Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) articles from December 2007

Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) archives from December 2007

Colorado Springs hotel project reworked, redesigned, ready to go.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley After more than three years of planning, scores of pro forma analysis and two different architects, a new landmark appears poised to join the city's downtown fraternity of signature structures. With planning commission...

Hospital systems in Colorado Springs area following health care dollars to suburbs.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine Across the nation, hospitals are expanding outside central city locations to wealthier suburbs, and health care analysts say the trend is far from positive: affecting access and costs for people in less affluent...

Commentary: Time to admit that solving water woes won't be painless.
December 7, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst In mid-November, Colorado Springs Utilities released the final draft of the 2008-2012 water conservation plan. It's a worthy, well-conceived, eminently practical document, which lists 23 steps that utilities intends...

Manitou Springs continues old motel redevelopment.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley The language may be low-key, but the Travelforecaster.com announcement that "Cottonwood Court Motel at 120 Manitou Ave. is now closed and will re-open in 2008 as a brand new Days Inn," represents yet another landmark...

Colorado Springs native Ralph Hibbard, family intertwined with history of downtown business.
December 7, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Ralph Hibbard, a Colorado Springs native, comes from a family which has been in business in downtown Colorado Springs for 115 years. His great-grandfather opened the original Hibbard's department store on Tejon...

Colorado Springs Financial Briefs: December 7, 2007.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Earlier this year, annual home foreclosures in the United States reached a 30-year high of 640,000, and a congressional report estimates that an additional 2 million homes will be in the process of foreclosure by the...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: December 7, 2007.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine Penrose-St. Francis Hospital is one of 45 hospitals in Colorado that is participating in the "5 Million Lives Campaign," a nationwide effort designed to curtail practices that lead to patient injuries and death. To...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 7, 2007.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley During the next three months, downtown Colorado Springs will welcome its first new signature office complex since 2004. Bancorp Plaza, 1 N. Nevada Ave., was purchased by One City Center LLC during April. The two-story...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 7, 2007.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson ColoRox, a Colorado memorabilia clothing line designed by Maureen Christopher and Ted Weber, is finally open at 110 S. Sierra Madre St. The store was scheduled to occupy 19 N. Tejon St., but the space was sold. In the...

Urban interface wildfire: disaster waiting to happen in Colorado Springs.
December 7, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst The wildfires that ravaged southern California might seem a world away, but conditions exist along the Front Range which could produce similar devastation in the Pike Peak region. And the cost of damages such fires...

Pikes Peak region has had its share of wildfires, blazes.
December 7, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst Forests in the Pikes Peak region have been blackened by immense wildfires many times during the past. During the fall of 1853, a fire started east of Cheyenne Mountain and, driven by southeast winds, burned...

El Pomar Foundation recognizes Awards for Excellence recipients.
December 7, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Palmer Land Trust and The Colorado Springs Sports Corp. each received $15,000 from the El Pomar Foundation as part of the organization's 19th annual Awards for Excellence. Three other Colorado Springs/Pueblo...

Commentary: Gazette should be credited for fighting the good fight.
December 7, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Editorial When this newspaper revealed that the Colorado Springs city government was mounting a desperate, and entirely secret, effort to keep the U.S. Olympic Committee from moving its headquarters away from Colorado...

Commentary: EDC-chamber merger needs to be conducted correctly.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Lon Matejczyk It is a critical time for our community. High level discussions are being had about the possibility of merging the Economic Development Corp. and the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. This is a precarious...

City of Fountain getting the short end of the health care stick.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine As northern El Paso County gets ready for the opening of a second new hospital, residents in the southern section of the county are feeling the strain from lack of medical services. "We're grossly underserved out...

U.S. SBA and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. launch disaster planning guide.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The U.S. Small Business Administration and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. have launched a disaster planning guide for small business owners. The 10-page guide provides information business owners need to develop...

Colorado's MMS receipts total $122M.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Colorado earned more than $122 million during Fiscal Year 2007 as part of its share of federal revenue collected by the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service. Thirty-four states received...

Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging selects officers.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging has selected officers for its board of directors for 2008. They are: Russ DenBraber, president and CEO of Christian Living Communities in Denver,...

Colorado BioScience Association selects winners for its 2007 Awards Program.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The Colorado BioScience Association has selected winners for its 2007 Awards Program, which showcases and honors individuals and companies making a significant difference in the state's bioscience industry....

Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado presents its 2007 Advancing Equality Awards.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado has honored four Colorado individuals and organizations with the 2007 Advancing Equality Awards, which recognize commitment to creating an inclusive and equal environment for...

Catholic Charities network ranked fourth among largest nonprofits in the country.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Catholic Charities network, which is made up of more than 1,700 local agencies and institutions nationwide, has been ranked fourth among the largest nonprofits in the country by The NonProfit Times. To be included...

Overhead Door Corp. of Colorado Springs named brand leader in garage doors.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Overhead Door Corp. was named the brand leader in garage doors by builders, remodelers and custom builders in brand awareness, brand usage and brand preference. The annual research is conducted by Reed Building...

Colorado Springs investment market 'comes of age'.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley While pundits like Jim Kramer of CNN's Mad Money proclaim disdain for the power of real estate, dozens of local, regional and national investors disagree. Companies like Corporate Office Properties Trust, Healthcare...

Retailers learn from past holiday marketing mistakes.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson Traditionally, as much as 50 percent of annual profits and sales for retailers can come during the holidays, so getting consumers into the shopping spirit is vital -- and avoiding marketing mistakes is key to ensuring...

Gen Xers savvy, but overextended.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Generations Xers, those born between 1965 and 1980, are short-changing themselves in financial and retirement planning. The members of the give-it-to-me now generation, the first to be weaned on credit cards, have...

Commentary: The two best presidential candidates aren't running.
December 14, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst A question: have you watched any of the presidential debates? And if so, have you watched more than one? And if so, are you not either related to or working for one of the candidates? The debates seem designed to...

Oil shale project in Colorado delayed, but Shell Oil isn't giving up.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine The withdrawal of an application to the Department of Reclamation and Mining Safety for research and development doesn't mean that Shell Oil has given up efforts to wrest oil from the rocks of the Green River...

Drake committed to helping make Colorado Springs community better.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Barbara Drake enjoys engaging with the community. Rather than complain about bureaucracy, she'd rather get in her car, drive to Denver and be involved in policy making at the state level. One of her greatest...

Colorado Springs Financial Briefs: December 14, 2007.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Money has more than face value -- it has time value. Keep this in mind when paying taxes. Mark Patterson, tax partner at Stockman Kast Ryan, said one of the main areas he considers for clients needing to accelerate...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: December 14, 2007.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine Hospitals and medical groups are reporting a decrease in doctor compensation, according to Sullivan, Cotter and Associates. The 15th edition of the group's Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey Report...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 14, 2007.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley It took nearly $1.5 million and almost two years to purchase and rehabilitate one block on the north side of West Colorado Avenue just east of America the Beautiful Park, but it's been worth the effort for owner and...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 14, 2007.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson Crocs Inc. is coming out with a new collection called YOU by Crocs. It's the first collection to introduce a traditional heel and a true flat. The styles, ranging from a peep-toe heel to a shiny lace-up flat -- in...

Equality awards The Gay.
December 14, 2007... Equality awards The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado has honored four Colorado individuals and organizations with the 2007 Advancing Equality Awards, which recognize commitment to creating an inclusive and equal environment for all people....

Subprime crisis extends its reach to bond insurers.
December 14, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst As the subprime lending crisis has widened, its effect on credit markets has taken some surprising and unanticipated forms. Last week, Moody's Investor's Service put four of the nation's leading bond insurers on...

Commentary: Seeking out advice can help in tough economic times.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Ann Snortland Looking ahead to 2008 is frankly scary. Some businesses will stick their heads in the sand rather than face the tough challenges ahead. Others will seek advice from peers, colleagues and industry experts. These brave...

Commentary: Time for city to make a commitment to Colorado Avenue.
December 14, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Editorial We applaud Mark Cunningham (not to mention his indomitable mom, Lucille) for the successful remodeling and re-use of the former Hide-N-Seek complex at 502 W. Colorado Ave. As Becky Hurley reports in today's...

Commentary: Wharton School's prestige loses some of its luster.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Mike Boyd I'm glad The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania isn't in the business of teaching communications, because if it were, it likely wouldn't enjoy the prestige it has garnered teaching business -- at least if...

Wellness initiatives going mainstream.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report As employers grapple with skyrocketing health care costs, they are increasingly turning to initiatives in the workplace to encourage wellness and good health. Many companies say the plans -- which range from...

Year-end bonuses trend upward in Colorado Springs and nationwide.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn It's that time of year again: time to check tread on snow tires, indulge in rum cake or eggnog, and time to receive a year-end bonus of cash or gifts -- if you're one of the lucky ones. Surprisingly, year-end bonuses...

Centura's Penrose-St. Francis Health Services receives offer for hospital.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley Centura's Penrose-St. Francis Health Services is considering selling its 190,000-square-foot Penrose Community Hospital facility. CEO Rick O'Connell confirmed that the Penrose had received an unsolicited offer for the...

Commentary: Novel concept: grow economically but not physically.
December 21, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst Last week's CSBJ View said that Colorado Avenue was formerly called Huerfano. Well, Dave Hughes sent our editor an e-mail pointing out that we weren't exactly correct. Dave wrote: "... Colorado Springs always tried...

Shuttles a popular choice when picking valet service.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson If you own a luxury sedan or SUV, you probably don't let the kid next door borrow the keys. And if you use a valet parking service, you probably cross your fingers when you hand the keys to the attendant. Christopher...

Q&A with pres. of Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Colorado Springs.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Ernest R. Chavez, the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Colorado Springs, is a seasoned communicator who has compiled an impressive resume of public policy and governmental affairs roles. No...

Colorado Springs Financial Briefs: December 21, 2007.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn One of the issues on the table during the current congressional session is the Alternative Minimum Tax. Congress is expected to pass a patch bill to adjust the AMT for inflation. Meanwhile, taxpayers should not file...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: December 21, 2007.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine Even as the state develops plans to help uninsured residents, Colorado's insured families are facing a growing crisis -- rising health care costs are devouring a larger part of their incomes. In Colorado, more than 1...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 21, 2007.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley Lenders might be tightening loan requirements, but it appears that small business owners and professional users, most with backing from the U.S. Small Business Administration, are still interested in office condominium...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 21, 2007.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson Are holiday shoppers safe from lead-tainted toys and other dangerous Chinese goods? Not according to a report published by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which claims the Bush Administration and federal...

CSU students tops in passing CPA exam Colorado State University ranked No. 1 in Colorado and 17th nationally in the percentage of first-time candidates without advanced degrees who passed all four parts of the Certified Public Accountant exam.
December 21, 2007... CSU students tops in passing CPA exam Colorado State University ranked No. 1 in Colorado and 17th nationally in the percentage of first-time candidates without advanced degrees who passed all four parts of the Certified Public Accountant exam....

FRESC offers consulting alternative for nonprofits in Colorado Springs.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson A new consulting service is available for nonprofits in Colorado Springs. Front Range Executive Service Corps, part of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, is comprised of volunteers who have experience in information...

Commentary: The easiest way to reduce CO2 emissions isn't being considered.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Editorial In "Silver Blaze," one of Arthur Conan Doyle's most noteworthy stories, Sherlock Holmes famously discusses the disappearance of the eponymous racehorse. Colonel Ross still wore an expression which showed the...

Commentary: 2007 just wasn't my year for long-term investments.
December 21, 2007... Byline: Mike Boyd One of these days I'm going to listen to Allan Roth's advice about eliminating emotion when it comes to making investment decisions. To say that 2007 was not a stellar year for the right reverend's No. 2 son would surely...

Colorado State University students tops in passing CPA exam.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Colorado State University ranked No. 1 in Colorado and 17th nationally in the percentage of first-time candidates without advanced degrees who passed all four parts of the Certified Public Accountant exam. The...

New operation hours for Pikes Peak Workforce Center.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Beginning Jan. 2, the Pikes Peak Workforce Center will change its operating hours. The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Drexel, Barrell wins ACEC award for design of building in Boulder.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Drexel, Barrell & Co. has received an American Council of Engineering Cos. Merit Award for the innovative engineering design of the Twenty Ninth Street Lifestyle Center in Boulder. The $130 million center is an...

Tree recycling program begins Dec. 29 throughout El Paso County.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Christmas trees can be recycled Dec. 29 and 30 and Jan. 5 and 6 at one of seven locations throughout El Paso County. There is a suggested $5 tax deductible donation per tree. Proceeds will support youth sports...

Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pikes Peak Region needs volunteers for SEPT program.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pikes Peak Region is seeking volunteers for its Supervised Exchange and Parenting Time program. Volunteers oversee court-ordered supervised visits and facilitate exchanges...

Two Colorado Springs-area colleges ink cooperative agreements.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Faculty and staff members at Pikes Peak Community College and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will be able to take courses at each other's campuses under the state's tuition policy, and PPCC...

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center selects board officers.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has selected its 2008 Board of Trustees. Jon Stepleton will serve as chairman. Chris Jenkins is vice chairman. Dan O'Rear will serve as treasurer and Susie Burghart is...

Colorado Springs-area parks employee, volunteer receive awards.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Allison Plute and Ron Buchanan have received the inaugural employee and volunteer excellence awards from the El Paso County Parks and Leisure Services Department. Plute is involved with numerous park management...

Pikes Peak Family Connections needs volunteers.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Pikes Peak Family Connections Inc. needs volunteers to work with at-risk children. The organization's Nurturing Parenting Program Classes, offered on weeknights, need children's co-facilitators and childcare...

Funding available for transit systems from Colo. Dept. of Transportation.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The Colorado Department of Transportation is accepting applications for Federal Transit Administration Section 5304 money, which is dedicated to planning, research, special studies, training and similar activities...

Volunteers needed for Pikes Peak Family Connections programs.
December 21, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Pikes Peak Family Connections Inc. needs volunteers for all its programs. The organization's goal is to help prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. Volunteers are needed to work with children and families and...

2007: Wild financial ride, but Colorado Springs stayed in game.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn 2007 was a financial roller coaster -- the sub-prime fallout, recession predictions, foreclosures and some dizzying highs on the stock market were sandwiched between crushing lows. Colorado Springs has weathered the...

The year in real estate/construction in Colorado Springs area: Quarter by quarter.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley The following quarterly overview provides a recap of some of the year's top real estate and construction news. First Quarter Economic forecast In a presentation to the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, Fred Crowley,...

El Paso County Board of Commissioners increases park, fairground rental fees.
December 28, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The El Paso County Board of Commissioners has approved a 10 percent increase in the park and fairground rental fees, a rental charge for the use of the Nordic Center meeting room at Fox Run Regional Park and an...

Commentary: All things considered, 2007 wasn't really all that bad.
December 28, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Editorial Was 2007 a bad year, or a good one? We'd guess that depends upon your perspective. If you were a subprime lender, or an investment banker packaging subprime loans into collateralized mortgage obligations or a...

Top 10 Unbelievable Workplace Stories of 2007: There's never a dull day working at these offices.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Mike Boyd So, did you have any interesting times at the office during 2007? Probably, at least a few. But probably nothing like the list compiled by my friends at Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc. It never ceases to amaze me how...

University of Colorado releases 'CU Connections' CD series.
December 28, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report The University of Colorado has released the inaugural edition of "CU Connections," a series of three presentations about the history and geography of Colorado entitled "The People, Land and Legends of Colorado and...

2007: Water was the big issue for Colorado Springs.
December 28, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst During 2007, the Business Journal often focused on water -- or rather, on its absence. In February, we looked at Aaron Million's audacious scheme to bring water to the Front Range via a 400-mile pipeline from...

2007: Shifting markets for real estate, construction in Colorado Springs.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley Even as the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders warned about the fallout from the subprime lending crisis, few expected that its affect would ripple so completely through the...

2007: Colorado Springs retail goes tech, faces recalls.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson Retailers saw a spike in technological advances, adjusting marketing strategies to meet customer demands. Do-it-yourself, mobile marketing, affiliate marketing and word of mouth took center stage. Even as the minimum...

Commentary: A few hits, a few misses, but mostly solid predictions.
December 28, 2007... Byline: John Hazlehurst Three days to 2008 -- so it's time for a regretful (or regret-free) backward glance at 2007. Let's see how your columnist did throughout the year. First up, predictions of things to come, published exactly one year...

2007: The year of health care reform -- almost in Colorado.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine In Colorado and throughout the nation, reform was the watchword in health care. The Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform met and garnered advice, proposals and feedback from throughout the state...

Founder of The Dyslexia Center in Colorado Springs says the future is changing for dyslexic students.
December 28, 2007... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Dr. Lynne Fitzhugh founded The Dyslexia Center, which recently opened its doors at Penrose-St. Francis Hospital. About 10,000 children in Colorado Springs have dyslexia. Fitzhugh serves on the national board of...

Colorado Springs Financial Briefs: December 28, 2007.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Tonn The Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index for Colorado registered 94.7 during November, down from a revised 95.2 during October. Vectra Bank Colorado's corporate economist, Jeff Thredgold, attributed the slight...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: December 28, 2007.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Amy Gillentine Health care should be universal, private and affordable. Insurance should be competitive and portable, and information should be available about costs, quality and outcomes. Those ideas to repair the health care...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 28, 2007.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Becky Hurley Creativity and commercial real estate can seem like an odd pairing, but not for Sierra Commercial's David Bacon and Randy Miller, nor for Cushman & Wakefield's Peter Scoville and Michael Palmer. In fact, the Realtor...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 28, 2007.
December 28, 2007... Byline: Joan Johnson Although many retailers have come and gone from the downtown storefronts of Colorado Springs, it's not stopping dedicated store owners from opening shop. Harold Osborne plans to open a skateboard shop called The...