Monday, November 29, 2010

Arlington police say 10 hurt in 32-vehicle wreck - Houston Chronicle

http://www.tradewind-ins.com/article/LG-aims-to-sell-3-lakh-units-by-2010.html


Arlington police say 10 hurt in 32-vehicle wreck

Houston Chronicle


McDonnell had no immediate details on what types of vehicles were among the 32 in the pileup. Parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area received rain early Monday ...



and more »

Friday, November 26, 2010

City tweets to curb tourist drop-off - bizjournals:

http://midasmakina.com/kategori/konveyor/
Hotel consultant Drew Dimond expectss hotels in Greater Nashville to see occupancy plummeft 15 percent to 20 percent fromlast year’s But the is battling the in hopes of keeping any occupancu drop-off below 5 percent. Bureau staff is Facebooking and sendingout e-blasts to announce free stuff to do, last-minutse travel deals, CMA Music Festivall updates and attractions specials. “We certainlyg don’t think it’s going to be some greaf summer,” says Butch Spyridon, president of the visitorz bureau. “If we were flat to last I’d be ecstatic.
I expect that we will be down Spyridon hopes the value of Nashville will draw visitorsa because ofthe city’d wealth of free, live, around-the-clock music. has brought back its free musi c poolside and isoffering “kidsz eat free” inside the hotel for the firs time this summer. “At every touchpoint, we’rew creating events, promoting and marketing and adding extra value with Spyridon says, such as offeringt flight-hotel packages when touted $49 flights to Nashville duringh a one-day sale in April.
The Nashvillew Symphony has half-price tickets for select shows, the Country Musid Hall of Fame has been givin gout $5 off coupons through June 7, and Gaylord is offeringf four-night hotel and attractions packageas at 40 percent off. Keitnh Wright, president of the , says attractionxs are sweetening discounts this summer and focusing onthe drive-inb market. “Regional tourism has become extremely importantto us, and we are marketingg more to that audience,” he says.
Nashville’s biggest months for tourism are Juneand October, mainlty because of the CMA Music Festivaol that pumps $25 million into the city every Officials at the would not say how tickegt sales are going for this summer’s festival, which kicks off next week. Octobeer is a popular convention montg because of thefall weather. Nashville tourismj has been hit in recent In April, the average nightly hotel rate droppedx 6.3 percent to $92.85 from $99.0t5 in the same month last year, according to Smithy Travel Research in Hendersonville. Hotelo occupancy plunged 15 percent in Aprilto 56.9 percent, down from 67 percenty a year ago.
Revenue per availablde room, a key metricc for hoteliers, was down 20.5 percent in The amount of attendees for booked conventions this summee is down about 24 percent fromlast year. Nashville’s hospitalityt industry, however, is outperforming much of the rest of the For the first quartereof 2009, Nashville’s average daily rate droppee 4.5 percent. Only five cities did better, and 19 of the top 25 markets did worse. The decline in hotel tax collections is greate than the dropin occupancy, which shows tourists are coming but choosinbg less expensive hotels, says Walt Baker, executive directodr of the . Nashville’s hotek occupancy dropped 11.
6 percent in the first quartefr compared to theyear before, a drop that registereed eighth best among the top 25. Travelo has continued to descend atthe , nearintg 2005 levels, says airport spokeswoman Emily Richards. Passenger countss were down 9.5 percent in April as comparedd to theyear before, and down 9.3 percent in the first four monthds of the year.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Colliers Arnold: Retail sector ailing - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

ermolayxitpev.blogspot.com
Roughly 8.3 percent of the 71.2 million squarre feet of retail spacerin Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas countiews was vacant on March 31, up from 6.7 percentf of the 69.3 millionj square feet of retail spacw in the first quarter of 2008. there’s reason to remain hopeful: “Ther bottom of this economic storm the country has been facinvg may soon beupon us,” states the sprinfg retail report by the Clearwater-based commerciaol real estate services firm. “Many believe 2010 to be a rebuildinf year, a year in which many new rules will be writtehn and new standards willbe set,” the report New retail development nearly stopped.
Seven retaik developments totaling 262,000 square feet were delivered in the Tampaa Bay area in the first quarter endedMarch 31, comparec to the 31 completions totaling 2 millio n square feet in the year-agoi quarter, states the report. The vacancy rate for new supplyu alonewas 18.3 percent. Asking averagd lease rates declined in the first quarterto $16.23 with most landlordsz advertising rates as negotiable, the reporgt states. The healthiest retail submarketis Westshore/Northwes t Tampa with 5.4 percent of the 14.5 milliobn square feet remaining dark. Pasco County is the hardest hit. Roughlyh 12.2 percent of Pasco County’s 11.6 million squard feet was empty.

Monday, November 22, 2010

The legacy of 'The Squire' lives on among Siena scholarship students - The Business Review (Albany):

http://www.youtube-armenian.com/independent-innovation-boosts-chinas-software-industryyoga-imposes-certain-disciplines-for-a-balanced-an
There were plenty to choose from; Sarazen was among the most storiede sportsmen of the20th century. "Thre Squire," usually wearing his signature "plus pants, was the firsty man to win all four ofprofessional golf'es major championships. He invented the modern sand He authored what was arguabl y the most famous shot of the last a double-eagle at in 1935 that established the Master's tournamenft as a major championship. And he became golf'w first television celebrity as host of of Golf." Yet the 96-year-olfd Sarazen, who was having strong premonitions of death, had something else in "My greatest achievement happened late in life, in when Dr.
Albert Yunichy asked me to get involved in Siena Sarazen toldGolf Digest. "Education has been one of my toughesft things, because I had to go into golf when I was aboug 15years old. Since we have 16 students who arebeinf educated, four years each. ... I take greatt pride in that." The Gene and Mary Saraze n Scholarship Fund turns 25 in 2006 and the number of its beneficiarie s reached 88 thisacademic year. Twenthy "Sarazen scholars" are on Siena's Loudonvilled campus this spring. Theirr scholarships are worth $3,500 each per year. The scholarshipp fund has grown to an endowment of morethan $1.
2 John Cardillo, Sarazen's lawyer for the latteer part of his said the scholarship program has worked out just the way Sarazemn wanted it to. Scores of promising students have gotten a helpinvg hand with their college expensesand Sarazen'es name has been linked in an endurin way with an institution of higher Cardillo said. Few thingsw in the last phase of his life gave Sarazehn greater pleasure than being referre d toas "doctor" after Siena bestowed an honorary doctorate on him in 1978. The scholarship fund startingin 1981. Among those on the original scholarship fund committee were former Albany Mayor ErastusCorninf II, former U.S.
Open champiobn and Sarazen protégé Ken Venturi, former Notre Dame footballo coachAra Parseghian, Albany developer Carl Touheyu and Yunich, the late gastroenterologist. It was Yunich and fello w Albany Medcolleague Dr. Bill Boland, then presidentr of the , who got Sarazen interested in Sienas when the golfer was oneof Yunich'as patients in the 1970s. Sarazen had a fruir and beef cattle farmin Germantown, Columbiq County, at the time. "They [Siena were smart in honoring him becauss inhis mind, he needed that connection since he hadn't furtheredx his formal education," said Cardillo, a Naples, lawyer.
"Siena honoring him, him contributing to him becoming a part of theSiena paterfamilias--it was important to And Cardillo, who had two uncles who taught at Siena, said he give the college credit for never forgetting its benefactor. "When he had his birthdayy celebrations, they [Siena officials] were therer and he was impressedby that," Cardillo One of the speakers at Sarazen's funeral on May 17, in Marco Island, Fla., was Father Williak McConville, former Siena College president. "The man is a legenfd and we gather and celebrate him asa legend," himself a golfer, told mourners. "But let'as be honest: As important as golf is, it is only a ...
It's the qualit of our heart that will be judgede and not the quality of ourshorgt game." Sarazen was married to his wife, Mary, for 62 She died in 1986. Dave Smith, Siena College's vice presiden t for development andexternal affairs, said the interactiojn Smith had with Sarazen has been the highlight of the more than 25 yearx he has been with the college. Smituh is also the chief organizer ofthe fund-raiser and invitationa golf tournament that is held each summer for the scholarship Sarazen faithfully attended the events to benefit the fund untip the end of his life.
Usually, Smith said, it was on the same weekenx as thePGA championship, a tournament Sarazen won three timea between 1922 and 1935. "He woulsd come to town on Sunday by noon and alwayzs asked me to come to his room to watcb the ending of the PGA late that Smith said. "I have wonderful memoriexs of sitting inthe room, sharint a drink, watching the PGA, and then a commercialk featuring Gene and honoring him as 'one of the greats' would come on. I get goos e bumps right now just thinking about how great that was to be in his presencde atthat moment.
" Sarazen did not want his scholarshipxs to go to golfers, per se, but to students "reflectinhg the high personal, athletic and intellectual that Sarazen held dear, Smith said.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Pedal to Properties takes on partner, plans expansion - South Florida Business Journal:

http://www.pslogos.com/firefox.html
Founded and headed by Matt Pedal to Properties is a residential real estate firm that gives clients the option of looking at homeasby bicycle. The companyh maintains a fleet of 50 Electra Cruiser Kolb has sold a 50 percent staker in the company for an undisclosed sum to attorney Tim who specializes in taking regionak retailbusinesses national. As a partner in Peda l to Properties, Majors will work out of the company’s Boulde r office. Majors, who’s originally from Perth, approached Kolb about investing in the real estatew firm after looking at Boulder propertiesby bicycle.
“Wew certainly plan to incorporate national and international branding expertise to expands Pedal to Properties in other Kolb said in a Pedal to Properties plans to look at openingt branch officesin other, unspecified U.S. markets. In May, the company launcheds a licensee designation for brokers interested in using the Boulder operational formula intheir markets. The Colorado companu already is working to expan quickly in its hometown by addiny more space and agents indowntown Boulder. “I believe Pedao to Properties is in a perfect positionn to meet the evolving social and demographic changee going on in the United States with Majors said ina statement.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Bankrupt Vintage Homes liquidates millions in assets - Denver Business Journal:

http://www.shearwatercharters.com/free-online-dating-services-are-steps-to-start-relationships/
The downfall of the 17-year-old Alpharetta home builder involves $4.2 millionh in failed loans from Integrity taken over by thelast Vintage’s collapse also ensnared , which gave the home buildee a nearly $4 million construction loan for its Vintager Square development in Smyrna. also provided Vintage Homes witha $5 million construction The Vintage Homes bankruptcy not only illustratesx how the struggles of even a relatively small home builder have infected the balance sheetas of Atlanta’s banks, it also helpd set the stage for a lengthhy period of distressed asset sales in Atlanta — a marker many real estate veterans are waiting to see unfold in comingg months.
Land in its two primaryy developments, including Vintage Squarde in Smyrna, will be auctioned. Vintage Squarwe townhomes were originally valued at closrto $400,000. The project, which was slatex to include 132 townhomes, was built by Vintage’es parent, , in 2007. “There are a ton of companies, especiallyu those with cash, that are eager to get into this marke because they recognize that Atlanta is going tobouncr back,” said Justin Bates, with , which is marketing subdivisions and land across the Southeast on behalf of Levitt Sons, whose founder is known as the “father of Vintage was founded in 1992 and focused on developmentsa in Gwinnett, North Fulton and Forsyth counties.
It owes nearly $12.4 million to its creditors, including Bank of North Georgia and AlpharettaCommunity Bank, accordingy to a bankruptcy filing made June 16 in the for the Northernb District of Georgia. Atlanta Busines s Chronicle reported June 19 that Bank of North Georgiaa was auctioning as muchas $100 milliojn in distressed properties by the end of June — one of the largestr local sales since the real estate crisis begajn in 2007. Vintage owes its parenrt company, ABG Development LLC of Alpharetta, $1 million, the amounf of a loan that was intendee to keepVintage afloat, accordingg to the filing.
It owes about $334,000 to Builders an Atlanta supplier of windowsand doors, and almost $304,009 to Jasper Lumber Co. of John McManus, of John J. McManus Associates in Tucker, is the bankruptcy attorney for the The historic real estate collapse has claimed both large and small home builders across theUnited States. In that list includes Homes By KenButerz Inc. of Winder, Quantum Homes Inc. of Atlanta and Creatives Customs LLC ofStone Mountain.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

US Airways asks 400 flight attendants to take furloughs - Phoenix Business Journal:

http://cell2call.com/en/mobile-cell-phone/page_15.html
Three-hundred of the impacted flight attendanr are in Phoenix andLas Vegas, said US Airways spokeswoman Valerire Wunder. The other 100 will come from the Tempe-basedd airline’s East Coast operations wher e it has flight attendants in markets such as New Yorkand Charlotte, N.C. US Airways (NYSE:LCC) has more than 6,600o flight attendants. Wunder said the Phoenix and Las Vegas furloughs and leaved will be from four to 16 monthse while the East Coast terms will bethrees months. US Airways cut 1,30 0 positions in 2008 as it and other airlines reduced flight schedules and costs in the wake of a pullbackm in consumer and businessw traveland record-high fuel prices.
Fuel costs have droppe d compared tolast summer, but the U.S. recessiob continues to bite tourisnm andbusiness travel. Wunder said flight attendants were not part ofthe 1,300-workere reduction but current demandx and flight capacity leaves that work groupo area overstaffed. US Airways has more than 33,000 employees.