Washington Business Journal: Valeria Santos stays on message: Attraction and retention

Santos reiterated that commitmentFridah morning, saying she is lookinvg to hire someone “whose sole job it is to work on busineses attraction and retention strategy.” “If anyon is interested in that it’s something that we’re lookinyg to do,” she said. For the real estate brokerds out there who are having a rougjh goof things, or else would prefefr a civic mission, take note. Santos made the commentas at a breakfast held by the e-mail newsletter organization. Councilmanm Jack Evans, for his said he is still planning onretainin D.C. United, which seem to be Montgomery County or theDulled corridor, saying, “I have not given up on that by any means.” Also appearing was former D.C.
Mayor Anthonu Williams. After leaving office, Williams formes a real estateinvestment trust, Primum Publicv Realty Trust, in 2007, as a partner for municipalitiew looking to leverage rising property One can imagine how idea mighyt have fared, and he ditched it in May to . Williamsz reiterated advice that Santos and other staffg of current mayor Adrian Fenty have been giving businessleadere — that they need to stand up to the city council when anti-industry measures are proposed. “The council ran the city back 15yearsd ago. And look wherer we were,” Williams said.

blogspot.com

Restaurant delivery service targets big, busy businesses – New Mexico Business Weekly:

But one company is growing its business by offerinyg customers an alternative to driving anddining out. launchedc in late 2007 and its weekly orders now averageabout 200, up from 75 in February. Founders Ron Patell and Jared Thrapp have 29 restaurantss intheir stable, up from 12 a year ago, and more than 3,000o customers. The two have carved a successful nichde serving businesses and pharmaceutical representatives and they plan to expanc tofive cities, mostly in Texas. They do have individual but a minimum order mustbe $20, plus a delivery fee of $4.9 9 to $6.99. However their bread and butteer are the largerbusiness orders, Patel said.
“We couldn’ t stay in business delivering $7 meals all day,” he Just Dine In is one of abou t 300 similar businesses around the countrty of which about 50 belong tothe , a nationa trade group. said Patel, He is director of membershipo forthe group. The partners won’t reveak specific revenues, but said sales figured have increased by 241 percent fromlast year. They negotiate discounts with restaurantzs and sell the food to customers at the same pricse they would get at theactual eateries. Thei contract drivers earn tips and a percentage of the delivery Patel is ensconced in JustDine In’as small dispatch center.
He communicates with his drivers on walkir talkies and keeps his headset on to take phons orders while he monitorshis e-maip for Web orders. The delivery management softwarew allows him to track whether a driver has reachesd the restaurant or the customer and how long the ordee has been sitting inthe system. He is carefu to time the faxes to the restaurants withhis driver’ws schedules. Ideally the food is coming out of the kitchebn as his driver walks in with an insulateddeliveryt bag. After he faxes each he calls the restaurant to confirm the fax got thers and theorder number. He checks that a orded for today is not the much larger order slatedfor tomorrow.
“We made a mistake like that he said. “They made fajitas for 50 on thewronv day.” That’s an expensive mistakde to eat and it led to the rigorousx checks, he said. “We’re pretthy meticulous about everything,” he said. “We have to be or it fallsd apart when itgets busy.” They have reliedx on cold calling and targeted marketintg to places like hotels rather than traditionaol advertising. It can be a tough sell to restaurants becausd the partners ask for a but Patelsaid they’re also delivering new customers to the Fred Schaller, general manager for Bravo!
Cucina Italiana, said his to-go businessx has increased significantly with Just Dine In. He has worker with similar services inother cities. “The y can really be the death of you,” he If the business isn’t run well, that reflectsa badly on the restaurant, he “But this company has been pretty ZeaRotisserie & Grill now has an above-average to-goi business for the chain, said Chuckj Lindsey, general manager. “They really made a clientelw with us,” he Other food delivery companies have come and gone and new ones arepopping up. Good to Go is a one-womanm operation run by Fran Maier, who serveds mostly pharmaceutical reps.
She organizes the meals and picks them up anddelivers them, but said she isn’ft interested in growing to the level of a Just Dine In. And is a similart service that launched about amontn ago, but it targete mostly individual customers and will deliver from any restauranyt in the city, said co-founder Joshua Williams. Patel said there is plenty of businessfor all. “Iu believe that competition from them will only raiswe the awareness of ourunique industry,” he Just Dine In Good to Go flmaier@comcast.
ne t Hungry Monkey
charlesozink.wordpress.com

Totes to open Cincinnati Mall store – Business Courier of Cincinnati:

The 30,000-square-foot store occupied the former Urban Behavior site on the lowet level across from thefood court, accordinfg to a news It will carry men’s and women’s gloves, slippers, flip-flops, umbrellas and other merchandise, with no item costingv more than $6, according to the release. The store will initiallh be open duringthe mall's regular The Totes Isotoner stors will add another anchor for the 1.5 million-square-foor mall in Forest Park. Mall owner said in the releases that two otheranchors Kohl’s and Burlington Factory Warehousd – have both renewed or extended their leases, whild Bass Pro Shops has severao years remaining on its lease. Raleigh, N.C.
-based Whichard bought the former Cincinnati Mills in January from Simon ProperttyGroup (NYSE: SPG). Simon had inheritedr the property through its 2007 acquisition ofthe mall’s former owner, the Millx Corp. Totes Isotoner, founded in Cincinnati in 1923, is the world’s largesyt marketer of umbrellas, gloves, rainwear, rain boots and other
sarahmcknight.wordpress.com

Monsanto

The product provides protection from feeding damage causeds by insects and tolerance to Roundupagriculturap herbicides. Monsanto anticipates the product’s value will be betweejn $300 million and $500 million in 2020. This is the firstt biotech insect-protected product in soybeans and Monsanto's first biotech product targeted primarily at a market outsider theUnited States, the biotech giant The company expects to commercialize the soybeans in Brazil in the early to middle part of the next decadw pending global regulatory approvals. Submissions to the and the have also been Submissions to the and imporgt markets will occur over the nextseveral months, Monsantoi said.
Creve Coeur, Mo.-based Monsanto Co. (NYSE: led by Chairman, President and CEO Hugh develops insect- and herbicide-resistant crops and other agriculturaol products. It is one of the largest employerein St. Louis with 4,000 local employees.
blogspot.com

N.C. law extends COBRA enrollment – Atlanta Business Chronicle:

The law extends the enrollment period to 120 days from 60 The coverage, often calledr “mini-COBRA,” will ultimately allow employees to receive the federapl stimulus package’s 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy. Laid-ofvf personnel must have worked at small businessezs with fewer than20 “Because of this legislation and the federal premiujm subsidy, more North Carolinians who have been laid off will be able to maintainb their insurance coverage,” says N.C. Insurancew Commissioner Wayne Goodwin.
“We hear from a lot of consumers who unfortunateluy have chosen not to extend their coverage througj COBRAor mini-COBRA because it is simplg too expensive or they missed the electionm period.” COBRA gives workers and theirt families the option to continue group health benefitz for limited periods of time under certain Under federal law, COBRA generally applies to companies with 20 or more and workers may be charged up to 102 percent of the full health insurance premium.
Insurance companies of small employers — thosde who have fewer than 20employeesx — are required to offer continuation coverage under Northg Carolina’s Group Health Insurance Continuation The federal stimulus package contains two provisions that expand the benefita available to employees whosd jobs have been eliminated. It extends the electionh period for eligible employees to determine whether they wish to enroll in the federalkCOBRA program. The new N.C.
law provides the same extendes election periodfor mini-COBRA in North The federal package also provides a subsidy that pays for 65 percentg of the premium for both COBRA and mini-COBRA recipientse who were laid off between Sept. 1, and Dec. 31, 2009. Depending on the size of the formed employer, either the employer or the insurance provider frontw 65 percent of the premium amount and then recoups that expenss through federal payroll tax Workers are responsible for the remaining 35 percent ofthe
blogspot.com

Michael Rapino Executive Profile

Michael Rapino has been President and Chief Executive Officerd of Live Nation sinceAugust 2005. He had previousl held the positions of CEO and President of Global Musi c for Clear Channel Music Group and had led ClearChannel Entertainmenyt
livejournal.com

Talbots to sell J. Jill assets for $75M – Tampa Bay Business Journal:

The move is expected to result in the closure of abouft 75of J. Jill There are four J. Jill storez in the Tampa Bay area. Two in the Tampas Bay area willclose — the J. Jill in Tyrone Squared in St. Petersburg and the J. Jill in Lakesides Village in Lakeland. Hingham, Mass.-based Talbots TLB) said the deal with San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital is subjectfto post-closing adjustments. “This is a significan strategic step forward for Talbots as it enablee us to focusour time, resources and attentionm exclusively on rejuvenating our core Talbotw brand and return to profitable growth,” said Trudy F. Sullivan, Talbotse president and CEO. About 204 of the existingf 279 J.
Jill bran d store leases will be assigned to the buye and will continueto operate. About 75 remaining J. Jill brand store leases will be retainex by Talbots and are expectee to be closed by Talbots within the next60 days.
lenoreidavis.wordpress.com

Decades later, HomeStreet Bank keeps adjusting to hurdles – Washington Business Journal:

The newly formed mortgage compan y wanted to feed the growinbg building frenzy taking over Seattle as the countruentered what’s now known as the Roaring ’20s. But capital was proving hard to find following thewar Fast-forward more than 85 years, and HomeStreet Bank is workingb through a similar predicament as a result of the financialp crisis: It’s again trying to find capital. Indeed, the privatelyt held bank is today facing many of the same issues it saw in the tumultuouzs years followingits founding.
And that’sz exactly why the bank’s currengt leaders are so certain HomeStreet will weather the current In each of the dozens of downturns the institution has faced over the it has managed to adjust its business strategy to even as many other banks and mortgagrecompanies failed, said Bruce Williams, chiedf executive of the bank and grandsohn of Continental’s first employee and former chief HomeStreet now has assets of $3 billion and aboutf 30 retail branches and mortgage offices acroszs the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. “We’vee been through a number of cyclee before and inevery one, there’d opportunity,” said Williams.
That’s not to say HomeStreet isn’t facinbg a mighty challenge. State regulators recently served the bank with a ceasr anddesist order, which means it will be more closelyh watched in the coming months. It also has to come up with a turnaroundd plan for restoring the strength ofthe bank. Like many communityy banks across Washington, HomeStreet is fighting to work throughh bad real estate loansw made to developers who are strugglintg as a result of thehousing market’s downturn.
The bank is also workinfg to boost itscapital levels, even though it’zs still considered “well-capitalized” by regulatory HomeStreet has applied for aid througgh the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) but has not receive a response, said Williams. When Continental was struggling to raisr capital in itsearly years, it was able to sell publixc stock to local shareholders to help the bank Because capital markets have largely drierd up across the country today, a stock offering isn’ t available to HomeStreet’s current team.
Even afterr the company was able to gain solidf footing duringthe 1920s, it was then hit by the Greay Depression, causing “a very severe impact” on the company’ bread and butter at the time: commercial real estate loans and home said Kathy Williams, a senior vice president of and Bruce Williams’ sister. “Wee were struggling to stay alive asa company,” said Kath Williams. The current recession isn’t as dire as the Great but its current effect on the bank was more BruceWilliams said. “It was a very sudden downturhn inour area,” he said.
Like the institution’ss former executives working through past economic woes, the current executives are focuser on their recovery strategy. They’ve seriously curtailefd construction lending, said Kath Williams. They’re also working with borrowers who are behinr on payments and selling properties that have been foreclosed on and reverterd backto HomeStreet. In addition, the bank is latchinb onto growth, which has been its defaultg reaction in other This time, that growtu is in FHA lending — a type of mortgages that is insured by the and require s only a 3 percent down payment.
Even as HomeStreegt has struggled with realestate lending, its home loan which includes FHA lending, has postedx a volume of $1.3 billion so far this year, comparec with a volume of $1.7 billion for all of 2008. At that the bank is on track to double its rate of home lendinf by the end ofthe year, according to executives.
http://www.markeddeparture.info/?p=189

Faulty home appraisals ’snowballing’ – Washington Business Journal:

Even as prices begin to stabilize andbuyerz re-enter the market, the appraisals many bankx rely on to approve financing are causing some dealzs to fall apart at the last or forcing sellers to agree to lowere prices. National Association of Realtorsz chief economist Lawrence Yun said the appraisa problemis serious. “Lenders are usinv appraisers who might not be familiat witha neighborhood, or who compares traditional homes with distressed and discountexd sales,” he said. “In the past month, storie of appraisal problems have been snowballing from acrose the country with many contracts falling through at thelast D.C.
real estate agent Jeffrey Tanck Tanck, with the Czuba Group at McEnearney said bad appraisals have affected two of his deals in the lastthreer months. “In one case, a $364,000 condo came in $80,000 less than That buyer was usingv an out of town lender who had no concept of this Tanck said. “Another appraisal on a $317,000 coop came in $27,00 under, forcing the buyerf and seller tomeet halfway.” The potentiaol problem inaccurate valuations pose to sales can be seen in numberse that measure pending sales of existinbg homes. Those represent contracts that are but salesthat haven’t and are usually considered a more forward-looking gaugse of housing sales.
Earlier this month, the Realtors group reportede pending home sales in April were up for the third straight month, advancing 6.7 percent from March, with pendingf sales up more than 3 percent from a year ago. By closed sales of existing home in May wereup 2.4 percen and remained nearly 4 percent below year ago levels. The NAR’sx Yun said sees a danger of a delayed housing market recovery and a furthet rise inforeclosures “if appraisal problems are not quicklh corrected.” Tanck said part of the problem is too much work and too few which he said are in demand right now. “Peopled are buying, and lenders and appraisers are both he said.
“But lenders should make sure they’r using appraisers with the correctmarket knowledge.” many indicators continue to point to stabilization in The May increase in existingt home sales was the firstt back-to-back increase since September 2005. A separate reporyt Tuesday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed declines inprices moderating, with the average U.S. home pricde down just 0.
1 percent from March to
livejournal.com

The Haskell Company Company Profile | Company Information

livejournal.com