Saturday, November 21, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: KENDALL YARDS

Spokane

Business in brief: Ground broken at Kendall Yards

May 18, 2007

A who's who of Spokane leaders turned out and filled a circus tent for the groundbreaking ceremony for Kendall Yards on Thursday afternoon.

"You're going to look back on this day and say what a special moment it was to be here," Rich Hadley, president and CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated, told the crowd.

Hundreds of blue and white balloons tied to the Monroe Street Bridge led to the tent on the north bank of the river. A few hundred people attended.

Developer Marshall Chesrown is planning to turn the 78 acres into homes, offices and retail businesses.

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At Thursday's event, he compared the development of the site to swimming the English Channel. The preparation is now complete, he said.

"Today, we're jumping in and now we have to swim the mother," he said. "It will be a long, hard swim."

The event was hosted by KREM-TV anchor Nadine Woodward, who described Chesrown as a "visionary developer."

On Monday, the Spokane City Council approved the creation of a tax district that will subsidize some of the infrastructure needed for the site.

As late as last week, Kendall Yards project manager Tom Reese said he wasn't sure if the groundbreaking would go forward if the City Council didn't approve the tax mechanism.

"Our community has come together for a new Spokane," Mayor Dennis Hession said after a serenade from the Holmes Elementary School chorus.

Chesrown said real work will start on Monday as crews begin an eight-month project to move power lines underground.

Washington

Electricity demand this summer will be below last year's record levels, though supplies will be tight and prices will be higher, industry and government officials said Thursday.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission based its outlook for reduced power demand in New England, New York, the mid-Atlantic and California on forecasts calling for cooler weather than last summer, which was the second-warmest on record since 1936.

The federal energy agency said in its report that it expects parts of the Midwest, the Southeast and Texas to see greater demand.

Higher prices for natural gas are the main reason that electricity costs will rise, the report said.

Washington

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that he did not believe the growing number of mortgage defaults would seriously harm the economy.

Facing criticism from members of Congress about lax regulation, Bernanke also promised that the Fed would do everything possible to crack down on abuses that have put millions of homeowners in jeopardy of defaulting on their mortgages.

"We at the Federal Reserve will do all that we can to prevent fraud and abusive lending and to ensure that lenders employ sound underwriting practices and make effective disclosures to consumers," Bernanke said.