Blunt takes on Taneycomo Bridge Issue

Bus-Plunge tunes into a town hall meeting with Blunt. The post is part of a series where he tries to follow Blunt in real time. Thing is, MODot says their funding is falling off a cliff in a press release yesterday.

Hollister Police PR

Closing of the Hollister bridge is the big topic on everyone's mind today. Bob Schanz, former Taney County Commissioner candidate (more on this later) broke the story in a public meeting at the courthouse last week.
For Hollister, the big story was recovering from the press fallout last week. Parker didn't seem to impressed by some of the information distributed by local press outlets. In response, Parker made himself publicly accessible...how?..by eating breakfast at Ye English Inn, Hollister's most popular dining establishment. Senior Citizens bombarded Parker with questions. He handled it well. Parker said he didn't tell Cantanese about COMET - see below - though after revealing neither the Highway Patrol nor Taney County Sheriffs Department was handling the case it became a little more obvious (pssst chances are he had it already).
Reports from the street: Meth Down - 2Cb up. See how the club kids are pushing it.

**Hollister Fun Fact:...
The first Hollister Police Captain was a "soda jerk."

Branson News Limerick

There once was two papers in Branson
A robber held one motel ransom
Neither reported
With Hilton Cohorted
And slapped all of the citizens back some.

This one's for you News Limerick Guy

Dude where's the beef? The photo above is from what show..? Hilton put out a press release about their grand opening 43 days away. Yesterday was a big news day. The PR folks at Hilton Corp are very good at what they do. It was planned and delivered effectively. Question is, was it the right thing to do? Was it necessary to bump the facts about the robbery? Harrison picked the story up!

Springfield News-Leader Not Riding on Love Train With Branson

Mayor Presley and the Springfield-Branson Airport board were outshouted this morning by the Springfield News-Leader editorial board..

Branson Awake Aggressive
the giant, in this case, is Branson, and it is sleeping no more. As the city of Springfield has sputtered and stopped, and restarted attempts to kickstart its convention center complex downtown, Branson is still reaching for the sky. Its new convention center and attached hotel is already attracting the sort of attention that has Springfield convention planners taking notice.

Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau director Tracy Kimberlin says the fledgling convention center adjacent to Branson Landing has already snagged two conventions from Springfield. That's a lot of captive business for our city that will now be in Branson instead of here. Will they make the trek to Bass Pro in Springfield now that they have one just outside the door of their hotel in Branson?

Branson Edge:
I strongly disagree with the Springfield News-Leader's position. Branson and Springfield have the ability to attract much larger conventions which should be the regional goal. Branson citizenry has only good intentions towards our big sister to the north and invite Springfieldians to take our hand as we walk down the path to mutual prosperity. Our highest ranking elected leader has contributed by opening a hand of good will expressing interest in the greater good. Won't you join us Springfield? Any Bloggers who want a special tour of our facility....drop me a line!

Blackstone scopes Branson

26 Billion dollars, more than most nation's Gross Domestic Product GDP, was the price Blackstone paid to purchase Hilton. The top brass is in Branson adding pressure to the Branson Convention Center Management - an experimental business development deal with the city of Branson.
If it works, the project will serve as a model for future developments. Hilton's staff is stressfully putting together the final pieces of the project with 30 days before the center will open.
The Hilton is currently managing two hotels, the soon to be completed Branson convention center and inevitably the parking in downtown Branson. Daily tours of Branson's first crop of groups booking the Convention center are being pulled through daily.
One of the groups, Branson Collector Car Auction, was the first to book and will be the third group to rent the facility...


Blackstone Vital Stats
Share Related Items
Mkt. Cap. (Mil) $ 6,854.65
Shares Out (Mil) 234.67


Dividend Information
Yield % 0.00
Annual Dividend 0.00
Payout Ratio (TTM) % 0

Profitability
Gross Margin (TTM) % 0.00
Operating Margin (TTM) % 94.10
Profit Margin (TTM) % 26.00
Valuation Ratios
Price/Earnings (TTM) 2.40
Price/Sales (TTM) 0.79
Price/Book (MRQ) $ 2.41
Price/Cash Flow (TTM) $ 3.10

Per Share Data
Earnings (TTM) $ 12.33
Sales (TTM) $ 37.11
Book Value (MRQ) $ 12.14
Cash Flow (TTM) $ 9.52

Management Effectiveness
Return on Equity (TTM) 78.40
Return on Assets (TTM) 5.80
Return on Investment (TTM) 52.80
Financial Strength
Quick Ratio (MRQ) NA Current Ratio (MRQ) NA LT Debt/Equity (MRQ) 0.49
Total Debt/Equity (MRQ) NA
Mil = Millions MRQ = Most Recent Quarter TTM = Trailing Twelve Months
Financial Snapshot
2006
Revenue $ 8.7 B
Total Net Income $ 2.3 B
Earnings Per Share $ 12.33
EBITDA $ 8.2 B
Long Term Debt $ 976.0 M

Education leads to heated debate over Branson's right to regulate alcohol

A heated discussion arose as Branson city officials discussed alcohol on the Branson Landing.
Last Monday, Action Ministries Clergyman Jory Rolf and Salvation Army Captain Ron Keys addressed Branson City Council to share their offense to an incident involving alcohol consumption at a free concert at the Branson Landing earlier this month. Rolf and Keys have taken a conservative stance against public consumption of alcohol carrying over into a stance against Huffman's enterprises during a debate regarding future expansion of his Branson based empire. After a feasibility study was complete Huffman chose to table the project.
Branson Alderman have maintained their hands were tied on the issue of alcohol as regulation is in the hands of the state. Branson Alderman Stephen Marshall hit city Attorney Paul Link and City Administrator Terry Dody hard with questioning. Not appreciating their response, Stephen fired back by saying he's not going to put up with this pigheadedness for two years. At the end of the meeting Marshall apologized for his statement modifying his adjective to "stubborn". Dody conceded he would call himself stubborn....tensions cool....
Joe Hodgin of the Missouri Division of Liquor control will address Branson's Board of Alderman next Monday clarifying any questions about the cities ability to regulate permits and alcohol use in general. Controversy over the issue isn't new and has been an item of contention over the last several years. In 2004 Taney County's Presiding Commissioner Chuck Pennel challenged the board over theaters being permitted to issue alcohol licenses.
In a private meeting with HCW and Branson Landing tenants last year it was suggested that establishments would be able to issue plastic cups with alcoholic beverages. No restaurants to date have allowed beverages to be taken outside on the boardwalk. An establishment (Five and Dime) selling packaged beer has discontinued the practice. A sting operation left one establishment with heavy fines and a bartender without a job last year after they were caught selling liquor to an underage person planted by the Taney County Sheriff's Department.
The misconceptions about alcohol permitting has enabled loose policies which are now being challenged by the Missouri Division of Liquor Control. A beer stand near the fountain aka town center was issued a warning by Hodgin yesterday. According to statute the vendor has to enclose the area. They've been given 10 days to comply. The stand will be taken over by Hilton management (long overdue) soon. Other projects have taken priority with the opening of a new restaurant and the Branson Convention center 30 days away.
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Editor's Note/Disclosure: I spoke at the last Branson Alderman's meeting. After, I felt humiliated. When writing for a news organization, I believe this is inappropriate, after all I don't have space to write disclosure statements. The reason I spoke was to get a statement on the record. When Rolf and Keys spoke, I found the discussion too tempting and addressed the board bored the board with my rant. When I made statements about Missouri Law, the board said they'd refer to legal counsel...right answer - as it turns out - I was right...still feel embarrassed. I am a student of my government and I study hard. My research began last year for a client who wanted information about alcohol laws, permitting etc. I read through over a hundred pages of related documentation including materials provided by journalist Vonda Sheets who was looking into the issue as well...

As the World Turns Saga Continues

Here's what's happening in the As the World Turns episode in Branson...

Cleo knocked out Gwen and tied her to the railroad tracks next to Jade, who was also tied up. Maddie found and untied Will, who later found Jade, who was able to untie herself. Will freed Gwen from the railroad tracks just before a train would have run over them both. Cleo was arrested and taken to jail. Lance sneaked into Alison's room and put a video on her TV. Alison panicked to see Aaron watching the video, which showed Dusty and Alison making love. Alison realized Aaron will never forgive her. After Emily saw the video, she told Alison she could have Dusty, then told Dusty she was leaving town. Craig gave Meg a copy of their marital contract and said that he also wanted her to keep Worldwide and that it's her decision to annul their marriage and/or return Worldwide to Lucinda. Carly asked Jack to tell Parker about Paul's death and then told Jack she still loves him.