Remembering 9/11

The nation marked the eight anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by honoring the spirit of those who rushed forward to help, from sifting through the fiery rubble at ground zero to sending supplies from thousands of miles away.

Friday was the first time the anniversary was observed as a national day of service, following an order signed this year by President Barack Obama.

"From this day forward, we will safeguard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit of service that lit our city with hope and helped keep us strong," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a ceremony in lower Manhattan.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama observed a moment of silence in honor of 9/11 victims outside the White House as a single bugler played taps. A Washington rain came to a stop as the observance began at 8:46 a.m., the moment the first jetliner struck the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. About 150 White House staffers stood in silence around the Obamas.

At a plaza adjacent to ground zero in New York City, families gathered under a cold and steady rain while the names of the Trade Center victims were read, pausing for moments of silence at the minutes the jetliners crashed into the towers.

People involved in volunteer work across the nation joined relatives of victims to read the names of those lost in the twin towers.

One reader represented a group called New York Says Thank You, which sends volunteers from New York City each year on the attacks anniversary to help rebuild communities around the country affected by disasters as a way to send thanks for the help that came to New York City after Sept. 11.

Other readers were from well-known service organizations including the American Red Cross and the United Way.

Some victims' relatives said they feared the emphasis on volunteerism would overshadow a somber day of remembrance for the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked jetliners crashed into the Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

Thousands were expected Friday at ceremonies at the Pentagon and the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.

In New York City, Vice President Joe Biden spoke during a pause in the reading of the names, telling the several hundred victims' relatives gathered that "there's a special fraternity for those of us who've lost spouses and children." Biden's daughter and first wife died in a 1972 automobile accident.

Before he spoke, Biden joined families who were laying flowers in a reflecting pool on the site where the towers once stood.

Relatives and friends of victims were allowed on Friday to visit the plaza for the Sept. 11 memorial that is under construction. It is expected to be partially complete and open for the 10th anniversary.

Former President George W. Bush had no public appearances planned Friday, and a spokesman said he would be working in his office during the morning. In a brief statement, he said he and his wife, Laura, were thinking of the victims and their families.

"We honor those who volunteer to keep us safe and extend the reach of freedom — including members of the armed forces, law enforcement officers, and intelligence and homeland security professionals," the statement said. "Their courage, service, and sacrifice is a fitting tribute to all those who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. On this day, let us renew our determination to prevent evil from returning to our shores."

By SUZANNE MA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ground broken for new sewage treatment plant

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

After years of planning, Springfield Metro Sanitary District officials broke ground Tuesday for a multimillion-dollar expansion of its sewage treatment facilities.

The $129 million Spring Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant project will be built on sanitary district property on North Eighth Street across from the existing plant. The new plant is expected to be in operation by December 2012.

District director Gregg Humphrey said the project will let the Springfield metropolitan area grow while also providing construction jobs.“We’re looking to help stimulate the local job market with up to 125 jobs on site and possibly 2,250 related jobs,” Humphrey said.

A $50 million project to upgrade the Sugar Creek Plant, east of Interstate 55 off Mechanicsburg Road, also is in the works.

CWLP deficit may ruin city’s budget plan

City Water, Light and Power’s wholesale electric revenue could be several million dollars short of budget estimates, possibly blowing a new hole in the city budget, Springfield aldermen were told Tuesday.In case the trend continues, CWLP general manager Todd Renfrow said, he is working on a plan to minimize the impact of the shortfall on the city’s coffers. He didn’t provide any specifics.

The city’s current budget, which had a $12 million deficit when budget talks began last year, was largely balanced by relying on profits from selling surplus power.“Everything went wrong,” Renfrow said after Tuesday’s committee meeting. “When we made our projections was really last October. November is when everything went in the tank, so to speak.”Renfrow blamed a warm winter, a very cool summer and the overall economy. He also said the utility was paid not to produce energy because there was so much on the grid.

“We know it will come back,” Renfrow said of the industry. “It’s just a matter of how soon.”

Aldermen have been asking for weeks for updates on CWLP’s financial status. Some have continued to express concern about the utility’s financial state, especially given the city’s reliance on profits from Dallman 4 to balance its own budget.

The plant, which will cost $542 million, was expected to rake in millions of dollars annually from selling surplus power. Last year, Mayor Tim Davlin’s blue-ribbon committee on city finances recommended the city take advantage of the profit and increase the utility’s contribution to the city in lieu of taxes.

Aldermen agreed to increase payments to the city from 3.5 percent of gross revenue on electric sales made outside of the city to 30 percent of net income, generating an estimated $9 million a year.

Renfrow said it may be two months before a proposal is brought back to the mayor to minimize a shortfall and avoid another round of talks about police and firefighter layoffs.

“We’re all one community, and I’m trying to do what I can help,” Renfrow said after the meeting. It may not be possible. I may come back and say there’s just nothing more that we can do.’

By DEANA POOLE
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Pessimistic outlook for US commercial real estate

Pessimistic outlook for US commercial real estate
Friday, 04 September 2009


Generation to recover?

It could take a generation for the US commerical property market to return to the kinds of deals seen during the boom years of 2005 to 2007, according to analysts.

The prediction comes from real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle whose latest analysis also shows that US commercial real estate sales fell 80% in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier, and down an astonishing 93% from the peak in the first half of 2007.

The firm’s US Mid-Year Capital Markets bulletin shows that sales totalled $16 billion in the first half of this year compared with a peak of $231.4 billion in the first half of 2007. It also revealed that sales in the second quarter of $5.2 billion were the lowest on record.

From the peak of the market to the end of the second quarter in 2009, office asking rents fell on average 10 to 25%, office leasing was down 25 to 50% and commercial real estate prices fell 30 to 55%, according to the report.

The credit crisis, which accelerated at the end of last year, essentially shut down mortgage lending and other loans critical for real estate sales and refinancing, analysts point out. Although lending to selected borrowers has resumed somewhat, the US recession has pounded rents and occupancy rates.

‘It is unlikely that any true debt liquidity will return to the market until the middle of 2010 at the earliest,’ said Kenneth Rudy, president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets practice.
Prices for office buildings are not expected to begin to recover until at least 2012 because commercial real estate performance, which is based on job growth, lags the economy. The retail and lodging markets also will need additional time to recover as they depend on consumer spending and business travel.

Jones Lang LaSalle predicts that US investors will slowly begin to return to the market by the middle of 2010, though a return to the boom years of 2005 through 2007 will take a generation or longer.

Instead of $231 billion a year in deals, US commercial real estate sales are likely to hover around $100 million on average for the first several years of the next decade, the report concludes.
So even as the housing market starts to show signs of recovery, fortunes for commercial real estate are looking increasingly grim. The rate at which property owners are defaulting on loans is climbing at an unparalleled pace. Many banks are stuck with shopping malls, hotels and offices buildings they've repossessed and can’t sell. ‘The bottom line is defaults are exploding. It’s going to be worse than in the early 1990s. It’s terrible,’ said Richard Parkus, an analyst with Deutsche Bank. The National Association of Realtors is also pessimistic and said a rebound isn’t likely until the second half of next year. And research firm Reis Inc says that defaults and late payments on commercial mortgage-backed securities may surpass 7% by the end of the year.

‘We haven’t seen the end of these delinquencies and defaults,’ said Edward Leamer, a senior economist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who added that there is about $3.5 trillion worth of commercial real estate loans held by banks, or tied up in commercial mortgage-backed securities or held by other institutions

Labor Day travel forecast: Fewer Americans on the move

Travel this Labor Day holiday could be less stressful for the millions of Americans hitting the roads or heading to the airport, as fewer of us are doing it this year -- lots fewer.

Forecasts call for just 39 million vacationers to jump in the car and head to the hills or the beach. That's 13 percent fewer than last year when 45 million Americans embarked on a Labor Day trip of 50 miles or more, according to projections by AAA, compiled by IHS Global Insight.

The nation's airports will also have fewer travelers. Air travel is expected to fall 20 percent to 1.5 million travelers compared to 1.9 million last year, the report shows. The reduction in airline passengers comes despite a 17 percent drop in air fares."

There are some things that would make you think that more people would be traveling, but actually a lot fewer are traveling," said Robert Sinclair Jr., spokesman for AAA New York.

Not only is gasoline cheaper, averaging $2.59 a gallon nationwide for self-service regular-grade fuel, compared to $3.68 a gallon a year ago, but consumers can expect to pay less for hotel rooms and rental cars, Sinclair said.

"There a lot of things out there that would be incentives to make people travel, but still we see this appreciable drop off," he said.

AAA attributes the reduced number of travelers in part to a quirk in the calendar. With the Labor Day holiday falling as late as it possibly can, September 7, many children have already returned to school, and parents are opting not to disrupt schedules to accommodate travel.

As much a factor, however, is the nation's economy. Despite recent upbeat reports showing expansion in manufacturing and the service sector, as well as a brightening housing market, many Americans remain concerned about their jobs.

A report issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.7 percent in August, as employers cut 216,000 jobs, and analysts predict the nation's jobless rate will likely top 10 percent by early next year.

IHS research shows that Americans willingness to travel this Labor Day weekend is directly proportional to the unemployment rate in their state. In states with lower unemployment rates, more people are traveling, and vice versa.

Those who do journey this holiday weekend will average 645 miles round trip, the IHS travel report says. More than one third of travelers will stay relatively close to home, with expected round-trips of 250 miles or less, while 34 percent of weekend travelers will log between 251 and 700 miles. Some 28 percent will travel more than 700 miles round-trip.

While the Labor Day weekend may be quieter in many destinations than last year, the good news for resorts, hoteliers and restaurants is that more Americans are expected to travel this holiday than on July 4. Typically the busiest automobile travel holiday, only 37 million people took to the road this year for Independence Day, despite gasoline prices that were far below last summer's historic highs of well over $4 a gallon.

Labor Day travel forecast: Fewer Americans on the move

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Stimulus Credited for Lifting Economy, But Worries About Unemployment Persist

By Michael A. Fletcher and Neil IrwinWashington Post Staff Writers Friday, September 4, 2009

Half a year after Congress enacted the largest economic stimulus plan in the nation's history, the measure is contributing to what increasingly looks like a budding recovery, analysts say, but significant concern remains about rising unemployment and the initiative's contribution to the federal budget deficit.

With the Obama administration under fire for what critics call unrestrained spending and polls showing the American public ambivalent about the impact of the stimulus plan, officials are pushing back, seeking to highlight the role played by their polices in fueling a recovery.
Vice President Biden, making what the White House billed as a major speech Thursday, touted the role of the $787 billion stimulus program in lifting the economy.

"The Recovery Act has played a significant role in changing the trajectory of our economy and changing the conversation about the economy in this country," Biden said in a speech at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "Instead of talking about the beginning of a depression, we are talking about the end of a recession."

While some congressional Republicans and others are dubious about the success of the stimulus plan, economists generally agree that the package has played a significant part in stabilizing the economy. They are less certain about the size of the impact.

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The $787 billion stimulus package: too big and too late?

The Great Recession appears to be ending. Everyday there are more and more signs that the deepest recession in the post-war era is bottoming out, and that a recovery is about to begin.
If the recession is ending, what role did the massive fiscal stimulus package contribute to halting the economic slide?

Back in February, when it seemed that the economy was imploding, Congress approved the Obama Administration’s hastily concocted $787 billion program to stave off the downturn, create jobs and boost output over the foreseeable future.

This historical package of government spending came fast on the heels of the Treasury and Fed intervention into financial markets.

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