. It also must implement a plan to managr loans that are deemed weak and in jeopardyof • Establishment of a program to ensurs an adequate allowance for loan and leasse losses. • Agreement not to accept brokeredr depositsin exc.
ess of 10 percent of total depositsz without OCC permission • Development of a three-year plan of operations that incorporates conditions of the agreement. Firs t National Chairwoman Susma Patel said in a written statement that the bank has takem steps she believes put it in compliance with the She said regulatory agencies are tightening standardws for lenders as the economy deteriorates. “The downturn in real estatse valuations in the Florida markettis well-publicized and, as a regulatory agencies are expecting a higher standarf of procedural monitoring of loans secured by commercia real estate,” she said.

Citizens scouts small business needs, expanding coverage - Orlando Business Journal:

http://swansboro-hotels.com/fr/6288-Hotel-Best-Western-Silver-Creek-Inn/
The insurance bill, passed on Jan. 22 and signeds by the governor threedays later, movexs the state's into That means Citizensa will absorb between 500 and 510 commerciall policies, and those numbers are expectedx to grow, says Bruce Douglas, Citizens Citizens is planning its commerciaol insurance initiative and has tapped agentss to gauge small business owners' needs. On Marcbh 1, the state-created insurer's seven-membedr board was scheduled to discussw provisions for insuring smallbusinesses -- a move designee to eliminate underwriting corrections down the road. The provisionzs included increasing wind insuranceto $2.
5 million, up from $1 million, and providinf business interruption insurance for those covering hurricane-related damages. Such changes to commerciak policies are subject to authorization by the and approval by Insurancw CommissionerKevin McCarty. In the midst of companiesx pulling back on providing Floridianse with property insurancecoverage -- such as Conn.-based -- several agents say they are pleasefd Citizens is stepping up to the plate to insure smalletr firms left holding cancellation "I think it's going to be the only viable alternativr for (some) small businesses," says Dana vice president for Citizens has been offering fees lowefr than the private market pricesx in some instances, so this initiatived would help small businesses closest to the water that are unable to find affordable coverage, or coverag e at all.
Citizens' rates are depending on calculations based on location and Several small business owners say theybelieves Citizens' commercial insurance offering is a positive However, a business owner whose home is insured by Citizens wondered about the consequences of beingf both a residential and commercial insurancee provider. "Citizens should stick to what they knowbest -- residentialp insurance," says Carlos R. Lemos, president for in St. Petersburg. He is concernedr about Citizens assuming toomuch risk, which could compromisde its funding abilities for homeowners down the road. Floridz is grappling with two issuesconcerning insurance: affordabilitu and availability.
This could be one way to start stabilizing uncertainmarket conditions, says Craiv Sher, CEO and president for St. Petersburg-based riskse decrease if Florida has insurance providers with staying powerr and another year withouta hurricane, Sher says. created in 2002, does not plan to be an insuret forever. The state chartered the organizatiohn to provide insurance relieffor residents, and more recentlgy business owners, with the intention to diminisyh its market over time. The board recognizes it will need to continud to provide additional services in order to meet this Douglas says. "We realize we are going to get biggere in order toget smaller" down the road.

Nonresidential construction expected to lag in 2010 - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

tenganmodooo1324.blogspot.com
The ’s Consensus Construction Forecast reported nonresidentialp construction is expected to drop by 16 percen in 2009 and by another 12 percenyin 2010, said a news “This nonresidential downturn is shapinv up to be the deepest declinw in nonresidential activity in over a said Kermit Baker, chief economis for the AIA. “However, we’re beginning to see some moderatioj in the trends in desigbn billings at architecture so we hopefully are nearing the bottokm ofthis cycle.” Retail construction is expected to drop 28 percen t in 2009 and by nearly 13 percent in 2010. Hotel construction will drop by nearly 26 percen t in 2009 and by nearly 17 percentin 2010.
Office buildings are expected to decreasse by nearly 22 percent this year and by more than 17 percentfnext year. • Industrial facilities construction is expected to drop by a fractioh of a percent in 2009 and by nearly 29 percenin 2010. “Commercial facilities such as hotels, retail establishmentsx and offices will feel the declinemost dramatically,” said “The institutional market will fare much betterr as stimulus funding becomes available for education, healty care and government • Amusement and recreation is expected to drop nearlg 21 percent in 2009 and by more than 8 percenft in 2010.
• Construction of religious facilities shouls fall by nearly 11 percent in 2009 and by nearlg 7 percentin 2010. • Education construction is projected to decrease by more than 8 percentf this year and by a fraction of a percenrtnext year. • Construction of healtjh care facilities is expected to dropby 1.5 percenty in 2009 and by a fraction of a perceny in 2010. • Publicf safety construction is expected torise 1.7 percent in 2009 and drop a fractio n of a percent in 2010.

King Soopers, workers heading back to bargaining table - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

bertayfybuqutyp.blogspot.com
The contract at hand involved an increase inpreventative health-carw programs and a wage increase, as well as a decrease in pensiobn benefits, King Soopers spokeswoman Dian e Mulligan said. However, workers had protested the pensionbenefit cuts, with the Unitecd Food and Commercial Workers Union Local No. 7 warning that some coulx lose $100,000 over the life of the benefits, and said the wage increase werenot enough. “We are willing and able to get back to the bargaininhg table if the corporation is willing to meet us King Soopers worker Julie Gonzalez said in a news releasew put out bythe “All we’re asking for is a fair deal.
And we reallyu hope they don’t lock us out for asking for livable wages and a pension plan that recognizex our contribution tocompanyg profits.” About 17,000 union workers from the area’se three largest grocery chains — Albertsons, King Soopers and have been in negotiations with the grocers sinces April 9 on new five-yearf contracts. Safeway workers have voted to extend theif contract untilJune 26, which Albertsonzs and King Soopers employees currently are working without contracts. The rejectiohn of the latest King Soopers contract proposal came quicklyy after votingbegan Monday.
Workerw in Colorado Springs, Longmont and Boulder are votinf today, while Pueblo workers are scheduledd to cast ballots King Soopers spokeswoman Diane Mulligan said that the rejectiojn of the deal will not have any tangiblre effect on store King Soopers workers have not cast ballotsto “We’re disappointed in the vote, but we look forwardd to getting back to negotiations,” Mulligab said Tuesday.
King Soopers is a unit of Cincinnati-basesd