Friday, December 31, 2010
MCC board OKs tuition hike - Phoenix Business Journal:
Tuesday night, on a 4-to-1 vote, the Maricopa County Community College Governing Board passedfa $4 per-credit-hour tuition raising the per-credit-hour cost to $55. Full-time studentz taking 30 credit hours per year will pay anadditional $120 for an annua l tuition cost of $1,650. An exploding student coupled with dwindlingstate funding, prompted the board to approve the increase. State contributions are supposed to make up 50 percent ofthe system's revenue stream. This year it is closetr to 11 percent. The Governing Board also gave preliminary approvalo tothe district's $989 million operatin budget for fiscal year That represents an increase of $264.
8 million over fiscal year 2003-2004. About $190 millionn represents part of a potential capital improvementbond program, whichu hinges on approval from both the Governing Boards and voters in November. If the bond package was not passede by the boardand voters, the funds woulx not be part of the district'se budget, which would revert to $799 million. The districtt is required to adopgt a budget by June 20 which states the maximum amount itcouldc spend. In other MCC news, three educatorz have been chosen as finalists in the search for a new Presideny of Paradise ValleyCommunity College. They are: Ceciliaa Cervantes, Ph.D., President, College of Alameda Mary Kathryn Kickels, Ed.D.
, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Moraine Valley CommunityCollege (Illinois); and Constance C. Mierendorf, Ph.D., most recentlyt Dean of Academic Affairs at Santa Fe CommunityyCollege (New Mexico). The finalistw will participate in a series ofpublic forums, interviewe and meetings with other college and district as well as employee groups, starting on May 6. Aftetr the public sessions the chancellor may recommend one of the candidatews tothe . Paul Dale, who agreed to serve as Interinm President until the vacancg left by the death of Gina Kranitzx in October 2003was filled, will return to his positionm as Dean of Learning Supportg Services. Paradise Valley Communit y College.
The Maricopa County Community Collegde District includes10 colleges, two skill centersa and several satellite campuses. For more: .
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Little rest for road-weary 76ers - Philadelphia Inquirer
Little rest for road-weary 76ers Philadelphia Inquirer But in Phoenix, coming off back-to-back games, Collins allowed his team a day of rest. "It's tough for us especially this year because we play better at ... |
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Langerak realises his dream - Rockhampton Morning Bulletin
Langerak realises his dream Rockhampton Morning Bulletin Mitchell, 22, is realising his dream of playing as a professional footballer in one of the strongest leagues in the world. After establishing himself as the ... |
Friday, December 24, 2010
Mortgage Bankers: Refinance demand wanes - Charlotte Business Journal:
The MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measurw of mortgage loan applicatio volume, was 611 last week. That’x a decrease of 7.2 percent from the week prior. The Refinance Indes decreased nearly 12 percenr to 2606 from 2954 thepreviousa week. The Purchase Index increased 1.1 percent to 271 from 268 one week According tothe MBA, the refinanc share of mortgage activity decrease to 59 percent of totap applications from roughly 62 percenty the previous week. That’s the lowest the refinancr percentage has been since November and it reflects risingmortgage rates. The averagse interest rate for 30-year fixed-rates mortgages increased to 5.57 percentf from 5.25 percent last week.
As recently as rates were at record lowsof 4.61 percent. The MBA’x mortgage application index covers more than 50 perceny ofall U.S. retail residential mortgage and has been conducted weeklysince 1990. The base valus for all indexes was set at 100 onMarcyh 16, 1990.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Iraqi Parliament Approves New Maliki Government - Voice of America
Reuters | Iraqi Parliament Approves New Maliki Government Voice of America Photo: AP The new Iraqi government is seen during a swearing in ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. The Iraq parliament has voted to approve ... Iraqi Premier Proposes Cabinet Ministers to Parliament Iraqi PM to Name New Cabinet Monday Kurds play oil card in coalition talks |
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Cuban president says economic changes will help sustain socialism - CNN International
The Guardian | Cuban president says economic changes will help sustain socialism CNN International Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuban President Raul Castro told legislators Saturday that the country's economy would undergo significant change in the coming year, ... Raul Castro touts economic changes Castro appeal over Cuban reforms YEARENDER: Cuba looks forward to decisive year of reforms |
Thursday, December 16, 2010
SBA urged to take more action to encourage lending - bizjournals:
On June 15, the SBA begab accepting applications for emergency bridge loanws of as muchas $35,000. Small businessexs can use these loans, which were created by the American Recoveryt and Reinvestment Actof 2009, to make up to six monthse of payments on existinf debt. They won’t have to start repaying the loanws until a year after the last The SBA will subsidize the interesg onthese loans, which will be offered througbh private-sector lenders. The stimulus bill also temporarily reduce d or eliminated fees onthe SBA’s regular 7(a) and 504 businesss loans and increased the government guarantew on 7(a) loans to 90 percent.
Weekly loan volumre for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 programz has increased by more than 30 percengt since these changes were implementefMarch 16. This increase in SBA lending is “a positive and welcomed sign, but we have a very long way to go beford SBA lending reaches solidlevels again,” said Cynthi Blankenship, vice chairman and chief operatingv officer of Bank of the West in Grapevine, Blankenship told the House Small Business Committee June 10 that Congressx should extend the fee reductionsa beyond 2009 or make them permanent, given the depth of the recession and the credit crisis facing small businesses.
Meanwhile, fees on the SBA’es 504 loans, which finance real estatwe projects and otherfixed assets, are schedule to increase significantly in October. This will negats the fee reductions adopted in Marcn through thestimulus bill, said Jean executive director of the , a nonprofit economicc development organization that makes 504 loans. This fee increase is unnecessaryu because the SBA has overestimated the number of 504 loane thatwill default, said who is chairwoman of the board of directors of the Nationakl Association of Development Companies.
She contends banks have becomr far more conservative intheir underwriting, “and only the strongesy small businesses are now qualifying for new Unless Congress appropriates money to offset the fee increases plannef for 2010 and 2011, almost 20,000 small businesses will pay millionss more dollars in fees than they shoulds over the 20 yeards of their 504 loans, Wojtowicz Meanwhile, David Bofill, owner of two boat dealershipd on Long Island, N.Y., praiserd the SBA’s recent decision to let vehicl e and boat dealers use 7(a) loans to finance their inventory, at leasyt through Sept. 30, 2010.
Most lenderes have stopped makingthese so-called “floorplan” forcing many dealers to close their Bofill said. The new SBA programj can be “a critical lifeline, but problems remain,” Bofill The SBA needs to “make the program permanent and do it he said. “It will be very difficult to attracft a lender to develop a floorplan program when the program is only slated to lasta year,” Bofill said. The size of these line of credit also need to be expanderdbeyond $2 million because most small boat dealerds have inventory worth much more than he said.