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DHS seeks to condemn nature preserve land for border wall
McALLEN, Texas – The Department of Homeland Security has sued The Nature Conservancy to condemn land in a South Texas nature preserve for the border fence.
The conservancy’s Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve, which includes more than 1,000 acres along the Rio Grande near Brownsville, is home to a rare grove of native sabal palms, a South Texas native plant nursery for reforestation projects and habitat for the endangered ocelot and jaguarundi.
The government offered the conservancy $114,000 for a strip of land that would leave three-quarters of the preserve, including the property manager’s home, in the no-man’s land between the fence and Mexico, according to court records filed earlier this month.
The Nature Conservancy’s preference is no fence and no compensation, but the offer failed to take into account the impact to the rest of preserve, Laura Huffman, The Nature Conservancy’s state director, said Monday.
The organization paid more than $2.5 million in 1999 for the preserve and has invested considerable money in it since, Huffman said.
It would be a safety concern to have a property manager living south of the fence, Huffman said, and “if we can’t steward the land properly ... it raises the question of whether or not it is a viable preserve.”
In total, the 60-foot wide strip of land running 6,000 feet across the preserve is about eight acres.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is trying to complete 670 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, does not comment on pending litigation.
Even if the fence were situated in such a way that the conservancy’s warehouse for its equipment and property manager’s home were on the north side, the logistics of constantly moving farm equipment through still unspecified access gates would be daunting, Huffman said.
The Nature Conservancy leases swaths of the land for agriculture including organically grown citrus.
By starting the condemnation process, it at least gives the conservancy an opportunity to get its own appraisal of the property and make an argument for fair compensation, Huffman said. The conservancy would welcome a visit from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen who has made site visits in the area for other condemnation cases, she said.
HOUSTON – Crude prices rose above $40 a barrel Monday as Israel and Palestinian militants exchanged rocket fire and the death toll mounted in the oil-rich region.
Light trading contributed to market volatility in the final days of 2008, with price swings of close to $5 a barrel.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.31 cents to settle at $40.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first time crude has ended the day above $40 in a week. Nymex will be closed Thursday for the New Year’s Day holiday.
Retail gasoline prices in the U.S. continued to fall and neared $1.60 per gallon nationally Monday.
Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago, called oil’s initial run-up “an emotional reaction to what was going on in Israel,” and said similar, short-lived spikes have occurred during other clashes in the region.
“In reality, the likelihood the conflict is going to interrupt oil supply in any way, shape or form is highly unlikely,” Flynn said. “Obviously, if the conflict widens, and other countries get involved directly, you might have a different situation.”
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 percent of global supply, has announced crude production cuts totaling more than 4 million barrels per day as it tries to stop the decline in prices. OPEC members, however, have a history of ignoring announced quotas and crude traders are looking for evidence the 13-nation group is tightening the spigot.
Oil prices have fallen 73 percent since peaking at $147.27 a barrel on July 11 as a credit crisis in the U.S. sparked a steep drop-off in consumer demand and corporate earnings. Analysts expect more dismal economic news from the fourth quarter over the next few weeks.
NEW YORK – The fallout from the horrific holiday season for retailers has begun, with the operator of an online toy seller filing for bankruptcy protection and more stores expected to do the same – meaning more empty storefronts and fewer brands on store shelves.
A rash of store closings, which some experts predict will be the most in 35 years, is likely to cut across areas from electronics to apparel, shrinking the industry and leading to fewer niche players and suppliers.
The most dramatic pullback in consumer spending in decades could transform the retail landscape, as thousands of stores and whole malls close down. And analysts expect prolonged woes in the industry as the dramatic changes in shopping behavior could linger for another two or three years amid worries about the deteriorating economy and rising layoffs.
“You are going to see a substantial retrenchment in the retail industry,” said Rick Chesley, partner in the global bankruptcy and restructuring group at international law firm Paul Hastings. “The downturn has been catastrophic.”
A number of stores couldn’t even make it to Christmas. Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection last month. It plans to keep operating, but toy seller KB Toys, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, is liquidating its stores and will shut down.
The survival prospects for many more stores are dimming as more sales data comes in about the crucial holiday shopping season, which can account for up to 40 percent of a retailer’s annual profit.
Holiday sales fell from 2 percent to 4 percent compared to a year ago, according to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors. Excluding gas and car sales, they dropped between 5.5 percent and 8 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, as key categories from luxury to electronics posted double-digit sales declines. Sales of electronics and appliances fell almost 27 percent, for example.
ShopperTrak RCT Corp. which tracks retail sales and customer traffic at more than 50,000 outlets, said Monday that it now expects foot traffic to be down 16 percent and sales to decline 2.3 percent for the November and December period.
About 160,000 stores will have closed this year and 200,000 more could shutter next year, said Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. That would be the industry’s biggest contraction in 35 years. In March and April of next year, Flickinger expects 2,000 to 3,000 malls to shutter.
AlixPartners LLP, a turnaround consulting firm, predicts that 25.8 percent of 182 major retailers it tracks are either facing major financial distress or will face a significant risk of filing for bankruptcy in either next year or 2010 — the highest level in the 10 years that the firm has been compiling the figures. That compares with the 4 percent to 7 percent it predicted would face money woes the previous two years.
The conservancy’s Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve, which includes more than 1,000 acres along the Rio Grande near Brownsville, is home to a rare grove of native sabal palms, a South Texas native plant nursery for reforestation projects and habitat for the endangered ocelot and jaguarundi.
The government offered the conservancy $114,000 for a strip of land that would leave three-quarters of the preserve, including the property manager’s home, in the no-man’s land between the fence and Mexico, according to court records filed earlier this month.
The Nature Conservancy’s preference is no fence and no compensation, but the offer failed to take into account the impact to the rest of preserve, Laura Huffman, The Nature Conservancy’s state director, said Monday.
The organization paid more than $2.5 million in 1999 for the preserve and has invested considerable money in it since, Huffman said.
It would be a safety concern to have a property manager living south of the fence, Huffman said, and “if we can’t steward the land properly ... it raises the question of whether or not it is a viable preserve.”
In total, the 60-foot wide strip of land running 6,000 feet across the preserve is about eight acres.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is trying to complete 670 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, does not comment on pending litigation.
Even if the fence were situated in such a way that the conservancy’s warehouse for its equipment and property manager’s home were on the north side, the logistics of constantly moving farm equipment through still unspecified access gates would be daunting, Huffman said.
The Nature Conservancy leases swaths of the land for agriculture including organically grown citrus.
By starting the condemnation process, it at least gives the conservancy an opportunity to get its own appraisal of the property and make an argument for fair compensation, Huffman said. The conservancy would welcome a visit from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen who has made site visits in the area for other condemnation cases, she said.
HOUSTON – Crude prices rose above $40 a barrel Monday as Israel and Palestinian militants exchanged rocket fire and the death toll mounted in the oil-rich region.
Light trading contributed to market volatility in the final days of 2008, with price swings of close to $5 a barrel.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.31 cents to settle at $40.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first time crude has ended the day above $40 in a week. Nymex will be closed Thursday for the New Year’s Day holiday.
Retail gasoline prices in the U.S. continued to fall and neared $1.60 per gallon nationally Monday.
Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago, called oil’s initial run-up “an emotional reaction to what was going on in Israel,” and said similar, short-lived spikes have occurred during other clashes in the region.
“In reality, the likelihood the conflict is going to interrupt oil supply in any way, shape or form is highly unlikely,” Flynn said. “Obviously, if the conflict widens, and other countries get involved directly, you might have a different situation.”
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 percent of global supply, has announced crude production cuts totaling more than 4 million barrels per day as it tries to stop the decline in prices. OPEC members, however, have a history of ignoring announced quotas and crude traders are looking for evidence the 13-nation group is tightening the spigot.
Oil prices have fallen 73 percent since peaking at $147.27 a barrel on July 11 as a credit crisis in the U.S. sparked a steep drop-off in consumer demand and corporate earnings. Analysts expect more dismal economic news from the fourth quarter over the next few weeks.
NEW YORK – The fallout from the horrific holiday season for retailers has begun, with the operator of an online toy seller filing for bankruptcy protection and more stores expected to do the same – meaning more empty storefronts and fewer brands on store shelves.
A rash of store closings, which some experts predict will be the most in 35 years, is likely to cut across areas from electronics to apparel, shrinking the industry and leading to fewer niche players and suppliers.
The most dramatic pullback in consumer spending in decades could transform the retail landscape, as thousands of stores and whole malls close down. And analysts expect prolonged woes in the industry as the dramatic changes in shopping behavior could linger for another two or three years amid worries about the deteriorating economy and rising layoffs.
“You are going to see a substantial retrenchment in the retail industry,” said Rick Chesley, partner in the global bankruptcy and restructuring group at international law firm Paul Hastings. “The downturn has been catastrophic.”
A number of stores couldn’t even make it to Christmas. Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection last month. It plans to keep operating, but toy seller KB Toys, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, is liquidating its stores and will shut down.
The survival prospects for many more stores are dimming as more sales data comes in about the crucial holiday shopping season, which can account for up to 40 percent of a retailer’s annual profit.
Holiday sales fell from 2 percent to 4 percent compared to a year ago, according to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors. Excluding gas and car sales, they dropped between 5.5 percent and 8 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, as key categories from luxury to electronics posted double-digit sales declines. Sales of electronics and appliances fell almost 27 percent, for example.
ShopperTrak RCT Corp. which tracks retail sales and customer traffic at more than 50,000 outlets, said Monday that it now expects foot traffic to be down 16 percent and sales to decline 2.3 percent for the November and December period.
About 160,000 stores will have closed this year and 200,000 more could shutter next year, said Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. That would be the industry’s biggest contraction in 35 years. In March and April of next year, Flickinger expects 2,000 to 3,000 malls to shutter.
AlixPartners LLP, a turnaround consulting firm, predicts that 25.8 percent of 182 major retailers it tracks are either facing major financial distress or will face a significant risk of filing for bankruptcy in either next year or 2010 — the highest level in the 10 years that the firm has been compiling the figures. That compares with the 4 percent to 7 percent it predicted would face money woes the previous two years.
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