Business and the Economy

 When the economy has fallen and can’t seem to get back up, the job of industrial recruiter goes from difficult to nearly impossible. Yet Drew Dennis, executive director of the Harrodsburg-Mercer County Industrial Development Authority, has been on something of a roll ever since he started in April 2009. Mercer County’s industrial expansions have all come in the last year, with Corning, Hitachi and Wausau Paper all announcing major additions to their Harrodsburg operations. Those investments will result in more than 300 new jobs. In fact, the amount spent on expansions in Mercer County since the beginning of 2010 surpasses the $366,527,246 spent on new manufacturing facilities across the entire state of Kentucky during that period, according to state figures.

If David Weddle's idea works, natural gas from unused wells will play a growing role in meeting Kentucky's electricity needs.Weddle is president and c hief executive of Wellhead Energy Systems, which has developed a way to convert natural gas to electricity at the well and feed it into the power grid. The Somerset company's plan involves tapping so-called "stranded" gas wells to generate electricity. Stranded wells have been drilled but aren't producing. Wells can end up stranded for various reasons. For instance, a company might drill a well to preserve a lease, but it isn't connected to a pipeline to transport the gas. The electrical grid is much more extensive than the network of pipelines to gather and transport natural gas, creating an opportunity to convert the gas to electricity and feed it into the grid through lines that pass the site, Weddle said.

They took a flight aboard a C-130 Hercules, had a Meal Ready to Eat for lunch, and watched a live fire training session. Several civilian employers got a taste of military life at Camp Atterbury, Indiana this week as part of Boss Lift 2011. Dave Robinson, a resource manager for the Army Corps of Engineers in Harlan County, Kentucky, visited the Kentucky National Guard's 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.

The recent legalization of certain fireworks may help one stand manager go back to school. “I’ve wanted to go back,” said Will O’Neil, 22, who manages Tennessee Ted’s in Brighton Park. “I just need the money to do it.” He attended Kentucky State University for two years, then had to take off last year because he couldn’t pay for more classes.

The former vice president of a Kentucky oil and gas company and a former geologist were sentenced Thursday for defrauding hundreds of investors nationwide out of millions of dollars. Christopher Cello Smith, 50, of Prestonsburg, was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury of seven counts of mail fraud last July, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Smith served as vice president of Target Oil and Gas Co. in Albany from 2003 to 2008. He also was sentenced to three years supervised release and a $500 mandatory assessment. U.S. District Senior Judge Joseph M. Hood imposed a a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $3 million.

Formal public hearings concerning proposed power rate increases sought by Big Rivers Electric Corp. and Kenergy Corp. are scheduled to take place in Frankfort next month. If the full rate increases are granted to both companies, residential rates for Kenergy customers would increase 9.97 percent. Commercial and industrial rates would increase by lesser amounts.

Joined by Lexington Mayor Jim Gray at the Clinton Global Initiative American event held in Chicago Thursday, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced a regional economic development study to improve both cities’ competitiveness in advanced manufacturing.

For years, the outgoing president at the University of Kentucky has urged faculty to launch "start-up" businesses.  Lee Todd believes those efforts are paying off. Todd says ‘seed money’ along with commercialization centers where new businesses are nurtured helped set the stage for start ups.  Then, he says an angel network of investors has helped fund such firms.   As a result, Todd says recent rankings put U-K first in creating start ups among similar schools.

Formerly illegal fireworks are making up more than half of all sales this year, fireworks stand owners say. Will O’Neil, owner of Tennessee Ted’s for the past seven years, is specifically advertising the roman candles, firecrackers and bottle rockets that became legal in Kentucky about three weeks ago. While customers are pleased about the change in the law, some fire officials aren't. “From a personal standpoint, I’m not in favor of making the fireworks laws more lax because of the exorbitant number of fires and injuries across the state that we experience,” Frankfort Fire Chief Wallace Possich said.

The future of a landmark Lexington hotel remains uncertain after it was sold for $9 million at a master commissioner's sale Monday. Crowne Plaza Lexington — The Campbell House, at 1375 South Broadway, was in default on its $21 million mortgage. The property was purchased by the mortgage holder, JPMC 2006-CIBC14 South Broadway REO, LLC. Circuit Judge Pamela Goodwine had awarded a judgment against the hotel's owners, Thoroughbred Campbell House LLC, on April 28 and ordered the property sold. She also appointed Chris Bryan, vice president of Hospitality Receiver LLC, to take over management of the hotel. Bryan hired Prism Hotels & Resorts, a hotel receivership and management company based in Dallas, to run the property on a day-to-day basis.

A Georgetown-built vehicle has been named the most American-built car by the website Cars.com. For the third year in a row, the Toyota Camry built at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky and at the Subaru of Indiana Automotive plant in Lafayette, Ind., was named No. 1 as determined by the Cars.com formula for “most American car.”

Cities throughout Northern Kentucky have struggled in recent years to provide essential services in a struggling economy and council meetings often turn into contentious debates about budget issues. The city of Florence, however, has managed to maintain service levels, complete several capital improvement projects and maintain reserves of more than $20 million. So what sets the Boone County city apart?

Despite record-low interest rates and a surplus of available homes for sale, the housing market in Scott County and the region has yet to see a sign of relief from sluggish sales. According to the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors, 606 sales were reported in the region in May, compared with 839 in May 2010. There were 53 sales in Scott, down from 62 a year earlier. For the first five months of the year, 191 homes have been sold in the county, down from 241 for the same period in 2010.

When the Kentucky Speedway was built in 1998, officials predicted it would dramatically change Gallatin County and have a huge economic impact on the state. A wave of development was expected to sweep through the area surrounding the speedway, transforming its rolling green hills. That never happened, chiefly because the speedway never received the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for which it was built. That race will finally come on July 9 - and some are again predicting a tidal wave of economic activity, especially in Gallatin County.

Kentucky State Fair Board President Harold Workman says he’s still hopeful that Kentucky Kingdom amusement park can be reopened in 2012. Workman told a panel of state lawmakers recently that the board and Louisville Metro Government are close to finalizing an agreement to re-open Kentucky Kingdom next year. He says it will take a total investment of about $50 to bring the park back to life.

Employees at Gannett newspapers are taking to Facebook and Twitter to post their comments about today’s nationwide round of layoffs. The newspaper giant is cutting 700 employees nationwide, including at least 36 in Louisville. Among those laid off are several editors and staff writers in the Neighborhoods and Velocity sections. No official announcement has been made about what will happen to those sections, and Courier-Journal publisher Arnold Garson is unavailable for comment.