» Monthly Archives: December 2008
Massive Tennessee coal ash spill is a black eye for the entire coal industry
The massive coal ash spill in Eastern Tennessee will have ramifications through the entire coal industry, potentially setting back attempts by companies to permit new coal mines or coal fired power plants, writes Chris Hopkins, senior vice president for aggregates and mining at The Saint Consulting Group.
With experts quoted in The New York Times ...
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Wal-Mart’s worst nightmare: Tesco turns customer data into right-size stores
Thirteen months after Tesco invaded the US west coast with their Fresh & Easy concept, everyone¹s favorite retail commentator Burt Flickinger calls Wal-Mart¹s worst nightmare.
The Businessweek article in which Flickinger comments highlights a key competitive difference between the two retail giants: the use of knowledge, and how the way that knowledge is used may determine ...
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Zoning shy rural South Carolina does the unthinkable — asks for zoning restrictions
Some rural residents of Greenville County, S.C., "have banded together to do what was once unthinkable in the county's rural reaches -- ask the county to add zoning restrictions to their property," reports Ben Szobody of The Greenville News.
"The grassroots movement is an example of how traditional property-rights advocates can come to embrace limited land-use ...
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‘Nowhere is safe’: The Saint Consulting Group reaches $30M in NIMBY wars
The Saint Report is coming up to its first birthday and would like to share a feature from Venture Nashville Connections that interviews Mike Saint, the chairman and CEO of The Saint Consulting Group, and explores the growth of this land use consultancy that has become the international leader in its field.
As Milt Capps writes, ...
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Most Americans back airport expansion, so why do opponents hold sway in plans?
Seventy-two percent of Americans say they'd support expansion of capacity at their local airport, reports the nationwide Saint Index survey of attitudes towards development. Yet airport expansion projects have been among the most controversial development issues across the US and globally.
Airports in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco will need additional capacity ...
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New twist to land use: let focus group decide before planners and politicians do
Should focus groups mull zoning proposals before planners and politicians decide any change? That's the novel approach to land use politics that Williamsburg, Va. has chosen to consider a zoning change.
Mayor Jeanne Zeidler wants to form a focus group to consider a zoning change about the number of unrelated people who can live in the ...
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Old Man River gets first US underwater wind turbine to generate electricity
Forget constructing dams, just take a look at the first commercial hydrokinetic turbine! This giant turbine has splashed into the Mississippi River near Hastings, Mn., and promises to generate 35-kilowatts of electricity.
The output may not seem much in the overall scheme of things, but at first glance, it appears to be a great idea that ...
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Madoff scandal — tales of handshakes, golfing pals, trust and devastation
Friends betrayed, fortunes lost, regulatory agencies that ignored tip-offs, Internal Revenue tax losses of up to $17 billion -- the ripples keep spreading from Bernie Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme.
The New York Times reports almost no part of New York City's real estate industry has escaped the scandal.
The Associated Press says investors who lost their fortunes ...
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Space-based solar energy: sharp video says now is the time to drill up, not down
A message for President-elect Barack Obama -- look to space-based solar energy platforms to source our planet's energy needs after oil runs out and nuclear power proves too expensive. That is the message of a sharp video which promotes space-based solar energy as THE alternative energy solution.
The video runs less than five minutes and ...
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Delayed sale of Boston City Hall shows recession impact on prosperity hopes
The mayor of Boston wants to sell City Hall, that 1960s concrete bunker in Government Center which is listed among the world's ugliest buildings, but the recession is holding up the move and highlights the dire state of property sales in one of America's more prosperous cities.
Maura Webber Sadovi writes in the Wall Street ...
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