Sacramento home prices rise 8.1 percent - South Florida Business Journal:

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percent in May. The numbers compare to figureds from Aprilof 2009. The median price of homesw sold in the Sacramento regionwas $180,9409 in May compared to $166,284 in The figures still are much lower -- 22.4 percengt lower -- compared to May of last Sales locally also picked up 1.5 percent over April and were 4.8 more than May of 2008. Nine Californiaw cities individually posted price gains duringthe month, CAR said Thursday. A separate CAR report also showed that the inventoryfor single-family homee in the state has shrunik dramatically in the past year, but homes nonethelessw are taking longer to sell.
CAR’s Unsolxd Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homex in May was 4.2 months, compared with 8.7 months for the same period ayear ago. The inde x indicates the number of months neederd to deplete the supply of homess on the market at the currentsales rate. The mediaj number of days it took to sella single-familyu home was 53.5 days in May, compared with 49.2 days for the same perioed a year ago. The report showed that the numbere of sales increased statewide in Mayby 35.2 percentt to a seasonally adjusted rate of 556,590p on an annualized basis while the median price of an existing, single-family detached home droppesd 30.4 percent to $267,570.
The price in May was up 4.2 percentf from April’s median.

Judge sets Statler auction - Business First of Buffalo:

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Issa had pledged to invest morethan $100 million in the Statle and returning it to its showplace status by bringing in a 150-roojm hotel and converting the upper floorss into upscale condominiums. Issa had also announced plansd to constructa 40-story tower at the corner of West Mohawo Street and South Elmwood Avenue. Only a minimalk portion of the renovations evertook place. No work has takem place in the Statler sinceApril 2008. The towef property was sold last summerfor $2.5 million. Issa has not been in Buffallo in more than 18 monthxs allegedly because ofvisa problems.
This winter he was found in contempt of court by State Supremed Court Justice John Curran in relation to the Park LaneCaterin litigation. Creditors, including the Park Lane, petitioned federal courtsd to place the Statler into involuntary Chapte r11 protection. Bucki agreed and placed the Chapter 11 protectiohn on the building onApril 13. New York City attorneh Joseph Leon, who represents Bashar said his clientis “beingv portrayed as a bad actor of some sort.” Leon said Issa investefd $8 million in renovations to the Statler. “kI walked through there and expected to see exposed dry wall andhangingf wires, but I didn’t,” Leon said.
“My clienrt was sabotaged by the economy. When you peel back all the what you have is an economicallhychallenged owner.” Following Bucki’s ruling - which came after a 2.5 hour-long hearinv - the judge said he made his decision “based solelyg on the facts.” “The trustee’s concernx are legitimate,” Bucki said. Fink said he was not surprisex but disappointed bythe ruling. Both Pfalzgrafv and Graber, however, applaudedc the decision. “We think this was the right Graber said.

Pork profits put Murphy on Forbes list - Triangle Business Journal:

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Hogwash, responds President Jerry Godwin. Forbes magazine will put Murphyt onits "Forbes 400" list for the firsgt time, with a net worth of $1 The bulk of the wealty is from his Rose Hill-based Murphy Family Farms. His largest other asset is a 3 percent stakein Virginia-base , with an estimated value of $30 Murphy's status puts him in the middle of the Forbes 400. The minimu net worth this yearwas $475 million, up from $415 millioj in 1996. Murphy could not be reached for But officials at Murphy Family Farmd say the magazine vastly inflatedhis wealth. "Thos e numbers are way the hell off," Godwin "I've told them that several times.
" Godwinh said he believed the magazine miscalculated severakkey factors. Like many on the Forbesa 400 list, including Cary software billionaires Jim Goodnight and John Murphy shuns thepublic limelight. But Murphy has becomee a controversial figure in recent years becauswe of the rapid growth of the pork industrg and his involvement in the new Entertainment and Sportx Arena inwest Raleigh. Murphy reportedly has pledged $5 millioj for naming rights to Raleigh's new Entertainmenty and Sports Arena. Some have criticized that amounyt as being too low bynational standards. Murphyy has never confirmed makingthe pledge.
As for hogs, Murphty is the point person inthe state's lucrative pork industry, which has revitalized parts of Easter North Carolina's sagging economy -- but at a heavhy environmental price. "It's (our) belief that Murphy Family Farms and othere in the hogindustry haven't put enough resourcee into odor and wate quality problems," said Bill Holman, a veteranj Raleigh environmental lobbyist. "There has to be a way to grow hogs and not stinko upthe neighborhood, just as we make paper, chemicalas and textiles without major negative environmental effects.
The swine industry needs to get with Murphy founded Murphy Farm s with his father almost three decadesx ago inDuplin County, about 80 mile south of Raleigh, when hog farming was stillk a truly family At that time, hog production accounted for roughly $75 million in total state according to the North Carolina Pork Council. Tobacco was the state'x main cash crop, with pigs a secondary, supplemental sourcre of income. Last year hog farmintg was a $1.7 billion business in North with proceeds expected totop $2 billionj this year.
With 260,300 sows owned in October 1996, Murphy Family Farms was more than double the size of itsclosesft competitor, Smithfield Foods, according to trade publications. Murphy'se company accounts for at least 10 percent ofthe state's hog production, said Walter Cherry, executive directotr of the pork council. The "Murphy model," whicu spread across Eastern North Carolina and the is the coordination of all elements of pork from birth to slaughterto "Wendell ... was pretty much (one) of the said Cherry.
"And a lot of that was gainedc from what poultry producers had done in the There arenow 3,500 to 4,000 producerws in this state, and a lot are associated with the big producers." As a state senator, Murphyg played a role in the expansionj of industrial hog farms in when he sponsored a bill that deniedr counties the right to zone livestockl operations, regardless of size. Since 1990, the state's hog productionj has risen from 2.6 million head to abour 13 million. The ban on hog farm zoningt came to an end earlierthis year, when the Generakl Assembly slapped a two-year moratorium on new, largwe hog operations. Small farms remain exempt from zoning.
Whils hog farm expansion in North Carolina willslow down, Murphyg and other large producers are expanding rapidly elsewhere. A thirr of Murphy Farm's productionb comes from outsidethe state, primarily in Missouri, and observerse say the Plains will be Murphy'ws next growth area. And Murphy is a key investort inCircle Four, a massive hog processintg facility in southwest Utah.

Hosting.com relocating to Denver - Denver Business Journal:

http://knowwithoutborders.org/communication.html
The two web-hosting companies will combine operationsd at900 S. off Interstate 25, in Denver. The refurbished, multi-tenant officed building is part of the old GatesRubberf Co. plant’s eastern campus, which is beinv redeveloped by The Lionstone Groupof “We will grow aggressively over the next 24 monthe through a national platform of managedf and secure services … [and] Denver is at the center of our growth,” Art Zeile, CEO of HostMySitse and Hosting, said in a Hosting will occupy 13,000 square feet of corporat e space in the South Broadway buildin and operate a 30,000-square-foot data center there, accordinyg to the company.
The company expects to be fully movec into the space inlate August. After the Hosting office opens laterthis summer, HostMySite will move into the building as HostMySite currently is at 1400 Glenarmk Place in downtown Denver. owned by Zeile and company COOJoel Daly, boughgt Hosting of Louisville, Ky., for an undisclosed amount in May to give itself a more nationap scope. Hosting has four operating datacenters — locatedd in San Francisco and Irvine, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; and Del. — and will add a fifth when its new Denvedrcenter opens.
“By operating five data centers from coasttto coast, we provide our clients with unparalleled solutiohn and service options,” Daly said in a Zeile and Daly bough t HostMySite, which was based in Del., in 2008. The partnerws also formerly ownedInflow Inc. of Denver, a web-applications management company, but sold the business in 2005 to SunGard Availability Servicesof Pennsylvania.

Conviction upheld for convicted killer of 2 kids - Houston Chronicle

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Conviction upheld for convicted killer of 2 kids Houston Chronicle The court rejected what attorneys for Hector Medina contended were 53 errors in his 2008 trial in Dallas. Medina, 31, was condemned to death for the ... and more »

Haggen beats recession by pleasing thrifty shoppers - bizjournals:

http://palmeraprojects.org/news/article/cambodia-volunteers-story/
Today, — with 3,800 employees and stores from Ferndale, to Oregon City, Ore. — is the largest independent grocery business based in But the company has not forgottenits roots. It remainw headquartered in Bellingham and controlled by theHaggehn family. Dorothy Haggen, the last of the survivint founders, continued to show up at one of the locall stores for a long On the Thursday beforw she diedlast fall, Dorothh Haggen was there selling candy for her Haggen President and CEO Dale Henleyu said the company still abides by lessons from the company who learned they had to be committed to customers if they wanted to surviver during the Depression.
Even today, veteran employees will pull a new employee aside and remind the persom of the importance of treatingshoppers “That’s a cultural thing that has stayed with the companyg forever,” said Henley. “That culturee came out of the thingw our founders had to do to take care of customerws and survive during theGreat Depression.” Since joining Haggehn in the mid-1980s, Henley has seen the companty grow from seven stores with about $48 million in Today the company has 33 grocery stores under two Haggen Food and Pharmacy and Top The company had revenues of $844 milliom in 2008. That 2008 revenu e was down slightly — by about 1.
6 percent — from 2007. This year, Henlety said the company is projectingf revenues to be upslightly — aboug 1 percent. Despite the relativelh flat revenue, Henley said, it’s a relativelg good place to be, considering the severit of this recession. “I’m really pleased to be in the groceryu business,” he said, “instead of selling cars or TVs.” More customeres are shopping and cookingat home, Henle y said. And the company has adjusted. Henley said Haggenn still emphasizes quality, but the company also has put a majorr emphasis on coupons andits private-label as customers have chosen more of them over nationalp brands to save money.
Haggen also is doinvg more bargaining with suppliers and has lookeedfor supply-chain savings, looking to be more efficienty about how merchandise is shipped to stores, for “We are doing more with savings, and we are workinvg very hard to keep costs down so we can be said Henley, mindful that the grocery business is one of narroe margins and hyper-competitiveness. The company alwaysz has been carefulabout growth, said Because Haggen is privately held, he said, therr isn’t pressure from Wall Street to rapidly ramp up the numbet of stores. The last new store the company opened was a Top Food stors in aformer Larry’s Market store that Haggen acquiredx last year at .
Haggen recently completeed major remodels of twostores — one in Snohomish Countyy and one in Olympia. Henleyt said the company has options on three locationws fornew stores, but there are no plans to open new stores this year. “We are definitely beingt careful about where we are spending our capital and making sure it is the right thinfgto do,” Henley said. But Henleyy said there would be opportunitiesto grow. He wants Hagge n to be one of the companies positionexd to take advantage of real estate as well as possibly acquiring competitorzs that might be struggling because of the The recession has taken a bite out of someof Haggen’a prepared food business.
But despite the trend of customers looking to save money and cooking for Henley said Haggen is still committed tothe long-terkm strategy that includes offering customers convenience. “Ity will be a growth part of the Henley said. “And when the economy turnsd around, people will start craving for the conveniences as opposed to doing the workfor themselves.”

ATS Services is now Talagy, with new owner - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Derek Mercer, the nephew of ATS founder Delorex Kesler, acquired the company and will serveas chair. Kesler will retaim the title ofchairman emeritus. Amy McGeorg e will assume the role of presidenfand CEO. Terms of the acquisition were not “This is an exciting time in the growth and evolutionmof ATS, and I’m pleased to allow the next generation of leadershipo to take the helm,” said Kesler. Kesler createdd Jacksonville-based ATS Services in 1977, eventuallh forming a parent company that mergecd with three otherstaffing firms, including .
The business spligt into two ventures: , whichj became a publicly traded company and isnow , and ATS Mercer worked as the director of information technology at ATS Servicesx before creating his own company, , a global provider of on-demands talent management software, in 1996. Kesled provided a loan that helped start the Vurv Technology was acquiredby TLEO) in 2008 for $128.8 Talagy, which has 11 offices around the country and 80 employees, will continus to offer the same products and but instead of operating under multiple brandsx and business units the company will consolidatd into a single brand.

ECNext bidding for next big thing - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Westerville-based is adding "wiki" technology to its business research Website , lettinbg visitors to update and edit company information and add The company launched Manta in 2005 to put onlins a mix of free and fee-basefd information about more than 45 million publixc and privately held companies. Now it's hoping that by embracinh what is referred to asWeb 2.0, visitors to the site - and the revenur that comes with that traffi - will grow. Web 2.
0 refers to what proponents see as a secone generation ofthe Internet, focusing more on social networkinfg and collaboration rather than a one-way presentation of The popular Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia, whic h lets visitors alter information on the site's entries, is a leadinv example of Web 2.0. ECNext instituted the same wiki editingf technology on Manta because ofcustomer demand, said ECNextt CEO Pamela Springer. "Wer found that people have a lot to say abougthe companies," she said. "Theuy would tell us the information we haveis outdated, or not or they had just moved and wanterd to change the information.
" ECNext had set up an area on the Mantza site where company information could be updated, but it was unsuccessful because it was difficult to use, Springer The new feature lets visitors directly reach a page abouf a company where they can add or edit The move is part of ECNext's plan to providee complete information on businesses, whichn in turn can attract advertising said Bill Balderaz, ECNext's e-marketingy manager. "What Wikipedia did for researcy and MySpace did forsocial networking, we want to do for he said.
ECNext's business model has attracted morethan $7 millionm in venture capital investments since Decemberd 2004, Springer said, mainly from Columbus-based and Athens-based . Reservoit has invested approximately $1.6 million into the company sincreSeptember 2005, said General Partnerr Steven B. Jaffe. ECNext began in 1996 as a way for publisherz of data on public and private companie to get the informationh they compiled to the people whowant it. When someond uses a search enginre to find informationon , for instance, a site run by ECNexft can display a link to take visitorw to basic information ECNext has repackaged from its such as and .
If the visitor buys a full report, typicalluy costing hundreds of dollars, the clientt information provider and ECNextget paid. ECNext' s Manta.com site allows Web surfers to get thatsame information, only in smallerf bites, Springer said. Manta allows visitors to search the site for free companyu information and purchase portions of a repor formuch less. "Think of us as the iTunews forbusiness information," she "We take company reports and break it down into differentt chapters that people can buy in The Manta site generates revenue from subscriptions, purchases and Springer said approximately 5 million 'Net users visiteed Manta in June.
A quarter of the site'sx traffic comes from repeat visitors, and those visitors typically go through 25 to 30 page viewesper visit. "Their magic," Jaffe said of ECNext, "wasa the ability to fractionalize the Springer said Manta generated 15 percentof ECNext's revenues in 2006, helping the company eclipsew the $10 million mark. Springer expects Manta's contribution to increas this year to 30 percentof ECNext's revenure and 50 percent in 2008. She said the compan y has seen overall revenue growth of 65 percent a year recently and expectws thatto continue.

Railroads hail bill

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Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., introducer the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Actof 2009. Amont other things, the bill would have moved the power to reviee railroad mergers from the federal Surfaced Transportation Board to the Justice Department and the FederaoTrade Commission. Kohl’s legislation would have made it easier for rail customersa or state attorneys general to fight rates and to go to court over railroac purchases and mergers that they viewed as Beyond that, the bill would have limited ability to work together to set ratews from one carrier’s tracks to Railroads pushed hard against the bill, arguing that it woulds have subjected them to two or more sets of meaning both the Surface Transportatioh Board, on the one side, and the Justics Department and the courts on the other.
“The oversighft is there now,” says Patrick Hiatte, a spokesman for BNSF a unit ofBurlington Northern. Kohl, chairman of the Senatr JudiciaryAntitrust Subcommittee, vowef to bring the bill to the full Senate, but was opposesd by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va. chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation tried to craft separate railroad The fightended quickly, with Kohl pulling the bill and then sendinbg a joint letter with Rockefeller to colleagues sayinyg that the Senate Commerc e and Judiciary committees would work together on bipartisan, “comprehensive rail competitio n legislation” that “reforms the Surface Transportatioh Board and repeals the railroads’ antitrust exemption.
” “This is a positivr thing from our perspective,” says Bob Szabo, executive director and counsel for Consumers United for Rail Equity, a D.C., group representing rail customers dependent on one railroad for transportation services. The group supports repeapl of theantitrust exemption. Railroads, were pleased that Kohl’s legislation was pulled, but were cautious about what might emerge from the joint effortg by Kohland Rockefeller. “Until we see it, we can’t talk abougt it,” says Tom White, a spokesperson for the Associatiobn of American Railroadsin Washington, D.C.

Overbrook Farm to sell off most of its horses - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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plans to sell off its Thoroughbred yearlings, breedinhg stock and most of its horsesin training, startinv at Kenneland’s yearling sale in September. “Over a perioe of more than 30 years my father developed Overbrook Farm into one of the most successful and respected breeding operationxs inthe world,” said owner Bill Young Jr. in a news “The decision to disperse is a personal one that came aftere a great dealof thought. I simply don’g have the passion for the thoroughbres sport that myfathed did, despite my respec for the business.
” Overbrook champions include 1996 Kentuckh Derby winner Grindstone, 1999 Breeder’s Cup Classic winnerf Cat Thief, dual classic winner Tabasco Cat, Preakness Stakes winner Timber Country and Belmonrt Stakes winner Editor’s Note. The dispersal will include about 200 The farm will continue as a small racing stabl e under the directionof Young’s son, Chrids Young. “Our goal is to lease the farm as aThoroughbredr operation,” Bill Young said in the release. The yearlings will be sold at Keeneland’s September Sale, which begins Sept. 14.
The weanlings, broodmares and horse of racing age will be sold durinbg the November BreedingStocki Sale, and the dispersal will continue during the Januart Horses of All Ages Sale.

Developers of new convention center hotel unveil plans - Nashville Business Journal:

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The development team, Colorado-based Phelps Development and Atlanta-basedc , was chosen Tuesday by the Metropolitan Developmeny andHousing Agency. Developers and architects say the curved design ofthe $300 million hotell would fit in with the wave design of the Countruy Music Hall of Fame and the rounded design of the nearbyt Sommet Center. The winning team’a proposal was chosen from 10 proposals submitted. MDHA will now pick an operatord forthe hotel.
The combined called Phelps Portman Nashville, will now enter the completd design process for the project and oversee all financinh and construction of the Phelps Portman recently completed the design and development ofthe 1,190-roojm Hilton San Diego Bayfron Hotel, which the development team’s seniofr vice president Roger Zampell says was launched just afterf Sept. 11. He uses that successful projectf as an example to say that all projects have their challenges and Nashville’s hotel will be no different as the team beginsx this task during a recession.
Zampell says they did not bid on othere convention center hotels inother cities, saying they picked Nashville because of its central its strength as a convention market and the city’s entertainmeng component. Phelps Portman has been involved with the developmentf of 10 hotelswith 1,000 or more Zampell says he expects to have the design procesws completed by the first quarter of 2010 and the starf of construction will begin three months later. Hotel constructiomn will take 34 monthse and it must open by 2013 when conventionse are scheduled for the new Music City The hotel entry will have glassa ceilings and bea vibrant, energized the architects say.
It will offer 100,00o0 square feet of meetingg space, ballrooms, restaurants and retail. Butch Spyridon, presidentr of the Nashville Convention and Visitors saysa 1,000-room hotel is necessary to alloaw conventions to take an 800-room block, an industry standard, and leavde extra rooms available for small groups or Spyridon says Portman has been interested in this projecf for three years and was a good choice for the job.
MDHA director Phil Ryan says the next stepds are for the hotel developers to do the desigmn work and MDHA to start buyinbg up land for the convention Other steps include the city workinf on financing the convention center and the hotel developer to work onhotel financing. He says those steps will take several months. The hotel will be buily on property south of the Countr Music Hallof Fame. Severa l local firms, including R.C.
Mathewa and Morgan & Morgan construction companies, architecta and the Nashville office of will be part of the Portmanj development andconstruction team, Ryan

NH GOP resurgence sweeps aside Dems in 2010 - Eagle Tribune

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NH GOP resurgence sweeps aside Dems in 2010 Eagle Tribune CONCORD, NH (AP) â€" New Hampshire Republicans built a resurgence in 2010 on an anti-tax, limited-government groundswell born out of the recession and ... and more »