ColoradoBiz articles from April 2008

ColoradoBiz archives from April 2008

New day dawning for Sun.(COTE'S colorado)
April 1, 2008... Kristin Russell couldn't be a better cheerleader for Sun Microsystems. The vice president of IT operations at the company's Broomfield campus evokes the kind of evangelist aura that only comes from a true believer. That's because she never...

My last column.(on MANAGEMENT)(Column)
April 1, 2008... Somebody asked me what I would write about if this were my last column. This is what it might be. I will want to make the point that despite the likes of Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton, Joe Nacchio and Ken Lay, the world is full of...

Legislature leaves sour taste.(READERS respond)
April 1, 2008... I really think your article hit the mark ("The sham of the legislative process," Jeff Rundles, March). I have had a bad taste in my mouth about the Legislature for a long time. Most recently about Douglas Bruce's antics--specifically when...

Western water lawyers are their own rainmakers.(READERS respond)
April 1, 2008... Gov. Ritter surely sees that re-use projects are lousy photo-ops, but as an attorney he clearly understands the value of huge legal fees associated with water ("Ritter talks up his econ plan and renewable energy in a coal and oil world," Mike...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 1, 2008... In our last issue, Fred Young, executive director for risk management for RE/MAX International, was incorrectly identified, and IMA Financial Group's mission statement should have read "protect assets and make a difference."

No time for issues at the caucus.(the ECONOMIST)
April 1, 2008... Specialization and division of labor is a basic premise of economic theory. Adam Smith, writing in "The Wealth of Nations" in 1776, pointed out: A workman (working alone) could scarce make one pin a day, and certainly could not make...

New mindset at work.(GUEST column)
April 1, 2008... Fifteen years ago, I worked for a technology company based in Chicago. One day, my CEO called me from the site of a new subsidiary outside London. The deal had just gone through--our company's first acquisition. The company had been...

Wind energy and railroad intersect in Windsor.(ENERGY)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The new Vestas factory in Windsor will manufacture blades for wind turbines, a key component of Colorado's 21st century "new energy economy." Ironically, the Denmark-based company decided on Windsor in part because of transportation...

Steve Martin.(ON THE RECORD)
April 1, 2008... "WHERE LOCALS WITH A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT WERE PITTED AGAINST DEVELOPERS WITH A SENSE OF CONDOMINIUMS." --Steve Martin describing Aspen circa 1967 in his memoir, "Born Standing Up." Martin, then 21, was visiting the mountain town to...

#9.(BY THE NUMBERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... #9 Denver's rank among the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in number of foreclosures last year. The 39,915 foreclosures in 2007 set a record for the Denver metro area, eclipsing by 40 percent the previous record of 28,509 set a year...

77 million.(BY THE NUMBERS)
April 1, 2008... 77 million Tax returns filed electronically last year in the United States.

16.(BY THE NUMBERS)
April 1, 2008... 16 The percentage of women serving on corporate boards of S & P 500 companies in 2007.

9.(BY THE NUMBERS)
April 1, 2008... 9 The percentage of S & P 500 companies in 2007 that had all-male corporate boards, including Apple and News Corp.

70.(BY THE NUMBERS)
April 1, 2008... 70 Percentage of S & P companies that said in a recent survey that they were seeking women board members.

13.2 million.(BY THE NUMBERS)
April 1, 2008... 13.2 million Colorado visitors and residents who took part in some form of agritourism in 2006. Farm tours, wine-tasting events, harvest festivals, corn mazes, roadside produce stands, fishing and hunting were among the attractions that...

Enticement for doctors in debt.(HEALTH CARE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Three Colorado nonprofits have teamed up to create a $6 million school loan repayment program for new doctors willing to practice in clinics serving uninsured or underinsured patients. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Funded by the Colorado...

Luxury condos selling briskly.(REAL ESTATE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Although home sales are down and foreclosures rampant, the upper-level luxury market appears to be going strong. The well-heeled-and-glamorous turned out in droves to celebrate the recent grand opening of The Residences at the Ritz, a set of 25...

Denver ranks 19th in retail development forecast.(REAL ESTATE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A report by real estate investment-services firm Marcus & Millichap ranks Denver 19th among 43 cities in a "snapshot analysis" of retail-development prospects for the next 12 months. The report also said developers in 2008 likely will...

Agritourism on the rise.(TRAVEL)
April 1, 2008... Colorado farmers and ranchers can have a difficult time making ends meet by only producing crops and livestock. Many are turning to agritourism--providing an authentic farm "experience" to tourists. "It's about more than the food or the...

Charlie Host: financial consultant maintains DU hockey ties with TV gig.(EXECUTIVE edge)
April 1, 2008... As a kid growing up in St. Cloud, Minn., Charlie Host would ride next to his mom in the family car, riveted to broadcasts of the Minnesota North Stars hockey games on the radio. He strapped on ice skates at age 3 and by 5 was playing organized...

Rebuilding Rwanda: having endured one of the worst genocides in history, this tiny African nation is making a remarkable economic comeback--and Coloradans are playing an important role.
April 1, 2008... KIGALI, RWANDA--It's been just 48 hours since I stepped off the plane at Kigali International Airport, and already, my preconceived notions about Rwanda have been replaced by a kinder, more hopeful reality--and an understanding of why a growing...

State of disrepair: Colorado's transportation system is crumbling, and a projected price tag of $1.5 billion has few willing to hit the political pavement.
April 1, 2008... THE INTERSTATE 70 VIADUCT IN DENVER OPENED IN 1964. THAT YEAR LYNDON JOHNSON DENOUNCED PRESIDENTIAL OPPONENT BARRY GOLDWATER AT THE NEARBY DENVER COLISEUM, AND THE BEATLES PLAYED RED ROCKS. TICKETS FOR THE SHOW COST $6.50, AND GAS WAS RUNNING...

Pioneering research aims to identify the cause of diabetes: CU Denver's Barbara Davis Center is working to end type 1 diabetes one child at a time.
April 1, 2008... One of the first things Amy Lyden learned about her son Caleb was that he might develop diabetes. After being told at the hospital that Caleb had a gene marker putting him at a slightly higher risk of contracting the disease, she enrolled the...

Pairing it up: to select the right wine for your meal, venture beyond the 'red-with-meat, white-with-fish' routine.(wine food & travel)
April 1, 2008... Serving a luscious prime rib Saturday night? If conventional wine wisdom guides you, you'll snag a favorite Cabernet Sauvignon from the store and cross "wine" off your list. If you're preparing baked salmon or raspberry-glazed chicken, on the...

Tasting barrels in Colorado: Front Range and Western Slope wineries offer sneak peeks before new releases hit retail shelves.
April 1, 2008... Spring in the wine industry means the anticipation of new wines, which have been sitting in barrels or aging tanks for months waiting to be bottled and put on liquor store shelves. For some, spring also means getting to taste those wines out of...

Wine tasters guide.(Directory)
April 1, 2008... FRONT RANGE FR1 AUGUSTINA'S WINERY 4715 N. Broadway, Boulder, 80304 P 303-545-2047 www.winechick.biz [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FR2 AVANTI WINERY 9046 W. Bowles Ave., Littleton, 80123 P 303-904-7650 ...

Destined for high density: mixed-use developments along DTC corridor target light-rail lifestyles.(WHO OWNS colorado)
April 1, 2008... There are those who looked at the $1.75 billion T-Rex project and saw little but the prospect of bigger and better traffic jams. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Then there are those who examined T-Rex and its implications and poured billions of...

Sports gamblers' site proves a good business bet.(SMALL biz)(www.freeunderdog.com)
April 1, 2008... Geoff Kulesa had more than a casual interest in the New York Giants' Super Bowl upset of the New England Patriots back in February. So did a lot of the 100,000 subscribers to his e-mail newsletter. Kulesa operates Wunderdog Sports Picks, a...

Company: BuyMyTronics.com (A DBA for Hana LLC).(TECH STARTUP)
April 1, 2008... INITIAL LIGHT BULB: In November 2006, Maui transplant and avid snowboarder Brett Mosley was working a "mind-numbing" job as a financial analyst when fate intervened. "Lo and behold, my iPod broke," he said. "I didn't want to throw it away." ...

LifeLights/WildLights.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Sun Co. Inc. has launched LifeLights)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Established in 1971 by Wendell Cross and helmed today by his son Greg Cross, the Sun Co. is a manufacturer-importer focused on the outdoor, fitness, safety and promotional markets with a catalog that includes pedometers, tilt gauges and...

Pensation.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Office equipment industry has introduced a Pensation kit)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Full-time heating engineer and self-described "tinkerer" Bill Moxon came up with his newfangled, grip-friendly pen in the late 1990s. "I noticed how a lot of things were going ergonomic, but it seemed nobody had done a good job with a...

QuickZip Crib Sheet.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Clouds and Stars Inc. created the QuickZip sheet )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... While working together as environmental consultants in the late 1990s, Joan Henehan and Elizabeth Sopher both had kids in the same baby-to-toddler age bracket. "We talked about kids all the time," Sopher said. One of the topics of discussion:...

Quiet Spot pet tag silencers.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(pet product industry introduced Pet Tag Silencer )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The patented Quiet Spots are named for Itzadog "Lead Dog" Scott Schaible's late Australian Shepherd, Spot, whose noisy tags inspired the company's formation in the late 1990s. After trying rubber bands and electrical tape to mute Spot's...

Tom Graham's sweet smell of success.(SPORTS biz)
April 1, 2008... The last thing you'd think, knowing that Tom Graham once ground out a living as a middle linebacker in the NFL, is that the guy would be all gaga over fragrances. But here's Graham, father of Broncos tight end Daniel Graham, talking excitedly...

New Energy Capital.(RUNDLES wrap-up)(ConocoPhillips purchase property in Louisville, Colorado to develop a corporate learning center and a global technology center)(Viewpoint essay)
April 1, 2008... Ever since I heard about the ConocoPhillips purchase of the former StorageTek property up on the Boulder Turnpike, I can't keep it out of my mind. I have been covering economic development in Colorado for more than 30 years, and this one ranks...