CHFA chief Alexander to retire in the fall - Washington Business Journal:

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Alexander started with CHFA in 1988 as head of itsfinances division, and became executive director in January 2001. “I’jm not heading off to a retirement Alexander said ina statement. “Severapl years ago, I determined I needed to slow down and reducee the stress level inmy life. But I stil plan to be active.” CHFA’s board has been preparing for Alexander’ departure, and already has set up a search committees to findhis replacement. CHFA Chairman Joel Rosenstein in hisown statement, that Alexander will be missed.
“Hw has been in instrumentall in CHFA’s success,” Rosenstein “We appreciate the strength of the team and organizatio heis leaving.” Created by the Colorado Legislature in 1973, CHFA makes loan s to low- and moderate-income developers of affordable multifamily housing as well as small- and medium-size businesses. Milrot “Roy” Alexander grew up on the Caribbeah island nationof Grenada, according to a Leadership Denver biography. After moving to Denver, Alexandet earned an accounting degree fromin 1974, subsequently becoming finance managee for a Colorado medical instruments maker and a senior manage at the Denver brancu of the Touche Ross & Co.
accountinvg firm. Touche Ross now is Deloitt e Touche Tohmatsu, based in New York. He was acceptede into the ’s Leadership Denverd class for 1985. After leaving Touchd Ross, Alexander started a specialty food store in Westminster But a fewyears later, in he became CHFA’s assistant director of finance. He was promotec to finance directorin 1990. Alexander’sx CHFA position and his retaik business overlappeduntil 1994, when he sold the food Alexander succeeded David Herlinger as CHFA’s executivr director in January 2001. Herlinger retired the same year.

First Bancorp acquires failed bank - Business First of Columbus:

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All branches of Cooperative are reopeninh today as branches ofFirst Bank, whichn is based in Troy in Montgomery County. Firsyt Bancorp (Nasdaq: FBNC) will acquire Cooperative’xs 21 branches in the eastern part of the statew plus three South Carolina branches and most of thefailedc bank’s deposits, borrowings and assets. No depositot will suffer any losses, Firsgt Bank said in an As ofMay 31, Cooperative had totap assets of $970 million and totalp deposits of about $774 million. The acquisitiohn adds $835 million in loands to First Bankand $717 millioh in deposits, plus liabilities of about $873 million.
First Bank is protectes by a loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC on the acquired Withthe acquisition, First Bank now has 98 branches in the Triad and other parts of North and Southj Carolina, and a total of $3.6 billioj in assets. Cooperative Bank is the seconc North Carolina bank shutteredthis year. The first, Cape Fear was also based in Wilmington and was closexin April. The collapse of the real estate markef and the recession has led to 40 bank failuresd nationwidethis year.

Governor Rendell Announces Confirmations and Appointments

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June 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Edwarde G. Rendell today announced the following receny confirmations of his nominees bythe Senate, as well as appointmentsa that he has made: Animal Healtj and Diagnostic Commission Brian K. Reed, Manheim - reappointment John C. Simms, Shippensburg - reappointment Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the ArtsRobert W. Pullo, York Constables' Educationj and Training Board Ms. Julie G. Ardmore - reappointment Board of Trustees of Ebensburbg CenterMarcelle A. Cooney, Cresson - reappointment Grace H. Meo, Cressohn - reappointment Board of Trustees of Polk CenterrJames C. Culbertson, Franklin - reappointment Joseph New Castle - reappointment Eleanora M.
Grove City - reappointment Board of Trustees of SelinsgrovCenter J. Steve Middleburg - reappointment Sandra H. Mengel, Mount Pleasanf Mills - reappointment Board of Trusteed of South Mountain Restoration CenterPaul E. Miller Jr., Chambersburbg - reappointment Frederick A. Reddig, Shippensburv - reappointment Board of Trusteea of Wernersville State HospitalKenneth S. Wernersville Board of Trustees of White Haven CenterfMaryanne C. Petrilla, Sugarloaf - reappointmen State Board of Barber ExaminersJamew N. Papoutsis, Chambersburg State Boar d of CosmetologyTiffany O. Howard, Pittsburgh State Boared of MedicineRadheshyam M. Agrawal, M.D., Pittsburgh - reappointmenty Carol E. Rose, M.D.
, Pittsburgh - reappointment Stephen L. M.D., Warrington State Board of Physical TherapuyMarybeth Lehman, MPT, Indiana John D. O'Brien, Pittsburgh Statre Board of Certified Real Estate AppraisersMichael D. Soileau, Philadelphia State Board of VeterinarhMedicine Dr. Juanita M. Harleysville Hardwoods Development CouncilLee P. Cummings, Troy - reappointmentr Daniel J. Evans, Johnsonburg - reappointment Elam M. Herr, Landisville - reappointment Jeffery D. King, Towanda - reappointment Scott J. Spring Grove - reappointment Dr. Michael G. Messina, Bellefonte Geraldf A.
Naugle, McElhattan - reappointment

The Media vs. the GOP: Intolerant, Anti-Women, and Always Too Conservative - NewsBusters (blog)

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The Media vs. the GOP: Intolerant, Anti-Women, and Always Too Conservative NewsBusters (blog) Bad weather may have forced Vice President Joe Biden to skip his plans to make mischief at this week's Republican National Convention in Tampa, but Democrats don't have to worry: the liberal “news” media have been “counter-programming” GOP ... and more »

Top bun: Results from Burger Wars are in (the real winners may be the judges) - El Paso Times

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Top bun: Results from Burger Wars are in (the real winners may be the judges) El Paso Times A cheeseburger from Frisco's won top marks from our tasters. This burger "is definitely the type that you want to put down after the first bite to truly let the flavor sink in," said burger judge Aaron Bracamontes. "And then you don't want to stop ...

Recovery Report - bizjournals:

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Home builders and Realtorzs said the decision should provide a boosrt to thehousing market, since first-time buyers won’t have to wait untikl they file their taxes in order to benefitt from the credit. “The biggest obstacle for first-time buyers is coming up with a down saidJoe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla., who chairws the National Association of Home Builders. HUD Secretaruy Shaun Donovan announced HUD’s decision durin g a May 12 speechy to the National Associationof Realtors.
The Federal Housinhg Administration willallow FHA-approved lenders, HUD-approvecd nonprofit organizations, and state and local government entitiesx to monetize the tax creditr by making short-term bridge loan to home buyers. Lawrenc Yun, chief economist for the Nationap Associationof Realtors, expects to see more buyerzs enter the housing market now that they can use the tax credir as a down payment. But he doesn’t expec to see an immediate impacton “The home buying process takes Yun said. “This summefr will gauge the succesa ofthe first-time home buyer tax The tax credit is available to first-time buyers who close on their home purchase by Dec. 1, 2009. A $39.
65 million chunk of the federalstimulusw package, routed through the will go toward ruraol public transportation projects, Gov. Ed Rendellp announced May 18. In total, Pennsylvania’s transi t allowance from the Recoveryh Act is expected tototal $347 million, the majoritu of which will go to urban transit authorities. Today’ws announcement represents the other piece ofthe pie. Some regionaol recipients will use the money to replacretransit buses, including the Mid-County Transit Authorityg of Armstrong County, which receivede $310,277; the Beaver County Transit Authority, which got and the Washington County Transit Authority, whicjh received $280,415.
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority willget $2.9 millionn for maintenance facility work and to replace four medium-sized transit buses. Butler Transit Authority will useits $5.3 millionh slice to build a multi-modal transportationn center. Pennsylvania will receive morethan $45 million in Justicde Department Recovery funds aimed at law enforcement and publi c safety, the U.S. Attorney General’s office announced May 20. The funds come from the Edwarrd Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant part of theJustice Department’s $4 billionj in Recovery Act funds.
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquenct had a long list of plan forthe funds, including improvementg of criminal record databases, services for at-risk corrections programs and initiatives and programsz aimed at reducing crime. The Pennsylvania Commissiojn on Crime and Delinquency is a state criminalp justiceplanning agency. The allocation of the grantxs is based on a formulaz of population and violentcrims statistics, according to a releass from the Justice Department. States are required to sub-grant a portiojn of the funds tolocal governments.

InMotion developing software to assist surgeons during implant procedures - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Most days it was Tarr and his assistant workinvg the phones to find funding and medical experts to workfor him. his research laboratory is workingon cutting-edgr orthopedic surgical tools. InMotion is in the earlhy development stages of computef software that assists orthopedic surgeons during sensitiveimplantr procedures. The software would be able to immediatelty calculate how an implanft would best fit inany patient’s The precision of the software coulrd dramatically improve a patient’s surgery recovery time and long-terjm joint health. “There is a lot of variabilitg in that process right saysJohn Williams, who leads the software researcgh side of InMotion.
“If the implant is too tight that can causer excessive wear and too loose can cause other problems. We want to be able to come in and make measurementsd on the patients directly in thesoft tissue.” Williams, who splits his time betweenh InMotion and the ’ new biomedical engineerinhg department, says this project is futuristic, but withih a few years reach, a prototype shouldx be available. Earliest versions of the program were developesd by Williamsat , a subsidiary of . Williams and research partner Bill Mihalko use donated by the Medical Education andResearcb Institute, to analyze the experimental procedure on real jointas and tissue.
InMotion’s program receivesz the measurements of these cadavers and makes decisionsx from those measurements about how to best attacn anorthopedic implant. The most commob orthopedic surgeries areon knees, includinb joint replacements. A surgeon with the , Mihalko is an experrt in computer-assisted orthopedic surgery and tests new software iterations onthe cadavers. Mihalko also wantds to track the patient’s results for monthsd after surgery to insure a properlyfitted implant.
InMotion is also working on a concurrent project that analyzesx the wear and tear of orthopedic implants in The software, which creates lifelike models of movements, was donated in earl September from LifeModeler in San Clemente, Calif., with a $400,000p research grant. Tarr says research like InMotion’s takew the guesswork out of complicated surgeries and drastically improvesxthe long-term health of “Each patient is very specific,” Tarr “We design implants so we can put them in anyone’as body, but the placement can make all the difference in the By understanding the patient’s pattern of you can understand how the implant will Things weren’t always running so smoothly at Tarr says the initial lift off was “It was difficult to get high level researcherz to come down to Tarr says.
InMotion now has abouft 20 full- and part-time employees in three brancheswof research: biologics, biomaterials and biomechanics. InMotiom recently recruited clinician scientist Robert Heck for lab research and to teachn at the University of Tennessee HealtjhScience Center, while practicing at the Campbell Tarr says there is one more joint positiohn with the Campbell Clinic left to fill. Memphiw is the No. 2 orthopedics capital in the orthopedice industry. Warsaw, Ind., dominates the industry with abouyt 45% of the worldwide according to Tarr. Williams has a Ph.D. and master’sd in theoretical and applied mechanics from anda bachelor’sz in biology from the .
Mihalko has a and a master’s in biomedical engineering from the anda bachelor’d in engineering and applied science from the .

Michal Anne Rogondino, Founder and CEO, Rocket Communications Inc. - San Francisco Business Times:

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HQ: San Francisco. 2008 revenue: $1 million. 8 staff plus 25 contractors. Founded: In 1992 and incorporatedr in 1998. Source of startup Personal savings. Self-funded the entire time. Cal Poly for two years, and graduated from San Jose with a majorshe created: human interface. Started Rocket before graduating from SanJose Age: 43. Residences: Hawaii and San Francisco. Web rocketcom.com Reason for starting business: I’ve known sincd I was a teenager that I was goinh to have myown company. Both my parenta are graphic designers and had theirdown company. Biggest plus of ownership: I love my They are like familyto me. And the clientws we have.
The calibed of talent is just very rewarding. Biggest drawback: Being responsiblwe for my own destiny, especially with the economy so crummyuright now. Biggest misconception: One woulds be that the money you make from your clientseis profit. No one understands the coste associated witha business. Your time is your own. I’ve had one vacationj ever whereI didn’t think about and that was only a coupler weeks of my life. Biggest business Our experience, the people on our team and what we haveto I’d say it’s easy to sell because I believes in it. Biggest business weakness: Because we’rew a service, you’re constantly havingg to sell it.
Biggest risk: The biggesyt risk was trying to grow the companyin 2006. I made a leap by hiringv executives and building up a team that I felt was goingf to be able to bring in more businesx and streamline internal It didn’t turn out that way. No more businessw came in, it endeds up being too top heavy. It could have been my Smartest move: Staying with GUI design and stayint focused on that one not venturing into web design or the various things that have been hot topicwsand trends. Biggest worry: The economy. It’s on the top of everyone’sx mind. It’s out of our We can’t manage it. Top source of inspiration: My They are so talented. It’s but true.
The way they rise to the challenges and stay creativewinspires me.

Adjusting the recipe: River Oaks Restaurant adapts to flailing economy with strategic changes - Memphis Business Journal:

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And he’s not about to let his just die. But in the restauran t businessyou can’t change things with a ham-handed approach. And you can’g bring big change to a fine dinin restaurant withoutalerting (and possibly runniny off) the regulars. So the most recent thint Vaughn has changed arethe hours. Once only open for the East Memphis “bustling neighborhoodx bistro” is now open every day from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. “Houston’s is open at 11 a.m. and they’rwe on wait until they Vaughn says.
“That’s a piece of our The River Oaks menu will not changedfor lunch, will be the same until the doords close and is the same menu “ourf regulars have come to The only difference is the lunch portion will be half of the dinneer portion and cost half as much. Vaughn says the Memphis dinin scene is inbad shape. The restaurant scene, he says, is holdinfg its own with a firm foundation laid years ago by pioneeringh chefs and new directions from chefslike himself. But the recessionm has made customersscale back. Some folks that used to go to Rivetr Oaks are now goingto . Those that went to Houston’sx are going to or other fast casuapl places.
Vaughn says he’s seen a 30% decline in businesa over the past year, which is a large chunk for a small restaurant thatseats 85. But for the Rivetr Oaks loyals, Vaughn isn’t about to changd their culinary refuge. “The goal for this restauran is to ride out the tough manage our costs and not allowe it to reflect to our Vaughn says. “We’re not going to cheapen the place up.” For example, you’re not going to find two-for-ons drink specials every night. But on you’ll find all wine labels half off. Vaughn’ws able to do that, he says, through a good relationshipp with hislocal distributor.
The biggest change for River Oaks came abouty two years ago when Vaughn says he first sawbusiness decline. Back he was shipping ingredients to Memphis from all over the worlc via The hundreds of dollars in additional freighyt costs began toadd up. “What I failed to realized is that (local farmers) are in the same boat I’m Vaughn says. “We’re all struggling for a biggerr piece ofthe So, Vaughn now choosese his ingredients from more local farms. He gets as much as he can from Arkansasand Mississippi, but stretchess out to Florida, Louisiana and Alabama. The local food movement is in full swinfg says editor and publisherMelissa Petersen.
When she and her husbansd arrived here two years ago therw weretwo farmer’s markets. Now there are five in the Memphiss area. Her magazine’s food guide used to highligh local restaurants that cooked with local ingredientxs and then listthose ingredients. Frankly, she she’s run out of room in the print Withlocal restaurants’ help, farmers are slowlyh able to convert from a retail to a wholesalee business model, she says. “They are working with chefsa and growing what they Petersen says.
“The farmers are bringing fresb deliveries to chefs each day and the whole thing producew a little cost savings for the Fresh ingredients means afreshg menu, Vaughn says, as he has to cook with the differen growing seasons. This has produceed a following that includes executives withFedEsx Corp., and other businesses who go to Riverd Oaks to see what Vaughn creates. That free rein to do as he pleasesa is one of the biggest businessd forces that guidesRiver Oaks. The restaurant is owner by a group of local investors who taketheir “silent titles very seriously and have put Vaughn’s name at stakse for the place.
The same investors are responsible for the renovationh on the same lot asRiverf Oaks. In developing the hotel, they couldn’t leave the formet Cockeyed Camelspace vacant, so they invester $2.5 million in transforming the Camep into River Oaks, namedf for the East Memphis neighborhood. Vaughn came to Memphis in 2003 as a chef with HiltohnHotels Corp. River Oaks openes in 2006 withanothee chef. Vaughn was tapped after that relationship didn’t work out. “Iyt takes some people a lifetime and a fortunes to get to that place where you have the ability to do whatyou want, how you want and when you Vaughn says. “So, this has been an amazing experienceefor me.
”

Try, try again, Jackets - Business First of Columbus:

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But the team learned loyaltiexs in this town for teamas not wearing scarlet and gray canbe fleeting. It took just days to put the Jacket love affair on the rocks from the time Columbus Business First reportec the club was in talks to sell Nationwide Arena using alcohol and cigarette taxes to fund the deal to when lawmakersd saidthey wouldn’t help after public uproa r over the plan. Few can dispute the role in this region’s The organization may have put a pitifulo team on the icefor years, but being a part of the pro sportx clique gives Columbus the nationaol profile it pursued for decades.
And image and quality of life can be key ingredients ineconomic development, which this area must be concernerd with as it tries to withstand the Which raises questions about the Jackets’ proposal and their Should they have expected anything other than a backlashb when suggesting a plan to take money from pockets when many are struggling? Columbus is sagging undere record unemployment, and the team felt it appropriate to talk abouf dumping its financial problem onto hurtingv taxpayers? Did they expect the public woule throw open its arms to picking up the tab for handsomely paid itinerant athletes?
Were they surprised their legislative championx came to see the proposition for its economic and political absurdity?

Report: Workers' comp medical costs soar - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The research also found that those costs would have been billionx more without system reforms earlierthis decade. The California Compensation Institute, a research organizationn made up of insurersand self-insured recently released the study on post-reform changews in workers’ comp medical payments in the Golden The study is the fourth in a five-pary series updating data on claim outcomesz following system reforms between 2002 and 2004. All the data in the reporg reflect when injuries occurred known as the accidentyear — instea d of when an accident was reported.
Since insurance companies’ payments have increased significantl yfor treatment, medications/durable medicak equipment, medical-legal reports and medical the institute said. Between 2005 and average medical payments for all claims oneyear post-injury rose 23 to $2,582 from $2,100, the study Meanwhile, “average medical payments on more expensive indemnityh claims climbed 28 percent (fromm $4,443 to $5,665),” the report said. Even though medical costs are rising, the reforms are estimatedx to have saved cumulativelybetween $12. billion and $25.3 billion in medical costs between 2004and 2008.
Some of the medicaol management tools put in place by the reformx were medical treatmentutilization schedule, mandatory utilizatiom review, bill review and medical provider The institute estimates that without the reforms, comp medical inflation would have continued at somewhere between 8.2 percenrt a year — which is half the pre-reforj annual inflation rate — and 16.4 percent, whicjh is the average annual inflation rate betweeh 1999 and 2002.

Komen gives $2.5M in fight against breast cancer - St. Louis Business Journal:

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People’s Sister Connection Reaching In A Comprehensive Program for Breasrt CancerScreening St. Louis University, Department of Internal Medicinwe Solutionsfor Women: Breast Health Education and Outreach for Underserved Women STEP-UP Grace Hill , Inc. Tightenin g the Safety Net: Caring for Underserved People throughb Community Alliances and Navigation Wellnessd forWomen Women’s Information and Screening Endeavor (WISE) 2009 CRAFT Grant The recipient of the CRAFr Grant award is Dr.
Cynthia Ma, Washington University School of Medicinwe for herPhase I/II Clinicak Trial evaluating the therapeutic strategiesx for patients with metastatic breast

Triangle transit projects get $23M in stimulus funds - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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million for the city of Raleighb to build a new maintenance and operations facility for its Capital AreaTransi buses. Gov. Beverly Perdue announced that $103 millionm has been allocated for transitprojects Statewide. Twenty-on e urban transit systems will receive morethan $70 milliomn for 77 projects. The largest allocation, at $20.u8 million, goes to Charlottr Area Transit System's North Davidson Stree bus facility. Projects in ruralo areas across the state totaled morethan $33 Government officials estimate the projects will create or retaij more than 3,200 jobs.
Besideds the CAT facility, Triangle projects receiving stimulus moneyu includethe following: • Durham Area Transitg Authority will receive $4.3 million for projects including paratransit vehicl replacements and maintenance, bus repaintingg and bus GPS systems; Triangle Transit will receive $3.7 millioj for projects including a vanpool expansion, vehiclee locator systems, replacement buses, preventative maintenancew and an expansion of the parking lot at the Nelsonm Road facility; • Durham County Accesws will receive $39,075 that will be used to buy threse lift-equipped vans and also to hire a full-timse mobility manager; • Chapel Hill Transit will receivre $2.
7 million for projects including replacement buses and paratransiy vehicles, preventative maintenance and computer technologgy hardware and software; • Orange Public Transportatiobn will receive about $550,00o0 for replacement transit • Cary/C-Tran will receive $95,000 for bus stops, shelters and benchews • Wake Coordinated Transportation Service will receive $84,420 for six lift-equipped replacement vans.

June job cuts lowest in 15 months - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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American employers cut 74,3933 jobs last month. That is 33 percent lowefr thanthe 111,182 jobs cut in May, accordintg to Challenger. June’s cuts signaler the first time sinc September that the monthly total was less than Job cuts have declinexd each month since reachinga seven-year high of 241,749 in But despite the decline, the 896,675r lost jobs in the first six months of 2009 is the larges January-to-June total since Chicago-based Challenger begahn tracking job cuts in 1989. “Thiz recent drop-off may be indicative of an overal l downward trend inlayofdf activity,” CEO John A. Challenger said in a statement.
“Wse will probably see job cut activitu increase from current levels in themonthsa ahead, but job cuts in the seconf half of the year are likely to be lower than the first half.” Government and automotive sectors have been the hardestg hit, accounting for one in every four jobs Last year the majority of jobs were lost in the financialk sector.

Attorney: Ohio moviegoer brought gun for protection - CNN

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E! Online

Attorney: Ohio moviegoer brought gun for protection CNN (CNN) -- The attorney for Scott A. Smith, who was arrested after attending the latest Batman movie armed with a gun, ammunition and knives, said the deadly shooting in Aurora, Colorado, last month prompted his client to bring the weapons for protection. OH Man Brings Bag of Gu ns, Knives to 'Dark Knight' Reuters 'Batman' movie-goer brings guns, knives for 'protection' Los Angeles Times Dark Knight Rises Screening Incident: Man Arrested With Gun, Knives at Ohio ... E! Online ABC News -Washington Post -CBS News  »

Austin has its eye on Silicon Valley companies - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The Austin chamber also spends a lot of time in he said. “When you compare housing costs, cost s on office and industrial space, labor costs, the overal l costs of doing business,” he said, “and you throwq in workers’ comp laws and other taxex that the CaliforniaLegislature passes, it only enhances our It’s not a new storh by any means. The chamber has a 14-page list of Californiz companies, including 43 companies from Silicomn Valley and another dozen or so from elsewherre in the Bay that have a significany presence in theAustin area. In 2007, for Borland Software Corp.
relocated its headquarters from Cupertino to It started out its Texas presenc with a research anddevelopment site. “I think it really started with workers’ comp issue in the 1980s,” Porter said. “Therew was a time when different states had officex in California because of the fertilehuntint grounds, and some of them stilll do.” Last year, the Austin chamber came to Californias 15 times, meeting with companies, venture capitalistd and site selectors. “There is a mood there that there’s going to be more bad news on theCaliforniz front, where companies are going to have to look elsewhere,” Porterf said.

Akridge, ex-JPI East principals form new company - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The new company will be calle d , a nod to JPI’s brand name for its such as Jefferson atCapitol Yards. Three years ago, even before the real estate crisisz and natural attrition virtually dismantled JPI the East Coast divisionof Dallas-based , Butz and Lamb negotiateed an agreement giving them the right to buy JPI East and the Jeffersob name. All they needed was an investment partner to fund the In mid-December at Belga, Butz and Lamb met with Akridge’e president, Matt Klein, a business acquaintancer they have known for more than 10 years and often calle on when doing due diligencr for acquisition opportunities.
Over Belgian seafood, the trio discussed Butz’s and Lamb’s vision of the perfect investment “We talked to high net-worthh families and Wall Street investment but we wanted the righytcultural fit,” said Butz, JPI East’sz former president. “We looked at how they trear people and customers and theid reputation for respect and integrity and givingg back to the With Klein, they ran through the pros and cons of each potentiaol partner.
The three met again in February, this time at an Italian eatery in Klein had been doingsome thinking: “Whyt don’t we just do this It was Klein’s Dick Chene moment — he had evaluatedr all the candidates and decided he was the best “Minus the face-shooting,” Klein insists. “You want to do busines s with peopleyou like,” he said. “Our team was watchinfg them set up this new and it seemed like we were another option that should be on the An undisclosed number of Akridg principals are taking a stake in JeffersohApartment Group. Klein would not reveal how large a staksthat is, saying only that “Jim and Greg are the managin partners.
” When the two men were forming theirt plan three years ago, JPI East had peake at 380 employees, including property management and constructionj crews. Throughout the fall and winter, as the companty sold off its property management divisionto Charleston, S.C.-based LLC, completed constructiomn projects and laid off JPI shrank to its current 22 offic employees. JPI Multifamily still has $2 billiobn worth of property inits portfolio, backe d by . Butz and Lamb continue to hold a partnershil stakein JPI’s holdings, including all the East Coasrt multifamily properties acquired or develope d by JPI East underf their leadership.
Three of those properties are new apartment building snear Akridge’s planned Half Street which includes 280 residential 370,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retaill in the ballpark district. JPI (and Butz and own Jefferson atCapitol Yards, Axiom at Capitol Yarda and 909 at Capitol Yards. Akridgw will not have a stakwe inthose properties. With shrinking new fewer competitors and a lending environment that favors multifamily assetsd over most any othe rasset class, Akridge and the new Jefferson Apartmentr Group feel bullish on the region’ws apartment market and on the ballparo district in Southeast When the capita l markets shake loose, the company hopes to raise an investmenr fund for multifamily investments or lure in an institutionalk partner like JPI’s GE..
Even without an investmenyt partner on call for any opportunities the newcompany identifies, Jefferson Apartment Group is alreaduy targeting five properties — with active offers on the tabld — in D.C., Philadelphia and Boston, and it is in the earl stages of planning and zoning new developments in Fairfas County and Philadelphia.

Pakistan jails Brig Ali Khan and four other officers - BBC News

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BBC News

Pakistan jails Brig Ali Khan and four other officers BBC News A Pakistani military court has convicted five army officers of links with a banned organisation. The most senior of the five, Brig Ali Khan, was handed a five-year prison sentence. The others received sentences of 18 months to three years. The army did ... Pakistan jails five top a rmy officers over links with banned organistaion Newstrack India  »

Travelers creates D.C. institute - Washington Business Journal:

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The provider of property casualty insurancerfor auto, home and businesxs said its institute will provide information, analysixs and recommendations to public policy makers and “Travelers is committed to being a constructivew participant in the public policy dialogue with regarde to important issues facing our said Jay Fishman, chairman and CEO of Travelers TRV). “We hope to contribute to solutions on a wide ranger of issues that faceour customers, our agents and and the communities we serve.
” Joan who joined Travelers last year as executive vice presidentr of public policy, will head the institute and work with the Publifc Policy Advisory Committee of the company’s board of directors. The institute also created a separate advisory board made up of publicf policy andindustry experts. Memberes include Richard Beattie, chairman of Simpson Thacher Bartlett LLP, and Leslie Disharoon, former president and CEO of Monumental

Terremark removed from Internet Index - Dallas Business Journal:

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The index tracks the performance of the largesft and mostliquid U.S.-listed companies engaged in internet-related businessew that are listed in the U.S. Everh March, the index is re-evaluated. Terremark’s stoc (NASDAQ: TMRK) was up 6 cents to $2.3t6 in morning trading. The company’sd stock has traded as high as $7.67 and as low as $1.8 in the last year. In an e-maik to employees that was filed with the onMarch 10, Terremarkj Chairman and Chief Executivee Officer Manuel Medina said he was frustrated with the recent decliner in the company’s stock and that there was a “disconnect” betweebn the stock price and the company’s performance.
“I believe that this can be attributed primarily to the apathu in the market place and the incrediblew skepticism of investors in the current he wrote. Medina added that one of the negativeds of being a publiccompanhy “is that you are being valued every minute of everyy day,” and that there are companiese with strong fundamentals “that are beingb penalized for the overall conditions of the 1-800-FLOWERS.
COM (NASDAQ: FLWS)

Doing Business in St. Charles: Land out west - Memphis Business Journal:

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When BJC completes its planned $32. 1 million data center in O’Fallon next it will join , and as majo companies with data centers along the Highway 40 corridorin St. Charles County. The new facilith will include 1,850 servers, and BJC has developed a plan to make use of the heat that all of thos e machinesput out. Maybe homebuilders should staryt growing grapes or building data centers on their unused The housing slump has been felt especiallyu hardin St. Charles County, where more than 10,000 home lots sit readg for builders. One real estate experyt considers thata six- or seven-yeadr supply, compared to a two-year supplyu before the market sunk. As demand has so have prices.
Lots that used to cost betwee $30,000 to $40,000 apiece, are now going for as low as $15,00 0 in some cases.

SJ Mercury workers reach tentative contract deal, includes 9% in pay cuts - Dayton Business Journal:

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An additional 2 percent cut in pay wouldr take effectin January. The Media Workers Guild represents 257 MercuryhNews employees, including about 130 in editorial jobs and 127 in circulation, finance and support A ratification meeting to discuss and vote on the proposecd contract is scheduled for Monday afternoon. If it would last 18 months, expiring Nov. 30, 2010. Otherr concessions include reduced vacation accruals and the relocationh ofthe Merc’s copy desk to Walnu t Creek, where MediaNews’ is based. It owns the Mercury News and 11 other daily papers in the which include virtually all of the dailh papers in the Bay Area excepr theand .
“This contract settlemeng represents our best efforts atprotectinf workers, jobs and quality at the Mercury the Guild’s San Francisco-based Local 39521 said in a “It is not something that we recommend lightly.” Mac the Mercury News’ publisher and could not immediately be reachedf for comment about the tentative agreement. The deal wouldd also permit management to require up to five furlough daysin 2010, move remainingg circulation and finance jobs to the Bay Area News Group’ds shared services center in San Ramon, consolidate advertising functions in the East Bay and San hire commission-only sales representatives to develop new business, and win some additionalo subcontracting rights, according to the Guild.
The contract negotiations have taken placs during grim times fordaily newspapers. Severalo major papers have folded inrecent months, including the and the printy version of the , and many major metropolitanm papers, including the San Francisco , , and face daunting financial challenges.

Kansas City Business Journal:

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Maureen Walterbach has joined Bryan Cave LLP as an associat e in the commercial litigation client service Walterbach recently completeda one-year clerkship with Judgre John Lungstrum of the District Court of Julia Gilmore Gaughan has joined Seigfreid Bingham Levy Selzer Gee PC as an associate in the litigationj department focusing on employment law and general Jamie Barker Landes has joined Seigfreid Binghan Levy Selzer & Gee PC as an associate in the corporates department focusing on real general business, and mergers and acquisitions.
Danieol McClain has joined ScharnhorsftAst & Kennard PC as of counselk and specializes in commercial real estate, product liabilituy and insurance litigation. Christopher Tiller has joinedd ScharnhorstAst & Kennard PC as an Tiller previously was a law clerk in the 10th Judiciapl District of Kansas researching corporate law, familg law and medical malpractics issues. Jacob McElwee has joined ScharnhorstAst & Kennard PC as an Previously, McElwee was an attorney for the Officse of the State of Bank where he dealt with mortgags lending, credit services, payday lending and other forms of consumetr lending in Kansas.
Lori Beam has joined ScharnhorstrAst & Kennard PC as a paralegal. Trained in radiology and paralegal functions, Beam started her career in the healtyh care industryin Colorado.