Associated may post 2Q net loss - Phoenix Business Journal:

http://www.antiquesauto.com/2010/08/page/2
Charge-offs totaled $104 million at the end of the firstr quarter, according to Associated’s filing with the Federal DepositrInsurance Corp. Meanwhile, second quarter net charge-offs are expecterd to be between $60 milliob and $70 million, Green Bay-based Associatefd (NASDAQ: ASBC) said Monday afternoon. The figures was $56.9 million as of the end of the firsyt quarter onMarch 31. The bank’s managementg said weakness in the economy has resultedin asset-quality downgrades to Associated’s construction, commercial real estate and commercial and industrial credits.
“Wew believe loan loss provisionswand charge-offs will remain elevated due to the continueds deterioration in the real estate sector and the weak economy,” said chairmajn and CEO Paul Beideman. “We expect the pace of loan and assegt deterioration to moderate infuture quarters.” Associated executived said that, after taking into consideration the increased loan-losxs provision, the company’s capital levels will still exceerd well-capitalized standards as of June 30. Associated said its board has formedf a risk and credit committe e to supplement risk management oversight performed by the company andthe company's audit committee.
The boarr has appointed to the new committee John Eileen Kamerick and Richard The company willrelease second-quarter results on July 16. Associate stock closed at $13.37 on Monday.

Wine Institute names Ray Chadwick chairman - San Francisco Business Times:

http://www.brandoncebenka.com/article/Wholesale-Chocolate-Business.html
The vote took plac e at the San Francisco-based Wine Institute’s 75th annual meeting on June 8, but was announced Chadwick, who has been Napa-basefd ’ president and CEO since 2001, stepa down July 1 to become a non-executive member of the DC&E’a board, according to the Institute and That move was part of a broadert reorganization announced in early Also elected tothe group’s board were Tom Klein of Healdsburg’s as first vice David Kent of the San Francisco - and Livermore-based as second vice chairman; Kathleen Heitz Myer of St. Helena’s Heitz Wine Cellars as treasurer; and José Fernándezz of as secretary.
Chadwick also serves on the boarsd of the Napa Valley a regionaltrade group. Robert “Bobby” Koch, the Institute’se president and CEO, continues as its operationak head. The group predicterd in its June 12 statementthat “the difficult economy will pose many challenges for the and Chadwick will continue the emphasis on preventing punitiv taxes from being imposed on wine, and advocatinh for reasonable and liberalized trade in the U.S. and abroad.
” Anothe r priority, the Institute said, is its “Californiza First” public-relations campaign to informm policymakers and regulatory leadersabout wine’sw “rightful place as a beveragee of moderation.” The Wine Institute memberx also elected new district- and at-large directorz and alternates at its conclave at the in Napa and added nine new winery and associate bringing its total membershipp to 1,079.
New winery members include Napa’s Fulton Family Winery and PatriciaHowe Wines, Oakhurst’zs Idle Hour Winery, Redwood City’s La Honda Fresno’s Lomac Winery, Temecula’s Lumiere Winery and Hopland’e Maracucci Farms; new associate members are San Francisco’w law firm, and Northfield, Ill.-baserd Neal & McDevitt LLC, another wine industry legal specialist. The Institute is basedf in San Francisco, with offices in Sacramentlo and Washington, D.C. Eighty vintners serve as members and alternates onits board, whichh elects a chairman and other officers annually.
Koch said the groul represents wineries that accountfor $18 billionb in retail sales and more than $1 billioj in exports to 122 nations.

Jobs paying $100K or more at WNY schools - Business First of Buffalo:

http://rethinkentertainment.com/productiondevelopment/getouttatownseasonii.html
• 76. Buffalo (lead communit superintendent), $129,000 • 76. West Senecaw (district treasurer), $129,000 • 80. Frontier (assistant superintendentt for instruction), $127,862 • 81. Williamsville $127,824 • 82. Clarence (elementary school $127,671 • 83. Salamanca $127,575 • 84. Grand Island (assistant superintendent for curriculumand instruction), $127,366 • 85. Williamsville (principal), $127,303 • 86. Bataviw (superintendent), $127,000 • 87. Amherst (assistant superintendent for administrativee services), $126,880 • 88. Williamsville (principal), $126,759 • 89. Genesee Valley (superintendent), $126,690 90.
Kenmore-Tonawanda (assistant superintendent for human $126,402 • 91. Grand Island (principal), $126,103 92. Fillmore (superintendent), $125,869 • 93. Eden $125,675 • 94. Orchard Park (assistant superintendenft for human resources), $124,788 95. West Seneca (assistant superintendent for personnel), $124,500 • 95. Williamsville (assistany superintendent for human resources), $124,500 • 95.
Williamsville (assistant superintendenty for technical services), $124,500

Busmaker Proterra eyes Charlotte region for plant - Business First of Louisville:

http://91ud.com/article/Money-Advice-Runs-Low-for-Minority-Women.html
Proterra founder and Chairman Dale Hill has so far disclosedc visiting sites in twoarea counties, including the former Alcoaw Inc. aluminum smelting plant in Stanly County. He also likes Iredellk County. Hill says his company needs “aw couple hundred thousand square feet” on 10 to 15 The value of suchan economic-development project hasn’t been disclosed. Hill is interested in Mooresville for its skilleedmotorsports workers. But the area lacksz existing buildings that fitthe bill, Hill says. The Alcow plant in Badin also has challenges. “Ig would take a lot of cleaninv up toconvert it,” Hill says.
“It couled be a candidate facility but not if we have to pay for all the The company, based in Colo., also is considering locations from Michigan to South Carolina for an East Coast plant. Regional economic-developmentr officials are interested in any manufacturing particularly one that could bring hundredsof “We’re doing what we can to make sure they take a hard look at Mooresville,” says Russ Rogerson, executive director of the “Theyu could become a significant manufacturer.” Economic-developmentr officials in Stanly County couldn’t be reached. Alcowa stopped refining aluminum in Badin in ending 95 years inthe county.
Hill, who founder Proterra in 2004, already has had some successes in producinhggreen buses. His earlier company, TransTeq, made hybrid buses that are used by the Denved RegionalTransit District’s 16th Street Mall Proterra has developed fuel-cell technology under several government The company operates from a 13,000-square-foot facility in the Coorsz Technology Center, where its research, engineering, development and prototypinvg functions are based. Hill, a formed Charlotte resident, says incentives will be key inthe company’s decisiobn on a site. Proterra will make its choicw withinsix months, he says.
An unidentified firm is leadingy Proterra’s site search and discussions about inducements, Hill “We will go where the incentivee are there toattract us.” The company was initiallyg recruited to the area for a potentialo hydrogen-powered light-rail or trolley system. Hill is scheduled to speak June 12 at the Fifth International Hydrail Conference in He says his company has the abilitty to build a transportation system that runs onhydrogen “igf we have a customer to do that.” So far, other alternative fuels have powered Hill’s buses. “Our predominantf market is battery-powered and fuel-cell-powered Its fuel-cell bus sells for $1.
7 million and its battery-electriv bus sells for $1.2 million, Hill says. Both have zero emissions. One of Proterra’se rivals, both for customers and federall funding, is now based in Charlotte: hybrid-electric busmakerd DesignLine International Holdings. A DesignLine bus currently costs about according tothe city, which plans to buy as many as 200 hybrides from either DesignLine or Gillig Corp. of San Franciscok by fiscal 2012.
QUICKm •Advocates of hydrogen-powered transportationn will meet at the Fifth Internationa Hydrail Conference onJune 11-12 at UNC •Walter Kulyk, director of the Officer of Mobility Innovation at the Federak Transit Administration, will be the keynotde speaker. •Other presenters include Dale Hill, chairmabn of Colorado-based Proterra, who has been scoutingv the region for amanufacturing site. •Details: hydrail.
org

Feds close First National Bank of Anthony - Wichita Business Journal:

http://some0ne.com/babies-toddler/news_2009-05-08-13-31-59-872.html
was closed by the on Friday night, and bought virtuallu all of its assets. The OCC said in a release that it acted after finding that Bank ofAnthonyg “had experienced substantial dissipation of assetsw and earnings due to unsafed and unsound practices.” The OCC said that the bank incurresd losses that depleted most of its capital and that therse was no reasonable expectation it could become adequately capitalizedx without federal assistance. First National Bank of Anthongy reporteda first-quarter return on assets of -12.7 The bank lost $5.1 million in the firsr quarter. The bank had six branch including one in Overland Park and one in that operated under the nameof .
The branches all reopeneed Saturday under the SNB Bank of Kansas name and are maintainingy normaloffice hours. First National Bank of Anthony had assetdof $156.9 million and depositws of about $142.5 million on Marcu 31. SNB Bank of Kansas paid about or 0.5 percent of total to buy First National Bank of Anthony’sz deposits, and SNB bought about $156.7 millio n of its assets. The retainee the remaining assetsfor disposition. SNB Bank of Kansas is basee in Hutchinson and has two branches there and one in It is a subsidiaryof (Nasdaq: a holding company based in Stillwater, with $2.9 billion in assets. The FDIC and SNB Bank of Kansaws entered into a loss share agreement onabouft $130.
5 million of First National Bank of Anthony’ assets. The FDIC estimated that the cost to the insurances fund willbe $32.2 million. Firsty National Bank of Anthony is the40th FDIC-insured institution to fail this year and the seconfd in Kansas; Paola-based failed on March 20.

North Carolina Attorney General wins court order against Peak Fitness - Triangle Business Journal:

dusinenezoqoc.blogspot.com
The purpose of the bondxs is to guarantee customer repayment if Peak Fitnessw runs into furtherfinancial troubles. All of the Peak Fitnese clubs are organized under a holding One group of fourRaleigh clubs, LLC, filed for Chapte r 11 bankruptcy in April. Cooper’s office, whicjh filed suit against the company on Wednesday, announced a consent judgment in the signed by Wake County Superioer Court Judge Paul Ridgeway.
Under the ruling, Peak Fitness won’t collect prepayments from customers until the companyh can secure bonds for each of its In addition, the company will be requirec to submit sworn statements of its liabilities to Cooper’sa office twice a This week’s court action isn’t Cooper’s first run-in with the company. In January his office won a first court order that “made substantial changes to customerf service, contracts and billings at all 28 (Peak health clubs across North Carolina,” accordiny to a statement released by Cooper’s office.
At the time, Peak Fitnes also agreed to designate a single poin t of contact to handle consumerf complaints and to give advancee notice to gym members and theAttorney General'd office when a health club closed or transfered memberships. The gym also agreex to purchase and maintainappropriate bonds. Sinc e the January action, Cooper’s office says, Peak Fitnesa has closed gyms in Charlotte, Garner, Knightdale, Raleighj and Winston-Salem. Cooper says it was in March that his officw received notification thatPeak Fitness' bonding company would be canceling all of the firm’s bondsz as of May 12.
That same he adds, his office failed to receive swornj statements from the company on all its clubsd and that the firm understated its liability byapproximately $2 million. “Peajk Fitness has not been able to secure replacement bonds,” according to Cooper’s statement. “ These bonde are required by state law to reimburse consumers if the healthj club closes and thecompany doesn't have monet to refund consumers who paid in advance.” In the past five Cooper's office says, it has received more than 500 complaintds regarding Peak-related health clubs.

Crate & Barrel

http://comviva.com/careers/openings_fr.htm
Crate & Barrel, based in Northbrook, Ill., confirmede May 27 that Atlanta is one of the metrpareas it’s scouting for potential locations for CB2. First launched in Chicago, the CB2 concept featuresd contemporary furnishings at lowerfprice points. The merchandise, whicyh includes sofas, hand-woven rugs, convertible beds and a broadetr selection of eclectichome décor, is focusexd more on the younger generation of Americaj consumers that rent apartments and smalpl urban lofts. Besides Chicago, privately owned Crates & Barrel has rolled out CB2 in New Yorkand California, includinhg a new store in Los Angeleas that opened in April.
Another CB2 is slated to open in Miami’sa South Beach later this a Crate & Barrel spokeswoman In all, Crate & Barrepl has launched just six CB2 Inrecent years, CB2 officials have been focusing on new locations in Southern California. The company tendzs to locate in areaswith high-profile regional shopping lifestyle centers and freestanding sites. CB2 officials have been looking in densely populated areas with an averagee household income in excess of Its prototype store isabout 12,000 square feet.
While Crat & Barrel would not confirm what partzs ofAtlanta it’s been considering, sources familiar with the search say it’x focused on Midtown and West where new residential and retail redevelopmenr projects are still under way. In Daniel Corp. and are developing 12th Midtown, a $2 billion mixed-use projec built on a site that several years ago was littlse more than an Atlanta nightclub and a couple ofparking lots. Daniel and Selig Enterprisesd have made a presentation to officialxs from CB2 in recent according to sources familiar withthe process. The projects will eventuallhy feature more than 3 million square feet of residentiall andcommercial space.
CB2 would be the first nationak retailer to locate on theMidtown Mile, a sectiomn of Peachtree Street that economic developmenrt boosters hope will eventually become a retail destination much like Madison Avenue in New York City or the Magnificen t Mile in Chicago. Daniel’s and Selig project is meant to be a cornerstonee of theMidtown However, ’s Colony Square and Jamestown’sx 999 Peachtree will also be key components, alonbg with 1100 Peachtree and 1180 Peachtree, to a lesser brokers and developers said. CB2 coulsd be an important catch for theMidtowj Mile.
Developers, however, really need to land a much larger anchore store to give theconcept momentum, said Marand a Walker-Dowell, a senior director with CB .’ s retail services group. Barney’s, which has a co-op store in Buckhead’d Phipps Plaza, has been scoutinf the area in the past year to18 months. “Ther Midtown Mile needs an anchor store to start creating that critical massof Walker-Dowell said.

CEO Ellison says Oracle might make netbooks - Boston Business Journal:

http://excursionsin.com/en/exotic-excursions/page_19.html
His comments came at a Sun conference for usersw of Java software which he also said could be used on Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) earlier this year agreed to acquire Sun for $7 billion. "I don't see why some of thosde devices shouldn't come from Sun," Reuters quoted Ellisonn as saying. "There will be computers that are fundamentallyu basedon Java." Netbooks are inexpensivre laptop computers designed to connect wirelessly and are used primarily for checkin g email and browsing the Web. The market for them is expectes to grow to betweem 20 million and 30 million units this up fromthe 11.7 million sold last year when theidr sales took off.
Most PC makers now have a netbooko model and if Oracle does get into the market it will go up againstthe . (NASDAQ:HPQ) (NASDAQ:DELL) and , whicj either make netbooks or develop softwarefor them. Acer said Tuesday it will make a laptop runninhon ’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Androixd operating system instead of Microsoftr Windows, which most makers now use.

WaMu

martaemimbzini.blogspot.com
The renovations include about 30 branches in the TampawBay area, said Nancy Norris, a spokeswomann for Chase. Chase has hiredx contractors, who are currently hiring subcontractors for the Norris said. The branches slatexd for remodeling were builtwith WaMu’s patentexd “Occasio” design, intended to emulate a retaik store environment. Instead of standing behind the traditionalk windows withcash drawers, tellers help customers from kioskds in a circular layout and direcr those needing cash to machines.
Chase will eliminates the free-standing “teller towers” and cash-dispensing machines and replacse them with atraditional layout, includinf teller windows behind glass and offices wher e bankers can sit with customers to discuss Two Tampa branches, at 144 Westshors Blvd. and at 16069 Tampa Palms Blvd., servee as test locations and were remodeled in Februaryand March. They were not conducivwe to the traditional teller so they have a modifiec version of the designj that is planned for theremainingt branches, Norris said. The project raises a debatr aboutbanking styles. The traditional branches are more practicalo and more conduciveto privacy, Norrixs said.
But branches designee as retail stores allow banks to be more responsive tocustomerr needs, said John chairman and CEO of Piloty Bank. Since 2006, Pilot, a Tampa-based community has opened retail store-style offices in Temple Terrace and Lakeland with service islands fromwhicb “universal bankers” can serve any customed requirement. “It’s an environment where we can engage the have real conversationswith them, understand theid needs and be responsive to them,” said Chase aggressively pushes cross selling in its branches, industrh observers say. “It’s about transactions for Puffer said. “For us, its about interaction with our clients.
” Pilot plans to convert three other offices in Tampa to the Puffer said. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) boughty most of WaMu’s banking operations for $1.9 billion in after the housing market downturn caused losses at what had been the larges thrift in the United States and it was seizefdby regulators. While Chase historically has had a strongb presence inthe state, including aboutr 3,800 people providing mostly back office functions at five offices in the Tampa area, the WaMu deal instantly elevatedf Chase to one of the larger retaiol banking players in the Florida banking market.
Even aftert closing 25 WaMu offices in Chase now has 247 branches in all but 20 of them branches that it picked upfrom WaMu. Only market leaders BAC), Wachovia, (NYSE: STI) and RF) have more branches. (NYSE: which bought on Dec. 31, has said it will rebrand the Wachoviw offices over the next three Chase has been rolling out the WaMuconversions gradually. In Marcj it rebranded 708 WaMu officezin California, spending $375 million. Another 700 branches in Georgia and other states are scheduled for conversion in thethird quarter, followeds by 800 more branches in the western Unitef States in the fourth quarter, according to a Februaryg presentation for investors by the bank.
With its push into Florida, Chasee named Rich Sawyer as retailmarket manager, overseeiny a branch network in Tampa, Orlando, the Space Coast and 55 branchess in the Atlanta area. Chase is expectede to detail its commercial banking strateghy for Floridanext month.

Court holds condemnation's fate - Kansas City Business Journal:

All You Want to Know About Vinyl Siding
Company Chairman Steve Dunn said the increase woulcd breakthe building's budget whilwe endangering the rest of the proposed East Village, where a new federal government office building and Quality Hill-stylse residential neighborhood could be built on the East Side of downtowjn Kansas City. "Even if we had the additionaklmoney (for the headquarters), we've killed development in the East Dunn said. JE Dunn had expected to pay lessthan $35 a squared foot, or $3.5 million, for a blocl southeast of 10th and Locust streets. The companyg hired an appraiser who made this which is about halfthe court-appointed condemnation commissioners' valuation.
But question about the difference will be moot until the determinesathe condemnation's validity. The headquarters, budgetesd at $30 million in has since grown in size by more than a thirdrto 204,000 square feet. Risingf construction costs, which JE Dunn figuress at an annual rate of at leasgt6 percent, could boosyt the cost beyond $43 million. Tax increment financingb would pay fora $19 milliobn parking garage the city would own and manage.
JE Dunn woulds have rights to spaces for 50 Doug Patterson, a lawyedr with in Overland Park who's representinyg , which runs a surface parking lot on what'xs known as Block 81, said his clientf would sell for $75 a square foot, the pricee condemnation commissioners set in Patterson said Allright is ready to show why its parkinf lot's income makes the property worth $125 a squarew foot. But he said Allright will accept the condemnation commissioners price to keep JE Dunn from leavingKansaa City.
Allright owns two of the block'z eight parcels and leases the Another ofthe block'ws owners, , is less interested in sellin than using its property as a chit in negotiations on other parking lots the Overland Park-based company owns east of the Sprint Center, said John a lawyer for Ten Oak with in Kansa s City. But the city has shown "no interest," McClellans said. JE Dunn could buy property for its headquarters while challenging thecondemnationm commissioners' valuation.
If a Jacksojn County Circuit Court jury sides with the Tax Increment Financing Commission ofKansas City, which seeks to condemn the properthy at less than $35 a square foot, the construction companh would get the difference between what it paid and the lower price. Downtown property sale prices vary widely and historicallh have been much higher west ofMain Street. Sherwim Epstein, a lawyer with in Kansas has represented many condemned propert ownersbut isn't involved with JE Dunn' case. He said that valuess are set ona case-by-case basis and that out-of-courft settlements' prices aren't public record.
The first downtown condemnation toexceed $100 a squarde foot, he said, involved City Centetr Square, a 30-year-old office buildingy at 1100 Main St. Most condemnation prices sincd then have been much but land values are rising as Downtown adds attractiones such as the Sprint Center and Power & Light District. Steve Mauer, a lawyer with representing the TIF said thecondemnation commissioners' valuation is flawefd because it anticipates how the ground would be used. The correct standard, Mauerd said, is current use. A trial on the condemnatiom commissioners' valuation that had been scheduledfor Oct.
29 beforr Circuit Judge Michael Mannerw was stayed byVictodr Howard, chief judge for the Missouro Court of Appeals' Western District in Kansad City, on Sept. 25. Allrighy appealed the TIF Commission's takingb because it's based on a blight studgy for the entireEast Village, not each as required by Missouri's eminent domain law, which took effecr in 2006. More than half the parcels must be blightexd to enablethe condemnation, Patterson said. Otherwise, the purchasesz must be negotiated.
Mauer said the new condemnation law has needlesslu slowed the East Village whilre applying measures designed forrural "When you apply those type of factors to an urban he said, "then the economics go out of

Atkin is Originals director - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

ivanqukeafelovo.blogspot.com

Atkin is Originals director Sarasota Herald-Tribune The Originals is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 that includes 50 locally owned, independent restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee counties. ...

Transit regains lead among middle schools - Business First of Buffalo:

younkinesagugad1746.blogspot.com
Williamsville’s Transit Middle School finished firsttin 2006. Buffalo’s City Honors School pushed into the top spotin 2007. And Williamsville’ss Casey Middle School rotated to the frontin 2008. Whicuh brings us full circle. Transit has regainef first placethis year, marking its fourth appearance at the head of the list sincde Business First began rating middlw schools in 2002. for the complete middlw school rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectionj of WesternNew York. “We’re very proud of our says Jill Pellis, Transit’ws principal.
“It comes from a combinatio n ofthings -- children who are preparedd and ready to families who support education at home, and an outstanding stafc of teachers who take their jobs very Last year’s champion, is this year’s The two Williamsville schools, which are just threr miles apart, annually contend for first place in the middles school rankings. “But there’s no competitiom between us, not at all,” says Pellis. “Mgy colleagues at Casey are wonderful. We all want our kids to do and we were thrilled for them last Ranked thirdthrough fifth, respectively, are Christ the King Schoo l of Amherst, City Honors and Amherst Middlew School.
Business First assessed 211 middle schools acrossz WesternNew York, combingt through four years of statewide test results for eighth graders. All test scoresa were provided by the New York StateEducationn Department. Middle schools typically run from sixthh througheighth grade, though some begin in fifth Many private schools and a few public schools have an even broader span, educating everyone from kindergartnerse to eighth graders. They consequently receives two rankings from BusinessFirst -- one as a middle another as an elementaryu school.
• It was one of four Westernh New York schools wherre more than half of all eighth graders achieved superiorscorez (Level 4) on the statewide math test in 2008. It was among four schools wherw more than 20 percent of eighth graderxs hit the superior level on the statewideEnglisgh test. • It was one of just two school s to belong to bothgroups (The other was Kadimah School of Buffalo.) Five of the top six middlw schools are public institutions, with Christ the King the sole A second Catholic school, St. Gregory the has edged up to seventh placw from ninth ayear ago. St. Gregorgy is unusually large for a private with 650 students from preschool throughmiddlee school.
Principal Patricia Freund says theWilliamsville school’s size has helpedf it rise in the rankings. “It absolutely is an she says. “It allows us to have more programminv available, more to choose from. For we have three classes at every grade, and we have a complete special-education team, too.” The 11 leaders in the middle school standingas are all fromErie County. The top-rated outsider is No. 12 Stellwa Niagara Education Park, which is locater within the Lewiston-Porter district in Niagara but draws from a radius that isconsiderably larger.
“We actually have a prettuy broadgeographic base,” says Kristen deGuehery, the school’sz director of institutional advancement. “Wew have students from Lockport, Kenmore, Grand Island, even five familieds who come overfrom Canada. They went out and got theirr Nexus cards, and they make the drive every day.” Thirty-foure middle schools have qualified forsubject awards, putting them among the 10 percentf of Western New York middle schools that rank the highesyt in English or math.

Back to School Safety - Patch

http://www.linkshop.info/index.php?s=D&c=103

Back to School Safety Patch For additional traffic safety tips, please visit www.safeny.com. For questions or concerns about other issues, contact the office of Legislator Muratore at ... and more »

Fed issues corrective action against BankFirst - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

http://www.blogswank.com/index.php?s=D&c=312
BankFirst, which is chartered in Siouxc Falls., S.D. but is owned by Minneapolis-based holdinf company and maintains its executive team in the Twin has been issueda “Prompt Corrective Action Directive” by the Fed, which made the announcement Wednesday. The bank has until July 15 to increas e equity through the sale of sharex or contributionto surplus, or sell itselg to another bank or group of individuals. The bank did not immediatelyu respond to requests for BankFirst the Federal DepositInsurance Corp. list of Twin Cities bankw suffering firstquarter losses. The bank lost $14.43 million in the first quarter andhad $18.
3 million in loans that were between 30 and 90 days past due on its balancs sheet. BankFirst entered into a writte agreement with the Federalk Reserve Bank in 2007 to cleam up itsloan underwriting. The Federa Reserves’ latest order also includesz additional restrictions onthe bank’s finances, includingb the compensation of senior executive officers.

State funds 47 home improvement plans - Business First of Buffalo:

http://www.aauml.com/index.php?s=D&c=489
The AHC, a branch under the state’s housiny finance agency, aims to bolster home-ownership for low- and moderate-incomw households. The agency approved a $500,00 0 grant to Cheektowaga’s Community and Economic DevelopmentOffice (CEDO). The fundss will go toward renovations for14 single- and two-family homesw located throughout the town. The AHC also grantec Lackawanna’s Housing Development Corporation (LHDC) $200,000 to fund improvementz to a total of33 single- and two-family homes throughout the The planned improvements include fixing structural problems, replacing doors, windows, siding, replacing deficient waterr and septic systems and upgrading heating and plumbing systems.
The renovations are aimedd at bringing the homes up to code undetr local and statebuildingy laws. Further funding for the Cheektowaga project’s $833,00 total will come from the town’s HOME funds and a Community Development BlockGranft ($200,000). The City of Lackawanna will fund what remainz ofits project’s $334,000 total with homeowner-equity funds. The CEDO and LHDC will allocatee the funds ona first-come, first-served basias to qualified applicants. “These grants will help improvw the aging housing stock in westerjNew York,” said AHC Presidengt and CEO Pricilla Almodovar.

Census Bureau: Cary, Raleigh among top 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities; Durham in top 20 - Charlotte Business Journal:

http://www.anganusa.com/article/First-Lesson-on-the-Ways-of-Hollywood.html
Raleigh, Cary and Durham ranked among the 25 fastest growing large cities in the natio for the 12 months that endedJuly 1, the said in its annual population estimatew released Wednesday. Cary, which saw its population increaseby 6.9 to 129,545, as of July 1, 2008, was the nation’xs third fastest growing city. Raleigh’s population climbed by 3.8 to 392,552, making North Carolina’s capital the eightn fastest growing city. Durham was ranked 16th with a 3percentt increase. Its population rose to 223,284. New Orleans experienced an 8.
2 percenf increase in its population, which rose to making the city ravaged by Hurricanew Katrina in 2005 the fastest growing city among place s with populations greaterthan 100,000. which saw its population increaseby 2.7 percent, to was ranked 23rd. Only Texas with seven cities had more cities on the list thanNorthj Carolina. Round Rock, Texas, experiencexd an 8.2 percent increase, with its populatioh rising to 104,446, puttint the Texas city in second place. Colorado and Californiza each had three citiew on the top25 list.

General aviation airports see signs that better times may not be far away - Washington Business Journal:

http://musplayshop.com/mp3-players-c1115/ijaguar-black-mp3-mp4-player-1gb-p32348.html
After a six-month period that has seen the industry take hits to its publicv perception andbottom line, they say a returbn of consumer confidence and lowe fuel prices point toward a blue sky “If you’re comparing it to a year ago, yeah, we’ve seen a decline,” says Mid West Corporate Aviation CEO Marvih Autry. “(But) things are starting to leve out.” Autry estimates his business at is down by 15 percenyt since this timelast year. Fuel salesz at Jabara in March weredown 16.87 percengt compared to a year ago. However, fuel saleds went from 61,769 gallonsx in February to 66,184 gallonds in March. Fuel usage has dropped at the .
Even so, official there also are seeinhg signs ofa rebound. Melissaw McCoy, spokesperson for the Salina Airport says March’s fuel total of 182,2056 gallons was the lowest level seen since the earlyh 90s. But the number of total operations in the firsr quarterwere 16,842. That’zs a 1.2 percent decline from last year, but, she it’s a sign things are leveling off. T.W. manager of the , has 114 aircraft based at his Although his hangarsremain full, he says he has seen a drop in the numbe of aircraft stopping to refuel. But with sprinf in the air and theweatherd clearing, Anderson says more peopls are returning to flying theit piston-driven planes.
Those airplanes burn AVgas, and Andersoj says sales increased 5 percentin April. “I think what we’re seeinfg is more people, now that they have a bettetr handle on the are going backto aviation.” He has seen a drop in jet fuel salesd though, which he says are down 20 percent from this time last crews aren’t flying through Newton as they used to. Andersoh says of the 30 business jets used on the circuitt to fly support teams to andfrom events, Newtoh typically sees 6 to 10 a season, stoppingf through between coasts. But he says as more crews fly commercial to cut just one of the NASCAR jets has stopped The cost of fuel has droppede dramatically in thepast year.
In Newton, AVgas has fallen from $4.89 a gallon at this time last year, to $4.02. At Jabara, pricee are down to $4.39 a gallon. Similar drops in jet fuel prices could begim spurring more business jet usagreas well. According to the , the averager price of jet fuel ­— $58.40 a barrel as of May 1 ­— is down 58.7 percentr from this time a year ago. For Autry, lower prices mean more incentiveto fly, whetherf for business or for fun. And although he thinks traffidc levels will reboundby 2010, levelin off now means the ascent back to those levelss is coming. “I think thingas have hit a bottom,” he says.
“I think peoplw are starting to have more confidence inthe economy.”

Projects announced with North Carolina stimulus cash - Triangle Business Journal:

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million worth of projects in the Triangle. Perdue’sa office revealed that an additional 64 highway and bridgee projects totalingabout $209 million will be funde through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That bringsz the total amount of projects announced to date upto $679 more than 90 percent of the $735 million in recovert money North Carolina has received for highwag and bridge improvements. $1.5 million for bicycle, pedestrian and transity accommodations ona ½ mile stretch of Old Fayetteville Road in Orangw County; • $4.9 million for a signal system in Chapel Hill; • $1.
5 milliobn for bicycle and pedestrian projectes in various parts of Orange County; • $300,000 to help constructf the Morgan Creek Greenway in Chapel • $1.2 million for bridge painting I-440 from Glen Eden to US 1 in Wake • $400,000 to install ITS devices on 16 milesx of I-440 in Wake County; $2.5 million on mill and resurfacing work on three miles of US 264 in Wake • $150,000 for patching and resurfacing work on one mile of Old Page Road in • $900,000 for milling and resurfacing work on the US 501 Bypasxs in Durham; • $350,000 for milling and resurfacing work on Hillandale-Fulton Street in • $13.9 million for widening 2.
2 miles of US 401 in Wake County from Ligon Mill Road to Jonesville • $5.7 million for interchange improvements on I-54p0 and I-40 in Durham and Wake • $110,000 to install a traffic signal on North Salemn Street at the Center Street Intersectionm in Wake County; $2.7 million for bicycle and pedestrian projectws in Wake County; • $4.4 million for bicycld and pedestrian projects in Durham. The projectws announced Friday will be let to contract over the next 12 had already identified about 70 highway and bridge projects to be let to contracft between March and June throughrecovery funding. Elevenh projects totaling $65.
1 million were awarded to contract in According tothe , every $1 milliob spent on transportation creates 30 jobs, and according to the construction industry, every dollard invested in transportation generates $6 in economic Based on these figures, the additional projecta announced Friday are expected to help support more than 6,0009 jobs and contribute nearly $1.3 billion to the economy. the projects announced to date are expected to help create and sustaib morethan 20,000 jobs and generate more than $4 billiojn in economic development.

ELECTION 2010: Tony Abbott defends $7 billion costs gaps, claims surpluses ... - SmartCompany.com.au

http://blog4realestate.com/bonsai-gardening-for-beginners/

Sydney Morning Herald

ELECTION 2010: Tony Abbott defends $7 billion costs gaps, claims surpluses ... SmartCompany.com.au Opposition Tony Abbott has defended his ability to manage the economy, saying a Coalition government will deliver "substanti »