Strictly Business

   I remember a day when I was in the process of moving from one town to another, standing in a Wal-Mart, and not remembering whether I was in the old town, there to buy cleaning supplies for the house I was moving out of, or in the new town, there to buy window blinds for the house I was moving into.
   I had the same feeling this morning sweeping through the business sections of various newspapers:

- Termini bid disrupts Buffalo Place board - Jonathan D. Epstein/The Buffalo News
   Tensions erupted over the downtown Buffalo commercial real estate market Wednesday, as several developers complained bitterly about some projects seeking government assistance while others struggle to fill excess office space.

- Starwood Hotels To Move Global Headquarters To Stamford - The Hartford Courant
   The state will provide a $9.5 million loan and up to $80 million in tax credits and exemptions, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who called the move "a triumph for Connecticut."

- County approves Boeing incentives, but financial details remain secret - Charleston (S.C.) Regional Business Journal
   Charleston County Council members voted Tuesday in favor of a tax incentive package for the Boeing Co., but most of the details remain under wraps.
   County officials said that’s because they are still negotiating the financial deal with Boeing. Some details could be made public before the third and final vote on the package, scheduled for Dec. 22. Other details could remain secret, even for a year after they are approved, said Councilman Elliott Summey, who made the motion for the council to approve the incentive package.

- Tax break is approved to keep McKesson jobs here - The Commercial Appeal of Memphis
  For the first time, the Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board on Wednesday approved tax breaks to encourage a company just to keep some or all of its 813 jobs in Memphis, not necessarily create new ones.

  And now for something a little different:
- Meet the innovator behind Duluth's building boom - The Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune [registration required]
   He’s a multimillionaire who took a shine to Duluth in the 1980s, and he’s had a giant impact on his adopted Northland home. ...
   “We came to Duluth and saw it as an opportunity because everybody was so negative about being there,” he said. “There wasn’t anyone taking advantage of good sound opportunities.” 
   This article has a huge reportorial hole in it, not saying whether developer Lee Anderson did or did not get a lot of tax breaks, government-backed loans, etc, for his projects. Still, somebody otta send this guy an e-mail.

-- George Pyle/The Buffalo News