It takes something really extraordinary to put an entire industry into play, but that’s what may be happening to the guns and ammo sector in the U.S.

The Newtown, CT school massacre moved gun safety legislation front and center on the national and state levels. Proposed new gun-control measures, including universal background checks, an assault weapons ban and limits on high-capacity magazines are moving towards key votes in Congress.

Meanwhile, several states already have acted to tighten their gun control laws. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed through a measure in January requiring registration of an estimated one million guns already in circulation. Other provisions in the NY package require five-year renewals of handgun licenses statewide; direct mental health professionals to notify authorities of patients deemed likely to seriously hurt themselves or others; and require federal background checks for private gun sales in New York.

New York’s new law–the first new gun restrictions in the nation following the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown–also lowers the capacity limit of weapons magazines from 10 rounds to seven. In Colorado, Gov. John Hickenlooper bucked a strong tradition of gun ownership in the state and succeeded in enacting a landmark new law expanding background checks on gun purchases and limiting the size of ammunition clips. Several other states are moving forward with new gun restrictions, including New Jersey, Illinois and Connecticut.

Predictably, the National Rifle Association and its allies are mounting legal challenges to the new restrictions. This week, the NRA joined the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, other sportsmen’s groups, firearms businesses and individual gun owners in a lawsuit that aims to overturn New York’s law, citing the second and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

As the national debate heats up over new gun-control legislation, some weapons manufacturers are threatening to leave inhospitable states for less-regulated locations.

Colt Manufacturing President and CEO Dennis Veilleux told Fox News that Connecticut legislators’ proposals to enact ammunition restrictions, expand an assault weapons ban, curtail bulk purchases of handguns and create a new gun offender registry risk putting Colt and its 700 employees “in the crosshairs.”

Colt has called Connecticut home for over 175 years. Veilleux made it clear the gun maker is closely watching state legislative activity, especially Gov. Dan Malloy’s promise to ban both the purchase and sale of AR-15 rifles–one of Colt’s key products. Last week, Colt sent 400 of its employees to Connecticut’s state Capitol to personally lobby against new gun-control legislation. Meanwhile, a Malloy spokesman has stated that the governor does not want gun manufacturers to flee the state. In Colt’s case, it would mean a loss of $1.7 billion for the state’s economy

In Colorado, following the passage of Gov. Hickenlooper’s bill banning the sale of magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds, munitions magazine manufacturer Magpul announced it will shut down its operations in the state .

As in any relocation paradigm, one community’s loss is another’s gain. In Montana, they ‘re moving quickly to put out the welcome mat for gun and ammunition manufacturers from across the country. In fact, local economic development agencies are openly targeting weapons producers.

The details of this effort were reported this week by Jeremy Vannatta, Director of Outreach, Recruitment and Marketing for the Big Sky Economic Development Authority (EDA), during a joint meeting of the Executive Committees for the EDA and its sister organization, the Big Sky Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

Vannatta said that a committee has been formed and they have compiled a list of some 300 prospective companies. Sixteen of those companies already have connections to the state and are considered prime candidates.

“We do have an industry here already,” Vannatta told the Big Sky Business Journal. There are ten gun manufacturers in the state, he said, as well as companies which manufacture components for guns manufactured by other companies.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The post Locked, Loaded and Ready to Relocate appeared first on Business Facilities.

The online gambit is the first of a series of initiatives that state lawmakers and casino hotels hope to enact to give AC some extra juice. This effort has taken on an added sense of urgency in the wake of this month’s announcement by the luxury resort Revel that it is filing for bankruptcy protection. The gleaming $2.6-billion Revel is the first new casino hotel to open in Atlantic City since 2003. When investors threatened to abandon the half-built luxury tower in the middle of the Recession, Gov. Christie stepped in with $261 million in tax incentives to save the project.

Hotels in Atlantic City are experimenting with in-room gambling, which enables guests to place their bets with the ease of opening a minibar or ordering an on-demand movie. Lawmakers from counties north and west of Atlantic City also are promoting the concept of “pop-up” casinos which would be authorized to operate at concerts, sporting events and county fairs.

Perhaps the largest surge in new gambling will happen if New Jersey wins its ongoing fight with the federal government over sports betting.

A federal law enacted in 1992 currently limits sports betting to four states — Oregon, Delaware, Montana and Nevada (where it’s a $2.9-billion industry). Ironically, the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is also known as the Bradley Act, because it was written by then-Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey. Bradley, the former Knicks and Princeton basketball star, successfully argued that a broad expansion of legalized sports gambling would open the door to corruption, including the point-shaving scandals which have periodically tainted college hoops.

Bradley’s position was in line with the majority of voters in the Garden State at the time. New Jersey was slow to embrace legalized gambling: state voters rejected a referendum in 1974 which would have allowed casinos statewide; they narrowly approved a measure two years later which restricted casinos to Atlantic City. The measure passed only after small business owners in the famous beach town, once known as the Queen resort of the Atlantic Coast, traveled up and down the state convincing voters that only casinos could save their declining city.

But with casino gambling and expanded lotteries proliferating throughout the country during the past thirty years, acceptance of gaming has grown and NJ residents have sent a strong signal they’re ready to fight for a bigger share of the betting pie.

New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved a 2011 referendum to legalize sports betting. Christie signed the law, but it was quickly challenged in court by the federal government, backed by professional and collegiate sports leagues. The lawsuit is still pending, but Christie has vowed to move ahead with sports betting this year, essentially daring the Feds to enforce the ban.

State lawmakers say sports betting is essential not only to boost AC casinos but to keep New Jersey’s struggling racetracks — an industry which supports 7,000 jobs and brings in about $110 million per year in tax revenue — from going the way of the dinosaur.

New Jersey is counting on revenue from its new Internet gambling initiative to add $180 million to the state’s casino tax-revenue kitty, currently totaling $300 million annually. Industry analysts say online wagering could fill the coffers of NJ’s casinos and racetracks with more than $1 billion in new revenue annually.

Not everyone is cheering the introduction of online gaming in NJ. The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey is warning the move will exacerbate the incidence of gambling addictions in the Garden State.

“Increased access to gambling increases the incidence of gambling addictions, and the Internet could not be more accessible. It’s going to accelerate the progression of problems for people who are already at risk,” Donald Weinbaum, the council’s director, told The New York Times.

New Jersey’s casino industry has been battered by the triple whammy of relentless expansion of competing gaming hubs in nearby Pennsylvania and Connecticut (with New York preparing to enter the fray), a deep Recession that shriveled the amount consumers are willing to spend on entertainment and, most recently, a monster superstorm that devastated the Jersey Shore.

Recognizing the high stakes if Atlantic City’s casinos continued to falter, Gov. Christie intervened in 2010 with a five-year plan to prop up AC by creating a special tourism district around the casinos and a $30-million marketing plan. State police units were deployed around boardwalk casinos to keep crime from the depressed inner city from impacting on casino business. While these efforts have helped to stabilize Atlantic City’s casinos, Gov. Christie’s embrace of online gaming signals his recognition that NJ must compete for all forms of gaming revenue: he is betting that a rising tide of wagers will lift all boats.

It will be interesting to see if the governor’s big bet on Web gambling pays off. Other industries that opened their arms to e-Commerce have experienced considerable collateral damage to their bricks-and-mortar businesses after they welcomed an onslaught of electronic purchasing.

Big Box electronics chains like Best Buy were forced to undertake slashing reductions of their in-store sales force last year after a surge in online purchases of electronic devices. The tech-gadget retailer discovered that more and more shoppers were coming to the store just to pick the brains of their sales staff and sample products, but were not opening their wallets until they got home and logged on for tax-free Internet purchases.

Will New Jersey gamblers be inspired to make the trek to Atlantic City if they can simply place their bets on smartphones from an easy chair at home?

Online gaming no doubt will create more gamblers. If it’s expanded to include sports betting, our guess is these new bettors soon will gravitate to Atlantic City’s gambling palaces and state racetracks. Gambling is an inherently social activity, and sports gamblers in particular will find it hard to resist the multi-screen, mega-sports betting parlors that will quickly be installed in AC casinos and state racetracks if the federal ban is breached. They’ll want to cheer their teams together, bragging about their winnings and making fun of losers in person, even in our strangely disconnected age of total mobile connectivity.

Then they’ll take those winnings, double down at the nearest blackjack table or horse-picking window and lose the whole wad. And they’ll come back a week later and try to win it all back. (Of course, we’re not speaking from experience here, but we’ve heard stories).

Even if the surge in visitors is modest, the tidal wave of new gaming receipts from every corner of the state will move the bottom line of New Jersey’s casino and racetrack industries from red to black. Our governor, who likes to do things in a bold way, has pushed a big pile of chips into the middle of the table. It says here the odds are good that his big bet will pay off.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The post Doubling Down in NJ appeared first on Business Facilities.

Photo credit: AP | Pfizer’s 550-acre Pearl River facility is shown in this file photo. (May 19, 2010)

Protein Sciences Corporation has signed a five year lease of two fully equipped buildings totaling 83,000 square feet and will make a multi-million dollar investment to establish manufacturing operations at Pfizer’s 550-acre Pearl River Campus in Rockland County, NY. The company’s expansion will initially create approximately 50 new jobs that could grow to up to 150 total jobs over the next decade.

Protein Sciences’ expansion will take advantage of a local workforce experienced in biopharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing. Empire State Development of NY will provide Protein Sciences with $2 million in tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program to support the company’s expansion.

Protein Sciences is also working with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development to explore opportunities to expand the Company’s manufacturing operations near its headquarters in Meriden, CT.

“New York State and local government have provided invaluable assistance that is enabling our expansion in Pearl River. We hope that support from the Connecticut government follows suit and allows us to expand in our home state as well,” said Protein Sciences’ CEO Manon Cox.

Protein Sciences is a vaccine development and protein production company dedicated to saving lives and improving health through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.

The post Protein Sciences Corp. Builds Ties In Rockland County, NY appeared first on Business Facilities.

Source: Carters.com

Carter’s, Inc., maker of apparel exclusively for babies and young children, has announced plans to consolidate its retail store and financial operations currently managed in its Shelton, CT facility with the Company’s Atlanta, GA-based operations. To enable the consolidation of these operations and to support its growth plans, the Company is evaluating its long-term space needs in the Atlanta area. The Company expects to complete this consolidation by the end of 2013.

“We are very fortunate to be growing and expanding our business in our hometown of Atlanta,” said Michael D. Casey, chairman and chief executive officer. “We believe that bringing our employees together in one location will improve the interaction and collaboration of our talented workforce and strengthen our ability to provide consumers with the best value and experience in young children’s apparel.”

Approximately 200 new jobs are expected to be created in Atlanta principally in the areas of retail merchandising and store operations, finance, and information technology. The Company currently employs approximately 1,200 people in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

The post Carter’s, Inc. To Consolidate CT-Based Operations In Atlanta appeared first on Business Facilities.

Additional details of the deal to be announced by Gov. Malloy on October 2, 2012.

On October 1, 2012, executives from Charter Communications revealed the company’s plans to move its headquarters from St. Louis, MO to downtown Stamford, CT. The deal has been confirmed by the office of Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy with additional details to be announced.

The video, Internet and telephone service provider serves more than 5 million customers in 25 states and employs approximately 16,700 people. The move could bring a number of important  jobs to Stamford.

Anita Lamont, a Charter spokeswoman, also confirmed the move, stating, “We will be adding 200 jobs eventually,” she said. “It won’t start at that many.”

Strategically located in southwestern Connecticut, Stamford is less than one hour from midtown Manhattan by commuter rail or interstate highway. Much planning and effort has gone into the improvement and maintenance of Stamford’s downtown. Various City agencies and agencies affiliated with the City have been instrumental in the continued revitalization of the downtown area.

“It’s another corporate headquarters,” said Laure Aubuchon, Stamford’s director of economic development. “It’s another affirmation for Stamford, especially coming from St. Louis. When someone moves that far—they can go anywhere. And they came to Stamford, which I think is great.”

The post Charter To Move HQ From St. Louis To Stamford, CT appeared first on Business Facilities.