GIS for small business

LYONS –The Lyons Economic Gardening Group will sponsor a seminar by Wayne Kocina, owner and President and CEO of GeoWize, entitled “Supporting Local Economic Development with Geographic Information Systems, GIS, ” at 6:30 p.m. on April 6 at the Lyons Community Church, downstairs, on the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue.

Wayne Kocina, a seasoned industry veteran with 19 years of experience in GIS, founded GeoWize in Boulder in 2003. The company’s mission is to provide better information for better decisions to small- and middle-sized business giving them the same competitive advantage that the big guys have.

Kocina has provided GIS services and consulted for such companies as Target, Big O Tires, Smiling Moose Deli, US West, Qwest, Unisys (France), Telebras (Brazil) & Telebras – CpQD, Idea Integration, and the City of Littleton, as well as numerous other cities and communities. He serves as the GIS component of the Economic Gardening JumpStart Team, and is currently working with 100 Florida companies as part of the GrowFL program, Florida’s Economic Gardening Initiative. For more information about LEGG or the Chamber of Commerce, please contact the Lyons Area Chamber of Commerce at 303-823-5215 or e-mail legg@lyons-colorado.com.

Lyons is one of the coolest

LYONS – Lyons has been ranked in the top five coolest small towns in the nation in Budget Travel magazine and is in the running to rank first.  Vote before the poll closes on May 9, and then spread the word. And if you can spare the time, vote and upload photos and videos of the restaurants, galleries, shops, and natural settings that make Lyons the coolest small town in the country to the Budget Travel web site.

Budget Travel says, “Remember that we’re looking for towns with a little bit of an edge, more avant-garde than quaint.”  Budget Travel defines coolest small towns as “a town of under 10,000 residents that’s beginning to draw attention—and new residents—because of the quality of life, arts, and restaurant scene, or proximity to nature. We want towns with an edge, so think avant-garde galleries, not country stores. If you voted, let us know why you made your choice. And if we missed a town, give us a heads-up so we can add it to next year’s list.”

SmartCo to open in Longmont

LONGMONT – A California-based warehouse discount grocery store chain plans to open some new stores along the Front Range. Smart & Final Stores has acquired five vacant Albertsons sites including one in Longmont on north Main Street and will open SmartCo Foods outlets this summer. The first will open in Denver in June.

The SmartCo line is a new venture for Commerce, Calif.-based Smart & Final. The stores will be larger than any other of the firm’s grocery-store chains, offering more produce, meats and bulk food products. “Because they’re much larger stores, the assortment’s going to be different,” said Randall Oliver, company spokesperson.

The store will have produce, a meat department and a bakery — all things not found in a typical Smart & Final store, he said. It also will have a large selection of natural and organic foods and a bulk-food section.  “What we’re kind of doing is combining the best of Henry’s and Smart & Final,” he said.

Like a typical Smart & Final store, SmartCo Foods will not be geared solely toward consumers but will offer items for businesses as well. SmartCo will hire about 100 employees for each of the five new stores and will establish a regional corporate office in metro Denver.

There will be no membership fees or club cards required to shop at the stores, he said.

Smart & Final was founded in 1871. The majority of its 275 stores in the western U.S. cater largely to institutional, restaurant, food-service and business customers that buy in bulk. In 2008 it launched Smart & Final Extra outlets with an orientation toward household buyers.

Smart & Final was acquired in 2007 for $813 million by investment firm Apollo Management. Now privately owned, the grocer no longer reports its financial results, but in 2006 its revenue was $2.1 billion.

Smart & Final is accepting job applications for the Colorado stores by e-mail at ColoradoJobs@smartandfinal.com or via fax at 323-869-7880.

EPA names Cemex energy star partner

HOUSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has named Cemex USA a 2010 Energy Star Partner of the Year for outstanding energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Cemex’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony later this month in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010.

Cemex USA will be honored for strategic energy management and a commitment to save energy across its entire operation that resulted in significant energy and financial savings. This is the second year in a row that Cemex USA has been named Partner of the Year. In 2009, Cemex reduced its overall energy intensity by 2.2 percent as a result of its Energy Management Program using Energy Star guidelines. Over 1.1 million MMBTUs were saved through such measures as commissioning two new cement lines using state-of-the-art vertical roller mills for finish grinding, replacing and repairing compressed air systems, and upgrading plant lighting. This energy savings resulted in cutting 107,500 metric tons of CO2 emissions and is equal to providing electricity to 14,900 American homes for one year, or avoiding emissions from about 19,700 passenger vehicles.

Energy Star was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, Energy Star offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 17,000 organizations are Energy Star partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses.

Retail sales posted a gain in February

WASHINGTON—Retail sales posted a surprising increase in February as consumers refused to let snowstorms stop them from stepping up purchases for everything from clothes to appliances. The improvement provided hope that the recovery from the recession is gaining momentum.

Some economists cautioned that spending increases will remain modest as long as wages stay flat and job creation weak. But others said the fourth gain in retail sales in five months meant consumers are starting to spend with more confidence.

For February, sales rose 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said. That surpassed expectations of a 0.2 percent decline. The overall gain was held back by a 2-percent decline in auto sales, partly reflecting the recall problems at Toyota. Weakness in autos also caused a downward revision in January retail sales. They were reduced to an increase of just 0.1 percent, down from the 0.5 percent originally reported. But outside of autos, sales rose a strong 0.8 percent in February. That was far better than the 0.1 percent rise economists had expected. And for January, excluding autos, sales gained 0.5 percent, just slightly below the 0.6 percent initial estimate.

Some analysts expressed concern about whether the spending gains can be sustained, given that unemployment remains high — 9.7 percent in February — and consumer confidence shaky.

Credit unions have money to lend

DENVER – Credit Union Strategic Partners (CUSP) and oFlows announce the launch of CULoanZone.com, a free website designed to connect Coloradans with a local credit union for debt consolidation, auto financing, credit cards, and other loans. Through CULoaneZone.com, visitors simply enter their zip code or employer, and are instantly shown credit unions they are eligible to join. Visitors can then learn more about each credit union, choose the one that best suits their needs, and continue with a quick and easy loan application. Most applications take less than ten minutes and can be completed entirely online.

The launch of CULoanZone.com comes at a time when more Americans are taking a fresh look at credit unions. People who have grown frustrated with their banks’ escalating fees, penalties, and impersonal service are increasingly turning to credit unions. In fact, according to Google, internet searches containing the term credit union have increased dramatically over the past year.

Credit unions are local, community-based organizations that did not get caught up in the financial meltdown on Wall Street. Millions of people have responded to the financial crisis by moving their deposits from troubled banks to safe and secure credit unions. So credit unions are healthy and have plenty of money to make available as loans in Colorado.

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