The community of Mill Creek has been named the second-best affordable suburb in the United States by BusinessWeek magazine The magazine rated cities within 25 miles of a major community, looking at such aspects as the length of commute, pollution, green space, education, test scores, crime, job growth, median household income and weather. Pewaukee, Wisc., was No. 1. It’s a community with 12,789 people, a median income of $83,627, and median home prices of $267,500. Mill Creek’s stats include a population of 13,626, median income of $83,818, median home price of $398,000, 4 percent unemployment (the stats must be old) and a violent-crime rate about one-fourth that of the national average. The magazine also made mention of the 18-hole golf course, trails, parks and a mall.
Washington Post earnings fall 77%
The Washington Post Co.’s newspaper and magazine divisions stumbled again in the fourth quarter, extending an earnings slump that would have been even more disconcerting if not for the stability of the company’s education and cable TV businesses. The company, which owns The Herald, said Wednesday that it made $18.8 million, or $2.01 per share, during the final three months of last year. That represented a 77 percent drop from net income of $82.9 million, or $8.71 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. The results for the last quarter included after-tax charges of more than $82 million to account for the eroding value of the company’s newspaper holdings.
All shoppers are getting stingy
The recession may be kinder to value-minded retailers, but there’s plenty of pain to go around in the results reported Wednesday. Luxury retailer Saks Inc. reported a loss and issued a downbeat sales forecast for the year as it struggles to hold onto its affluent shoppers, while off-price retailer TJX Cos. reported flat sales — but better profit than expected. Even bargain hunters are being stingy amid the widespread promotions and discounts. With a spending slump expected to persist through the year, both companies are preserving cash by embracing a number of cost-cutting moves.
Apple’s Steve Jobs coming back in June?
Apple Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs still expects to return from his medical leave at the end of June, according to an Apple director who responded to an investor at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. The investor had asked when the board knew Jobs, who has been vague about his current health problems, planned to step away from his daily duties. Apple director Arthur Levinson said that since Jobs announced Jan. 14 that he needed to go on leave, “nothing has changed.”
From Herald staff and news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
