EnviroPolitics
A daily compendium of environmental and
political information
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EnviroBusiness News….
September
2006
White & Williams expands New York presence
Philadelphia-based law firm
White & Williams said
today it will acquire five-lawyer
Koerner Silberberg of New York on Sunday. Koerner Silberberg's practice
includes corporate transactions, securities law, real estate and commercial
litigation. The acquisition does
not include the addition of any partners, though, as Carl Seldin Koerner and
FrancesZujkowski join White
& Williams as counsel along with three associates.
George Hartnett, White & Williams' chairman, said the transactional practices of
the Koerner firm will mesh with White & Williams' traditional strength in
commercial litigation, particularly with securities litigation. White & Williams
already has a seven-lawyer New York office
that includes three partners at One Penn Plaza. Koerner Silberberg is located at
112 Madison Ave. The two groups will combine into one office at One Penn Plaza,
where new space will be ready for occupancy. After
the acquisition, White & Williams said, it will have 230 lawyers practicing in
eight offices in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, New York and Delaware
Philadelphia Business Journal 9/29/2006
Steam turbine order causes GE Energy to
recall some laid off workers
General Electric Energy's Schenectady, NY
plant is building eight 920-megawatt steam-turbine generators for
TXU Generation
Development Co. LLC for $600M. The turbines, due to be delivered from June
to November 2008, are expected to be up and running in Texas coal-fired power
plants by 2010, said
GE Energy spokesman Thomas Schwendler. "As a result of this we expect that
we will be investing about $4M in plant and equipment at
the site to accommodate
an increase in volume in the steam turbine and generator side of our business," Schwendler said. "We will probably purchase some new generator stands and some
tooling." Since getting
the order in August, GE Energy has recalled 45 laid off
union workers. The company might bring in another 10 laid off workers by the end
of the year, he said.(Albany) Business Review 9/29/06
Storm damaged trees fuel woodchip business
that will use Albany port
Green Energy Resources Inc., a public
company headquartered in New York City, will export wood chips to be used
to fuel power plants to Europe through Port Albany Ventures LLC. The wood comes
from downed tree limbs, storm damaged trees, and routine tree removal
(Albany) Business Review 9/29/06
New conservation group explains role in NRD
settlements In
a presentation yesterday to the
Environmental Business Council of the Commerce
and Industry Association of New Jersey yesterday, former NJDEP Deputy
Commissioner
Michael Catania explained the role his new organization,
Conservation
Resources, Inc., can play in assisting businesses facing Natural
Resource Damage settlements, mitigation projects, satisfaction of permit
conditions, dispute resolution in contested permit conditions, and other cases
involving land contributions. To view a summary of Catania's presentation,
click here For more information, click:
NRD
settlements 9/28/06
Suit accuses PSE&G of discrimination
Public Service
Electric & Gas, which has pledged in recent years to increase racial diversity
in its management ranks, is accused in a new lawsuit of having almost no
minority supervisors in its sprawling service division. The lawsuit, one of
several to accuse the utility of discrimination in recent years, claims there
are only two minorities among the top 100 supervisory personnel in the service
division. The suit also claims that service requests are racially coded so that
black service technicians are sent to minority neighborhoods and white
technicians are sent to the suburbs
Star-Ledger 9/28/06
Saul Ewing welcomes
former federal prosecutor as litigation partner
Saul Ewing LLP announces that
Christopher
R. Hall, a former
Assistant U.S. Attorney
for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania, has joined the firm as Partner in the Litigation Department. Hall
brings to Saul Ewing 16 years of experience in federal multi-agency
investigations involving securities, healthcare, government contracts, public
corruption and environmental and tax violations. Fluent in Spanish, Hall has
tried more than 30 cases in federal courts and was named Prosecutor of the Year
by the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators in 1999. Hall
received his B.A., cum laude, from Amherst College in 1981. He earned his
J.D. from Georgetown Law Center in 1985 and served as editor of the American
Criminal Law Review. Saul Ewing LLP is a Mid-Atlantic firm with 260 lawyers
in eight offices in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and the
District of Columbia. 9/27/2006
Curtiss oil pump
may ease drilling
Curtiss-Wright wants to help oil companies go places never drilled before.
The Roseland, NJ-based company has
developed a pump it says will allow companies to drill deeper undersea, enabling
them to tap new fields and wring more oil out of existing ones
Bergen Record
9/26/06
Buchanan Ingersoll, Klett Rooney
shareholders vote yes to merger
Buchanan Ingersoll and Klett Rooney Lieber &
Schorling have become one, after a shareholder vote at both firms Monday morning
gave
the merger the go-ahead. The new firm, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, will become
the largest law firm in Pennsylvania -- in terms of number of attorneys in the
state -- with roughly 313 lawyers according to the last survey conducted by
Pennsylvania Law Weekly. As a whole, the firm will have over 525 attorneys.
Leaders
of the new firm anticipate that it will be in the top 80 of national firms with
an estimated combined gross
revenue of $265 million
LAW.com
9/26/06
Reed Smith Shuts Doors in Newark
With branch offices in Princeton, NJ, and
New York, Reed Smith really doesn't need one in Newark, NJ, so the
firm has decided to economize by shutting it down next year. Steven Picco,
the New Jersey partner in charge, says the closure, decided in recent budget
deliberations,
is in sync with the 1,100-lawyer Pittsburgh-based firm's plan to eliminate
redundant offices as it expands internationally. It has 14 U.S. offices and four
in Europe, and on Jan. 1, its London office will merge with 400-lawyer Richards
Butler, with branches in Asia, the Middle East and South America
LAW.com
9/26/06
PSEG pulls from within
Less than two weeks after it walked away from a $17 billion merger with Exelon,
Public
Service Enterprise Group is promoting two senior executives to run the company,
the owner of the state's biggest gas and electric utility. The Newark,NJ-based
company yesterday named Ralph Izzo, currently president and chief
operating officer of the utility, Public Service Electric & Gas, to take over as
president and chief operating officer of the parent company, effective Oct. 1.
The move puts Izzo in position to succeed E. James Ferland, the chairman, CEO,
and president of PSEG, when he steps down at the end of next March. Izzo, who
joined the company in 1992 and has held a series of senior executive posts since
then, will be replaced as utility president by Ralph LaRossa, vice
president of delivery at PSE&G. He had been scheduled to take over as head of
the utility if the Exelon merger had gone through
Star-Ledger
PSEG news release 9/26/2006
> PSEG must reassert itself, Izzo says
Ralph Izzo and Ralph LaRossa
speak to The Record
about the company and their new jobs
Bergen Record 9/26/06
NRG Energy's David Crane to speak at Global Power and
Gas Leaders Conference
David Crane, NRG Energy's President and Chief Executive
Officer, will present at the Merrill Lynch Global Power and Gas Leaders
Conference on Tuesday, September 26, 2006. Crane will participate in a panel
discussion, "Texas and Beyond," scheduled for 10:30 a.m. eastern that day.
Interested investors can listen to the live audio webcast at
http://www.nrgenergy.com under "Investors." A replay of the webcast will be
archived on the website.
NRG Energy Center Paxton Creek LLC, in Harrisburg, Pa., owns Paxton Creek
Cogeneration Plant, a merchant plant adjacent to NRG Energy Center Harrisburg’s
Mangione plant. It features two 6 MW diesel generators with heat-recovery
boilers capable of producing 7,000 lb/hr of steam for sale to the Energy
Center’s steam business. The plant also generates electricity for Energy Center
use and for sale into the PJM grid.
News release 9/26/06
Fox Rothschild expands its region with
merger
Considering that one of the dictionary's definitions of "region" is "an
indefinite area of the world or universe," it shouldn't be a surprise that the
legal community's definition of "regional" seems to change by the day.
Consolidation in the marketplace has made many question whether medium-sized
firms will have to grow to remain independent, and some firms have done just
that. The latest example is Fox Rothschild, which will complete its merger with
Roseland, N.J.-based Grotta Glassman & Hoffman by Oct. 1. The 53-lawyer firm
specializes in labor and employment litigation and will give Fox Rothschild
offices in north Jersey, California and Nevada. When asked whether his firm is
now national, Fox Rothschild Chairman Abraham C. Reich said, "Our region has
just gotten bigger."
LAW.com
9/25/06
Environmental attorney to receive NJBA
Chairman's Award Andrew B. Robins, an
officer
and shareholder at the law firm of Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, has been
chosen by the New Jersey Builders
Association
(NJBA) Committee Chairpersons to receive the NJBA Chairman’s Award.
Robins will be formally recognized for his dedication and service to the NJBA at
the Associates Gala on September 27 at the Forsgate Country Club. The Committee,
which designates one Associate Member who has demonstrated exemplary attendance
and significant contributions to the Committee, selected Robins for the second
consecutive
year for his many contributions, including the drafting of policy
statements, presenting
issues for discussion at the redevelopment forums, and drafting amendments to
legislation on behalf of the NJBA on critical issues relating to brownfields and
redevelopment. Robins' law practice focuses on resolving a variety of
environmental issues, including: regulatory compliance, cost recovery litigation
and transaction negotiation and risk analysis. Robins is a frequent lecturer and
author of articles and treatise sections. He received his law degree from
Rutgers University School of Law and his bachelors degree from the University of
Pennsylvania. 9/21/2006
Foster Wheeler enters into
license agreement for circulating fluidized-bed steam generator
Foster Wheeler Ltd. says that its subsidiary Foster Wheeler North America Corp.,
a unit of the Global Power Group, has entered into a fifteen-year agreement with
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. (to provide a technology
license for subcritical pressure circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generator
projects in Korea, the Indian subcontinent and certain other regions. The
agreement also contemplates Foster Wheeler collaborating with Doosan on certain
engineering, procurement, and construction opportunities. Foster Wheeler is
based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, NJ.
Press release 9/21/06
Church & Dwight names new CFO
The Princeton, NJ-based company elects Matthew
Farrell as vice president of finance and chief financial officer, succeeding Zvi
Eiref, who is retiring after serving as the Princeton company's top finance
officer for two decades
Star-Ledger 9/20/06
PSEG Energy Holdings Announces Partial
Redemption of Its 8.625% Senior Notes Due 2008
Newark,
NJ-based PSEG Energy Holdings L.L.C.
(Energy Holdings), a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated
(PSEG), announces that it has called for redemption on October 23, 2006,
$300,000,000 of its $507,200,000 outstanding 8.625% Senior Notes due 2008 (CUSIP#
696361LAF8), at the price computed on the third business day preceding such
redemption date, as set forth in said Senior Notes. The redemption agent for the
issue is U.S. Bank National Association. Additionally, Energy Holdings today is
paying to PSEG a distribution of $425,000,000.
News release 9/20/2006
Law firm to announce new merger A
Philadelphia-based law firm with visions of being a national powerhouse will
announce plans today to acquire an Essex County, NJ labor and employment
boutique that has deep roots in the casino industry. Fox Rothschild,
which will mark its 100th anniversary in a few months, will combine with
Grotta, Glassman & Hoffman of Roseland, NJ. The deal has already been
approved by the partners at both firms and is expected to go into effect Oct. 1.
Star-Ledger 9/19/06
New Energy Practices Provide Alternative Income for Law Firms
Law firm energy practices are heating up again, but the clients aren't the usual
suspects. High oil prices and new legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas
emissions are spurring an interest in alternative fuel sources. California is
leading the way in pushing for renewable energy policies while creating work for
lawyers. "In the past two years our renewable-energy practice has more than
tripled in size, and my own practice has more than doubled in size," says
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius' Edward Zaelke
LAW.com
9/19/06
American Water subsidiary closes on credit facility
American Water said Monday that its
financing subsidiary,
American Water Capital Corp., has closed on an $800M revolving credit
facility. The Voorhees, NJ,
company's chief financial officer, Ellen Wolf, said the facility will be used to
back up American Water Capital Corp.'s commercial-paper program, which is what
American Water uses for its short-term credit needs. 9/19/06
Former Reed Smith partner in PA selected for 3rd Circuit
Two of the vacancies on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals could soon be filled now that President Bush has nominated Thomas
Hardiman, a 41-year-old federal judge who has been on the bench in federal court
in Pittsburgh for less than three years. If confirmed, Hardiman, a former
partner at Reed Smith, will fill the vacancy created in July 2005 when Judge
Richard L. Nygaard took senior status
LAW.com
9/18/2006
Attorneys
to Facilitate CIANJ Environmental Roundtable
The Somerville, NJ law firm Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., is
pleased to announce that Member Edward A. Hogan and Associate
Patrick T. Mottola will facilitate an Environmental Roundtable
sponsored by the Environmental Business Council of the Commerce and
Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) on September 27, 2006.
Hogan will Chair the event and Mottola will serve as Associate Moderator.
CIANJ sponsors events that enable the business community to
effectively interact with leading government officials, networking programs
that bring together potential business customers and partners, committees
focusing on technology, environmental issues, human resources, banking,
education, health care and legislative issues, and education programs
featuring expert speakers on important business topics. As co-chair of the
Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Environmental Law Group, Hogan devotes his practice
to environmental law and litigation, counseling manufacturers,
commercial and industrial landlords and highly-
regulated service businesses
in all aspects of environmental law and litigation. He has written and
co-authored many articles and alerts on the subject of environmental law. He
has also presented seminars and presentations on the subject since 1983. Hogan
is or has served as Chairman of the Environmental Law Section of the New
Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey OSHA & Business Communication
Alliance, the Technical Regulations Advisory Coalition, and the Environmental
Committees of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, the
Ironbound Business Association, and the New Jersey Business and Industry
Association. A resident of Liberty Corner, Hogan earned his J.D. from
Georgetown University, his M.F.S. from Yale University School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies and his B.S. from Saint Peter’s College.
A resident of Franklin Township, Warren County, Mottola focuses his
practice on environmental compliance, regulation and litigation. He
regularly serves clients on environmental issues including ISRA compliance,
site remediation and Brownfields redevelopment projects, underground
storage tank laws, and permitting, including air, water, waste and
wetlands. Mottola has served in litigation and enforcement matters relating to
wetlands delineation, CAFRA, hazardous waste, insurance coverage for mold
contamination, and the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act. Mottola
is a member of the American and New Jersey State Bar Associations,
the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Environmental Committee, the Environmental
Business Council of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, the
Association of Engineering Geologists, as well as a Barrister of the Justice
Stewart G. Pollock Environmental American Inn of Court.
He has been published in the New Jersey Law Journal and Commerce
Magazine, and has spoken on Environmental Law and Regulation for the
Rutgers University-Cook College Continuing Professional Education Program.
Mottola received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law his A.B. in
Philosophy and Geology from Hamilton College. 9/17/2006
Chairman says stand-alone outlook for
PSEG is strong E. James Ferland, the
chairman and CEO of PSEG, said today that, while he was disappointed the plan to
merge with Exelon would not be completed, the business outlook for his company
is strong. “The merger would have provided strategic benefits for PSEG and
real benefits for New Jersey,” said Ferland. “It is unfortunate that our intense
effort to reach a comprehensive settlement with the state’s Board of Public
Utilities was not successful. We simply could not achieve agreement on issues
ranging from market power mitigation to electric and gas rate concessions.”
Ferland emphasized, however, that PSEG’s current stand-alone business outlook is
one of the most positive in the company’s history, given the favorable pricing
in energy markets and improvements in the performance of our own Salem and Hope
Creek nuclear plants. “In addition, the company took strong steps over the last
two years to improve our financial stability and reduce our international
exposure,” he said.
News release 9/17/2006
Flaster-Greenberg
attorneys in the news
Janet S. Kole, chair of the Environmental
Law Practice Group at Flaster/Greenberg, has been selected to write the forward
for the recently published American Bar Association (ABA) - Section of
Litigation book -- The Litigation Manual: Depositions. Kole is a former
co-chair and member of Counsel for the ABA Section
of Litigation who has more than 22 years experience handling complex
environmental litigation. Culled from the pages of the ABA magazine
Litigation, The Litigation Manual: Depositions is filled with
practice-tested methods provided by counsel the ABA considers
to be some of
the finest minds with respect to the topic.
Flaster/Greenberg
environmental law shareholder Mitchell H. Kizner was recently named
head of the Litigation Committee of the Environmental Law Section of the New
Jersey
State Bar Association. Kizner is a past trustee of the section.
Kizner, a member of the firm's Real Estate, Land
Use, and Environmental Law Practice Groups, represents clients in environmental
and insurance matters as part of his active litigation and commercial law
practice. He is A frequent author of environmental law articles published in the
New Jersey Law Journal. 9/14/06
Hudson Energy sells stake to grow
A
Ridgewood, NJ-based energy service company has turned to a private equity
firm to provide funding to build a multi-state enterprise that would provide
electricity and natural gas to commercial, industrial and multi-tenant
residential customers. Hudson Energy Services says it has
sold a controlling interest to Chicago-based Lake Capital, a private equity
firm. Hudson was founded in Ridgewood in 2002 by Abe Grohman, who remains its
president. Deryl Brown, an energy industry veteran, has been brought in as chief
executive by Lake Capital. The company will remain based in Ridgewood, but Brown
will be based in Texas. Hudson Energy sells gas in New Jersey and gas and
electricity in New York. It provides the energy through networks owned by major
utilities, mostly Orange and Rockland Utilities and Consolidated Edison, Brown
said.
Bergen Record 9/14/06
Pallet recycling company gets state help to locate in PA
American Fibertech Corp., which does business
under the Industrial Pallet Corp. name, has purchased a warehouse in
Greencastle, PA, and installed the latest technology equipment to start a
pallet recycling operation on the I-81 corridor. The Greencastle facility houses
production and office functions totaling about 50,000 square feet. The
Department of Community and Economic Development, offered American Fibertech a
$576,000 financial package to locate its new facility in Franklin County.
The company is also eligible to apply for a $1,275,000 loan through the Citizens
Job Bank Program, which offers low-interest-rate loans to companies that commit
to creating or expanding jobs in Pennsylvania. AFC's investment in the project
is currently over $3.3M
Recycling Today
9/14/06
Foster Wheeler gets
contract for Lucite International's new chemical facility in Singapore
Foster Wheeler Ltd. announced today that
its UK subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, and its Singapore subsidiary,
Foster Wheeler Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., both of which are part of its Global
Engineering and Construction group, have been awarded a reimbursable
engineering, procurement and construction contract by Lucite International
Singapore Pte. Ltd. for a new methyl methacrylate manufacturing facility
to be built on Jurong Island, Singapore.
News release 9/14/06
Saul
Ewing acquires D.C. firm
Law firm
Saul Ewing says it will acquire 20-lawyer Schmeltzer Aptaker & Shepard of
Washington. The combination, set to be completed Oct. 1, is subject to final
partner approval, which is expected this month. Saul Ewing Managing Partner
David Antzis said Schmeltzer Aptaker specializes in labor and employment law but
also has a presence in venture capital transaction matters and public policy
law. Antzis said the firm started in the 1970s as an offshoot of Morgan Lewis &
Bockius. He said Schmeltzer Aptaker and Saul Ewing began discussions last fall
but did not move forward until this past spring. Saul Ewing, which is based in
Philadelphia, has a six-lawyer Washington office in the Georgetown
section. Antzis said that group will move into Schmeltzer Aptaker's offices in
the Watergate building. He said one of Saul Ewing's chief strategic objectives
was to grow its two smallest offices in Washington and Newark, N.J.
Antzis said with the addition of 12 labor and employment lawyers, Saul Ewing now
has 25 firmwide. He said the firm has also not had a presence in public policy
practice areas such as maritime and international trade. Ira M. Shepard, one of
the named partners at Schmeltzer Aptaker, will be co-managing partner of the
Washington office along with Howard Slavit, Saul Ewing's current office managing
partner. Saul Ewing has roughly 290 lawyers --130 in the Philadelphia area, 70
in Baltimore, and roughly 20 each in Princeton, N.J.; Wilmington, Del.;
and Harrisburg, Pa. Antzis said the firm is exploring expansion
opportunities in Newark.
Philadelphia Business Journal
LAW. com 9/13/06
Sokol
Behot & Fiorenzo names Scott E. Rekant as Of Counsel to the firm
Sokol,
Behot & Fiorenzo is pleased to announce that Scott E. Rekant has joined
Of Counsel to the firm. Mr.
Rekant
has an extensive background in government, regulatory, administrative,
environmental, and litigation matters, and will join the firm’s environmental
and regulatory practice groups. He most recently served as Counsel to the New
Jersey Credit Union League, where he was an advocate for the State’s Credit
Unions on State and Federal legislative and regulatory issues. He has
previously served as a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General in the Tort
Litigation, Environmental and Transportation Sections of the Division of Law.
He is a graduate of Colgate University and Rutgers University School of Law, and
is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Federal District Courts
for New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Third Circuit of
the United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Rekant is a resident of Monmouth
Junction, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife Debra, and three children.
He will be working at the firm’s Hackensack office.
9/13/06
Plug to collaborate on market research, R&D on
solid oxide fuel cells
NexTech Materials Ltd. of
Ohio and
Plug Power Inc. of Latham, NY are collaborating on
the development of solid oxide fuel cell power systems.
NexTech and Plug said they plan to complete a number
of joint activities including market research, fuel cell stack development and
testing, system design and prototype construction. The two companies said they
would hire eight scientists and engineers to conduct the research and
development. NexTech is a developer and supplier of fuel cell materials and
components. In the past lug's (Nasdaq: PLUG) emphasis has been on fuel cells
that use hydrogen as fuel.
The Business Review (Albany)
9/12/06
Hydroelectric plant celebrates upgrades with fireworks
Brookfield Power, the Canadian company
that owns the School Street hydroelectric station in Cohoes, NY will
sponsor fireworks at Cohoes Falls
Sunday night, Sept. 24. The fireworks
display will mark the first phase of improvements at the 38-megawatt power
plant, which was built in 1911. The renovations include an upgrade of the park
which overlooks the falls on the Mohawk River. The company spent $1.4M on the
project.
The Business Review (Albany) 9/12/06
NJ firms paying big bucks for first-year lawyers
New Jersey's
biggest firms are forking over starting salaries of around $120,000. And that
trend is showing no signs of slowing down.
Star-Ledger 9/12/06
Dewey and Orrick in merger talks
New York's Dewey Ballantine and San Francisco's
Orrick, Herrington
& Sutcliffe are discussing a possible merger, the leaders of both firms confirm.
LAW.com
9/12/06
Western NY could see first ethanol pumps in
1007
Buffalo Business First 9/11/06
Solar plant builder sees bright future for
'renewables'
Even as North Carolina considers
requiring utilities to buy a portion of their electricity from renewable
sources, at least one
entrepreneur is betting that the demand for solar-powered energy will surge in
coming months.
Environmentalist Richard Harkrader has entered into an equal partnership with
Maryland-based
SunEdison to form
Carolina Solar Energy, which has won contracts to build two solar-powered
plants in the state with a combined investment of $1.4M
Triangle Business Journal 9/11/06
Liquid Assets: New breed of bankers deal
with wetlands
In North Carolina, these bankers
deal in a complex currency. They assemble blocks of wetlands from which
developers and
governmental agencies can make withdrawals if construction projects unavoidably
damage other
wetlands. Such transactions are being fueled by the intersection of development
and environmental
law - and they are fueling the growth of a different kind of banking industry.
One company cashing
in on the demand is
Environmental Banc & Exchange. In June, EBX announced that it had won
six new stream and wetlands restoration projects with a combined value of more
than $11M from
the North Carolina Environmental Enhancement Program.
Triangle Business Journal 9/11/06
New law spurs million-dollar loans on waste facilities
A new Massachusetts state law
aimed at recycling solid waste from construction sites has triggered a string of
multimillion-dollar
financing projects at
MassDevelopment, a quasi-public economic development agency in Boston.
Over the past 20 months, three local companies have issued more than $21M in
MassDevelopment-
sponsored bonds to upgrade or build waste-management facilities that comply with
the new
guidelines. Agency officials said another three projects budgeted at around $20M
are in the
pipeline. Those deals are expected to close in 2007
Boston Business Journal 9/11/06
Sunoco expands stock buyback effort
Sunoco Inc. said
Thursday that its board of directors
has authorized an additional $1B in stock buybacks.
The company did not disclose a time frame
for the purchases. This year, the Philadelphia-based company has bought
back about $635M
worth of stock, or about 8.6M shares. Since 2000, it has spent $2.3B on 69M
shares, bringing
about a decrease in the company's net shares outstanding of 31 percent.
Philadelphia Business Journal
9/7/06
NJ gas-station owners sue BP over changes
Two dozen
dealers around the state are locked
in a bitter dispute with the British company about its efforts to unilaterally
terminate their marketing
agreements. The dealers, who have tried to block the move by filing a lawsuit
against BP in U.S.
District Court in Newark, face huge increases in rents at their gas stations or
the prospect of buying
the properties at prices that they argue are far greater than fair market value
Star-Ledger 9/6/06
Sims reports strong numbers for year
Sims Group Ltd. reported a profit
of $196.6M for fiscal 2006, meeting the company’s expectations. Meanwhile, the
company reported sales revenue increasing 46
percent to $3.8B. The jump in sales reflected the contribution from Sims Hugo
Neu, NJ/NY, as well as
strong sales volume and high metal prices, especially those of nonferrous metals
Recycling Today
9/6/06
ISRI awards $75,000 in recycling
scholarships
Sixty-three students, including some from PA
and
NY, will split $75,000 in academic scholarships from the Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries’ Recycling Research Foundation, the association has
announced
Recycling Today 9/6/2006
Ballard opens third new office in six weeks
Philadelphia-based law firm
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll continued its geographic expansion Tuesday
by opening a Bethesda, Md., office with the addition of partners Roger Winston,
Timothy Martin, and Marc DeCandia, and of counsel Shelah Lynn, all formerly of
Linowes & Blocher of Bethesda. It is the third office opening for Ballard
Spahr in the past six weeks. The firm launched offices in Las Vegas and Phoenix
on July 17 and Aug. 1, respectively.
Philadelphia Business Journal 9/5/06
Law firm shortens name DLA
Piper Rudnick Gray Cary said Tuesday it has shortened its name to DLA Piper.
The change comes 20 months after the historic merger between law firms Piper
Rudnick of Baltimore, Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich of San Diego, and DLA of
London. Firm officials said it reflects the name the majority of the firm's
attorneys and clients have used for several months. In the United States, the
legal name of the firm will be
DLA Piper US LLP. DLA Piper has
nearly 3,000 lawyers worldwide with roughly 60 based in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Business Journal 9/5/06
Builders' association starts Web site for consumers
The
New Jersey Builders Association announced the launch of a Web site on
Tuesday aimed at helping consumers through the home buying process and home
improvements. The site,
www.askthenjbuilder.org, complements NJBA's weekly newspaper series, Ask the
New Jersey Builder, which is published in newspapers around NJ.
Philadelphia Business Journal 9/5/06
Ex-PSC chairwoman to head Albany law office of Green & Seifter
Maureen Helmer, former chairwoman of the New York
State Public Service Commission, will join the Syracuse law firm of
Green & Seifter Attorneys PLLC, and head its new Albany office. Helmer was head of the PSC from
1998 to January 2003. She joined the commission as a member in 1997.
The Business Review 9/5/06
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- January 2006
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