CSBJ Daily

The Associated Press

While overall national home prices and sales are down, there are pockets in the U.S. doing well.

Among them are military towns dominated by big bases, helped by steady wartime employment and by more moderate increases in values and less reckless lending than many boom areas saw during the bubble.

That’s good news for Colorado Springs, which is awaiting an influx of soldiers.

The Associated Press reviewed housing data in four states with big military bases and found nearby communities fared better than national averages. Some towns have even seen average home prices rise, bolstered by increased recruitment and steady defense-related employment during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even where prices are down, the bases still help provide plenty of people looking to buy. In the Florida Panhandle, where a saturated housing market saw sluggish sales last year, soldiers at Eglin Air Force Base said the downturn has made it easier for them to purchase homes in an area where demand is bolstered by Gulf Coast beaches.

The AP looked at sales figures from selected smaller communities near large bases in the Southeast, which has a major military presence, and in North Dakota, away from the balmier climates that might attract new residents.

The Colorado Springs City Council authorized the use of eminent domain to purchase 2 acres from the Woodmen Valley Shopping Center because they say the land is needed to build a Woodmen Road overpass over Academy Boulevard that’s been planned for at least a decade.

Prior to yesterday’s decision, property owner Allen Fox neglected to sell because he feared the new interchange would limit access and harm business at the shopping center.

The eminent domain ruling mean that Fox must sell the land to the city or the city will seize the land, paying what’s estimated to be fair market value.

Do you think this is a justified use of eminent domain powers? Are eminent domain powers ever justified?

The Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, added the stick – the wooden type shed from trees in backyards and parks around the world – to its esteemed collection of toys today.

What? The stick is not a toy, you say. Tell that to the hall of fame commissioners who in 2005 added the cardboard box to its collection.

“There aren’t any rules or instructions for its use,” said collections curator Christopher Bensch “It can be a Wild West horse, a medieval knight’s sword, a boat on a stream or a slingshot.”

Bensch also noted that the stick is not only popular among human children, pointing out that dogs, chimps and otters also like them.

The skateboard and the Baby Doll were also inducted along with the stick.

As a sagging economy is forcing many families to cut back on holiday spending, the stick might just be the most popular holiday toy this year.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Against the backdrop of the economic meltdown, a movement is building within the ranks of America’s social workers to make their profession more adept at helping clients overcome financial woes.

Since they emerged on the scene in the late 19th century, social workers traditionally have sought to improve the lot of the poor.

But in the contemporary era of rampant foreclosures, credit card debt, and ever-evolving scams that prey on the economically vulnerable, few social work schools offer specialized financial training to their students, leaving them collectively unprepared.

Change is under way, however.

 – The University of Maryland’s School of Social Work recently embraced the concept of “financial social work,” offering workshops and mini-courses for students and people already working in the field.

 – In St. Louis, social work professors have organized a “think tank” to brainstorm on how social work schools can better prepare their students to assist clients with financial decisions.

 – In Ashville, N.C., social worker Reeta Wolfsohn is offering an online certificate course in financial social work that has extended into 20 states.

Colorado Springs was the first market to see Compass Bank rebranded with new signs reading “BBVA Compass.”

BBVA received federal approval to integrate its four United States subsidiaries into one financial institution. BBVA is a financial services group with more than $700 billion in assets, 42 million clients, 7,900 branches and 111,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

Because of the merger, BBVA Compass will rank among the top 25 banks in the nation. The bank now has assets of $58.6 billion and operates 593 branches across the country, including 33 branches in Colorado.

The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. – Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday heading into the busy holiday season as analysts question whether the nation’s second-biggest electronics retailer will be able to survive.

The company said it decided to file for bankruptcy protection because it was facing pressure from vendors who threatened to withhold products during the holiday period. The company also said it cut 700 more jobs at its headquarters, after announcing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.

Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 protection, which will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a reorganization plan. Its Canadian operations also filed for similar protection.

Doing so “should provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our balance sheet, create a more efficient expense structure and ultimately position the company to compete more effectively,” James A. Marcum, vice chairman and acting president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Shares in Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City fell 14 cents, or about 56 percent, to 11 cents on Monday before being halted.

In court documents, CEO Bruce H. Besanko said three factors led to the bankruptcy filing: erosion of vendor confidence, decreased liquidity and the global economic crisis.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The nation’s unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, far worse than economists expected and stark proof the economy is deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace.

The new snapshot, released today by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market quickly eroding. The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994.

Unemployment has now surpassed the high seen after the last recession in 2001. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003.

October’s decline marked the 10th straight month of payroll reductions, and government revisions showed that job losses in August and September turned out to be much deeper. Employers cut 127,000 positions in August, compared with 73,000 previously reported. A whopping 284,000 jobs were axed in September, compared with the 159,000 jobs first reported.

So far this year, a staggering 1.2 million jobs have disappeared. Over half of the decrease occurred in the past three months alone.

Employers now have more great reasons than just stunning views of Pikes Peak for moving their business to El Paso County.

A study released yesterday shows that there’s a sizable work force at the ready.

The Colorado Springs region has a civilian labor force of about 621,500 people, including 106,000 workers available for new or expanding businesses with 35,600 actively seeking work and 5,100 not working but who would consider re-entering the workforce.

The Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp. released the first-ever Labor Availability Report yesterday.

Prospective employers and consultants have said the local market is saturated with back offices and other types of uses, causing a lack of an available work force.

The EDC – in partnership with the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and Colorado Technical University – hired a Dallas-based consulting firm, The Pathfinders, to conduct a study to combat this perception.

Dave White, executive vice president of marketing for the EDC, said the study has already helped the region with two relocation prospects and expects it will help with many more.

This report details the work force availability, cost, skills, and quality that a new employer can expect in the Colorado Springs region.

The full report is available on the EDC’s Web site

City officials want to make Austin Bluffs Parkway between Nevada Avenue and Union Boulevard – the stretch of road that runs in front of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs – a major truck route.

The city’s Trucking Issues Subcommittee is holding two neighborhood meetings to discuss the idea.

The first is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12 at City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave. The second is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the City Administration Building, 30 S. Nevada Ave.

The Trucking Issues Subcommittee is examining gaps and redundancies in the city’s truck routes. Austin Bluffs Parkway is currently a part of the city’s truck routes west of Nevada and east of Union.

Despite assurances earlier this year that bankruptcy filings would not interfere with Frontier Airlines’ plans to build a $55 million maintenance facility at the Colorado Springs Airport, airline officials today announced that the plan has been cancelled.

Frontier announced plans for the facility last year, but then filed for bankruptcy protection in April. Since then the company has decreased its size and said the facility is no longer needed.

“It is our understanding that Frontier’s decision was based on internal factors related to its restructuring under Chapter 11 rather than the viability of Colorado Springs as a site for airline maintenance activity,” Director of Aviation Mark Earle said in a statement released this morning.

He said the airport will continue its marketing efforts to attract future facilities.