Colorado among foreclosure leaders
Colorado was among five states that accounted for almost half the nation’s foreclosures in March, according to a study released Thursday by Realty Trac.
The publisher of the largest national database of properties in foreclosure reported 62,422 new foreclosures across the country in March, up 17 percent from February. Forty-five percent of March’s foreclosures were in Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Texas and Utah, according to the study. Colorado logged 2,129 properties in varying stages of the process.
EchoStar challenges two states’ tax laws
EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTV Group Inc., operators of the two largest U.S. satellite-television services, sued to challenge laws in Kentucky and Florida that would tax satellite-TV users.
Florida’s law imposes a 10.8 percent tax on satellite users, while cable customers pay 6.8 percent, the companies said in a joint statement. In Kentucky, the companies claim that cable operators are allowed to use local franchise fees to offset the tax imposed on satellite and cable operators.
Separately, EchoStar filed a lawsuit against TiVo Inc. over patents for recording and storing television shows. The lawsuit filed April 29 in federal court in Texarkana, Texas, claims that TiVo and the U.S. unit of South Korea’s Humax Co. infringe four EchoStar patents for digital video recording.
Blue Moon ale to be brewed in Canada
Molson Coors Brewing Co. said its Molson Canada unit will start producing Coors’ Blue Moon ale at the company’s Montreal brewing plant.
Blue Moon currently is brewed at Coors’ Memphis brewery. The brewery is slated for closure in 2007 as part of Molson Coors’ plan to consolidate following the February brewer merger. Molson Coors said it will invest $2 million to upgrade the Montreal brewery.
Auto group adding 150 to claims center
The California State Automobile Association said it will add 150 employees to its Colorado Springs claims center this year, bringing total employment there to 500.
The center opened in August. The California association, part of the national AAA group, is advertising 97 openings ranging from claims representatives to supervisors.
Carrier Access faces delisting from Nasdaq
Carrier Access Corp., a Boulder maker of broadband telecommunications equipment, said Thursday that it faces delisting from the Nasdaq stock market.
Nasdaq regulators threatened the action after the company’s management failed to include an assessment of internal controls in its previously filed 10-K. Under Sarbanes-Oxley rules, public companies must assess the systems and controls they have in place to ensure that accurate financial information is being collected and reported.
RockResorts sole owner of Wyo. lodge
Denver-based RockResorts, a subsidiary of Vail Resorts Inc., announced Thursday it has purchased the remaining 49 percent minority share of the Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, Wyo., making it the sole owner of the property.
Hotel set to open after redevelopment
Locally owned Timber’s Residence Hotel announced it will open in June after a $16.1 million redevelopment.
The 127-suite hotel, off Interstate 70 and Peoria Street, was formerly a Best Western.
Survey of migrant workers to resume
The Labor Department will resume collecting data on migrant farm workers in surveys that advocates say offer the best information about their jobs and living conditions.
Department officials suspended the National Agricultural Workers Study in January and were looking for a different agency to take over the surveying. But in a letter released Thursday, the department said it would resume the study.
4 Southern states compete for factory
The parent company of European aircraft maker Airbus SAS Thursday selected four Southern states as finalists for a $600 million factory to build refueling tankers for the U.S. military. Sites in Mobile, Ala.; Melbourne, Fla.; Kiln, Miss.; and North Charleston, S.C., will compete for the factory.
Apex shareholders meeting postponed
Apex Silver Mines Limited announced Thursday that it will postpone its annual shareholders meeting because the Securities and Exchange Commission hasn’t completed its review of the company’s proxy materials. The meeting is now scheduled for June 24.
Faegre & Benson, First Data Corp.
Steven D. Zansberg, a partner in the intellectual property/media law practice at Faegre & Benson, and Pamela Campos, a summer associate at the firm, were recently honored as two of 30 winners in the 2005 Burton Awards recognizing excellence in legal writing. … Charlie Fote, chairman and chief executive of First Data Corp. will host an investor and analyst conference focusing on the business strategy in its merchant and card-issuing services Thursday in Omaha.
