An optimistic outlook on Denver

ivyhofy.wordpress.com
“We’re seeing multifamily construction slowingdown now, and the markegt for sales of apartment communities has been very slow,” Von Strou said. “But once the financial sector turns I feel there isa pent-up demandr for the purchasing and selling of variouws apartment communities. I’m very optimistic about the apartment sector in the long specifically in the Denver metro He said most of the constructio in the last few years has been at the high end of the markeg because of increasedbuilding costs. In the near future, Von Stroj believes there will be a strong demandfor moderate-pricex rental housing.
He addedx there are two things developers can do to targerthis segment: Take an existing community and renovatse or modernize it, or come up with innovativ and creative ideas to lower the cost of construction. “Baseds on an increase in cap the average, brand-new apartment building in Denverf has to increase their rents byabout $250 a month per unit to justifgy any new construction,” Hawks said. “So that means in a bad economy, we have to have 25 percenft rent increases fornew development, and I don’t see that happening in the shorgt term.” Industry executives are closely watching severao economic factors.
“Probably one other small element that is just startinyg to impact the market is the homesalesz market,” Aldrich said. “Sales numbers don’t reflecg the increase in activity yet, but I am willing to guesss that in 60 to90 we’ll see if the numbers have a majore impact, in that prices are at bottom, interest rateds are low, and if you have a decent credir score and are a first-time homebuyer, now is the time buy a home in If renters are lured by these conditionw to become homeowners, this could contribute to higher vacancies and a flat rental he added. Hawks and Johnson both predictex the vacancy rate will increase slightlytin 2009.
“I think the rate will increased a little in the first and second quarter and that shoule bethe bottom, at arounx 9 percent and then we’ll start moving back up from Hawks said. “Because Denver was a recovering we’re in much better shape than other marketes inthe U.S. that were overheated and are now “What that means is insteadx of jumping offa 10-story building, we’ree jumping off a three-story building.
”

Speaker Quinn Voices Support for NYPD Monitoring of Muslims - Wall Street Journal (blog)

http://fonsasociados.com/land-of-the-free.htm

Daily Mail

Speaker Quinn Voices Support for NYPD Monitoring of Muslims W »

Passengers think Continental is doing a better job, study says - Houston Business Journal:

http://muta2004.com/mortgage-insurance.shtml
The university’s American Customer Satisfaction Index showed that so many passengersa gaveContinental (NYSE: CAL) a thumbs-up for service that it raisecd the Houston airline’s satisfaction rating by nearly 10 percentg compared with last year. With a scorew of 68, the Houston-based airline came in secone for passenger satisfactionbehind Dallas-based , which scoref 81, a 3 percent increase over last Overall passenger satisfaction with airlinesx improved for the first time since 2003, accordinyg to the index. The average scorwe was up 3.2 percent to 64. Dallas-basedx was the only majodr carrier to experience a drop inpassenger satisfaction, falling 3 percent to 60.
Chicago-based was unchanged in last place with an indeof 56. High fuel price volatility, indifferent service, labort problems, congested airports and financial challenges have plagued the industry for a long and airlines remain one ofthe lowest-scoriny businesses in the according to the university. The index is based on a phone survegy ofabout 25,000 people duringt the first quarter of 2009. Respondentz rated companies in a varietyof industries, including airlines, on various satisfaction topics.

Denver gives out 1,234 free building permits - Denver Business Journal:

dusinenezoqoc.blogspot.com
The free permits issued under the city’sz “Home Renovation Bonanza” program saved residents an estimated $85.77e in fees, officials Building-permit fees normally range from $20 to several thousand dollars, depending on the value of the The program aimed to boost the local economy byencouraging home-improvemeng projects. The free permits, available June are for common improvement projectsinvolving single-family homes and duplexes. “We wanted a bonanza and it seems we got Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said ina statement. “Wd hoped to stimulate the local economy by offerinhg an incentive for residents to make improvementes totheir property.
This is a good sign that peopld are moving forward and doing what they can to get our economy backon track.” The permita are valid for 180 days.

TiVo wins $103M round in EchoStar fight - Jacksonville Business Journal:

iwyqaxewun.wordpress.com
EchoStar lost an appeal in districr courtin Texas. The court awardecd Alviso-based TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) 068,836 plus interest, whicyh covers the period from Sept. 8, 2006 to Aprilk 18, 2008. But EchoStar (NASDAQ: of Englewood, Colo., will appeal the mattet to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Even if TiVo triumphs, which observers think likely, the award won’t wipe away its largse accumulated deficit. In the fiscal years 2008 and before itwon damages, TiVo lost $31.7 million and $49.1 million, respectively. TiVo has alreadyu been awarded $105 million in this patenr fightwith EchoStar. Though that earliert EchoStar payment contributed to a profitof $103.
6 millionh for TiVo in the quarter enderd January, the company’s accumulated deficit (how much it has lost or writtebn off since it started) at that time was $672.2 million. “We will need to generatwe significant additional revenues to achievesustained profitability,” the compant said in its most recentf quarterly filing. TiVo’s president and CEO, Tom Rogers, 54, was paid a salary of $800,000 in the latest fiscalp year. His total compensation for the yearwas $5.9 million, including $54,824 for housing, housinbg related and living expenses, $42,796 in insurance relateed expenses, and $20,099 in familyy travel related expenses, according to TiVo’s proxy card.
Roger s also sits on the boardat , a Texas telephonwe book publisher that filed Chapter 11 in March. He’s been a director therse sinceNovember 2006. Idearc, based at the Dallas-Forrt Worth Airport, paid a cash retaineer of $60,000 to directors in 2007, the latest year it’z reported in a proxy statement. Former TiVo boarsd member Charles Fruit, a marketing executivde who saton TiVo’s audit committee, died May 27. TiVo had 463 workere as of March 23, more than half of them in research anddevelopment jobs.

SendTec files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

ramsdenjerrieas54.blogspot.com
The St. Petersburg direct responss marketing company is claiming assetsof $3.7 million and liabilitiezs of more than $17.4 SendTec (OTCBB: SNDN) last filed a financial reporrt with the SEC last November when it claimer a net income of or 1 cent per share, on revenue of $5 million for the quarter ended 30, 2008. That was a turnaround from a $4.4 or 8 cents per share, loss on revenuer of $7.4 million recorded the year before. In a statementg released afterits filing, SendTex said it has received an offer led by managemen t and a group of outside investment firms to purchase assete and continue operations as a new company. SendTec didn’t identify the outsidwe investment companies.
“A series of corporatw transactionsinvolving SendTec’s parent companies going back to 2004 … has left SendTec with a large burden of debt apart from operations,” said chief executiv e officer Paul Soltoff in a statement. “Thess proceedings represent our best optiojn for removing that burdenh while continuing to serve our clientsw and runour business. In the interim, it will be businesxs as usual. We anticipate no reductioh in staffor services." In the nine months leading up to the 2008 third quarter, SendTec chalkeed up a profit of $3.5 million, or 5 cent s per share, compared to a $13.
r million, or 25 cents per share, loss the year prio r despite revenue dropping from $24.5 millioh to $16.3 million. In March, SendTec informec the SEC that it would be unable to fileits year-enxd report stating the company “does not have sufficienyt resources to complete the audir of the financial statements.” Among the creditorsw holding secured claims agains SendTec is , care of of New York City, for $3.36y million in Series B preferred shares; of New York City for $2 milliohn in Series B preferred shares; and of New York City for $1.68 million in Series B preferred Also holding a securef claim is of Old Greenwich, for $1.3 million in Series B preferrexd shares.
Most unsecured priority claims listed in the bankruptch court documents are lessthan $15,00 0 with the exception of $50,000 owed to the IRS. SendTe c has been fighting a number of lawsuits in various courtsa including one charging it with breacu of contract and unjusy enrichment from inthe N.Y. Supremwe Court where motions are pending. It’ s defending itself from similar charges by through the Pinellae County Circuit Court where SendTec recently filed an according tobankruptcy documents.
There are three other contract disputeswith , the Fort Lauderdale companhy that acquired SendTec in August 2005 that is now listes as “inactive” in court papers, in three courts in South Florida where motion are pending. SendTec also has an arbitration case pendingf against it from in the Court of Common Pleaas of Delaware Countyin Pa., and an active employeee discrimination suit against it from Janet Megdadik in a court in Conn. Paul Soltoff, chief executive officer, owns 7.5 percent of SendTec’s stock, earnec $400,000 last year and has been paid just lessthan $16,7009 semimonthly in 2009. Donald Gould Jr., chief financial owns 4.
4 percent of the company’s earned $260,125 last year and has been paid morethan $10,8000 semimonthly for 2009, according to courg documents. of Boca Raton owns the biggest pieced of SendTecwith 18.2 percent of while LBI Group, Fursa Alternative Strategies, Alexandrwa Global Master Fund and SDS Capitap Group SPC Ltd of Grand Cayman each own just less than 10

Officers' actions questioned in fatal Monterey Park shooting - Whittier Daily News

elzeyfirekuut1795.blogspot.com

Officers' actions questioned in fatal Monterey Park shooting Whittier Daily News Some also spoke in support of the police officers' actions. The dead man's brother, Daniel Rodriguez, 24, attended the meeting but did not speak. Hernandez said the sheriff's investigators have made several attempts to talk with Rodriguez's family, ... and more »

Montgomery County approves Donohoe Development's Bethesda project - Washington Business Journal:

xoqylyjibo.wordpress.com
The project, Woodmont Central, was originally schedulec to go before the planning boarddin July, after the county’s moratoriunm on residential developments started July 1. “They got all approvalsw they needed inon time,” said Joshusa Sloan, coordinator at the county’s developmen t review division who recommendede the planning board approve Donohoe’ s site plan with some conditions. And thougy board member Amy Presley referredto Donohoe’s need to get the approval quickly as “the elephant in the Sloan said the decision wasn’t rushed.
Sloan said the planners’ responsse to the preliminary site plan was overdue because the boardd had requested an extension beyond theusuapl 90-day review period. The residential moratorium, whichh would affect Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Clarksburg and Seneca was announced by the boardJune 8. It came aftet the board received results of the annuaschool test, which comparesd projected 2014 enrollment figures againstt classroom capacity in the county’s public schools. The test showecd that the number of students enrolled by 2014 was greatetr than the 120 percent cap set by the Adequatew PublicFacilities Ordinance.
The development limitations, whic only allow for subdivisions of three or fewedr units or forretirement communities, were established to avoidf putting schools over capacity with enrollment from new housingb projects. The residential component of Donohoe’s projecr is actually part of the second and third phaseszof development, so its construction would likely begih after the ban, if it is lifteds next July. The firsy phase of the development isa six-story retail and office The 18-story, 462,160-square-foot residential and retail componenft would follow. Sloan said the residential phase was not likeluy to deliver for another five tosix years.
At the time the moratoriujm was set, Donohoe President Peter Gartlanx said his project would likely make it before the boardd in advance ofthe moratorium, adding that the county’sd 2009-2011 growth policy conflicted with the developmenf ban. “The future of the county is inits walkable, transit-oriented areas,” Gartland echoing the growth policy’s findings that Montgomery County shoulrd focus on infill and transit-oriented, mixed-use developments. “We have faitgh the county will solve this problem because urbanm areas like Bethesda are where new development should be he said.
The moratorium will likely last untilnext year’s revie unless the identified areas can show a projectecd drop in enrollment or an ability to host more School expansions may be consideredr in the fall and would be funded by Montgomery County’xs capital improvements program. The boars approved the project witha 3-2 vote but with several The project must achieve a Silver LEED rating and the develope must adjust height limitations, buildinv setbacks, public space and retail Northwest, Northwood, Paint Branch, Quince Orchard, Wheaton, Walter Johnson, Whitman and Richard Montgomery were also identified as areaw that will be overcrowded by more than 105 perceng in 2014.
Developers hoping for subdivision approval in those areasd will have to paya fee.

Six Flags, former Elitch Gardens owner, files for Chapter 11 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

shelly-polymer.blogspot.com
The board of Six Flags (OTCBB: voted last week to begi reorganization proceedingsin U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Districtgof Delaware. The company listed assets of $3.0 3 billion and debts of $2.356 billion in its filing. Cascade the investment firm for Microsoft founder Bill owns 11.1 percent of the votingv securities in New York-based Six Flags, the largest share, bankruptcyu documents show. Six Flags has 97.7 million sharez of common stockand 1.1 million sharezs of preferred stock. "The current management team inheriteda $2.
4 billioj debt load that cannot be particularly in these challenging financial markets," said Mark president and CEO of Six Flags, in a "As a result, we are cleaninvg up the past and positioning the company for futures growth ... Following a record year of performance in which completedthe three-year turnaroundf of our system-wide park this action to clean up the balance sheet paves the way for a full revival of the company," Shapiro said. Elitch Gardens had operated for more than a century at a northwesyDenver site. The old Elitcy Gardens shut down in and a new version of the amusement park opened a year laterd indowntown Denver.
The localp Gurtler family and its financial partners sold the new park to PremiereParks Inc. in 1996 for $65 million. It becams Six Flags Elitch Gardens twoyearas later, when Premier acquired Six Flagss Inc. and changed its corporated name toSix Flags. Six Flags sold off Elitch's and othedr properties in 2007 in a series of transactions that left the Denverr attraction in the hands of CNL IncomsProperties Inc., a real estate investment trustt based in Orlando, Fla. CNL reportedlt paid $312 million for the properties. CNL arranged for Parc Managemen LLC of Florida tomanage Elitch's.
Six Flagse now operates about 20 North Americanamusement

Made to measure: Inventure Design LLC - Houston Business Journal:

gorbunovabowiper.blogspot.com
So, after working for large architectural in 1997 he decided to venturse out on his own and started what was then callec and is now Inventure Design LLC, specializing in corporate and healthj care interior architectural design. Although the company workede onhealth care-related projects early on, it wasn’ until 2005 that the medical side of the business reallty took off, O’Neill says. Since then, Inventure’xs revenue has increased by more than 50 percenftto $4.3 million in 2008 from $2.6 millionm in 2005.
Recognizing the firm’sx strong suit was a learning experienc efor O’Neill, who admits the firm did strah at times into areas it probably shoul d have left alone. “Oncw I get out of business linesthat aren’t my true he says, “it tendxs to be a mistake.” For example, in 2001, Inventur won a contract with the City of Houston. In an attempg to get more government O’Neill hired several people and “spent a bunc h of money getting intothat business.” But “thwe passion wasn’t behind it, so it never took he says. After about 18 months, O’Neill cut his losses and dropped that lineof business.
“We don’ t have the luxury of a big company to make an invest some money andset timelines,” he says. “Thingw become pretty apparent quickl yif they’re working or not O’Neill was head of the interiors group at 3D Internationalp when he decided to start his own company. He savede six months’ worth of salary and planned to spend at least six months gettinh the company offthe ground. But, on the company’es second day in operation, a former client called with a new project he specificallywantex O’Neill to work on. So he hit the grouncd running, basing his new company out of a bedroom in his home for thefirsf year.
Recognizing that some potential clients woulrd not take his firm seriously untill it reached acertain O’Neill made it his goal to grow the company From his first year with just one he gradually added more over time. Today, his firm has 22 O’Neill was determined that his company woule provide clients with the same resources they could get at alargr firm, but with a “more personal hands-o approach.” And while Inventure Design today is significantlhy smaller than some of its competitors, like San Francisco-basec Gensler — which has a Houston office, O’Neill believezs it’s big enough.
“I didn’t set any boundaries or any kind of obligationx for myself about what size the firm was goinhto be,” he says. “I based it on the fact that I wantedr growth. To do larger projects, you need to be of a specifidc size.” One of O’Neill’s biggest challenges has been “toi convince people that we’re small enougj to give them personalizede service but big enough to complete a he says. His backgrouncd in architecture has servedhim well, he says, because he is able to take a structure’se architecture into consideration when designing the interior.
“My clients never feel our designs don’g belong in the building,” he What attracted O’Neill to the field to begin with was its immediacyt andpersonal nature, he says. “You can get passionats about a building, but it’s arm’s-length O’Neill says. “With interiors, it’s thinges people can actually touch. And in reality, peoplr spend as much, or more, time in the office than they do at By theearly 2000s, corporate interiors still representesd 90 percent of the company’zs work.
And although Inventure workes on ahuge 800,000-square-foot project at the Clinical Care Centerf of Texas Children’s Hospital in 1998 — for whicjh it won many awards — it wasn’t until the mid-2000ds that the firm really found its niche in the health care industry and got “heavy into medical,” O’Neill says. The succesds of the Texas Children’s Hospital project led to another large projectf with The University ofTexas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for the 800,000 square feet of clinic interioras at its ambulatorycare facility.
In 2005, the firm which in 2000 had changed its nameto O’Neill Hill afte r Mollie Hill joined it as an additionalp principal — merged with the interiors department of FKP Architects and changeed its name to O’Neill Hill and In January 2009, following Hill’e departure, the company was relaunched as Inventure Design LLC. This year 50 percentt of Inventure’s work will be health accordingto O’Neill. “The medical side is stil doingvery well, while the corporate side is takintg a breather as Wall Street figures out wherse it’s going,” he says. But rapied growth was accompanied by mistakex that impacted thebottok line, O’Neill says.
Since Inventure hit the grounds running from veryearly on, O’Neill says he didn’ get around to hiring an accountanty until much later. “That was a big he says. “By the time I brought one on, we ended up spending a ton of money trying to unravep three or four years of me doingthe Never, ever again.” Today, Inventure occupiews nearly 7,000 square feet of space in Greenway Moving to the space from a 2,500-square-foot office, “was a giant leap,” according to With the growth of the O’Neill recognized he needed help in addition to an In August 2007, he hirede a chief operations officer.
“kI get to do marketing and clientr contact and designcertain projects,” O’Neill says, “but I sit at the bottom of the pyramide now.” Kyle Kelly, a senior vice presidengt with CB Richard Ellis, has worked with Inventure on a number of projectsw over the years. “They’re one of the bettet groups in town,” he “Very client-oriented. They’re good from a desigbn perspective and from anorganizational perspective.” Kelly also appreciateds the way Inventure has held its own despite being smaller than some of its “I think they’re large enough to handle biggef projects,” he says.
“They’re also smalkl enough to be very entrepreneurial in their he adds. “It’s to theit benefits and their clients’.”

AMRI finishes building Budapest plant - The Business Review (Albany):

houghtalingbaemo1268.blogspot.com
Thomas D’Ambra, CEO of the Albany, N.Y.-baseed drug development and manufacturing said the moveinto 32,3009 square feet of laboratory and administrativde space marks a significant mileston in ’s plan to transform its Europeanh hub into a “higher value discovery services business” through consolidation of multipls locations, equipment and operating costs. D’Ambra said the new site offersAMRI AMRI) significant improvements in operational efficiencies and enhanced technology and provides room for an anticipated expansion of the company’es synthetic chemistry services, which are projected to double over the next five years.
“The successful completionb of this expansion increases the ability of AMRI to execute on its strategy to accelerats growth and expand its presence in the European he said. “Critical to the decisionj to undertake this project wasthe company’s drive to cultivatd a customer base relatively We believe this latestr investment, along with our parallel investments in the US, India and Singapore, will further strengthen AMRI’s presenced as a premier provider of a broad rang of scientific services, capabilities and geographic choicesx around the globe.
”

Department of Corrections paying dearly on group of personnel claims - Billings Gazette

iwegasely.wordpress.com

Department of Corrections paying dearly on group of personnel claims Billings Gazette HELENA â€" If a former Department of Corrections attorney wins her request that the state pay her legal costs for a human rights claim against the agency, it won't be the only cost the department has paid for several personnel complaints from within its ... and more »

Bernanke Questioned On Fed's New Policies - Wall Street Journal

gorbunovabowiper.blogspot.com

Wall Street Journal

Bernanke Questioned On Fed's New Policies Wall Street Journal By JON HILSENRATH It is becoming a regular ritual for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: Announce new policies and get grilled about them by congressional lawmakers. Associated Press House Budget Committee chief Paul Ryan pressed Fed Chairman Ben ... and more »

DownEast Basics opens at Superstition Springs Mall - Phoenix Business Journal:

ovaluleq.wordpress.com
The women’s clothing retailer opened Dec. 12 in Mesa in time for shoppera to visit its first Arizona storew prior tothe holidays. DownEasft also has a kiosk location atChandlere Mall. “This, no doubt, has been a challengingy year forretailers nationwide, so we feel extremelh proud to have been able to expandd and offer Arizona shoppers stylish, yet affordable clothing gift option s in time for the said Jonathan Freedman, vice presidentr of apparel. The 1,400-square-foot Mesa storde is the chain’s 42nd location, with units also in Utah, Idaho and Lisa Deets, who had managesd a kiosk for the chain, is headin g up the new Mesa store, whicy has seven other employees.
“Wew will keep focused on providing great styles at affordablwe prices and rely onour hard-working staff to deliver an excellent shopping experience to our customers,” she