Home sales rise by 6.5 percent | pnj.com

Home sales rise by 6.5 percent | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal: "WASHINGTON (AP) — A real estate group says sales of existing homes rose 6.5 percent from November to December, closing out the worst year for the U.S. real estate market in more than a decade."

No deal on Bon Secour

Wednesday, December 03, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

GULF SHORES — A court-ordered auction of more than 880 acres at the foreclosed Bon Secour Village failed to yield any acceptable bids and will force lawyers to look for new ways to dispose of the property and pare down financial losses.

The developers of the 1,000-acre project defaulted on their $20.36 million loan from Wachovia bank last year and the auction had been ordered to clear the debt, which, according to court filings, accrues interest at a rate of more than $2,600 a day.

Heralded as a $500 million town-within-a-town that would transform a swath of woods along the Intracoastal Waterway's northern shore into one of the state's most chic neighborhoods, Bon Secour Village has been mired in troubles for the last year.

Mobile Press-Register

ThyssenKrupp job fair slated for Dec. 9

Applications being taken online now, but event at Central Annex designed to answer questions
Monday, December 01, 2008
By CRAIG MYERS
Staff Reporter

If a new career is on your Christmas wish list,

ThyssenKrupp is coming to town.

The $4.5 billion German steel-manufacturing plant in north Mobile County is scheduled to open in about a year and will need nearly 2,700 permanent employees, said Mary Mullins, a spokeswoman for ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA.

"It is believed to be one of the largest economic and industrial investments in the U.S. in the next decade," she told Baldwin County commissioners at a recent meeting. "We are really pleased to be part of the growth in our region when we see economic slowdown elsewhere in the country. ... We are committed to hiring locally to the greatest extent possible."

As of late November, the company had hired more than 300 workers, she said. "As you can see we've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go," Mullins said.

So the company and Baldwin County Commission are teaming up to seek some of that work force on this side of the bay. A ThyssenKrupp Jobs Fair will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Central Annex in Robertsdale.

ThyssenKrupp Website

Mobile Press-Register

Austal in Mobile wins $1.6B Navy contract

Sen. Shelby's office says Mobile shipbuilder will build up to 10 high-speed transports for Navy in contract that will run through 2015
Thursday, November 13, 2008
By KAIJA WILKINSON
Business Reporter

Austal USA has won a $1.6 billion contract to build up to 10 high-speed transport ships for the U.S. military, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, announced Wednesday.

Neither Austal nor the U.S. Navy would confirm Wednesday's announcement, but a staff member in another congressional office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the contract is going to Austal. Shelby spokeswoman Laura Henderson did not respond to phone calls seeking clarification late Wednesday.

The award would be significant for Austal, which has about 1,000 employees at its facility on the Mobile River.

Mobile Press-Register

ResortQuest now in Gulf Shores

Sunday, June 08, 2008
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

The locals will compete with a national firm for vacation rentals after the arrival of ResortQuest on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

"We're in a growth mode and setting it up for a strong future here," said Lino Maldonado, vice president of Northwest Florida operations, which is based in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. "We knew we needed to be in Gulf Shores. The product mix, all the entertainment venues, and the family atmosphere, it's a perfect niche."

ResortQuest is one of the largest firms managing and marketing resort condominium and home rentals in the United States. Its local rental management office is in the former Ono Professional Partners real estate building at 3145 Gulf Shores Parkway in Gulf Shores. Ono Professionals is now called ResortQuest Real Estate, and its 30 sales agents occupy the second floor of the building, according to broker Jeff McLaurin.

Much of the rental invento ry at the Gulf has been managed by two large companies, Meyer Real Estate and Kaiser Realty, and a handful of mom-and-pop operations. But there's plenty of business to go around, according to the resort managers. There are 15,263 condo units and hotel rooms available for rentals, according to the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"Bring it on," said Sarah Kuzma, a spokesperson for Meyer in Gulf Shores. "We're ready and can compete with anyone. If they bring some national attention to our area, that's positive." Meyer manages more than 2,000 properties in Alabama and Florida.

Mobile Press-Register

Austal Unveils New Warship

Video from WKRG-TV5...

WKRG.com Video

Airbus: Vision of glory for Mobile

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Barry Eccleston says Mobile is ready for takeoff.

Eccleston, chief executive officer of Airbus Americas, is eager to break ground on a project that will establish the city as a major new center of aircraft production.

Airbus, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., wants to build commercial air freighters in a new plant at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex. The project hasn't drawn the headlines that accompanied a related plan to build aerial refueling tankers at Brookley, but it's every bit as significant, according to Eccleston.

"This is going to truly transform Mobile," said Eccleston, who runs Airbus' North American subsidiary from its headquarters in Herndon, Va. "If you've seen Toulouse or Seattle, that's what you can envision. It will become a global aerospace center sophisticated, vibrant, high-tech and international. It will be one of the greatest centers of its kind anywhere in the world."

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Baldwin County's credit rating improves

Top agencies reclassify Baldwin in time for $24.6 million bond issue
Sunday, April 27, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

Baldwin County's credit rating, which dictates how much taxpayers shell out to borrow money for large projects, was boosted this month by the nation's top two ratings firms.

Moody's and Standard & Poor's both announced that they had increased the county's creditworthiness to levels that few governments in Alabama can match.

On the Moody's system the county went from Aa3 to Aa2, while on the Standard & Poor's scale the county jumped from AA to AA+. Those ratings are just below the highest possible score on both scales.

Click here

to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Mobile County's Race Track to be much more than just a Race Track

Besides the ThyssenKrupp 3.7 billion dollar steel plant, Astral's expansion and Northrop Grumman's Tanker contract (if it wins final approval) Mobile County's Race Track should contribute to a strong area economy.

Video from WKRG-TV5...

WKRG.com Video

In Mobile, aerospace is just part of a bolder vision of global commerce

The Azalea Trail Maids are high school students who serve as Mobile's city ambassadors at various events. A Deep South city much like New Orleans, Mobile has become a boomtown -- businesses can't train workers fast enough to fill thousands of jobs. (MOBILE (ALA.) AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE)

By ANDREA JAMES
P-I REPORTER

MOBILE, Ala. -- Years before many Seattleites would consider Mobile a jet-city rival, officials here set sights on the Pacific Northwest and its lucrative aerospace industry.

"We've been to Seattle several times, but I don't recall Seattle coming here," Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said in a recent interview. "While it appears that some people in Seattle don't know a lot about Mobile, Alabama, Boeing knows a whole lot about us. They've been here twice."

Indeed. Some in this Gulf Coast city speculate that The Boeing Co.'s consideration of putting 787 jetliner production in Mobile is what ultimately led the parent company of Airbus to land here.

Now Mobile has emerged as a mini-challenger to Seattle, hosting Boeing's biggest competitor in America's backyard. With a $35 billion contract endorsement from the Air Force (which Boeing is protesting), Airbus' parent company, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., has pledged to build commercial airplanes along with military tankers in Alabama.

How did this happen? Mobile officials cite an embrace of globalization, an outpouring of Southern hospitality toward big business and an ability to put aside political differences at all levels of government.

The city's leaders share a common dialogue and a distaste for those who would prevent progress. Port of Mobile Director Jimmy Lyons, for example, calls people who grouse all the time, "cave people," for "citizens against virtually everything."

Click here to read the full article from SeattlePI.com.

Click here to read peoples comments on the above article.

Click here to visit www.KeepOurTanker.com for more information about this important economic issue.

Anglers oppose proposed grouper limits

Operators and recreational fishermen believe a new proposal would violate a federal rule that requires balanced distribution of fish between recreational and commercial interests.

The new rules would expand the closed season on grouper for recreational boats from one month to three, but keep the one-month closure for commercial boats. The closure would be during height of tourist season.

Recreational anglers also would have their bag limit of grouper reduced from five fish to three, while commercial boats could keep 6,000 pounds per trip.

A hearing on the proposals for Gulf grouper fishing could attract a crowd tonight in Naples.

Roy Crabtree, director of federal fisheries in the southeastern region, said the proposed regulations aren't inequitable, just different in the way they attain the same goal. According to latest fishery data, the harvest of gag grouper must be reduced 45 percent for both sectors to keep that species from being overfished.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which makes recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service under Crabtree, believes a specified closure from Jan. 15-April 15 will be easiest for recreational anglers and charter boats to deal with, in terms of planning.

"If we go for more risky management, the likelihood of in-season adjustments are more likely," Crabtree said of sudden mid-year closures. "Those are going to be disruptive and very unpopular.

Click here to read the full article from News-Press.com.

Support sought for Northrop Grumman/EADS Contract

Video from NBC-15...

Air Force's tanker decision is just the tip of the iceberg

Sunday, March 16, 2008

By MARK S. WILLIAMS

Special to the Press-Register

LYNNWOOD, Wash. -- Economists are not the usual center of attention at social gatherings because, well, we can be pretty boring when policy is the subject. However, when the conversation turns to jobs, business growth and taxes, we can find ourselves the center of attention.

The current uproar over the Air Force tanker contract involves much more than just Northrop Grumman vs. Boeing. Let's cover the peripherals just so they're out of the way.

Boeing lost the contract due primarily to its own arrogance and its history of highly questionable ethics on this very subject.

I happen to live about 12 miles from Boeing's 767 assembly plant and have had dealings with the company. Arrogance and an expectation for preferential treatment are the norm for the company and are reflected in the attitudes of executives all the way down to the line workers.

Indeed, during the tanker contract negotiations, Boeing was described as aloof and rude, and reportedly didn't even respond to some Air Force inquiries, while Northrop Grumman was described as "bringing their A game" to the table.

When Boeing officials tout their experience, they probably don't want people to recall that in 2004 irregularities, corruption and fraud during the initial contract bid for new tankers resulted in two senior executives serving jail time and Boeing's chief executive resigning.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

New website launched to support Northrop Grumman Tanker Project

Visit website to support the Northrop Grumman Tanker Project: www.KeepOurTanker.com

(The above link redirects the visitor to www.ComeBackHomeToMobile.com.)

Protest freezes contract process

Boeing's rapid challenge of tanker deal invokes 'automatic stay of performance'

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

By SEAN REILLY

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force halted work on an airborne refueling tanker contract Tuesday after Boeing Co. formally appealed the military's decision to award the deal to a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. and its partner, EADS North America.

Because the protest to the U.S. Government Accountability Office came within five days after Boeing was 'debriefed" on the reasons for its loss, "there is an automatic stay of performance," Lt. Col. Jennifer Cassidy, an Air Force spokeswoman, said via e-mail. She declined comment on whether the Air Force might seek a waiver that would allow the project to move forward in Mobile.

A spokesman for Los Angeles-based Northrop could not be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon on the potential effect of the Air Force's pause. On Friday, one executive had indicated that construction on Northrop's part of the $600 million assembly plant at Brookley Field Industrial Complex would begin by month's end.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Click here for our index of articles and information on the Northrop Grumman tanker project.

Northrop Grumman Sets the Record Straight Concerning the U.S. Air Force KC-45A Misinformation

LOS ANGELES -- March 10, 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) said today that since the Air Force's selection of the Northrop Grumman KC-45A, numerous erroneous comments continue to be repeated in the media and in Congress. Northrop Grumman wants to set the record straight on the following points:

Northrop Grumman, a Los Angeles-based company with over 120,000 employees, is the KC-45A tanker prime contractor
* A contract between the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman
Corporation for the Northrop Grumman KC-45A was signed on Feb.
29, 2008.

* Northrop Grumman KC-45A primary subcontractors include EADS-North
America, General Electric, Honeywell, AAR Cargo Systems, Sargent
Fletcher, Knight Aerospace Products, Parker and Telephonics.

Jobs
* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A U.S. supplier base includes 230
companies in 49 states.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker will support more than 25,000
direct and indirect jobs in the United States -- a conservative
estimate based upon the U.S. Department of Commerce aerospace
industry jobs projection formula.

* Using more recent data from our suppliers and applying the Labor
Department's formula for projecting aerospace jobs at the state
and regional level, the KC-45A will employ approximately 48,000
direct and indirect jobs nationwide.

* Assembly and militarization of the Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker
will take place in Mobile, Ala., resulting in the creation of
1,500 jobs in the United States.

* Job creation was not a part of the evaluation criteria, in
accordance with federal law.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker program does not transfer any
jobs from the United States to France or any other foreign
country.

Repayable Loans / WTO Dispute Issue
* The U.S. Department of Defense ruled that the disputes involving
Boeing and Airbus currently being adjudicated by the World Trade
Organization were not relevant to the U.S. Air Force's KC-X
Tanker competition.

Acquisition Process
* The KC-45A competition underwent the most rigorous, fair and
transparent acquisition process in Defense Department history.

* Throughout the process, both competitors in the KC-45A
acquisition hailed the Air Force for conducting a fair and open
competition.

* The size of the proposed tanker aircraft was not dictated by the
Air Force nor was size an established criteria -- each contractor
was free to propose the best solution and platform to meet Air
Force warfighter requirements.

* Both contractors had ample opportunity in the protracted
acquisition and source selection process to propose the best
aerial refueling capability to meet the warfighter's
requirements.

Reduced Risk to the Government
* The first Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker aircraft was built in
July 2007 and flown in September 2007.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A Aerial Refueling Boom System has
completed 73 test flights totaling more than 200 flight hours.
The boom completed the first in-flight fuel transfer on Feb. 29,
2008 passing 2,000 pounds of fuel to a Portuguese Air Force F-16
combat aircraft.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A is based upon the Royal Australian
Air Force KC-30B Multirole Tanker -- which has been built, flown,
and is undergoing flight tests. It will be delivered on schedule
to the Royal Australian Air Force in early 2009.

* Boeing's proposed KC-767AT tanker and refueling boom were never
built, flown or tested.

Industrial Base
* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker program will create a new
aerospace manufacturing corridor in the southeastern United
States.

* The KC-45A program helps return competitiveness to the U.S.
aerospace industry.

Foreign Content
* All modern jetliners are built from a global supplier base, and
the two entrants in the KC-45A competition are no exception.

* Boeing's proposed tanker includes parts manufactured in Japan,
United Kingdom, Canada and Italy.

* Northrop Grumman tanker includes parts built in the United
Kingdom, Germany, Spain and France -- countries exempt under the
Buy America Law.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A will include approximately 60 percent
U.S. content. It is America's tanker.

Foreign Suppliers to U.S. Military Programs
* There are numerous examples of transatlantic cooperation on vital
U.S. military programs. Foreign suppliers currently play
essential roles in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the VH-71
Presidential Helicopter and the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft
program.

* No sensitive military technology will be exported to Europe. For
the KC-45A program, a commercial A330 jetliner will be assembled
by American workers in EADS's facility in Mobile. The aircraft
will then undergo military conversion in an adjacent Northrop
Grumman facility. All of the KC-45A's critical military
technology will be added by an American company, Northrop
Grumman, in America, in Mobile, Ala.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

CONTACT: Randy Belote
(703) 875-8525
randy.belote@ngc.com

Tim Paynter
(321) 961-1101
tim.paynter@ngc.com

Tanker plant impact should ripple to Gulf

Monday, March 10, 2008
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

Northrop Grumman Corp.'s winning a $40 billion jet tanker contract was a ray of sunshine for a condominium-glutted resort market and the Eastern Shore, which has had more newly built homes than buyers.

Anybody with any money who is moving to Mobile will also come to the beach, according to Larry Wireman, developer of two luxury condo projects in Orange Beach: Caribe Resort and Turquoise Place, which starts closing its 173 units in May.

Northrop "is the best news I've heard in a long time. There will be so much industrial business built around Mobile, it will be unreal."

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

What the Air Force Tanker deal means to the Alabama Gulf Coast

March 1, 2008-- The Air Force Tanker contract awarded to Northrop-Grumman/EADS yesterday should have a huge impact on the Alabama Gulf Coast Economy. Listed below are links to articles and websites related to this story...



Note that these links are just a few of thousands of articles about this historic event. Click on the Google News Search link below to see how far this story is spreading.

From the Mobile Press-Register:
Air Force awards tanker contract to Northrop-EADS
Mobile on a Roll
Next challenge: Find the workforce
Local leaders make promises worth millions
What they're saying

From the Pensacola News Journal:
Mobile lands $40 Billion Dollar Deal
Contract good for Florida
Pensacola Chamber Officials Weigh-in
U.S. Rep. Miller applauds contract

From WPMI NBC-15:
AP Story with Public Comments
Brookley boasts rich aviation history
The most anticipated phone call of 2008
A Big Win: Mobile takes the spotlight
Everett, Washington residents "angry, shocked, outraged" by tanker decision
Governor Riley Statement on Selection of Mobile as Site for Aircraft Manufacturing

From WKRG TV-5:
Sen. Jeff Sessions: Historic For Alabama and Mobile
Alabama & Mobile Excited over $40 Billion Dollar Deal
Mobile Wins Air Force Tanker Contract
Gov. Riley: KC-30 Will Be Built By Patriotic People

Google News Search for this story.

More Good News for South Alabama Economy

Northrop/EADS wins tanker contract
Posted by George Talbot, Staff Reporter February 29, 2008 3:21 PM
Categories: Aerospace, Breaking News

Updated 3:47 p.m.

The U.S. Air Force today named Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS North America to build its next-generation fleet of aerial refueling tankers, spurning a bid from rival Boeing Co. with a decision that could bring an aircraft assembly plant to Mobile.

The Air Force made its choice after a fierce competition between the two teams for one of the single largest defense contracts in U.S. history. Estimated at up to $40 billion, the deal includes 179 planes to be delivered over the next 10-15 years. Boeing was considered a heavy favorite due mainly to its political clout and its legacy of building aircraft for the U.S. military.

The tanker contest pitted Northrop's larger, more capable KC-30 against Boeing's smaller, more agile KC-767. Los Angeles-based Northrop plans to assemble its tankers in Mobile, creating up to 1,500 jobs in a new factory at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex. Airbus, an EADS subsidiary, has announced plans to add another 300 jobs by shifting production of a commercial air freighter to Brookley.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Click here to see a Google News Search showing how fast this story is spreading.

Click here to read Forbes article about the Mobile, AL economy.

Good Economic News for Alabama Coastal Communities

America's Fastest-Growing Metros
Brian Wingfield and William Pentland, Forbes.com

It's no secret that the Southeast and Western United States are booming. The costs of living and doing business there are often cheaper there than in big coastal cities. But where and how much those cities are thriving might surprise you.

Take Alabama. The state has some of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, including Mobile, which is projected to have the greatest change in "gross metropolitan product (GMP)," 34% between 2007-2012, according to research forecasts done for us by Moody's Economy.com.

One boon to Alabama is ThyssenKrupp's announcement last year to build a $3.7 billion steel plant in Mobile. And Huntsville--expected GMP growth 15% by 2012--has long been a hub for defense and space research. Since the mid-1990s, Alabama has also become a manufacturing center for automakers like DaimlerChrysler (nyse: DCX - news - people), Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people) and Hyundai.

Click here to read the complete article from Forbes.com.

Click here to read a related article from the Mobile Press-Register.