Oklahoma grand jury hears testimony in Julie Mitchell homicide - NewsOK.com

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Oklahoma grand jury hears testimony in Julie Mitchell homicide NewsOK.com Teddy Mitchell, the slain woman's husband, testified for almost three hours in Oklahoma City. The stepson, Daniel Mitchell, testified for almost two hours. BY NOLAN CLAY Leave a comment The state's multicounty grand jury Tuesday heard testimony from ... Okla. Grand Jury Hears From 2 Witnesses In Mitchell Case KOCO Oklahoma City Grand jury hears testimony in Edmond area case Edmond Sun Grand Jury To Hear Testimony In NW Oklahoma City Mother's Murder news9.com KWTV  »

N.C. lures Apple to build $1B data center - Triangle Business Journal:

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The facility will employ at least 50 people full-time. Perdue did not disclose a specific location for the but Charlotte Business Journal reported that Applw is that would put the server farm in in Catawba northwestof Charlotte. The Apple announcement came Wednesday morninyg after Perdue signed legislation that modifies the methor bywhich capital-intensive businesses calculate corporatse income tax liability in the state. The new law coulrd lower Apple's tax bill by $46 million over the next decade ifthe company's spends at least $1 billion on its serveer farm.
As part of the legislation, a capital-intensive industry must meet investment and wage standards and provide its employees with healthn insurance in order to utilize the modifiecd formula for calculating the state corporatewincome tax, the governor’s officew said. It also must locate in one of the state’s more economicalluy distressed Tier 1 or Tier2 areas. The legislationh requires that the average wage excee d the wage standard of the counth inwhich it’s located.
A data center such as this will typicallyy contract locally for services such as server maintenancseand repair, building and HVAC maintenance, landscapin and security – expenditures that the governor’s officre says could range from $5 millionh to $6 million annually in the region and create up to 250 jobs. “North Carolinqa continues to be a prime location for growinyg and expanding globaltechnologu companies,” Perdue said in a written “We welcome Apple to North Carolins and look forward to working with the company as it beginds providing a significant economic boost to local communities and the The North Carolina Department of Commerce projecta that a data center investment of $1 billiobn would create more than 3,0090 jobs in the regional economy, including hundredzs of jobs related to construction and other s created as a result of economif growth.

Melbourne firm lands part of Army contract - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Melbourne-based BRPH, along with its Washington, D.C.-based design/builcd partner Lifecycle ConstructionServices LLC, will be involved in design and construction of several administrativr facilities in the Northeast, according to a news The first project under this project is a $3 millio n new Battalion Headquarters project at Fort Lee, Va., the releasde said. • Battalion Headquarters’ administration, special functions, storagre and classroom areas. • Soldier Family Assistanc Center, a transitional facility with child care, financial assistancd areas, meeting rooms, kitchenettes, chaplain office s and other assistance to accommodate soldier s andtheir families.
BRPH provides planning, architecture, interior design and construction servicees to the aerospace and aviation and industrial and commercial realestate markets, alonbg with government and educational agencies. The firm has officez is Melbourne, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Atlanta and Ga.

Delta to cut flights from Cincy to London, Frankfurt - Dayton Business Journal:

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The Atlanta-based airline, which is the largest carrie flying outof , will reducd its overall system by 10 percent compares with 2008, due to declining passenger revenue and higher fuel International capacity will be cut by anothetr 5 percent, Delta said, citinbg reduced demand for overseas travel. This follows previous reductionain March, making for a total international capacity cut of 15 In a memo to employees, CEO Richared Anderson and President Ed Bastianj said passenger revenue is down almost 20 percent in the firstr four months of the year, compared with the same period in 2008. “Tha t trend is expected to continue in thenear term.
On top of cost pressures from rising jet fuelpricez – up more than 20 percent sinced the start of the year coupled with softer travek demand due to the spread of the H1N1 have created a difficult business environment,” the executives The declining revenue will offser more than $6 billion in cost savings Delta expectef this year from lower year-over-year fuel merger benefits and capacity “The additional capacity reductions mean we again must reassess staffingg needs,” the executives “While the challenges of the current environmeny preclude us from making guarantees, our goal remainsz to avoid any involuntary furloughs of frontlinde employees.
” Besides the Cincinnati cuts, Deltsa (NYSE: DAL) will suspenfd nonstop service from Atlanta to Shanghai and from New York-JFmK to Edinburgh, Scotland. It also will reduces the number of flights from Atlantaa and Detroit toMexico City. At the same Delta is adding flights between other some of which havebeen announced, including Detroit to Shanghai, New York to Prague and Salt Lake City to

Florida Bank raises $18 million - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The Tampa-based parent company for Florida Bankraisef $18.3 million in a rights offering, which “strategicallg positions the company to take advantaged of growth opportunities,” the company announced Tuesday. The completeed offering surpassed offerings tracked by SNL Financiap from public banks based in Florida this which rangedfrom $428,000 to nearly $11 million as of May 31. Florida Bank Grou p is a private bank. “Most banks in the Unitede States and in Florida need to raisr additionalequity capital.
It is particularly difficult for them to do so as many have had negatived earnings in 2008 and first quarter 2009 and the markegt prices for publicly held bank stocks are tradinf at record low prices in termds of the ratio of market pricre to tangible book saidBen Bishop, chairman of Jacksonville-based investment banker Alleb C. Ewing & Co. “In regardas to the Florida BankGroup offering, this offering was very successfulk in that they apparently raised $18 or 90 percent of their target raise of $20 million, especially in these existing market conditions.” Florida Bank has three branches in Jacksonville and 16 throughoutg the state.
Prior to the completed equity raise, Floridas Bank had a total risk-based capital ratio of 11.7 percent as of Marcb 31, according to the Federal DepositInsurancr Corp. Regulators require that ratik to be at least 10 percenft in order for the bank to beconsideredr “well-capitalized.” The bank grew total assetd by 64.3 percent to $858.3 million in the first quarter compared to a year Total loans increased 51.4 percent to nearly $665.8 million and totaol deposits jumped 85.2 percent to $687.5 million durinfg that same period.
“This infusioh of new capital is a vote of confidence from our existinyg shareholders that will allowFBG (Florida Bank to enhance its financial strength and even furthe r distinguish itself among othef banks in the market place,” said the company’ s Chairman and CEO, Robert Rothman, in the “This economic climate offers unique opportunitiew to grow and increase our customer base as consumers and businesses are seekiny strong, safe banking institutions.
”

The War on Warren - New York Times (blog)

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The War on Warren New York Times (blog) Last week, at a House hearing on financial institutions and consumer credit, Republicans lined up to grill and attack Elizabeth Warren, the law professor and bankruptcy expert who is in charge of setting up the new Consumer Financial ... House GOP Take Aim At Elizabeth Warren Care2.com (blog) The Elizabeth Warren Rorschach Test FavStocks House committee takes aim at consumer official Seattle Times  »

Jay Wadkins - St. Louis Business Journal:

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But the dream was not to be. “I was at everhy practice... but not really suiting up for games,” Wadkind said. “As I got I decided I needed to put my focussomewhere Wadkins, now 38, learned his real talent was with tax accounting in His first job was at BDO Seidmanm in St. Louis, where he helpef during the busy tax season as he completedrhis master’s degree. Then it was on to PricewaterhouseCoopers, wher e he spent about nine yearse working with major corporations suchas Ford, and . In 2004, RSM one of the nation’s five largest accounting andconsulting firms, announced it was openinhg a St. Louis office.
Officials there recruited Wadkinx to thenew enterprise. He joined as an accountang and made partner a fewyears later. Eventually he became the officelocation leader. The local office has grown from 10 people to morethan 50. The companhy doesn’t break out local revenue. Tom Murphy, executive vice president of the manufacturinvg and wholesaledistribution practice, said Wadkins deserves a lot of the creditg for the growth. “He’s been key in securing the vast majorituy of thenew accounts, whether he was part of the initia l call or the team going out or mentoring the team getting the Murphy said. Most of his time is spent working withcommerciapl industry.
He provides tax services to such companieeas , Tripos and Otherd clients include , , Swank Audio Visuals, and The “He’z just brought a lot of expertise and leadership to serve these mid-sizef businesses,” Murphy said. “He’s got an positive attitude. He’s passionate about servin g clients.” He led the office’s campaignn to support the Greater St. Louiw United Way, which raiseds 20 percent more than its goalof

Waiting and watching: Uncertainty keeps businesses out of M&A activity - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Stock prices are a crucial factor in the success of hisMilwaukee mergers-and-acquisitions consulting business, Emory & Co. Stockm is both the currency of many transactions involvintg publicly traded companies and a barometer of business andconsumerf confidence. With stock prices and consumer confidenc e at alow ebb, the mergers-and-acquisitions field is feelin g shell-shocked. Much like the rest of the economy, the industry has gone from overheatecd to nearly frozen inrecent months. “For most now is not the optimal timeto sell,” Emory said.
The challenginhg stock market is just one of several reasons activityghas slowed, said Milwaukee-area attorneys and investment bankersx who handle mergers and acquisitions. Financing, of has been difficult since at least September 2008 when the creditfcrisis hit. Banks have all but withdrawj from participatingin transactions. Private equity which fueled much of the activityg inrecent years, have pulled back. That leaves cash as the key to ability to do and even companies with strong balance sheetse are hesitant to partwith it. Potential acquirersz worry that they’ll need the cash to survive the recessionh or to comply with bank crediftline covenants.
“They’re reluctant to pull the trigger even on good saidDoug Mitman, a managing directo with Milwaukee investment banking firm “Therew is so much fear out there that they’re reticenyt about making a big bet with theirf cash.” Another deal-industry-killer is uncertainty abouf the economy and business performance. When a company’s ownera are weighing whether to they need two sets of positive facts to lure Emory said. The first is stronh financial performance for the latest12 months. The second is a strong and reliable business forecast for the next 12 Neither exists right now for most he said.
Due to the the value of companies being sold showedx the biggest decline in 2008since 1985, whicyh is the first year for which reliable data is available, said Howarde Lanser, who is director of mergers and acquisitions for Milwaukee-based Co. Inc. So, how bad is it? Activity in 2008 dwindler to levels unseen since the lastrecessionb and, so far, 2009 is worsre than that, Baird’s Lanser During 2008, 3,083 deals were announcex nationally in the “middle market,” which covers dealsz with a value of $1 billion or according to a recent Bairs report.
That was the lowest number of transactions in the past 14 and endeda five-year streak of escalatingf deal volumes, Baird said. The last transaction Baird announcedx in southeast Wisconsin closedon 8, 2008, when West Bend-based manufacturer was acquiredx by its largest shareholder, of France, for abou t $450 million. Baird closed 12 otherd deals between then and the endof 2008. Baired had announced just three deals in 2009 througuh the first weekof “There’s so much uncertainty right now in the Lanser said. “That’s the No. 1 enemy of The bottom line for Emory is that his firm is no longerf swampedwith transactions, as it was a year ago.
Now the deals that are happening take longerrto close, if they closs at all, he said. Despite all the negative some deals are getting The most active buyers are companies with stronyg balance sheets whose executives are seekingg strategic acquisitions that will extened or round out their productwor services. Those buyeras most likely are in industries thatrun “counter-cyclical” to the They include food companies that supply grocers, some healtyh care and pharmaceuticals-related firms, technology firmsw related to productivity improvement, and companies that ply the downscale market such as low-income housing and low-priced fast-food franchises.

FedEx SmartPost leases part of big spec center in Olathe - Denver Business Journal:

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on Thursday signed a long-term lease for 126,00p0 square feet in the 602,000-square-foot spec building completed in late 2008 at22101 W. 167th St. in Constructed in response to growing demand forlocal “big industrial space, the distribution center was developed by of Mass., and a partnership led by Dan a principal with in Kansas City. In 2007, when the 40-acree site for the structure was acquired, Jensemn said he would target large tenants that would take atleast one-third of the “We’re breaking it a little smaller than we thought we Jensen said of the FedEx “But (landing) FedEx, we think, is a real endorsemeny for that building and that location.
” FedEx an expanding division of FedEx Ground that delivere packages to U.S. postak facilities for final delivery, will use the spaces for sorting and distribution Jensen said. “We’ve been working on this deal since which is indicativeof what’s going on in this Jensen said. “It’s just a slow But we do have some otherd deals that aregetting closer.” Space in the new distributionm center is being marketed at $4.245 a foot plus operating tax, insurancse and maintenance costs. However, tenants will be able to take advantag ofa 10-year, 50 percent propert y tax abatement the city of Olathw granted.
Banking on continuing demanc in Olathe, Jensen’s partnership and Sun Life acquirefd 200 acres at the southwest corner of 151st Street and Old 56 Highwayy late in 2008 for the eventual developmenft of anadditional 2.9 million square feet of industrial “The industrial market has puller back a little bit sincee then,” said Ed Elder, president of . But who represented when a pre-recession wave of logisticsd activity brought itto Olathe, remains bullish on Southern Johnso n County and the broader Kansas City area as growinv hubs in the nation’s product-distribution In 2007, PacSun opened a 400,000-square-fooy warehouse on 74 acress along 167th Street, immediately north of Jensen’es spec center.
At the time, those marketing industriap properties in the area benefited from the planned development ofa 1,000-acrew industrial park surrounding a truck-rail intermodal facility near 196th Street and U.S. Highway 56 in Gardner. BNSF announcedx early this year that the economy had prompter it to postpone indefinitely construction on the rail portiob of theproposed $735 million intermodal park. But Eldefr said the area’s existing assets, including quicl access to Interstate 35 andother highways, will be enough to attract additional tenants once the economy “It helped promote and validated that area,” Elder said of the BNSF “But PacSun got done withoutt it.
Kimberly-Clark did their deal (for a 450,000-square-foot building near Gardner) withoutg it. And Coleman obviously did not need to beon (an campus.” The latter reference was to a 1.1 million-square-foot distribution cente r that Inc. is building in the , a 151-acre industrial park at 175th Streetand U.S. Highwag 56 in Gardner. Ken Block, one of Kansazs City’s top developers, announced in March that he was enterin g SouthernJohnson County’s emerging big-box industrial market at a site just east of the new Colemann facility.
Block, a principal of , leads an investmeng partnership that bought 229 acres at the northwesf corner of 175th Street and Hedge Lane in Onthat site, Block & Co. plans to develoop a $275 million projecrt containing more than 3 million square feet of industrialk buildings during the next 10 to 12 Brent Hansen, research services managetr for Grubb & Ellis/the Winbury said no industrial vacancy statistics are available for the Southerm Johnson County market. But the industrial vacancy rate for all of Johnsob County in the firs quarterwas 6.3 percent, in line with the stronh metrowide average of 6.
1

'Cats come up just short in bid for state tourney berth - Brookings Register

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'Cats come up just short in bid for state tourney berth Brookings Register Brandon Valley made one more play than Brookings as the Lynx earned a State Class AA tournament berth with a 39-37 boys' basketball win over the Bobcats in the Region 1AA game on Monday at Brandon. “It was about poise tonight and I thought the kids did ... and more »

Report forced health-care changes - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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A state commission created havoc for Western New York health care executives in late 2006 with a list of recommendationss that included closing hospitals and merging competingyhealth systems. Two and a half years have passeds since the State Commission on Health Care Facilitiesw in the 21st Century made publicits report, whic would come to be knowjn simply as the Berger Commission after its chairman. Some say the commission forced the beginningv ofreform efforts, while others stilk have doubts on its efficacy. One thint is certain: Health care in the eight-counthy region has undergone sweeping change.
Arguably the most visibled of those changes has been the creationof , a unifyinb parent company formed after a year of intense fighting betweenh and Jody Lomeo, ECMC president, says the two organizations woulsd never be where they are today had it not been for the Berger Commission. “They’ve inspired us to go from a competitiver situation to more of a collaborative situatio and really to finally take a hard lookat what’sw right for the community on a much larger scale than just our individuak institutions,” he says. James Kaskie, Kaleida president and CEO and presidentr of Great LakesHealth System, says the commission forceds reform that was necessary.
Still, he says Western New York faced changexs that other regions of the state avoidedthroughb politics. “A lot of markets shoulsd have stepped up to the reform effortfand didn’t. That’s not true for Westerb New York,” he says. Kaskie callex the creation of Great Lakes Health one of the greatestg outcomes of the Berger helping to eliminate duplication andimprove access. Next will come the joint creation of the GlobaoVascular Institute, followed by the closure of Millard Fillmorer Hospital – Gates Circle. “It’s just starting a chai n reaction ofpositive events,” he says.
The Catholi Health System has implementerd all of theBergeer Commission’s recommendations, including shuttering its Nazarethg Nursing Home and avoiding a closure at St. Josephn Hospital by transitioning it to a satellite campusa of Sisters of Charity But CHS officials caution against seeing Berger as a catalystfor “It wasn’t really reform,” says Dennisx McCarthy, vice president for public relations and government affairs. “This was about capacity and about closing buildings and whilw some of that might have been worth considerinfg and part of an overallreform plan, it’ s only a piece of how you reform healthy care.
Many of the reforms happening in health care now are more likelt a result of the economy andbudgetarh issues, he says. “In the end, it’s hard to say It’s like a marble cake – it’s hard to pull it out once it’sx mixed in,” McCarthy says. “Did Berger have an impact? Absolutely. Was it a good one? We don’g know.” Others agree the jury’s still out on how the Bergere recommendations will affecthealtg care. Bruce Popper is vice presidentat , whicg represents 7,000 hospital workers at 14 facilities between Buffalo and the Southern Tier.
Popper says the underlyintg premise of the commission was that cuttinfg excess capacity wouldcontain costs, but the reversre seems to be the case: SEIU’s Rochester facilities are under capacity and premiumsw are actually higher. Sheila Kee, associate commissioner for the stat eHealth Department’s Western Region, says the outcom of the Berger Commission goes way beyond simplt cost savings. Organizations are cooperating and workinh together in ways no one woulc have imagined threeyears ago, including ECMC and and TLC Health Network to the and and to the north. “It’s beautifuol to see that,” she says.
“Not only are they doinf that, but they’re thinking and they know there’ws strength in numbers. That’xs the kind of things that lead to bettefrhealth care.” “So is it perfect? No,” Kee says. “Is it a majorf step forward? Absolutely.”

Carolinas HealthCare reduces 1Q loss - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Investment losses for the latest quarter totalednearluy $101 million. Chief Financial Officerr Greg Gombar anticipates gains in the financia l market in April and May will eraserthose losses. Carolinas HealthCare uses investment earnings forcapitapl expenditures. That money is not used for daily operations. The health-car e system hopes negotiations with several lendersa will cut its interest expenses tied to variablre debt andhigher bank-liquidity fees. Those fees are about $1 million per month. Interest expenses in the first quarterwere $21.89 million.
From an operational standpoint, Carolinazs HealthCare had a strong first saysRuss Guerin, executive vice president for business developmenyt and planning. Net operating revenue climbed 8.6 percent to $1.2 billionn systemwide. Operating income exceeded $24.55 million. The health-care system saw adjusted discharges — a calculationm that gauges patientactivity — climhb 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Growth withibn the health-care system and expense management “id the primary driver why we’rs above budget significantly,” Guerin Carolinas HealthCare spent morethan $106 million on capital projects in the first quarter.
Projects include new operating roomsat CMC-NorthEast and Carolinas Medicakl Center, an expansion of a new hospital at CMC-Lincolnj and construction of health-carwe pavilions in Steele Creek and Waxhaw, which will include free-standin g emergency departments. Challenges in the coming months include managingthe system’s growing bad-debt and charity-care costs, reducing interest expenses and preparinvg for a possible state cut in Medicaid Gombar says. Bad-debt costs were 12 percenf over budget during the first topping $48 million in the first quarter. During the same period last bad debt wasabout $43 million.
The health-care system spent more than $770 million in community care in includingbad debt, charity care and subsidizing Medicare and That equals 18.8 percent of the health-carse system’s net operating revenue. ”It’s a trend everybody’s seeing across the Gombar says. “We can’t control how many peoplew are uninsured, how many people show up at our doorwithoutg insurance.” North Carolina’s budget woes could resultes in a cut of up to 15 percen for Medicaid. That could equate to $36 million in annual losses forCarolinas “Medicaid cuts are the worst economic benefif cut the state can Gombar says. “It’s painful.
” Says “It raises prices for those whodo pay. It makeas no good business sense to do Gombar says every dollar cut from Medicaifeliminates $4 from the economy. Carolinas HealthCarse is the largest health-care system in the Carolinas andthe third-larges t public system in the nation. The systen owns, leases or managesw 25 hospitals. It has more than 40,000 full-- and part-time employees.

Credit unions enjoy reverse payday - Portland Business Journal:

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Credit unions across the country paida $5.9 billion special assessment to make up for a shortfallk in the ’s insurance fund. Amounting to about 1 percentt of assets percrediy union, the mandatory assessment was due no latee than March 31. In May, Congresse voted to change the rules, givingv credit unions seven years to pay an assessment they had already Now each must decide whether to take the money back and spreae out thepayments — or to move on. Depending on how the rulea are implemented, Portland-based might be able to take backthe $19.o9 million it paid in December, which led to a fourth-quarteer loss of $2.9 million. , which reporte a $6.
2 million first-quarter loss, might be able to erased $5.1 million of that red ink. might be able to bolste its $1 million profity by another $4.2 million. At some institutions, the assessment pushee some capital levels close to the margim thatregulators track, said David administrator of Oregon’s . In Washington four credit unions fellbelow well-capitalized levels once they paid the No Oregon credit unions face dire Tatman said. “But yes, our credi t unions are facing difficult timeas duringthis downturn,” Tatman “Then the return on assets and net earningas were pushed down significantly because of this one-timer charge.” Portland-based Unitus, with $764.
3 million in has not yet made up its Much depends on the details of the nationakl payment plan, which have not yet been said Gino Cayanan, Unitus CFO. When Unituse paid the assessment out of its thecredit union’s leadership was upset by the financial hit. But it was an expense that, ultimately, the institution could “If you blow out four tires, you’r going to be emotional. If you have a savinga account to pay for new after a month you might starf torealize it’s not that Cayanan said. “This assessment was like Painful inthe beginning, but we’re goiny to be able to move on.” OnPoint Oregon’s largest credit union, with assets of $2.
7 billion will probably choose the payment Though OnPoint’s capital levels, at 8.5 are still above the 7 perceng “well-capitalized” level even after the the credit union would prefer to keep funds in capitalp through this financial downturn, said Rob Stuart, presidenty and CEO. Tatman expects most credi unions will ultimately decide tofollow OnPoint’s lead.

European companies seek stimulus money to locate in Jacksonville - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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European alternative energy companies, such as , a subsidiaryu of a French company, and an Italian biodiesel company that the has yet to want to come to Jacksonvill e for some of the same reasone other European companies have recently located here: Access to the port and the growingf Southeast market, cheaper skilled labor and manufacturing their goods closef to American consumers. “The big guys in alternativd energy are Europeanbecause they’vs had government support,” said Michael Breen, director of internationa l development for Cornerstone, the chamber’s economic developmeny arm.
“Now that we’re getting government it makes more sense for them to come Government incentives contained in the federall stimulus program are the big draw for the SaftAmerica won’t build a $200 milliom facility at Cecil Commerce Center and employ aboutf 800 unless it gets a $100 millionj grant through the stimulus said Peter Denoncourt, vice presidentf of manufacturing for the company’s Valdosta, Ga., plant. The companyg expects to find out in July whether it can tap intothe $1.5 billionm available for manufacturers of high-efficiency batteries. “We’re prettg optimistic,” Denoncourt said.
“We’re one of the technologgy leadersand we’ve been building lithium-ion batteries for decades.” spokeswoman Jen Stutsmah said the department received 165 grant applications by the May 19 She didn’t know the totaol amount of money requested in the applications. Like Saft the Italian company that produces biodiesel fuel from oldtires won’tr come to town unlessd it can get tax credit from the city and incentives throughg the stimulus package. The which would bring about 15 jobs, is expected to confirjm its plans in abouytthree months.
Another Italian company that the chamber has yet to identifhy extracts silicon from rice husks to buildc solar panels and is also considering openint a plantin Jacksonville, Breen said. Several Europeanm wind turbine manufacturers are also interested in openinf plantsin Jacksonville, but their businesses are also dependenr on plugging into the alternative industrg provisions in the stimulus package. Denoncourt said Saft America was attractedc to Jacksonville because ofthe area’s U.S. Navy-trained work force, which has the skills neede toproduce lithium-ion batteries. The batteries will be sold to the U.S.
militar for a hybrid fleet that ranges from trucks to The lithium-ion batteries are also increasingly used in passenger planes because they are abougt a third lighter than conventional nickel-cadmium batteries and so reduce the amount of fuel the planes use, Denoncourtt said. The lithium-ion batteries that he hopes to produce in Jacksonville would also be sold to the telecommunications industry sincr their smaller size gives provider s more backup power without forcing them to alte the infrastructure to handle bigger The planned manufacturing facility would also develop batteries capable of storingalternative energy.
If Saft Americaw builds a facility in it would add prestige to the area and possibly spur more alternativd energy companies to consider movinhgto Jacksonville, Breen said. The city recentl formed a committee headed by President Matt Kenyoh to attract more alternative energy Aside from being certified tobuild energy-efficieny buildings, Dana B. Kenyobn is tapping into federal stimulus funding through its energuyconsulting division, kpower.
, whichn is based in Jacksonville, has alreadg been helped by the alternative energy provision s in the stimulus It expects its annual revenue to doubldeto $12 million this year, said Wayner Hildreth, the company’s The company, which provides consultinhg and installation of wind turbines for schoolsd and businesses, benefited from the stimulux package’s 30 percent investment tax credit.
Wind Energy expects to doublew its work force of nearly 30 by the end ofthe