| Court orders ex-owner of Tougher Industries to pay business partners
ALBANY The former owner of Tougher Industries has lost the first of several federal court cases related to the near demise of the heating and air conditioning company. In Albany on Monday, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Lawrence Kahn ordered Steven Shaw to pay $100,000 plus interest to the three business partners from whom he bought Tougher in 2005. The judge also directed Shaw to deliver at least $1.65 million to a surety as collateral for certain bonding obligations. In November 2006 — about three weeks after Tougher filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albany — Richard Abramo, Robert Brown and John Tomassetti sued Shaw over breach of contract allegations. Shaw and the trio of investors acquired the downtown Albany HVAC company — once one of the largest in the Northeast, with more than 200 employees — from PSEG Energy Technologies in 2003.
Copper thefts continue in Valley
On the rooftop of a strip mall near Hollenbeck Street and the 10 Freeway, burglars stripped six air conditioners of their copper coils in recent weeks. Then they returned to pull apart three more air conditioning units. Although the thieves may have made about $900 for two nights' work, businesses like World Gym, Dental Fun Zone and several others were left sweltering - and facing an estimated $100,000 in damage, said one expert called in by the West Covina police. "We have a rash of copper thefts - and not just in our city," said Cpl. Rudy Lopez. Thefts of copper, aluminum and other metals have increased in recent years as the materials' value has soared, but their worth to the burglars is still far less than the damage done to the victims, authorities said. The nighttime game lights are dead at Little League fields in Montclair and Hacienda Heights because of copper stolen in the past two weeks.
Montana files suit against former state accountant
The state of Montana filed a civil lawsuit against a former state accountant and her husband's maintenance business Wednesday, seeking to recover more than $739,000 the state alleged was paid to the company for work that was not performed.We are finally beginning the process of recovering every single dollar that's been stolen from Montana taxpayers,'' said Sheryl Olson, deputy director of the Department of Administration. We filed this case to help us turn over every stone to help us recover all that money, plus interest.''The state alleges Susan Campbell, a former accountant in the Facilities Management Bureau, occasionally issued or caused others to issue duplicate payments to Jack's Technical Assistance Inc., owned by Jack Campbell.JTA had yearly contracts to maintain heating, ventilation and air conditioning at the Capitol complex beginning in 2000 and ending in October 2006.
Zone Community Center want to raise about $45,000
Organizers of the Zone Community Center want to raise about $45,000, $10 at a time, to complete construction of a facility at the corner of Ann and Walnut streets in the village of Richfield Springs. The 3,200 square-foot building is framed and sided, but it needs plumbing, heating, air conditioning and interior work. "We've got about 60 percent of the building done, and we'd like to have it completed by late spring,'' Larry Kroon, president of the Richfield Springs Youth Ministry, said Tuesday. The ministry operates the Zone Youth Center, a supervised place for teenagers to gather on Friday and Saturday nights. In 1999, the Zone opened in the basement of the Church of Christ Uniting but soon outgrew the space. It relocated to 140 Main St., a building owned by local businessman Jay Bernhardt.
Complainers trying to halt new opportunity
Opportunities come and opportunities go. For years it seemed that more of the opportunities that came to Yuma turned right around and left because something or someone in the mix of it all made it an impossibility for these opportunities to even put a shovel in the ground. Yet the people complained that there was nothing to do in Yuma. They complained they had to go out of town to get what they needed. Then came the Yuma Palms mall. Alas, our problems were solved. We had a choice to shop locally or ... go out of town. Perfect. Yet the people complained. "It's not an indoor mall." "It's too far to walk between stores." "El Centro mall has air conditioning." And the city took the heat for essentially encouraging new business in this growth opportunity. By the amount of traffic at Yuma Palms, it does not appear that people are staying away.
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