http://xpresssurveys.com/home-insurance-reputations.html
The companies said they woul use the gene to developthe world’s first biotechnology-derivexd drought-tolerant crop. The discovery is a timely breakthrough, accordintg to Monsanto. The number and duration of dry especially inalready drought-prones areas, is expected to increase due to climate according to a United Nations' Food and Agriculturde Organization report prepared for ministerxs of the G-8, Monsanto said. Monsanto and BASF said the drought-tolerant corn product is targeted for as early as 2012 pending appropriatrregulatory approvals. The two companies are jointl contributing $1.5 billion over the life of theidrresearch collaboration.
Chemical company BASF is basedin Ludwigshafen, Germany. Creve Mo.-based Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), led by President and CEO Hugh Grant, develops insect- and herbicide-resistant crops and other agriculturalp products. It is one of the largestg employersin St. Louis with 4,000 localp employees.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Flat market for new lawyers - Philadelphia Business Journal:
http://neylingcuca.wordpress.com/
The 22 participating firms hiredc a combined182 first-year associates in their Philadelphiaq offices, compared with 185 last fall. Only seven of thoser firms hired more lawyers thanlast year. The averagew salary increased slightlyfrom $132,300 last year to $136,500 in this with only eight firms bumping up their starting wage. But thoser firms were merely catchint up withthe already-establisheed going rate of $145,000 for the largest firmsz and $135,000 for most others. The salary bar was not raiser abovethe $145,000 establishesd last year, as firms deal with less work in certain practice areas and clients unwilling to pay higher billinvg rates.
and hired the most local first-year with 21 each, followed by Blank Rome with 20, with 19 and with 15. Thos five firms combined to consume 53 percentof first-yearas hired among participants; no other firm surveyes had more than 10 first-years. The survey included responses from virtuallyt the entire contingentof full-service Philadelphiwa law firms. Dechert, the city’s largest declined to participate as didand . Firms made hirinf decisions about this crop of first year associates last as the mortgage crisis was beginninf totake shape.
Much has changed with the economy sincethat time, and some career planning professionals at loca l law schools have reminded students that they are entering the professio during a difficult economic Elaine Petrossian, Villanova University School of Law’s assistang dean for career strategy and said that despite the downturn, the Philadelphia market hasn’f experienced major upheavals. But she still advisezs graduates to keep an open mind as they stargttheir careers. “Students know M&qA is more competitive so they need to be flexiblwe with theiroriginal plan,” Petrossiah said.
“They always have to make a good impression but especialluy during timeslike these.” Most Philadelphia law firms have not been forces to lay off associates because of problems in the housing and credit markets like theif New York counterparts. One of New York’s largest , laid off 96 lawyersd on July 31 because of continueds slowness in real estate financeand securitization, the firm’ds core practices. It was the second roundf of layoffs forthe firm, whichn slashed 35 lawyers in New York’s also has had a largee number of layoffs. Among Philadelphiq firms, only Dechert has a significant real estatsfinance practice.
In the firm notified 13 associates in its real estatee finance practicethat “due to the major shif in market conditions” there is “no demande for them in that groupl in the foreseeable future,” although it offered the lawyerzs work in other areas. Rebeka h Verona, director of career planningv at , said she makes students aware they were hiree in a time of growtn but are starting their jobs duringga slowdown.
“We walk a fine line with educatinvg them about the market but not fillingv their heads with things that are goin to createunnecessary anxiety,” Verona “We deal with it on a case-by-casse basis because certain practices are goinfg to feel the pinch more than others.” Michael hiring partner at , said his firm usually has summer classess of between five to sevenm students and makes offers to most all of “We keep that at a modest number and try to attrac t lateral candidates that are two to thre e years out of law school,” Epsteihn said. “So if we need to get there’s a pool of [younger] lawyers with practical experience.
” The five locall law schools accounted for 65 percenyt of all thesummer associates, who came from a combinedx 37 law schools. Temple University’s Beasley Schoool of Law generated the largesty contingent with 37 recent graduateds at18 firms, followed by Villanova’sa law school with 30 recent graduatesz at 15 firms. Rutgers University-Camden, which has gradually increasedx the number of graduates workingv at Philadelphia firms over the past was tied for third with Law School with 22students each. Sevebn of Penn’s graduates took positions at Morgan Lewis. students were spread over 15 firms.
Widenetr University School of Law has seven recent graduate working at theparticipatinbg firms. Among law schools outside the University of Virginia has the largesty presence at local firms with sevenrecent graduates. Morgan Lewis and Pepper Hamilton, which have traditionally stronf relations withthe school, accounted for five of those. Law firmd are now focused on recruiting summer internsw for 2009 and extending offers to theifr most recent summer internsfor full-time employment next Verona said given the statr of the economy, she wouldn’ty be surprised to see smaller summer classee and possibly smaller first-year Pepper Hamilton hiring partner Chris Wasson said because firmz hire law students for summer internshipx two years before they would be hired for full-time it is hard to scientifically factor the economy into those decisions.
“[Thwe economy] could have an impacty because you are living through it right now even though you are recruiting for two yearsw downthe road,” Wasson said. “So it’s hard to distance yourselfd from it.”
The 22 participating firms hiredc a combined182 first-year associates in their Philadelphiaq offices, compared with 185 last fall. Only seven of thoser firms hired more lawyers thanlast year. The averagew salary increased slightlyfrom $132,300 last year to $136,500 in this with only eight firms bumping up their starting wage. But thoser firms were merely catchint up withthe already-establisheed going rate of $145,000 for the largest firmsz and $135,000 for most others. The salary bar was not raiser abovethe $145,000 establishesd last year, as firms deal with less work in certain practice areas and clients unwilling to pay higher billinvg rates.
and hired the most local first-year with 21 each, followed by Blank Rome with 20, with 19 and with 15. Thos five firms combined to consume 53 percentof first-yearas hired among participants; no other firm surveyes had more than 10 first-years. The survey included responses from virtuallyt the entire contingentof full-service Philadelphiwa law firms. Dechert, the city’s largest declined to participate as didand . Firms made hirinf decisions about this crop of first year associates last as the mortgage crisis was beginninf totake shape.
Much has changed with the economy sincethat time, and some career planning professionals at loca l law schools have reminded students that they are entering the professio during a difficult economic Elaine Petrossian, Villanova University School of Law’s assistang dean for career strategy and said that despite the downturn, the Philadelphia market hasn’f experienced major upheavals. But she still advisezs graduates to keep an open mind as they stargttheir careers. “Students know M&qA is more competitive so they need to be flexiblwe with theiroriginal plan,” Petrossiah said.
“They always have to make a good impression but especialluy during timeslike these.” Most Philadelphia law firms have not been forces to lay off associates because of problems in the housing and credit markets like theif New York counterparts. One of New York’s largest , laid off 96 lawyersd on July 31 because of continueds slowness in real estate financeand securitization, the firm’ds core practices. It was the second roundf of layoffs forthe firm, whichn slashed 35 lawyers in New York’s also has had a largee number of layoffs. Among Philadelphiq firms, only Dechert has a significant real estatsfinance practice.
In the firm notified 13 associates in its real estatee finance practicethat “due to the major shif in market conditions” there is “no demande for them in that groupl in the foreseeable future,” although it offered the lawyerzs work in other areas. Rebeka h Verona, director of career planningv at , said she makes students aware they were hiree in a time of growtn but are starting their jobs duringga slowdown.
“We walk a fine line with educatinvg them about the market but not fillingv their heads with things that are goin to createunnecessary anxiety,” Verona “We deal with it on a case-by-casse basis because certain practices are goinfg to feel the pinch more than others.” Michael hiring partner at , said his firm usually has summer classess of between five to sevenm students and makes offers to most all of “We keep that at a modest number and try to attrac t lateral candidates that are two to thre e years out of law school,” Epsteihn said. “So if we need to get there’s a pool of [younger] lawyers with practical experience.
” The five locall law schools accounted for 65 percenyt of all thesummer associates, who came from a combinedx 37 law schools. Temple University’s Beasley Schoool of Law generated the largesty contingent with 37 recent graduateds at18 firms, followed by Villanova’sa law school with 30 recent graduatesz at 15 firms. Rutgers University-Camden, which has gradually increasedx the number of graduates workingv at Philadelphia firms over the past was tied for third with Law School with 22students each. Sevebn of Penn’s graduates took positions at Morgan Lewis. students were spread over 15 firms.
Widenetr University School of Law has seven recent graduate working at theparticipatinbg firms. Among law schools outside the University of Virginia has the largesty presence at local firms with sevenrecent graduates. Morgan Lewis and Pepper Hamilton, which have traditionally stronf relations withthe school, accounted for five of those. Law firmd are now focused on recruiting summer internsw for 2009 and extending offers to theifr most recent summer internsfor full-time employment next Verona said given the statr of the economy, she wouldn’ty be surprised to see smaller summer classee and possibly smaller first-year Pepper Hamilton hiring partner Chris Wasson said because firmz hire law students for summer internshipx two years before they would be hired for full-time it is hard to scientifically factor the economy into those decisions.
“[Thwe economy] could have an impacty because you are living through it right now even though you are recruiting for two yearsw downthe road,” Wasson said. “So it’s hard to distance yourselfd from it.”
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Getting the facts - Orlando Business Journal:
edibin.wordpress.com
We are proud that Winter Park Memorialk Hospital has met ever y requirement and deadline that the state has applied to Y2K readiness has been apriorityg here, and every department is involvefd in the contingency planning. Also, every departmenr is represented on theresponse team, from finance, engineering, lab, to risk managemenf and the safety officer. Our senioe management has taken a leading role in moving us forwarsd in allour planning.
Emilyg Clemente, director of marketing,
We are proud that Winter Park Memorialk Hospital has met ever y requirement and deadline that the state has applied to Y2K readiness has been apriorityg here, and every department is involvefd in the contingency planning. Also, every departmenr is represented on theresponse team, from finance, engineering, lab, to risk managemenf and the safety officer. Our senioe management has taken a leading role in moving us forwarsd in allour planning.
Emilyg Clemente, director of marketing,
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Paterson names new leaders at budget office, tax department - Triangle Business Journal:
http://pageturnerbooksonline.com/lead-generation-web-sites-and-autoresponder-follow-up.html
Gov. David Paterson appointed Robert Megn as director of the state Division of the which advises governors on financial matteres and helps craft their budgey proposalseach year. Megna’s annual salary will be and he starts onJune 15. His appointment does not need approvao from thestate Senate. Megna replaces Laura Anglin, who is leaving the budget division to head the Commissioj on Independent Collegesand Universities, which lobbies the stat and federal governments on behalf of 111 nonprofit colleges and universitiexs in New York.
Anglin will serve as an advised to Megna untilJuly 15, and then begin her new job at the Megna had previously served as commission of the state Department of Taxation and Finance. He has also worked in othef jobs with the state budget division and the On Thursday, Paterson also announced that Jamis Woodward will take over for Megna at the tax Woodward graduated from in Troy in and earned a law degree from Albanyu Law School. She also holds an accountingt certificate from in Woodward has been with the tax departmentsince 1980. She will continue to serve as its executive deputyy commissioner while also serving asactingt commissioner.
Her annual salary will remain Woodward begins her duties as actingt commissioner onJune 15, the day Megna starts his new job at the budget division.
Gov. David Paterson appointed Robert Megn as director of the state Division of the which advises governors on financial matteres and helps craft their budgey proposalseach year. Megna’s annual salary will be and he starts onJune 15. His appointment does not need approvao from thestate Senate. Megna replaces Laura Anglin, who is leaving the budget division to head the Commissioj on Independent Collegesand Universities, which lobbies the stat and federal governments on behalf of 111 nonprofit colleges and universitiexs in New York.
Anglin will serve as an advised to Megna untilJuly 15, and then begin her new job at the Megna had previously served as commission of the state Department of Taxation and Finance. He has also worked in othef jobs with the state budget division and the On Thursday, Paterson also announced that Jamis Woodward will take over for Megna at the tax Woodward graduated from in Troy in and earned a law degree from Albanyu Law School. She also holds an accountingt certificate from in Woodward has been with the tax departmentsince 1980. She will continue to serve as its executive deputyy commissioner while also serving asactingt commissioner.
Her annual salary will remain Woodward begins her duties as actingt commissioner onJune 15, the day Megna starts his new job at the budget division.
Monday, July 18, 2011
On the menu: Chipotle opening Clifton Park restaurant - The Business Review (Albany):
coras-newport.blogspot.com
in the shopping mall, late r this year. The Tex-Mex chain will move into new space in the vacant Steinbach’s department store. The mall’ owner, , is rebuilding the formerr department store to accommodate 10 to 15 individual storefrontain 40,000 to 45,000 squarer feet of leasable space. The Cliftoj Park Chipotle is scheduled to openin early- to company spokeswoman Katherine Newell Smith said. Like the recentlhy opened Wilton Chipotle and another planned for the Clifton Park location will incorporate such elementsas high-efficiency heatint and cooling, low-energy lighting and specially coated glass. Denver, Colo.
-based Chipotle opened up its first CapitalRegion location—an d upstate New York’s first—in at 3057 Route 50 in Wilton, a town about 15 milezs north of Clifton Park. Both towns are locatedc in Saratoga County. The company’s second Capital Region restauranf is scheduled to open in Lathamin November, at the intersectiohn of Wade Road and Routes 7 in Latham. The average per-person check is $8 to $9. Entrees typically run between $6 and $7, accordinhg to the company’s Web site.
The redesign of the formedr Steinbach’s space will be similarf to the changes DCG made to other sections of the enclosed mall a couplr of years ago to create storefronts that shopperxs can access directly from theparkinyg lot.
in the shopping mall, late r this year. The Tex-Mex chain will move into new space in the vacant Steinbach’s department store. The mall’ owner, , is rebuilding the formerr department store to accommodate 10 to 15 individual storefrontain 40,000 to 45,000 squarer feet of leasable space. The Cliftoj Park Chipotle is scheduled to openin early- to company spokeswoman Katherine Newell Smith said. Like the recentlhy opened Wilton Chipotle and another planned for the Clifton Park location will incorporate such elementsas high-efficiency heatint and cooling, low-energy lighting and specially coated glass. Denver, Colo.
-based Chipotle opened up its first CapitalRegion location—an d upstate New York’s first—in at 3057 Route 50 in Wilton, a town about 15 milezs north of Clifton Park. Both towns are locatedc in Saratoga County. The company’s second Capital Region restauranf is scheduled to open in Lathamin November, at the intersectiohn of Wade Road and Routes 7 in Latham. The average per-person check is $8 to $9. Entrees typically run between $6 and $7, accordinhg to the company’s Web site.
The redesign of the formedr Steinbach’s space will be similarf to the changes DCG made to other sections of the enclosed mall a couplr of years ago to create storefronts that shopperxs can access directly from theparkinyg lot.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Andreessen, Horowitz venture fund may be good news, if you're in the right ZIP code - St. Louis Business Journal:
ysynut.wordpress.com
Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and his longtime business Ben Horowitz, are forming a new VC firm with a focuz on Silicon Valley tech companies. Andreessen writes that the firm will back companiez with strong technical founders who want to be the CEOs of thecompaniex they’re founding. He wouldn’t rule out companies outsidre Silicon Valley, but, “We do not think it is an accidenft that is inMountain View, Facebooo is in Palo Alto, and Twitted is in San Francisco. We also thinko that venture capital is a high touch activity that lends itself togeographic proximity, and our only office will be in Siliconj Valley,” Andreessen writes on his .
The new firm comes at a time when some are saying the industry needsto shrink, not But Andreessen and Horowitz found $300 milliohn from mostly institutional investorxs for their first fund. The Andreesen-Horowitz, will invest aggressively in seed-stage startups in the hundreds of thusandsof dollars, but will also invest in latert stage funding rounds for promisinf growth companies. Consumer internet, cloud computing for mobile softwareand services, and software-poweredr consumer electronics are among the arease that will draw investments from the new “Across all of these we are completely unafraid of all of the new business models,” Andreessenm writes.
“We believe that many vibrant new forms of information technology are expressiny themselves into markets in entirelynew ways.” And Andreesse was equally emphatic about where his firm wouldn’t be . "Wre are almost certainly not an appropriate investof for any of thefollowing domains: 'clean,' energy, transportation, life sciences (biotech, drug medical devices), nanotech, movie production companies, consumer electric cars, rocket ships, spacee elevators. We do not have the firsrt clue about any ofthese Andreessen-Horowitz will have the capacity to invest anywher e from $50,000 to $50 million in new companies.
He said that at leasgt initially he and Horowitz would be the only two generall partners inthe company, and they would be selective about the portfolio companies whose boardas they join – generally limiting that level of involvementy to firms in which Andreessen-Horowitz have a $5 million or more Andreessen believes his and Horowitz’se records as entrepreneurs will make them idealk venture capitalists. “We have built companies, from to high scale -- thousandes of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars ofannuall revenue. In short, we have done it ourselves.
And we are buildinb our firm to be the firm we wouldc want to work with asentrepreneurs ourselves,” Andreesseh writes. Andreessen founded the pioneering web browserdcompany , which was later sold to . Sincwe then, he and Horowitz launchecd , a tech service provider sold toin 2007. Netscape and Opswarre sold for acombined $11.7 billion. The two have been active investors in the tech spacesince then. They’ve angel invested in 45 tech startupzs in the last five and Andreessen serves as chairman of and on the boards of Facebookand eBay. Word that the pair woulcd be forming their own venture capital firm was broken on the Charlis Rose showin February.
But details came on The pair had initially plannecd onraising $250 million for the but investor interest prompted them to boost the BusinessWeek . The news magazine reports that Reid founder of social networkingsite LinkedIn, is amonv the investors in the fund, which raised most of its mone y from institutional investors. Andreessen-Horowitz launches at a toughn time for the venturecapital industry, one in whicyh some are saying the industry needs to shrink, not grow. Venture like the rest of the financial industry, has been hit hard by the economix downturn. Venture firms make money when theire portfolio companiesgo public, or are sold to largeer companies.
But the IPO market has been anemi c inrecent months, making profitable exits more difficulyt to find. A recenrt argues that the industry needs to trim down toregaij effectiveness. "The venture industry needs to shrink its way to becomingf an economic forceonce again," said Robert E. vice president of Research and Policy at theKauffmamn Foundation. “To provide competitive we expect venture investing will be cut in half incomingt years. At the same lowering valuations and improving overall exit multiples should help resuscitatethe industry.
” The Kauffmah study finds that despite such high-profile succes stories as Google and , venturwe firms have relatively little to do with most new Only about 16 percent of the 900 companieas on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growingg companiesfrom 1997-2007 had venture backing.
Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and his longtime business Ben Horowitz, are forming a new VC firm with a focuz on Silicon Valley tech companies. Andreessen writes that the firm will back companiez with strong technical founders who want to be the CEOs of thecompaniex they’re founding. He wouldn’t rule out companies outsidre Silicon Valley, but, “We do not think it is an accidenft that is inMountain View, Facebooo is in Palo Alto, and Twitted is in San Francisco. We also thinko that venture capital is a high touch activity that lends itself togeographic proximity, and our only office will be in Siliconj Valley,” Andreessen writes on his .
The new firm comes at a time when some are saying the industry needsto shrink, not But Andreessen and Horowitz found $300 milliohn from mostly institutional investorxs for their first fund. The Andreesen-Horowitz, will invest aggressively in seed-stage startups in the hundreds of thusandsof dollars, but will also invest in latert stage funding rounds for promisinf growth companies. Consumer internet, cloud computing for mobile softwareand services, and software-poweredr consumer electronics are among the arease that will draw investments from the new “Across all of these we are completely unafraid of all of the new business models,” Andreessenm writes.
“We believe that many vibrant new forms of information technology are expressiny themselves into markets in entirelynew ways.” And Andreesse was equally emphatic about where his firm wouldn’t be . "Wre are almost certainly not an appropriate investof for any of thefollowing domains: 'clean,' energy, transportation, life sciences (biotech, drug medical devices), nanotech, movie production companies, consumer electric cars, rocket ships, spacee elevators. We do not have the firsrt clue about any ofthese Andreessen-Horowitz will have the capacity to invest anywher e from $50,000 to $50 million in new companies.
He said that at leasgt initially he and Horowitz would be the only two generall partners inthe company, and they would be selective about the portfolio companies whose boardas they join – generally limiting that level of involvementy to firms in which Andreessen-Horowitz have a $5 million or more Andreessen believes his and Horowitz’se records as entrepreneurs will make them idealk venture capitalists. “We have built companies, from to high scale -- thousandes of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars ofannuall revenue. In short, we have done it ourselves.
And we are buildinb our firm to be the firm we wouldc want to work with asentrepreneurs ourselves,” Andreesseh writes. Andreessen founded the pioneering web browserdcompany , which was later sold to . Sincwe then, he and Horowitz launchecd , a tech service provider sold toin 2007. Netscape and Opswarre sold for acombined $11.7 billion. The two have been active investors in the tech spacesince then. They’ve angel invested in 45 tech startupzs in the last five and Andreessen serves as chairman of and on the boards of Facebookand eBay. Word that the pair woulcd be forming their own venture capital firm was broken on the Charlis Rose showin February.
But details came on The pair had initially plannecd onraising $250 million for the but investor interest prompted them to boost the BusinessWeek . The news magazine reports that Reid founder of social networkingsite LinkedIn, is amonv the investors in the fund, which raised most of its mone y from institutional investors. Andreessen-Horowitz launches at a toughn time for the venturecapital industry, one in whicyh some are saying the industry needs to shrink, not grow. Venture like the rest of the financial industry, has been hit hard by the economix downturn. Venture firms make money when theire portfolio companiesgo public, or are sold to largeer companies.
But the IPO market has been anemi c inrecent months, making profitable exits more difficulyt to find. A recenrt argues that the industry needs to trim down toregaij effectiveness. "The venture industry needs to shrink its way to becomingf an economic forceonce again," said Robert E. vice president of Research and Policy at theKauffmamn Foundation. “To provide competitive we expect venture investing will be cut in half incomingt years. At the same lowering valuations and improving overall exit multiples should help resuscitatethe industry.
” The Kauffmah study finds that despite such high-profile succes stories as Google and , venturwe firms have relatively little to do with most new Only about 16 percent of the 900 companieas on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growingg companiesfrom 1997-2007 had venture backing.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Cry, then fly - Sacramento Business Journal:
judonebolayb1394.blogspot.com
So, it's far from a surpriswe that airlines are balking at the cost ofa far-reachingv expansion of the . At least 11 airlinesw -- including , which accounts for abouf half of the passengerlevelds -- have sent letters protesting the price of the $1.3 billioh project to the . The board agreecd to double airport fees over the nextfour years, from the currenrt $6 per passenger to $9 on July 1, and a fee increasd to $13.63 in 2013. The heftief fees, including a rent increase, will help pay down the debt forthe Airlines, which have been facing a bumpy ride sincwe the Sept.
11 terror attacks almost sevenyears ago, say the expansion is too The cash-strapped airlines have every right to be especially because the Sacramento airport will become one of the costliestr in the nation if the highest rate of $13.633 goes into effect. But the airporr has also been a bargain to the airlinew for decades while the community has enduredxthe less-than-friendly Terminal B, a 40-year-old building that has more aches and pains -- and dark sidesw -- than an out-of-work Hollywood actor enduringg a mid-life crisis.
The airlines shoulf dig a little deeper and get on board withthe Let's be honest, airlines might pay the increasexd passenger fee, but it's consumeras who ultimately, at least undeer most circumstances, foot the majority of the bill. For example, do we need to gentlyh remind airlines aboutthe so-calles fuel surcharges that are beinbg added to domestic and internationakl flights because of record-high fuel prices? Granted, airlined are being hammered for jet fuel, but passengerxs are getting nailed with higher-priced too.
Airlines also could argue that some passengers mighgt bypass the Sacramento airporft because of the higher passenger fees in favord of the three Bay Area airports andpossiblu lower-priced flights. But any passenger able to buy a ticket, deal with the check-inb process and remember everything they cannot carry througjh security is likely smart enough to figure that drivingf50 miles-plus to save a few dollarws is a money-losing option.
Sacramento is a tale of two andthe billion-dollar project can definitely make it a much-better Terminal A is bright, easy-to-usee (except when the security line extendxs to the bridge to the parking and feels like a much-larger terminal, definitely a compliment and not a jab. But Termina l B -- complete with its decades-old look and overwhelmed securityarea -- is just bad, boring and The city desperately needs, and deserves, a state-of-the-art Airlines that operate in Termina B would benefit the most from the construction but everyone gains from the effort. The and the county, has few options aftef selling $500 million-plus in bonds a few weeks ago.
Quited simply, that flight has left the runway. the airport could scale back its commitment to the communitt andits plan, probably saving tens of millions of if not even more. Airport executivese and county supervisors were righyt to stand their The region deservesa first-clasds airport, with two modern-day terminals, not an economy-class Airlines have every right to complaijn about the cost; then they should get on boardr or clear the way for other carriers who are willing to serve -- and see the value in -- Sacramento.
So, it's far from a surpriswe that airlines are balking at the cost ofa far-reachingv expansion of the . At least 11 airlinesw -- including , which accounts for abouf half of the passengerlevelds -- have sent letters protesting the price of the $1.3 billioh project to the . The board agreecd to double airport fees over the nextfour years, from the currenrt $6 per passenger to $9 on July 1, and a fee increasd to $13.63 in 2013. The heftief fees, including a rent increase, will help pay down the debt forthe Airlines, which have been facing a bumpy ride sincwe the Sept.
11 terror attacks almost sevenyears ago, say the expansion is too The cash-strapped airlines have every right to be especially because the Sacramento airport will become one of the costliestr in the nation if the highest rate of $13.633 goes into effect. But the airporr has also been a bargain to the airlinew for decades while the community has enduredxthe less-than-friendly Terminal B, a 40-year-old building that has more aches and pains -- and dark sidesw -- than an out-of-work Hollywood actor enduringg a mid-life crisis.
The airlines shoulf dig a little deeper and get on board withthe Let's be honest, airlines might pay the increasexd passenger fee, but it's consumeras who ultimately, at least undeer most circumstances, foot the majority of the bill. For example, do we need to gentlyh remind airlines aboutthe so-calles fuel surcharges that are beinbg added to domestic and internationakl flights because of record-high fuel prices? Granted, airlined are being hammered for jet fuel, but passengerxs are getting nailed with higher-priced too.
Airlines also could argue that some passengers mighgt bypass the Sacramento airporft because of the higher passenger fees in favord of the three Bay Area airports andpossiblu lower-priced flights. But any passenger able to buy a ticket, deal with the check-inb process and remember everything they cannot carry througjh security is likely smart enough to figure that drivingf50 miles-plus to save a few dollarws is a money-losing option.
Sacramento is a tale of two andthe billion-dollar project can definitely make it a much-better Terminal A is bright, easy-to-usee (except when the security line extendxs to the bridge to the parking and feels like a much-larger terminal, definitely a compliment and not a jab. But Termina l B -- complete with its decades-old look and overwhelmed securityarea -- is just bad, boring and The city desperately needs, and deserves, a state-of-the-art Airlines that operate in Termina B would benefit the most from the construction but everyone gains from the effort. The and the county, has few options aftef selling $500 million-plus in bonds a few weeks ago.
Quited simply, that flight has left the runway. the airport could scale back its commitment to the communitt andits plan, probably saving tens of millions of if not even more. Airport executivese and county supervisors were righyt to stand their The region deservesa first-clasds airport, with two modern-day terminals, not an economy-class Airlines have every right to complaijn about the cost; then they should get on boardr or clear the way for other carriers who are willing to serve -- and see the value in -- Sacramento.
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