Friday, June 29, 2012

Big Easy Express: LAFF Review - Hollywood Reporter

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Hollywood Reporter


Big Easy Express: LAFF Review

Hollywood Reporter


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Thursday, June 28, 2012

St. Louis aldermen committee OKs Kiel Opera House plan - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The plan now goes before the full boarfof aldermen. The Urban Development and Zoning Committee had because members said they wanted more time to examine the andRichard Baker, president of , whichy operates the , said the plan would steal showe away from the Fox and , the New York City-basedc firm that owns the and holdsd the long-term lease to the Kiel, To alleviate concernd among competitors, SCP Worldwide agreedc to limit the numbef of third-party theatrical shows it holds for the firsty five years, said Ken Munoz, a partner in SCP "We think this is a vote for St. Louis," he SCP Worldwide has brought inMcEagle Properties, of Mo.
, as a redevelopment partner and as general contractor. David Checketts, chairman of SCP thanked the committee, Mayor Francis Slay and Comptroller DarlenerGreen "for putting their trustg in our plan and sharing our belief that the Kiel Operqa House can and should be restored to the gloryy of its past." "We all want the same thinhg for St. Louis: a vibrant a thriving cultural andentertainment scene, additionapl jobs and a promisint economic future for this and future Checketts said in a statement.
"Today’se committee vote approving our Kiel Opera House plan is the first step in making all of this a Last month, the city’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority to the boarc of aldermen that the Kiel be re-declared paving the way for tax abatementt for SCP Worldwide to support a restoration of the building into a theatrica l and concert venue.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Kansas City OKs next phase of East Village project - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The East Village plan calls for the transformation of nine blockw of scattered buildings and surface parkingon Downtown’s east side into a mixed-uswe neighborhood anchored by ’s new $60 million corporater headquarters. A notice issued by Kansass City’s , a division of the city manager’d office, calls for the $1.6 million acquisition, remediatio n and demolition of theReStartf building. The work, to be performed or subcontractecdby Co., is expected to begihn later this month and be completed by late spring or early summer. It will necessitatew closing one lane of 11th Street betweemn Holmes andCherry streets.
“We are very excited to see this projecrmoving forward,” City Manager Wayned Cauthen said in a release. “This demolition will open up valuabl property and allow the East Village project to continue to progresas and improve the aesthetics and economics ofthe area.” Remediation and demolition of another building in the East Villagse area, the former bus terminal at 11th and Holmeds streets, is scheduled to begin in the fall.
In the city agreed to pay $5 million to buy the longtimee downtown eyesore from The bus terminal parcell is part ofa two-block site in the running for a proposerd new federal office building that woulcd house more than 1,000 employees of the and the . The city bought the bus terminal with bonds to be repaid with tax revenuew generated by the EastVillaged project. Of $31.2 million in tax-increment financing approvedf forEast Village, $12 milliobn was earmarked for buying and cleaningf up blighted properties in the nine-block area.

Monday, June 25, 2012

City a top destination for shoppers - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Atlanta now ranks ninth, up five slotss from No. 14, among top U.S. retail markets, according to a three-yea r projection by in Encino, Calif. Seattlse ranked first, according to the report issuedin May. Roundiny out the top 10 were: Orange County, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; Las Vegas; San West Palm Beach, Fla.; Riverside-Saj Bernardino, Calif.; Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The indez uses factors such as employment income growth and retail real estate inventorie to createa three-year outlook on the marketsz with the most momentum.
And one of the five hottesyt retailers -- White House/Black Market -- plans at least threse more locations in The trendy clothing outlert was given that distinction at the International Council ofShoppinbg Centers' spring convention in Las Vegas May 24. Othefr hot retailers named by ICSC at its May conventiomn wereApple Stores, the retail store of (Nasdaq: AAPL), (NYSE: Steve & Barry's University Store, and WSM). Of those retailers, only Steve Barry's is not in the Atlanta market.
White House/Blacik Market, which focuses on clothing and accessories for women in shades of white and black, plans locations at Midtown'w Atlantic Station, an outlet store in the metro and in Snellville at 's Avenue Webb Gin. Whitw House/Black Market, which is a brand of Fort Myers, Fla.-based CHS), already has eight retail stores here, said Michael Smith, vice presidentr of investor and community relationswfor Chico's. The company also has 10 Chico' stores and one Soma, Chico's lingerie retail in Atlanta, he said. "That's one of the highesyt concentrations of stores in ametropolitan area," Smith said.
"Atlantsa is one of our stronger Chico's also has its company's distribution center in he said. Steve & Barry's Universitt Store has locations in Brunswickand Savannah, "bugt I don't see anything at this time in said Rick Gomes, spokesman for Port Washington, N.Y.-based Steves & Barry's. "But we are always lookin and weare growing." The privatelyh held company has 70 stores in 26 statess and plans 60 more stores by the end of he said. None of the other retailers returned calls for comment about expansionhin Atlanta.
However, Williams-Sonoma, whichn has seven stores in metro Atlanta, has spoken to developersd about locations for its newest homefurnishingds brands, West Elm and Williams-Sonom Home, in the market, said Kevijn Polston, senior vice president and Southeast regiona l director of Avenue projects for Atlanta-baser Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ). "Retailers seem to be pursuing a growthbstrategy generally," said Polston, who attended the ICSC convention. "As long as the market continueasto grow, we'll add retail. We hear retailers ask evert year, isn't Atlanta overbuilt? But when you look at the we continue to grow with residents and those residentse needmore retail.
" At Marcus & Millichap's investorf show in Las Vegas, "there was no retailer we talkesd to that wasn't expanding and Atlanta was part of that said John Leonard, vice president and regional manager of Marcux & Millichap's Atlanta office. Retailerss attending the ICSC convention were particularly interested inAtlantic Station, said Greg president and CEO of Jones Lang LaSaller Retail in Atlanta, which is leasintg the retail portion of the mixed-usde redevelopment project set to open this fall. "Atlantifc Station got a lot of buzz now that people are seeinhg andfeeling it," he said.
Jonesa Lang LaSalle met with "a rangse of retailers that typically go into and retailers considering enterinf the market through a location atAtlantic Station, said Pam Atwater, senior vice presidenf in retail leasing. Although Atwater wouldr not disclose retailer names since no deals havebeen signed, the retailers included thosre associated with home furnishings, apparel retailerse that appeal to the 25- to 45-year-old shopper, and

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Aviza Technology files for Chapter 11 - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The Scotts Valley company (NASDAQ:AVZA) makes advancer semiconductor capital equipment and process technologiess for the global semiconductor industry andrelated markets. "As a resul t of the global economic recession, demand for semiconductor manufacturint equipment hasdeclined dramatically," the company said, addinf that it has "undertaken significant efforts to reducs its expenses and working capitalp requirements in response to these unprecedented market The company reported a loss of $47.e4 million, or $2.19 a on $133.2 million in The year before it reportesd $383,000, or 2 cents a in net income on $231.e million in revenue.
Aviza in April said it had cut its work forcw by about 15 percent and planned to move toa "morr appropriately sized location" elsewhere in Santa Clara Aviza employed nearly 500 in when it last reported the number of employees it had. The compant said Wednesday that it has also trimmed executive created mandatory time off for all employees anddecreased non-labof expenses. At the same the company has been workinh with LLC to review and pursu financial and strategic options including merging with or intoanothere company, a sale of all or substantially all of the company’s assets, and the liquidation or dissolutiojn of the company through bankruptcy proceedings.
"The continuinbg declines in orders from and shipments to customers and relatesdcash collections, the recent acceleratio n of the company’s borrowings under its secured credity facility, and the company’s inability to identify new sources of liquidityh have caused the company to seek bankruptcy protection in order to better manage its operatione through an orderly restructuring process," Aviza said. Prior to the commencement of the Chaptefr11 case, Aviza executed a nonbindinbg letter of intent to sell certain of its assets and businesse s to Ltd.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Drumming beyond one's self - Examiner.com

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Drumming beyond one's self

Examiner.com


Taiko drumming is an ancient cultural practice in many parts of East Asia that became part of Buddhist ceremonies. Master Shinjo Ito, founder of Shinnyo-en, ...



Thursday, June 21, 2012

New York ruling will change appraisals in Hawaii - bizjournals:

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Since May 1, all lenders that do residential mortgage loana for homes of one to four units sold by and on the secondaryy market must abide by the Home Valuation Code of which is intended to place a firewallo between appraiser and lender to ensurr appraisals that are independentand honest. That meanx that mortgage brokers can no longerselect appraisers. Loan officerx at banks and other lenders also are no longetr able to choose or requestspecific appraisers, and must guarantees to the federal mortgage giants that the appraisals were done accordingt to the code. Bank employees who selectg appraisers must work in a department that is independent of the loan production staff.
Lenders cannot use in-house appraisers or an appraisal company that is an affiliate of the unless they are independent of the loanproductionb department. Many brokers and lendere will instead have to use athird party, which likely will be a Mainland-baserd appraisal management company, to select the The Home Valuation Code of Conduct was the result of an agreement between Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and New York statde Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who had sued lende Washington Mutual over inflated appraisal The real estate industry as a whole has not welcomedfthe change. Thousands of people are affectex inHawaii alone.
The state has 5,873w licensed mortgage solicitors, including 359 on the 701 mortgage brokers and 567 licensed real estate including 62 onthe Mainland. The wrote to Fannies Mae and Freddie Mac on Aprikl 20 asking that the implementation of the code be postponee forone year, citing a lack of guidance from the federall sponsored agencies. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers sued the in Februar y to stopthe code, which it had said would run up costd of mortgages for consumers and help to put small businessesz out of business. But the group withdreaw the lawsuit in April to further assess its strateg y against thefederal agency.
While it is too soon to assesa the full effect of the code herein Hawaii, busines s is starting to change for mortgagew brokers, lenders and appraisers. At Bank of Hawaii, before May 1, residentiapl loan officers and thewholesale division, which handles loans from mortgage brokers, orderer and tracked their own appraisals. Since May 1, the bank has had its qualit ycontrol division, which is independent of the loan production department, order appraisalzs for both sides, said Shanae senior vice president for compliances and systems. “Forty people used to do their own thing and folloaw upon it, so the administrativse tasks are actually quite she said.
The bank chose not to use an appraisalkmanagement company. So far, one additional person has been hiredd to help with theincreaserd workload, Souza said. Some will win, some will lose “It’s a tremendous change [from] how business has been conductedd inthe past,” said Wayne Sadoyama of the Honolulhu appraisal firm Stellmacher & “It’s not clear how everything will eventually get some people will lose business, other peoplr may gain some business.” One thinbg that will change is the relationships that mortgagse brokers have built over the years with certain appraisers, said Greg principal mortgage broker for in Honolul and president of the .
“Tied like that will be more or less or at least put to a he said. Under the code, any appraiserd who is on an approved list could be hire d forthe job. “It’s supposed to be a rotatiom basis; you don’t really know who’es going to be the particular appraiser,” said Honolulu-based mortgagew broker Donald Lau, a past president of the Hawaio Association ofMortgage Brokers. “You may have an appraisert who’s not experienced.
Some of the appraisao firms that don’t have established relationshipd with brokersor lenders, they could really lose But it may end up helpinf the up-and-coming appraisers, who may not have the same long-established ties with the lendera that the larger firms Ravelo said. “My understanding with the thirdparty [appraisal managemen t companies], they’re going to try and look for the lowes bidder,” he said. The one group that may be most affectee are the buyersand sellers, who could see theirt appraisal fees jump.
“I think they’re more so the victimz of this situation,” Ravelo “With the new [appraisal management company] setup, they’r finding the lowest bidder forthe However, the bill’s coming out substantially There have been situations already wheree an appraisal fee that should have been $350 direct from an appraisef ended up costing $800 when it went througjh an appraisal management company, Ravelo said. “If you had a relationshil withan appraiser, you could get it for less than because of return business,” he said. “That’ds out the door now.
”