By Alex Sherman - Thu Feb 23 21:18:53 GMT 2012

Dish Network Corp. (DISH), the second- largest U.S. satellite-television provider, reported fourth- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as the company gained video subscribers.

Profit rose to 70 cents a share from 56 cents a year earlier, the Englewood, Colorado-based company said today in a statement. Analysts projected 61 cents, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Dish, which trails DirecTV (DTV) in the satellite-TV market, added 22,000 customers in the quarter, more than the 8,000 average of 10 estimates. Dish’s subscriber additions were more encouraging than DirecTV’s results, Craig Moffett, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst in New York, said in a note to clients. DirecTV gained 125,000 last quarter, fewer than the 162,000 average estimate.

“What is clear from the latest results is that Dish Network will no longer be a walkover for DirecTV,” said Moffett, who rates Dish shares “market perform.”

Dish advanced 1.6 percent to $29.62 at the close in New York. The shares have jumped 29 percent in the past 12 months.

Net income increased 24 percent to $313 million from $252 million a year earlier. Sales rose 13 percent to $3.63 billion, compared with the $3.62 billion average analyst estimate.

Chairman Charlie Ergen today reiterated his commitment to becoming a wireless company to move beyond Dish’s basic TV product. Dish is prepared to build a network alone or work with a partner to give customers mobile capabilities, Ergen said on a conference call.

The company is waiting on Federal Communications Commission approval to use the wireless spectrum it gained in takeovers of DBSD North America Inc. and TerreStar Networks Inc. last year. If the FCC denies Dish’s waiver, “all options would be on the table for how we move forward with the company and the spectrum,” Ergen said. Dish is the “best hope” for U.S. wireless competition, he said.

Dish expects to hear from the FCC in the coming weeks, Chief Executive Officer Joseph Clayton said on the call.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Sherman in New York at asherman6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net

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Dish Network Tops Analyst Profit Estimates After Gaining Video Subscribers

Alexander Window Company, a window replacement and repair company, has extended its special winter pricing for installations.

Burlingame, CA (PRWEB) February 24, 2012

Bay Area window repair company, Alexander Window Company a window and door replacement specialists serving the San Francisco Bay Area and the Peninsula, has extended its special winter sale on installations through March 1. In this economy, save extra cash by going to Alexander Window Company for Simonton windows at discounted prices, plus a special price on the installation. One of Alexander Window’s skilled craftsmen completes each installation and every Simonton’s product comes with a transferrable, lifetime warranty.

Simonton Windows is a market leader that continues to advance the designs of their windows and doors, while developing new products that meet today’s unique economic, environmental and energy-related demands.

“We had Alexander Company install a vinyl sliding patio door and the adjacent windows, and they did a fantastic job. The quote was scheduled quickly and was slightly under the price of the other estimate. The work was also scheduled quickly. The workmen arrived on time, cleaned up, and the patio door looks great. Overall, the company was very professional, and the result is excellent,” Tim S. of Burlingame said on Yelp.com

For more information about the winter sale or any of Alexander Window Company’s products or services, call 650-373-3900 or view the company on the web at http://www.alexanderco.com. Alexander Window Company is located at 1322 Marsten Road in Burlingame.

About Alexander Window Company

Since 1971, Alexander Window Company has provided residents and businesses of the Peninsula and all of the San Francisco Bay Area with the very best in home windows and doors. As a family owned and operated business, Alexander Window Company offers window replacement services, window repairs, window installations, door installations and door replacements. Alexander Window Company carries products from the top window manufacturers in the country, including Anderson Windows and Doors, LBL Windows, Marvin Windows and Doors, Fleetwood, Milgard Windows, Simonton Windows, Pittsburgh-Corning Glass Block, Tru-Frame Garden Windows and Velux Skylights.

###

Jeff Alexander
Alexander Company
(650) 288-0297
Email Information

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San Francisco Bay Area Window Repair Specialist, Alexander Window Company, Extends Winter Sale

THE COMFORT of jail inmates is not likely to top the concerns of most people, but popular or not, housing people in humane conditions is not only moral, it's the law.

Passaic County Jail.

If Passaic County officials were unaware of that in the past, they should be uncertain no more. The county just settled a federal suit that requires it to institute a series of sensible reforms at its aging and crowded jail in Paterson. The litigation, which was led by the American Civil Liberties Union and Seton Hall University's Center for Social Justice, was filed four years ago on behalf of eight inmates who complained about such things as rodent droppings in their food and beatings by officers when out of sight of security cameras.

The proposed settlement, which will be reviewed by a judge next month, obligates the county to install new fire alarm and ventilation systems, provide more space between toilets and beds, increase the medical staff and work to ease overcrowding. Some of the requirements already have been met. For example, jail population this week was 1,048, down from a high of about 1,700 five years ago. Sprinkler systems are being installed, and an upgraded air conditioning and heating system is being constructed. The work has cost $8 million so far and is expected to cost $5 million more.

That's an expensive investment, but once all the requirements are implemented, the jail will be a better place for both inmates and corrections officers. Keeping a jail as hospitable as possible helps avoid unrest. Settling litigation that has hung over the jail for four years closes a chapter for government officials in Passaic County.

But let's keep the book open.

There was a fledgling plan last summer to shut the jail and to house Passaic County inmates in newer and larger lockups in Bergen and possibly Essex counties. The deal could have saved Passaic County as much as $20 million in addition to providing Paterson with a chance to redevelop the jail site as a tax-producing project.

After some initial encouragement, the Passaic freeholders killed the idea in the face of opposition from jail employees and their union representatives. So quick was the about-face that the freeholders wouldn't even agree to formally study the proposal, a stance that rightly disappointed officials in Bergen and Essex. That impulsive and far-too-hasty decision was hardly government at its best.

Notwithstanding the financial commitment the county is now making to upgrade the Passaic jail, we remain convinced that it's prudent for officials to thoroughly investigate a shared arrangement with neighboring Bergen County. Even with new smoke detectors and a modern heating and cooling system, the Passaic County Jail is about 60 years old, and overcrowding can be a recurring problem.

Settling the suit buys Passaic County some time – time the freeholders should use to seriously explore how much money can be saved by housing county inmates in a neighboring county. We understand this is a complicated issue with many moving parts. It is worthy of study.

Continue reading here:
The Record: Jail reprieve

THE COMFORT of jail inmates is not likely to top the concerns of most people, but popular or not, housing people in humane conditions is not only moral, it's the law.

If Passaic County officials were unaware of that in the past, they should be uncertain no more. The county just settled a federal suit that requires it to institute a series of sensible reforms at its aging and crowded jail in Paterson. The litigation, which was led by the American Civil Liberties Union and Seton Hall University's Center for Social Justice, was filed four years ago on behalf of eight inmates who complained about such things as rodent droppings in their food and beatings by officers when out of sight of security cameras.

The proposed settlement, which will be reviewed by a judge next month, obligates the county to install new fire alarm and ventilation systems, provide more space between toilets and beds, increase the medical staff and work to ease overcrowding. Some of the requirements already have been met. For example, jail population this week was 1,048, down from a high of about 1,700 five years ago. Sprinkler systems are being installed and an upgraded air conditioning and heating system is being constructed. The work has cost $8 million so far and is expected to cost $5 million more.

That's an expensive investment, but once all the requirements are implemented, the jail will be a better place for both inmates and corrections officers. Keeping a jail as hospitable as possible helps avoid unrest. Settling litigation that has hung over the jail for four years closes a chapter for government officials in Passaic County.

But let's keep the book open.

There was a fledgling plan last summer to shut the jail and to house Passaic County inmates in newer and larger lockups in Bergen and possibly Essex counties. The deal could have saved Passaic County as much as $20 million in addition to providing Paterson with a chance to redevelop the jail site as a tax-producing project.

After some initial encouragement, the Passaic freeholders killed the idea in the face of opposition from jail employees and their union representatives. So quick was the about-face that the freeholders wouldn't even agree to formally study the proposal, a stance that rightly disappointed officials in Bergen and Essex. That impulsive and far too hasty decision was hardly government at its best.

Notwithstanding the financial commitment the county is now making to upgrade the Passaic jail, we remain convinced that it's prudent for officials to thoroughly investigate a shared arrangement with neighboring Bergen County.

Even with new smoke detectors and a modern heating and cooling system, the Passaic County Jail is about 60 years old and overcrowding can be a recurring problem.

Settling the suit bides Passaic County some time, time the freeholders should use to seriously explore how much money can be saved by housing county inmates in a neighboring county.

We understand this is a complicated issue with many moving parts. It is worthy of study.

View original post here:
Herald News: Time to revisit jail consolidation

February 23, 2012 Updated Feb 23, 2012 at 6:31 PM EST

MARKLE, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) - Who doesn't want to save a few bucks these days? Heating and cooling your home can be very expensive, but there are a few things people can do to cut down on energy costs.

Energizing Indiana is an organization formed through the collaborative efforts of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, various consumer groups, and several utility companies.

Today one of their crews toured a Markle home. The inspectors looked at the heating, air conditioning, ventilation, appliances, insulation, light bulbs, and much more. The home owners were given suggestions along the way and offered a full report at the end.

Home assessments are offered free of charge. In addition, Energizing Indiana will install new, low-flow sink and shower heads at no additional cost. Incandescent light bulbs are also replaced with florescent light bulbs.

After identifying what can be done to improve the energy efficiency of a home, Energizing Indiana will often work with the home owner to find affordable improvement options.

"You're putting that investment into your home," says Energizing Indiana Director Bob Nuss. "It's something that is going to continue to provide savings long after it's paid back. Most of the measures that you're going to see here are going to be paid back in a year to three years. After that, it's money in your pocket."

Making some energy upgrades can also improve a home's air quality and elevate its value.

To find out more about Energizing Indiana's residential, industrial, and school programs, visit http://energizingindiana.com/programs/

What are your thoughts CLICK HERE to leave us a "Your2Cents” comment.

© Copyright 2012 A Granite Broadcasting Station. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Originally posted here:
Invest a Little, Save a Lot

04/06/2001 - Plans to build a four-story office building next to the Viking Lodge and Restaurant at 10709 Watson Road are in the works.

The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen, at its meeting of 27, unanimously voted during a first reading to rezone from E Commercial District to PD-2 Planned Development District for 6.42 acres at the northwest corner of Watson Road and Lindbergh Boulevard.

The second and final reading is expected at the board's April 10 meeting.

By rezoning the property, developers of the office building will share parking space with The Viking Lodge and Restaurant. Lower level parking at the new office building will total about 105 spaces, said Daniel Steuber, construction manager for the project. Steuber is executive vice president at A.J. Brown, Inc. in Creve Coeur.

Steuber said the office building would need 451 parking spaces in all. The Viking Lodge needs 352 parking spaces, Steuber said.

"The shared parking should work," Steuber told the board.

Roger Kroutz, who owns The Viking Lodge and Restaurant, is one of the developers of the 74,000 square foot office building, Steuber said.

Steuber told the board that the office will have hours from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Steuber said the project would begin in June and it would take nine months to complete.

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Office Building Planned Next To Viking Lodge In Sunset Hills

GVMC is ready to act against the construction of an apartment complex at Sector II of MVP Colony if VUDA de-registered the status given as house-site, Municipal Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu has said.

The open site has been registered as layout in the revised master plan and registration done. Based on VUDA's registration, the GVMC had given building plan approval.

If the site was converted as an open site and handed over to GVMC it would take further action on the construction now going on, he told reporters who met him on Wednesday.

Following a letter written by the VUDA Vice-Chairman, work on the apartment complex was stopped and water supply cut, he said.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that VUDA Vice-Chairman Kona Sasidhar had left for Hyderabad after a report on the issue was readied for submission to the government.

Union election

Municipal Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu has categorically stated that GVMC union election proposed to be held on February 29 should be put off to April. Administrative reasons including the term of the elected body coming to an end are among the factors he cited. He warned against any campaigning on the GVMC premises.

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GVMC ready to act against apartment complex

MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS
Pending and recently approved multi-family residential projects in Broomfield:

Project -- Location -- # of Units

Alta Harvest Station -- Allison Street/Harvest subdivision -- 297

AMLI (Interlocken) -- 25 International Court -- 343

Arista (Parcel N) -- 11465 Uptown Ave. -- 272

Broomfield Business Center -- 13700 Via Varra -- 374

Camden Flatirons (Interlocken) -- 120 Edgeview Drive -- 424

Wasatch -- 12060 Perry St. -- 302

Northlands -- 423 and 495 Colo. 7 and 17200 N. Huron St.-- 325

Arista (Parcel X) -- 11302 Central Court --166

Source: City and County of Broomfield

Low vacancy rates, access to major transportation corridors and a steady job market are helping make Broomfield a hot spot for new apartment development in the metro area. For evidence of this fact, look no further than the more than 2,500 apartment units developers are seeking to build in the city as of this month.

There are eight multi-unit projects in various stages of planning and development in Broomfield, most centered on the U.S 36 corridor, according to the Community Development Department. All told, those projects -- which vary from being under construction to just entering the city's development review process -- could add 2,503 apartments to Broomfield's rental housing market.

"I would have to say it is the largest amount of multi-family (activity) we have seen in a relatively concentrated period of time," Deputy City and County Manager Kevin Standbridge said this week of all of the commotion surrounding apartments in Broomfield. "You're seeing it predominately in areas that will be served by transit in the future or near major employers, which are both great things in our view."

Of the eight apartment projects proposed for Broomfield, two have received full approval from city officials and are under construction. The first is the Arista Uptown Apartments, a 272-unit project being built by Smith/Jones Partners, LCC near the corner of Arista Place and Uptown Avenue south of U.S. 36 in Arista. The second is the AMLI Interlocken development, which plans to add 343 units developed by AMLI Residential Construction, LLC on 12.2 acres southwest of the intersection of Interlocken and Eldorado boulevards.

AMLI Residential, headquartered in Chicago, specializes in luxury condos and apartments and operates in 121 markets across the United States, said Andy Mutz, the company's vice president of development. Of its six established communities in the Denver area, two are in Broomfield, including the recently acquired Summit at Flatirons apartments, now AMLI at Flatirons, Mutz said. The developer likes the U.S. 36 corridor, and specifically Broomfield, Mutz said, for the steady job market in the area.

"Job growth is kind of lagging in this recovery, so in all of our markets we a trying to target the specific markets with the greatest opportunity for growth," Mutz said. "In Denver we really think it's the U.S. 36 corridor. We really like the industries that are locating there; the clean energy industries."

Over the past decade, Standbridge said he feels the city has done a good job of balancing new residential development between single-family homes and multi-unit development, but city staff and other observers know low vacancy rates are helping fuel the city's multi-unit feeding frenzy.

In the fourth financial quarter of 2011, the metro area's apartment vacancy rate fell to 5.2 percent, the lowest fourth-quarter figure since 2000, according to a report by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and the Colorado Division of Housing. The same reports list the fourth quarter vacancy rates for the Broomfield/Boulder area at just 4.4 percent.

"It would seem that demand for rentals right now would fit the demand for professionals in that part of the (metro area)," Colorado Division of Housing economist Ryan McMaken said of the tight vacancies in Broomfield and Boulder. "We know there is a lot of job growth in that part of town and a lot of innovation."

While it might not look it from an insider's perspective, McMaken said the U.S. 36 corridor and the Fort Collins area are among the strongest job markets in the United States right now, leading to more migration and higher demand for rental housing. Another factor McMaken said is likely fueling demand is a growing trend of young professionals staying in rental housing longer than the last decade, when they might have bought homes, coupled with little to no growth in area residents' average incomes.

The high demand coupled with the wait as developers eye adding to the rental housing supply has spurred another growing statistic in the Broomfield area, McMaken said -- rental cost growth. Median rent in the Broomfield/Boulder area was $993, according to the rental vacancy report from the fourth quarter of 2011. That's a 3.7 percent increase from the $958 median rent in the fourth quarter of 2010. In the last two quarters of 2011, McMaken said average rents in Broomfield jumped from $946 to $981, a 3.6 percent increase -- outpacing the approximately 3 percent average rent growth being experienced across the western United States. In a report posted to the Colorado Division of Housing Web site on Feb. 14, McMaken highlighted that construction permit requests for multi-family development in Colorado jumped by 89 percent in 2011 vs. 2010, but even increased production might not slow rent growth for some time.

"Demand will continue to outpace supply for some time, and it doesn't look like (contractors) are over-building at this time," McMaken said. "Even with a lot of production over the last couple years, if we see another new wave of new households forming in Colorado, we might see more rent growth."

Affordable hosing has been an ongoing concern for Broomfield City Council, but none of the eight multi-unit developments seeking to build in Broomfield would featured subsidized rents, with rates being set by the housing market, Standbridge said. Both the Arista Uptown and AMLI Interlocken projects are focused on building luxury apartments, with rents likely to range from $800 to $1,250 for a one- or two-bedroom apartment in the Arista development and perhaps even higher in the AMLI project.

"I don't think it's a concern that we're adding market-based units," Standbridge said. "But we would like to see more affordable units, and certainly we'll be working toward those."

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Broomfield seeing apartment boom

MOUNT VERNON — Residents are fighting a proposed 18-unit apartment building they fear will strain sewers, wipe out parking and displace wildlife near their Oakwood Heights homes.

Bayview Real Estate Consultants Inc. has proposed building a four-story residential structure on what is now a 20-foot-deep, densely wooded ravine between Lorraine Avenue and Lorraine Terrace.

The developer seeks eight variances from the city Zoning Board of Appeals for the project, to allow construction of the four-story, multi-family dwelling in a three-story, single-family zone.

If approved, the project would require crews to clear-cut the area?s vegetation and lay tons of fill at the half-acre site to level out the steep topography for construction.

The project would ?obliterate the character of the neighborhood, overload an aged and crumbling sewer system? and ?lay waste to a micro-ecosystem? that is a habitat to woodpeckers, deer and other wildlife, a consortium of neighborhood groups wrote in a news release this week.

Opponents spoke out against the plan at a Tuesday zoning board meeting and are circulating a petition that already has hundreds of signatures.

The previous owner?s 2001 proposal to build a seven-home subdivision at the site never got off the ground.

Bayview acquired the land in 2006 and initially planned to build just three single-family homes at the site, using leftover fill from another construction project. But the developer shelved those plans after learning the fill was contaminated, then put the project on hold longer after the real-estate market tanked. Given the cost of fill, the developer now thinks an 18-unit building is the only development that would ?yield a positive return,? said its lawyer, Hannah Gross.

Link:
Plan to build Mount Vernon apartments fuels fight over 'character of the neighborhood'

MOUNT VERNON — Residents are fighting a proposed 18-unit apartment building they fear will strain sewers, wipe out parking and displace wildlife near their Oakwood Heights homes.

Bayview Real Estate Consultants Inc. has proposed building a four-story residential structure on what is now a 20-foot-deep, densely wooded ravine between Lorraine Avenue and Lorraine Terrace.

The developer seeks eight variances from the city Zoning Board of Appeals for the project, to allow construction of the four-story, multi-family dwelling in a three-story, single-family zone.

If approved, the project would require crews to clear-cut the area?s vegetation and lay tons of fill at the half-acre site to level out the steep topography for construction.

The project would ?obliterate the character of the neighborhood, overload an aged and crumbling sewer system? and ?lay waste to a micro-ecosystem? that is a habitat to woodpeckers, deer and other wildlife, a consortium of neighborhood groups wrote in a news release this week.

Opponents spoke out against the plan at a Tuesday zoning board meeting and are circulating a petition that already has hundreds of signatures.

The previous owner?s 2001 proposal to build a seven-home subdivision at the site never got off the ground.

Bayview acquired the land in 2006 and initially planned to build just three single-family homes at the site, using leftover fill from another construction project. But the developer shelved those plans after learning the fill was contaminated, then put the project on hold longer after the real-estate market tanked. Given the cost of fill, the developer now thinks an 18-unit building is the only development that would ?yield a positive return,? said its lawyer, Hannah Gross.

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Plan to build Mount Vernon apartments fuels fight over neighborhood 'character'