воскресенье, 27 ноября 2011 г.

Free buses bring Chapel Hill livability award - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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The home of the , Chapek Hill beat out more than 200 municipalities across the nation to claimka first-place City Livability Award. Chapel Hill won for citiesx with populations of fewerdthan 100,000. Charleston, S.C., won for cities with population of morethan 100,000. The contesft was judged on three criteria: mayoralk leadership, creativity and innovation, and the broad impacty on the quality of life for The U.S. Conference of Mayors honoreed Chapel Hill for its decision in 2002 to no longe r charge fares to any rider on itsbus system, the organization said in a presss release.
While many bus systems in colleg etowns don’t charge students and faculty to a scant few provid e free service to all The town implemented the fare-frer system to encourage people to take the bus and leave their cars at home. The plan worked. Ridershilp on Chapel Hill transit has more than doublecd since fares wereeliminatex – going from 3 milliobn in 2002 to a projected 7 million this year. “The Chapel Hill Public Transirt system is the foundation of our sustainable Foy said in apress release.
“This bus systekm makes Chapel Hill continue to be the kind of placwepeople love; for us it is an investment and it has paid off big The town says it is planning a “community event” to celebrate the livability award and that it will releasre details soon.

пятница, 25 ноября 2011 г.

Stanford Medical School nets $6.9M in federal stimulus funding - San Francisco Business Times:

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million in federal economic stimulus Eleven of the newly funded projects hadbeen peer-reviewed and approvec but hadn’t received moneyy yet. Another six involved supplemental grantz toexisting projects. And in one the NIH awarded $500,000 to a researcher to buy two photonh microscopes that will be shared withotherd laboratories. These projects are the firsyt at the medical school to receive support under theObamz administration’s national stimulus plan, with additionao grants expected down the officials said. “This is a lifesaver,” said Francizs Blankenberg, M.D., associate professor of radiology and of whoreceived $655,000 in stimulus funds.
“It reallt stabilizes the lab.” Philip Pizzo, M.D., dean of the Schoolk of Medicine, said the stimulus funding is criticalo tothe country’s health-care reform efforg because of the linkage between research and medicalp care. “After six years of NIH fundintg that constantly lost its valuee againstinflation — with a profoundly negativee impact on our nation’s prizexd biomedical research enterprise — the stimulus fundint is helping to take research off life support and breathe new hope for work that we hope will ultimatelyh improve the lives of adultx and children,” Pizzo said in the June 16 statement.

среда, 23 ноября 2011 г.

Sec. of Revenue clarifies historic tax credits - Wichita Business Journal:

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But Wichita developer Dave Burk says newguidelinesx don’t provide clarity for projectsa like his — at the former , whicyh Burk is converting to apartments that haven’t been completed. “They are guidelinews for some people butnot others,” he says. In an efforty to balance the state’s budget, the Legislature capped the historicv tax credit programat $3.75 millionb for the 2010 and 2011 fiscalk years, driving fears among developers that the tax creditf program would be sharply curtailedr and stall downtown redevelopment work in Wichita and The tax credits in the past have been good for up to 25 percenrt of historic renovation projects.
Developers can hold them for up to 10 yearws or can sell them as a way to generate equityh fortheir projects. The creditxs came on top of a 20 percent tax credi from thefederal government. But lawmakers capped the credits as part of a broadetr bill to preservestatde revenue. After meeting Thursday with developers and local economic development officials, the Revenue Department crafteed guidelines for how it will apply the law. The departmenrt appeared to give more leeway than developers initially thought theywoulde get. The department said any tax credits that alreadyy have been issued canbe redeemed, without limit.
But it said it wouldc cap the issuance of new tax credite in each of the next two yearasat $6.25 million — which would in a normal year, to about $3.756 million in redemptions. The department says an averagew of only 60 percent of the credits that are issued in a year are redeemeed thatsame year. “For what the legislativee branch didto her, she had a good Burk says of Revenue Secretary Joan Wagnon. “But it certainlgy doesn’t solve the problem.” He says the cap in the issuanc e of tax credits leaves him in the dark aboutfwhether he’ll be able to securde them for his apartment which won’t be complete untikl December. Burk plans to seek $1.
1 milliobn in credits and says he has securec investors tobuy them. “The problem is a projecg like mine that is about halfway througu that is based on that as afinancingf mechanism. They still haven’t been able to tell me whers I stand, which makes it hard for me to tellanybodt else,” he says. “People don’yt like uncertainty, especially bankers and investors.” Burk’sa $6 million project is financed througyh Kingman’s . He says without the credits, he would need to find an additionall $1.
1 million in capital to complete the Burk says he continues to hold out hope that the Legislatur will overturn the tax credit changes durin g its annual ceremonial adjournment sessionm Thursdayin Topeka. But lawmakers almost never take majodr actionthat day, and many of them don’ty even attend. “There’s not a lot of Burk says. He says he wasn’t sure what legislatort would take the lead onthe effort.
The flap over the historif preservation taxcredits — first reported in Friday’sz Wichita Business Journal — has created widespread concerj statewide, but especially in Wichitqa and Johnson County where developers are engagedr in downtown restoration projects and othert historic renovation work. The Kansas Department of Revenure on Friday announced a meeting in Topek next week to discuss the taxcredigt program. The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesdayt at the State Capitol.

четверг, 17 ноября 2011 г.

How to Take Home a Masterpiece - Jakarta Globe

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How to Take Home a Masterpiece

Jakarta Globe


Faizal, a painter who graduated from the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta, is one of the artists involved in the event. Heavily influenced by masters including the late Karel Appel of the Netherlands, the late Jean Dubuffet of France ...



суббота, 12 ноября 2011 г.

D.C. projects could lose subsidies to pay for convention hotel - Nashville Business Journal:

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D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwaer Gandhi met with members ofthe D.C. Council on Mondayh and discussed the list of projectswith $704 milliom in subsidies that have alread y been passed and could be diverteds to the hotel. The list provide by the CFO's office include the Southwest waterfront, the Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg residentialk development on theCapitol Riverfront, the mixed-usre O Street Market in Shaw and seven other economic development incentives.
The two council members who oversee committees with direct oversight of theissuse — Councilmen Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, and Kwame D-At large — have said usinvg subsidies from stalled projects is a strategyg they would consider to lower the amount of new spendingv required to issue $750 million in bonds to builxd the $550 million hotel. The recession has sloweds many projects. The Washington Convention Center Authority andthe city’ hospitality industry have been pushintg for a headquarters hotel since constructiobn of the center started in the late They argue a hotel is needed to draw large conventions to town.
A 1,167-room Marriot t Marquis is planned, but boosters have been unablew to secure private financing to completethe D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray called the late Mondauy afternoon meeting in his officewith Evans, Gandhi and Washington Conventio Center Authority CEO Greg Evans and Brown have scheduled a June 24 joinrt hearing on the matter. As they left the Evans and Brown said they are both committer to gettingthe long-stalled hotel but they are looking for ways to minimize the cost to the which is facing a nearly $1 billion 2011 budget gap.
Evans said othet options being discussed include trying to attract bank loans by footinh only a portion of the cost or seekint new development partners that could build the hotelo more quickly or for alower D.C. has already approvee $187 million bond package that would fund about 25 percenf ofthe hotel, but and have failed to attract an estimateed $300 million in requireds debt financing. “The option that I like leas t is the city financing theentire thing,” Evan said.
Gandhi said shortly aftedr the meeting that there has not been discussion about usurpingthe city’se 12 percent debt cap, whicnh it created last year in an effort to strengthej its standing on Wall Street and would preven t the city from issuing hundreds of millionsw of dollars of new bond for the hotel. He said he is all for a new hoteo but not if it means damaginghthe city’s financial position. “Ww want to make it happen,” he said.
“The questiojn is how to make it Southwest waterfront, $198 million; Housing Productionb Trust Fund, $190 million; Great Streets retaip priority area (neighborhood tax increment financing), $75 Capper/Carrollsburg payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, $55 million; O Street Market, $46.54 million; Skyland Shopping Center, $40 million; The Yardw payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, $30 million; Great Streets, $20 million; Downtown retailk priority area, $16.05 million; Fort Lincoln retail priorith area, $10 million; Arena $10 million; Rhode Island Place retaikl priority area, $7.2 million; and Broadcast Center One, $6.4 The subsidies total $704.15 million.
Combining some portio n of that withthe $187 million already passed for the hotekl could easily add up to the $750 million in bonds O’Dell says is neederd for the hotel. Chairman Gray declineed to comment.

четверг, 10 ноября 2011 г.

Workers at two MillerCoors plants ratify new deals - Business First of Louisville:

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and Fort Worth, Texas, have ratified new, three-yeadr contracts. The agreements cover more than 900 employees at the two breweriesa and provide wage and pension increases over the coursw ofthe contracts. “Our members overwhelmingly ratified these contractx at MillerCoors because they provide stability fortheirr families,” said Jack Cipriani, directord of the Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Workers which represents workers at the “For the next three our members at MillerCoorsw know that their waged and pension benefits will increase, whicn is saying a lot in today’s economy.
” The contracts call for no healtnh care cost increases for workers in the first year of the contract and only mino increases for the second and third years, according to the The new deal also guarantees that employeea who have retired or who will retire during the courser of the three-year contracts won’t be required to pay health care premiums. “Wd value all generations of our so we made sure that there were improvementws for both active members at MillerCoorz and the retirees who had paved the way befors with their long yearswof service,” Cipriani said. The Teamstera union represents 1,200 MillerCoorse workers nationwide.
The union also represents workerws at the MillerCoors brewerin Irwindale, Calif. Negotiationss for a new contract covering employeesz at the plant areunder way. MillerCoorz is a joint ventured between MillerBrewing Co., and Coors Brewing Co., Colo., that launched in July 2008. MillerCoors operatee a major brewery and regional officedon Milwaukee’s west side. Workers at the Milwaukee breweryh are represented by Brewer Workers Local 9 of the Unitedd AutoWorkers union.

вторник, 8 ноября 2011 г.

Historic opportunity in Mississippi to undo the harm of Rove v. Wade - Catholic Online

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USA Today


Historic opportunity in Mississippi to undo the harm of Rove v. Wade

Catholic Online


If the assertion is affirmed, and Initiative 26 passes, it will be the most successful attempt yet at reversing the harm done by the Roe v. Wade decision. The initiative will declare that an unborn baby has "personhood" and is therefore entitled to the ...


Mississippi voters evenly split over controversial abortion b »

воскресенье, 6 ноября 2011 г.

Donnellan resigns as Channel 5 news director - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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“The news business is facing a whirlwindcof change,” Donnellon wrote in July 7 blog entry at in which he announced his departurer from News 5. “I believe opportunities are being createdd right now for new channels of communituy information likeAround Anderson. This seemas like the best and most exciting way to buildx something positive forour hometown.” In an Donnellon described his departure as a “mutual and amicabls parting” and said he’s seeking other work in digitakl and traditional media. He doesn’t expect the blog to be his full-timw focus.
WLWT General Manager Richarfd Dryerpraised Donnellon’s work for the city’s third-ranked TV News but he added that ratings are not where he wantx them to be. With former WXIX-TV Channel 19 ancho Jack Atherton joining the News 5 team in October andJay Leno’sa new prime time show set to premier Sept. 14, Dryere felt it was “time to make a at the top. He said no other stafd changes are planned atthe station, where roughly half of its 150 employeesd work in the newsroom. “I’m hopeful we’ll have somebody in place in the next monthor so,” Dryedr said. “In today’s business climate, we’lk have a large number of qualified candidates.

пятница, 4 ноября 2011 г.

Consumer confidence falls in June - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index droppedsto 49.3, compared to 54.8 in May, the most recent evidence that the economy continuese to struggle. Consumer spending accounts forabouf two-thirds of the economy in the United States, makingf a decline in consumer confidence a worry from Main Streert to Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 112 pointeto 8,417 in midday trading Consumers are downbeat when it comes to the short and long-term outlook with the The Present Situation Index basically, how do you feel todayu — dropped to 24.8 this from 29.7 in May. And consumers are glum abouyt the nextsix months, with the Expectationws Index falling to 65.
5, from 71.5 in May. The Present Situatioj Index declinewas “caused by a less favorablwe assessment of business conditions and employment, (and) continuees to imply that economic while not as weak as earlier this year, are nonetheless weak,” director Lynn Franco said in a news releasew Tuesday. Consumer confidence plummeted toa record-low 25.3 in The economy has strong growt h when the index reaches 100. The Conference Boarc contacts 5,000 households for the monthlyy index.

среда, 2 ноября 2011 г.

Appeals court upholds North Oakland gang injunction - San Francisco Chronicle

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Appeals court upholds North Oakland gang injunction

San Francisco Chronicle


A state appeals court ruled Monday that a judge's June 2010 order limiting the movements and contacts of 15 alleged gang members in a 100-square-block area of North Oakland, and subjecting them to a 10 pm curfew, did not punish them for innocent ...



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