Questions planned, but no audit, on Colorado tourism program's Gaylord subsidies

A committee of the state Legislature on Monday decided against conducting a full-scale audit into the state’s Regional Tourism Act program, which has offered subsidies for the controversial proposed Gaylord Rockies hotel-conference center in Aurora.

Instead, the panel has decided to haul leaders from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) to a meeting in June and ask them to explain how they’ve decided which projects have gotten funding under the Tourism…

Houston-based manufacturer to cut local jobs

Houston-based manufacturer AF Global Corp., formerly known as Ameriforge Group Inc., will cut 89 Houston jobs due to the oil slump.

The company will cut approximately 89 jobs at its 2200 Lauder Road facility on May 18 or during the two-week period that begins on that date, according to a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission.

AF Global said in the letter it came to the decision “after considerable review” and attributed the cuts to “the sudden and unexpected economic downturn in the oil…

Feds OK NextEra Energy's $4.3B acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Co.

Federal regulators have approved Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc.’s proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Co., one of the major approvals needed to finalize the sale, the two companies announced Monday.

NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) and Honolulu-based Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (NYSE: HE) said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval represents a significant step towards completion of the acquisition.

The transaction still needs the approval of the Hawaii Public…

SummerHill planning 720 units near Milpitas BART

SummerHill Housing Group is making a play for one of the largest remaining development sites near the under-construction Milpitas BART station in what would be the developer’s first-ever project in that city.

The San Ramon-based company, through its SummerHill Apartment Communities arm, is in contract for a 9.8-acre chunk of land bounded by Great Mall Parkway, Center Pointe Drive and Montague Expressway. While plans are still early, SummerHill is considering three buildings with 720 units and 36,000…

Colorado taxpayers came out on top in U.S. 36 public-private partnership, audit finds

A state audit of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s U.S. 36 contract — the state’s controversial first public-private partnership on a big highway construction project — gave the agency mostly positive marks, but also noted room for improvement in communicating about the project.

Shailen Bhatt, CDOT’s executive director who started the job in February, said he was happy with the audit’s findings.

“The report said it [the public-private partnership] was a good deal for taxpayers,”…