Commercial real estate market in Richmond is ailing (Times-Dispatch)
The commercial real estate market in the Richmond area is ailing and likely to get worse, much like the rest of the country. Twenty-three properties here — ranging from hotels to mixed-used developments, apartments and shopping centers — are in financial distress. A year ago, only five properties locally were troubled assets.
Kaine’s budget plan includes unpaid day off for state workers (Times-Dispatch)
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine says his latest plan to balance the budget includes an unpaid day off for many state employees. In ordering worker furloughs to save millions of dollars, Kaine is following the lead of other states as well as the private sector.
U.S. 29 corridor: Modest means might limit ambitious plans (Daily Progress)
Albemarle planners are unveiling a final draft of the most extensive transportation and land use master plan the county has ever seen. The Places29 plan spells out a vision for what the U.S. 29 corridor in northern Albemarle could look like in coming decades. And its provisions will affect every commuter, county taxpayer, business owner and pedestrian who spends time in the area’s busiest commercial corridor.
The Skyscraper That Ate a Billion Dollars (Slate)
Editor’s Pick. Boston’s Hancock Tower and the coming commercial real estate crisis.
Movie Studios See a Threat in Growth of Redbox (NY Times)
Great read for small business owners. Redbox’s growth — it started with 12 kiosks in 2004 and now processes about 80 transactions a second on Friday nights — has Hollywood’s blood boiling. Furious about a potential cannibalization of DVD sales and a broader price devaluation of their product, three studios (20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Universal) are refusing to sell DVDs to Redbox until at least 28 days after they arrive in stores.
When Your Insurer Says You’re No Longer Covered (Washington Post)
Rescission — the technical term for canceling coverage on grounds that the company was misled — is often considered among the most offensive practices in an insurance industry that already suffers from a distinct lack of popularity among the American public. Tales of cancellations have fueled outrage among regulators, analysts, doctors and, not least, plaintiffs’ lawyers, who describe insurers as too eager to shed patients to widen profits.
Stimulus Holds Peril for Firms (WSJ)
Quick bursts of government spending have complicated the planning of many small businesses, forcing them to balance short-term project needs with long-term business goals.
