From the Montgomery News (November 23, 2010):
Study shows economic value of open space preservation
By Evan Brandt
"Forget the bluebirds, the bog turtles and the spotted owls. ...
Instead, pick up a report released last week by the GreenSpace Alliance and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and what you’ll find is an in-depth discussion of cash — cold hard cash." ...
For the complete story
For the complete report or a summary
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Medical facilities and land use
The Industrial Asset Management Council released a white paper on property trends in the pharmaceutical industry. Included in the analysis are discussions of the impact of the rise of biotech on property needs and the impact of campus-locked facilities on reuse capabilities. They do a somewhat detailed case study of property conditions and trends in Puerto Rico.
Ultimately, their conclusion is that market conditions "dictate the appropriate solution" to the disposal of excess property. Another shocker.
For the complete paper
Ultimately, their conclusion is that market conditions "dictate the appropriate solution" to the disposal of excess property. Another shocker.
For the complete paper
The RERCSC is here!
For those of you have been holding your breath, the 3rd quarter of The Real Estate and Construction Report from the Real Estate Research Council of Southern California is in.
Guess what? In summary they found that So Cal's home markets "continued to struggle" with prices rising, sales calling, foreclosures down, and new permits up. The conclude that the Southern California market outlook "remains subdued."
Shocked? no, I didn't think so.
For more information on the report, contact Ruth.
Guess what? In summary they found that So Cal's home markets "continued to struggle" with prices rising, sales calling, foreclosures down, and new permits up. The conclude that the Southern California market outlook "remains subdued."
Shocked? no, I didn't think so.
For more information on the report, contact Ruth.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Disney's "Epic"
from the L.A. Times Nov 21, 2010
Disney's new video game reveals a dark side of Mickey Mouse
"The happiest place on Earth has a doppelganger. It's called Wasteland. Its denizens are forgotten, dejected and resentful. But they're not seething with rage. This is after all still a Walt Disney Co. property, even if its moniker is a topsy turvy twist on the Disneyland theme park where no one really dies and fairy princesses always prevail." ...
for the complete story
Disney's new video game reveals a dark side of Mickey Mouse
"The happiest place on Earth has a doppelganger. It's called Wasteland. Its denizens are forgotten, dejected and resentful. But they're not seething with rage. This is after all still a Walt Disney Co. property, even if its moniker is a topsy turvy twist on the Disneyland theme park where no one really dies and fairy princesses always prevail." ...
for the complete story
Street and Smith's Sports on L.A. stadium, soccer demographics, etc
Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal for Nov 15-21 features articles on:
* the latest AEG proposal for a new, downtown L.A. football stadium
* an analysis of demographic shifts in soccer audiences
* Cubs' plan for a football festival in conjunction with Wrigley Field hosting its first college football game in nearly a century
* Edmonton's big plans for new arena development
* USTA approval of redvelopment plans for the U.S. Open facilities
Interested in reading more? Contact Ruth.
* the latest AEG proposal for a new, downtown L.A. football stadium
* an analysis of demographic shifts in soccer audiences
* Cubs' plan for a football festival in conjunction with Wrigley Field hosting its first college football game in nearly a century
* Edmonton's big plans for new arena development
* USTA approval of redvelopment plans for the U.S. Open facilities
Interested in reading more? Contact Ruth.
L.A. Port goes specialty solar
from California Construction Nov 19, 2010
L.A. Port Solar Project Touts Self-Ballasted Racking System
By JT Long
"A new 1-MW rooftop solar installation on the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles relied on a self-ballasted racking system to protect aging structures while offsetting increased electrical demands from an Alternative Maritime Power system that lights up docked cruise ships." ...
for the complete story
L.A. Port Solar Project Touts Self-Ballasted Racking System
By JT Long
"A new 1-MW rooftop solar installation on the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles relied on a self-ballasted racking system to protect aging structures while offsetting increased electrical demands from an Alternative Maritime Power system that lights up docked cruise ships." ...
for the complete story
The Fed on the business cycle
from today's FRBSF Economic Letter (Nov 22, 2010)
Confidence and the Business Cycle
By Sylvain Leduc
"The idea that business cycle fluctuations may stem partly from changes in consumer and business confidence is controversial. One way to test the idea is to use professional economic forecasts to measure confidence at specific points in time and correlate the results with future economic activity. Such an analysis suggests that changes in expectations regarding future economic performance are important drivers of economic fluctuations. Moreover, periods of heightened optimism are followed by a tightening of monetary policy." ...
for the complete piece
Confidence and the Business Cycle
By Sylvain Leduc
"The idea that business cycle fluctuations may stem partly from changes in consumer and business confidence is controversial. One way to test the idea is to use professional economic forecasts to measure confidence at specific points in time and correlate the results with future economic activity. Such an analysis suggests that changes in expectations regarding future economic performance are important drivers of economic fluctuations. Moreover, periods of heightened optimism are followed by a tightening of monetary policy." ...
for the complete piece
Canadian Historical Aircraft Museum Facilities Upgrade
from CBC News Nov 19, 2010:
Windsor's aircraft museum gets upgrade
"The Canadian Historical Aircraft Association is sprucing up its museum hangar at the Windsor airport with $720,000 from the federal government." ...
for the complete story
Windsor's aircraft museum gets upgrade
"The Canadian Historical Aircraft Association is sprucing up its museum hangar at the Windsor airport with $720,000 from the federal government." ...
for the complete story
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
AECOM Econ project in the news! Plastic bags banned in Los Angeles
from today's L.A. Times (Nov 17, 2010)
By Rong-Gong Lin II
L.A. County passes sweeping ban on plastic bags
"The ordinance, which by 2012 will cover 1,000 stores in unincorporated areas, also will require supermarkets and pharmacies to levy a 10-cent surcharge per paper bag. Proponents see it as a model for California.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban plastic grocery bags in areas of the county under its jurisdiction, endorsing a broadly worded measure that proponents hope could become a model for California." ...
Want to hear how Economics analyzed the issue? Contact Christine Safriet.
Want to read the rest of the story ... There's even a video of bags in action!
By Rong-Gong Lin II
L.A. County passes sweeping ban on plastic bags
"The ordinance, which by 2012 will cover 1,000 stores in unincorporated areas, also will require supermarkets and pharmacies to levy a 10-cent surcharge per paper bag. Proponents see it as a model for California.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban plastic grocery bags in areas of the county under its jurisdiction, endorsing a broadly worded measure that proponents hope could become a model for California." ...
Want to hear how Economics analyzed the issue? Contact Christine Safriet.
Want to read the rest of the story ... There's even a video of bags in action!
Your new library home
Say "hi" to the new home of the AECOM Economics library.
After hours of agony we're down to about 25% of our former collection, and the winners in the get-to-stay lottery are ensconsed in their new bookshelves at AECOM Headquarters. [NOTE: No books were harmed during the Period of Agony. What parts of the collection didn't find a home in AECOM Central are available with a slight delay and delivery charge from off-site storage.]
Come back soon for views of the new home of your magazine collection and the Asian Alliance Archive [Lack of space has sent them to another floor (magainzes) and other spaces (Asia).]
After hours of agony we're down to about 25% of our former collection, and the winners in the get-to-stay lottery are ensconsed in their new bookshelves at AECOM Headquarters. [NOTE: No books were harmed during the Period of Agony. What parts of the collection didn't find a home in AECOM Central are available with a slight delay and delivery charge from off-site storage.]
Come back soon for views of the new home of your magazine collection and the Asian Alliance Archive [Lack of space has sent them to another floor (magainzes) and other spaces (Asia).]
Hampton Roads transit plan
from the Virginia-Pilot (Nov 16, 2010)
Hampton Roads transit plan envisions ferries, rail, buses
By Debbie Messina
"A tunnel dedicated exclusively to light rail and a network of fast ferries are recommended to link South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula in a draft plan for expanding public transit in Hampton Roads.
Other ideas include streetcars, bus rapid transit and commuter rail.
Work is wrapping up on the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Vision Plan, a state-sponsored study that explores ways to improve mobility and connect communities by means other than automobiles." ...
For the complete story
Hampton Roads transit plan envisions ferries, rail, buses
By Debbie Messina
"A tunnel dedicated exclusively to light rail and a network of fast ferries are recommended to link South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula in a draft plan for expanding public transit in Hampton Roads.
Other ideas include streetcars, bus rapid transit and commuter rail.
Work is wrapping up on the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Vision Plan, a state-sponsored study that explores ways to improve mobility and connect communities by means other than automobiles." ...
For the complete story
Smithsonian admission fees on the horizon?
from the NY Times Art Beat blog (Nov 12, 2010)
Proposal Recommends Charging Admission at the Smithsonian
By KATE TAYLOR
"In New York, a visit to the Museum of Modern Art will set you back $20, but down in Washington, the Smithsonian Institution, which is 70 percent federally funded, has long been free. That would change under a proposal by the national commission charged with reducing the deficit. In a draft report Wednesday, it recommended that the Smithsonian’s federal appropriation be cut by $225 million, or roughly 30 percent, and that the institution make up the loss by charging a $7.50 admission fee." ...
for the complete story
Proposal Recommends Charging Admission at the Smithsonian
By KATE TAYLOR
"In New York, a visit to the Museum of Modern Art will set you back $20, but down in Washington, the Smithsonian Institution, which is 70 percent federally funded, has long been free. That would change under a proposal by the national commission charged with reducing the deficit. In a draft report Wednesday, it recommended that the Smithsonian’s federal appropriation be cut by $225 million, or roughly 30 percent, and that the institution make up the loss by charging a $7.50 admission fee." ...
for the complete story
Impacts of museum admissions fees
from the Philadelphia Inquirer (Nov 14, 2010)
The costs of charging admission
This is the second mall institution to make visitors pay. Will it deter families? Officials think not.
By Stephan Salisbury
"It might usher in an era of rich expansion.
Or it might set loose a Pandora's Box of problems.
The fact is, the opening of the expanded National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall is helping to establish something to which Philadelphia will have to adjust: Admissions charges for major museums in the historic district." ...
"Already the National Constitution Center, which opened in 2003, squats on the northernmost block of Independence Mall. Adult visitors shell out $12 to get in; for special exhibitions, they must pay more - $20 for the recent "Ancient Rome and America," which closed Aug. 1.
The Jewish history museum, a block and a half south of the Constitution Center, is also charging a regular adult admission of $12." ...
For the complete story
The costs of charging admission
This is the second mall institution to make visitors pay. Will it deter families? Officials think not.
By Stephan Salisbury
"It might usher in an era of rich expansion.
Or it might set loose a Pandora's Box of problems.
The fact is, the opening of the expanded National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall is helping to establish something to which Philadelphia will have to adjust: Admissions charges for major museums in the historic district." ...
"Already the National Constitution Center, which opened in 2003, squats on the northernmost block of Independence Mall. Adult visitors shell out $12 to get in; for special exhibitions, they must pay more - $20 for the recent "Ancient Rome and America," which closed Aug. 1.
The Jewish history museum, a block and a half south of the Constitution Center, is also charging a regular adult admission of $12." ...
For the complete story
Fed Quiz
The Boston branch of the Federal Reserve offers up economics quizes this time on the history of money. Give it a try -- It may not be a pub, but if you pretend to quaf something foamy and stagger a bit when you get out of your desk chair maybe you'll feel the ambiance --
The History of Money Quiz
The History of Money Quiz
STR announces Asia hotel pipeline highlights
from STR's Hotel News Now (Nov 17, 2010)
STR Global: Asia/Pacific pipeline for Oct. 2010
17 November 2010 8:54 AM
"LONDON—The Asia/Pacific hotel development pipeline comprises 1,084 hotels totalling 265,251 rooms, according to the October 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released this week.
Among the markets in the region, New Delhi, India, ended the month with 7,558 rooms in the total active pipeline, reporting the largest expected growth if all active rooms open. New Delhi’s existing room supply is 19,034 rooms."...
for the complete
story
STR Global: Asia/Pacific pipeline for Oct. 2010
17 November 2010 8:54 AM
"LONDON—The Asia/Pacific hotel development pipeline comprises 1,084 hotels totalling 265,251 rooms, according to the October 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released this week.
Among the markets in the region, New Delhi, India, ended the month with 7,558 rooms in the total active pipeline, reporting the largest expected growth if all active rooms open. New Delhi’s existing room supply is 19,034 rooms."...
for the complete
story
Energy Parks
from Site Selection (10/20)
How Energy Parks Can Energize
Economic Development
by SCOTT CARLBERG
Energy Parks are a smart and sustainable asset for areas with surplus industrial property. A Charlotte park under development is leading by example.
"Economic developers are well aware of the value of industrial parks. The same concept can be borrowed to address another important facet of economic development: The growing need for electricity, which could jump by a third by 2030 according to some studies.
The concept is ‘energy parks.’..."
for the full story
How Energy Parks Can Energize
Economic Development
by SCOTT CARLBERG
Energy Parks are a smart and sustainable asset for areas with surplus industrial property. A Charlotte park under development is leading by example.
"Economic developers are well aware of the value of industrial parks. The same concept can be borrowed to address another important facet of economic development: The growing need for electricity, which could jump by a third by 2030 according to some studies.
The concept is ‘energy parks.’..."
for the full story
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