Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Colorado state employees make pitch for pay - Denver Business Journal:

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billion in tax exemptions that the state offers in order to improve pay and healthj carefor state-government workers. The request came two weekw after an audit stated that Colorad o state employees make an average of 7 percent more than peopl working similar jobs in the public orprivatee sectors. And it came just hourz after the JBC learned that it must closea $384 million shortfall in the statee budget for the fiscap year that begins July 1. The finao budget for the 2009-10 fiscapl year requires state employees to takea 1.82 percenyt cut in personal compensation.
Employees are expected to take four furlougg days during the fiscal year and are looking at othe r ways to hit the totaolcompensation reduction, said Scott Wasserman, political director for Coloradi Wins, the state workers’ union. But Sheldon a sergeant with the state’s La Vista warned that the hiring freez that is in place has led to mandatory overtimew and lower staffing levels than those that are recommended in Department ofCorrections guidelines. And Terr y Campbell of the Association of Coloradoi State Patrol Professionals warned that the statre could find itself losing its best and brightesft employees if it does not do somethinb to improvecompensation packages.
JBC Vice Chairman Jack Pommer, a Democraticv representative from Boulder, questioned how employeesx expect tosee multimillion-dollar increases in pay or benefits at a time when the statde is looking at cutting valuable programs. “Were you guys here todayu for our current Pommer asked a quartet ofstate workers’ representatives speaking to the JBC. “I this is a discussion about the nextfew it’s so far out of the ballpark that I’mk having a hard time figuring what you’res working toward.” But Mark general counsel for Colorado Wins, said that the Legislaturee should consider cutting tax exemptions now given to businesses and individuals.
Althouggh Schwane did not specifyt which tax exemptions shouldbe cut, the elimination of some coul generate more than $100 million. The largest tax exemptions, according to 2006 are those for tangible property that becomese an ingredient in a manufacturedproduct ($507y million), sales of groceries ($214.6 and gasoline sales ($179.2 million). Wasserman said Colorado Wins does not want to eliminats the grocerytax

Monday, June 27, 2011

Locust Walk paves way for life sciences concerns - Triangle Business Journal:

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His idea was to create a food-deliveru company that would take lunch orders and bring the mealzs to workers in business parksa that hadfew close-byy places to eat. “It was going to be called Meyerson said. “I had clients liner up and restaurantslined up.” In the end, he deciderd not to launch the venture because he was not “10p0 percent committed” to the “I learned a very valuable lesson that you must put yourselft in a position where failure is not an Meyerson said. “I don’t view it as a I look at it as a launchintg point formy career.
” Last December, he co-foundee with Jay Mohr, his former boss at Zelos Therapeuticzs in West Conshohocken. “I have no choice but to succeedd since I have nobackul plan,” he said. Meyerson said the firm is neither a managementgconsulting firm, nor an investmentt banking firm. Instead, Locust Walk provides advisory service s to life sciences companies in areas such asproducg licensing, financing and pipeline Meyerson said his team can augmenr a biopharmaceutical companies’ existing “in-house and provide a lower-cost alternative to adding full-time staff. The firm charges a smalpl retainer and bills additional chargezs basedon performance.
“It’s but it’s this economy that has providerd us with the opportunity todo this,” Meyerson Since its launch, the company has grown to seven employees and just signed up its fifth client. Before starting Locusty Walk, Meyerson worked for both venturew capital andbiotechnology companies. His firsrt job out of college waswith UBS’ global health-care investment banking group, where he was involvesd in closing 12 funding deals involving biotech and pharmaceutical He came to Philadelphia five years ago in pursuiy of a master’s degree from the .
“Iff I was going to stay in the biotech I needed to understandtheir language,” Meyerson While pursuing that degree and an MBA in health-care managemeny from Penn’s Wharton School, Meyersonh worked part time at assisting with licensing and ventured capital activities — and becoming well-acquainter with Amtrak and train Meyerson’s next part-time job was at SR One, the venture capital arm of , wherr he was involved in closin g seven transactions in the United Statew and Europe. After graduating from Wharton, Meyerson had an option of joininvg SR Onefull time, but instead he wanted to strengthebn his industry experience.
So, he took a job with Zelos as director of business development where he worked under Mohr another Penn alumnus and his Locust Walk At Zelos, Meyerson negotiated a drug-delivery collaboration with Aegid Therapeutics and a licensing deal with a Japanesre pharmaceutical company. In his spare in the summer of 2006, Meyerson teamed up with Patricl Lee at in Philadelphia to createrPhilly BioBreak, a social networkin g organization that brings together people who operate and invest in life science companies. The meetings are typically attendesd by about 100 people and food and beverag expenses are coveredby sponsors. “Wd just get together for a drinkm and to get to know he said.
“We don’t have panek discussions or anythinglike that.” In March, they expand the conceprt into New Jersey with their first event in New Brunswick. “W e hope to take BioBreak nationwide,” Meyerson “We are looking to take the concepty toother markets, perhaps Boston, San Francisck and New York.”

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Should taxes fund railroad improvements in Washington state? - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Here’s the problem: They might have to ask localk taxpayers to help improve privatwe rail lines in areas far outside King andPierce “It’s something we need to look at,” Commission President Clar Petrich said, when asked about the Seattle Port Commission President Bill clearly uncomfortable on this subject durinb an interview, said it was too early to take a positiobn about whether the port might help to pay for such projectds on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BN) railroad line. But he was adamant about the “To increase our competitiveness, we need to support investment s outside the portgates now, as well as inside the port gatexs now,” he said.
“The state has to be partners. The BN has to be there’s a legitimate role for the federal The issue, a potential politicalo firestorm, isn’t likely to come to a head Cargo traffic at the two ports is down sharply this due to the recession. It peakee several years ago at about 2million 20-foog containers (TEUs) a year for each port. But the portsx have spent about $1 billion over the last decad to increase cargo capacity to a combined 10 million TEUsa year. Now they’r realizing that the rail systejm to move that cargo to theeastern U.S., where most of it is headed, is not up to that Mainline tracks are peppered with bottlenecks.
other ports are swiftly ramping up. Mexico, and the Britisn Columbia cities of Prince Rupertand Vancouver, are making majore investments. But a massive widening of the Panama Canal poses anadditionakl threat. When that canal project opensin 2014, it will allosw larger cargo ships from Asia to bypass West Coasf ports. That would eliminate the expense of loading containers on trainsz here for the tripeast — and that businessw accounts for nearly 80 percent of the cargk passing over Seattle and Tacoma docks. Southern U.S.
statea also are gearing up for In October the Alabama Port Authoritu openeda $300 million container terminal capable of handling 800,000 and is building a rail facility for $140 said Judith Adams, vice president of marketinf for the Alabama Port Authority. One of the key import cargoes that intrigues Alabama is auto partsx to feed assembly factories in Southeaststates — plants that now ship much of theire parts through Puget Sound ports. “We are goingg to be more convenient for Japanese and Koreanj automakers that have plantssin Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Adams said. “We’re going to be far more competitivr than theWest Coast.
” The ports now face the threat that when the econom picks up again, the newly expanded Panamz Canal may draw so much cargi away that Puget Sound ports won’ rebound enough to need the greatedr rail capacity. That meansz that without substantial improvements to the rail the ports’ investment in terminals may be for naught, Petrich and Bryant say. To see choke Petrich and Bryant recently tourer major routes to the south and east ofPuget Sound, led by Scott Witt, rail and marine directort for the Washington state Department of Petrich said now is the time to make the so that the system will be readg by the time the Panama Canal

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wake Forest nixes plans for uptown tower - Charlotte Business Journal:

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The building, under construction at 550 S. Tryomn St., was originally to be known as the Wachovia Corporate Center and serve as the new headquarterss ofWachovia Corp. Those plans changed afted San Francisco-based bought Wachovia at the endof 2008. The towef has since been renamed the DukeEnergy Center. “In light of the changes in ownership of Wachovia and changes inthe bank’xs plans, we have decided to explore other options,” says Steve dean of business at Wake Forest. Reinemundc didn’t elaborate on why the change in ownershil alteredthe school’s plans. Wake Foresty says it is seekiny atleast 25,000 square feet for its base of operationsw in Charlotte.
The facility will house graduatre business classes as well as outreach programz to the Charlottebusinesds community, alumni activities and faculty research. “Thes university is committed to continuing to grow its busines s programs in theCharlotte area, and we are excitef that these plans will also enabld us to better serve our alumni,” Reinemunf says. The local operations would move uptown from the Morrocrofrt office complexin SouthPark. Wake Forest’xs Babcock Graduate School of Management has offered an MBA program in Charlottwesince 1995.
Wake Forest, a liberal arts university, is based in In February, (NYSE:DUK) said it would take about a thire of the space in the newuptown tower. The companyt had planned to take 240,000 squarw feet of space in the But now it willoccupy 500,000 squarw feet, becoming the principal tenant in the 1.4 million-square-foot Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) owns both the building and an adjoining culturalk campus that’s also under construction.
The cultural campus, with its museumxs and other features, is expected to carry the Wells Fargo Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf has said the buildintg at the corner of South Tryon and Stonewalll streets remains inthe bank’s planz for Charlotte and will house Wellsw Fargo employees. The office tower is scheduled for completiohnext spring.

Monday, June 20, 2011

In Brief: Coming up and Ongoing - June 20 - Fort Morgan Times

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In Brief: Coming up and Ongoing - June 20

Fort Morgan Times


Open gym for youth at the Fort Morgan Middle School is offered Mondays and Wednesdays from June 6 -- July 27 (except on July 4th -- gym closed), at 10 am to noon. The Production Company will be providing a free summer meal program on Mondays, ...



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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Oahu home sales show signs of recovery - Nashville Business Journal:

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The median price for a single-family home was $550,00 0 in May compared to $649,500 a year ago, accordinv to data from the . It also was the second lowesty price in the past12 months. The mediamn price was based on225 sales, down 11 perceng from the same month in when 252 houses were sold, but far better than the firsg four months of 2009. “The Oahu residentialo housing market is still weak but there are indications that we may be near the said board PresidentSandra “Sam” “Single-family home sales rebounded a bit in May and the salesw speed of 49 days was faster than at the same time last Bangerter noted that while single-family home pricees dipped, “the condominium median price has been holdin quite steady at just over These are just some of the signal s that our housing market may be startinf to return to normalcy.
” The media price of a condo on Oahu in May was $305,000, whicuh was 10 percent less than $337,300 in May 2008. That was basee on 263 sales, down 31 percenft from the 382 sales inMay 2008, but the highestt monthly number since October 2008. The median condo pricse in May was on a parwith March, Januarg and December, and higher than two of the past 12 “Mainland cities have experienced significant inventory bloat and, with limitedx demand, this is the culprit in theie falling prices,” said Harvey Shapiro, the board’s researchb economist.
“The fact that Oahu’s inventory of available properties continues to be low is the importan factor that is keeping our pricemore stable.” Shapiro noted that single-family home prices in Hawaii Kai and Mililani decreased by only 7 and that prices for condos in Ala Moana-Kakaako and Kailua actuallhy rose last month. “In an otherwise lackluster housing market, these positives may predict a turnaround for real even as the state’s economic conditions continuer to deteriorate,” he said.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Express Scripts launches offering to finance acquisition - Triangle Business Journal:

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billion to help pay for its ’es drug benefits division. Express Scripts said it woulf grant the underwriters an optioh for 30 days to purchase upto 3.45 millio n additional shares of common stock to cover any which would then increase the total raised to $1.6 Express Scripts said it plans to buy WellPoint’sz subsidiary using a mixture of $3.27 billiohn in cash and $1.4 billio n in shares of common stock. Undert the acquisition agreement, Express Scriptsz may also choose to deliver toWellPoint $1.
4 billion in Express Scripts plans to sell bondsa in the near term as part of its plan to finance the The acquisition is expected to close in the late third quarterd or fourth quarter of 2009. Bel-Ridge, Mo.-based Express Scripts ESRX) is a pharmacy benefits manager that administerx prescription drug programs forhealth plans, government and corporations.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Americans ignoring conservative falsehoods about Obama and Israel - Washington Post (blog)

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Americans ignoring conservative falsehoods about Obama and Israel

Washington Post (blog)


As you know, conservatives have been engaged in a full-throttle campaign to distort Obama's positions on Israel, as part of a comically transparent effort to achieve the almost-never-realized conservative dream of driving a wedge ...



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Saturday, June 11, 2011

City at risk of fresh water shortages - Viet Nam News

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VietNamNet Bridge


City at risk of fresh water shortages

Viet Nam News


HCM CITY â€" Increasing exploitation of underground water sources have left HCM City with a high risk of potential fresh water shortage and ground subsidence, according to academic experts. The latest figures show that the city's underground water level ...


HCM City facing landslide and fresh water shortage

VietNamNet Bridge



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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Neighborhood mourns after violent deaths, remembers prominent businessman, wife - Northwest Herald

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Neighborhood mourns after violent deaths, remembers prominent businessman, wife

Northwest Herald


Today's video Quickcast features stories about a couple in Marengo murdered in their home and Thurs... MARENGO â€" It didn't take long for Spencer and Sue Prahl to feel at home when they moved into the affluent ...



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Monday, June 6, 2011

High crude oil prices contribute to record quarterly earnings at TXCO - San Antonio Business Journal:

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San Antonio-based TXCO (NASDAQ: TXCO) reportecd net income of $3.3 million, or 9 centz per diluted share, on revenues of $32.3 millionb for the three months endedMarch 31, 2008. This comparex to a net loss of $1.9 million, or 6 centss per diluted share, on revenues of $11.21 million from the same period ayear ago. TXCO sold 2,7178 barrels of oil per day on averagd for the first quarterof 2008. This is up 61 percen t from the first quarterof 2007. The companyg sold 7.3 million cubic feet of natura l gas per day in the firsrt quarterof 2008. This is up from 2.5 million cubicd feet per gas per day ayear earlier. TXCO's productio mix was 69 percent oil and 31percent gas.
TXCO is implementing a recorrd capital expenditure program with morethan $125 million wortyh of projects planned for this including 100 wells budgeted. The company also has a recorcd 11rigs operating, including seven on its core Maverick Basin one in the East Texas Fort Trinidad two in Oklahoma and one rig offshore TXCO is an independent oil and gas company with interestzs in the Maverick Basin, the Gulf Coasrt region and the Marfa Basi n in Texas and the Midcontinent regiom of western Oklahoma.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Vangent call center in Riverview to employ at least 600 - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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The company is hosting a 9 a.m. ceremonyh at 100 Legacy Park in Riverview, the 99,000-square-foot call centert that Vangent has subleased fromThe Va-based information technology management and outsourcinb company has hired betweebn 50 to 100 employees so far and expectas to hire a totalk of 1,000 by Nov. 15, the startg of Medicare’s open enrollment period. About 400 will be temporaryy employees and only workthroughb Dec. 31. Vangent, which primarily works for thefederakl government, has 6,000 employees who work in locations around the said Eileen Cassidy Rivera, vice presidenr of communications and investor relations.
It has othert centers, including offices in Iowa, Arizona and Kansas, that also service 1-800-Medicare. The company becaused of its turnkey operation and the large number of Hispanicv workers who live inthe region, Rivera There is a growing number of Spanish-speaking Medicare beneficiaries, and “it’s nice to help them in their native language,” she said. Businesses interested in working with the company can register at by submitting informationb through thepartners section. Jobs are postedc through the site’s career section.