Phil Castle, The Business Times Real estate activity continues to slow in Mesa County even as interest rates on mortgages rise and concerns mount over the possibility of a recession. The number of transactions and combined dollar volume of those deals fell in June behind the record-breaking pace set last year. Still, big transactions and […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Colorado business leaders are more shaken than stirred heading into the third quarter, increasingly concerned about inflation and the likelihood of recession and less confident as a result. The Leeds Business Confidence Index dropped 12.8 points to 41.1 for the third quarter. That’s the fifth-lowest reading in the 20-year history […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Mesa County has recovered from a pandemic, but could face additional challenges from rising inflation and interest rates as well as other national and international trends, according to an update from a Colorado Mesa University professor. “I do think we’ll see a softer economy. I don’t know how soft it […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Christy Whitney devoted a portion of staff meetings at HopeWest to what she called stars and wishes. Whitney asked her staff to name stars — to praise notable efforts or celebrate work anniversaries. She also asked what staff wished for, what would make their jobs easier. A vacuum cleaner, in […]
Of all the advice I’ve heard in interviewing business owners and managers over the past two decades, some of the best boils down to two propositions: under promise and over deliver. And though I’m only an interested observer myself, I’d add a third suggestion: Communicate early and often with customers. The whole promising thing plays […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times The unemployment rate continues to edge down in Mesa County as labor demand remains strong across most industries. But the effects of broader economic forces — rising inflation and interest rates among them — could show up in the local market during the second half of the year, said Curtis […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Michael Ligrani pulls out his smartphone to make a point. He could use his phone to make calls, check his email or complete countless other tasks. But using the software Ligrani’s company has developed, he also could control a natural gas field located nearly anywhere in the world. As co-founder […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Speeches, a marching band and, of course, shovels scooping dirt ceremoniously launched construction of a new Grand Junction High School. Even as the groundbreaking took place on what was a baseball field, heavy equipment nearby already had broken ground on the $144.5 million project on the northeast portion of the […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Robinson Theater constitutes a special place for Doug Simons, who not only performed in musical and theatrical productions as a student at what’s now Colorado Mesa University, but also met there the woman he fell in love with and married. Returning to the stage more than four decades later for […]
I like to believe I bring some skills to the conversations and other interactions in which I engage. If not skills, then at least experience. As a professional journalist, I’ve spent two-thirds of my nearly 63 years on the planet getting paid to talk to people and listen — really listen — to what they […]