Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) articles from December 2008

Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) archives from December 2008

Looking in the mirror -- and maybe lying to ourselves.
December 4, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst Rather than focusing upon multiple chronic disease indicators, such as obesity, that might endanger most age groups, the Colorado Health Foundation's health report card organizes risk factors by life stages, and...

Southern gateway on drawing board.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley With the support of city and county officials, the Colorado Spring Urban Renewal Authority and stakeholders like the Broadmoor Hotel and El Pomar, a retail developer plans to transform 7.5 acres along South Nevada...

Healthy designations truly in the eyes of the statistician.
December 5, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst Is Colorado Springs one of the healthiest cities in America? Is Colorado one of the healthiest states? Are we lean, fit and active, unlike our sluggish fellow Americans in, say, Mississippi or Ohio? Do we run, bike...

Now's not the time to eliminate stress relievers.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine The state of the economy can affect the state of your health. So experts say it's important to exercise, relax and practice deep breathing before looking at the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500 Index --...

Commentary: Don't expect the suits who got us into this mess to get us out of it.
December 5, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst In the antediluvian days when socialists and communists still roamed the earth, they engaged each other in powerfully irrelevant debates about economic policy. Communists opposed all private enterprise, while...

Walsh rounds out executive team at St. Francis Medical Center in Colorado Springs.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff When Penrose-St. Francis Health Center expanded to create a full-service hospital in northern Colorado Springs, it had to create a whole new executive team as well. Peter Walsh has been hired...

Don't get distracted by falling P.E. ratios, you can still reap rewards.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn During the past 25 years or so, the price-earnings ratio of Standard & Poor's 500 companies has averaged in the low 20s, said Rod Thirion, business administration faculty member at Pikes Peak Community College. (A...

Colorado health department report reveals the relationship between cancer and poverty.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine All patients with cancer should have equal access to health care -- including education, screening and treatment -- and health care advocates need to work to erase disparities in care based on income. That's the word...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 5, 2008.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley The Research Corporate Center offices at 8610 Explorer Drive were impressive, and the Front Range views were spectacular, but that said, NAI Highland Commercial Group's six owner-members decided to move back downtown...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 5, 2008.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Scott Prater Froots, a national restaurant chain that specializes in fruit smoothies and healthy dishes, will open two locations in the Pikes Peak region during December. Touted as a healthy alternative to fast food, the chain...

Commentary: Compiling an impressive team, but will they play nice together?
December 5, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff We've been impressed and reassured by the men and women that President-elect Barack Obama has appointed to senior positions in the new administration. By appointing Sen. Hillary Clinton as...

Commentary: Success can be born during tough times.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Lon Matejczyk I was trying to find some good news to bring to you this week -- but being in media right now it is pretty tough. As I was searching through the myriad of business newspapers we get here at our office, I came across...

Commentary: Some helpful hints for avoiding Christmas holiday bloodshed.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Mike Boyd One family holiday gathering down, and only one more to go this year. And the reason why family gatherings are on my mind? Well, I received an e-mail before Thanksgiving from All Breed Rescue and Training with a list of...

Nebraskans feeling good or better.
December 5, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst By at least one measure, Lincoln, Neb., is the healthiest city in America. In its exhaustive city-by-city annual health survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked residents to rate their health as...

Cooking Light, CDC don't see healthy eye to eye on healthiest city rankings.
December 5, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst Cooking Light magazine recently served up its 2008 healthy city rankings, which include both Colorado Springs and Denver in the top 20. The list excluded Boulder, Fort Collins, Burlington and Lincoln -- but placed...

Gateway Pavilions not only project planned for Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley Danny Mientka, owner of the Equity Group, also has a stake in Broadmoor Gateway Pavilions' success. He plans to develop a shopping center across the street on a parcel between St. Elmo Street and Cheyenne Road. ...

Colorado Springs Business Journal News Briefs: December 4, 2008.
December 6, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Winter weather closes park reservoirs and lakes Sub-freezing temperatures and ice brought on by winter weather have closed lakes and reservoirs to boating at most Colorado State Parks. The gates to the boat ramps will be...

Chris Sondermann, Terra Verde rewriting downtown Colorado Springs' retail model.
December 12, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Sixteen years ago, Chris Sondermann and her then-husband Gary launched Terra Verde, a new kind of downtown retailer catering to a young, upscale, fashionable and largely female clientele. The store, in a renovated...

Late losses in stock portfolio can offset taxes paid on early gains.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn While shopping, decorating and wrapping gifts for others during the holidays, don't forget to take care of your own tax interests -- it could mean a substantial savings in your pocket, instead of more money in Uncle...

Pikes Peak Library District offering demographic data for budding entrepreneurs.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn So you're starting a business, ramping up an existing one, or launching a new marketing campaign -- and you need demographics. You could, theoretically, spend hours Googling and searching for data, or pay an expert...

Health care industry facing swift reversal of fortune, downgraded by Moody's Investor Services.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine Moody's Investor Services has downgraded the health care system, mere months after giving it a stable rating. The New York-based bond rating company cited operation, economic and political challenges that will lower...

Commentary: We're all about to buy a bunch of big, shiny new cars.
December 12, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst Detroit! Home of the greedy, mismanaged, incompetent dinosaurs of the American automobile industry! After decades of building giant gas guzzlers, of failing to anticipate a predictable future of sky-high gas prices...

Don't forget savings when focusing on debt elimination.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Just like corporate America, the average consumer is overextended on credit cards and mortgages, said Paul Franco, financial adviser for Ameriprise Financial. It's become a way of life -- we haven't had any bad times,...

Penrose-St. Francis in Colorado Springs seeks to foster work/life balance.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine Companies and hospitals want the same thing -- happy, healthy employees. And Penrose-St. Francis is launching a dialog with area employment agencies to create a partnership for wellness in the workplace. At the first...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 12, 2008.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley In the good news category, two area home builders are planning additional models, banking on an improving home sales market during 2009. Vantage Homes will open its Monterey II European cottage-style model in Cordera...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 12, 2008.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Scott Prater Goodwill has opened its newest Colorado Springs store at 2007 South Circle Drive. With 26,500 square feet, the store is the largest Goodwill in the city. The thrift store chain had operated a store at the intersection...

Colorado Springs Business Journal News Briefs: December 12, 2008.
December 12, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Casa Verde among top 10 'green' developments Natural Home magazine has named Casa Verde Commons in Colorado Springs as one of the top 10 greenest co-housing developments in the United States. All units are...

Commentary: Fourth estate stalwarts facing tough times.
December 12, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Editorial For daily newspaper companies, the last 10 days have not been cheerful ones. On Dec. 2, Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, and owner of USA Today, launched the largest mass layoff in newspaper...

Commentary: Sentinels of Freedom helping wounded soldiers.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Lon Matejczyk There are some good things happening in our community. Let me tell you about the Sentinels of Freedom program and a soldier named Joe Fowler. Staff Sgt. Joe Fowler was burned horribly over two-thirds of his body when...

Know your credit limit and stick to it, advises Consumer Credit Counseling Service.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Mike Boyd Despite the challenging economy, chances are that most consumers will still feel compelled to purchase a holiday gift or two... or three... or... And because copious amounts of cash likely aren't lining most shoppers'...

Nonprofit reminder: Don't forget about Form 990 changes.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Form 990, the Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax Form, is prepared by tax-exempt groups, and the information contained therein is accessible by the public. Doreen Merz, senior tax consultant for Stockman,...

EPA pondering whether to tax livestock flatulence: Ruling could cost Colorado ranchers millions.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine The Environmental Protection Agency is considering rules that could cost Colorado ranchers millions of dollars each year. The agency is reviewing a Supreme Court decision that classified carbon dioxide and methane as...

Zombie buildings in Colorado Springs offer glimpse of past prosperity.
December 19, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst Zombies! They're among us, but no longer of us -- the still, silent ghosts of businesses past. Zombie buildings are long-vacant structures which remain standing despite the ravages of time, the absence of rental...

Sellers helping to close gap between either bank financing or no financing.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Sellers, naturally, want maximum value for their business. Buyers, not surprisingly, need financing. And the turbulent economy has generated collaboration between them. Many sellers are opting to take back a second...

Commentary: D-11's dilemma brings free public school education debate to forefront in Colorado.
December 19, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst The General Assembly shall, as soon as practicable, provide for the establishment and maintenance of a thorough and uniform system of free public schools throughout the state, wherein all residents of the state,...

Short sale real estate transactions no picnic, but they've become the reality.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley Short sale real estate transactions require a willing lender, a broker who can painstakingly package contracts that the lender will accept and patient, nerves-of-steel buyers and sellers. My, how real estate...

Rutledge has anchored downtown retailers in Colorado Springs for four decades.
December 19, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Jerry Rutledge, whose eponymous men's clothing store has graced downtown for 41 years, is downtown's senior retailer. For many years, Rutledge's was on the southeast corner of Pikes Peak Avenue and Tejon Street....

It's time to stop worrying, the economy eventually will rebound, say economists.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn During a business panel at the Antlers Hilton last week, an audience of Middle Market Entrepreneurs, a Peak Venture Group program, learned about the economic outlook, the national deficit and the one thing businesses...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: December 19, 2008.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine Studies show that doctors still believe in miracles -- but their religious views are less positive today than they were four years ago. Studies were conducted during December 2004 and December 2008 to measure...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: December 19, 2008.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley Strategic Health Care, a Tennessee-based mental health care provider for geriatric patients, has subleased 8,000 square feet in the former Odyssey Hospice building. The new 22-bed facility will be the company's fifth...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: December 19, 2008.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Scott Prater Renovations are complete for the corner retail complex at the northeast intersection of North Tejon Street and Boulder Street. Developer Jonathan Kamins purchased two buildings at the location during November 2006...

For lenders the big question is: Short sale or REO?
December 19, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley Statistics about how often lenders accept short sale contracts are surprising. Even experts like Chicago-area attorney Gary Lundeen said that prior to the 2007 subprime crisis, of all lenders polled, only about 43...

Colorado Springs Business Journal News Briefs: December 19, 2008.
December 19, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report Wells Fargo top small biz lender in Colorado According to the latest Community Reinvestment Act data, Wells Fargo loaned more than $1.1 billion during 2007 to Colorado small business owners. It also loaned $66...

Commentary: Salazar uniquely qualified to lead U.S. Department of the Interior.
December 19, 2008... Byline: CSBJ Staff Editorial The news that Sen. Ken Salazar has been asked to serve as secretary of the interior in President-elect Barack Obama's administration is good news for Colorado and the West. The Department of the Interior has...

Commentary: Inclusion, Colorado Springs' diversity magazine, debuts.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Lon Matejczyk Inside your CSBJ this week is the inaugural edition of Inclusion magazine, Colorado Springs' diversity magazine, the real story. The discussion on page 3 talks about the tapestry and the individual threads that make...

Commentary: Don't forget the basics when working to maintain/increase sales.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Mike Boyd After a few weeks off the helpful hints for surviving a turbulent economy wagon, I thought it was probably time to jump back on and pass along some additional pointers. The following advice comes from Edward A. Testa,...

Colorado Springs' commercial real estate development was good in 2008.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley The year started out with several key announcements that bolstered prospects for the commercial real estate community, mostly during the first half of the year. The owners of the Cliff House in Manitou Springs kicked...

Health care industry scale back in 2008.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine The past year was a difficult one for nearly every industry -- and health care was no exception. From the pharmaceutical industry to local family doctors, 2008 proved frustrating. Moody's downgraded both the hospital...

America's financial and market turmoil.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn This year has been the trial by fire, rollercoaster ride and adrenalin rush of a lifetime for most consumers, investors, economists and financial advisers. The stock market declined by 40 percent, three-month Treasury...

Colorado's agriculture industry could face trouble from federal regulations.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine Colorado's agriculture industry should survive the current economic storm, but analysts say that family ranchers and farmers could face trouble from another area -- federal regulations. Colorado's wheat industry...

Commentary: Sing along with me as we merrily follow each other to the slaughter.
December 26, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst There's a wonderful, if likely apocryphal, anecdote describing Winston Churchill's reaction to the post-World War II takeover of Yugoslavia by Marshall Tito's communist partizans. As the story goes, a young...

Colorado Springs politics, pensions, moving houses and mountains.
December 26, 2008... Byline: John Hazlehurst During 2007, CSBJ maintained a continuing, careful focus on issues ranging from national transportation policy to the financial health of Colorado's public employee pension plan. It was an election year, so our...

C. Scott Russell's entrepreneurial spirit leads him back to Colorado Springs.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff C. Scott Russell is one of Colorado Springs' newest specialists, and he opened his practice with an eye toward doing things a little differently. Russell returned to the Springs from Kansas...

Foreign trade regulation compliance vital to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Foreign trade regulations which took effect July 2 mandated electronic filing of all shipments requiring Shipper's Export Declaration information through the Automated Export System. The Census Bureau provided...

Patient quality and safety shouldn't take a back seat to technology.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine Technology often is touted as the cure for health care, but a Joint Commission alert warns that implementing technology could jeopardize the quality and safety of patient care. The alert urges greater attention to...

Calif. investors believe in deal that wasn't even there.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Becky Hurley The commercial real estate market might be down, but it's not out. In fact, financial analysts have increasingly recommended commercial property as a key component of conservative portfolios with growth potential....

Old Colorado City welcomes art gallery.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Scott Prater Jim and Donna Heikes, owners of Thunder Mountain Trading Co., have opened an upscale art gallery next door at 2508 W. Colorado Ave. Jim Heikes owns the building that houses the two retail stores and said the space...

Public comment sought for Lake Pueblo State Park plan.
December 26, 2008... Byline: CSBJ staff Public comment sought for Lake Pueblo State Park plan The Lake Pueblo State Park Draft Trails Management Plan was released last week and is available for public comment. Copies of the plan and maps are available for...

"Green" jobs could grow the economy.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Amy Gillentine From new green jobs to environmental concerns about wind farms -- and increased attention on alternative energy from both presidential campaigns -- Colorado is viewing green jobs as a viable chance to grow the...

Thank heaven Colorado's El Pomar never met New York investment advisor Bernard L. Madoff.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff As the New York Times reported last week, many charitable foundations have been seriously affected by the collapse of the massive Ponzi scheme devised by New York investment advisor Bernard L....

Commentary: Looking back at this column in 2008.(Column)
December 26, 2008... Byline: Lon Matejczyk As a year of turmoil comes to a close, I want to think about the good things that happened to our fair city during 2008 so I went back and looked at this column for the year. What a potpourri of subjects. An open...

Commentary: All I want for Christmas: An easy shot at an insurance firm and its P.R. dept.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Mike Boyd Got a chuckle last week when I checked the stack of paper waiting in the tray of my fax machine. An insurance company (who I won't name because it would simply be too cruel) sent out a media advisory for immediate release...

Public comment sought for Colorado's Lake Pueblo State Park plan.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff The Lake Pueblo State Park Draft Trails Management Plan was released last week and is available for public comment. Copies of the plan and maps are available for review during normal business...

Peak Vista in Colorado needs Spanish speaking volunteers.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff Peak Vista Community Health Centers is seeking Spanish speaking volunteers for its First Visitor program. Through home visits, volunteers provide new mothers with information about child and...

Income eligibility for the 2008 Colorado Property/Rent/Heat rebate increases.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff The income eligibility threshold levels for the 2008 Colorado Property/Rent/Heat (PTC) rebate have been increased by $1,000. Applications for the rebate may be submitted starting Jan. 1. The...

Bureau of Land Management Colorado offers 120 parcels at next lease sale.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff The Bureau of Land Management Colorado will offer to lease 120 parcels totaling about 133,054 acres for oil and gas development during its quarterly oil and gas lease sale Feb. 12. The parcels...

Applications being accepted for tech in education award.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff The Space Foundation and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation are accepting applications for the 2009 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. The deadline to apply is Jan. 16. The award is...

Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority Board of Directors needs members.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff The Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority Board of Directors is seeking volunteers to serve as at-large representatives on its Citizen Advisory Committee. Members provide recommendations...

Colorado Springs Children's Literacy Center needs volunteers.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff The Children's Literacy Center needs volunteers to provide one-to-one tutoring in reading. Volunteers will tutor one child, two hours a week. The next orientation and training sessions are...