Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) articles from May 2003

Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) archives from May 2003

Be A Pilot gives businesses an open flight plan.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Additional security measures since 9-11 made flying safer, but business travelers find it more time consuming and frustrating than ever. Therefore, more and more business fliers are bailing out of commercial...

Computing your commuting expense.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman According to the 2000 United States Census Bureau, five percent of El Paso County residents commute to another county to go to work. The majority of those commuters travel to Denver and surrounding counties, but...

Designer concrete firm sets solid market niche.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Concrete finishing is really more art than science. - Doug Groninger Concrete has been around for a long time - and through many incarnations. From the pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt to today's...

Criminal justice leaders work to integrate system.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley In today's tech-savvy business environment, E-access to information is a fact of life. So how do law enforcement and the criminal justice agencies access each others' systems in order to track and convict...

U of Colo. at Colo. Springs receives $2M to aid homeland security.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell A $2 million grant will enable the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to expand operations at its Network Information and Space Security Center, university officials said. The grant resulted from a $355.5...

Colo. Springs Real Estate Briefs May 2, 2003.(various news items)
May 2, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Home Equity Borrowing on the Rise Homeowners raised $130 billion last year through home equity loans and lines of credit, according to the Federal Reserve. That's double the total a year earlier. In a recent New...

Premier Bank is Colorado's entrepreneur-friendly lender.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Premier Bank, a Colorado-based community bank, was the top SBA (Small Business Administration) lender in Colorado for the SBA fiscal year ending September 30, 2001. Premier exceeded by 5 million dollars its much...

Fast-Frame mounts memories, Monet, mirrors and more.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley When customers bring their work to Randy Ruebsamen's FastFrame custom picture framing shops, they may be unaware there is a true artisan on the premises. Not only is he a skilled picture framer who specializes in...

Financial co. president has a strategy for any borrower.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley A relative newcomer, Roy Clennan, founder and president of the Freedom Financial Services, moved to Colorado Springs in 1995, following his retirement from the U.S. Air Force. Since then, he has become one of the...

eBay University teaches Internet garage sellers.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Don't have time for continuing education? How about a one-day course from eBay University, whose mission statement is to provide a global Internet market where "practically anyone can trade practically anything."...

Maneuver warfare prevents attacks at the personal level.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Survive A Violent Encounter! That is the battle cry for S.A.V.E! International, a Florida-based training program that promotes personal security, risk management and anti-intimidation measures, and teaches courage,...

It's all happening at the zoo.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Sometimes contractors might feel like they're working in a zoo, but JE Dunn Construction Co. really has been. The Denver-based contractor with a strong local presence has been managing completion of the Cheyenne...

Colarelli, Weber embark on entrepreneurial venture.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Amid slowing in construction and economic uncertainty, Vince Colarelli and Daniel C. Weber decided to test their entrepreneurial spirit. Opening their office doors in the Plaza of the Rockies North Tower in January, the...

Economic Development Corporation's reveals its game plan for Pikes Peak region.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Since 1971, the Pikes Peak region has benefited from the work of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation. Its goal: to attract high-quality new primary employers that will sustain and support the...

RetroMoto toy shop is a blast from the past.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell You have to envy someone who, after earning a degree in urban planning, bags it for toys. Meet Ed West Klingman, who looks and acts like most other husbands and fathers of small children, except maybe for the...

City mantra is conservation of water resources.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell This might be official city water month. The ongoing drought and water scarcity keeps the topic of water in the forefront, and Colorado Springs Utilities is popping up everywhere to educate water consumers on ways...

Contractors step up to help Imagination Celebration.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Local contractors turned out in force to help the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration craft a permanent "public creativity space" at The Citadel mall. The center will open 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 31, with...

Self-employed face big challenges when it comes to health insurance.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman According to the 2000 United States Census Bureau, 108,132 Colorado residents work from their homes. Since the September 11 terrorist acts and corporate downsizing, that number may triple when the next census...

Retention of businesses' is an economic imperative.(Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp.)
May 9, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Because up to 80 percent of a community's job growth comes from existing employers, business retention is critical to the city's vitality, said Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation president Rocky...

Single-family home construction jumps, but permit valuations decrease.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Single-family residential construction jumped nearly 30 percent in April over March building, but total housing permits declined nearly 10 percent after last month's flurry of multi-home construction permits. The...

First Community Bank grows downtown.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm They're not typical bankers and it's not your typical bank. They're seriously doing business with an attitude of fun and heading to make a big statement in Colorado Springs with a new 8,000-square-foot downtown branch in...

Results-driven advertiser attracts challenging clients.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Greg Snyder, owner of Greg Snyder Incognito Advertising, likes a witty quote. Some lines he borrows, and some he invents. "Good advertising is like peanut butter. It sticks to the roof of your mouth," he quips. Or...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs May 16, 2003.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley As you may have noticed, during the second week of the month, the Colorado Springs Business Journal features its "Blueprints" section in place of the weekly real estate column. As a result, the third and fourth weeks...

Survey shows 1 in 4 Americans fear losing their job.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell One of four Americans believe they could lose their jobs in the next year, a level of pessimism surpassed only by Great Britain workers, and half of those in another survey said they are doing more professional...

Econ. Development Corp. honors several with leadership awards.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell For the first couple of hours it was business as usual, small talk, wine before dinner, a fund-raising auction. Then the group was transformed back in time as Beatles tunes filled the air. So, first the...

Business owners may get break in health care insurance.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman The controversial health insurance-related House Bill 1164 passed both houses on Friday, May 2. If Gov. Owens signs the bill, proponents say health insurance coverage will be more available to a larger population,...

A possible health care hub for the military's managers.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman When medical military personnel were deployed to Iraq, ensuring health care continuity and optimum accessibility for military dependents and the military remaining at home was a formidable task -- above and beyond...

Leadership Pikes Peak meets to discuss future of downtown Colo. Springs.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell The choice of locations for Leadership Pikes Peak's day-long graduate seminar provided an apt metaphor for information presented by several business leaders with a vision for Colorado Springs' future. About 25...

Northcom plays role in national security exercise.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell It was 'dumbed down' for demonstration purposes, but the nation's global technology supremacy was still evident in Northern Command's computer-dominated situational awareness room east of Colorado Springs. Red...

Retail-generated sales provide lifeblood for cities.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Sales tax accounts for over half of Colorado Springs' general fund revenues -- but Denver suburbs may derive as much as 70 percent of their city revenues from retail sale taxes, says Mike Anderson, city budget...

Fittest city could reap healthy economic gains.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Imagine a city touted as the health and fitness mecca of the world. A place that offers a testing ground to assess a person's level of fitness. A destination spot for those who want to experience the ultimate in...

New owners of Peak Treat Cafe work to build clientele.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley When Kathy Candelaria's customers order a Philly cheesesteak at the Peak Treat Cafe, they know it's the real thing. In fact during a recent Mike Boyle "Lunch Bunch" program, the owner served more than 400 sandwiches...

Commentary: Taxpayers Bill of Rights keeps taxes low, government in check.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell People sick and tired of burgeoning governments and the taxation required to keep them alive had their way a decade ago when the Taxpayers Bill of Rights became an amendment to the Colorado Constitution. Since,...

Restaurant market mimics economic ups and downs.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman The Colorado Restaurant Association estimated that Colorado consumers spent $20 million per day purchasing food away from home in 2002. Colorado's 9,000 plus restaurants employ over 169,000 workers in this state,...

Commentary: Taxpayers Bill of Rights ratchets down our quality of life.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley You've seen the signs: a crumbling Cimarron Bridge, Gerry-rigged to survive ten years past its life expectancy -- and thousands of temporary pothole patches in lieu of repaved streets. And there's more. CDOT...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs May 23, 2003.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley About the time you think the economy is beginning to gel, a new headline comes out proclaiming that consumer confidence has dropped or that the federal budget deficit is mushrooming to new heights. Fortunately, most...

Export economy significant in Colorado Springs.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell At nearly 2,000 miles away from the nearest ocean, you might not write down Colorado Springs as a biggie on your list of export greats, but that would be one big oversight. In 1999, the last year the U.S. Census...

Hot or cold, local company understands climate control.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley A good business partnership doesn't come along everyday. In fact, attorneys say most equal-owner business arrangements don't make it. But Mike Edde and Craig Hurd of Colorado Temperature Control seem to have found the...

Nonprofits - are they holding up in this wobbly economy?
May 30, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Two staff members from Catholic Charities of Colorado Springs and four graduate students from DePaul University recently surveyed more than 3,000 clients who utilize our community's nonprofit agencies. The...

Local McDonald's delivers five-star fast food.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Five-star fast food is what independent McDonald's franchisee Steve Bigari calls it: technology-enabled service that adds unprecedented capacity and customization. Not typically expected from a hamburger stand, but...

Colo. Springs Real Estate Briefs May 30, 2003.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley With news that sales tax revenues are falling under projections due to troop deployments and the overall economic slump, it is not surprising to learn that cities are beginning to court retail and commercial...

Landscape association urges care in selecting a contractor.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Landscaping contractors endured a lean season last year with Colorado in a serious drought, and the state's largest landscape contractor association wants to make sure things are better this summer. Naturally,...

Environmental groups flunk Colorado's wind generation record.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Nobody really expected the results to be any different, but a Colorado environmental group said it is dedicated to continuing to educate the public about the state's wind resources. Colorado flunked, along with 33...