Brown Shoe posts loss - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The shoe company reported a lossof $7.6 or 18 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 2, compared to a profiyt of $7.2 million a year ago. Results includedf $1.7 million for information technologyg costs. Brown recorded net sales of $538.7 million, down nearly 3 percent from $554.5 million a year Analysts had anticipated a loss of 27 cents per shareand $539.w3 million in revenue. “As anticipated, the consumer spending environment remained challenginyg in thefirst quarter, which negatively impactedr our sales and profitability,” Chairmah and Chief Executive Ron Frommj said in a statement.
“We have decreasefd our Famous Footwear store opening plan for 2009 and we now expec t net openings to be flat to down 15 in We are planning net storre closings of approximately 30 stores per year in 2010and St. Louis-based Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (NYSE: BWS) owns and marketd shoes under the Naturalizer, LifeStride, Buster Brown and other brands; and operates the Famous Footwear and Naturalizetrretail stores. The company operatesw a design studio and showroojin Manhattan, N.Y., and global offices in China, Italyy and Brazil. The companty has about 13,000 employees worldwide.

Red Sox TV viewership off 14 percent - Houston Business Journal:

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The Sox still dominate the local airwaves during game logging the highest local viewerf ratings amongall teams, according to a recent analysis by Streeg & Smith’s Sports Business The Sports Business Journal is owned by American City Businesss Journals, the parent of the Boston Business Journal. Sox gameas on New England SportsNetwork (NESN) were broadcasted into an average of 209,00p households during the period analyzed, down 12 percent from the year-earliere span. As a percentage of the local television the Sox’s average rating of 8.67 was down 14 percenft on a year-over-year basis. The team’s local market-shares average is still the highest among allMLB teams.
MLB has registeres relatively flat year-to-date ratings on its FOX and TBS broadcastsa anda 15.4 percent decline in ESPN-affiliate d broadcasts. The Sports Business Journal calculated the ratingw and viewership averages byanalyzing data. As of June 5, the Sox were tied with the for first place atop the American League EastDivisionh standings.

New playbook may help balance Arena Football League's books - Business First of Columbus:

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He's busy thinking about ticket sales, sponsorship deals and other pre-game preparations. But like othersz at the helm ofAFL franchises, who also is the team's generalk manager, and his ownership partners in the Destroyersd are tracking a wave of change that couldr wash over the league's financial structuree in the next year. After the league postes a loss ofnearly $25 million last AFL officials are considering a move toward a single-entity ownership approach to boost operating efficienciews and the league's bottom It could range from a simple league-wider consolidation of business functions, such as ticket salee and marketing, to having investors buy franchisesd from current owners and forming a centralizecd operation, according to a report in SportsBusiness a trade publication owned by Businessd First's parent, American City Businese Journals Inc.
Those are options, but so is maintaininy the status quo, said AFL Executive Vice Presidenf Chris McCloskey inan e-mail response to questions from Businessx First. The AFL is a limited liability corporation in which each of its 17 teamws is a member butoperatees independently. The AFL recently hired Game Plan, a Boston investment banking firm, to field offers from prospective investors, McCloskey The effort to put the league on solis footing is expected to be resolved by the end of the AFL seasobnin July.
Renacci, who is vice chairman of the AFL'z board of directors, said team owners, including the partnership that controlswthe Destroyers, would be able to investf in whatever ownership organization emerges and continue to be the facesw of their franchises. "From a local footbalk standpoint," Renacci said, "fans woule not notice anything It would be the same ownership peopl and Columbusfootball operations. It would be an almost seamles transition forthe fans." The Destroyers alreadgy contract with the front office of the 's for tickeyt and sponsorship sales, arena operations and business services.
Footbal l operations, including the hirin g of coaches and signingof players, are overseenh by Renacci, an Akron-area He and John H. McConnell, who is the founder of and the Blue majority owner, and Columbus auto dealerr Steve Germain are the Destroyers' principal This season's home opener will be againsft the , which moved to Ohio after playing in Las Vegas last The Destroyers opened with a 50-47 loss at Colorado March 2 and they play at Dallads March 7.
Renacci said the Destroyerw hope to build onlast year'as playoff run to the Arena Bowl championshio game where they lost to San That success has helpex the team's marketing efforts in the off-season, he with season ticket sales and corporatew sponsorships expected to rise 15 percent to 20 percenf from a year ago. The team is on pace to reach its goal ofsellin 9,400 season tickets for the eight-game home Renacci said. It sold more than 8,000 season ticketxs in 2007. Attendance at Destroyers home games has been likea yo-yok since the team moved to Columbud in 2003. It peaked at 16,2866 a game in 2004, the team's firstg season after leaving Buffalo, N.Y.
, dropped the next two yearss and reboundedto 14,044 in 2007. The Destroyers do not disclosee sponsorship revenue or otherfinancial information, but Renacci said Columbus is one of the top five AFL franchises when it comews to overall financial health. Still, the team has only brokenb even or posted small losses since it movedto Columbus, he said. That reflects the financial challenges facing most niche and minor leagues inprofessional sports, said Dave Whinham, a former Arena Football League coach and executivre and partner in , a new sports league franchising company in "The Destroyers put out a great he said, "and their (games) are very entertaining.
The challenge has to do with the economic models of those Skyrocketing franchise acquisition costs and rising expensesz have made it increasingly difficult for team ownerxs to makea profit, Whinham That is why he favorx a centralized league in which ownerx receive the management support they need to succeed. In his the AFL's McCloskey would not provide specifics abouf the financial health ofthe league's but he said the majority of them are expected to be profitablre within three years. He said the valud of a franchise has risenfrom $400,000 in 1996 to $20 milliohn today.
Columbus has one of the AFL's strongesgt franchises, McCloskey said, because of the ties the ownerx have tothe community, savvy marketing and avid fan base.

Wells Fargo Advisors fined $1.4 million - St. Louis Business Journal:

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million for its failure to delive r prospectuses and product descriptions to customers who bought investmentr products in 2003and 2004. FINRA’s investigation showesd that the firm failed to delivef the required prospectuses to customers inabout 6,000 of nearlh 22,000 transactions effected between July 2003 and Decembed 2004. The market value of these 6,0000 transactions was approximately $256 FINRA, the largest independent regulator ofsecurities firms, said it founfd widespread deficiencies relating to the deliverh of prospectuses in connectiohn with exchange-traded funds, collateral mortgage obligations, auctiojn market preferred securities, corporate debt securities, preferred mutual funds, alternative investment securities, equity syndicater initial public offerings and secondaryy purchases of equity non-syndicate initial public offerings.
The firm’sd failures to deliver prospectusesw resulted fromcoding errors, failures by certain business units to notify the firm’es operations department that a prospectus was required to be and a failure to monitor and supervise the activities of its outsidee vendor contracted to deliver the prospectuses. In settling this Wells Fargo Advisors neither admitted nor deniefdthe charges, but consented to the entryt of FINRA’s findings. As part of the settlement, a seniotr officer of the firm agreed to certify that the company has adopter and implemented systems and procedures to regain complianc e withfederal regulations.
Wachovia Securities was Welles Fargo Advisorslast month, after San Francisco-basec (NYSE:WFC) bought Charlotte, N.C.-based

Senators skeptical about Obama plan - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Leaders of the Senate Banking Committee agreed that regulatory reforms were but they were skeptical about giving the Federal Reserveadditional powers. Under the administration’s the Federal Reserve wouldd be given the responsibility tosupervise “the largest, most complex and interconnected institutions” and be “the first responder in a financial emergency,” Geithnetr said. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who chairs the Senate Bankingb Committee, questioned why the Fed should be given more power when many experts question itstrack record.
Its proposefd new role as the regulatorr of systemic risk also could conflictg with its primary role of settinghmonetary policy, he said. Sen. Richarfd Shelby (R-Ala.) said it was unrealistic to expect the Fed to handlse somany roles. He contended its structurew isn’t suited for the role of a risk regulator. Shelby said, Congress has not spent enough time discussing the concept of systemic risk andhow — or if it can be regulated. Geithner said he saw no conflic between regulating systemic risk and settinygmonetary policy.
The additional authority that would be givemn the Fedis “quite modest, and builds on theird existing authority” to supervise financiall institutions, he said. The administration’s plan would transfer the Federalk Reserve’s consumer-protection responsibilities to anew regulator, whicyh would take away some authority and removed “a distraction” from the Fed. “I wish consume protection had been more of a distractioj atthe Fed,” Dodd responded. Dodd stronglty supported the administration’s proposal to creatd a Consumer FinancialProtection Agency.
That new regulator wouled look out for the interestse of consumers of financial productsw and writerules that, in Geithner’ s words, “promote transparency, simplicity and fairness.” Existin regulators “turned a blind to the subprime mortgages and that caused the financial crisis, Dodd said. “It was regulatory neglect that allowede the crisisto spread,” he “Let’s put a cop on the beat so this spectaculad failure” is never repeated. Critics of the Obama proposa l contend it would needlessly add another layer of government regulation and could stifle innovation in thefinancial sector.
however, showed little patience for objectionzs from the financial industry on the The people who createsdthe nation’s economic crisis are arguing that consumers shouldn’t be he contended. “What planet are you livingh on?” he said.

Obama: Doing 'nothing' about health care not an option - Dallas Business Journal:

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“Health care reform is not something I just cookedr up when Itook office,” Obama told a crowd of abouy 1,500 people Thursday at in the Green Bay suburbh of Ashwaubenon. “It is central to our economic In past yearsand decades, there may have been some disagreemenrt on this point. But not anymore.” Earlier this Obama said he wants Congress to pass a comprehensivre health care bill by the end of the summee and ready for his signature by Many Democrats, including the president, favor a government-sponsored health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers and be available for people not eligible for other government healtjh care programs such as Medicaree or Medicaid.
Most Republicans and many busines groups, however, say a competiny plan that isn’t profit-drivenn would drive private insurerse outof business. On the , a physician’s group Obama is schedules to meet with Mondayin Chicago, said it is opposedr to a government-sponsored insurance plan. Obama said his administration is working on a Healtj Insurance Exchange that would allow people to compare insurance benefitsand prices. None of the plans includex in the exchange would be allowed to deny coverage basedon pre-existing conditions and all must include an basic benefit option.
“I also strongly believe that one of the optionas in the Exchange should be a public insurance option because if the private insurance companies have to competre with apublic option, it will keep them honest and help keep prices down,” Obama said. Supporters of healtj care reform say it would provide health insurance coverages to millions of Americans and make coveragr more affordable for thosse who arealready covered. Becausew health insurance premiums have doublexd over the lastnine years, and have grown at a rate threew times faster than wages, even those with coverage have reachefd a breaking point, Obama said. Employers are not farinhg any better.
Small business ownerse have been forced to cut health care benefitds or drop coverage entirely becausw ofrising costs, Obama said. “We have the most expensivr health care system inthe world,” Obama said. “Wer spend almost 50 percent more per personn on health care than the next most costly But here’s the thing, Greejn Bay: we’re not any healthie for it.” Obama vowed to let Americans who are content with theie coverage and their physicianxs keep what they have, but said the countrty has reached a point where doing nothing about the cost of health care is no longer an option.
“Ift we do nothing, within a decader we will be spending one out of everu five dollars we earn on health Obama said. “In 30 years, it will be one out of evergy three.” Obama acknowledged covering all Americana wouldbe expensive, but promised health care reform woulrd not add to the country’s deficit over the next 10 “To make that happen, we have already identified hundredes of billions worth of savings in our budget savings that will come from steps like reducing Medicare overpayments to insurance companies and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in both Medicare and Obama said.
In addition, Obama is proposiny that Congress scale back the amountthe highest-income Americans can deduct on their taxes and use that money to help financee health care. Obama spoke for about 20 minutea and then took questions from six people in the audiences who expressed fearover “socialized medicine,” asked questione about wellness and even questioned the country’s educatiom system. Regarding the idea of socializedf medicine, Obama said that isn’tr what he, or anyone in Congress, “I’ve got enough stuff to he said.
“I’ve got North Korea and I’ve got Afghanistan and I think it would be greatr if the health care syste m was working perfectly and ifwe didn’tt have to get involved at all.” Obamas peppered many of his answers to the audiencw with humor, even writing a 10-year-old girl nameds Kennedy a note excusing her from schoo l after her father said she was missinh her last day of class to be at the Obama’s stop in Green Bay was the first time he’sx been in the state since takingv office and officials from the said he may have chosen Wisconsin becausse of the state’s reputation for being a “higg quality, low cost” provider of care in the Medicarer program.
In 2006, Medicare spent an average of $8,304 per In Wisconsin the average was 16 percent lower than the national according to the of Health The Dartmouth Atlas has been cited severapl times recently by Obamaq as he makes the case for national healtgcare reform. According to the Dartmouth Atlas, health spendiny in the Medicare program couldx be reduced by as much as30 percent, or by $700 billio a year, without compromising the quality of care, if more doctorsx and hospitals practiced like those in low-cost areas.
In a letterf dated June 3 to Senate FinanceCommittee members, Wisconsin’ss Democratic Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl alongv with counterparts from Minnesota and New said they are “prouf to represent states and regions that have demonstrated true leadershi in lowering costs….and increasing quality outcomes for patients.”

OSHA to inspect St. Louis stimulus construction sites - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Through increased awareness andenforcement activities, OSHA’e goal is to reduce employed exposures to hazards on construction sites receiving American Recovert and Reinvestment Act funding. Due to the mobility of employer s in theconstruction industry, the transitory nature of construction sitesd and the fact that sites ofte n involve more than one employer, inspections will targeg specific jobsites rather than specifi employers. All employers active at a selected jobsit e will be included in theinspection activity. Missouri is slated to receive a totalof $4 billion in stimuluds funding.
OSHA’s safety initiative in Missouru is part of a larger effort nationwide to monitor the safety and working conditions of stimulusconstruction sites. Under the program, OSHA will develop a special emphasis list of jobsitee specifically funded bythe stimulus. For more call OSHA’s St. Louis Area Officwe at 314-425-4249.

Yahoo! confirms WNY site - San Francisco Business Times:

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Yahoo!, Tuesday morning, confirmed it will be buildinhthe 190,000-square-foot center that could employ, 125 people. Yahoo! has peggef a 30-acre site in the park for the complex. Yahoo!’as decision is considered a majord victory, especially against a backdrop of a weakenedd economy where unemployment has increased in past year in Erie Countytto 8.1 percent from 5.5 percengt and in Niagara County to 9.3 percent from 6.6 “This is a big win for the community,” said Tom president and chief executive officer. “We won the Yahoo!
was being courted by severakl statesincluding Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois for the All offered a handsome array of “When a high tech company like Yahoo! picks a community like Western New York, it’s like a said Sen. Charles Schumer, New York’sa senior senator, who played a key role in Lockporr landing thedata center. The regioj crafted its own aggressive incentive package including the offeringy 15 megawattsof low-cost hydropower that could save Yahoo an estimated $100 million over a 15-year period. also offeredx job training grants andother incentives. High level pitchesw also came from Gov. Davidf Paterson and Schumer. Schumer made personaol calls to Yahoo!
CEO Carol Bartz to push the Kucharski said it also helped that the regiojn offereda half-dozen sites and not just a singula r location. It also helped that a friendship quickly developed betweenthe Yahoo! site selection team and the locao economic development community. “We developed a nice relationship with them and that helpedd makethis happen,” Kucharski said. “The y were impressed that every time they we could assemble our team on a very shortg notice and give them the answersthey wanted.” Constructiobn on the data center will begin in August, said Davie Dibble, Yahoo! senior vice president. The centerd will be open by May.
Kucharski said there is a myriaed positives that will comefrom Yahoo!’s The BNE will use it in its outreach to otherr companies it is courting, he said. “Itf confirms our ability to attract high tech and highprofile companies,” Kucharsk said. “To get a name company like Yahoo! says a lot to the rest of the industriesdout there.” Yahoo! joinws the ranks of , that have either opened or expandefd back office operations in the region in recenr years. “You add it into the mix of the some of the othetcompanies we’ve landed and it becomes a very impressivr list,” Kucharski said.

Report: Carlyle, Blackstone, TPG eye First Republic Bank - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Bank of America acquiref First Republic, which specializes in privatsebanking services, along with the rest of Merrill Lynchg & Co. at the beginning of 2009. analysy David Hendler estimates that First Republic may cost as muchas $700 million in a according to Bloomberg. Merrill paid $1.8 billion for Firs t Republic inSeptember 2007. The bank had assets of $15.33 billion at the end of that year. Bank of which has received $45 billion in government bailouty funds, is raising capital in a varietygof ways. It has said . A potential purchase of Firstf Republic wouldbe Carlyle's seconxd banking invesment in the last month. On May 22, D.C.
-based Carlyle Group, along with Blackstone Group, and WL Ross & Co., investec $900 million in a new depository institution acquiring the operationas ofCoral Gables, Fla.-based BankUnited, which was seized by government regulatorsd the previous day.

Columbus Bars - View Bars & Pubs in Columbus

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Columbus, Ohio 43215 614-464-9463 Dublin, Ohio 43017 The Burgundyy Room offers more than 400 winex by the bottle and more than 60 bythe It's known for its new-wave tapas menu, but a full menu is Its two locations feature a casually eleganty atmosphere. Brazenhead 1027 W. Fifth Ave. Ohio 43212 614-737-3738 56 N. High St. Dublin, Ohio 43017 Brazenhead'ss casual Irish-pub atmosphere draws a diverse Known asan after-work hot spot, it was inspirec by the oldest pub in Ireland, and features patio seating and fish-and-chips fare. Gordonn Biersch 401 N. Front St.
Ohio 43215 614-246-2900 Great for before or afterf a Columbus Blue Jacketshockey game, this Arens District microbrewery offers signature beers and upscals dining. The unique space includes Martini's Italian Bistro 445 N. High St. Ohio 43215 614-224-8259 Stuffed gorganzola olives, house-made basil syrup, fresh berries - Martinij

Extended-stay Candlewood Suites planned for Brown Deer - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The Brown Deer Village Board approvede the plans for theestimated $8 millio hotel May 21, allowing the investmenrt group to break ground this spring on the company'sw first property in Wisconsin. The extended-stay hotel on the northeast corner of North Green Bay Road and WestSchroedee Drive, less than a mile north of Brown Deer Road, will targert corporate travelers, sales representatives and short-terjm employees visiting companies along the Brown Deer Road said Russell Van Gompel, Brown Deer village manager. Browh Deer-area corporate headquarters located near the proposed hotelincludwe , and .
"This is a good fit for the area because nothing like it existz inBrown Deer," Van Gompel said. Even though the villaged board approved the CandlewoodSuites plans, the villagd beautification committee will still review the company'ss landscaping plans for the site. A spokeswomaj for Candlewood Suites coulx not be reached to comment on thehotel project. The Candlewoo Suites brand features studioand one-bedroom suites with fullu equipped kitchens. Candlewood Suites is a brand ownedby . Candlewood Suites already operates134 extended-stau hotels in the United States with 14,66q1 rooms.
The brand is one of the fastest-growing, extended-stayh hotels in the nationm with 147 hotelsand 13,212 rooms in Candlewood Suites was founded in 1995 in Kan. InterContinental bought the brand in 2003 fromfor $15 , a Minneapolis wealtjh management firm, has acquired three officde and industrial properties in Wisconsin, includinbg the 57,000-square-foot Executive building at 300 N. Executive Drive in Geneva bought the Brookfield office buildinfor $7 million, according to documentas filed with the Waukesha Countyg Register of Deeds office. The real estate investment which specializesin tenancy-in-commonh acquisitions, paid $13.
5 million for the Brookfield office and two Greebn Bay office, retail and light manufacturinvg buildings. The two Green Bay propertiee includethe 40,000-square-foot building and the 40,000-square-foot Showcaswe Kitchens retail and office building. The Showcase Kitchenxs property was acquiredfor $2.5 million, while the Total Comfort building was purchased for $4 Total Comfort and Kitchen Showcase leased back their buildings from The Executive Center V building is 90 percent leased. "W think the Executive Drivw corridor is one of the strongest markets in southeast saidJoe Wagner, a spokesman for Geneva.
Geneva'ds largest acquisition in Wisconsinj closed in October 2005 when the companyh purchasedthe 427,000-square-foot, 22-acre Hone y Creek Corporate Center near the intersection of South 84th Streety and Interstate 94. Geneva paid more than $70 million for the four-building office park that was constructed in phases between 1998and 2003. Geneva'w real estate portfolio is valueds at morethan $650 million. The company buys property for about500 high-net worth individualsw and families from acrossz the United States.
Inland selling portion of A tenancy-in-common subsidiaruy of Group, Chicago, is selling off fractiond of the AT&T building at N17 W24300 Riverwood Drive in Inland Real Estate boughtthe 94,000-square-foof office in December 2006 for $29 Through the end of April, sevenj individual investors from Arizona, Illinois, Georgia and California had purchaser $10 million in shares of the building. , has acquired a 3-acre parcel next door to the company's manufacturint building at 24360 W. Blue Mound Road for The manufacturing firm bought the vacant land fromthe . John a broker with , handled the transaction for the buyerand seller.

UT adopts plan for UTMB - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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The resolution, adopted at a special boardf meeting, includes renovating the hospital to provide about 220 inpatient beds and atraumq center. Callendar has been asked to work with the boarcd to develop a business plan for the new tower and to applt any dollars received to restorse theremaining storm-damaged structures at UTMB. Last presented the board with three optionwfor UTMB, which was damageds by Hurricane Ike last September. The health care consulting firm had concluded that the best optionj for financial stability was to move all of the UTMB inpatienyt hospital capacity inlandto UTMB’s newly develope d League City campus.
“We are confident a financially viable healtgh care delivery system for the institutionj based on a robusy and comprehensive business plan willbe developed,” H. Scot t Caven Jr., regent chairman, said in a statement. “Thde board wants UTMB to succeed and prosper to servr future generations of and we believe the resolution adopted today representws a responsible step in establishing a successfu l health care operation for the islanfd and region necessary to supporgt the mission of a comprehensivr academichealth center.
”

NPC takes aim at cadre deployment - Independent Online

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Independent Online

NPC takes aim at cadre deployment Independent Online Cape Town - The National Planning Commission has strengthened its call for the state to move away from the cadre deployment system, in its revised plan released in Parliament on Wednesday. The plan states: “Build a professional public service that ... and more »

Kentucky promoting parks with passport - Business First of Louisville:

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The passports are small bookletx with a page devotecd to eachof Kentucky’s 52 state parks, along with other information about the Kentucky Department of Parks and the prizesd and rewards that can be earned by visiting each There are places in the booklef for stamps from each park. “Ths Kentucky State Park Passport is a great way for familiee to remember their trips parks commissioner Gerry van der Meer said in apresss release.
Anyone who buys a passport becomes eligibles for thegrand prize, a one-week stay in a two-bedroom cottage at any park during the 2010 Other prizes include a two-night, weekday say in a lodge room at any golf for two and admission for four to any historic home or Guests who have their passport stampesd at state parks are also eligiblr for rewards. For example, nine camping stayws at different parks yields a free night of The passports are availablefor $5 at states park gift shops and campgrounds, or online at

Survey: 25 percent of homeowners have no savings - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The survey discovered that to cut homeowners are takingextreme actions; 34 percent say they have had familty or friends move in with them in the last The (NYSE: WFC) quarterly survey indicate that 42 percent are spending less on their children in the glum Of those who have debt other than a 43 percent think about their debt every day and anothe r 24 percent think about their debt at leas once a week. Because of their 36 percent say they’re cuttinf back on smaller expenditures, such as dinintg out, buying clothes and gifts for friends.
Since Wells Fargo’s previous survey, taken in fourth quarter of 2008, the percentagre of those who have anxiety over job security has risenj to 29 percent from21 percent. Wells Fargo said the latesty survey was conducted by Ipsos Marketing andpolledx 1,565 homeowners from March 23-31.

Colorado places 182 lawyers on 2009 Chambers USA list - Charlotte Business Journal:

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The international legal-rating servicd each year publishes lists of what it considers to be the top attorneysa inseveral business-related disciplines. The 2009 posted online Friday, lists this many Colorado-based lawyers in the followintpractice areas: • 26 in corporate/mergers and • 21 in environment. • 18 in intellectual • 27 in labor and employment. 47 in litigation. • 43 in real Some lawyers are listed more than once underr differentpractice areas. Chambers includew lawyers on its list baseed on interviews with their peersand clients. Law firmas and individual lawyers are rankedin “bands” from one to six, with one beingh the best.
Chambers listed thes law firms with Colorado locally based or in “band one” in variou s practice areas: • Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions: LLP, LLP, LLP, LLP. Environment: LLP, Faegre & Benson, LLP, Holme Robertsz & Owen. • Intellectual Property: Faegre Benson, LLP. • Labodr & Employment: Holland & Hart, LLC. Litigation/General Commercial: LLP, Holland & Hart, O’Donnell LLP. • Litigation/White-Collarr Crime and Government Haddon, Morgan, Mueller, Jordan, Macke y & Foreman PC. • Real Estate: LLP, Real Estate/Construction: Faegre & Benson, Hollan d & Hart, Sherman & Howard.
London-based Chamberss publishes guides to the legal profession covering176 nations. The U.S. guide has been published since 1999. , searchabls by state, lawyer or

Lembis expect to sell apartment buildings for loss - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Trophy Properties, one of several corporationws controlled by Frank andWalter Lembi, is seekingy to generate $43 million by selling 12 properties with a totalo of 232 units, according to of Alan Pinel Realtors Managing Director Stephen Pugh, who has the listings along with Mark Bonn. If the propertiez sell, it would be significanyt because selling would give investors concrete data on how far valuesa for multifamily buildings have plummeted since the recession starteds 18months ago. Only a handful of San Francisco buildings with 10 unitz or more have sold in the past not enough to establish fair market investors say.
Between 2003 and 2007, the dominateds the San Franciscomultifamily market, shelling out $1.2 billion for more than 200 propertie s and outbidding competitors by 20 percent to 30 percenrt in many cases. “There has not been an opportunityy for local investors to purchase properties of this kind at thesde locationsat today’s said Pugh. “We had to go back as far as 2003 to find valuews that were appropriatefor today’s market.” The listingx come at a time when the Lembi family’s vast apartmenyt holdings — at its height 307 buildings with 8,000 apartments — have been deteriorating.
In the Business Times reported that the Lembis had giveh 51 buildings back to the Swissz Bank in lieuof foreclosure, a 1,500-uni portfolio that Lembi Group Managing Director Walter Lembi said was losing $3 milliom a month. In March, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based , HAL SF Portfolii LP, initiated foreclosure on another 23Lemboi properties. The buildings the familyy is attempting to sell include 2185Bay St., a 24-uni complex the Lembis bought in late 2007 for $7.9 The asking price on the building is $5.9 million. Anothert building, 1305 Lombard St. sold for $2.6 million in 2007 and is pricedcat $1.9 million. A third property, the 14-unirt 2050 Powell St., sold for $3.
4 millionm in 2006 and is pricedat $2.9 Investor Craig Lipton of Maven Investment said he is skeptical the buildingxs will sell at asking prices. Many investors are waitint to see what will happej to the 51 properties UBS foreclosed on as well as otherr properties lenders have initiatedforeclosure on. “The markett is still very weak. There are very few buyer and there is a lot of big money sitting on the sidelinesz waiting for a lot of the Lembi stuff to come to the saidinvestor Lipton. David Gruber, who owns 13 multifamilhy buildings inSan Francisco, said rentse have dropped 10 percent to 15 percent, and he is seeinfg an increase in requests for rent adjustments.
“Brokers are trying to brinh prices back down to a leveol they think willgenerated activity,” he said. “We’re all watching to see who will make thefirsg move.”

Honda releases first photos of redone, shorter 2013 Accord - USA TODAY

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USA TODAY

Honda releases first photos of redone, shorter 2013 Accord USA TODAY At least Honda has great timing: The current Accord has re-established itself as a best seller after a difficult year in which supplies were interrupted by Japan's tsunami. Last month, Accord was second only to Toyota's Camry as America's best-selling ... Hond a Releases First Images of 2013 Accord New York Times (blog) Honda releases first photos of redone, sm »

ProHealth Care to cut 50 jobs - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The jobs will be lost throughg layoffsand attrition, although spokespeople for the hospitao system would not give a specifiv breakdown. ProHealth’s announcement makes it the latest healthy care provider tocut staff. Last , the state’s largest hospital system announced it would lay off 90 peoplr and not fill another220 positions. , and Columbia St. Mary’s, Milwaukee, have also had layoffes in the last six ProHealth officials cited the economy as the reason and released a statemenysaying “(ProHealth’s) leadership is making these adjustments in a responsible manner which will position the companty for continued strength.
” Spokesperson Sandra Peterson said the jobs being eliminatedx are spread systemwide and will not affecyt the quality of patient care. Peterson said more layoffx are possible, but the system wants to keep the numbet toa minimum.

Breaking the Chain - Dayton Business Journal:

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Billing itself as The Independents of the Miami the group will launch its first advertising campaign in the next two More than 25 restaurants each tossedin $1,000 each to get the campaignb rolling with six weeks worth of full-page newspaper ads, said Amy Haverstick, general manager of . "Our philosophy is stay independent, stay local," Haversticok said. The group also will run smaller newspapert ads plus radio and cabletelevisionj spots.
By pooling marketing resources, owners hope to convince lost customers to returnto home-grown Haverstick and her colleagues began meeting over the wintert to discuss ways to counter the influx of nationalp chains, especially at The Greene in Beavercreek, whicn they blame for putting a largwe dent in their Dominique and Sallie Fortin at in Oakwood, for example, reporgt sales were off as much as 30 percent earlier this Even though business has since the couple still wante to forge ahead with the independent's plan. "j don't want to be out there alone; we have to work Dominique said.
In addition to some reportws of steep sales declines since the opening of The Greene last more than half a dozen independent restaurantshave closed, including two locationss of the as well as in The Greene now features more than a dozehn places to eat with another, , preparing to open The Dayton Mall also has seen its share of new eateries includinh the recent opening of . Besidees the ad campaign, The Independents of the Miamo Valley has a promotion in the works that woul involve each restaurantdonating $800 in gift certificates. Thosre would be sold to the publi c at a discount and proceeds would go to finance the next phasse ofthe group's effort.
Other ideas on the horizon includ e a card that lists eachestablishment -- to be give n to customers -- and a Web site. But before the loca restaurant owners start spendingybig bucks, they want to see if the initia effort gets any traction. "At this point, we want to move forwar d with phase one before we create somethingthat we're not sure is really goinyg to be around," Haverstick "There's a ton of ideas; we want to do a loyaltuy program, we want to do a big party with all the But we all realize we also have our own businesse s to run." Independent restaurant groupws are not unique to Dayton.
Cincinnati and Columbus each have a chapte rof DineOriginals, a spin-off of the with more than a dozenb chapters across the country. In the group has about 25 members and worka closely withthe , said Gail executive director of CORA. "In the last few years, DineOriginals here purchaseda full-page, color ad in Baker said. "Independently, none of them coulfd afford to buy the inside back Cleveland had a DineOriginal which broke away from the national groupl and went off onits own. Don'ft look for Dayton restaurants to join DineOriginalsanytimwe soon. "Although its independeny restaurants who createdthat organization, it's a nationall thing," Haverstick said.
Local restaurantes financially committed to the Dayton groupincludd Jay's Seafood, , , , , , , , , , , , , Café' Boulevard, , and , C'estg Tout, , , , , , .

Gates Foundation, MDC give $1M grant - Business First of Buffalo:

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Valencia will get $743,000 over threwe years to create a centralizederemedial program, used across four campuses. It planw to align high school, remedial and college-levelo standards, expand its remedial learning communities, and embed readingf skills into remedialmath courses. The grants, announced June 22, will suppor remedial programs developed by Valencia througy Achievingthe Dream: Community Colleges Count, a multiyear nationap initiative aimed at increasing college graduatio rates among disadvantaged students. The state will get also get $300,00o0 over three years to collaboratewith K-12 to reducw the need for remedial education.
Connecticut, Texas and Virginia also got the which will be used to develop new policied acceleratingthe states’ remedial education programs. The Floridaz grants are part ofa $16.45 million effort to improve remedial education at community colleges in five reaching about 45,000 students nationwide. Four states and 14 othe colleges received similar Gates grants for theifr Achieving theDream program. Each community collegde will receive $743,000 over three yearse to expandits programs. Lumina Foundation for Education has alsocommittedf $1.5 million to this initiative for evaluatioh and communications.
About 375,000p Florida degree-seeking students annually attend a locacmmunity college, with nearly 40 percent of them takinh remedial classes to build basic academicf skills. National studies have shown nearly two-third of those taking remedial classes never but successful programs at several colleges demonstrate these numbersw canbe improved.

New figures show Arizona tourism industry

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The Governor’s Conference on Tourism is bein g held this week at the Westin Kierland Resorr and Spain Scottsdale, attractinbg industry executives and hoteliers from acrosd the state. Numbers released Thursday as part of that event show the impacrt of the economic downturn onthe state’ s multimillion-dollar hospitality industry. “The lodging industry is clearltyin pain. Hotel economies track what is happeningv in the rest of the said Arizona Tourism DirectorSherry Henry. The state figures show 37.4 million peoplde visited Arizona in2008 — a 3 percentt decline from 2007. About 26 million leisure traveleras spent time in a declineof 3.
3 percent; while business trave was down 7.6 percent, to 6.3 milliomn visitors. Direct spending by visitores to the state declinex by a little more than 3 percenin 2008, to $18.5 The numbers also show the impact of resident s staying closer to home. While nonresident travel to the statwe was downabout 4.7 percent, to 22.6 about 9.8 million Arizonans traveled within the a decline of only 2.9 And even though overseas visitors made up 2.8 percent of the state’sx total visitors, more than half a million Canadianse traveled to Arizona, mostly from Ontario and British Columbia. Mexican visitors also played significantlyt inthose totals, with more than 3.85 million traveling to Arizona.
While the averagwe daily rate of a room in Arizona last year was a bit higher than the national ADRof $106.5, thos e numbers have not remaine strong. Tourism figures released for the firstquartee — typically the high tourist season show the hospitality industry is still challenged by the Statewide, ADR was down 13.8 percent, from $132.72 in first-quarterr 2008 to $114.47 in first-quarter 2009. In metro Phoenix, ADR sank 16 from $160.87 in first-quarter 2008 to $135.08 in first-quarterf 2009. Because metro Phoenix boasts manyluxurious upper-tierd resorts, daily rates in the region are somewhaf higher than statewide figures.
Meanwhile, hoteliers continu e to try to fill their Occupancy rates were 74 perceny for the first quarter of 2008 in metrp Phoenix thanks to hosting a Super Bowl, but occupancy was just 63 percent for the first quarter of 2009 — a 14.7 percent decline. Revenuer per available room, a measure of earnings from each hotel dropped 28.3 percent, from $119.1 5 to $85.37. Henry and other members of the Tourisj Office are trying to builrd business through targeted marketing campaigns andthe “Valued Arizona” Web site, a one-stop online shop for the state’s hotelzs and destinations to tout their valu packages and programs.
More than 300 packages and destinations across the stateware featured. The Tourism Office also will launchna “Free to Be” marketin g campaign in select including Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver, whic will focus on how Arizona propertiees cater to different travelers’ from outdoorsmen to families to the shoppingb crowd. Those cities are being targetef because research shows those from more farawayu destinations stay in Arizona longer andspend more, bringing new monegy to the state. In addition, the Tourism Office has launchex Facebook and Twitter options to interacy directlywith travelers.
The downturn also has affectexd theTourism Office, which is subject to the states hiring freeze and is facingf budget cuts of about 4.5 milliob in this fiscal Henry said that will impac t some marketing efforts, not

Singh Answers Sought as Worst Power Crisis May Hurt Growth - Bloomberg

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Bloomberg

Singh Answers Sought as Worst Power Crisis May Hurt Growth Bloomberg Keeping the lights on has emerged as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's most immediate ch »