Webcor will start construction in August on the $55 million renovation of San Francisco’s Moscone Center.
The renovation work, which is being managed by Jones Lang LaSalle, will include cosmetic improvements to the main exhibit halls — A, B and C — and minor HVAC work in the North meeting rooms. A second phase of work is slated to begin in December with cosmetic upgrades to selected restrooms to bring them into compliance with the American Disabilities Act. The second phase will also include renovation of meeting rooms in Moscone North.
Built in 1981 and expanded in 1991 and again in 2003, the 20-acre Moscone Center convention complex consists of three main buildings – Moscone North, South and West – totaling more than two million square feet and offering 740,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space.
Construction and cosmetic improvement work will be timed to avoid any disruption to the facility, Jones Lang LaSalle said.
The renovation is being funded through a public-private partnership between the City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Tourism Improvement District Management Corporation (SFTID), a privately-funded group formed by local hotels specifically to make improvements to the Moscone Center and to promote tourism in San Francisco.
The city is providing $35 million toward the total cost of renovations with the SFTID generating an additional $20 million through a self- assessment of San Francisco hotels.
“Moscone Center is an integral part of San Francisco’s biggest economic driver – tourism – and this forward-thinking program promoted by the City and SFTID is critical for maintaining the facility’s competitiveness in the coming years,” said Steven Kahn, Senior VP and regional operations manager with JLL’s project and development services group in Northern California payday loans.
Kahn added that in addition to the phased renovation of the facility, Jones Lang LaSalle would also be looking at ways to improve the convention center’s energy efficiency making Moscone more sustainable and paving the way for LEED certification during future phases of improvement to the facility.
More than a third of visitors to San Francisco attend a convention or meeting in the city, and Moscone Center is by far the biggest venue for such meetings, according to the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. Moscone Center has hosted major national meetings such as MacWorld, OpenWorld and Oracle’s national convention as well as major West Coast events such as the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC).
“In 2009, San Francisco welcomed 15.4 million visitors, which represents a 5.8 percent decrease from 2008. Visitor spending was $7.8 billion, a decrease of 7.8 percent from the previous year,” said Dan Kelleher, chair of the San Francisco Tourism Improvement District. “The renovation of Moscone Center will be a critical component to attracting new and repeat convention business to San Francisco by providing an enhanced delegate experience.”
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Project and Development Services group provides single or multi-site project management expertise for new construction, renovation and interior improvements of a wide variety of buildings and other structures for owners and corporate users as well as public agencies in the U.S. and globally.
The Texas Tribune picked up two more leadership staff Monday, including a former Texas Monthly publisher.
April Hinkle spent 21 years as publisher of Austin-based Texas Monthly magazine, working her way up through various director, manager and executive roles. She will now act as business development director for the nonprofit news website, working to secure more corporate sponsorships.
At the same time, former Deloitte Consulting senior consultant Shadi Afshar was hired to lead audience development. The recent McCombs School of Business graduate is charged with increasing Web traffic, recruiting new members and publicizing editorial projects and events.
In January, the Tribune picked board member and former AOL and Examiner.com executive Michael Sherrod as its first publisher. Two months previous, it removed its general manager position close after hiring Austin Technology Council President Alisha Ring.
Canada will acquire 65 F-35 aircraft from Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. to replace its military fleet of CF-18 Hornets.
Kim Testa, senior manager of international communications for Lockheed Martin, said the contract doesn’t mean new jobs in Fort Worth, but it does mean long-term work for teams in D-FW who will be handling a significant portion of the assembly and rollout.
The contract value was not disclosed, but F-35 aircraft on average are priced at $60 million per unit payday loans for self employed. The fighter jets are a fifth-generation aircraft with pricing levels that include fuel tanks and emission equipment in the final marketed price, Testa said. Previous generations of aircraft did not include all of the additional equipment in the final marketed price.
The F-35 is a supersonic, multiple-role aircraft and stealth fighter developed by a consortium of nine countries, including Canada.
Former University of Texas star quarterback Colt McCoy is leading an effort to raise $50 million to transform a Temple hospital into a pediatric emergency and care center.
Scott & White Healthcare acquired the King's Daughters Hospital in April 2009, and officials plan to renovate the facility into a medical and surgical pediatric hospital beginning in the fall. It is slated to open in late 2011.
McCoy, who was recently drafted on the NFL's Cleveland Browns, is acting as a spokesperson for the fundraiser.
"Children and their families will no longer have to drive great distances to receive the highest standard of care," McCoy said payday loans. "We all need the support of family and friends during difficult situations and now these kids will be able to stay close to home. It's my privilege to lend my support in making this children's hospital a reality for so many people in my home state."
Scott & White hopes to raise about $35 million before construction and another $15 million after work finishes. The organization was established in 1897 and operates 10 hospitals and more than 60 clinics in Central Texas, including the recently merged Trinity Medical Center in Brenham.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has made several changes in the management structure at its Air Quality Division.
Ira Domsky was named director of information technology and a science adviser. He had been acting director since January. Domsky has been with the department for 26 years and previously served as deputy director.
Eric Massey, who has been with ADEQ for 11 years as a manager of air quality compliance and permitting, was named director cash advance loan. He had been acting deputy director since January.
Trevor Baggiore will become the division’s new deputy director. He has been with the department for nine years.
ESPN The Magazine’s 2010 Ultimate Standings ranked the Orlando Magic first among all National Basketball Association teams in fan experience.
In addition, the Magic ranked second among all professional sports franchises — which includes the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the NBA and National Hockey League — based on a variety of categories such as the affordability of the experience, the quality of the team’s play and the treatment of the fans.
The Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints finished first overall, one spot ahead of the Magic paydayloans.
According to the ESPN rankings, the Magic ranked first among all 122 teams in bang for the buck, defined as wins during the past three years per revenues directly from fans, adjusted for league schedules.
The Magic also ranked 13th in fan relations, 22nd in affordability, 18th in coaching, 18th in ownership, 20th in players, 33rd in title track and 96th in stadium experience.
A team of reporters from the Post-Dispatch has won a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism for a series of stories last year about the after-market auto service-contract industry in the St. Louis area.
Matthew Hathaway, Elizabethe Holland and Jim Gallagher won in the personal finance category, presented Tuesday evening by the Anderson School of Management at the University of California-Los Angeles, at a reception in New York City.
The reporters won for three stories each had a hand in writing and reporting in 2009:
— "From Prison to the Pinnacle," documenting the rise of auto service-contract marketer US Fidelis and cofounder Darain Atkinson, who went from federal prison to extraordinary wealth in fewer than 20 years.
— "Pressure Tactics Used at US Fidelis," which explained in detail the tactics used to sell the service contracts.
— "Warranty Sales Skim Top Profit," which explained how the extended auto service-contract industry works — from marketing, to financing, to refunds cash advance now.
Hathaway in particular has reported extensively on the industry, which is largely centered in the St. Louis area, where more than 30 companies are based. The companies market contracts promising to cover the cost of car repairs in exchange for a low monthly payment.
But they have come increasingly under fire from consumer advocates, regulators and attorneys general nationwide for what they have called fraudulent practices and deceptive marketing tactics.
US Fidelis, which had been the No. 1 marketer of the contracts, dropped from a 1,100-employee company to fewer than 200 in 2009 and ultimately declared bankruptcy on March 1. The company cited a precipitous drop in new business and public pressure for the decline.
The three stories that won represented a broad view of the industry, from the individuals who buy and sell the contracts, to the finance companies that cover the costs.
A tepid gain in consumer spending last month could fuel a debate over whether the U.S. and other governments should further stimulate their economies to sustain the recovery.
A report that Americans spent cautiously in May came after world leaders meeting in Toronto over the weekend pledged to reduce government deficits by cutting spending and raising taxes. They did so despite warnings from President Barack Obama that scaling back spending too fast could derail the global recovery.
U.S. lawmakers are wary of approving more stimulus spending in light of record deficits. As a result, millions of Americans could lose unemployment benefits and states could be forced to lay off tens of thousands of workers.
"In our view, it is way too early to apply the fiscal brakes," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities. Cutting off unemployment benefits "is a dangerous way to cut deficits when the economy is still fragile."
Economic growth, which leads to higher tax receipts and less spending on social programs, is the best way to reduce the deficit, Pandl said.
Other economists note that wages and salaries rose 0.5 percent in May, a second consecutive month of strong gains. That is a sign that the recovery can survive without government propping it up lowest fee payday loans.
If the trend in income growth continues, "consumers’ spending power will be bolstered, which will in turn drive economic growth, necessitating less government support," said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak.
One thing is certain: Americans are being careful with their money. Consumer spending rose 0.2 percent last month after no change in April, the Commerce Department said Monday.
Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity. But the consumer hasn’t been driving this recovery. Instead, it has depended more on business and government spending, along with exports. In the four quarters following the steep 1981-82 downturn, consumer spending rose by an average of 6.5 percent per quarter. By contrast, even as the economy has grown for the last three quarters, consumer spending rose an average of only 2.5 percent per quarter.
If consumption remains sluggish, the economy may not grow fast enough to generate jobs and quickly bring down the 9.7 percent unemployment rate.
Caterpillar Inc. said Montgomery is one of three sites in the Southeast under consideration for a “significant” manufacturing facility.
The heavy equipment manufacturer (NYSE: CAT) did not disclose details, but said also in the running are Spartanburg, S.C., and Winston-Salem, N.C.
Jim Dugan, chief corporate spokesman at Caterpillar, said in a statement that location analysis will continue through the summer and a final decision is expected by August.
Caterpillar is based in Peoria, Ill., and had 2009 sales and revenues of $32.4 billion. It manufactures construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines, according to its website. Its products and components are manufactured in 50 locations throughout the United States and in 60 locations in 23 countries.
The official in charge of the $20 billion fund to compensate individuals and businesses hurt by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico pledged Friday to quickly create a system for processing claims.
"We will have a very transparent methodology in place," said Kenneth Feinberg, who was appointed earlier this week by President Obama to manage the compensation fund. "We’ll set up a protocol very quickly so that everybody can examine what’s expected."
BP agreed to establish the $20 billion fund Wednesday after company executives met with Obama in Washington. The company has said repeatedly that it will pay all legitimate claims related to the spill, which has become the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
Feinberg, an attorney who served as special master of the 9/11 victims fund and advises Obama on Wall Street pay issues, asserted that the fund will be independently managed. He emphasized that he is not aligned with the government or BP.
"I will be running an independent claims facility," he said. "It is my program as an independent force."
Feinberg made the comments after meeting with Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in Jackson. He plans to meet with Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana later Friday.
He stressed that time is of the essence, saying that properly completed claims could be paid within 30 to 60 days of filing, once a protocol for processing them is complete.
But he acknowledged that there are challenges involved in verifying that damages are legitimately due to the spill. Larger claims may require more time for evaluation.
"Long-term payments will require sufficient corroboration so we can validate the claim," he said. Short-term, emergency payments will continue to be paid promptly.
BP deserves some credit for the steps it has already taken to process claims, Feinberg said, though it’s his job to improve the process.
The company has opened about 25 claims offices, and said this week that it has issued about 25,000 claims checks totaling $63 million.
Feinberg said the protocol for handling claims is still being hammered out and that critical decisions need to be made about where to draw the line as the damage from the spill ripples across the Gulf economy.
Another issue that has yet to be decided is whether to exempt BP from lawsuits once full payment of a claim has been made, he said.
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