Shows itself off Sunday
Tucson's newest full-service hospital is nearing completion and will hold an open house to show itself off Sunday, Jan. 2. The $85 million, 96-bed Northwest Medical Center Oro Valley is located at 1551 E. Tangerine Road.
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Southwest Gas tacks
on surcharge in January
On Jan. 1, Southwest Gas will temporarily add a surcharge of about 1.8 percent to bills through the winter because the wholesale price of natural gase has increased faster than expected. The company had initially sought a 3.7 percent surcharge but the Arizona Corporation Commission cut that in half and agreed to review the matter again in February.
The surcharge is separate from Southwest's request earlier this month to permanently raise rates by about 15 percent.
Tucson ranks 67th In Small Business Growth
Tucson is ranked 67th in the growth rate of small businesses over the last six years, according to a report by Sales Genie, which says it maintains America's largest business and consumer marketing database.
The number of small businesses in Tucson grew 14.8 percent from 27,622 in 1998 to 31,708 in 2003, according to the report.
A small business is classified as a company with one to 500 employees that has a registered business address and a telephone number.
Las Vegas grew small business by 58.5 percent to take the top spot in the report. The top five was rounded out by Riverside, Calif., then Ft. Lauderdale, Daytona Beach and Melbourne, all in Florida. Phoenix ranked 19th with a growth rate of 27.6 percent.
Claim Jumper gets refinancing as it readies El Con location
Claim Jumper, a restaurant company based in Irvine, Calif., has completed a $31.5 million refinacing deal so the company can continue its growth plan.
Claim Jumper is finishing construction of a location at El Con Mall in Tucson, which it plans to open Jan. 24. About $6.5 million of the refinancing is associated with the construction of the Tucson restaurant and one in Lynnwood, Wash.
Claim Jumper has been in business for 28 years and builds its reputation on serving generous portions. The debt refinancing was handled by GE Commercial Finance Franchise Finance.
Mayor, governor speak at state of city/state lunch
Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will be featured speakers at the annual State of the City and State of the State luncheons, Jan. 7 and Jan. 14, presented by the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Greater Tucson Leadership.
The luncheons will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the new J.W. Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd. Tickets to each event are $40 per person or $400 for a table of 10. For both, the cost is $70 per person or $700 per table.
For further information or reservations, call (520) 792-2250, ext. 132.
Rising U.S. economy aids Mexico economic revival
After three years of stagnation, Mexico's economy is again growing, thanks in part to a rise in U.S. industrial production and related foreign investment, according to the latest report by the L. William Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business.
The institute's Mexico Consenso Pronosticos Economicos for 2005 predicts a 4 percent increase in that country's gross domestic product during the year. However, it warns that U.S. trade and budget deficits could undermine that recovery by raising interest rates.
Arizona Business Index declines by 1.8 percent
Moving from 62.6 to 61.4 in November, the seasonally adjusted Arizona Business Conditions Index shows that the state's economy continues to grow, but at a 1.8 percent slower rate than in October.
New orders led the state's economy, increasing by 3.7 percent to 64.3 in November. Also rising were the length of delivery times from suppliers, which indicates a lack of inventory on-hand.
This was countered by the state's price index, which fell by 3.8 points, from 72.7 in October to 68.9 last month. Overall, it has been 19 consecutive months since the last time the Arizona Business Conditions Index was below 50 points, which indicates a recession.
Arizona Economic index down from prior month
The Bank One Arizona Index of Leading Economic Indicators declined to 124.5 from 125.4 during the previous month but remained above the October 2003 level of 123.1 in the latest report prepared by the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The monthly index was driven downward by a decline in delivery times and increase in on-hand inventory, as well as a drop in new orders and production, employment, residential building permits, average workweek and the manufacturing money supply.
EPA says Arizona meets standard for particulates
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's director, Steve Owens, announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now says the state is in compliance with national ambient air quality standards for extremely small particulate emissions.
The decision is a turn-around from previous reports, which found several areas of the state to be in violation of the standard for these 2.5 micron or smaller particles, as small as a grain of flour, which are primarily produced by automobile, industrial and diesel engine exhaust.
They have been designated a significant threat to the public's health, since they can remain airborne for an extended period and are known to aggravate respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, influenza and pulmonary disease in children and the elderly.
Raytheon delivers five anti-ballistic missiles
The first five STANDARD Missile-3 rounds, for use in destroying incoming ballistic missiles from sea-based Aegis cruisers and destroyers, were delivered to the Missile Defense Agency by Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson. The weapons, developed to provide protection against attack from medium-range sub-orbital missiles, were introduced at a Tucson press conference on Oct. 22.
Testing of the system, started in January 2002, has shown the weapon to be capable of identifying, tracking and intercepting incoming missiles from space.
Raytheon wins Level 3 production certification
Incorporating the best business practices to ensure predictability and improved quality performance, Raytheon Missile Systems has achieved Capability Maturity Model Integration Level 3 certification.
The certification program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and National Defense Industrial Association, is considered the benchmark for "best practices" in defense contracting.
Raytheon correction
A $32 million contract by the Canadian Department of National Defence to repair, overhaul and upgrade 16 naval Phalanx systems was awarded to Raytheon Canada's Services and Support Division. Raytheon's Missile Systems in Tucson developed the Phalanx missile but was not part of the Canadian contract award as stated in a brief in the Dec. 20 issue.
Hamilton parent company puts emphasis on aerospace
Renegade Ventures Corp., parent company of Hamilton Aerospace Technologies and World Jet in Tucson, is changing its name to Global Aircraft Solutions to acknowledge the crucial importance of these two divisions, which operate hangers, workshops, warehouses, offices and other buildings to provide aviation support for United Parcel Service, Falcon Air Express, Jetran International, Goodrick Corp. AAR, National Jet Systems, Pemco, San Antonio Aerospace, Pegasus Aviation, Northern Air Cargo and Asia Pacific Airlines.
Border Trade Alliance offers ‘05 advocacy list
Mad cow disease, US-VISIT and FAST lanes at Mariposa are the leading issues for the Phoenix-based Border Trade Alliance during 2005.
The non-profit advocacy group will be monitoring the implementation of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology and International Trade Data System to guarantee that they improve rather than impede cross-border traffic, especially at the Nogales port of entry.
The BTA will also be working with federal officials to support a national animal identification tracking system to prevent further incidents of bovine spongiform encephalopathy from disrupting the nation's beef supply.
The alliance will also be overseeing the construction of free and secure trade lanes at the Mariposa port of entry to ensure that the demand for both national security and easier transit of northbound truck traffic are met.
Chamber leads city-wide sign ordinance task force
Staff from the Marana and Oro Valley Development Services departments, as well as representatives from the sign industry, spoke about their ban on A-frame signs at the December meeting of the sign code task force, sponsored by the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
The task force, which will be meeting again at 7:30 a.m., Jan. 20, at the chamber offices, is working with the City of Tucson to revamp the city's existing sign code ordinance. For further information, call Levi Jackson, manager of Governmental Affairs, at (520) 792-2250, ext. 129.
Northern Pima Chamber plans networking lunch
The next membership networking luncheon of the Northern Pima Chamber of Commerce will be 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Jan. 13 at the Michelangelo Ristorante Italiano, 420 W. Magee Rd. The cost is $15 for members or $17 for non-members.
The chamber is also presenting an "Unlimited Mixer", 5-7 p.m., on Jan. 18 a the DM Federal Credit Union, 550 W. Magee Rd. the cost is $5 per person.
For further information or registration for either event, call the chamber office at (520) 297-2191.
Better Business Bureau expels 2 pool/spa firms
The Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona has revoked the memberships of Blue Haven Pools & Spas and L.A. Spas, Inc. Neither company appealed its expulsion, according to the BBB. Blue Haven, 1015 W. Prince Road, was expelled for failure to adhere to established BBB standards of advertising and selling.
L.A. Spas, 4721 E. Broadway, was expelled after it failed to respond to a complaint after three tries by the BBB.
Tucson research takes look at market for life
Eric Craine, chief executive officer of Western Research Company in Tucson, will be the luncheon keynote speaker at a Feb. 10-11 conference, presented by T-Gen and Arizona State University's Technopolis.
The event, at the ASU Research Park, will be exploring the prospects for commercializing Arizona's life sciences research, including the challenges and opportunities provided by the current regulatory and funding environment. Other speakers will include Jo Anne Goodnight, SBIR/STTR program coordinator for the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Ivor Royston, managing member of Forward Ventures in San Diego.
Sponsored by the law firm of Jennings Strouss, the event costs $125 per person, per day, or $199 for both days. Further information and online registration is available at www.asutechnopolis.org.
Road closure
announcedstarting Jan. 3
El Camino de Manana, between Tangerine Road and Migitty Lane, will be closed to traffic from Monday, Jan. 3, through Wednesday, Jan. 12. All traffic is encouraged to use Migitty Lane for an alternative route, Borderland Construction Company, Inc., announced last week.
Indians purchase, move Western tourist attraction
Rawhide Western Town & Steakhouse in Scottsdale has been purchased by the Gila River Indian Community, which will be moving it to a new location west of I-10. the 35-year-old tourist attraction will be moved to the Wild Horse Pass development between Sept. 9 and Nov. 1, 2005.
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