Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category
Columbia home values increased in 2010
Posted by admin on Thursday, February 24th, 2011 Categories:
Home prices inched up in Columbia last year, appreciating 1.19 percent in 2010, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Home Price Index released today. That’s a healthy improvement from 2009, when home-sale prices here fell .55 percent. But even back then, Columbia held up relatively well compared to most of the country. That .55-percent [Click Here]
Sewer backups, stormwater regs put city in a bind
Posted by admin on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 Categories:
A large crowd showed up to the Boone County Commission chambers Wednesday night to discuss a dirty topic: sewer overflows and their connection with recent stormwater regulations mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency. A three-person panel of Bill Weitkemper, Columbia sewer superintendent; Karen Miller, Boone County southern district commissioner; and Ken Midkiff, conservation chair of [Click Here]
Council clears way for huge downtown apartment
Posted by admin on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 Categories:
City Council’s Monday-night-approval of zoning enabling a 100-unit, four-story apartment building could well boost downtown’s population by nearly 300 people next year. The City Council unanimously gave the go ahead to rezone 2.5 acres from residential to open commercial at the corner of College Avenue and Walnut Street. The Odle family, owners of Trittenbach Development, [Click Here]
P&Z takes issue with rezoning for downtown apartment building
Posted by admin on Friday, January 7th, 2011 Categories:
The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission voted against a proposal to rezone land at the corner of College Avenue and Walnut Street so a development company could build a four-story, 100-unit apartment building on the downtown site. After opponents cited concerns with traffic congestion, lack of parking and lax zoning restrictions, the commission Thursday night [Click Here]
Mid-Mo. misses millions in federal money
Posted by admin on Friday, December 17th, 2010 Categories:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last night dropped the effort to pass the $1.2 trillion appropriations bill funding the federal government through Sept. 30 after some Republican senators who said they would support it changed their minds. In the process, Missouri lost out on more than $100 million worth of earmarks that had been attached [Click Here]
Danish wind turbine supplier to open Moberly factory
Posted by admin on Monday, December 13th, 2010 Categories:
Mid-Missouri got some good news today when the state’s Department of Economic Development announced that a Denmark-based supplier to the wind-turbine industry plans to open a manufacturing plant in Moberly. Vest-Fiber, which makes fiberglass products and primarily caters to wind turbine producers, announced it plans to invest $2 million to build a Moberly factory that [Click Here]
FDIC state data illustrate stagnant recovery
Posted by admin on Friday, December 10th, 2010 Categories:
State-specific economic data released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation yesterday paints a n0ne-too-rosy picture for Missouri. But we should be used to that by now. All in all though, things aren’t getting much worse. They’re not really getting better, though either. The most recent employment, housing and banking data is through the third quarter [Click Here]
Richland annexation prompted valuable dialogue throughout process
Posted by admin on Monday, December 6th, 2010 Categories:
Tony Black has been showing up at city hall periodically for about two years. As the president of the Lake of the Woods Neighborhood Association when developer David Atkins put forward his proposal to annex 270 acres into the city along Richland Road, he’s been the face of the resistance through the long, strange process. [Click Here]
Two local banks took money from Fed
Posted by admin on Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 Categories:
Data released by the Federal Reserve Wednesday show that two Columbia banks took advantage of one of the programs established by the central bank to pump liquidity into the ailing financial system. First National Bank & Trust Company, which reorganized as Landmark Bank early last year, and Shelter Financial Bank both took advantage of short-term [Click Here]
State tax credit trims not enough to stop higher ed cuts
Posted by admin on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 Categories:
Recommendations from the Missouri Tax Credit Review Commission could save the state $220 million annually, but they are still not enough to stave off big cuts to higher education funding, said commission member Craig Van Matre. Missouri has 61 tax credit programs, and since 1998, total tax credit redemptions have grown by an average of [Click Here]
Don’t Sanitize the Mess
Posted by Cathy Atkins on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 Categories:
‘When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love’ (Marcus Aurelius) Joy. Peace. Noel. Words that come easily to mind this time of year. We may even have these words gracing the fireplace mantel as we decorate for [Click Here]
City finance director gives final budget briefing
Posted by admin on Monday, November 29th, 2010 Categories:
In a farewell address of sorts, Columbia Finance Director Lori Fleming gave the City Council one last overview of the budget Monday night before she heads south of the border to take a job with the U.S. Treasury Department in Honduras. Fleming, whose last day is Friday, has been Columbia’s finance director since 1995. In [Click Here]
Roots ‘N’ Blues study provides much needed benchmarks
Posted by admin on Monday, November 15th, 2010 Categories:
If you use the economic impact studies that Roots ‘N’ Blues ‘N’ BBQ Festival organizer Thumper Entertainment gave to the City Council in the summer of 2009, the popular Columbia event attracts no where near the crowds it used to. But if you look at this year’s economic impact study for what it most likely [Click Here]
3M reports strong earnings in third quarter
Posted by admin on Friday, October 29th, 2010 Categories:
3M’s third quarter earnings, released yesterday, point to good prospects for the Columbia plant. The company reported third quarter earnings of $1.1 billion, or $1.53 per share, compared to $957 million, or $1.35 per share, in last year’s third quarter. For the first nine months of the year, 3M’s has posted profits 40 percent higher [Click Here]
Missouri ranked 16th in business tax climate index
Posted by admin on Thursday, October 28th, 2010 Categories:
The Tax Foundation, a think tank that researches U.S. tax policy, ranked Missouri the state with the 16th best business tax climate. The paper accompanying the annual index notes that, in terms of attracting and retaining businesses: “State lawmakers are right to be concerned about how their states rank in the global competition for jobs [Click Here]
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