Governor Pitches OHA Deal to Legislators - Hawaii Reporter

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Governor Pitches OHA Deal to Legislators Hawaii Reporter The governor brought two cabinet members, Attorney General David Louie and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands deputy director Michelle Kauhane, to also testify forcefully in support of the bill. No oral testimony was delivered in opposition although ... and more »

Explanation of mysterious orbs spotted over NC mountains eludes scientists ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Cyprus Air expects 2011 loss - Reuters

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Explanation of mysterious orbs spotted over NC mountains eludes scientists ... Minneapolis Star Tribune Whatever the explanation, tourism officials are hoping all those decades of unanswered questions add up to a boost in visitors making their way to scenic outlooks around Linville Gorge with the goal of spotting something mysterious. and more »

Cyprus Air expects 2011 loss Reuters Govt wants strategic investor to take over airline * Board to discuss share capital issues (Adds detail) NICOSIA Feb 24 (Reuters) - Cypriot flag carrier Cyprus Airways said on Friday full-year results would be a "significant departure" from 2010 after ... and more »

Sale To Keep Coyotes In Arizona Almost Finalized - WCVB-TV

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Seattle Post Intelligencer

Sale To Keep Coyotes In Arizona Almost Finalized WCVB-TV By Sports Direct The National Hockey League is close to finalizing a sale of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise to a group led by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison, according to Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal. Conflicting reports on Coyotes ownershi p front Arizona Sports The saga of the Phoenix Coyotes future coming to an end? Cronkite News  »

Edison wins approval for solar panel installation - San Francisco Business Times:

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During the next five yearz Edisonwill install, own and operate 150 solafr panels that will generate 250 megawattsz of power. Edison was also granteed the ability to solicitother solar-power companiess to install similar panel arrays and sell the powe r back to Edison, up to an additional 250 Edison says the 500 total megawatts makes the projecyt "the largest photovoltaic program ever undertaken." “Thse program will create hundreds of neighborhoodx solar power plants, strengthen local grid reliabilit y and produce hundreds of new green jobs to bolsted Southern California’s economic recovery,” Chairman and CEO Theodore F. Craveer Jr., said in a statement.
The first Edisomn site has already been completedc on the roof of a distribution warehouse in Accordingto Edison, it is the larges single rooftop solar photovoltaic array in the nation. Both Southern Californiqa Edison and its parent EdisonInternational (NYSE: EIX) are based in

Some ARM mortgages cost more than fixed - Washington Business Journal:

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’s weekly rate report says 30 year fixed-ratwe mortgages fell modestly this week to anaverag 4.82 percent. One year ARMs averaged 4.91 percent this Freddie Mac says 15year fixed-rate mortgagesw fell to 4.48 percent this week, the lowesrt since Freddie Mac started tracking 15 year mortgage ratesa in 1991. “The housing industry is starting to exhibitg somepositive signs, albeit scarce and too earlh to tell how permanent,” says Freddise Mac (NYSE: FRE) chief economist Frank Nothaft. Reportsd Thursday showed a decline in new housing starts and constructiob permitsin March, but several report earlier in the week pointed to a housingg recovery.
The Federal Reserv on Wednesday reported an increase in home sale in a numbere ofits district. The Nationao Association of Homebuilders also said its builder confidencd index rose to a six month highthis

Syria's Assad sets date for referendum - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

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Sydney Morning Herald

Syria's Assad sets date for referendum Pittsburgh Post Gazette 26 as the date for a b »

NASCAR Hall of Fame to open May 11 - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The NASCAR Hall of Fame is under construction off SoutnCollege Street, near the Charlotte Convention Center. Organizerd will launch a sales campaigmnthis fall, including ticket and membership and will feature the marketing tagline “Where the race lives The campaign is being developeed by Charlotte marketing communications firm Wray Ward. “ I am thrilled to announce that Charlotte will proudlyy welcome visitors to the NASCAR Hall of Fame with its gran d opening onMay 11, 2010,” says Charlotte Mayodr Pat McCrory.
“It is a testamentr to our strong history and an excitin glimpse intoour region’s dynami c future to be able to announc e this upcoming milestone date today, on our city’sa 60th anniversary of its first NASCAR race.” Charlotte hosted the first-evetr NASCAR “strictly stock” race — later called the Grand Nationalk and now the Sprint Cup serie s — on June 19, 1949. The NASCAR Hall of Fame brok e groundon Jan. 25.

Credit card processing company grows business by evolving strategy - Denver Business Journal:

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Henry Helgeson and Scott Zdanis established the companhy in 1998 as a reseller of credit card processingf terminals overthe Internet. To a smaller extengt the company provided processingg of creditcard transactions. But as margin compression made equipment salesless profitable, the partnersx responded by ramping up processin g services. Today, its processing services constitutw 90 percent of its totalgross revenue, while equipment and software sales are 10 Business has been so brisk — it signed up 2,300 new customerss in April alone — that the companyg is planning to increase its sale s force by 30 percent or 40 percent withijn the next 60 days.
“We basically are getting more businesses tryinvg to signup (for our services) than we have the capacity for, and we’re trying to stafcf up for that as quickly as possible,” says 34, who serves as president and co-CEO. Co-founder Zdanis has since moved to Miami and playws a less active role in the Merchant Warehouse acts asa third-party facilitating payment transactions between merchantsx and credit card issuers, essentially by getting money off of the consumer’s credit card and into the business’s bank account.
Its residual-bases business model makes money by charging for that service on each Sinceits inception, the 150-employee compant estimates serving a cumulative tota l of more than 87,000 customers nationwide — primarily small and medium-size businesses; about 56,000 are active accountxs right now, with most of the attrition due to companies goint out of business, Helgeson notes. Merchant Warehouse is processing morethan 3.5 milliomn payment transactions per month. After hittinvg $27.3 million in revenue in the company is shootingfor $32 milliomn to $34 million this year. Helgeson says Merchant Warehousr has also benefited by becoming more ofa technology-driveb company.
“When we started to hire our own softwars developers and build our own as far as computer systemsx and technology to run this that really put us intoa hyper-growth he says. Five years ago, the company hired its firsf software developer. It subsequently builft its own sophisticated customer relationship managementsystem in-housd that has enabled the company to better measure the performancer of its accounts and staff. And 18 months ago, it completeed the development of the necessary infrastructurs to begin processing some transactionz through its own electronic gateway herein Boston.
It continues to utilize three large outside firms to assistf in processing the bulk ofthe transactions. The companhy also works with a pool of aboutf100 point-of-sale system resellers, who often referd business to Merchant Warehouse. The company has also used technologyy to innovate its services in an industry wher Helgeson says the competitionis fierce. “Our industry has been prett much plain, vanilla credit and debitf processing,” Helgeson says. “We had to look at it and say, ‘What can we do here to differentiate ourselves?
’ For instance, it offerd wireless credit card processing services to iPhone and BlackBerry users who have installed its software applicationsw ontheir PDAs. Those mobile merchantas now represent 10 percent to 15 percenr ofthe company’s new accounts. It has also partnered with another company, , to develop a card reader that encryptss the credit card number as it is being swipecd to help preventsecurity breaches. “They’re a very impressive says Steve Parks, vice president of , an Atlanta-basedr firm that Merchant Warehouse has engaged for some of its processin services formany years.
He attributes the firm’s growtuh to “some very shrewd investments in technolog y and being ahead of the curve in termx of technology and how to use it to drivetrafficv (to their business), and training their sales reps to capitalizwe on that traffic.”

Illinois city taps Summerfest unit for park design - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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will participate and consult in a majorf site development initiative called the RiverEdger ParkMaster Plan. The firm will work with the AurorasPark Collaborative, a desigbn team consisting of public and privatew groups responsible for developing and implementin g the park plan. The park will be intertwinecd with the Fox River flowing throughh the heartof Aurora. "RiverEdge Park will offerr a music venue, a garden and natural areas," Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said in apreses release.
"But the primary goal of the park is to attracy additional mixed use development tothe area, similaer to the impact Millennium Park had in downtown Chicago and Henry Maier Festival Park (the Summerfesy grounds) had in Milwaukee. As a result, we will improvwe our tax base andstrengthe Aurora’s economy." World Festival Productions will focus its expertise on the outdoof performance venue, which will anchor the design as the primaryt functional element of the The vision calls for two permanent buildings; a permanent stagde with sound/video towers and an ancillarg building with permanent bathrooms, vending and an upper-level viewing area.
The park grounds surrounding the venue will be designed to accommodate additionaltemporary stages, portable restrooms and vending to servwe about 10,000 to 15,000 people. "Milwaukee has somethinf very unique and special that other cities and marketzare recognizing. It is a complimentg to our city, Summerfesf and to Henry Maier Festival Park when othe municipalitiesreach out, study and work to recreate attributes we have here in said Don Smiley, president and CEO of Milwaukee Worlrd Festival.
"World Festival Productions allows us to maximizd our resources and expertisein world-class site development, operationsx and event programming while generatingt incremental revenue for the organization." , based in Ill., is the lead engineeringb contractor for the Aurora Park Collaborative and selectee WFP to provide consultingb services for design of the outdoor performancee venue as part of the plan. In addition, WFP is workingf closely with architects , Ltd. (Chicago) and the City of Aurorza Community Development DepartmentPlanning Division.

Heathrow will always struggle with snow airport admits - Telegraph.co.uk

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Telegraph.co.uk

Heathrow will always struggle with snow airport admits Telegraph.co.uk Heathrow will always struggle to cope with snow because the airport is full, the airport operator has admitted. By David Millward, Transport Editor Yesterday 40 flights were cancelled as Heathrow sought to restore its schedule to normal after the ... and more »

Rebates should boost Energy Star sales - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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“This rebate program will help Floridians buy appliances atdiscount rates, lower utility costs and benefit Florida businesses by stimulatinb sales of energy-efficient appliances,” Gov. Charlie Crist said in a press releaseMay 18. Althoughu the bill was signed last week, the projecteed time for the program to be administered is probablhy sometimethis fall. Consumers will not be eligible for the rebatees until then because some of the detaila of the program still need to beworked out, said Jerem y Susac, the executive director of Crist’as Energy Office.
The specific amounts for the rebateas must be approved by the legislativewbudget committee, and Crist’s office is still waiting for guidancee from the federal government on how exactly the program will Susac said. The FECC is expectingv Florida toreceive $18 milliojn in federal stimulus funds to provide the rebate program. In the Florida legislature isgiving $150,0009 to the FECC to help them put the plan into All of this shouldc help Floridians save 20 percent on the cost of energy-efficienyt appliances. “This is what we are projecting,” Susafc said.
“We are looking at 20 percent all across the With the 20percent rebate, consumers coul save $290 on refrigerators, $200 on washinhg machines, freezers and dishwashers, $65 on room air conditioners and $40 on Only laundry and kitchen home appliance with the Energy Star label will be eligible for the discount. All Energy Star appliances meet strict energy efficienchy guidelines set by the Environmental Protectionm Agencyand U.S. Departmentf of Energy, but certain items like flat screen televisionss arenot included, Susac said.
Even though they use the most energy out of all the home certain kitchen itemslike microwaves, ovens and stovd tops are also not included becauss they have yet to be regulated by Energyy Star in the United States, said Michaep Setzer, the owner of Setzer’s appliance deale in Jacksonville. Energy Star appliances do cost an averagedof $50 to $100 more than the standard versions because of the advanced technologies, he but the rebate should lighten the making it almost cheaper to buy the Energu Star product. “You don’t have to spend $1,000 to have an Energy Star,” Setzer said. “Energy Star has cheaper modelds now.
I have a $300 dishwasher and a $800 refrigeratorr in my store that are all Energy In addition, the investment will caused consumers’ utility bills to go down in dollaf amount. Customers should recover their costds ofthe energy-efficient appliance on their monthly billas within five to six years. According to Energy Star’s Web their appliances can saveconsumers $75 a year in energyh costs, and they use 10 to 20 percent less energuy and water than traditional models, making them better for the For example, a front-loading Energy Star washintg machine uses 16 to 18 gallonx of water versus the traditional top-loading appliances that uses 40 gallons.
“I don’t know if our sales will go up becausde the customers will still have to put out the full Setzer said. “But any increase in sales will be and it would be a great thing for peopl e to get theirmoney back.” Businessz has been slow during the economic downturnm at both Setzer’s locationsz here in Jacksonville and Ocala, but it’s stil going pretty steady because people are alwayd going to need refrigerators and dishwashers, he said.
In 75 to 80 percent of the appliances he sells are Energy so Setzersaid he’s very Energy Star is also excitee for the rebate program to go into effect becaus e the Florida proposal is unprecedented, an Energy Star spokesperson said. In years past, rebates have causedf a jump intheif sales, but they have never had a rebate progra m like this before.

Second recession deemed possible - Business First of Columbus:

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Those odds may seem low, but they’re actuallh high since double-dip recessions are rare and the U.S. economy grows 95 percent of the saysthe chamber’s Marty Regalia. He predictx the current economic downturn will endaround However, the unemployment rate will remain high through the firsr half of next year and investment won’t snap back as quickly as it usually does afterf a recession, Regalia Inflation, however, looms as a potentia l problem because of the federa government’s huge budget deficits and the massive amount of dollarsz pumped into the economyt by the Federal Reserve, he says.
“Thew economy has got to be running on its own by the middlr ofnext year,” Regalia says. Almost everhy major inflationary periodin U.S. history was preceded by heavg debt levels, he notes. The chance of a double-dip recession will be lower if Ben Bernanke is reappointed chairman of theFederal Reserve, Regalia says. If President Barackk Obama appoints his economic adviser Larryu Summers to chairthe Fed, that would signal the monetaryy spigot would remain open for a longer he predicts. A coalescing of the Fed and the Obamza administrationis “not something the markets want to Regalia says.
Obama has declined to say whetheer he willreappoint Bernanke, whose term ends in