New navigation-aid site options revealed
The Federal Aviation Administration has identified two potential sites to relocate a ground-based navigation aid for aircraft that is blocking the development of Port Authority of Little Rock property.
Bryan Day, the port authority's executive director, said the properties meet FAA guidelines to relocate the VHF Omni Direction Radio Range station, often called a VOR. The properties are at least 100 acres, are within 8 miles of the current VOR site and are relatively flat and without obstructions, he said.
Once the properties undergo environmental reviews and preliminary agreements are reached with the landowners, the FAA will test their suitability using portable navigation equipment, Day said.
Moving the VOR would open up about 600 acres of port authority property for development. Buildings associated with heavy manufacturing can't be built within 5,000 feet of the station without risk of interfering with the VOR's signal.
Day made his comments at a briefing held Wednesday. Other participants included U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark.; Jay Chesshir, president and chief executive officer of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce; and Stacy Hurst, chairman of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission.
-- Noel Oman
AAA forecasts 14-cent gas drop for fall
Steady oil prices and the end of strong summer demand should start pushing gasoline prices down, auto club AAA says.
AAA predicts the national average will drop 14 cents to $2.70 a gallon this fall.
The current average of $2.84 is up 46 cents from a year ago, but down from the peak national average of $2.96 a gallon in May. AAA says motorists in the West and in Pennsylvania and Connecticut pay even more -- over $3.
Relief could be coming. Benchmark U.S. crude is around $69 a barrel -- that's up sharply from a year ago but down $5 a barrel since early July.
Also, refineries are expected to switch in mid-September to winter-blend gasolines, which are cheaper to produce than summer blends.
-- The Associated Press
Missouri's Carthage Press paper closes
CARTHAGE, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri newspaper that has operated since 1884 has published its last edition.
The Carthage Press announced in a letter from publisher Joseph Leong to its readers that Wednesday's edition would be its last.
Leong said the Neosho Daily News would cover important Carthage news. The Joplin Globe reports that both papers are owned by Gatehouse Media, which recently offered voluntary severance packages at many of its papers.
Leong did not immediately return emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Subscribers to the newspaper will receive refunds within 30 days and the Press plans to provide marketing solutions for its online offerings.
Gatehouse also owns the Miami (Okla.) News-Record, Cherokee County (Kan.) News-Advocate and Pittsburg (Kan.) Morning Sun.
-- The Associated Press
Pending home sales off 0.7% for July
WASHINGTON -- Fewer Americans signed contracts in July to buy homes compared with the previous month, as real estate sales are slipping even though economic growth is solid.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its pending home sales index fell 0.7 percent last month to 106.2. During the past year, contract signings have tumbled 2.3 percent as home values have climbed at roughly double the pace of average wage growth.
Home sales have stumbled in recent months despite the robust job market. Affordability has become a challenge as there are few entry-level homes priced below $250,000 being listed for sale and mortgage rates have jumped over the past year.
Pending sales in July fell in the West and South, but they rose in the Northeast and Midwest. Sales in all four geographic regions have declined over the past year, with the sharpest drop in the West where homes are generally more expensive.
Pending sales are a barometer of home purchases that are completed a month or two later.
The Realtors said last week that sales of existing homes have declined for the past four months.
-- The Associated Press
Sinclair countersues over failed merger
Sinclair Broadcast Group filed a countersuit Wednesday in an escalating legal battle with Tribune Media, after the two companies' proposed merger fell apart this month under federal scrutiny.
The counterclaim maintains that Sinclair "pushed hard" to secure regulatory approval for the proposed tie-up and called Tribune's subsequent attempt to distance itself from Sinclair "self-serving." Sinclair is asking a Delaware court to find that it was Tribune that broke the terms of the merger agreement.
Sinclair's filing comes weeks after Tribune sued Sinclair for breach of contract, alleging that Sinclair's dealings with regulators charged with reviewing the deal were marked by "belligerent and unnecessarily protracted negotiations." Tribune is seeking damages of $1 billion in the suit.
Sinclair had sought to purchase dozens of broadcast stations from Tribune in a $3.9 billion deal. But the FCC last month voted to subject the proposal to further legal review, over "serious concerns" raised by Chairman Ajit Pai.
Pai said that certain stations Sinclair had proposed selling off as a condition of the deal risked staying within Sinclair's effective control, which could violate federal regulations. There were other concerns that Sinclair may have been less than transparent with the agency over its divestiture plans, Pai said at the time.
-- The Washington Post
Business on 08/30/2018