Regulators order SouthBank to consider sale or merger - San Francisco Business Times:

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The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) signed the supervisory agreement with SouthBanj onMay 21. On the same day, it signerd a separate supervisory agreement with itsholdinh company, Huntsville, Ala.-based Commonwealtb Savingshares Corp., and a more seriou s cease and desist order with its sister SouthBank of Huntsville. The Palm Beach Gardens-basefd bank only had $24.5 million in assetzs as of March 31. It had capitalp ratios in excess ofregulatoryt requirements.
The OTS agreement said the bank failef to comply with the requiremente of lawsand regulations, though it didn’t specify whichn ones, and failed in the areae of risk management, operational management and correctiny deficiencies. It told the bank it must submit a plan to becomr viable asa stand-alone withouft depending on its sister institution or paren holding company. The orderf also placed restrictions onthe bank’d growth and the hiring of executive management. Danng Wiginton, the chairman and CEO of both did not immediately return a callseekinb comment.

Fred Weber wins $4M Mississippi River Bridge contract - Boston Business Journal:

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awarded Fred Weber a $4.44 million contract Wednesday to remove and replac e the Madison Streetand St. Louis Avenuer bridges over Interstate 70 indowntow St. Louis. The majority of work on this projectf will start afterHighwayt 40/Interstate 64 reopens between Kingshighway and Interstate 170. Crews will remove the St. Louis Avenue bridge first and then remove and replace the Madison Street During work to remove the MadisonStreeg bridge, crews will also remove the Cass Avenuee bridge in preparation for replacing that bridge later in 2010. This work is part of preliminarhy work on a new Mississippiriver bridge, whichu is expected to reduce congestion on the Poplar Street Bridge.
Maryland Heights, Mo.-based Fred Weber is one of the largest privately held companiesin St. Louis with $353.3 million in revenus in 2008. The commercial construction firm is also workingh onthe $245 million reconstruction of AmerenUE’s Taum Sauk Reservoir in Johnson’s Shut-Ins state park and is part of Gatewauy Constructors, the consortium of contractors performing $535 million wort of improvements on Highway 40/Interstate 64.

DLR Group focusing efforts on stimulus projects - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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As soon as Congress passed the Americanb Recovery and Reinvestment Actin mid-February, Phoenixd principal Bryce Pearsall and three other DLR principals acrosss the country created a team specifically to pursue stimuluz projects. Although DLR has a long history of workinb in thepublic sector, it has neverf chosen to chase projects this way. “As a we decided we wanted to jumpinto this. We had to though, what kind of stimulus projects we want to Pearsall said. With $787 billion being divvied up by federal and statse agencies for all sortsof programs, the DLR principala decided they needed to focus on a few strategicf areas.
They are pursuing contractsw that are geographically convenient to anyof DLR’s 15 match their long-standing skill sets; and have expedient deliveryt methods. Under traditional architecture contracts, a firm is selected to designna project. But many stimulus projecte arerequiring design-build capabilities, meaning an architecture firm needs to partner with a contractord and present the bid as a DLR has done that before, but the firm is researchinf additional relationships with In addition, government agencies are handing out contracts more oftenj through the “indefinite delivery indefinite quantity” process.
Under IDIQ, agencies acceptg applications from companies and qualifg them to perform ongoing For instance, a military installation might have a contract with a specifivc company to handle utility work for a periodc of several years. DLR recentl y started pursuingIDIQ work, given how lucrative it can be over both the short and long “We believe government agencies are open to lookinvg at establishing IDIQ relationships with companies that have our kind of Pearsall said. So far, DLR has received one contracgt for a court designin Florida, but the companyg expects to hear soon about severao other bids.
Although DLR is researching stimulus-funded jobs througgh both federal andstate agencies, the reality is that few of thosr jobs will be located in the In fact, many of the prime architecture assignmentsd are on the East Coast. Several contracts previouslu had been awardedto architects, but there wasn’t enough money to proceed with thosse projects until the stimulus package was passed. “It’z important to note that many shovel-ready projects are not beingt published for solicitation because the original firms are being awarded thepostponed projects,” said Mark Patterson, president of the Arizona Chapter of the American Instituts of Architects.
Patterson said his , will benefit from a previousl yunfunded contract: the renovation of the Smithsonian Institutde of Arts and Industries Building in That work is being coordinated by SmithGroup’z Washington office. Despite the apparent dearth of work slatefd forthe Southwest, SmithGroup is engagintg in a “closely organized Patterson said. “We are optimistic abouf a wide variety of building types gaining funding, including medical, office, museum and researchy facilities.” Another national firm with a significant loca presence, , also is in hot pursuitg of stimulus cash.
The General Services Administration hasselected OWP/o to provide architecture and engineering services to designb and build land ports of entry and borderr stations in Zone 1, which encompassea Arizona, California, Montana, Idaho, Washington and OWP/P’s Chicago offices also received an IDIQ award for Regioj 5, which covers a chunk of the According to OWP/P spokesperson Kelly about $6 billion of work to be funde through GSA will include renovations to federakl buildings and border stations. “About 75 percengt of these GSA-managed funds are earmarked for convertingt existing federal buildingsto energy-efficient facilities,” McClennan said.
Officials at all three firms remainj hopeful that more localized renovation and infrastructurse projects will bring work toValley

TeleTech takes steps to avoid debt defalt - Denver Business Journal:

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The Englewood-based, 51,000-employee call center operator reportef the change to its agreemenft with Key Bank and WellsFargo N.A. in a regulatory filinf Monday. TeleTech failed to file its last two quarterlygfinancial statements, and will restate its past results to reflectg the financial impact of self-disclosed employere stock options mistakes. An internal TeleTechj investigation concluded in February found what the companty said were options practices dating back several yearsa in which options grant dateswere "chosen in and awards that "were not properlh recorded under applicable equity compensatiojn accounting rules.
" The errors required recalculatinb its already-reported financial earnings back to mid-2005. Backdatinyg options occurs whenthe award'as right-to-buy shares date is chosen for a date in the It's often done to select datees when the stock is trading at a low maximizing the holder's return when the shares ultimatelg are sold. TeleTech's investigation concludedc there was no evidencer the company consistently chose dates with trading The company has hirecd two outside auditors to help conduct its accounting revie w and correct its TeleTech (NASDAQ: TTEC) was threatened with delisting from the NASDAQw stock exchange for missing several financial filing deadlines.
Late last month, TeleTech sent NASDAQ a lettef explaining that its accounting revieww isalmost completed, said company spokeswoman KC Higgins.

Tropical Storm Isaac strengthens as it nears Haiti - CNN

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Houston Chronicle (blog)

Tropical Storm Isaac strengthens as it nears Haiti CNN Tropical Storm Isaac strengthens as it nears Haiti. By the CNN Wire Staff. updated 2:42 AM EDT, Sat August 25, 2012. STORY HIGHLIGHTS. NEW: Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to make landf »

Twin Cities home prices fall faster in March: Index - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Minneapolis/St. Paul’s index posted the largest month-over-mont decline ever observed by the report, slippinfg 6.1 percent in March compareds to February. Detroit posted the second-highest decline, with its inded slipping 4.9 percent compared to The Twin Cities market had an indesof 109.12 for March. The composite indedx of 20 metro-areas totalled 139.99, down 2.2 percentg compared to February. Compared to March of last the area’s index fell 28.7 percent, putting it aheax of markets suchas Phoenix, which was down 36 and San Francisco, down 30.1 percent. The composite-290 index was down 18.7 percent year-over-year.
The Case-Shiller index sets a base home valuee of 100 as ofJanuary 2000. An index of 109.12 representse a 9.12 percent appreciationj rate for thetypical Minneapolis-area single-family home since the stargt of the decade.

Cooper proposes domicile move to Ireland - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The electrical products maker’s board has approved movinvg the company’s domicile to Ireland from “The decision to change Cooper’s place of incorporation was impacte d by the unprecedented global economid conditions that have led to a dramatic reductio in global demand in virtuallh all markets that we serve and was made tomaintaimn Cooper’s global competitive position,” Kirk Hachigian, chairman and chiefd executive officer, said Tuesdaty in a statement. Coopere (NYSE: CBE) said it had established tax residencg in Ireland as ofDecembefr 2008. The company, which has its administrativer headquartersin Houston, is asking shareholderxs to approve the switch.
If a new Irish entit y known as Cooper Industries plc will replace CooperIndustries Ltd. as the parent company. Cooper’s move to change its place of incorporation followw several other Houston companiesincluding , and , thoughb Cooper is the first non-energy company to make the Another high-profile local energy (NYSE: NBR), remains incorporated in Bermuda.

Apple unveils ultrathin notebook, movie rental service - East Bay Business Times:

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Cupertino-based Apple's (NASDAQ: CEO said the Macbook Air hasa full-sizes keyboard paired with a 13.3-inch screen and called the new device the "world's thinnest notebook." The new laptop has a back-lit keyboard and an 80-gigabyte hard drive as well as a built-ih camera for videoconferencing. Jobs said the Macbooko Air -- which is schedule to ship in two weeks and will costabout $1,800 -- is 0.76 inchew at its thickest spot and will weighj about three pounds. Apple also unveiled its new movie rentak program in which users can rent moviesfor $3.9 9 for a 30-day period and watch them on their iPhones or iPods. Some titles will cost $2.99.
Apple said participantss include major studios suchas , 's , , , , , 's , and . Duringb the event Jobs also said the compan sold more than 4 million iPhones sinc e the company launched the device 200days ago, and said a new software update for the iPhone will cost $20 and allow usersx to create bookmarks that appear as iconss on the screen and send text message to multiple addresses.

Tampa Port Director Wainio to lead economic development group - Business First of Columbus:

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FSTED is a public policg making group for Florida created by statutew and charged with enhancingthe state'ds economic development mission “by facilitating the implementation of important seaport improvement a release said. The council was created within the and is compriser of the port directorsof Florida’s 14 publicly owne d seaports and representatives from the DOT, Departmentt of Community Affairs, and Governor's Office of Trade and Economic Development. The combined annual economicd impactof Florida’s 14 deep-water seaportss is $82 billion, the releases said.
The ports collectively generate morethan 350,000 directy and indirect jobs, making it the largest economic engin e in west-central Florida, responsible for nearly 100,000 jobs and $8 billiohn in annual economic impacrt a release said. Wainio is just gettinvg started in his FSTED role butsaid there’s a cleae need to quickly reach out to othere council members in order to work on improving a developing strategic focus. “That’a so we can go forward in Tallahassee speakin g with one voice in terms of the financial and infrastructuree needs of statewide port he said. He believesw Florida ports have seen statewide funding whittlec tonearly nothing.
“We’re the only statd in the nation that has significantf portsthat doesn’t have the kind of financialp support from the state.” An FDOT study this year confirmee that an investment in seaports provide s a 7-to-1 return he said. The challenge in Florida, in is that each of the state’s differengt ports offers diverse services, specialtiee and governance policies, making it a challengw to present in aunified “It’s hard to for us to go to D.C.] with a collective voice to get funding,” he said. “We’lk now work to bring the cohesion and go forward with a moreunifiedc platform.
”

Developer buys prime sites in Bloomington, Hopkins - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Hoyt, who heads Wayzata-based , has retained to market the propertt nationally for a corporate campus with 500to 1,000 jobs for one or more Deere, the Moline, Ill.-based farm-equipment manufacturer, put the facilityt on the market in February. It closed the 200,000-square-foot warehouse in Tom Simon, first vice president in CB Richard Ellis' Bloomingtohn office, will kick off a national marketing campaigh in about two weeks to find tenantd forthe site. Simon said he's already had abougt a half-dozen serious inquiries about the building since the starttof October.
CB Richard Ellis is listing the buildingy for saleat $20 million, but that price is likely to go up based on initial demand and rising construction costs for comparable new facilities, Simon said. He woulsd not disclose Deere's selling pricde to Hoyt. Deere officials and Hoyt coul not be reachedfor comment. Continental Property which had revenueof $53 million in has developed and owns millions of square feet across the It annually ranks between fifth and 10th on The Busines s Journal's list of the Top 25 Real Estatse Developers in the Twin Cities. Simon said the new ownef is "already in negotiations for addinbg onto thebuilding significantly," Simon said.
He declined to provide further details. The existing building coulc be expanded upto 600,00p0 or 800,000 square feet, Simon That would still leave room on the site for additional "We will look to maximize that site and are lookinfg for good high-paying jobs to replace the ones that were he said. Deere had about 130 employees at the facility asof 2000. The parcel is zonesd for industrial space, and Simon doesn't see it beint a big residentialredevelopment site, although he didn't completelyy rule out some housing.
"We are investigating all our options," he In addition to the Deere facility, Continental closed this week on anotherd significant vacant industrialbuilding -- this one in Hopkins -- that Simob is marketing for potential users. The properthy is a 355,000-square-foot warehouse on 16 acres that was formerlyg the headquarters ofRainbow Foods. The at 8000 Excelsior Blvd., is on the north side of the just east ofBlake Road. Continental has been working on buying the property for more than two yearsd in acomplex "multi-legged Simon said. The deal was complicated by the bankruptcyof Rainbow'es former parent company, Flemint Cos. Inc.
of Lewisville, Texas, and the various stakezs of insurance firms andformer Now, the property will have one ownert and a fresh start, Simon Continental plans to start right away on overdue repairs to the roof, heating and electrical systems. Like the Bloomingtonm property, Simon said this site is being marketedf for lease or for The asking priceis $10

New Cousins CEO Gellerstedt gets raise - Business First of Buffalo:

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Gellerstedt's base salary was increased from $375,00o to $500,000, his target annual incentive cash bonusw award was increasedto $525,000 and his target long-term equity incentived award was increased to $800,000, the filing shows. The 2009 cash bonuw and equityincentive award, if earned, are expected to be awardeed by the company's Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee in Februaru 2010. Gellerstedt is replacing the retiringTom Bell, who turns 60 this Bell made a salary of $650,000 and had $2.6 millionh in total compensation for 2008, according to a proxty filing. Gellerstedt, 53, came to Cousins CUZ) when the REIT bought his firm, , in June 2005.
Gellerstedt served as chairman and CEO of the BeeraConstruction Co. from 1986 to 1998. In 1998, after the sale of Beeras to Skanska USA, he was electefd chairman and CEO of America nBusiness Products, a packaging and printed office productds company. In 2000, Gellerstedt became president and chief operatiny officer of TheIntegral Group, an urban mixed-usw development company. He went on to found The Gellerstedrt Groupin 2003.

Romney still light on specifics - msnbc.com

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msnbc.com

Romney still light on specifics msnbc.com nonpartisan. increase the debt. mr. romney 's plans. why are there no specifics? you want to talk about big ideas and not the bain an enthe tax issues. i'm asking you specifically. >> yeah. >> how does mitt romney 's plan balance the budget by 2020 ... and more »

Just what the doctor ordered: A new commercial center - Orlando Business Journal:

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Internal medicine specialist Dr. Neil Coskun, a genera partner of Windermere-based developer , said he envisions constructinhga retail/office center with an assisted-living facilityh in a project dubbed The Palms at Lake It would include 26,000 square feet of restaurang and retail space in two single-story along with 30,000 square feet of medical office condosz in a third, two-story building, and a 50- to 100-be assisted-living facility, Coskun said. The Orange County Commission on April 7 approved rezoningthe project’ws land on Lake Underhill Road from medium-density residentiak use to commercial use. Coskun is working with Orlando-base d on engineering and site plans.
The Palms at Lake Underhill woulf use only 7 acres of the with therest preserved, said Matthew West, a planne with Lake Mary-based , whichn applied for the rezoningv on behalf of Vista Pointe Family. Coskub believes his project will benefitthe hospital’s 1,300 employeex and others in the area. “Wse don’t have any good quick-service restaurants or retail arounds us,” said Coskun. Florida Hospital East spokeswoman Beckyy Niemann said the hospital supports any projec tthat “adds to the quality of life” in the The Palms at Lake Underhill also will server several surrounding residential neighborhoods, West said.
It’s next to a duplex community on the southeast side and a subdivisiojn on thesouthwest side. There are abou t 3,500 households within a 1-mile radius of Chickasas Trail and Lake said LoopNet.com. The nearest shopping centersz and restaurants arefarther away, either on Chickasawe Trail or Goldenrod Road, both difficult to walk to durinf the hot summer months, said However, Coskun faces at least one majo challenge: The plans are being developed at a time when many new commerciall developments are struggling to securde tenants. The east Orlando submarket posteda 12.8 percenrt Class A office vacancy rate in first-quartefr 2009, said GVA Advantis.
Although that’s better than the 14.5 percent total vacancy reportedin fourth-quarter 2008, it’ds still considered high by industry Meanwhile, the retail market had a 2008 year-end 7.3 percentg vacancy rate in the East Colonial Drivee submarket, up significantly from midyear 2008’s 4.5 percenf rate, said the . Scott Corbin, directoer of retail services for CollierArnold Orlando, said the list of struggliny commercial centers in Orlando is endless. “The smalleer projects are doing well, if they’rs still well-located.
If they’re off the mark and not pricedx aggressively, they’re going to

Resolute Games launching new iPhone app - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Seven Deaths is a fighting game that follows the livesd of eight characters through one night in Nagamachii through a battle for control inthe city. The game includez full stories of the characters anddetailef backgrounds. The game will also eventually included updatesfor Wi-Fi multiplayer and social media. Resolute Games has also created otheriPhoned applications, including “ThumStruck,” “Segment” and “Elvisw Mobile.” And Resolute gamers will now have new, fastert devices to play on.
At its Worldwide Developerz Conference inSan Francisco, announced the next generation of iPhone, which will downloaxd content three times faster than the current brand and will includee a 3-megapixel autofocus camera. It also has voice-controo features and a built-in compass. The 3GS also has improvefd battery life with up to nine hourxson WiFi, 10 hours while watching video, 30 hours usinv audio, 12 hours using 2G talk and five hours usinyg 3G talk. The new iPhone will be availabler in black and white onJune 19. It will sell for $199 for a 16GB modelo and $299 for 32GB.

Wind turbine firm to create 100 jobs in Darke County - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Greenville-based , which has six employees, is embarkiny on a $1 million project that will creatre 100 jobs within three the state announced The is awarding a 50 percent job creation tax credity fora six-year term to LAH worth $390,880, beginning in January. LAH had been heavy into site development andbuilding fabrication. But it is morphing to engineering, manufacturing and installation of wind turbinr assemblies on windfarm sites, according to the Darke County Commissioner Michael Rhoades said the project has been wrappef in secrecy.
Rhoades suspected the project was related to wind farms becaus three wind turbine companies have suddenly began courting farmers in Arcanum and Union City to covert farm land intowind farms. The Darkde County Board of Commissioners also is providingabou $188,000 for workforce training of abouft 120 employees, according to statd records. The funding slid into place after word came abou three weeks ago of a potential renewablesenergy project. The news prompted the city and state to lock arms and brin g the project to Ohio as opposed to numerous stateaincluding Illinois, Montana, Colorado, Arizona and officials said.
Greenville Mayofr Michael Bowers declined to comment about the project untipl he could reach the company for The maestro of the projecrt isGreg Hart, a Darke County entrepreneur, Rhoade s said. Hart could not be reachedd for comment. LAH will purchase an existing facility in witha five-year lease to manufacture, install and manage wind turbines on wind farm sitezs while selling the power to according to the state. LAH pland to hire wind turbine press backoffice staff, informatiojn technology and research and development employeesa for the proposed project, according to the The average wage of the new jobs will be $22.3 per hour, plus $5.8 per hour in benefits, accordinyg to the state.

Week in review - South Florida Business Journal:

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However, paychecks in South Floridza did not rise as fast as salaries in mostlarge counties. In Miami-Dade County, the average weekly wage in the third quarterwas $842, up 2.2 percent from the same periodc of 2007. In Broward County, the average weekly wage was up 2.2 percen to $792. In Palm Beach County, the averagw weekly wage was $811, up 0.9 of a percent. In the average weekly wage was $756 in the third quarter, up 2.2 Nationwide, the average weekly wage was $841 in the thirs quarter, up 2.8 percent. The formedr head of finance for has been charged with tax evasiojn in connection with his failure toreport $1.5 millioj he allegedly embezzled from the according to the U.S.
attorneuy for the Southern District of Harvey Fein of Coral Springs divertedd the money and then allegedly filesd false personal income tax returns for 2001 through according tocourt documents. Fein files a return stating hehad $119,976 in taxabl e income and $23,551 tax due and owintg for calendar year 2004, when the defendantg knew and believed that his taxable incomes for calendar year 2004 was $526,103.865 and taxes due were according to court The said its tax loss was about S. Fla. foreclosures up 33 percent South Florida foreclosurew actions rose 33 percent in thefirsty quarter, to 23,672 according to a new report from LLC.
The new numberds break down to an averages rate of 263 foreclosure actionsa day, accordinh to a news release accompanying the The company uses its foreclosure databasw to track court filingsx related to foreclosure, including lis pendene and notices of default. In firstf quarter of 2008, there were 17,820 foreclosurw actions filed inthe three-county region, for an averagew of 198 filings a day. Broward County had the greates number of foreclosure actionxs in thefirst quarter, with 10,290 actions, or 114 a day. That is a 39 percentg increase overthe 7,3932 actions filed in the first quarted of 2008, according to the report.
Miami-Dad County saw a 34 percent increase in foreclosurd actions in thefirst quarter, to 7,170. There were 5,370 filings in the countyu in the first 90 daysof 2008. Palm Beacg County had a 23 percent increase inforeclosure filings, to 6,212 actions in the first quarter from 5,057 filings in 2008. Apollo Bank has received preliminary approval from states regulators to open inCoral But, it first must meet certaib requirements, including raising at least $20 million. Once it raises the required $20 million, Apollo stil l needs approval from the andthe ’s boarxd to begin operations, according to Chairman Eddy Arriola.
Apollo would pursue a traditional business bank The bank has leased spacew at 1826 Ponce deLeon Blvd., and plans to open in Septembetr with about 11 employeesx in its first location. , a servicer of subprime mortgages, is amongb the first mortgage servicers to begi n modifying loans underthe ’s Home Affordabled Modification Program. The program, unveiled last allows at-risk borrowers to reduce theid monthly mortgage payments in an effor t to keep them from losin gtheir homes. It creates a $75 billion loan modificationh program that wouldallow “responsible homeowners” to refinancer to interest rates as low as 2 percent.
“W were well positioned for a vigorous launcu of this newgovernment program. Sincr the outset of the mortgags crisis, we have increased key staffingt by over65 percent,” Ocwen Chairman Willia C. Erbey said in a news For a loan modification, lendersa would have to reduce the mortgagw payments to no more than 38 percengt ofthe borrower’s income. The Treasury Department woulfd share the cost for lenders to cutthat debt-to-income ratio to 31

Missouri prayer amendment passes - USA TODAY

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USA TODAY

Missouri prayer amendment passes USA TODAY By Kellie Kotraba,, Religion News Service. Updated. Comments. COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Voters in Missouri overwhelmingly approved a "right to pray" amendment to the state's constitution on Tuesday, despite concerns about the measure's necessity and legality. Missouri prayer amendment passes by wide margin Washington Post (blog) Missouri Prayer Amendment Passes, But Critics Fear Unnecessary Lawsuits And ... Huffington Post Missouri voters OK 'Right to Pray' amendment Kansas City Star ABC News (blog) -Opposing Views -Fox News  »

US Downsizing Operations in Iraq - Journal of Turkish Weekly

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US Downsizing Operations in Iraq Journal of Turkish Weekly With Americans now largely confined to the Baghdad embassy because of safety concerns, investigators recently disclosed that "support costs and security expenses accounted for 93 percent of the estimated $4 billion [allocated for] 2012 operations in ... and more »

Jazz notes - The Press, York

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Jazz notes The Press, York Yet another strand (Trio VD, Led Bib) is pursuing a punk agenda. Jazz Notes noted this new development in the review of Moxxy, by Troyka (June 8) and that trio was described by Jazzwise magazine last month as “Motorhead Meets Mingus”). This week we ...

Abercrombie shutting struggling Ruehl chain - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The New Albany-based apparel merchanft said Wednesday it willshut Ruehl’s 29 store and direct-to-consumer operations and will be “substantiallg complete” with the effort by the end of next The decision comes a month afted Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF) took a deep strategic look at the which targets young adultds with clothes and accessories. Ruehl, whose only Ohio store is at EastonjTown Center, generated a pretax operatiny loss of $58 million last year. The chain regularly was Abercrombie’s weakest sales performer at storexs open at leasta year. Ruehl’d same-store sales were off 33 percentin May. Abercrombir earned $272.3 million on $3.
54 billion in revenue last “It has been a difficult decision toclosd Ruehl, a brand we continue to believe could have been successful in different circumstances,” CEO Michael Jeffriex said in a statement. “However, given the current economif environment, we believe it is in the best interestsz of the company to focuw its efforts and resources on the growth opportunities afforded by ourothedr brands, particularly internationally.
” The company didn’t discloswe the effects on the chain’e work force, nor did it indicates the number of jobs tied to The review of Ruehl, whicj opened in 2004, cost the company about $51 millio in impairment charges in its first quarter. Abercrombire expects to book abouft $65 million in pretax chargews through the rest of the fiscall year as it winds down The company Wednesday also said it amendede a credit agreement to excludesome Ruehl-related charges from requirements under its covenant with the lender and reduceed its available credit to $350 million from $450 million.
Jeffries said the companyy is confident is has sufficient cash on handbut “wer believe it is prudent to make these changes” in light of the recession-batterexd retail environment and the one-time Ruehl In addition to the 29 Ruehl stores, Abercrombie runs 350 flagshilp stores and 733 others under the Hollister Co. and Gilly Hicks nameplates.

Susan Stamper-Brown: The futility of enacting gun control - Baxter Bulletin

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Newsday

Susan Stamper-Brown: The futility of enacting gun control Baxter Bulletin Therefore, gun control laws do not work â€" because they are based on the erroneous assumption that criminals will obey the law. They don't and won't; hence leaving law-abiding citizens defenseless in the face of danger, as so happened that tragic July ... Poll: No shift in opinion on gun control, post-Aurora shooting Bangor Daily News Is there common ground on gun control? Kearney Hub Tragedies Provide Ammo for Gun Control The SandPaper Chicago Tribune -Newsday -The Citizen.com (blog)  »

Roberts backs KU Cancer Center's push for NCI designation - The Business Review (Albany):

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Roberts, R-Kan., spoke at The ’s Westwooxd medical building. He said that it now take s 10 years to 17 yearsand $1 billionb to bring a new drug to market, whicg Roberts called a “national disgrace.” The National Cancer Institute said in November that the KU Cancer Centef has a Sept. 25, 2011, application date for its effortws to get aninitial five-year designation as an NCI cancer The months-long application proces for institutions seeking new designations begins with submission of documentation that sometimezs exceeds 1,000 pages and includes a site visigt and other steps. The earliest that KU Cancer Center’s application could be approved is the springof 2012.
64 cancer centers receive Cancer Center Support Grantws to support research to reducethe incidence, morbidity and mortalit rates of cancer. There are 23 cancer centerd and 41 comprehensivecancer centers. The KU Cancedr Center is part of , which is the medicak research and education arm of the Universityof Kansas. NCI designationh — KU’s No. 1 priority — typicalluy is granted to academicmedicalk centers. Therefore, KU Medical Centee is the entity that will applty forNCI designation. • Increased regional patient accesseto cutting-edge clinical trials. More than $1.3 billion in annuakl economic benefits inthe region.
• An increasd in KU Cancer Center’s annual NCI financinv from thecurrent $7.5 million to about $40 million. NCI-affiliated institutions also attract world-class researchers who bring NCI grantswith them, and part of the estimatexd increase is based on that. Many of these researchers double as adding expertise and depth invarious cancer-care sub-specialties.