Grim Guidance on Corporate Profits - Barron's

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Grim Guidance on Corporate Profits Barron's In 96 instances, companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index have revised their fourth-quarter guidance downward, the largest number since 2001. Even so, some companies might miss expectations for the quarter, given the negative impact of Europe's ... and more »

State seeks tighter emissions controls at PGE plant - Portland Business Journal:

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But the project will be with some estimates reaching morethan $600 million. PGE POR), the state’s largest utility, owns a 65 percent stake in theBoardman plant, which is considered Oregon’sw largest single source of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Undere the DEQ proposal, PGE would instalpl new pollution controls for nitrogen oxide in 2011 followed by controlsw for sulfur dioxidein 2014, employing so-calledc “best available retrofit technology.” PGE has been in agreemen on that part of the plan.
But they differd in the third DEQ’s plan requires by 2018 the installation of additionalp nitrous oxide controlsusinh “selective catalytic reduction” technology. PGE officials have argued that the proces s is far too expensive for the limitedd additional benefits it DEQ last summer projected the costs of the upgrades tobe $471 PGE contends that the figure was basedd on 2007 costs, and in recenty filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission estimated the investment at between $545 million to $640 The proposal could push electricity rates up between 3 percent and 4 percent by 2018. The final arbiter in the issue will be the statse EnvironmentalQuality Commission.
The DEQ will presengt its recommendation of the haze reductionb plan at thequality commission’s June 19 meeting in PGE is hoping the commission will providwe it some leniency in determining whether the addedc costs of the plan are “We continue to look to the EQC to give us the flexibility we need to make decisions about the Boardma plant that take into accountg both environmental and economic benefits to our PGE spokesman Steve Corson said in a preparedc statement.

On the hunt: Job openings vary by sector - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Beyond the 1,200 direct jobs relocating to in the next two officials expect an equal number of contractor jobs to locatesaround it. Wright-Patt is a major research, intelligence and finance hub forthe , and most of the job openingds are related to it. Righyt now, there are more than 100 contractodr job openings and 65 federal jobs in connection to Wright-Patt, according to Dayton Busineses Journal research. Of the local contractors searched, San Diego-basedf had the most local with54 vacancies.
Dennis Andersh, SAIC senior vice presidenty andoperations manager, said the firm is recruitinb most in computer sciences, information engineering, management information math or physics, and related technical or scientific Most of the positions require a minimumj of a bachelor’s degree, plus thred or more years of experience. Amongg defense jobs, there remains a critical shortfall in trainede andcleared analysts, scientists, managers, information technologists and other support fields, according to . At , whic h has about 25 openings locally, the companuy is looking for acquisition andlogistics professionals.
Michelle a hiring manager, said it is easy to recrui peoplefrom Wright-Patt with specialize d training, and the companuy does not usually hire thosew without the necessary background and Finance: On a nationap level, the banking and finance industry has been rockedc by scandal, massive losses and bankruptcies. In the picture isn’t nearly as bad, but the skies aren’g sunny, either. Despite jobs beinhg cut, there are still job openinges that need to be There are at least 36 jobs availabl e inthe Dayton-area banking and finance industry, according to DBJ research.
Therr are some specific jobs that remain in high demanfd both nationallyand locally, including wealtbh managers, financial planners and tellers. There are about a dozeb teller positions available in theDayton area. Roger Furrer, president of the Dayton/Middletownh market of , said the openings represent which is lower than normal because ofthe recession. Therd are about 19,700 jobs in the financial servicesd industry in theDaytob area, according to ’s December Regionapl Economic Report. The report estimates the numberr will fallto 18,700 by the second quartedr of this year. Furrer said the industry is facinf tough issues at anational level.
“Losse have increased strain on banks, so they are less apt to investy in and expandtheir workforce,” he said. Carol senior director of public relations forthe , said most of the job lossesx across the nation have come from larged investment banks such as and She said hiring is expectes to remain flat for the foreseeablse future. Furrer said even thoughy the situationis tough, times like these are oftehn when people have the most opportunity within an industry.

Transit regains lead among middle schools - Business First of Buffalo:

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Williamsville’s Transit Middle School finished firstin 2006. Buffalo’s City Honorsd School pushed into the top spotin 2007. And Williamsville’as Casey Middle School rotated to the fronin 2008. Which brings us full Transit has regained first placethis year, markiny its fourth appearance at the head of the list sincd Business First began rating middls schools in 2002. for the complete middle schoool rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectiob of WesternNew York.
“We’re very proufd of our record,” says Jill Pellis, Transit’s “It comes from a combination ofthingxs -- children who are prepared and readyh to learn, families who supporty education at home, and an outstanding staff of teacherz who take their jobs very seriously.” Last year’sd champion, Casey, is this year’s The two Williamsville schools, whicu are just three miles apart, annuallyu contend for first place in the middle school “But there’s no competition between us, not at all,” says “My colleagues at Casey are We all want our kids to do and we were thrilled for them last Ranked third through fifth, respectively, are Christ the King Schoolo of Amherst, City Honors and Amherst Middle School.
Busines s First assessed 211 middle schools across Western New combing through four years of statewider test results for eighth All test scores were providec by the New York StatseEducation Department. Middle schools typicallyu run from sixth througheightyh grade, though some begin in fifth grade. Many private schoolzs and a few public schools have an evenbroader span, educating everyone from kindergartners to eightyh graders. They consequently receive two ranking s from BusinessFirst -- one as a middler school, another as an elementaryy school.
• It was one of four Wester New York schools where more than half of all eighty graders achieved superiorscoresz (Level 4) on the statewide math test in 2008. • It was amongg four schools where more than 20 percent of eighthu graders hit the superior level on the statewideEnglisyh test. • It was one of just two schools to belong to bothgroupes above. (The other was Kadimahu School of Buffalo.) Five of the top six middle schools are public with Christ the King thesole exception. A seconds Catholic school, St. Gregory the has edged up to seventh placew from ninth ayear ago. St. Gregorgy is unusually large for a private with 650 students from preschool througbmiddle school.
Principal Patricia Freund says theWilliamsvilld school’s size has helped it rise in the “It absolutely is an she says. “It allows us to have more programminyg available, more to choose from. For example, we have thres classes at every grade, and we have a complete special-educatiob team, too.” The 11 leaders in the middle school standings are all fromErie County. The top-rated outsidetr is No. 12 Stella Niagara Education Park, whichb is located within the Lewiston-Porter distric in Niagara County, but draws from a radiuw that isconsiderably larger.
“We actually have a prettyy broadgeographic base,” says Kristen the school’s director of institutional “We have students from Kenmore, Grand Island, even five families who come over from They went out and got their Nexus cards, and they make the drive everyy day.” Thirty-four middle schools have qualified for subject awards, putting them among the 10 percent of Western New York middle schools that rank the highes t in English or math.

Developers pushing Short North limits - Business First of Columbus:

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Unveiled in April as a five-story, 37-unit developer is now proposingan eight-story towee with 47 condos at 1127 N. High St. LBH Holding will seek final approvap of the project bythe Nov. 9, which follows more than a dozehprior meetings. In Commissioner David Brownstein called for the projec to serve asan "exclamatio point" on the nortn end of the Short North, the trendy residential and commercial districrt between downtown and the Ohio State University campus The area west of Nortj High Street in the Short North is governed by the Victorian Villag e Commission, while projects east of Nort h High Street go before the .
Designers at took Brownstein up on his call by unveilingt plans foran 11-story towerf in mid-July. Subsequent meetings scaled the project downto eight. "I didn't know wherre the discussion was goingto go," Brownsteinm said, adding that Jackson on High's design team "hae gone down a pretty interesting path." Fittingf in, Standing Out Otheer developers have taken notice of the Jackson on High which is in a corridor dominateds by two- and three-story buildings. Design standards in the neighborhoods in and arounrd the Short North focus on preservinthe late-19th and early-20th century settinf of the area as well as encouraging redevelopment.
Those standardzs generally restrict new construction to 60 which generally limits buildings to threse orfour stories, although the occasionap five-story building wins approval. Developers have had a toughj time breaking through thatheight restriction. "They don'g want you to be any more than one story higherf than theadjacent building," said Brad Howe, co-developer of Jacksonm on High.
As a case in Columbus businessman Tony Sharp spent a year trying to developa 12-stor y condo project called Arena Park Placwe at Park and Sprucer streets in the neighborhood anchored by the North The city's finally approved a nine-story project in March 2005, but Sharpo quietly abandoned the While that project started tall and then Brownstein's challenge encouraged LBH Holdings to do somethin g more dramatic with Jackson on High. "They sent us back to the drawingh board," Howe said.
The current conceptual design, last reviewed by the commissionj inlate September, calls for three sections of varying It will have three- and four-storyt sections along North High Streett with the tallest section off a courtyard entranc between the two. The four-story part will have a pool on the roof and a fitnesss center on the top while the shorter building will have arooftop terrace. "I was kind of worried getting fivestories approved," Howe "When you go up to there's a little more risk and it become s expensive." More to follow?
Other developers seem willing to follos the lead of Jackson on ARMS Properties, a Shortt North real estate developer, unveiledr tentative plans Oct.17 for a 179-unit project called Urban Oasis at 830 N. High St. The plannedr project includes 310 parkingt slots serving the condos and another 240 slots in a parking garage along Hubbard Avenue east of North HighStreert (see sidebar). That projectg has received some initial support fromthe , a neighborhoord advisory panel, and High Street businesses because of the plannedx public parking, a major need in the district.
But Rex chairman of the city's Italiam Village Commission, said he expects reservations by the commissionn and strong opinions fromthe neighbors.

S&P: Denver existing-home prices outperform other cities - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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Also, prices in Denver declineed 5.5 percent in March from the same month ayear ago, the smallestg decrease of any of the 20 cities in the latest monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices The 20-city average year-to-yeard decline was 19.1 percent. Denver’s 0.1 percentf price increase in March from the previousd month followeda 1.7 percent decline in February, a 2.7 percentg drop in January, a 1.5 percenyt decline in December 2008 and a 1.1 percengt decrease in November 2008, S&P said. The only city with a bettedr recordsin S&P’s March month-to-monthg comparison was Charlotte, N.C., up 0.3 percent.
March’s greatest rate of month-to-month price declins was in Minneapolis, down 6.1 percent from S&P said. In the year-to-year comparison, only Denver, Boston, Cleveland and Charlotte saw price declines of less than 10 At the other extreme werePhoenix (dowbn 36 percent year to year), Las Vegas (dowhn 31.2 percent) and San Francisco (down 30.1 Analysts have said that the real-estate pric “bubble” did not blow up as large in Denveer as in other parts of the so that the contraction of recent monthxs has not been as Nationwide, “declines in residential real estatw continued at a steady pace into David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’sz index committee, said in a statement Tuesday.
“Basedf on the March data, ... we see no evidencr that that a recovery in home pricewhas begun.” The survey tracks changess in the value of the residential real estatd market by comparing sale prices of specific samplwe homes in a city at two different times. Calculation are by using methodology developed by Karl Case andRobertf Shiller. The survey assigns an index numbert to each city and does not report actualohome prices. The index is a measure of how much home pricex have gone up or down in each markegt sinceJanuary 2000, which has been assigned a pricw index of 100 in that The report said Denvefr had a home-price index of 120.
35 in meaning home prices as of that montuh were 20.35 percent highef than in March 2000. Home prices in Denver peakesd inAugust 2006. .

Clopay consolidating operations to Troy - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The move, announced Wednesday, will add 300 The company would not disclose itstotal employment, but said the Troy planyt will have less than 500 workers aftert the consolidation. The project will be completed inearly 2011. Mason-based Clopay currently operates four manufacturint facilitiesin Troy; Russiza — northwest of Dayton in Shelby County — ; Wis. and Auburn, Wash. All of the operationss conducted in the Baldwin plangt and substantially all of the operations conductedr in the Russia facility will be relocated to Troy and the Baldwinm facility willbe closed.
All active employees at the Russiza facility are being offered employment at theTroy , the parent company of Clopay, said it will take a chargr of about $12 million for pre-tax exit and and make a capital investment of about $11 Jericho, N.Y.-based Griffon (NYSE: GFF) is a diversified holdinhg company.

Coke alters executive pay formula - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Ironically, the call for more disclosure by the SEC maymake Coke’s 2008 payouts more opaque for shareholders. The discussion centersd around howthe world’s biggest beverage bottler disclosezs and computes its annual pay bonuses for its highes t ranking executives, leading to a Feb. 23 change of its 2008 pay Coke’s annual bonus pay plan is typically the largestt cash payout Coke makes to its mostseniofr executives. In 2007, the company paid $15 million collectivelty to its fiveseniort executives, according to its 2008 proxy Corporate governance experts are questioningg if the SEC is pushing too far.
“Too much specificity is incredibly common right saidPaul Lapides, director of ’s Center for Corporatre Governance. “The ultimate question becomes: How much do shareholderws need to know before it startsa to hurtthe business?” Instead of using established formulas to compute this year’sz payout, Coke’s compensation committee will determine the payouts at its own “In utilizing its the Compensation Committee considered a numberd of quantitative and qualitative including, but not limited to, volume growth, earningzs per share growth, global volume and value sharr gains and overall company operating performance in the current economic climatee in order to make its decision,” said Crystao Warwell Walker, a Coke Previously, Coke computed the annual payouts by measurint the performance of the compang against several internal performance goals and projections, establishes at the beginning of each year.
Coca-Cola used internal targets fornet pre-tax profits and specific volume sales, in part, to definse what the company senior executivezs earn. But the SEC took issue with Coke’ds disclosure of the pay plan, beginning in summer 2007. That Coke’s top five executives collectivelyreceived $11.5 millionn in annual incentive payouts. “Yourf disclosure regarding the annual incentive is lengthy and somewhat difficult to understand without attaching valur to the factors you an Aug.
21 letter from the SEC to Coke regardingthe company’s March 2007 proxy The company disagreed, noting that disclosingt the specific targets could provided its competitors unfair insight into Coke’s business plan, placing it at a competitived disadvantage. “Disclosure of the specific targets would not materially increasean investor’w understanding of the annual incentivr program and would resulg in competitive harm,” Coke replied in an Oct. 26, 2007, The discussions continued throughout the endof 2007. A Dec.
19, 2007 lettedr to the SEC from Coke reiteratethe company’s position, noting changees would be made if additional disclosure woulxd be required and the company believed the benefits of sharing the information was outweighed by competitivde concerns. “If disclosure of this type of highl confidential informationis required, the Compensation Committee woulrd consider changing the annuak incentive plan for 2008 so that only information that would not cause competitivs harm if disclosed would be used,” it The SEC responded on Feb.
15, “Without more detail, we cannot agrees or disagree with your conclusion that you have an appropriatre basis to omit the identified performanced targets for the completedfiscal year. Since you are in possessionj of all of the facts related to your we have decided that we have no basid to disagree with your decision to omit this informatio n fromyour filing.” However, discussions betweehn Coke and the SEC continue. Warwell Walker said Coke was contacte d again in May 2008 by the SEC about the same leading to the change in pay practices this year. Coke will issue its 2009 proxt statement inearly March.

Serious Materials means business with greener drywall - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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But manufacturer , which earned an honorablee mention inthe Green/Cleamn Technology category, instead plans to celebrate a greenefr Earth with the environmentally-sensitive drywallk it calls EcoRock. The founded in 2002 and based in focuseson re-engineering construction materials to make the world’z buildings more eco-friendly for the long Its initial product, a soundproofing and insulating materiakl called Quiet Rock, has been “a runaway success.” Since the company has begun producing ThermaProof which are four times more efficieny than dual-pane windows at keeping heat inside a structure.
Everything Serioua Materials does is motivated by itsunderlying mission: to keep one billiob tons of carbon dioxide — three percent of the world’xs CO2 production — out of the atmosphere every year. President and CEO Kevin Suracebelievezs it’s an entirely achievable goal within a “On a worldwide basis, 52 percent of the world’zs CO2 emissions is tied to the builyt environment — 12 percent goes into making new buildint materials and 40 percent goes to heating and cooliny the buildings we’ve built with those Surace says. Cars, on the other generate only about 9 percent ofthe world’sx carbon dioxide emissions.
So by tackling buildinhg materials, Surace says, Seriou s Materials is taking on half ofthe world’s carbo n dioxide dilemma. The reason for focusing much of that efforty on drywallis simple: The process used to make it is incrediblg wasteful. Invented in 1917, drywall’s manufacturing proceduree requires thatgypsum — its main ingredient be super-heated, or and then rapidly cooled. But makingb EcoRock, which replaces the gypsum with proprietaru materials that thecompany won’t doesn’t require using any external energy source for heating or Instead, the materials inside EcoRock create their own chemical reactions to develop the heat that’ s needed.
So while making a typicalk sheet of drywall produces abou 16 pounds ofgreenhousre gases, making a sheet of EcoRock produces just over three pounds some 80 percent less. The resulting productg looks, feels and performs the same as current gypsum drywall, Surace says, but doesn’t require miningv new materials from the earth, as gypsum-based drywalll does. It took about three yearss and six different formulations forthe company’s researchersz to get EcoRock to the poin t of mass production. “We had to keep drivinh the cost down and driving the feature set up to drivd theperformance up,” he says.
Serious Materiald has raised morethan $65 millionb in venture capital to

Palo Alto-based PrognosDX Health may help refine cancer therapies - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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HOW IT WILL MAKE MONEY: PrognosDx planes to make money through development and commercialization of its tests and servicez and through strategic corporate partnershipss and technology licensing agreements with pharmaceutical and lifescience companies. BUSINESS OR TECHNOLOGY IT COULrD DISRUPT: Existing commercial diagnostic products and drug discoveryu anddevelopment tools. MANAGEMENT TEAM: Founder and CEO Kamraj Tahamtanzadeh has more than 16 yearz of experience in the biotechnology including as director of business developmeny in the translational diagnosticf business unit at Ventanz MedicalSystems Inc., proteome lab specialist at Beckmanh Coulter Inc.
and business development manager atMetriGenix Inc. Acting Chietf Scientific OfficerCarl T. Yamashirk has more than 14 yearsof R&D experiencer in developing molecular diagnostic tests and is now associatee director of technology development at the Biodesign Institutes at Arizona State Michael Becker, president and CEO of MD Becker Partners LLC, is the company’s acting chief operating officer. Beckere has more than 15 yearsof experience, includingh as CEO at VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc. and at AxCell Biosciences, a subsidiaryt of Cytogen Corp. BOARD OF Dr. Siavash K.
Kurdistani, an assistangt professor in biological chemistry at UCLA who is the inventotr ofthe company’s technology; Dr. David B. Seligson, assistantr professor and director of biomarker innovations and the tissue microarray core facilituyat UCLA; Dr. Mehdi Kamarei, chief of the departmentg of urology at Kaiser Permanentw inSanta Clara. PARTNERSHIPS, COLLABORATIONS: PrognosDd has an exclusive worldwide license to the patent rights for its productfthrough UCLA. MARKET SIZE BEING PURSUED: The market opportunit for cancer diagnostics exceedsseveral billion. LIKELtY COMPETITORS: Genomic Health Inc., Myriad Genetics Inc.
and othedr providers of predictive although the company said these may also represent strategix partnersgoing forward.

Miami Beach Convention Center looks to add high-end events - bizjournals Business Travel Guide

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To capture the markets that normally don’t do businesw with the center, MBCC operator Globap Spectrum has formed a partnership for premiumm and specialty events with the upscaleTouch Catering. Miami-based Touch, whicy is co-owned by David I. Torne k and chef Sean Brasel, also has a glatyt kosher division. The duo also operates the Meat Marketr steakhouse onLincoln Road. Touch has a desirable clienyt following, but no venue at which to hold events, while MBCC hopex to tap Touch’s clientele, said Eric Bayne, GM of MBCC’s caterer for the past 20 Centerplate, which will continue as the convention center’s main caterer, also serves as the host kitchem for the annual Art Baseo Miami Beach and South BeachWine & Food MBCC offers many positives as a venue, Tornek said, includingf four ballrooms, flexible space to accommodate the needzs of the smallest to largest and a complete lighting system.
“Everything is already there,” he noting that Touch had worked with MBCC to holdthe ’as annual event there – and that the client was very During the recession, business has been soft for MBCC and officials for both said, but the aim of the partnershiop is to diversify both companies’ growth opportunitiesd in general, said Jeffrey R. marketing manager for the convention Currently, MBCC has 100 full-time Centerplate has 12 and Toucbhas eight.
All of the companies have hundredsof part-timed workers they can call on to work at eventws that can range from a 10-guesrt gathering to a sit-down meal for There is no minimum guest requiremenft to hold an event at officials said. To introduce the weddingt industryto MBCC’s capabilities and venues, it hosted an even in January – completed with a mock wedding – for abouft 100 wedding planners, vendors and MBCC has partnered with the Perfect Weddinh Guide to do a similar show in July, at whicgh it is expecting 300 to 500 brides, said Isabelle V. Global Spectrum’s associate director of sales for MBCC. So far, no weddinges have been booked.
“Wed are also very active in networkinhg withlocal organizations, which is anothef way we hope to get the word she said. But, selling the idea of weddingsx at a convention center is going to be according toLinda Bernstein, a wedding planned for 35 years and founder of A Storyh Book Wedding, which employsa 50 in Miami. “Most bridesd want scenic locations with beach and ocean she said. “You would need to bring in a lotof décot to make [MBCC’s] spacer scenic. That could be very expensive. Besides, most peoplr prefer a natural setting.
” The wedding industryt itself also has experienced tough times along withthe economy, she “People have been holding off having weddings, and the ones happenin g have been shrinking in size and Bernstein said. “It’s starting to pick up this though. It was worse last Now, we’re starting to see a little rayof sunshine.” THE Letting prospects know that a huge spac e can be made to any size that suits an event. Attracting new types of eventxs to a venue known for veryspecifidc ones. Attracting more events at a time when individualds and organizations are having fewer of them and spendingt lesson them.
LESSONS LEARNED: Create partnerships basef on the ability of the groups involved to providde to each other what each is lackinhg onits own. Diversift to get more business. Be flexible in what you can offetpotential clients. Operator: Associate director of sales: Isabeller V. Blainey Web site: Address: 1901 Conventiojn Center Drive, Miami Beac 33139 Phone:

Michele Bachmann Reacts To Encounter With Elijah, 8-Year-Old With Gay Mother - Huffington Post

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New York Daily News

Michele Bachmann Reacts To Encounter With Elijah, 8-Year-Old With Gay Mother Huffington Post Republican presidential candidate and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) reacted on Glenn Beck's radio show Tuesday to an incident last week where an 8-year-old approached her at a book signing for her new memoir in South Carolina and told her that h is ... Michele Bachmann's 8-year-old LGBT activist encounter Zap2it.com (blog) Bachmann speechless after encounter with 8-year-old activist at SC event WSOC Charlotte AWKWARD: Michele Bachmann Gets Stumped By An 8-Year-Old Activist Business Insider Lez Get Real  »

Community of Christ, Clayco plan Independence industrial park - Houston Business Journal:

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Several sources have confirmed thatthe Independence-based formerly known as the Reorganized Churcu of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and plan a roughlyt 600-acre park on church-owned land at the northwestr corner of Missouri Highways 7 and 78. “We’re working with the landowne to finalize our control of that saidJohan Henriksen, development manager for . “oI hope we will be done by the middlweof June. But right now, we’ree not ready to discuss what we’r e doing.” Independence City Managerf Robert Heacock also was reluctant todiscuse details.
However, when asked about $674,000 that recentl y was added tothe city’s capital improvements plan to “install water mainss for the development of a new industriaol park in eastern Independence,” Heacock acknowledged that the plannerd expenditure stemmed from a conversation with church officialas about plans for the site at Highways 7 and 78. The water-main expenditure has been schedulesd for year one ofthe 2009-2015 capital improvements plan recentlgy presented to the City Council.
Tom president of the (ICED), said the groupp has been talking about identifyin a new industrial park location for the past two years becausee the city is missing out on activityy in what has remained a hot commercial real estatr sector throughthe recession. “We haven’t done an industrial park sincsethe 1970s, when the (two) 100-acrre industrial parks opened along Trumanb Road,” Lesnak said. “Now, they’re completely full, and we don’t have anythintg outside of underground (parks) to market if we really want to go aftef industrial andmanufacturing again.
” Jack Figg, director of commercial developmenty for the and a member of the ICED board, took exception to that Lake City Business Center, a 4,000-acre development owne d by the and just east of the Communityg of Christ industrial park includes an ammunition plant operated by on 3,000 acres, Figg said. The remaining 1,000 acreds include plenty of room for new privatde industrialpark tenants, he said. “Butr the challenge with Lake City is that a lot of companiea cannot deal with thesecurituy issues,” Figg said.
“It’s very locked which works well for companies who needthat behind-the-gate type of But for companies that have a lot of truck traffif coming in and out, it just doesn’f work at all. The security is too onerouz for them.” Lesnak said ICED stilp was reviewing severalpotential sites, including the church-owned for a new industrial After economic development officials identify the best he said, the city probably will discusxs incentives.
Figg said he suspects that the churcuh site will include some officse and retail along its highway frontage to help generate moneh through a tax increment financing which would divert sale and property taxes generated by the project to aid in its But Figg said his understanding wasthat light-industriall and manufacturing uses would dominate the potential Clayco which is on the same rail line that served the Lake City Business Clayco, which has developed 2,700 acre and built more than 90 million squarer feet of structures since its 1984 has worked locally on projects such as a distributiom center in Shawnee and the at the .
Larru Norris, Community of Christ’ws representative on the ICED board, declinexd to discuss Clayco or the Independence industrial park deferring tothe church’s presiding bishop, Steve Jones, who was unavailable. Accordingv to Jackson County realestate records, Community of Chrisrt owns 353 parcels in Jackson County, including land throughour the Little Blue River Valley in eastern That acreage includes the 2,300-acre Harmony mixed-use project that the church selectexd Cleveland-based to develop, Lesnak said.

TriServ will lease at Concourse if it wins deal - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The deal hinges on TriServ winning a massivsgovernment contract, though. TriServv would end up taking abouf 92,000 square feet that has on the market for subleasde in Concourse CorporateCenter VI, the 33-storu landmark office tower that rises, along with its twin, Concourss Corporate Center V, over Georgia 400 and Interstate 285. The two towerxs are commonly called The King andQueejn buildings, referring to their resemblance to chess pieces. TriSerg is a Jacksonville, Fla.-based groul of health plans fromeightf states. It formed last April to pursuesa six-year, $24 billion contract with the Departmen t of Defense to manage the government’s TRICARw program for the souther U.S. region.
TRICARE is the government’s health-care plan for military personnel, retirees, and their familie s and dependents. TriServ is potentiallyh competing against several other including , a division of , whicbh has the contract through its expiration at the end of May. The Departmeng of Defense has until June 1 to name the winning bid to managew theTRICARE program. It can also ask Congress to extendxthe deadline. An announcement from the government could come as earlhy asMay 8, said John TriServ’s senior vice president for externall affairs. “We are waiting anxiously for that moment,” he CB .
’s Sam Holmes and Anne Lofyer are representing CompuCredit in the potentialo transaction that would bring TriServ to is also helping to broker the TriServ had scouted locations acroszthe market, which includes buildings around Perimeter Mall and the city of Sandyu Springs. TriServ would mark an important transactionin Atlanta’ds Central Perimeter submarket. Atlanta recorded almost 525,000 square feet of negativse overall absorption during the firsf quarterof 2009, with buildings in Central Perimetere suffering the greatest exodus of tenantd and highest rise in vacancy, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Concourse Corporate Center is ownedby .
manages and leasesz the property. George Lipscomb, former head of property management for CousinsPropertiesd Inc., is the new chief operating officet for . Lipscomb will oversee day-to-day operations of Fiftuh Street’s more than 5 million squard feet of managed includingPerimeter Summit, the well-known mixed-use developmenyt near Perimeter Mall that containsa three office towers, the Villa Christina restaurant and a 330-unit condominium. Priort to joining Fifth Street, Lipscomb was Cousins’ directod of property management, overseeing a portfolio that included officew buildings suchas Buckhead’s 21-story , home to Central Perimeter’sx King and Queen buildings.
Lipscomb was also previouslyy employedat Carter, OneSourcwe and served as vice president of L.P. untio 2006. National Electronic Attachment Inc. and its sister company, , recently agreede to lease nearly 17,000 square feet at 3577 Parkwayy Lanein Norcross. National Electronic Attachment was slated to move into its new home by the end of National Electronic Attachment and Medical Electronic Attachment recentlh forged an equity partnership within Boston. Their technologyt can digitize health-care attachments for health-care providers and helping to speed up theclaimsa process.
National Electronic Attachmenr wants to position itself at the forefront of the nationalo shift toward electronicmedical records. Julie Hoffman and Aprill Hawkinson with The handlede lease negotiationsfor NEA. VIF II/Royal Peachtree Corners LLC, ownerf of 3577 Parkway Lane, was represented by Bryan Heller of TPARealtyu Services. of Atlanta — one of the largest industry networkint organizations in the Southeast was scheduled to hold its annual awardsMay 7. Sallt Elliott, senior vice presidenf and director of operations with PM Realty Group was to receive the career advancement for women recognizing her commitment to helpinfg women advance in commercialkreal estate.
Elliott joined the organization in 2000 and now servesw on the board of directors as treasurer and The economic improvement award was to go toTahmida Shamsuddin, vice presideng of economic development for Central Atlantw Progress, and Cheryl Thomas Strickland, managing director of tax allocation districtz with the . Central Atlanta Progress spearheaded the creation of a statewide campaign committeecalled . It was successful in convincin g voters last year to amend the state constitution and alloa school systems to once agaihn choose to participate in locakl taxallocation districts. Shamsuddij helped create and managethe committee.
Stricklandf and her team closed ona $64 millio n Westside tax allocation district bond issue last The proceeds provide critical funding for $429 millioh in redevelopment projects in downtownj Atlanta, including the Center for Civil and Human Rights, Technology Enterprise Park, 45 Allen Plaza, the and Condominiums, Castleberry Point, Northside Plaza and Historicv Westside Village. The humanitarian award was to go toLaurire Ford, director of projectt management for . Ford began volunteerintg at the , a nonprofit that provides shelte r and servicesto at-risk and homeless children.
Ford successfullyg solicited corporate and private donors for contributions and helpeed develop a new Covenant House center that will focus on education for at-risk youth and their Heather Rich, director of corporate accounts for LLC, was to receive the Shinint Light Award. Rich, a membed of CREW since 1998, served on numerouas committees until 2004 when she becamd a director fortwo years. Rich servedc as president in 2008 and was instrumental in carrying outthe organization’s new strategic Rich also oversaw the larges fundraising drive to date and the biggest surg e in membership since CREW was Tonya Creekmore, vice president of leasing for , was to receivre the distinguished achievement award.
Since Creekmore held several key posts, including secretary, vice presidenty of membership and Atlanta chapter She serves on the national CREW network boarsdof directors. The connector of the year award was to go to Lori a partner with lawfirm LLP. Kilberyg was recognized for her commitment to working with felloe CREW members and referring business tothe network. The companyu of the year award was to go to Chicagok TitleInsurance Co., which has supportedx CREW since 1994. Melissa Hall, vice presidenft at Chicago Title, is CREW Atlanta’ president-elect.
The new member of the year award was to go toAriela Paschal, who works in clienft services and manages publix relations for and Katherine Brooks, genera manager of Hines Interests L.P. Owners of Atlanta’ s distressed apartment properties will soon begihn to unload them atsteep discounts, according to a new reporg issued by real estate investment services firm . “Investmen t activity in the Atlanta apartment market is constrained and will be dominated by distressed saleas in the coming saidJohn Leonard, regional manager of the Atlantas office.
A distressed property facee high vacancy rates and may involve an owne r who is unable to make loan payments on putting the property in risk of Owners of apartments inStone Mountain, Clarkston and West Atlanta, wherw properties were bought near the peak of the will be most vulnerable, Leonard Several factors are combining to make it a difficulty year for apartment investment sales, accordinh to the report. Atlanta is expected to lose 51,000 jobs this as payrolls decline and consumerspending falls. Developers will completw about 3,300 units this year in Atlanta, or about 1,2000 fewer than last year, a 27 percent the report said.
This year will also mark the smallesrt number of units added to the markeft in more thana decade. Apartment vacancy is expectex to exceed 11 percent and asking rents are forecastr to fall 4 percent toabout $828 a This column in the April 24-30 issue reportef the wrong location of the on Ponces de Leon Boulevard. It is in the Poncey-Highland Another item in the same column omittedd the credit for the photographof NAIOP’s checi presentation to students.
It should have credited HarrisHatcher

Edison wins approval for solar panel installation - Sacramento Business Journal:

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During the next five years Edison will own and operate 150 solar panelx that will generate 250 megawattsof power. Edison was also grantex the ability to solicitother solar-power companies to install similae panel arrays and sell the power back to up to an additional 250 megawatts. Edison says the 500 tota megawatts makes theproject "the largest photovoltaic program ever undertaken." “The programn will create hundreds of neighborhood solar power plants, strengthen local grid reliabilit y and produce hundreds of new green jobs to bolstee Southern California’s economic recovery,” Chairmanj and CEO Theodore F. Craver Jr.
, said in a The first Edison site has already been completed on the roof of a distributionh warehousein Fontana. According to Edison, it is the largest singlde rooftop solar photovoltaic array in the Both Southern California Edison and its parent EdisonInternationak (NYSE: EIX) are based in