While it may not seem like much, new numbers from the Commerce Department show a July retail sales increase nationally of 0.7 percent. In real numbers, that 0.7 percent represents $519 billion in sales. Even though the gain was small, it still showed an increase in June’s numbers, when the gain stood at 0.3 percent, prompting some economists to suggest that if a recession is imminent, it will more likely be seen in numbers reported later this year. In a statement, Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist with the National Retail Federation, said the latest sales numbers are “consistent with elevated consumer sentiment, healthy household balance sheets, low inflation, and job gains.” According to the financial analysis site Capital Economics, what is currently regarded as a resilient retail sales picture “should prevent the weakness in manufacturing and business investment from dragging the U.S. economy into recession any time soon.” Overall consumer spending, making up more than two thirds of the current economy, according to a financial analysis published by the Reuters news service, “is being underpinned by the lowest unemployment rate in nearly half a century.” Among the sales segments recording gains was the building material stores industry, which saw a 0.2 percent increase in July over June. That’s an improvement over earlier this year when the building materials segment saw a 4.4 percent decline. Among the largest retail sales gainers last month were grocery stores, electronics and appliances stores, and online retailers. By Garry Boulard
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Members of the Lake Havasu Unified School District’s governing board are moving ahead with a plan to upgrade the athletic fields of two local schools. In a unanimous vote, the board has contracted out for architectural design services that will target the phase two upgrade work at the Lake Havasu High School, located at 2675 Palo Verde Boulevard, and the Thunderbolt Middle School, at 695 Thunderbolt Avenue. Actual construction work on the fields will most likely begin sometime next year. According to district officials, the existing Lake Havasu High School athletic field, which includes a cinder track, has been in poor condition and is virtually unchanged since the 1970s. The architectural design services firm is the Mesa-based Emc2 Architects, which specializes in architectural planning primarily for educational and governmental clients. Funding for the athletic field projects is coming from a $49 million bond passed by district voters in 2016. Of that amount, some $5.3 million is targeting the fields upgrade work. That funding has also paid for the construction of the district’s 3,000-seat Lee Barnes Stadium. The northwest Arizona district includes eight elementary, middle, and high schools with a total enrollment of around 5,300 students. By Garry Boulard Work on a far-reaching number of New Mexico road upgrading and improvement projects is expected to launch sometime in early 2020. Earlier this year, members of the New Mexico State Legislature voted to approve more than $389 million in funding for those projects, money that was later approved by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. One of the targeted areas expected to see the most work is in southeast New Mexico, which is currently experiencing increased large truck traffic as a result of the regional oil and gas exploration boom there. Around 22 miles of upgrade work on the north-to-south U.S. Highway 285, slicing through Carlsbad and Artesia, is slated to begin early next summer. Other projects include the construction of the Gibson exit off Interstate 25 in Albuquerque, and the much-anticipated four-lane $3 million Paseo del Volcan, which has long been seen as an economic catalyst for Rio Rancho and Sandoval County. Southern New Mexico will see up to $18 million being spent on the upgrading of New Mexico State Road 404 in Dona Ana County. The funding passed by lawmakers last winter for the road work partly came out of increased revenue generated by the strong oil and gas exploration market. By Garry Boulard Good air quality and an abundance of natural light are two of the most important components contributing to employee satisfaction, a new report contends. The Workplace Wellness Study also shows employees responding particularly well to such additional amenities as sleep pods, basketball courts, and the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables in the company cafeteria. Conducted by a New York research firm called Future Workplace, the study included an extensive survey of more than 1,600 employees nationally. Of that number, some 44 percent indicated that a workplace’s poor air quality made them feel sleepy, with another 28 percent saying that poor air quality made their throats feel irritated or led to itchy and watery eyes. The survey also showed that a solid 60 percent of respondents felt that the lighting in their workspace was inadequate, with a desire for natural lighting taking precedence over all other workspace amenity desires. Among the top so-called “wellness perks” most often cited by the study’s respondents was air quality and comfortable lighting, followed by water quality and comfortable temperatures. Much lower on the list was the desire for fitness facilities and technology-based health tools. Looking at the trends from another angle, 48 percent of respondents said they wanted to be able to personalize the temperatures in their workspace with an app; while 33 percent indicated that they would like to personalize their overhead lighting, desk lighting, and the amount of natural light coming in. The study asserts that “organizations have the power to make improvements in these areas, but environmental wellness in the workplace involves interconnected factors that cross multiple groups and functions.” “Understanding what matters most to employees,” the study adds, “can help companies prioritize and create a more comprehensive plan that encompasses a broad set of interconnected wellness influences.” Future Workplace is an executive consulting agency focusing on ways to improve the nation’s workplaces. By Garry Boulard The El Paso Walmart Supercenter that was the site of a tragic shooting resulting in the death of twenty-two people, with another twenty-five wounded, is expected to re-open later this year. But company officials say that the store, located at 7101 Gateway Boulevard near the Cielo Vista Mall, will first be renovated. Included in the facility work will be the building of a mass shooting memorial, although what exactly that memorial will entail has not yet been disclosed by the company. What is known is that the store’s interior is slated for an overall upgrade with new flooring and a reconfiguration of space. “We’ve made the decision to remodel the entire facility,” Randy Hargrove, a Walmart spokesman, told the New York Post. Plans for the exact look, dimension, and feel of the memorial will be largely determined by the input of people living in El Paso. It is not yet known how much the renovation and memorial will cost. But Walmart officials believe that work on the facility will begin in September. The roughly 180,000 square foot Gateway Boulevard Walmart was opened more than two decades ago. It is one of nearly a dozen locations of varying sizes the store has in metro El Paso. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart company announced the establishment of a $400,000 fund to help those in El Paso who were impacted by the tragedy. By Garry Boulard Vacant for more than four decades, a 48,000 square foot Denver school building, lauded for its Classical Revival architecture, may soon have a new life. The Evans School, at 1115 Acoma Street in the city’s popular Golden Triangle neighborhood, was built in 1904, serving several generations of elementary and junior high school students before being closed in 1972 by the Denver Public Schools system, owing to its declining enrollment. The three-story red brick building, designed by Denver architect David Dryden, who created similar Classical Revival looks for nearly two dozen public schools in the city, is particularly valued for such features as its vintage tin ceilings, copper stairwell, and mosaic entry tiles. The structure was put on the list of the National Historic Register in 1980. In the decades since the school was sold to a private party, various proposals have been floated regarding a new use for the building. Now, a development team, led by the Denver-based City Street Investors, is hoping to purchase the structure with the hope of repurposing parts of the building into restaurant, bar, and special events space. The development team also includes the Columbia Group of Denver. Negotiations regarding the purchase of the structure are currently ongoing, but reports suggest that if a final deal can be reached between all of the interested parties, work upgrading the Evans School could begin later this year or in early 2020. By Garry Boulard July was a good month for new construction starts nationally, according to a new report just issued by Dodge Data & Analytics, with an overall increase of 2 percent nationally from the month before. Even though that 2 percent is smaller than the 10 percent and 9 percent gains recorded in May and June of this year respectively, the numbers show an overall strong construction picture. Among the top segment gainers was the public works sector, with a 24 percent increase in July over the month before. In a statement, Robert Murray, Dodge chief economist, said the increase in public projects was typical of what usually happens “during the latter stages of construction expansion.” Such projects, added Murray, serve to moderate conventional cycle slowdowns. Another healthy segment was seen in the commercial building categories, which were up by 4 percent in July. Store construction advanced by a very healthy 24 percent, while office construction posted a 1 percent gain. Overall, total construction value in July hit the $849 million mark, up from $833 million the month before. By Garry Boulard Three new schools may be built in the third largest school district in El Paso, depending upon the results of an upcoming November bond election. Voters residing within the boundary of the Ysleta Independent School District, which is located mostly on the east side of El Paso, will be asked to decide on the passage of a $425 million bond that will also pay for a series of facility security upgrades. After meeting repeatedly throughout the summer, members of the district’s Facilities Advisory Committee, made up of alumni, teachers, residents, and law enforcement officials, among others, voted in favor of a bond that is largely a response to the district’s declining enrollment. Where the district had more than 50,000 students several decades ago, today it is down to just over 40,000. Because of those numbers, district officials have gone through the arduous process of closing some schools and consolidating others. A new middle school in the Riverside neighborhood will serve as the consolidated response to the closing of two elementary schools, while another new middle school facility in the Hanks neighborhood will house students from two other closed middle schools. The bond will also pay for the renovation of the Dolphin Terrace Elementary School, located at 9790 Pickeral Drive, as well as the Bel Air High School at 721 N. Yarbrough Drive. Each existing school in the district will see the installation of refrigerated air systems, while all of the facilities will also undergo safety and security enhancements. Those enhancements are expected to include the construction of perimeter fencing around the properties of each school, as well as the building of security vestibules inside the schools. Four years ago district residents, with 59 percent of the vote, approved a $430 million bond for both new facility construction, as well as existing facility renovations. By Garry Boulard The Albuquerque Development Commission has approved the awarding of $36 million in industrial revenue bonds to enhance an existing structure on the southeast side of the city. That structure, located at 3801 University Boulevard, is the Albuquerque ground zero for Nypro Healthcare Baja, Incorporated, a company based in Carson City, Nevada that manufactures a wide array of medical and surgical devices. The facility project is also receiving $250,000 in Local Economic Development Act support, with the State of New Mexico planning to kick in another $750,000 in LEDA funding. Final funding approval for the awarding of the industrial revenue bonds will most likely be made next month by the Albuquerque City Council. Nypro is owned by another company called Nypro, Inc., which, in turn, is owned by the St. Petersburg-based Jabil Incorporated. That company’s offerings include computing hardware, telecommunications equipment, and electronics geared especially for the aerospace, automotive energy, and medical sectors. Jabil currently enjoys more than $22 billion in annual revenue. According to city documents, Nypro is planning to invest up to $36 million in additional equipment for its medical device manufacturing operations, with $3.6 million specifically targeting building improvements and renovations at the University Boulevard property. Expansion of the 233,000 square foot Albuquerque facility will be in keeping with Jabil’s larger goal of growing its healthcare division. Specific structural work at the facility will include air handling unit upgrades, floor replacement, fire protection improvements, and a new deionized water system. By Garry Boulard Arizona and Colorado will be receiving a combined $4.8 million in funding from the Department of Commerce for the building of Next Generation 911 infrastructure on tribal lands. That next generation ability is designed to do away with current analog 911 infrastructure, allowing instead for digital information in the form of videos, voice, text messages, and photos to be received at the moment of transmission. The money, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, is coming through what is known as the 911 Grant Program and will help to pay for the infrastructure needed to upgrade the tribal 911 call centers. That upgrading will provide those centers with IP network and digital network capabilities, while also offering advanced mapping systems for those same facilities. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross noted that new public safety technology advances now allow “critical information to flow seamlessly from the public through the 911 networks and on to first responders.” Ross added that the grant awards will prove a “significant step toward a faster, more resilient emergency system.” Altogether, grants totaling more than $109 million have been awarded for tribal call center projects in 34 states and two tribal nations. By Garry Boulard |
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