Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) articles from January 2009

Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) archives from January 2009

A look back at Colorado Springs commercial real estate in 2008.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley For commercial brokers and developers crystal balls will be in high demand this year. So will philosophy books. Take a look at what those close to the heart of commercial real estate had to say about the year, or...

Tough financial first half foreseen for Colorado and the nation.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Put more than one economist in a room, and what do you get? A different opinion. And so, while peering into the murky looking glass of this year's economy, consumers, executives and business owners will find multiple...

Big construction projects finished, launched during 2008 in Pikes Peak region.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley As a year, 2008 will probably be remembered as transitional one -- and perhaps the best year some contractors might see for a while. In the Pikes Peak region, a fair number of significant community projects were...

Commentary: After nearly hitting for the cycle last year, no really bold predictions.
January 2, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst 2009? Ten percent of the 21st century is already over? For the old settlers among us, that's disconcerting -- we were just getting used to the 1990s. Be that as it may, it's time to predict the future -- and just so...

Retail suffering during 2008 wasn't equally applied to all Colorado Springs merchants.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater As our national economy fell into recession during December 2007 and record-high gasoline prices throughout the summer left consumers with few discretionary dollars, retailers felt the pinch. National chains such as...

Colorado Springs native sees growing opportunities in durable medical equipment field.
January 2, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Report When she started her company eight years ago, Cori Freischlag was well-acquainted with joint injuries and resulting range-of-motion challenges. A skier, volleyball and tennis player, she experienced multiple...

School of Business in Boulder: Not so gloomy forecast makes even bad numbers look good.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Economists usually divide neatly into two camps: the optimists and the pessimists. Dr. Richard L. Wobbekind, director of the business research division at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Leeds School of...

Nephrologists in Colorado Springs area make impressive New Year's resolution.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine New Year's resolutions always include items like exercise more, lose weight and stop smoking, but one group of doctors in Colorado Springs is hoping to use those resolutions to halt an epidemic during 2009. Kidney...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: January 2, 2009.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley The new home construction market could use a jump start -- and according to Gold Hill Mesa President Bob Willard, his traditional neighborhood development just got one from Challenger Homes. Challenger President Brian...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: January 2, 2009.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater Edmond, Okla.-based First Commercial Bank is opening a branch at 115 N. Tejon St. We're a full service commercial and real estate bank, said Jack Kerr, First Commercial's market president for southern Colorado. We'll...

Colorado Springs Business Journal News Briefs: January 2, 2009.
January 2, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Mover honored for customer satisfaction Two Men and a Truck has earned top honors in a J.D. Power and Associates study measuring customer satisfaction among full-service moving companies. Eric St. Pierre and Jeff Walker...

Diagnosis not great for health care in 2009 in U.S.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine The appointment of Tom Daschle as director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could be a major indicator of what form health care reform will take during 2009. Daschle has long advocated a universal...

Commentary: Don't forget spirit of opportunity.
January 2, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff If 2008 was the best year your business has experienced, you must be a repo man, a short-selling hedge funder, a gold dealer or a lot smarter than any of us at CSBJ. Doing business in the Pikes Peak region during the...

Commentary: Visioning: What we're doing in 2009.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Lon Matejczyk Well we made it. 2008 is gone. There may be some tough times in 2009 but things always bounce back. Something that is going on in our community that is worth paying attention to is the Dream City 2020 initiative. I...

Commentary: Looking back 20 years and thankful to still be around.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Mike Boyd While compiling the stories for our 20th anniversary looking back feature, the editor in me couldn't help but want to tweak a bit here and rewrite a bit there and maybe just massage and polish a bit everywhere. But I...

2009 will be the year of Southern Delivery System in Colorado.
January 2, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. -- Samuel Johnson...

Yours to take? Internet poses all kinds of problems for intellectual property.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine For the past 20 years, the Internet has posed a dilemma for intellectual property rights advocates: how to control use of that property, and maintain copyrights and trademarks. For some, it's the ultimate brain drain...

Retailers in Colorado Springs glad to say goodbye to 2008.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater A U.S. Commerce Department report issued last month about the gross domestic product and the economy showed that consumer spending plunged 2.25 percentage points during the third quarter, the largest drop in consumer...

Alternative energy might save economy in Colorado.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine Alternative energy has often taken a back seat to other economic and environmental issues. But 2009 could be the year for breakthroughs in alternative and green energy -- creating more jobs and new fields of study....

Commentary: Time appears ripe to loose the shackles of Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.
January 9, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Eighteen years ago, Colorado Springs was just beginning to emerge from a devastating local recession triggered by the meltdown of the savings and loan industry. New homebuilding had virtually stopped, scores of...

Interview with Jason Fahrlander: CEO, Memorial Health Systems in Colorado Springs.
January 9, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff In the short time that he's been part of Memorial Health System, Jason Fahrlander has found much to love about his job and Colorado Springs -- and discovered the challenges of his new position. As chief operating...

Maybe it's time to consider taking personal control of your IRA.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn So your Individual Retirement Account didn't look exactly robust at year's end -- well, instead of bemoaning such ill fate, it is possible to take control. Many investors are not aware that federal law allows people to...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine Most doctors support the right of conscience rule enacted recently by the Bush administration's Department of Health and Human Services. The rule grants new protections for health care workers who refuse to provide...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley While commercial real estate sales and lease volume slowed during the fourth quarter, a few deals did close before the end of the year. Here's a look at some of the businesses that decided to take the plunge last...

Colorado Springs Hospitality Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater The nation's current recession has been tough on restaurants nationwide as consumers eat out less and spend less when they visit restaurants, but the slowing economy hasn't hurt at least one local owner. Concept...

Colorado Springs Construction Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley Perhaps more than any other sector, the residential and nonresidential construction industries will feel the pain of an extended recession during 2009. In the October 2008 issue of Reed Construction Data's Executive...

Reservations being accepted for county parks.
January 9, 2009... Byline: CSBJ staff Reservations being accepted for county parks El Paso County Parks is accepting reservations for parks facilities for 2009. Facilities and features that can be reserved for group gatherings include picnic pavilions, the...

Commentary: Economic stimulus needs local focus.
January 9, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff As Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times last week, No modern American president would repeat the fiscal mistake of 1932, in which the federal government tried to balance its budget in the face of a severe recession...

Commentary: Preparing for a military influx.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Lon Matejczyk One soldier already has picked out new wheels for his truck. Some 5,000 troops from the 4th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team will be returning to Fort Carson in the next four to six weeks. This will provide...

Commentary: At least there's hope the economy might improve this year.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Mike Boyd You're not that pretty. Obviously beauty is not in the eye of my therapist beholder. And judging by my first hour on the couch of 2009, this year isn't going to be any better than 2008 or 2007 or 2006 or... you get the...

Colorado Springs Nonprofit Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Children's Literacy Center needs volunteers 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...

Colorado Springs Financial Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff American National Bank receives special recognition American National Bank has received the highest rating as a Blue Ribbon Bank from Veribanc Inc. The ranking is based on capital strength, asset quality, management,...

Colorado Springs Government Briefs: January 9, 2009.
January 9, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Reservations being accepted for county parks El Paso County Parks is accepting reservations for parks facilities for 2009. Facilities and features that can be reserved for group gatherings include picnic pavilions, the...

Colorado Governor Ritter's Medicaid proposal could stiff some hospitals.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine Gov. Bill Ritter's proposal to charge provider fees to increase the amount of Medicaid reimbursement money that the state receives from the federal government is getting mixed reviews from the front lines of the...

Troubling transportation infrastructure issues in Colo. compounded by sagging economy.
January 16, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Before last year's legislative session, Gov. Bill Ritter declared that transportation funding was his No. 1 priority, and appointed a blue ribbon commission to make recommendations. The commission concluded that...

Commentary: Obama might want to think about that 'light twice as bright' thing.
January 16, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Only four days until the inauguration -- and aren't we already sick of/bored with/so completely over the Obama administration? Talk about overexposure! As any student of politics knows, politicians are celebrities...

Commentary: Obama stimulating economy: But who's really getting rich?
January 16, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Late last week, hundreds of thousands of American households found an impressive cream-colored envelope in their mailboxes, marked handle with care in the bottom left hand corner. The return address: The...

Interview with Steve Self: BBVA Compass/Compass Bank in Colorado Springs.
January 16, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff During high school, Steve Self thought he'd be an engineer or have a hands-on or outdoor job because his technical skills were strong. But opportunity presented itself in the form of a bank teller position and he thrived...

Financial advisor in Colorado Springs: What do you do with your money when the nest is empty?
January 16, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn If your house is relatively quiet and empty because the children have taken the leap from college to -- gasp -- working for a living and leasing/buying their own place to live -- well, congratulations. But now you've...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: January 16, 2009.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine The current economic downturn has affected women's ability to plan and prepare for health-care related expenses such as nursing home stays, according to a survey released by America's Health Insurance Plans. The...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: January 16, 2009.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley The former Goodwill Industries retail location at 324 E. Pikes Peak Ave. will soon become home to an antique mall operated by Uli and James Pryse. The 18,000-square-foot building will accommodate up to 157 booths and...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: January 16, 2009.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater News of last week's Macy's closure was just as surprising to the Citadel Mall owners as it was to shoppers. Efforts to find a new retailer to fill the soon-to-be-vacant 195,000-square-foot space have begun. Macy's has...

Colorado Springs-based BKD among 'Best Accounting Firms to Work For'.
January 16, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff BKD LLP has been named one of the Best Accounting Firms to Work For by Accounting Today magazine. BKD is ranked third on the list that appears in the January issue of the trade publication. To be considered, companies...

Commentary: Democracy needs a little partisanship.
January 16, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Toward the end of Gov. Bill Ritter's State of the State address to the legislature last week, the governor struck a familiar note. Like every elected official in a similar office -- mayors, governors, house speakers,...

Commentary: Working on business soft skills: interviewing, resume writing.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Lon Matejczyk Networking, how do you do it? I recently had the opportunity to speak to a business class at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs called BUAD 302. I kind of flashed back to my earlier education years. I...

Commentary: Back on the public relations 'what-were-they-thinking?' bandwagon.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Mike Boyd Maybe 2009 is going to be the year that I jump back into the bully pulpit and offer what I'm sure is unsolicited and unwanted advice to my cousins in the public relations industry. While I'm willing to give a pass to the...

Colorado Springs Government Briefs: January 16, 2009.
January 16, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Payment booklets not in the mail The Colorado Department of Revenue will not mail 2009 individual estimated income tax payment forms. Taxpayers may download the 2009 104EP forms from www.TaxColorado.com or pay by credit...

Colorado Springs Nonprofit Briefs: January 16, 2009.
January 16, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Goodwill elects board officers Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs has selected officers for its board of directors for 2009. John Armstrong will serve as chairman and Wendel Torres of Torix General Contractors is...

U.S. Air Force Academy among nation's top 100 'best value colleges'.
January 16, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff The U.S. Air Force Academy has been named among the nation's top 100 best valuecolleges for 2009 by The Princeton Review. Institutions were selected based on surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public...

Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association fails its own solvency test.
January 23, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association experienced investment losses of 30 percent last year, so substantial that according to the metrics used by the plan's actuaries, PERA fails a basic solvency...

Colorado Springs home builders planning for better days.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley So how are Colorado Springs home builders spending their time during the economic downturn? With only 1,985 total residential building permits issued through December 2008 in El Paso County, many have been sidelined,...

Investing during turbulent economy.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn At this point in the recessionary cycle, what investors need most is a sense of humor, a truckload of patience and steady nerves. That said, a little advice from professionals won't hurt, either. Investors should...

Commentary: Clark and Bensberg could be our tickets out of the political wilderness.
January 23, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. -- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Quick! When was the...

Creating a fire and safety plan in Colorado Springs.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Fires and other emergencies don't just happen to someone else. Colorado Springs has had more than its share of apartment fires recently. While apartments are residences, they are businesses as well. It's an opportune...

Interview with Colorado Springs attorney Ken Jaray.
January 23, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Conflict resolution and solving legal problems through restorative justice are two of Ken Jaray's goals. For the past 30 years, he has represented people who are involved in work or personal injuries, and he also deals...

Entrepreneur speaks in Colorado Springs: A dose of reality for entrepreneurs.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn Most entrepreneurs can only hope to own as many businesses in a lifetime as Dirk Dieterich runs or owns during a mere half a dozen years. A self-described hayseed serial entrepreneur, Dieterich owns Charts Ltd., a gas...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: January 23, 2009.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine Hospitals that donate time, space and supplies during an emergency can be sued for that response, as can health care providers who volunteer during an emergency. The country's lack of clear, comprehensive liability...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: January 23, 2009.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley Steve Bach and Mike Helwege assisted Tech for Less in leasing an 80,000-square-foot office/distribution facility at 2150 Garden of the Gods Road (the former Hotsy manufacturing facility). TFL will continue using its...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: January 23, 2009.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater Treasure Shoppe, a collectible antique gift mall, will open in the former downtown Goodwill retail store location, 324 E. Pikes Peak Ave., during early February. The Treasure Shoppe will house several individual...

Colorado Springs Nonprofit Briefs: January 23, 2009.
January 23, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Mueller State Park needs summer volunteers Mueller State Park is seeking volunteers to work in a state park with spectacular views, unique trails packed with history, wildlife and beautiful vegetation. Volunteers are...

Don't believe every health claim you see, hear or read.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine During the 1800s, snake oil salesmen sold cure-all tonics from the back of wagons. Today, medications promising to cure everything from baldness to AIDS are hawked on television, the Internet and in newspaper...

By any measure, Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association is a generous retirement plan.
January 23, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association recipients do not pay into Social Security. They pay 8 percent of their pretax earnings to PERA, which is matched by a 12 percent contribution from the employers that...

Commentary: It's time to get things done.
January 23, 2009... Byline: CSBJ issue We congratulate President Barack Obama upon his formal elevation to the highest office in the land -- and we hope that he can implement policies that will help ensure the prosperity of this nation for decades to come....

Commentary: We need to extend mill levy to fund economic development.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Lon Matejczyk Funding for Colorado Springs regional economic development efforts is pitiful. An opportunity has risen to fix this. 11.11 percent, 33.33 percent and 12.3 percent. These numbers are comparing our own Economic...

Kim's Foods in Colorado Springs snags Scovie Award.
January 23, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff The company's Original BBQ Sauce placed third in the low-carb category. The awards were created by Dave DeWitt, founder of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, and are named for Wilbur Scoville, who pioneered a...

Opportunity knocking on industry's door?
January 30, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley Hope springs eternal... or so say leaders of a battered construction industry, who, like author Alexander Pope, hope for the best, even in the face of adversity. The U.S. Census Bureau, which tracks construction...

Divestiture might be silver bullet to fix revenue woes in Colorado Springs.
January 30, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst During December, City Council gave final approval to the 2009 budget, which included substantial cuts. And last Monday, a little more than a month later, council again slashed the budget, and will make further cuts...

Commentary: We actually do spend a lot of money on economic development.
January 30, 2009... Byline: John Hazlehurst Here are two popular factoids: Colorado Springs voters/taxpayers/residents/city government/business leaders/Republicans don't support economic development as much as their counterparts in (fill in city of your...

Untapped economic potential: Agritourism growing niche in Colorado's appeal to visitors.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine Tourists come to Colorado for more than skiing and apres shopping. More than 75 percent also participate in at least one agricultural event while they're here. They can spend a week working cattle on a ranch, get...

Interview with Paul Martinez, president of Dynamic Solutions in Colorado Springs.
January 30, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Paul Martinez is passionate about what he does, and he wants everyone else to be as well. As president of Dynamic Solutions, he works with individuals and organizations to develop strategies for success. Martinez...

Vectra Bank Colo.'s Economic Forecast: Think you've got it tough? Try being an economist these days.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Tonn It's tough being an economist these days -- not for lack of minutia or issues to discuss, but for lack of a positive spin to put on it. Nevertheless, three keynote speakers at Vectra Bank Colorado's Economic Forecast...

Colorado Springs Medical Briefs: January 30, 2009.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Amy Gillentine Colorado's bioscience companies received $1.3 billion during the past five years, according to a study by the Colorado BioScience Association and the Colorado Office of Economic Development. The figure ranks Colorado...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: January 30, 2009.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Becky Hurley The 64-unit Carefree Village Townhomes at 4801 Pacer Lane, near the intersection of N. Carefree Circle and Oro Blanco Road, has been purchased by Carefree LLC, a Los Angeles-based investor, for $4 million. The buyer...

Colorado Springs Retail Briefs: January 30, 2009.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Scott Prater Local entrepreneurs Sam and Kathy Guadagnoli plan to open a bowling alley downtown on the third floor of 25 N. Tejon St. as early as this spring. Plans include an eight-lane bowling alley, games, pool tables and two...

Registration open for 2009 State Games of America.
January 30, 2009... Byline: CSBJ staff Registration open for 2009 State Games of America Colorado Springs and The Sports Corp. will host America's largest national multi-sport festival for amateur athletes of all ages and skill levels from July 30 to Aug. 2....

Commentary: Rivera, Glenn show thoughtful leadership on mill levy extension.
January 30, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff We've seldom had the pleasure of praising Mayor Lionel Rivera in these pages. The mayor, while a man of keen, disciplined intelligence, has often advocated policies that we have not supported. But during Tuesday's...

Commentary: Joint Readiness Training Center: Real training before war.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Lon Matejczyk For many soldiers, Fort Polk, La., and The Joint Readiness Training Center is the last stop before war. I spent some time at the JRTC last week, visiting with troops and getting briefed. Let me tell you about the...

Colorado Springs Government Briefs: January 30, 2009.
January 30, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff CSU, alumni create $4.1 billion in household income Colorado State University and its Colorado-based alumni generate about $1.4 billion in household income, making them one of the most significant economic growth engines...

Texas-based Whole Foods again one of 'best' places to work.
January 30, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Whole Foods Market placed 22nd on Fortune magazine's 2009 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The company is one of only 13 businesses to be named every year since the list's inception 12 years ago.

Registration open for 2009 State Games of America in Colorado Springs.
January 30, 2009... Byline: CSBJ Staff Colorado Springs and The Sports Corp. will host America's largest national multi-sport festival for amateur athletes of all ages and skill levels from July 30 to Aug. 2. Registration for the 2009 State Games of America...