http://www.planeur-paysdelaloire.com/why-child-support-is-so-critical-to-your-childrens-wellbeing/
Formed in 2002, Earth to Air Systemsa develops heating and cooling systems based on a technologty known as directexchange geothermal, callesd DX in the industry. The company’x applications have been shown to reduce heatinvg and cooling costs by 50 percent to 80 CEO RandyWiggs says. Earth to Air’sd system bypasses the more conventional geothermal heatinhg andcooling model. Insteafd of using water as a source, the technology skipe a step and controls heating and temperaturews directly from the earth with copper The tubes tap into wells that are 300 to 500 feet Environmentally friendly refrigerants are then pipecd throughthe tubes.
Earth to Air’s revenuwe comes from licensing fees collected from heatinhg and cooling companies who decide to marker and install the Earth to Air got its firstg international distributor two years ago when Australian entrepreneudr John Gagliardi embraced the Hesays he’s secured more than $30 million in including contracts with school systems, mining camps, housing projects and major corporations, such as BP. “We are movinbg into significant profitability,” Galiardi says, adding that he’sw planning on expanding into the Southeast Asiamarket soon. Galiardi predicts that Earthu to Air willbecome “a billion dollar businesss or more.
” Sales in the firsgt quarter were up 60 percent from the same time last “We’re living in an time when there’s a huge demanxd (for products) to reduce our dependence on foreign Gagliardi says. “Twenty years ago this wouldn’y have worked. It wouldn’t have even worked 10 year ago. But now the potentialo is huge.” There are multiplde installations of Earthto Air’s geothermal systek in the United States, but the compangy is just now setting up a formal distributofr network, says Clayton Washburn, chief operations officer at Earth to Air.
“Oue biggest struggle is havingy to say noat times,” Washburn “We’re preparing for a much bigger
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
BFC Financial, Woodbridge to merge - Wichita Business Journal:
http://motogpix.com/2009/07/friday-free-practice-grand-prix-of-united-states-2009-motogp/
In a joint press release Monday, the Fort Lauderdale-baseed companies said they enteredx into a merger agreement whereinWoodbridge (Pinlk Sheets: WDGH) would become a wholly owne subsidiary of BFC (Pink Sheets: BFC currently controls majority voting stakese in both Woodbridge and BBX). BFC lost $58.9 million on revenue of $487.5 millioh in 2008. Woodbridge owns , which is building Traditioh Florida inPort St. Lucie, and has investmentd in various companies includingand . Woodbridge lost $140.32 million on revenue of $25.5 million in 2008.
In its firs t quarter earnings report, Woodbridge warned that Core Communitiex could default on the loans for Tradition Floridwa if its lenders demand that it put more equitycapitap down. Under the merger deal, all shareholderz of Woodbridge Class A commonj stock except BFC wouldreceive 3.47 sharese of BFC’s Class A common stockj per share. With shares of BFC opening at 40centzs Monday, it equals nearly $1.39 a shared for each share of Woodbridge, which opened at $1.10 Levan and Abdo are chairman and vice respectively, of both companies. The merger wouls save between $1 million and $2 milliojn in professional fees and SEC reporting costs for the Levan said.
It would also reduce the taxes Woodbridge would pay on its earnings once it returns to he said. Currently, Woodbridge pays taxed on its earnings, and then BFC pays taxes on the portiojnof Woodbridge’s earnings that it counts on its balance The move will not cause any stafcf reductions, Levan noted. Woodbridge will continure operate independently. The agreement woulsd include all current board members of Woodbridgeon BFC’sx new board and add Woodbridge President Seth Wise and BankAtlanticf Bancorp President Jarett Levan to BFC’s 12-member board, as well. Wise would also become executive vice presidentof BFC. The deal is expected to close befores the endof 2009.
BFC shares closed unchanged at40 cents. The 52-weemk high was 95 cents on Sept. 2. The 52-week low was 6 centzs on Feb. 5. Woodbridge shares closedd down 2 centsto $1.08. The 52-week high was $6.609 on Aug. 21. The 52-weeo low was 2 cents on Oct. 24.
In a joint press release Monday, the Fort Lauderdale-baseed companies said they enteredx into a merger agreement whereinWoodbridge (Pinlk Sheets: WDGH) would become a wholly owne subsidiary of BFC (Pink Sheets: BFC currently controls majority voting stakese in both Woodbridge and BBX). BFC lost $58.9 million on revenue of $487.5 millioh in 2008. Woodbridge owns , which is building Traditioh Florida inPort St. Lucie, and has investmentd in various companies includingand . Woodbridge lost $140.32 million on revenue of $25.5 million in 2008.
In its firs t quarter earnings report, Woodbridge warned that Core Communitiex could default on the loans for Tradition Floridwa if its lenders demand that it put more equitycapitap down. Under the merger deal, all shareholderz of Woodbridge Class A commonj stock except BFC wouldreceive 3.47 sharese of BFC’s Class A common stockj per share. With shares of BFC opening at 40centzs Monday, it equals nearly $1.39 a shared for each share of Woodbridge, which opened at $1.10 Levan and Abdo are chairman and vice respectively, of both companies. The merger wouls save between $1 million and $2 milliojn in professional fees and SEC reporting costs for the Levan said.
It would also reduce the taxes Woodbridge would pay on its earnings once it returns to he said. Currently, Woodbridge pays taxed on its earnings, and then BFC pays taxes on the portiojnof Woodbridge’s earnings that it counts on its balance The move will not cause any stafcf reductions, Levan noted. Woodbridge will continure operate independently. The agreement woulsd include all current board members of Woodbridgeon BFC’sx new board and add Woodbridge President Seth Wise and BankAtlanticf Bancorp President Jarett Levan to BFC’s 12-member board, as well. Wise would also become executive vice presidentof BFC. The deal is expected to close befores the endof 2009.
BFC shares closed unchanged at40 cents. The 52-weemk high was 95 cents on Sept. 2. The 52-week low was 6 centzs on Feb. 5. Woodbridge shares closedd down 2 centsto $1.08. The 52-week high was $6.609 on Aug. 21. The 52-weeo low was 2 cents on Oct. 24.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Judge prevents Paterson's lt. gov. from taking office - The Business Review (Albany):
http://geenergyrentals.com/water_heater.htm
But a state Supreme Courtr judge in Long Island issued a temporary restrainingf order soon after preventing Ravitch from assuminv the duties oflieutenant governor. The case is to be heardc in Supreme Court at11 a.m. on In a Wednesday press conference Wednesday, Paterson said the move was necessary as a resulr ofthe “chaos” in the Senate. Question about who is in charge of the Senatre been unresolved sincea Republican-led coup took place on June 8. Paterson called his move to appoint a lieutenant governor unprecedentexdbut necessary. "This, I believe, is the right thinv to do,” Paterson said. "I have no doubt of that. This is the righ t thing for allNew Yorkers.
" [To watcnh Paterson's press conference, click ]. He also said he expects a legap challenge tohis decision. "I am aware that I am not the finap arbiter oflegal issues, and should thers be any legal action, I just ask that it be done Paterson said. Ravitch is the former chairman of the MetropolitahTransportation Authority. Paterson said he appointed Ravitcjh because the leadership void needed tobe "For the last four weeks, we have witnessexd a painful and too often embarrassing spectacle of paralysisz that has become the New York stater Senate," Paterson said.
"Since this conflict I and 19 million New Yorkers have been deeplty chagrined that the Senate cannot discharge its constitutional Now New Yorkers are starting to Cities and counties are running up unanticipateds deficits because the Senate has failed to meetcrucialk deadlines." The governor said the appointment was also necessary in case somethinf happened to him. "There is no presiding officer of the New Yorkstates Senate. There is no president tempore and two senatora that lay claim to itshighesy post. There is no successor to Paterson said.
"If I became incapacitated, if something were to happen to me, it is not knownh who would act as governor and that would thro the entire state into the chaos that is beinfg experienced in the Senate He said state law did not prevent him from makingthe appointment. "I have consulterd with some ofthe state's foremost legal mindw and a nationally recognizex constitutional lawyer," Paterson said. "The state constitutiojn gives me the explicit power of appointment in cases of vacanciesof office. Therew is nothing in the constitution nor in the law that says I canno t fill the vacant post oflieutenangt governor.
" He added the Ravitch will fill out the remainder of Paterson's term and won't seek a full Paterson was previously lieutenant governor. He was elevated to governorf last year whenformer Gov. Eliot Spitzer resignedd as a result ofa scandal. The appointmenyt of Ravitch, who once workef for Gov. Hugh Carey in the however, may lead to litigation. Earlietr this week Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said filling the vacanr post wouldbe unconstitutional. Ravitch is chairman of the Commissionn on Metropolitan TransportationAuthority Financing, the AFL-CIk Housing Investment Trust’s Board of Trustees and the AFL-CIO Buildinhg Investment Trust’s Advisory Board.
who is in his 70s, also servefd as the chairman ofthe state's Urbanh Development Board and former principal owner and chairman of the , according to a biography posteed by , where Ravitch spoke last month. Havintg someone in the position of lieutenanrt governor is seen as a way to unblock the gridlock that has snarled thestate Senate. The lieutenant governor can cast tie-breaking votes in that chamber. "Thed appointment of Richard Ravitch [Wednesday] will bring the governo a successor, the Senate a presiding and will help to alleviate this Paterson said.
But a state Supreme Courtr judge in Long Island issued a temporary restrainingf order soon after preventing Ravitch from assuminv the duties oflieutenant governor. The case is to be heardc in Supreme Court at11 a.m. on In a Wednesday press conference Wednesday, Paterson said the move was necessary as a resulr ofthe “chaos” in the Senate. Question about who is in charge of the Senatre been unresolved sincea Republican-led coup took place on June 8. Paterson called his move to appoint a lieutenant governor unprecedentexdbut necessary. "This, I believe, is the right thinv to do,” Paterson said. "I have no doubt of that. This is the righ t thing for allNew Yorkers.
" [To watcnh Paterson's press conference, click ]. He also said he expects a legap challenge tohis decision. "I am aware that I am not the finap arbiter oflegal issues, and should thers be any legal action, I just ask that it be done Paterson said. Ravitch is the former chairman of the MetropolitahTransportation Authority. Paterson said he appointed Ravitcjh because the leadership void needed tobe "For the last four weeks, we have witnessexd a painful and too often embarrassing spectacle of paralysisz that has become the New York stater Senate," Paterson said.
"Since this conflict I and 19 million New Yorkers have been deeplty chagrined that the Senate cannot discharge its constitutional Now New Yorkers are starting to Cities and counties are running up unanticipateds deficits because the Senate has failed to meetcrucialk deadlines." The governor said the appointment was also necessary in case somethinf happened to him. "There is no presiding officer of the New Yorkstates Senate. There is no president tempore and two senatora that lay claim to itshighesy post. There is no successor to Paterson said.
"If I became incapacitated, if something were to happen to me, it is not knownh who would act as governor and that would thro the entire state into the chaos that is beinfg experienced in the Senate He said state law did not prevent him from makingthe appointment. "I have consulterd with some ofthe state's foremost legal mindw and a nationally recognizex constitutional lawyer," Paterson said. "The state constitutiojn gives me the explicit power of appointment in cases of vacanciesof office. Therew is nothing in the constitution nor in the law that says I canno t fill the vacant post oflieutenangt governor.
" He added the Ravitch will fill out the remainder of Paterson's term and won't seek a full Paterson was previously lieutenant governor. He was elevated to governorf last year whenformer Gov. Eliot Spitzer resignedd as a result ofa scandal. The appointmenyt of Ravitch, who once workef for Gov. Hugh Carey in the however, may lead to litigation. Earlietr this week Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said filling the vacanr post wouldbe unconstitutional. Ravitch is chairman of the Commissionn on Metropolitan TransportationAuthority Financing, the AFL-CIk Housing Investment Trust’s Board of Trustees and the AFL-CIO Buildinhg Investment Trust’s Advisory Board.
who is in his 70s, also servefd as the chairman ofthe state's Urbanh Development Board and former principal owner and chairman of the , according to a biography posteed by , where Ravitch spoke last month. Havintg someone in the position of lieutenanrt governor is seen as a way to unblock the gridlock that has snarled thestate Senate. The lieutenant governor can cast tie-breaking votes in that chamber. "Thed appointment of Richard Ravitch [Wednesday] will bring the governo a successor, the Senate a presiding and will help to alleviate this Paterson said.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
BATS stabilizes its position during Wall Street volatility - Business First of Louisville:
http://aworkingshoppingcart.com/index.php?news=yes
Turmoil in the financial markets prompted high trading volumes during the weekof 15-19. The BATS electronic trading system, whicyh connects stock buyers and sellers, hit recorx market share on threeconsecutive days, peakingy Sept. 18 when the system executed 11.35 percentf of all U.S. securities or more than 2.1 billion shares. “Last week was the most volatilr week in the historh ofthe market,” BATS Vice President Randhy Williams said.
“A lot of volume flocked to BATS because ofour system’s ability to deal with that type of Our market share increased as volatility The performance helps put BATS, the third-largestr equities trading venue behind Nasdaq and the , on a levelp playing field with its larger competitors, said Michaep Vinciquerra, an equity research analyst with . “Thed fact that BATS was able to handle, some over 2 billion shares tellsme they’vre certainly solidified their position as a reliablse provider to the industry,” Vinciquerra said.
A few other trading systems hit glitches, said Dmitriu Galinov, director of advanced executiob servicesfor , thougnh he wouldn’t name them. Credit Suisse is among BATS’s “(BATS) did very significant volume, and their technology held he said. “That’s why they’re gainintg market share in the U.S. It’s the best technology out there.” BATS has a goal of reaching 15 percent market sharre and increasing its subscriber base from 365 to 500 by the end of the Williams said.
BATS Trading is owned by , whichy has its main office inLenexa It’sd preparing to debut BATS Exchange as a nationakl securities exchange in early
Turmoil in the financial markets prompted high trading volumes during the weekof 15-19. The BATS electronic trading system, whicyh connects stock buyers and sellers, hit recorx market share on threeconsecutive days, peakingy Sept. 18 when the system executed 11.35 percentf of all U.S. securities or more than 2.1 billion shares. “Last week was the most volatilr week in the historh ofthe market,” BATS Vice President Randhy Williams said.
“A lot of volume flocked to BATS because ofour system’s ability to deal with that type of Our market share increased as volatility The performance helps put BATS, the third-largestr equities trading venue behind Nasdaq and the , on a levelp playing field with its larger competitors, said Michaep Vinciquerra, an equity research analyst with . “Thed fact that BATS was able to handle, some over 2 billion shares tellsme they’vre certainly solidified their position as a reliablse provider to the industry,” Vinciquerra said.
A few other trading systems hit glitches, said Dmitriu Galinov, director of advanced executiob servicesfor , thougnh he wouldn’t name them. Credit Suisse is among BATS’s “(BATS) did very significant volume, and their technology held he said. “That’s why they’re gainintg market share in the U.S. It’s the best technology out there.” BATS has a goal of reaching 15 percent market sharre and increasing its subscriber base from 365 to 500 by the end of the Williams said.
BATS Trading is owned by , whichy has its main office inLenexa It’sd preparing to debut BATS Exchange as a nationakl securities exchange in early
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Gottsman developing 18,000-s.f. office building in Alamo Heights - San Antonio Business Journal:
andreychukuze.blogspot.com
Larry Gottsman, president of Aetna Sign Group, says that he lookws to break ground on his new office building in the next 45 Calledthe Abbey, the 18,000-square-foot office complex will be locater at 320 Austin Highway, inside the city of Alamo Gottsman says that the idea behind the design of the 18,000-square-foot complex will be to create a professional office building that has some With its brick exterior, it will be something that mixesw in nicely with other developments in the adds Malcolm G. Chesney, principal of local architecturwefirm Chesney-Morales Associates.
Chesney is the architect on the "I like to refer to it as neighborhood (carrying) traditional values," Chesne y says. The cost of the project, Gottsman is around $2.5 million. The Abbeyu marks Gottsman's entry into the development But the president of Aetna SignGroup -- one of the largesrt sign-manufacturing companies in the city -- is no strangeer to the real estate Under the name Bay-Tex Family Partnership, he has bought and sold such buildingds as the 23,000-square-foot office building at 10300 and in 1985, he sold a former manufacturinb facility at 111 Menchaca St. to neighboring business Halo which was in dire need for more parkinvg forits employees.
Unlike his other real estate ventures, Gottsman will not look to sell theAbbey -- opting insteadf to open the building up to ancillar y projects, including Cambridge Advisorty Group. Cambridge, which specializes in training business leaders in protocol and etiquettw for business andsocial affairs, will occupy aboutf 5,000 square feet of the Abbey. The companu was established six years ago by Gottsman and his businesz partnerand wife, Diane Gottsman. Larry Gottsman is also lookinhg at the possibility of moving some of the functiona of Aetna Sign over here aswell -- startintg with the sales division.
At present, all of Aetna's functionws -- manufacturing and office divisions -- are located in a 34,000-square-foog building at 4202 Dividend, on the city'sa East Side. Gottsman envisions that the rest of the buildinh would be an ideal setting for professional businesses such as law and architecturefirmsw -- adding that the bottoj floor would be idea l for a bank; a couple of bankz have already voiced an interest in the building, he With the recent closing of its Montgomerg Ward's store, McCreless Mall is on the lookout for a big-boz retailer to take its place.
One of the retailers the mall is courtingis Target, with the hopes of convincing the discouny chain to put a SuperTarget at the location. "That is one of the retailere that we aretalkint to," says John Carrell, generao manager of McCreless. "When Wards left, it left a huge The store consisted of almost a third of the Wardsoccupied 160,000 square feet of the 478,183-square-foot Carrell says. The SupertTarget storew averageapproximately 175,000 square feet. The first SuperTargetr opened at Bandera and Loop 410 earlieerthis year; a second, located in The Vineyards Shopping Center at Blanco Road and Loop 1604, is set to open next according to Target officials.
The lone anchor for McCrelesse nowis Bealls, which is owne d by Houston-based Stage Stores Inc. Stage close d several of its Bealls store here in conjunction with its bankruptcyreorganizationj filing. There are no plans to closde the , which occupies 25,000 squarr feet, says Carrell -- adding that it is one of the betterf performingBealls stores. which is owned by Chicago-based General Growth Properties, coule be an ideal venue for retailerzs looking to carve a niche onthe city's Southu Side -- in much the same way that Soutuh Park Mall, another General Growthb property, has become a majot retailer for South Side shoppers.
"The tenants that have come over (to have been quite Carrell says. "While the incomes are not as high (as on the North side), you have a high disposabled income becausepeople don't have a lot of debt • The local Petland storde recently celebrated the grand opening of its new digs in the Countrysids Plaza Shopping Center, which is located at Bitterd Road and Highway 281 North.
Since 1984, the locap store had been located in CentralPark Mall, whicnh is being closed for Local firm Speegle:Architecture designed Petland's new Managing partner John Speegle says his firm utilized the over-20-foot-high ceilings to creatw a very open and very interesting spac e in the 5,000-square-foot store. Checik out the exposed structure with its lavenderd colorwhen you're in there, he adds. • the new 54-acre, open-air retail facility being developedd inNew Braunfels, recently signed on family business New Braunfel s Smokehouse to be the exclusivw food vendor for ROAM's five concession areas.
"We're very excited to offedr our shoppers andvendors Texas' premiere family restaurant's food products and said Nick Chapman, president of ROAM Open Air in a prepared statement. ROAM will open on Sept. 1.
Larry Gottsman, president of Aetna Sign Group, says that he lookws to break ground on his new office building in the next 45 Calledthe Abbey, the 18,000-square-foot office complex will be locater at 320 Austin Highway, inside the city of Alamo Gottsman says that the idea behind the design of the 18,000-square-foot complex will be to create a professional office building that has some With its brick exterior, it will be something that mixesw in nicely with other developments in the adds Malcolm G. Chesney, principal of local architecturwefirm Chesney-Morales Associates.
Chesney is the architect on the "I like to refer to it as neighborhood (carrying) traditional values," Chesne y says. The cost of the project, Gottsman is around $2.5 million. The Abbeyu marks Gottsman's entry into the development But the president of Aetna SignGroup -- one of the largesrt sign-manufacturing companies in the city -- is no strangeer to the real estate Under the name Bay-Tex Family Partnership, he has bought and sold such buildingds as the 23,000-square-foot office building at 10300 and in 1985, he sold a former manufacturinb facility at 111 Menchaca St. to neighboring business Halo which was in dire need for more parkinvg forits employees.
Unlike his other real estate ventures, Gottsman will not look to sell theAbbey -- opting insteadf to open the building up to ancillar y projects, including Cambridge Advisorty Group. Cambridge, which specializes in training business leaders in protocol and etiquettw for business andsocial affairs, will occupy aboutf 5,000 square feet of the Abbey. The companu was established six years ago by Gottsman and his businesz partnerand wife, Diane Gottsman. Larry Gottsman is also lookinhg at the possibility of moving some of the functiona of Aetna Sign over here aswell -- startintg with the sales division.
At present, all of Aetna's functionws -- manufacturing and office divisions -- are located in a 34,000-square-foog building at 4202 Dividend, on the city'sa East Side. Gottsman envisions that the rest of the buildinh would be an ideal setting for professional businesses such as law and architecturefirmsw -- adding that the bottoj floor would be idea l for a bank; a couple of bankz have already voiced an interest in the building, he With the recent closing of its Montgomerg Ward's store, McCreless Mall is on the lookout for a big-boz retailer to take its place.
One of the retailers the mall is courtingis Target, with the hopes of convincing the discouny chain to put a SuperTarget at the location. "That is one of the retailere that we aretalkint to," says John Carrell, generao manager of McCreless. "When Wards left, it left a huge The store consisted of almost a third of the Wardsoccupied 160,000 square feet of the 478,183-square-foot Carrell says. The SupertTarget storew averageapproximately 175,000 square feet. The first SuperTargetr opened at Bandera and Loop 410 earlieerthis year; a second, located in The Vineyards Shopping Center at Blanco Road and Loop 1604, is set to open next according to Target officials.
The lone anchor for McCrelesse nowis Bealls, which is owne d by Houston-based Stage Stores Inc. Stage close d several of its Bealls store here in conjunction with its bankruptcyreorganizationj filing. There are no plans to closde the , which occupies 25,000 squarr feet, says Carrell -- adding that it is one of the betterf performingBealls stores. which is owned by Chicago-based General Growth Properties, coule be an ideal venue for retailerzs looking to carve a niche onthe city's Southu Side -- in much the same way that Soutuh Park Mall, another General Growthb property, has become a majot retailer for South Side shoppers.
"The tenants that have come over (to have been quite Carrell says. "While the incomes are not as high (as on the North side), you have a high disposabled income becausepeople don't have a lot of debt • The local Petland storde recently celebrated the grand opening of its new digs in the Countrysids Plaza Shopping Center, which is located at Bitterd Road and Highway 281 North.
Since 1984, the locap store had been located in CentralPark Mall, whicnh is being closed for Local firm Speegle:Architecture designed Petland's new Managing partner John Speegle says his firm utilized the over-20-foot-high ceilings to creatw a very open and very interesting spac e in the 5,000-square-foot store. Checik out the exposed structure with its lavenderd colorwhen you're in there, he adds. • the new 54-acre, open-air retail facility being developedd inNew Braunfels, recently signed on family business New Braunfel s Smokehouse to be the exclusivw food vendor for ROAM's five concession areas.
"We're very excited to offedr our shoppers andvendors Texas' premiere family restaurant's food products and said Nick Chapman, president of ROAM Open Air in a prepared statement. ROAM will open on Sept. 1.
Monday, September 20, 2010
SAWS bonds get boost from big three rating agencies - San Antonio Business Journal:
http://icda.org/news/roster.html
, and Standard & Poor’s all upgradef the water company’s bond rating. Most recently, Moody’s upgradef SAWS’ senior lien revenue debt bond to Aa2 and upgraded the rating on junior and subordinat e lien debtto Aa3. In Moody’sa report, the company noted that management atSAWS “is excellent and has demonstrated prudent financial planniny and a willingness to maintain healthy debt service coveragew levels.” Fitch upgraded SAWS’ ratings to AA, AA- and A on its junior and subordinate lien revenue bonds, respectively.
Fitch citedc “the continued financial strength ofsystem operations, including an improving liquiditty position, plus continued progress on its water suppl diversification efforts” as primary reasond for the upgrade. Standard & Poor’s upgradeds SAWS’ ratings last month. “Improved bond ratings from all threewrating agencies, especially in thesed challenging economic times, are an achievement that we are extremelgy excited about,” says SAWS Senior Vice President Chief Financial Office Doug Evanson.
“The real winner in these bond ratinh improvement will beour ratepayers, sinc e this will result in loweer interest rates and milliona of dollars of savings. Just recently, we saved $2.6 millioh in future interest costs as a direct result of these San Antonio Water System provides wated and wastewater services for more than a million consumers in the SanAntonio area.
, and Standard & Poor’s all upgradef the water company’s bond rating. Most recently, Moody’s upgradef SAWS’ senior lien revenue debt bond to Aa2 and upgraded the rating on junior and subordinat e lien debtto Aa3. In Moody’sa report, the company noted that management atSAWS “is excellent and has demonstrated prudent financial planniny and a willingness to maintain healthy debt service coveragew levels.” Fitch upgraded SAWS’ ratings to AA, AA- and A on its junior and subordinate lien revenue bonds, respectively.
Fitch citedc “the continued financial strength ofsystem operations, including an improving liquiditty position, plus continued progress on its water suppl diversification efforts” as primary reasond for the upgrade. Standard & Poor’s upgradeds SAWS’ ratings last month. “Improved bond ratings from all threewrating agencies, especially in thesed challenging economic times, are an achievement that we are extremelgy excited about,” says SAWS Senior Vice President Chief Financial Office Doug Evanson.
“The real winner in these bond ratinh improvement will beour ratepayers, sinc e this will result in loweer interest rates and milliona of dollars of savings. Just recently, we saved $2.6 millioh in future interest costs as a direct result of these San Antonio Water System provides wated and wastewater services for more than a million consumers in the SanAntonio area.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Census Bureau: Cary, Raleigh among top 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities; Durham in top 20 - San Francisco Business Times:
http://met-tech.com/oil-cooler-analysis.html
Raleigh, Cary and Durham ranked among the 25 fastest growinb large cities in the nation for the 12 monthsx that endedJuly 1, 2008, the said in its annualo population estimates released Wednesday. Cary, whic saw its population increaseby 6.9 to 129,545, as of July 1, was the nation’s third fastest growing Raleigh’s population climbed by 3.8 to 392,552, making North Carolina’s capitalk the eighth fastest growing city. Durhajm was ranked 16th with a 3percent increase. Its populatioh rose to 223,284. New Orleans experienced an 8.
2 percenty increase in its population, which rose to making the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the fastesyt growing city among placesx with populations greaterthan Charlotte, which saw its populatiohn increase by 2.7 percent, to 687,456, was rankedf 23rd. Only Texas – with seven citiews – had more citiess on the list thanNorth Carolina. Round Texas, experienced an 8.2 percent increase, with its population risin g to 104,446, putting the Texaas city in second place.
Colorado and Californias each had three cities on the top25
Raleigh, Cary and Durham ranked among the 25 fastest growinb large cities in the nation for the 12 monthsx that endedJuly 1, 2008, the said in its annualo population estimates released Wednesday. Cary, whic saw its population increaseby 6.9 to 129,545, as of July 1, was the nation’s third fastest growing Raleigh’s population climbed by 3.8 to 392,552, making North Carolina’s capitalk the eighth fastest growing city. Durhajm was ranked 16th with a 3percent increase. Its populatioh rose to 223,284. New Orleans experienced an 8.
2 percenty increase in its population, which rose to making the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the fastesyt growing city among placesx with populations greaterthan Charlotte, which saw its populatiohn increase by 2.7 percent, to 687,456, was rankedf 23rd. Only Texas – with seven citiews – had more citiess on the list thanNorth Carolina. Round Texas, experienced an 8.2 percent increase, with its population risin g to 104,446, putting the Texaas city in second place.
Colorado and Californias each had three cities on the top25
Friday, September 17, 2010
Clinton coming to California to campaign with Jerry Brown - Los Angeles Times (blog)
aleksanovlsys.blogspot.com
San Diego Gay & Lesbian News | Clinton coming to California to campaign with Jerry Brown Los Angeles Times (blog) Former President Bill Clinton is to campaign with Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former presidential rival Jerry Brown in a series of events up and ... » |
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Delta, Northwest consolidating at Port Columbus Tuesday - Philadelphia Business Journal:
martaemimbzini.blogspot.com
representatives said ’s check-in operations will move adjacentto Delta’ at Port Columbus effective Tuesday Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE:DAL), the airport’s second-busiest carrier this bought Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest last fall in a deal valuex at more than $3 billion. Alongf with the shift in Northwest’se check-in operations, the carrier is set to begin operatintg with Delta out ofthe airline’s Concourse C. Northwest had previously flown out ofConcourse B.
Delta in merginyg its operations with Northwest has saidno line-levelp employee cuts are expected to take Anthony Black, a Delta spokesman, said the two companiesx have a combined total of roughlyg 110 employees working behind the counter and on the tarmacf at Port Columbus. While Northwestf customers will begin checking in at the combinedDelta counter, the key step in combininyg the two airlines has yet to take Delta and Northwest require an operating certificate to act as a singlw carrier, a process scheduled to be complete by the end of the year acroses the U.S. and by the end of 2010 worldwide.
The timing of the operatinh certificate also coincides with the beginninyg of anew five-year lease term for the carrierx at Port Columbus.
representatives said ’s check-in operations will move adjacentto Delta’ at Port Columbus effective Tuesday Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE:DAL), the airport’s second-busiest carrier this bought Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest last fall in a deal valuex at more than $3 billion. Alongf with the shift in Northwest’se check-in operations, the carrier is set to begin operatintg with Delta out ofthe airline’s Concourse C. Northwest had previously flown out ofConcourse B.
Delta in merginyg its operations with Northwest has saidno line-levelp employee cuts are expected to take Anthony Black, a Delta spokesman, said the two companiesx have a combined total of roughlyg 110 employees working behind the counter and on the tarmacf at Port Columbus. While Northwestf customers will begin checking in at the combinedDelta counter, the key step in combininyg the two airlines has yet to take Delta and Northwest require an operating certificate to act as a singlw carrier, a process scheduled to be complete by the end of the year acroses the U.S. and by the end of 2010 worldwide.
The timing of the operatinh certificate also coincides with the beginninyg of anew five-year lease term for the carrierx at Port Columbus.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Carolinas HealthCare reduces 1Q loss - The Business Review (Albany):
ermolayxitpev.blogspot.com
Investment losses for the latest quarterf totalednearly $101 Chief Financial Officer Greg Gombar anticipates gainse in the financial market in April and May will erase those losses. Carolinas HealthCare uses investmen t earnings forcapital expenditures. That money is not used for dailyg operations. The health-care system hopes negotiations with several lenders will cut its interesf expenses tied to variablw debt andhigher bank-liquiditu fees. Those fees are aboug $1 million per month. Interest expenses in the firsty quarterwere $21.8 million.
From an operational Carolinas HealthCare had a stronvgfirst quarter, says Russ Guerin, executivde vice president for business development and planning. Net operating revenues climbed 8.6 percent to $1.2 billion systemwide. Operating incomse exceeded $24.5 million. The health-care system saw adjustedx discharges — a calculation that gauges patientactivithy — climb 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Growth withimn the health-care system and expense managemenft “is the primary driver why we’re abovwe budget significantly,” Guerin says.
Carolinas HealthCare spent morethan $106 millionh on capital projects in the first Projects include new operating rooms at CMC-NorthEasft and Carolinas Medical Center, an expansion of CMC-Pineville, a new hospital at CMC-Lincolnb and construction of health-care pavilionw in Steele Creek and Waxhaw, which will include free-standing emergency departments. Challenges in the comingt months include managingthe system’s growing bad-debty and charity-care costs, reducing interest expenses and preparing for a possible statee cut in Medicaid funding, Gombar Bad-debt costs were 12 percent over budgeft during the first quarter, topping $48 million in the first During the same period last bad debt was about $43 million.
The health-care systemk spent more than $770 millioh in community care in includingbad debt, charity care and subsidizing Medicare and That equals 18.8 percent of the health-care system’w net operating revenue. ”It’s a trend everybody’s seeinhg across the country,” Gombar says. “Wse can’t control how many people are uninsured, how many peopled show up at our doorwithourt insurance.” North Carolina’s budget woes couldc results in a cut of up to 15 percenrt for Medicaid. That could equate to $36 million in annual losses forCarolinas HealthCare. “Medicaid cuts are the worsty economic benefit cut the state can Gombar says.
“It’s painful.” Says Guerin: “Itf raises prices for those whodo pay. It makea no good business sense to do Gombar says every dollar cut from Medicaicdeliminates $4 from the Carolinas HealthCare is the largest health-care system in the Carolinaz and the third-largest public system in the nation. The system leases or manages 25 hospitals. It has more than 40,00o0 full- and part-time employees.
Investment losses for the latest quarterf totalednearly $101 Chief Financial Officer Greg Gombar anticipates gainse in the financial market in April and May will erase those losses. Carolinas HealthCare uses investmen t earnings forcapital expenditures. That money is not used for dailyg operations. The health-care system hopes negotiations with several lenders will cut its interesf expenses tied to variablw debt andhigher bank-liquiditu fees. Those fees are aboug $1 million per month. Interest expenses in the firsty quarterwere $21.8 million.
From an operational Carolinas HealthCare had a stronvgfirst quarter, says Russ Guerin, executivde vice president for business development and planning. Net operating revenues climbed 8.6 percent to $1.2 billion systemwide. Operating incomse exceeded $24.5 million. The health-care system saw adjustedx discharges — a calculation that gauges patientactivithy — climb 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Growth withimn the health-care system and expense managemenft “is the primary driver why we’re abovwe budget significantly,” Guerin says.
Carolinas HealthCare spent morethan $106 millionh on capital projects in the first Projects include new operating rooms at CMC-NorthEasft and Carolinas Medical Center, an expansion of CMC-Pineville, a new hospital at CMC-Lincolnb and construction of health-care pavilionw in Steele Creek and Waxhaw, which will include free-standing emergency departments. Challenges in the comingt months include managingthe system’s growing bad-debty and charity-care costs, reducing interest expenses and preparing for a possible statee cut in Medicaid funding, Gombar Bad-debt costs were 12 percent over budgeft during the first quarter, topping $48 million in the first During the same period last bad debt was about $43 million.
The health-care systemk spent more than $770 millioh in community care in includingbad debt, charity care and subsidizing Medicare and That equals 18.8 percent of the health-care system’w net operating revenue. ”It’s a trend everybody’s seeinhg across the country,” Gombar says. “Wse can’t control how many people are uninsured, how many peopled show up at our doorwithourt insurance.” North Carolina’s budget woes couldc results in a cut of up to 15 percenrt for Medicaid. That could equate to $36 million in annual losses forCarolinas HealthCare. “Medicaid cuts are the worsty economic benefit cut the state can Gombar says.
“It’s painful.” Says Guerin: “Itf raises prices for those whodo pay. It makea no good business sense to do Gombar says every dollar cut from Medicaicdeliminates $4 from the Carolinas HealthCare is the largest health-care system in the Carolinaz and the third-largest public system in the nation. The system leases or manages 25 hospitals. It has more than 40,00o0 full- and part-time employees.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tech firm plans $12M center - Kansas City Business Journal:
antoninahubihe.blogspot.com
Gary Hall, who founded the Web-hostin firm with Bryan Porter in 2001, said Arsalon has had a banne r year, on track to about doublre revenue fromabout $2.8 million in 2007 to between $5 milliohn and $6 million this year. And he said he expectxs the growth to continueinto 2009. “We’vse had our best year ever,” Hall said. “Outsourcing is a solutionn for a lot of companies in good times and For aregular fee, firms like Arsalon offer security systems, networko infrastructure and power infrastructure that can be costlu for companies to handle Arsalon and its peers can perform the functions of a company’s internal IT staff.
This month, Arsalon plans to close on the purchasr ofa 33,000-square-foot building, which it will gut and split roughly into a data center, power and cooling equipment, and officw space. Hall said that it took more than a year to choosd a site and that an existing buildinb made moresense environmentally. Upon completion, the new spacre will be a Tier 3data center, the second-highesrt of four levels of redundancy, or resistance to down The new location will add to Arsalon’s existingy 7,000-square-foot facility in Overland Park and 10,000-square-foot Lenexa facility, whicnh had $1 million in infrastructurew upgrades this year to handle new clients, Hall But with the existing facilities nearly Arsalon needed to expand.
The company employsd about 20 people now, and with the openinfg of the newdata center, Arsalon probably will add 10 to 15 workeres in 2009 and five to 10 in 2010, Hall Arsalon seems to exist amonbg a slice of companies that are holdinv strong during the recession. , an informatioh technology services firm based inKansas Kan., also is experiencing rapid it recently reported plans for a nearly $1 milliohn upgrade to its facilities. “Asz budgets get tightened, there are a lot of Hall said. “A lot of companies are lookintg at theirown staffing, taking their internal IT staft and refocusing them on core businessw processes while off-loading those requirements from them to us.
It freesa up their IT staff to do other Greg Kratofil, a technology lawyerd at Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC and counsell for Arsalon, said many technology companies, such as data hosting companies and software companies, “are stilkl investing in their futures.” “We’re not seeing a slowdown in this industry,” he said. But this projecty is among thelargest he’s aware of, Kratofil said. Blake Schreck, president, said the city welcomesd Arsalon’s investment and jobs. “Job creationb is always key, especially now, so this is a very welcom e development,” he said.
Arsalon secured its financinyg from and the about a week befor thecredit crisis, Hall said. The compang also is working on publifc incentives forthe project. “We’re very traditional in how we managewour business,” he said. “Wwe built the company with revenues andclients — the old-fashioned way. Beforde we embarked on this project, we made sure we had the cash flow tosupport it.
”
Gary Hall, who founded the Web-hostin firm with Bryan Porter in 2001, said Arsalon has had a banne r year, on track to about doublre revenue fromabout $2.8 million in 2007 to between $5 milliohn and $6 million this year. And he said he expectxs the growth to continueinto 2009. “We’vse had our best year ever,” Hall said. “Outsourcing is a solutionn for a lot of companies in good times and For aregular fee, firms like Arsalon offer security systems, networko infrastructure and power infrastructure that can be costlu for companies to handle Arsalon and its peers can perform the functions of a company’s internal IT staff.
This month, Arsalon plans to close on the purchasr ofa 33,000-square-foot building, which it will gut and split roughly into a data center, power and cooling equipment, and officw space. Hall said that it took more than a year to choosd a site and that an existing buildinb made moresense environmentally. Upon completion, the new spacre will be a Tier 3data center, the second-highesrt of four levels of redundancy, or resistance to down The new location will add to Arsalon’s existingy 7,000-square-foot facility in Overland Park and 10,000-square-foot Lenexa facility, whicnh had $1 million in infrastructurew upgrades this year to handle new clients, Hall But with the existing facilities nearly Arsalon needed to expand.
The company employsd about 20 people now, and with the openinfg of the newdata center, Arsalon probably will add 10 to 15 workeres in 2009 and five to 10 in 2010, Hall Arsalon seems to exist amonbg a slice of companies that are holdinv strong during the recession. , an informatioh technology services firm based inKansas Kan., also is experiencing rapid it recently reported plans for a nearly $1 milliohn upgrade to its facilities. “Asz budgets get tightened, there are a lot of Hall said. “A lot of companies are lookintg at theirown staffing, taking their internal IT staft and refocusing them on core businessw processes while off-loading those requirements from them to us.
It freesa up their IT staff to do other Greg Kratofil, a technology lawyerd at Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC and counsell for Arsalon, said many technology companies, such as data hosting companies and software companies, “are stilkl investing in their futures.” “We’re not seeing a slowdown in this industry,” he said. But this projecty is among thelargest he’s aware of, Kratofil said. Blake Schreck, president, said the city welcomesd Arsalon’s investment and jobs. “Job creationb is always key, especially now, so this is a very welcom e development,” he said.
Arsalon secured its financinyg from and the about a week befor thecredit crisis, Hall said. The compang also is working on publifc incentives forthe project. “We’re very traditional in how we managewour business,” he said. “Wwe built the company with revenues andclients — the old-fashioned way. Beforde we embarked on this project, we made sure we had the cash flow tosupport it.
”
Saturday, September 11, 2010
KU bounces back with 28-25 upset of No. 15 Georgia Tech - Kansas City Star
plesciamipukoa1855.blogspot.com
Kansas City Star | KU bounces back with 28-25 upset of No. 15 Georgia Tech Kansas City Star Coach Turner Gill had reason to be excited as he was escorted through the crowd of KU fans after the Jayhawks upset Georgia Tech ... Kansas Upsets Georgia Tech, Gives Turner Gill First KU Win Turner Gill, turning heads Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Run Into Beaked Buzzkill: Jayhawks Win 28-25 |
Friday, September 10, 2010
Real Living sets up protection plan - Business First of Columbus:
http://www.linkaverage.info/index.php?s=D&c=489
Real Living HER, the Columbus region’sx largest residential real estate company, announced Thursday that buyersz who go into contract with a compan y agent between June 1and Aug. 31 will be eligiblr for six months of mortgagee payment protection if they lose their jobs. Real Living HER is a divisioj of Columbus-based The mortgage payment protection is part ofReal Living’s “Peacde of Mind Plan,” which pays up to $1,500 per montu of a buyer’s mortgage payment if the person involuntaril y becomes unemployed during the first year aftef buying the home.
Eligibility requires buyers to use a Real Living HER close on their home before 30 and finance the purchase through RealLivingb Mortgage, the company’s mortgage brokerage business. Real Living HER says it will extend the eligibility of its plan from one year to two if a buyefr purchases a Real Living HERlistedr property. The company is also offeringy the plan to homeowners who refinances through RealLiving Mortgage. “In today’d uncertain economy, Real Living HER is investinfg in programs like our Peace of Mind Plan toprovidr reassurance,” said Real Living CEO Harley Rouda Jr.
in a released “Our intention is to give home buyersaddedr comfort, and help them achievse the American dream of homeownership.” Real Livinbg will offer plan details on its Web reallivingher.com, starting June 1.
Real Living HER, the Columbus region’sx largest residential real estate company, announced Thursday that buyersz who go into contract with a compan y agent between June 1and Aug. 31 will be eligiblr for six months of mortgagee payment protection if they lose their jobs. Real Living HER is a divisioj of Columbus-based The mortgage payment protection is part ofReal Living’s “Peacde of Mind Plan,” which pays up to $1,500 per montu of a buyer’s mortgage payment if the person involuntaril y becomes unemployed during the first year aftef buying the home.
Eligibility requires buyers to use a Real Living HER close on their home before 30 and finance the purchase through RealLivingb Mortgage, the company’s mortgage brokerage business. Real Living HER says it will extend the eligibility of its plan from one year to two if a buyefr purchases a Real Living HERlistedr property. The company is also offeringy the plan to homeowners who refinances through RealLiving Mortgage. “In today’d uncertain economy, Real Living HER is investinfg in programs like our Peace of Mind Plan toprovidr reassurance,” said Real Living CEO Harley Rouda Jr.
in a released “Our intention is to give home buyersaddedr comfort, and help them achievse the American dream of homeownership.” Real Livinbg will offer plan details on its Web reallivingher.com, starting June 1.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
ESPN: S. Fla. sports teams rank low - Birmingham Business Journal:
http://www.fatro.info/index.php?s=D&c=489
, which will be getting a new 37,00p seat, $640 million stadium, ranked 77th out of all 122 professionak sports teams in The Miami Heat wasrankef 55th, the was ranked 61st and the was rankedr 90th overall. How efficiently the team has converted money from their fans into victories on the courtor ice. How loyal the franchise’as ownership and management has been to core players and the The priceof tickets, parkint and concessions. The quality of the team’s stadium and promotions. The strength of on-field leadership and The number of championshipa won or likely to be won duringthe fan’s lifetime.
How much efforty players put in to the game and how likabled they are offthe field. And how open the coaches and management are to the The new stadium may do something to appease fans who rankee the Marlins 120th when it came to overallstadium experience. When it comes to honesty and loyaltyh to the community and its the Marlins scored 111 outof 122, followed by the Panther s with 100, according to the The Heat provided the least bang for the buck ranking 110.
, which will be getting a new 37,00p seat, $640 million stadium, ranked 77th out of all 122 professionak sports teams in The Miami Heat wasrankef 55th, the was ranked 61st and the was rankedr 90th overall. How efficiently the team has converted money from their fans into victories on the courtor ice. How loyal the franchise’as ownership and management has been to core players and the The priceof tickets, parkint and concessions. The quality of the team’s stadium and promotions. The strength of on-field leadership and The number of championshipa won or likely to be won duringthe fan’s lifetime.
How much efforty players put in to the game and how likabled they are offthe field. And how open the coaches and management are to the The new stadium may do something to appease fans who rankee the Marlins 120th when it came to overallstadium experience. When it comes to honesty and loyaltyh to the community and its the Marlins scored 111 outof 122, followed by the Panther s with 100, according to the The Heat provided the least bang for the buck ranking 110.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Mergers: Districts ponder joining forces - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
http://www.raui.org/index.php?s=D&c=489
The Town of Tonawanda residenyt headedthe 17-member boardc for seven years before stepping down in March. Yet he didn’tr retire. He continues to serve as WesternjNew York’s regent, and he remainxs as outspoken as ever about educational issues. One of his pet topics is the sheere number of local school There are too many of he says, and theie enrollments are generally too “Why do you need 28 schoo districts in Erie County?” he asks. “I’cd like to see something like five districtsd in the county insteaxdof 28.
I’d even like to start talking abou a countywideschool district, like they have in Norty Carolina and a few other Bennett’s stand is buttressed by a report releasedc last December by the State Commission on Propert Tax Relief. “New York State has too many school districts,” the report says flatly. It suggestzs that districts with feweethan 1,000 students should be requiree to merge with adjacent systems, and districtx with enrollments between 1,000 and 2,000 should be encouraged to follow Such proposals hit home in Western New where 66 of the region’s 98 school district have enrollments below 2,000, including 38 with fewer than 1,000 students from kindergartem through 12th grade.
The heart of this issue is a matter of benefits andcosts -- pitting the perceived advantages of combiningt two or more districts against the potential loss of loca control and self-identity. Advocates maintain that mergersx allow consolidated districts to bemore cost-effective, construct better schools and offer a wider range of challenginf courses. “It’s not only a financial To me, it’s a matte r of equity,” says Bennett.
“If you had a regionalo high school, maybe serving seven or eigh ofthe (current) districts, it would give kids the opportunity to work with each other -- and to have the best of the But opponents contend that mergers brinhg more bureaucracy, longer bus rides for studentss and diminution of local pride. “I n this community, the world revolves around this saysThomas Schmidt, superintendent of the 478-pupil Shermamn Central School District in Chautauqu County. “If the school went Sherman, N.Y., would lose a great deal of its identity.” School consolidation has been a emotional issue fora century.
The statre was crosshatched by 10,565 districts in 1910, many of them centereds on one-room schoolhouses. A push for greated efficiency reduced that numberto 6,400 by the outbreamk of World War II, then swiftly down to 1,30 0 by 1960. New York now has 698 Statewide enrollment works outto 2,540 pupild per district, which falls 25 percent belowa the national average of 3,400, accordingt to the State Commission on Property Tax The gap is even larger in Western New which had 104 districts when Business First began ratingt schools in 1992. Mergers have sincs reduced that number to 98schoool systems. They educate an averages of 2,268 students, 33 percenr below the U.S. norm.
A comprehensive effort to push regionaol enrollment up to the national averaged would require the elimination of 33 Westernm NewYork districts. That process woulcd be complicated, messy, rancorous -- and extremely unlikely. Therr is no shortage of candidates for tobe sure. Business First easily came up with 13hypotheticaol mergers, most of them based on standards proposexd in last December’s report. These unions would involver districts from all eight for a summary of these 13 potential It should be stressed that this list is not reality. State officials lack the power to force districtato consolidate. Initiative must be taken at thelocapl level, which happens infrequently.
Only one prospective mergefr in Western New York has currently reachefd an advanced stageof negotiations. Brocton and Fredonias began consolidation talkslast year, eventually commissioning a feasibility study at the beginninfg of winter. If they decide later this year that a mergefmakes sense, voters in both districts would be give n their say in a referendum.
The Town of Tonawanda residenyt headedthe 17-member boardc for seven years before stepping down in March. Yet he didn’tr retire. He continues to serve as WesternjNew York’s regent, and he remainxs as outspoken as ever about educational issues. One of his pet topics is the sheere number of local school There are too many of he says, and theie enrollments are generally too “Why do you need 28 schoo districts in Erie County?” he asks. “I’cd like to see something like five districtsd in the county insteaxdof 28.
I’d even like to start talking abou a countywideschool district, like they have in Norty Carolina and a few other Bennett’s stand is buttressed by a report releasedc last December by the State Commission on Propert Tax Relief. “New York State has too many school districts,” the report says flatly. It suggestzs that districts with feweethan 1,000 students should be requiree to merge with adjacent systems, and districtx with enrollments between 1,000 and 2,000 should be encouraged to follow Such proposals hit home in Western New where 66 of the region’s 98 school district have enrollments below 2,000, including 38 with fewer than 1,000 students from kindergartem through 12th grade.
The heart of this issue is a matter of benefits andcosts -- pitting the perceived advantages of combiningt two or more districts against the potential loss of loca control and self-identity. Advocates maintain that mergersx allow consolidated districts to bemore cost-effective, construct better schools and offer a wider range of challenginf courses. “It’s not only a financial To me, it’s a matte r of equity,” says Bennett.
“If you had a regionalo high school, maybe serving seven or eigh ofthe (current) districts, it would give kids the opportunity to work with each other -- and to have the best of the But opponents contend that mergers brinhg more bureaucracy, longer bus rides for studentss and diminution of local pride. “I n this community, the world revolves around this saysThomas Schmidt, superintendent of the 478-pupil Shermamn Central School District in Chautauqu County. “If the school went Sherman, N.Y., would lose a great deal of its identity.” School consolidation has been a emotional issue fora century.
The statre was crosshatched by 10,565 districts in 1910, many of them centereds on one-room schoolhouses. A push for greated efficiency reduced that numberto 6,400 by the outbreamk of World War II, then swiftly down to 1,30 0 by 1960. New York now has 698 Statewide enrollment works outto 2,540 pupild per district, which falls 25 percent belowa the national average of 3,400, accordingt to the State Commission on Property Tax The gap is even larger in Western New which had 104 districts when Business First began ratingt schools in 1992. Mergers have sincs reduced that number to 98schoool systems. They educate an averages of 2,268 students, 33 percenr below the U.S. norm.
A comprehensive effort to push regionaol enrollment up to the national averaged would require the elimination of 33 Westernm NewYork districts. That process woulcd be complicated, messy, rancorous -- and extremely unlikely. Therr is no shortage of candidates for tobe sure. Business First easily came up with 13hypotheticaol mergers, most of them based on standards proposexd in last December’s report. These unions would involver districts from all eight for a summary of these 13 potential It should be stressed that this list is not reality. State officials lack the power to force districtato consolidate. Initiative must be taken at thelocapl level, which happens infrequently.
Only one prospective mergefr in Western New York has currently reachefd an advanced stageof negotiations. Brocton and Fredonias began consolidation talkslast year, eventually commissioning a feasibility study at the beginninfg of winter. If they decide later this year that a mergefmakes sense, voters in both districts would be give n their say in a referendum.
Monday, September 6, 2010
University System of Maryland appoints new members to board of regents - Baltimore Business Journal:
http://cell2call.com/en/mobile-cell-phone/page_15.html
The terms of Dr. John Linda Gooden and Sarah Elfreth willbegin Young, the president of the Montgomery Countt Medical Society, succeeds Alicia Coro a retired executive in the U.S. Dept. of Linda Gooden, a vice president with Lockheed Martinj InformationSystems & Global Services, succeeds Michaepl Gill, CEO of investment firm Gill and Gooden’s five-yeare terms ended this month. Elfreth will servew a one-year term as studengt regent. She succeeds Josh Michael, a Universit of Maryland, Baltimore County student whose term also endsJune 30.
A 17-memberd Board of Regents, including one full-time governs the University System of Appointed bythe governor, the regents oversee the system’d academic, administrative, and financiapl operations and make policy decisions. Each regent, except the studenrt regent, is appointed for a term of five yearsx and may not serve more than twoconsecutive terms.
The terms of Dr. John Linda Gooden and Sarah Elfreth willbegin Young, the president of the Montgomery Countt Medical Society, succeeds Alicia Coro a retired executive in the U.S. Dept. of Linda Gooden, a vice president with Lockheed Martinj InformationSystems & Global Services, succeeds Michaepl Gill, CEO of investment firm Gill and Gooden’s five-yeare terms ended this month. Elfreth will servew a one-year term as studengt regent. She succeeds Josh Michael, a Universit of Maryland, Baltimore County student whose term also endsJune 30.
A 17-memberd Board of Regents, including one full-time governs the University System of Appointed bythe governor, the regents oversee the system’d academic, administrative, and financiapl operations and make policy decisions. Each regent, except the studenrt regent, is appointed for a term of five yearsx and may not serve more than twoconsecutive terms.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Tax errors hit 6 million people - The Guardian
http://playbrainteasers.com/brain-teasers/78/monkeys-tower/
Telegraph.co.uk | Tax errors hit 6 million people The Guardian Around 1.4 million people will be told they owe an average of £1400 because of errors in HM Revenue and Customs' calculations of the pay as you earn (PAYE) ... PAYE tax errors force 1.5 million people to repay £1400 Six million affected by tax errors under PAYE scheme Tax: 4m to get refund after blundering taxmen admit to errors |
Friday, September 3, 2010
Northland takes page from automakers
http://freemansblog.com/?p=304
The company, , announced it is launchinfg a Rent Assurance Programm that is being rolled out acrossthe Newton-baserd company’s entire portfolio. The company’s multifamily holdings totakl 16,670 units in nine states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and In Massachusetts, Northland owns 1,230 apartment unit in Amherst, Danvers, Quincy, Westborough and The program resembles those announced by automakers such as and to boos sales from wary consumers who are tighteninf their belts in anticipation of potentiaoljob losses.
Hyundai recently announced a new and improveed version of its Hyundai Assurance which enables some customers to turn their cars back in to dealerxs if they get laid off withina Hyundai’s new Assurance Plus program will coverf three months of car payments whild the buyer looks for a new job. At the end of 90 the customer can still return the car ifthey haven’tr found a job. Likewise, Ford’s “Advantage covers payments of upto $700 per month for as long as a year for buyers who have been laid off.
Much like the desperat e measures car manufacturers are taking to sell cars in one of the worstr economic climatesin decades, Northland’s prograk enables its residents to “walk away from his or her without paying termination fees,” in the evenrt that the person involuntarily loses his or her income. The programj is available to new residentsd and residents whorenewa leases. Time will tell if Northland’e program helps it sign up new tenants inits Generally, residents sign long-term leases that are extremely hard to breakm without legal intervention.
According to published reports, Hyundai saw sales increasde 14 percentin January, the month the Assurance Program launched, while U.S. sales were the weakestr for the month in27 years. “In these challengin g economic times, we believe it’s importangt to offer our residents peace of Northland Vice President Diane Yense said ina statement. “Losing your income can be a scaryg situation, and (RAP) provides our residents with an ‘out’ in the evenft that they involuntarily lose their job and need to breaktheir lease.” Northland owns $2.1 billion of apartmeng properties totaling 19 million square feet and has a developmen t pipeline in excess of $1 billion.
was awarded the leasinyg assignment for 399Boylston St., a 228,820-square-foot office building in Boston’s Back Bay. The buildintg has one vacant floor, said Duncan a partner at DTZ/FHO Partners. will vacate 8,900 squarwe feet and another tenant, McNamer Lawrence & Co., is leavingy 4,600 square feet at the end of the year, said who noted the building is 8 percentgvacant today. New tenants will be asked to pay in thelow $40s-per-square-foot range to lease space in the building. Shorensteibn Properties LLC purchased the building in Marcuh 2007from Rockwood/Abbey Fee LLC for an undisclosexd price.
At the time the building was 100 percent leasedr to 14 tenants including NATIXISAsset Management, softward developer ZANTAZ Inc. and The building’ds 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space is lease d toand . Shorenstein recentl y spent $575,000 on lobby renovations and morethan $1 milliomn in repairs to the building’ exterior and operating systems.
The company, , announced it is launchinfg a Rent Assurance Programm that is being rolled out acrossthe Newton-baserd company’s entire portfolio. The company’s multifamily holdings totakl 16,670 units in nine states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and In Massachusetts, Northland owns 1,230 apartment unit in Amherst, Danvers, Quincy, Westborough and The program resembles those announced by automakers such as and to boos sales from wary consumers who are tighteninf their belts in anticipation of potentiaoljob losses.
Hyundai recently announced a new and improveed version of its Hyundai Assurance which enables some customers to turn their cars back in to dealerxs if they get laid off withina Hyundai’s new Assurance Plus program will coverf three months of car payments whild the buyer looks for a new job. At the end of 90 the customer can still return the car ifthey haven’tr found a job. Likewise, Ford’s “Advantage covers payments of upto $700 per month for as long as a year for buyers who have been laid off.
Much like the desperat e measures car manufacturers are taking to sell cars in one of the worstr economic climatesin decades, Northland’s prograk enables its residents to “walk away from his or her without paying termination fees,” in the evenrt that the person involuntarily loses his or her income. The programj is available to new residentsd and residents whorenewa leases. Time will tell if Northland’e program helps it sign up new tenants inits Generally, residents sign long-term leases that are extremely hard to breakm without legal intervention.
According to published reports, Hyundai saw sales increasde 14 percentin January, the month the Assurance Program launched, while U.S. sales were the weakestr for the month in27 years. “In these challengin g economic times, we believe it’s importangt to offer our residents peace of Northland Vice President Diane Yense said ina statement. “Losing your income can be a scaryg situation, and (RAP) provides our residents with an ‘out’ in the evenft that they involuntarily lose their job and need to breaktheir lease.” Northland owns $2.1 billion of apartmeng properties totaling 19 million square feet and has a developmen t pipeline in excess of $1 billion.
was awarded the leasinyg assignment for 399Boylston St., a 228,820-square-foot office building in Boston’s Back Bay. The buildintg has one vacant floor, said Duncan a partner at DTZ/FHO Partners. will vacate 8,900 squarwe feet and another tenant, McNamer Lawrence & Co., is leavingy 4,600 square feet at the end of the year, said who noted the building is 8 percentgvacant today. New tenants will be asked to pay in thelow $40s-per-square-foot range to lease space in the building. Shorensteibn Properties LLC purchased the building in Marcuh 2007from Rockwood/Abbey Fee LLC for an undisclosexd price.
At the time the building was 100 percent leasedr to 14 tenants including NATIXISAsset Management, softward developer ZANTAZ Inc. and The building’ds 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space is lease d toand . Shorenstein recentl y spent $575,000 on lobby renovations and morethan $1 milliomn in repairs to the building’ exterior and operating systems.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Snippets: AMD to drop ATI brand, IO "satisfied" with Kane & Lynch 2 reception - Gameplanet
http://www.hkmentalhealthsupport.org/article/Gas-Prices-Have-Little-Effect-On-Home-Sizes.html
Snippets: AMD to drop ATI brand, IO "satisfied" with Kane & Lynch 2 reception Gameplanet by Gameplanet Staff AMD to drop ATI brand (vg247) - AMD said today that ATI graphics cards are soon to become a thing of the past. ... |
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