February 3rd, 2012
Conventions and trade shows impact the Puget Sound area economy to the tune of millions of dollars — and they attract millions of enthusiastic attendees from the region, nation and the world. Some of the more colorful events include the Northwest Flower & Garden Show and two conventions that welcome legions of costume-clad comics fans: Emerald City ComiCon and Sakura-Con. Other exhibitions cater to prospective college students, motorcycle lovers, and engaged couples planning weddings. The Puget Sound Business Journal has compiled a list of the top 24 regional conventions and trade shows staged at the Washington State Convention Center in 2011…
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February 3rd, 2012
Hawaii lawmakers on Friday passed legislation for about $1.8 million in emergency funds for kidney and liver transplants in the state. Gov. Neil Abercrombie plans to sign House Bill 608 into law on Saturday at The Queen's Medical Center. The law will appropriate emergency funds, subject to private matching funds, for the transplants, as well as to support a chronic kidney disease management program. Hawaii was left without an organ transplant center after the closure last month of Hawaii Medical Center East, which ran the state's only organ transplant program before it stopped taking patients in December…
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February 3rd, 2012
Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Friday signed a letter of intent with officials from South Korea to develop a smart grid demonstration project in Hawaii. The Korean government and the state of Hawaii will collaborate on smart grid research, development and demonstration projects with public and private partners, the governor's office said in a statement. “We are delighted that the Republic of Korea has seen the value of partnering with Hawaii on a mutually beneficial smart grid development project,” Abercrombie said in a statement…
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February 3rd, 2012
Larkspur Hotels has sold another property from its four-star hotel collection. This time a direct competitor was the buyer: Kimpton Hotels snapped up the 84-room Riverplace, gaining itself a third property in Portland, Oregon. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Larkspur has been selling off its four-star properties piecemeal since Farallon Capital, its partner in the properties, decided to get out of its investment in June 2011. The first Larkspur Collection sold to LaSalle Hotel Properties in October 2011…
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February 3rd, 2012
A commercial kitchen incubator on Kauai has received its certification from the Hawaii Department of Health to open and serve the public. The Anahola Marketplace Kitchen was developed by the nonprofit Homestead Community Development Corp. and is the first of its kind on Kauai. “This is a major milestone for the Anahola Marketplace and for the people of Kauai,” board member Lorraine Rapozo said in a statement. “Whether a vendor makes and sells food product at the marketplace, or is a mobile vendor accessing the kitchen for fresh water, this commercial kitchen is very important to Kauai…
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February 3rd, 2012
The Denver Post on Friday reported average weekday print circulation of 258,876 for the six months ending Sept. 30, 2011, down 6.8 percent from the same period of 2010. The Denver daily newspaper's Saturday print circulation for the six-month period averaged 323,637, down 10.5 percent from a year earlier, and Sunday sales averaged 432,804, down 5.4 percent, according to a publisher's statement submitted to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). The ABC verifies newspaper and magazine circulation claims for advertisers…
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February 3rd, 2012
AMR Corp. capacity cuts contributed to a 1.6 percent drop in traffic at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in December, and the airport projects that its January passenger count also will be down. Airport officials said Friday that they expect overall January passenger numbers to be about 1.5 percent down from January 2010 and 3.1 percent below the airport’s budget projection. “This is driven by American,” Airport CEO Jeff Fegan said at the airport's monthly board meeting. “American’s capacity is down like 4…
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February 3rd, 2012
Addison-based Behringer Harvard says it's current on interest payments on Frisco Square and expects its "technical default" to have minimal short-term impact on the operations of the mixed-use property north of Dallas. Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I Inc. defaulted on the balance of $44.1 million in loans it took out for its investment in Frisco Square. The debt came due on Jan. 28 on six tracts of land for the Frisco project, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Behringer Harvard said it was working to extend the maturity date on the loan…
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February 3rd, 2012
Sacramento real estate developer Sotiris K. Kolokotronis filed for personal bankruptcy Friday, listing debts of more than $130 million and assets of $3.2 million. Concurrent with the filing, his bankruptcy attorney Walter Dahl issued a news release that said Kolokotronis’ continuing dispute with an investment firm triggered the filing. That firm, an entity of Ayres Advisors of San Diego, has been pursuing a $16.5 million judgment against Kolokotronis for several years. The Chapter 7 liquidation case could resolve that judgment and protect some of Kolokotronis’ personal assets…
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February 3rd, 2012
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued banking’s Big Three — J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — on Friday over their use of an electronic mortgage database that played a key role in financing the nation’s historic housing bubble. Schneiderman, who gained additional clout last month when President Obama named him co-chairman of a new federal mortgage-crisis unit, filed suit against Bank of America, (NYSE: BAC) Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) in New York State Supreme Court…
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Slide show: Top 10 regional conventions and trade shows in Seattle
