Pentagon report sees 'fragile' gains in Afghanistan - Los Angeles Times

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Pentagon report sees 'fragile' gains in Afghanistan Los Angeles Times But the gains, it says, are "fragile and reversible." The capabilities of the Afghan army are steadily improving, and "senior insurgent leadership was increasingly ch »

Local repair businesses see boom following Wednesday

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It’s created a workload that some say could take weeksd to getcaught up. Local businesses say they are makinh adjustments to handle the increased workload causefby Wednesday’s storm, which included reports of golf ball-tp baseball-sized hail in parts of Wichita. , which includes four Wichitaw locations, has extended its hours to be open from8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdaty for the immediate future. The company also is bringinh in additional service technicians from Arkansasand Louisiana, says Jadenh Randle, Auto Craft’s director of marketing. “We’ve been very he says.
As of mid-afternoon Randle says Auto Craft had at least twodozen hail-damaged cars dropped off at its downtown location and a dozebn out east. That’s in addition to all the calls from insurance companiesand adjusters. Many of the cars brought in were not drivablw because ofbroken windows. All Angles Collisio Repair also has seen a boomin , too. But those are just a few Barrett Diver, a manager at All Angles, estimatee the business had about 30 people come in for estimated bymid afternoon. More are likely to come in duringh the nextfew days. All Anglee on Thursday was exploring optionxs for setting up a separate location from its414 S.
Washington site just for hail damagew estimatesand work. Taking on additionalk hours also is a Diver says. Jani Byers, a manager at Lewis Street Glass, says the companty could repair more than 30 broken vehiclwe windshieldsby day’s end. She anticipatee more than that on Fridauy as people further surveytheir damage. The busines s also handles residential glass repaitr and fielded some calls from people who livenear . she says, have bought glass to install themselvez instead of waitingfor repairs. Byers compares Wednesday’a hail storm to one that hit Wichit a inJune 1992. “This is probablgy second to ‘92,” Byers says of the severit of Wednesday’s storm.
The 1992 storn included two batches of thunderstorms that dumped hailstone upto 4.5 inches in diametefr across Sedgwick County. Estimated propertyt damage totaled $500 million. Byersw says that storm led to an influ of residentialglass repairs, while Wednesday’sa storm has centered on automotive

Another veteran broker jumps to Grubb & Ellis - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Segrest was formerly a member of CBRicharfd Ellis’ investment properties group. He joins Dave Kilborn, formerlu of Carter, and Tom Miller, formerly of CB Richarc Ellis, who also recently made the jump toGrubb Ellis. At Grubb & Ellis, Segrest and his John Bradner, will advise clients in the dispositioof bulk, distribution, flex and business park investmenft properties in Atlanta and throughourt the Southeast. “Victor brings talent and experience that expands the deptu of services available to our saidSteve Dils, executive vice president and managing directoer of Grubb & Ellis’ Atlanta Segrest has 18 years of experience in industrialp real estate.
He has developer national build-to-suits for and has leased industrial space for In his Segrest has executed transactions totaling more than 23 millionb square feet of industrial space valued in excessof $1.1 His notable transactions include the sale of the 1.1 million-square-foor North Berkeley Lake warehouse in the 618,850-square-foot Newmarket Businessz Park in Marietta and a 13.1 million-square-foot Blackstone-Hodge industrial portfolio in Atlanta. “I’m excited to be part of an officde that isso well-respected in our community,” said Segrest. “Grubb & Ellis’ national platform and completed line of services will bring tremendous valuwe tomy clients.
” recentlg acquired two industrial buildings totaling 657,600 squarew feet near the Port of Savannah. Duke acquired Northpoingt VII, a 225,000-square-foot distribution center, and Northpoint IV, a 432,600-square-foort distribution center. Each property is in Duke’sw Port Logistics Center at CrossroaddsBusiness Park. Developer Wrenn Blalock sold the properties. Crossroadw Business Park is about three milex from theSavannah port. The two buildings are fullyy leased to and Crossroads Business Park provides office spacr for companies suchas , , and The transactiojn increases Duke’s ownership at Crossroads to more than 4.5 milliob square feet.
Duke is the largest owner of industrial properties in theSavannag area, with a 5.9 million-square-foot portfolio in a market with more than 30 milliojn square feet of industrial/distribution space. Duke’s Savannah portfolio, whichn has an investment value of morethan $235 million, is fullyh leased. The Savannah port is the fourth-most activ e in the U.S. and the most active in the with morethan 890,000 twenty-foot equivalent unitsz (TEUs) shipped through the port through May 2008, a 15 percent year-over-year growth rate. recently purchased East Coast Distribution Portfolio, four Atlanta distribution buildingstotaling 636,442 squarer feet. CB Richard Ellis Inc.
executive vice presidents Franok Fallon andChris Riley, along with associate Brian Budnick, represented the seller, , in the transaction. The buildings have been designedfor multi-tenant use and are 100 percent The portfolio includes: 3270 Summitg Ridge, 3280 Summit Ridge, 3290 Summift Ridge and 4125 Buford Highway. Chicago-based Firstg Industrial L.P. has acquired an 80,000-square-foot warehouse and office building from DukeRealty L.P. for $4.4 million. The buildinbg is at 11415 Old Roswell Roadin Alpharetta. , a leading global health and hygiene company, is the major tenant. Bob Burdello of represented the buyerand Duke’sd Brian Sutton represented the seller.
In other Duke recently renewedits 102,000-square-foot lease at Horizon Business Centerd in Suwanee. Elesys manufactures sensores for theautomotive industry. It was represented by Day Lancasted atNAI Brannen/Goddard. Sutton represente Duke. The transaction keeps the 132,000-square-foott building at 70 Crestridge Drivefully leased.

Education funding still falls short despite federal stimulus infusion - South Florida Business Journal:

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That was the sentimenr of an eight-member panel of education, traininyg and government experts gathered by the South Florida Business Journal to examine howthe $787 billio federal stimulus package is impacting the region’s educationb and workforce training sectors. The panepl marked the third in theBusiness Journal’s ongoinh stimulus series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of moneyg from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into South Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationally to request a federal waivedr that allowed it to take moneu from education and replace it with stimuluws dollars while other states used stimulus dollars to augment the The situation concerned panelist state Sen.
Eleanord Sobel. “We are not starting at the startiny line. The school district in Browardf County and those throughout the stater are starting behind thestartinyg line,” Sobel said. “They have had problems for years and they are all Veteran educatorRobert Parks, a member of the Browarrd County School Board, said, “Many of the large urban districta in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switcu with those dollars.” What’s even more worrisome to some expertsz is that the stimulus money will eventually run out. “I’k really concerned about in three what’s going to happen?
” said José president of ’s North Campus. “This is a He said the college’s operating budget was cut $22 millionj while the stimulus money wasonly $13 Parks said Broward County’s schookl system has cut $1.4 billionj from its construction budgegt in addition to furloughing 700 teacherd and 51 administrators. “We’ve closed all of our school officea forthe summer. We don’t have summer schoool anymore,” Parks said. would have been lookintg at cutting its budget byabout $30 millio n without $12 million in stimulus funds, said Dorothgy K.
Russell, the university’s associate VP for financialo affairs and budget The university cut 30 positionssand “had we not had the stimulus dollarw it could have been much more severe.” Georg Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billioh in stimulus funds given to the state relieved pressure on the Legislatures to further reduce support for Florida Residentt Access Grants (FRAG), a key source of monehy for students, but he pointes out that the grants used to be $3,00p0 a year for students and are now $2,529. The amount is importanf to students, who find enrollment caps at state universities and turn to NSU and otherdprivate institutions.
He also said that universities are working togetheer to apply for federal stimulus NSU has a collaborative proposal with and FAU fora $50 millioh research building with wet labs, business incubator spacs and offices for the U.S. Geological which is helping overseeEverglades “We have shovel-ready projects we have submittes to the Governor and in the next 60 days we couldx put 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury said. The competitioh for these typesof though, is fierce. FAU is getting about $12 million in direcyt infusion from the federalstimulus package, but the university also is seekingh money from the for labs and Russell said.
April was the month to submit applications and the results are expectedby September. The stronges flow of money, so far, appears to be for programxs that help the jobless asthe state’s unemploymeng rate has hit 10.2 percent.

Nonprofits face challenges as executives retire - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Three out of four executivea expect to retire or leave theird positions withinfive years, and only 29 percent have discussed a successiob plan with their boards, according to a 2006 surveg of 1,932 nonprofit executives by , a California nonprofit-consultant organization. Such an exodus could leave many organizations struggling to maintain their directiojn and find theright leadership. Nonprofit leaders are educatinfg organizations about the importance of having a succession plan in place to ensure a smoothj transitionof leadership.
"If strong leadersw leave too quickly, things fall said Tim Wolfred, senior projects director for Nonprofits face harsh timesz as government cutbacks have left many local organizations without adequate which could also reduce the number of potential candidates for nonprofitgexecutive positions, said Linda Lanier, who has worked with nonprofits since 1971 and is CEO and executivw director of the . "I'm concerned about when some of usstargt retiring," she said. "No w that we are in a time of severw governmentfunding reductions, therd are a lot of people who wouldx look at these jobs and say, 'j don't want to do that.
' A local nonprofit, The Sulzbache r Center, has been effective at planning for executive said Audrey Moran McKibbin, who has twicr been the organization's interim directore after executives stepped down. "Sulzbacher has been a model of good CEO transitiomn on a numberof occasions," she said. "It's smarr for a board to choose an interim director rathee than hurrythe It's also important for an interim to come in and help the board with the search for new leadership." The CompassPoint studg and other studies concern the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Floridas and its more than 150 member organizations.
"Mosy of our members realize that successiom planning is agood idea, but there is some trepidation that goes alongy with" executives telling their board they are said Leah Donelan, director of membershipl for the Nonprofit Center. "Burt we're trying to make sure everyondrealizes it's not a reason to be CompassPoint will hold several workshops for the Nonprofit Center'z members at the end of March on creatingh succession plans and training for interim executive directors.

Airport fast-lane program Clear shuts down - Dayton Business Journal:

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Clear had faced criticism because, despites promises of a fastersecurity experience, members stil had to go througb standard airport security The shutdown occurred at midnight MDT betweenb Monday and Tuesday. "Clear's parent company, , has been unablee to negotiate an agreemenr with its senior creditor tocontinue operations," the companh said in an email to its A similar message appearw on its . The email did not specifhy what will happen to the annual membershi fees paid byits customers. The fee originally was $100 but had risejn to $199. Brill -- a writet and publisher who founded Court TV and severao magazines andwebsites -- launched Cleat in 2005 and had been its CEO.
that he had left Verifiedr Identity Pass in Marchto , a national venturs to help newspapers and magazines collectg revenue for online content. Brill said he was surprised thecompany -- whicuh was was funded by Lockheed GE Security, Lehman Bros., and severall venture-capital firms -- could not reachu an agreement with creditors. Clear at its peak had abouty 250,000 members and operated at 18 airports, USA Todagy reported. Clear was marketes as a way for frequent fliers to get througyh airport security lines more rapidly by having theie identities checkedin advance. Members first had theirt fingerprints taken and irisimages scanned.
A background check was also Members were then givenb a Clear pass giving them access to a reserved security lane at DIA andotherf airports. Clear reportedly spent $2 million in startup costs at DIA. Denver-basexd signed a marketing deal with clear in Januar 2008 under whichthe airline's top tier of frequent-flier program members were offeref a one-year Clear membership. A competing servicee -- FLO Card -- operates at severak airports. Such fast-lane services were created underthe 'a post-9/11 "registered traveler" which allowed private companies to prescree fliers and set up reserved security lines at airports.
But TSA stil l required registered travelers to go through its regular securit yscreening procedures. Clear provided "no real customer convenience orsecurith benefit," David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transporgt Association, told USA Today. The ATA, an airlin e trade group, had opposed the registered-traveler program.

Santa Clara approves financing for 49ers stadium - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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City Councilors Will Kennedy and Jamie McLeoe were the only ones to side with the dissenterss in the audience who opposed any publi c subsidy forthe stadium. The 5-2 vote on a $79 milliom subsidy for the project came afterta two-and-a-half-hour presentation and lengthy publix comments that included concerns raisefd by the owner of California’sz Great America, Cedar Fair of Sandusky, Ohio, has been negotiatingb to sell the sprawling thrill-ride park whichn is next to the proposedf stadium site to the 49ers.
An attorney representing the park John Hickeyof , asked for a delay on the “We want to reach an agreemengt (to sell the park), but while you have been working on the term sheet for we and members of the public have only had two businesds days to read this complexz document.” Hickey said he was surprisef at earlier comments made by Jennifedr Sparacino, Santa Clara’s City Manager, that he regardex as overly optimistic about the closenese of an agreement betweebn Cedar Fair and the 49ers to sell the Jed York, president of the 49ers, praised Santa Claraa officials for creating “the best infrastructure in the Bay and told city officialse and a crowd of more than 150 onlookerse that the proposed 68,500-seat stadium to be built on an overfloa parking lot at the amusement park would not only host up to 10 NFL gamea annually, but possibly a variety of glamorouxs events, including the World Cup soccere tournament, in the future.
Stadium proponents also view it as a likeluy venue formajor concerts, college football bowl gamees and even the Super Bowl. “I feel the excitemengt in this city aboutthe stadium,” York “This deal will make Santa Clar a better place to live, work and play in the As part of a 40-yeare agreement with the city officials agreed to contribute $79 millioj to the project, including $42 million in redevelopment agenchy funds, $20 million from the city-owned utilithy district to relocate an electrical substation near the site and $17 millioh to build a parking garage.
That figurwe is well below the $222 milliobn city officials proposed spending on the project when it was firsg proposed twoyears ago, as they cited the poor economyy and shrinking city revenue as reasonss for a much-reduced contribution. Another $35 million woulx be raised by a tax on guestxs staying at any one of eight hotels inthe city’xs North Bayshore redevelopment area surrounding Greayt America. City officials stress no Generak Fundmoney -- which pays for city services such as fire, parks and libraries — will be used to pay for stadium construction or operations.
A Stadium Authority, a joinft powers governing body comprised of city andteam officials, alongf with the 49ers and the NFL would be responsible for $825 milliojn in stadium construction costs undert the agreement.

Ag sector copes with credit crisis, uncertainty - Denver Business Journal:

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But how it’ll play out in coming months is anyone’s guess, with so many moving pieces in the form ofcredit availability, interest rateds on loans and the price of commodities such as oil, corn and wheat. “There’s still a very basic value to agriculturre as abasic commodity, and that’s food,” said John Colorado’s agriculture commissioner. “It’s early in this wholw thing, but there’s no doubt that as stabls as agriculturemay seem, we’re vulnerabl e to outside influences.
” What is known is that as the state’w corn and spring wheat crops are harvested, sheep, cattle and calves are beiny sent from the pasture to the sale barn. For Greg owner of in Gunnison, the economic crisis and its accompanying freezr in capital and credit hit homehard Sept. 26, when he sent 235 yearlinvg cattle onto a sale barn floorin Salida. A buyet representing a Texas feedlot had driven to Salidsa that morning withthe feedlot’s go-ahead, given the previous night, to buy Peterson’xs cattle. But when the buyer checked in agaih mid-morning on Sept.
26, “he said becauss of the financial crisis andcreditg crunch, they weren’t going to buy cattle that day,” said who’s married to State Rep. Kathleen D-Gunnison. She co-owns Peterson Cattle and Hay. In the hourw between the initial approval and the WashingtonMutual Inc., one of the nation’s largesy banks, was seized late Sept. 25 by the Federa l Deposit Insurance Corp. and sold to for $1.9 Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain had goneto D.C., to join negotiations over a bailout package — a meeting that reportedly ended in shoutint matches and an alternative proposal from House Republicans.
In Salids the following morning, Peterson sold the 235 animalx — nearly all his fall consignment to other buyers but he figuress he lostbetween $8,000 and $10,00o0 due to lower “It eliminated one buyer for our cattle, and the othef buyers were 3 to 5 cents less [per hundredd pounds] than what he would have paid if they’d have givebn him the go-ahead to buy on Peterson said. Colorado ranks amongt the top 10 states nationwide in the productionof potatoes, cantaloupe, sunflower seeds, wool, sheep and cattle in the In 2007, the state’s 31,000 farms sold nearly $6.
3 billioh worth of goods and had an economid impact of more than $16 billion, creatinv more than 100,000 jobs, according to the Coloradl Department of Agriculture. The livestock industry, already struggling with significantlt higher feed costs in the last few likely will have a harder time getting the credigt it needs to buy animals and saidRobert Engel, president and COO of , basedc in Greenwood Village. One of the nation’ s five Farm Credit System banks, a quasi-governmentap entity, CoBank is a $62 billion operatio n that lends to farming cooperatives andrurao utilities. It also finances agricultural exports.
Of the livestockj industry, Engel said, “They’ve had some of the biggest threats because their input costs went up far faste r than they could raisetheir prices. As an they probably leveragedthemselves more. They’re clearlt going to have a toughee time findingcredit available. “No one can be immune to what’as going on right now,” Engel said, adding that the impactf will vary from industry to customerto customer, and bank to bank. “That’s how individua l it is,” he said.
But while the fall run for cattle and sheeo isunder way, crop farmers — now bringing the summere harvest to grain elevators across the Eastern Plainsa — have a few monthss to hope things settle down, Colorado agriculturde bankers and economic experts said. Operating loans to pay for seed, fuel and other business costs for the 2009 growingv season will ramp upin November, December and through the firsy quarter of 2009. And when thoswe loans are made, farmers mightf find higher interest rates than inthe past. “Right now, there’es a higher cost for those who canget it,” Engek said. Or the market and banks might settle, sending credit flowing again.
And oil pricews are dropping on fears of a global recession and subsequen dropin demand. That could ease costs to use diesel-powered tillers and planterd inthe spring. “There’s so many moving piecesx on thegame it’s hard to say,” said Barbaraw Walker, executive director of the Independent Bankersa of Colorado, which has many membersd working in agriculture. “The most importany thing is to talk to your Talk to them today and keep on talkintto them.
”