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Posted Feb 20, 2008, 6:32 PM
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Sarcstic Caper in Exile
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Calgary
Posts: 3,112
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Cape Breton Post
Quote:
PlanetSpace fails to secure NASA funding agreement
Section: Business
By Tom Ayers,
PlanetSpace will continue to pursue its interest in Cape Breton, despite the company's failure to land a funding agreement with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The Chicago-based Canadian-American consortium was one of 13 companies vying for phase one of what NASA calls a "funded Space Act agreement" to demonstrate an ability to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. NASA is looking for a new system to replace the aging fleet of space shuttles, which will be retired in 2010. The first phase will see NASA invest up to US$170 million in the successful bidder's project.
NASA says all 13 bidders had excellent proposals, but Orbital of Dulles, Va., had the best overall package. In addition to the NASA funding, Orbital said it will contribute US$150 million to the project.
In a conference call, Tuesday, Doug Cooke, NASA deputy associate administrator, told reporters that each of the 13 bidders was evaluated carefully, and the winning bid had to have a technical approach that was achievable and credible and its business case had to be sound and sustainable.
"Orbital was the highest rated of the proposals," said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of the commercial crew and cargo program at NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Tex. "I think it was a clear decision," added Cooke.
He declined to discuss the PlanetSpace bid, or any of the other failed bids, saying the proponents had been notified earlier in the day of their status and were invited to a debriefing at a later date, where they could ask questions about their proposals.
Although Lindenmoyer said at least one of the 13 bidders was proposing a launch site outside of the United States, Cooke said NASA did not consider that as part of its evaluation process.
"I don't think that we had anything that told us that we couldn't," Cooke said. "We didn't have that discussion as part of the evaluation because it wasn't presented to us."
PlanetSpace chairman Chirinjeev Kathuria said in an e-mail exchange with the Cape Breton Post, late Tuesday, that it had proposed launch sites in Cape Canerval and Nova Scotia, so that shouldn't have been issue.
"We did include a launch site in Nova Scotia as a primary launch site for the Silver Dart for point-to-point travel and space tourism and a dual launch site with Space Florida for small/medium size secondary commercial and satellite launches and NASA cargo and crew missions," said Kathuria.
The company will continue to work on its plans for an eight-passenger hypersonic glider, to be called the Silver Dart, which will be launched on an Athena rocket. PlanetSpace hopes to launch 2,000 tourists into space over five years and will charge $250,000 for a ticket on the Silver Dart.
"We will continue with the Silver Dart for point-to-point travel and space tourism," Kathuria said.
PlanetSpace has an unfunded agreement with NASA, and Kathuria said the company will bid on the next phase of NASA funding while continuing to work on its crew and cargo spacecraft. NASA said it has up to $500 million for commercialization of low-orbit space flight, and Kathuria said the funding could be up to $2.6 billion over five years. The next phase is expected to be announced later this year.
"This is the real prize," said Kathuria. "We had wished we had won the demonstration money, too. C'est la vie."
PlanetSpace has looked at two locations in Cape Breton as possible launch sites. One is in an area near Alder Point, outside of Bras d'Or, while the other is near Louisbourg, said Kathuria. Nova Scotia Business Inc. had been holding talks with PlanetSpace and was reportedly willing to give the company 300 acres of Crown land to develop a launch site.
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Quote:
Sydney businessman says 'partial agreement' reached in sale of Health Park
Section: Business
A Sydney businessman involved in a pending lawsuit filed by Membertou First Nation says a "partial agreement" has been reached in the sale of Health Park.
Wayne Weatherbee, owner of Kolara Investments Ltd., said the sale of the building is not final, though his lawyer is putting together the paperwork.
One week ago, a lawsuit was filled against Weatherbee by Membertou First Nation, asserting an oral agreement had been reached in acquisition of all common shares of Kolara on Dec. 1. The company property includes the health-care building and its surrounding area near the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
Weatherbee has said no signed agreement was reached and he had promised the property to no one.
In the statement of claim filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax, Weatherbee is accused of breaching the verbal pact by agreeing to sell certain parts of the land to Northwest Healthcare Properties Ltd.
The real estate group, which owns the Sydney Medical Arts Building, has declined to comment on the sale of Health Park and calls to the company were not returned, Tuesday.
Weatherbee purchased the Health Park property in 1992. The construction of the five-level complex was completed in 2006.
None of the allegations against Weatherbee have been proven in court.
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Quote:
Sydney's north end makes history
Section: Front
By Chris Shannon,
Residents living in the north end have historical bragging rights of sorts.
The oldest neighbourhood in Sydney, which dates back to 1785, is now home to the second-largest heritage conservation district in the province.
The only one larger is located in the historic shipping town of Lunenburg on the South Shore.
After more than two years of haggling, numerous public and open house sessions, and adjustments to the heritage district's boundaries, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality finally passed the bylaw Tuesday night, making it a reality.
"We tried to alleviate any fears (residents) had and the fact nobody was here tonight to speak against it, it is quite evident that we did a good job. I'm extremely happy," said north end Coun. Tom Wilson, who chairs the CBRM heritage advisory committee.
But the planning department's work in trying to deal with residents' concerns, while designing a heritage district boundary that was satisfactory to all, did cause some controversy.
Some of the tension revolved around the municipality regulating the look of exterior facades of homes, the esthetic appeal of gardens and how it may effect insurance premiums.
The Congregation of Notre Dame - the sisters who run the Holy Angels Convent - were strongly opposed to being annexed into the heritage zone. It would impose possible restrictions on the congregation's plan to demolish parts of the convent, which dates back to 1885, if it was deemed necessary at a future date.
The properties owned by the sisters, including Holy Angels high school, were ultimately left out of the heritage district boundary.
"From the outset, I didn't want to have anybody come into the heritage district kicking and screaming. They had to want to be a part of it," Wilson said.
"The sisters of Notre Dame had concerns and we tried to address the concerns, (but) I guess we didn't address them well enough so that they felt comfortable enough coming in and if they weren't comfortable coming in, I wasn't comfortable in trying to drag them in."
The area is laden with buildings from Sydney's founding. Eight buildings were constructed between 1785 and 1802, with nearly 100 buildings more than a century old.
Among the buildings are Cossitt House on Charlotte Street, which is the oldest house in the city, and the Esplanade is home to O'Brien House and next door St. Patrick's Catholic Church, the oldest church in Cape Breton.
Several years ago, the Old Sydney Society expressed concern that if the area was not protected it could be drastically altered by demolition and incompatible new development in the future. As a result, a series of meetings were held in the fall of 2004 and later that winter to have initial discussions on developing a heritage district.
Don Arseneau, co-founder and president of the Old Sydney Society, said the unanimous vote had "always been in our hearts."
"The Old Sydney Society was set up 40 years ago just to make that proclamation. It took all this time to put everything in place."
Wilson said it'll be a "real plus" for the community because it'll also be good for the tourism industry and cruise ships passengers, who are often seen meandering through downtown streets in the summer marvelling at the Victorian-era architecture.
Amendments also passed Tuesday allowing for the redevelopment of two buildings on the Esplanade that would see these dwellings reflect a similar scale and architectural style to other properties in the heritage district.
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Quote:
Vogue Theatre supporters converge on council
Section: News
Column: Council briefs
About a dozen supporters of the old Vogue Theatre on Charlotte Street came to thecouncil meeting, in the hopes they could be placed on the agenda to voice their displeasure over new Vogue owner Martin Chernin's plans to replace the historic theatre with an office building.
Mayor John Morgan quickly intervened at the end of the meeting letting the group know proper notice had to be given in order to present its case. "If there is another side to the issue, as it may be in this case, those individuals have an opportunity to make their comments known as well," Morgan said.
The mayor said if circumstances arise before next month's council meeting, the CBRM reserves the right to call a special meeting if necessary.
An Internet site and Facebook group with 3,900 members have sprung up comprised of people who want to save the building from the wrecking ball.
Sydney resident Jason Morrison, who started the sites, wanted to persuade council the Vogue should remain as a cultural icon. "If (council) can convince Mr. Chernin that there are other spaces he could use for that building, which would also complement the downtown core, while we try to resurrect and restore the Vogue," he said after the meeting.
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