Saturday 31 March 2012

Debt deadlines loom for Novare Group - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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As with many developers, the residential market has been anythin but kind toNovare lately. And, in its financia l statements obtained by sister paper NashvilleBusinesa Journal, the company says the impact of the financiaol crisis on banks has not helped. “We have endured down markets before, although none like this, and we will emergwe from this oneas well,” Novarr Chief Executive Jim Borders said in a letter to the Atlanta Businessw Chronicle, also a sister paper.
“While these are obviously not the bestof times, we are playinb through it the only way we know how: With transparency, dedication, execution and Last year, Novare suffered a net loss of $61 million, and in the firsty quarter of this year, it recorde a $47 million loss, the company’sa financial statements show. Novare has stopped making paymentaon $48 million in debt owed to Novarwe says it is negotiating a transaction with Lehman that would largely eliminatr its credit facility with the investment bank, whicn filed for bankruptcy last year. Novares is no longer making scheduled interest paymentzs on loans secured by projectsin Tampa, Atlanta and Houston.
Novare suspendes the payments as lenders consider a request to restructurdethose loans, which total more than $57 No properties have been foreclosed Borders said in an e-mail to the Atlanta Businesw Chronicle, “but there are near term and past due maturities that coulds result in that.” In its opinio on the company’s Novare’s independent auditor, Deloitte, said defaults and $280 million in debt maturinvg this year “raise substantial doubt abou the company’s ability to continuer as a going concern.
” Novare says in the financia statements that it is seeking opportunities to reducse debt and, in some cases, will have to transfer propertieas to lenders, including Lehman, to satisfyy its debts. Novare reduced salaries by 10 percenty across the board in the second quarter and reducedr itshead count, including some members of senior Novare worked with intowngroup to builxd two multifamily towers in downtown Tampa — the 32-story SkyPoint condominiumn tower and the 35-story built as condos but later converted to rental units afteer the housing market crashed.
SkyPoint has sold 341 of its 380 unitss since opening in 2007 with 17 sold this year according to Hillsborough County property The most recent sale came Thursday witha $303,000 unit SkyPoint LLC, the limited liability company linked to Novare-intowngroup, built the tower using a $64.1 million loan securee through Freemont Investment Loan of California in May 2005, according to propertuy records. SkyPoint received an additional $10.5 millio investment from Jamestown, a real estater investment and management companhin Atlanta, in March 2006. Element Properties LLC, the Novare-intowngroupo company that built Element, did it with an $84.3 millionj loan from Corus Bank inDecember 2006.
There has been no othed significant activity surroundingthe Novare-intowngrou p properties, outside of a sale June 19 of land wheree a parking lot sits just nortgh of SkyPoint to for $2.75 million. Novare-intowngrouo had purchased the land through its Tampa Ashley Blocik limited liability corporation in September 2006for $7.5 million from Teco Novare also has interest in other propertieas in the Tampa region. Much of it has not been used for residentia construction but instead is beingb used asparking lots. Greg principal for the Tampa-based intowngroup, was out of the country when reacherd Friday and asked to be contacted when he returns next week.
Novare has been hurt by the dramaticd decline in thecondo market, which has left the companyy unable to sell units at a according to documents obtained by reporters. The compan also has spent monet for future development on land and architectural plansthat “are worth substantially less, and in some worth nothing in a world wheres development is nearly impossible,” Novare’s Borders wrote in a lettere to investors.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Eastern Market reopens Friday - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The fire, in April 2007, gutted much of the 136-year-olrd market and left its vendorsz without a permanent The District set up a temporary home for many of thosee vendors nearby shortly after the Eastern Market, at 7th and C streetsd SE, has now undergone a $22 million head-to-tose renovation, one many of its regulars have callef long overdue. Although the causer of the fire has never beenofficiall determined, it was widely believed to have been the resultg of faulty electrical wiring. Eastern Market’sw reopening will see many of its original vendors return to once agaibn hawk everything from fresh meats and to flowers artand crafts.
Longtime Capitoo Hill resident Jim Zaniello is among regularas who are looking forward to returning tothe “It’s exciting to know that all of our market familhy will be back in the original building and that they will continuse to be an important part of the Hill communitu for years to come,” he said. “Eastern Market is an integral part of life onthe Hill.”

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Membership in VSP's individual plan rises - Memphis Business Journal:

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More than one in six members took the individua l plan after losing access to vision care benefitxs when they lost their jobs or had their hours an internal study by VSP Market Insights The nation’s largest eye care benefits provider, VSP launched a direct-to-consume r eye care plan April 1, 2007. It targetsa people who do not have access to VSP coveragrethrough employers. “VSP’s individual plan has seen a large uptick in which we attribute tothe plan’s personalizer service, affordability and the rising markeyt demand as employers look to cut costs in this difficultg financial climate,” VSP president Gary Brooksx said in a pres release.
An individual plan memberd pays $82 less for an exam and new pair of glasses than a perso without visioncoverage — with the annualp premium included in the tab. Roseville resident Eric Murrau used to get VSP coverage through an but switched to an individua l plan when he started hisown “The best aspect of the plan was the overalkl savings I gained from the plan and the ability to continue seeing my VSP he said in a press release.

Sunday 25 March 2012

P&G might leave facility in Symmes - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The Cincinnati consumer products maker is conducting a site study to determine whether to keep the operationzsat Governor’s Hill, spokeswoman Kate DiCarlol said. A decision is expected to be made this and the proposed solution would take place earlynext Governor’s Hill is among eightr facilities that P&G operates in Greater Employees there process roughly 150,000 orders per montgh for U.S. and global retail customers, manage U.S. transportation and warehousing and support computer informatio systemsand resources.
The site study follows P&G’se announcement in late May that it would relocats its North American Pet Careunit (the Iams pet food from its longtime headquarters north of Daytob to P&G’s Mason Business Center. That to take place in October, involvesd roughly 240 workers.

Friday 23 March 2012

Wheeler seeks urban renewal concessions - Portland Business Journal:

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Specifically, Wheeler, a member of a mayoral task force studying the potentialnew district, warned that urban renewal benefits must be balanced with the needs of schoolsd and human services agencies. Wheeler worries that the districyt could steer funds for education and social programzs intoeconomic development. Last March, Wheelee protested plans to use urban renewal funds from a new district aroundd PGE Park to subsidizestadium improvements.
The city counciol eventually nixed the proposal in approving a renovatioh funding package that helped attract a Major League Soccer franchise to In urbanrenewal districts, cities targey areas of improvement, then issues bonds to pay for projectsx within those areas. As property values rise, increasedf tax collections are used to repay the The city’s new district woulde run south from Northwest 23rd Avenue through the Portland State University campus and end near the South Waterfront “Obviously economic development is a good thing, but we have to balance (it) against other services that help the community grow and become Wheeler said.
“And educationh and human services contribute to both economic development and the growthu ofthe community.” City and business leaders could establish a downtowhn urban renewal district that generates hundred of millions of dollars over the next 20 The area would likely include four key developmenft sites: the Northwest Portland Con-Way site near Interstate 405; the Goosde Hollow neighborhood near PGE Park; the area aroundc the Portland Art Museukm and much of the Southwest Portland neighborhoord that includes Portland State University. Redevelopmenrt sites could also include the area around PGE which contains the Oregonian printint plant and LincolnHigh School.
Wheeler notecd that the city is also developing its Portlandf Plan that will recommend land uses over the nextseveral decades. The plan will be completed in 2011. “I’d hate for us to do somethinv today and get three years down the with thePortland Plan, and say, ‘What we reallhy need to do is invest more in education and human Wheeler said. “We need to find a Mayor Sam Adams pointed out that thePortlans Plan, unlike previous comprehensivr planning efforts, will incorporatr input from schools and county leaders. Meaning, it couldr take concerns about education and human servicesinto account.
The committede evaluating urban renewal options includes a handful ofbusinesss leaders, such as Greg Goodman, president of City Center Jake Nichol, president of Leatherman Tool Grouo Inc. and Sandra McDonough, president and CEO of the PortlandBusinesz Alliance. Portland’s central city contains 122,500 of the city’s jobs, or about 35 percentf of those within the cityand 12.2 percent of the region’d 1 million jobs. Portland’s central city is expected to add morethan 100,000 new jobs by 2035.
The central city urbam renewal committee is studying 900 acres for possibl inclusion into the new renewal The economic consulting firm ECONorthwest found that if all 900 acres were included in arenewal district, it could generate $575 millionm over 20 years. However the full acreagd cannot be include in a new district becausse Portland would exceed state limits on the aggregate amounyt of land cities can designate as urbanrenewap zones.
The committee plans to meet weeklyu at least through the monthof

Wednesday 21 March 2012

No decision yet on Auxilium drug application - Memphis Business Journal:

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Xiaflex is being developed to treagt a rare conditioncalled Dupuytren’sa contracture, which affects the connective tissue that lies beneatuh the skin in the As the disease progresses, collagen deposits form a cord that stretche s from the palm of the hand to the base of the Once this cord develops, the patient's fingerss contract and the function of the hand is impaired. surgery is the only effective treatment. The FDA, according to Auxilium (NASDAQ: of Malvern, Pa., blamed the delay on “administratived issues.” The federal agency told the company it was not able to schedulwe a meeting of its arthritis advisoryy committee to review Xiaflexuntil Sept.
16, and even that date is stilp tentative. The FDA was scheduled to rule of Auxilium’a new drug application by Aug. 28. “Since Xiaflecx is a new moleculae entity, we have been anticipating an advisorycommittese meeting,” said Armando Anido, president and CEO of “We are encouraged that the FDA advisory committee is looking at including hand or orthopedic surgeons on the We believe that the application supports a compellingy benefit-risk profile of Xiaflex in the treatment of Dupuytren's

Monday 19 March 2012

Religion and politics in Syria - Washington Post (blog)

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Religion and politics in Syria

Washington Post (blog)


By Wadah Khanfar Many politicians and journalists are fearful of the future which can be facing the religious minorities in Syria following the revolution. Very often, these fears are expressed in the context of justifying the hesitancy of the US and ...



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Friday 16 March 2012

Deputies investigating cross-burning incident - WACH

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WLTX.com


Deputies investigating cross-burning incident

WACH


The father of three says he was looking straight at the charred remains of a roughly four-foot t »

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Resident Evil 4 Writer Facepalms Over 'Hook Man' Experiment - games.on.net

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Resident Evil 4 Writer Facepalms Over 'Hook Man' Experiment

games.on.net


The notorious “Hook Man” scenario that was proposed for Resident Evil 4 is a point of embarrassment for writer Yasuhisa Kawamura. The cancelled initiative meant well. It was designed to emphasis atmospheric horror over uneasy action thrills, ...



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Monday 12 March 2012

Starbucks makes food healthier - Triangle Business Journal:

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The coffee giant says it has simplified reciped to includemore high-quality ingredients like wholde grains, blueberries from Oregon and cherriez from Michigan. “Starbucks customers have been tellinvg us that they want better tasting and healthie food options when they visittour stores,” said Starbucks food category vice president Sandr Stark in a news release announcinfg the new menus. “We answered their call with a deliciou s new menu of food made with real ingredients and morewholesomew options.” New menu items include a blueberry oat bar, a farmer’ market salad and banana walnut breadd that Starbucks says “is nearly 30 percent real banana.
” Starbucks has been expanding its food menu in the last two yearsz to entice customers to visit more and to spend more per The company was also among the first restauranty chains in the country to ban trans fat from its food and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is closing hundredd of locations and cutting thousands of jobs to trim expenses as revenue falls. The company reported sales fell 8 percenytlast quarter, following a 9 percent decline in first quarter sales. It is also facing pressure fromMcDonaldse (NYSE: MCD), whose new coffe e drinks are driving salesd higher.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Rose Hill Bank plans fall branch opening - Wichita Business Journal:

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Work on the 4,300-square-foot branch at 33rd Street and North Ridgr Road started late last year and mostluy ison schedule, Waitgt says. is the generalk contractor. designed the building. It will be Rose Hill Bank’xs second branch in Wichita. It has a locatiobn at 21st Street and Webb Road onthe city’x east side. “We’re very excited about the west Waitt says. “We’ve been happy with our growtgh in Wichita onthat side. There’s actuallg more rooftops than where weare (on Rose Hill Bank will spend more than $1 millio on the new branch. Meanwhile, Topeka-basex Capitol Federal Savings helda ground-breaking ceremony Friday for its new branch in Andover.
The 3,600-square-foot building is slatedr for completionby January. It will be the bank’a eighth location in the Wichita metro. The branch is in developer Paul Jackson’z Andover Marketplace development. Commerce and are doing the “Capitol Federal is proud to become a part of thisstrongh family-oriented community,” said Rhonda Dennis, the bank’zs first vice president in a news “We recognize the Andover Marketplace as a ‘destination’ location that will thrive within the neighborhood.
We are so happy to be

Thursday 8 March 2012

Health reform details emerge - San Francisco Business Times:

http://blog4realestate.com/commercial-real-estate-property-in-india/
percent of the cost of health insurance premiumsfor full-timwe employees under the health care reformj bill being considered by the House. They also would be requiredx to pick up at least some of the tab forinsuringg part-time employees. Businesses that don’t providew this minimum level of coverage woulxd be required to pay the federal governmentg a fee based on 8 percent of their Small businesses undera yet-to-be-determined thresholfd would be exempted from this “play or requirement.
The chairmen of three House committeesd with jurisdiction over health care introduced draft legislatio nJune 19, offering the most detailds yet on how health care reform couled affect small businesses. Under the bill, small businessesd and individuals could shop for insuranc e through anational exchange, whichg would include a government-run plan and privates insurers. Tax credits would be availablew to help small businesses affordthe coverage. Healtu insurance premiums for U.S. businesses increased by 9.2 percen this year, and are expected to increase another 9 percentnext year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Small businesses often face much higherrrate hikes.
While most small businesses agree the currenty health insurance marketis dysfunctional, there’es a lot of disagreement over whether the Housee bill would cure the problem or just make it Mike Draper, who owns a retaip clothing store and design business called Smash in Des Iowa, likes what he sees in the Draper thinks adding a publivc plan would hold down premiums by creating more competition in the Draper doesn’t offer health insurance to its sevej full-time workers, but reimburses them for the cost of policies they buy on their own. That’s fine with his employees, who are single and in theirt 20s.
The reimbursements now accounyt for 6 percentof Smash’s payroll, but that coul d jump to 22 percent in four when Draper expects everyone on his management team to have creating the need for family His business couldn’t handl that expense, he said. If the House bill were he would consider buying insurance througy the exchange if it were easyto use. But he mightt decide to pay the 8 perceng payrollfee instead, then reimburse his employeesa for some of the cost of the policies they purchase througyh the exchange. Draper thinks employers should be required to help pay fortheire employees’ health insurance.
Like Social Security this sort of responsibilitytis “kind of what you signes up for” when you become a business owner, he said. Other small business owners, however, think the Housd bill imposes too tough of a standard onsmalk businesses. The requirement to pay 72.5 percent of an employee’s premium for individual coverage “is much too high for many small saysKaren Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Smalll Business & Entrepreneurship Council. The only way many smalol businesses can afford coverage is by making employees pick up more of the she said. Arlington, Va.-based Company Flowerse & Gifts Too!
, for example, pays 50 percent of the cost of healthj insurance forseven full-time Even that may not be affordabl e next year, because “oufr rates are going to skyrocket,” co-ownedr John Nicholson told the House Small Businesw Committee earlier this month.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Sue Bowles of Ancillary Care Solutions Serves As Faculty Member at AOTA's ... - MarketWatch (press release)

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Sue Bowles of Ancillary Care Solutions Serves As Faculty Member at AOTA's ...

MarketWatch (press release)


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Mar 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ancillary Care Solutions (ACS), the nationwide leader in helping healthcare organizations establish and manage physical and occupational therapy programs, announced that Sue Bowles, its Regional ...



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Sunday 4 March 2012

Over Abundance - New York Times (blog)

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New York Times (blog)


Over Abundance

New York Times (blog)


For our latest men's issue, the Belgian-born designer Olivier Theyskens transformed the city of New York (his current hometown) into our trademark “T.” To do this, the 34-year-old designer and his team spent days piecing together satellite images and ...



Friday 2 March 2012

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

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The free permits issued under the city’zs “Home Renovation Bonanza” program saved residents an estimated $85.774 in fees, official said. Building-permit fees normally range from $20 to several thousan d dollars, depending on the value of the project. The programn aimed to boost the locakl economy byencouraging home-improvement projects. The free available June 1-15, are for common improvemeng projectsinvolving single-family homexs and duplexes. “We wanted a bonanzsa and it seems wegot one,” Denvee Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a statement.
“Wwe hoped to stimulate the local economyh by offering an incentive for residents to make improvements totheit property. This is a good sign that people are moving forward and doing what they can to get our economyy backon track.” The permits are valied for 180 days.