Business: IndyBlog, Colorado Springs Independent

Colorado Springs gets A+ for small-biz friendliness

J. Adrian Stanley — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:03:00 -0600

After surveying 7,766 small businesses across the country, an online hiring agency is calling Colorado Springs one of the best cities for small businesses.

Thumbtack looked at a dozen metrics before putting the Springs in its No. 4 spot.…

Broadmoor road-closing meeting is tonight

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:56:00 -0600

Tonight, folks at the Broadmoor will lay out their plans for millions of dollars in improvements to the resort, in addition to the closing of a well-established route through that part of the city, Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard.

The meeting, by invitation at Broadmoor Hall, is expected to draw a good number of the 1,700 neighbors who were invited.…

What AMR does for you

Pam Zubeck — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:29:00 -0600

American Medical Response might not be running emergency ambulance calls in Colorado Springs for too much longer, so it might be a good time to take a look at how it has served the area for more than a decade under the El Paso County Emergency Services Agency, a multi-jurisdictional group that oversees the AMR contract.

In its "Colorado Springs Community Report," AMR notes the company began serving the local community in 1979 and has contracted through the ESA since 1999.…

Ambulance company president on his way out

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:42:00 -0700

Mark Bruning, who worked for Americal Medical Response for three decades, including overseeing the Colorado Springs operation through a complete revamping of how medical transport is handled in the 1990s, will be leaving the Greenwood Village-based company.

The AMR website reports Bruning's departure this way:

EMSC CEO William A Sanger today announced the departure of AMR president Mark Bruning.…
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UPDATE: State proposes new oil and gas rules

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:21:45 -0700

UPDATE: Mary Talbott, a Colorado Springs resident who has watched the city's oil and gas regulation process like a hawk, has analyzed the proposed Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules and takes issue with several points in an e-mail to us. Among them:

1.…

Neumann nominated for award for brilliance

Pam Zubeck — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:31:31 -0700

Neumann Systems Group, Inc., the homegrown company that's invented a brand of emissions-control technology, says it's NeuStream System has been nominated for an Edison Award. The awards recognize "game changing" products, services, design and innovation in multiple arenas.…

Rally against fracking announced

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:07:28 -0700

City Council's second reading of the oil and gas regulation ordinance won't happen until Dec. 11, but foes of the ordinance are already planning a protest rally.

We wrote about the ordinance in our latest edition.…

CEO of Black Chamber of Commerce resigns

J. Adrian Stanley — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 07:51:53 -0700

The Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce is losing its leader.

President and CEO Dr. Eric Lee is leaving the position to become executive director of Colorado Community College Online.…

Donate $11 toward veteran counseling

Matthew Schniper — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:56:16 -0600

After my lengthy inquiry last year into the success (or lack thereof) that local restaurants experienced from Groupon and LivingSocial deals, I remain partially skeptical of the advertising method.

As I essentially said then, the sites clearly work for some businesses but not for others, often times depending on how they're structured.…

Bestology: the most outstanding people, places and things in the region

Becca Sickbert — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:08:32 -0600

Without kittens and infographics, we're certain the Internet would cease to exist. To prevent that kind of heartache, we proudly present Best Of 2012 Food & Drink tidbits in a tasty infographic.…

Chamber announces new label

Pam Zubeck — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:32:05 -0600

Step one came earlier this year when the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce merged with the Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corp., retagging the organization as the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC.

Now, the group has a new name: the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance.…

Neumann Systems — and its jobs — may be leaving Colorado Springs

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:38:41 -0600

Dave Neumann, owner of Neumann Systems Group, which developed the NeuStream emissions control technology being installed on coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant, is exploring moving his business elsewhere.

In an exclusive interview with the Indy, Neumann says Councilman Tim Leigh's crusade against his company and his efforts to kill Colorado Springs Utilities' contract with Neumann Systems could lead to the loss of 60 jobs and a multimillion-dollar benefit of the city receiving a cut from the firm's gross sales.…

Chamber pushes for accelerated Utilities study

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:11:23 -0600

No surprises here.

The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and EDC has issued a letter calling for Colorado Springs City Council to speed up a study about removing coal-fired Drake Power Plant from downtown.…

$100,000 for tourism recovery after Waldo fire

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:43:52 -0600

Local businesses who rely on tourism are hoping that a $100,000 federal grant will help attract new visitors this fall and next year.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., announced in a press release that he helped secure the grant for the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau in the wake of the Waldo Canyon Fire, which ignited June 23 and burned more than 18,000 acres and claimed 345 homes in the city on June 26.…

An oil or gas rig next door?

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:51:23 -0600

How long will the leash be on oil and gas drilling in Colorado Springs? Pretty long, it appears.…

Crowdfunding seminar tomorrow

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:51:36 -0600

Wanna learn how to help a small business get off the ground? Wanna learn how to get your own small business off the ground?

Sen. Michael Bennet is co-hosting a crowdfunding seminar from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tomorrow at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., for small and start-up business owners and entrepreneurs looking to raise early stage capital, his office says in a release.…

Businesses get help after Waldo Canyon Fire

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:36:18 -0600

In our current issue, the Indy tells stories of several business owners who are trying to stay afloat after the Waldo Canyon Fire. While none of the businesses along Ute Pass were burned, like 345 homes in northwest Colorado Springs, they were fried by publicity that's kept shoppers away.…

UPDATE: Leigh emitting pollution again

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:49:35 -0600

UPDATE: Neumann Systems Group's Denver attorneys have issued a letter to Tim Leigh demanding he stop passing out wrong information about the company and that he retract his earlier statements. Here's the letter:

Dear Mr. Leigh:

My firm, along with Krendl Krendl Sachnoff & Way, P.C., represent Neumann Systems Group, Inc.…
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Triple Nickel for sale

Bill Forman — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:20:22 -0600

Interested in buying the Triple Nickel Tavern? According to a post on owner J.J. Grueter's Facebook page today, the downtown venue is officially up for sale.…

Despite AS220 success, not all rosy in Providence

Edie Adelstein — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:05:14 -0600

When we wrote about the revival of downtown Providence, R.I. — a feat helped largely by arts organization AS220 — one of the successes we documented was the establishment of video game company 38 Studios.

38 Studios, founded by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, had set up shop right across the street from one of AS220's three buildings and symbolized Providence's success in attracting multimillion-dollar businesses to its formerly troubled downtown.…

Is the city's oil and gas committee FUBAR?

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:49:10 -0600

About 40 people gathered at the City Administration Building last night to hash out what should or shouldn't be required of oil and gas drilling companies within the city limits of Colorado Springs. The issue has been triggered by Houston-based Ultra Resources' plan to drill on 18,000 acres of the Banning Lewis Ranch.…

Third try at getting fracking risk info from Ultra

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:52:26 -0600

Ultra Petroleum shareholders will have a third chance to vote on a resolution that calls for the company to report impacts of hydraulic fracturing, as proposed by advocacy group As You Sow at Ultra's annual meeting Wednesday.

We wrote about As You Sow in the context of Ultra's operations in January.…

Indy will take over Business Journal

Kirk Woundy — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:47:00 -0600

Text from a press release going out momentarily:

The owners of the Colorado Springs Independent, the Pikes Peak region’s largest locally owned media company, will acquire the Colorado Springs Business Journal on June 1, 2012 from the Dolan Company, a national media conglomerate that owns more than 50 publications across the U.S.

The new owners also will apply to service Dolan’s contract publishing of three local military newspapers: the Fort Carson Mountaineer, Peterson (Air Force Base) Space Observer and Schriever (AFB) Sentinel. More than 68,000 local adults read these publications in print, and thousands more via their popular web portals.…
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Fracking ban, two new studies and other news

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:21:34 -0600

There's a few things happening on the oil and gas drilling front, so here's the update:

Business students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are ready to unveil their findings about whether drilling will be good or bad for El Paso County.

The study, conducted by 25 master's level business students, will be released at 4:45 p.m.…

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Area leaders dive into Portland, looking for ideas and inspiration

Ralph Routon — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:20:20 -0600

If it could happen in Portland, why couldn't it happen in Colorado Springs?

That has been the underlying theme this week as about 50 people from the Colorado Springs area — split fairly evenly among business, nonprofit and governmental leaders — have spent the past two days in Portland, Ore., learning as much as they can about the Rose City’s transformation over the past two decades.

The probing and analyzing aren’t finished, with one more full day ahead Wednesday before the 2012 Regional Leaders Trip concludes.…
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