| The Middle East's ultra-luxury hotels
Business and leisure travel to the region has climbed 18 percent a year since 2005 , according to Deloitte's annual Hotel Benchmark Survey, released this week, and is expected to grow another 6 percent this year, to 41 million visitors. This has fueled renewed interest in the palace-style hotels that once pampered kings and aristocrats more than a century ago. As a result, exquisite restorations of such ancient structures, including cave dwellings and Bedouin camps (some dating to the 1st century) coupled with modern luxuries such as air conditioning and Bulgari toiletries are now available to luxury travelers across the Middle East, from Bethlehem to the Turkish hinterlands. And new hotels are going up "at breakneck speed," says Lorna Clarke, director of the survey. .
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.
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.
Northern Lights' engines power fishing boats, yachts
The most important attribute of a boat is its ability to keep the water on the opposite side of the hull from its occupants. Achieving that is the job of the designers and builders. But once that's accomplished, perhaps you might like a way to move the boat. Or have some electricity for radios, navigation systems, lights, even air conditioning. That's the job of Northern Lights. Northern Lights may be a small company -- just 70 employees in five buildings tucked along the north side of the Ship Canal just east of the Ballard Bridge. Being a privately held company in a niche market doesn't make for a high profile. But within that niche, Northern Lights is huge, known throughout the global yacht-building business as the company to turn to for the modified diesel engines that power a boat's electrical systems.
The Shrink Rap
Upside: Air-conditioning 24/seven and the fact that the job requires absolutely no thinking or effort.
Downside: No time to sit down and the fact that the job requires absolutely no thinking or effort.
Wages: $6-$10 per hour.
Minimum age: 14 (for baggers), 16 (for everyone else).
How do I get this job? Start nagging your local supermarkets and drug stores … in March.
Hook-up factor: Low. There are two problems: a) Writing your phone number on grocery-store receipts is a bit too cheesy for most to pull off; and b) if you're a bagger, the only people you'd have time to flirt with are the people who are buying lots of groceries, i.e., moms (and dads!) with minivans and toddlers. Job: Busboy, waiter, or hostess at a mid-priced restaurant.
They say you learn how to: Interact with people, read a wine list, serve food.
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.
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