Business
Business News from companies in Boulder, Colorado
Gas “outage” comes at a bad time
Dec 6th
Xcel Energy is working to address a gas outage that is impacting a significant number of homes in parts of the city and Boulder County. Boulder Fire-Rescue is offering tips to help keep people safe during the outage.
ü If your pilot light is out after gas service is restored and you don’t know how to re-light it, you may contact Xcel to come to your home to relight the pilot for you. Xcel is asking individuals who need assistance to call 1-800-295-4999 to provide a cell phone for crews to contact you; if you will be home when crews come by, please leave your porch light. Call a professional contractor if you don’t wish to wait for Xcel.
ü If your pipes freeze, avoid using blow torches or open flames to try to heat them. Just yesterday, Dec. 5, 2013, someone caused a fire in a mobile home while using a blow torch to heat frozen pipes. Although no one was injured, the mobile home suffered extensive damage from the fire.
ü If you have neighbors who are elderly or who are physically/mentally challenged, please check on them to make sure they’re okay. If they are in need of medical attention, call 9-1-1.
ü If you plan to use an electric space heater, consider the following precautions:
· Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from flammable objects like curtains, furniture and bedding.
· Make sure to keep a 3-foot “kid-free zone” around space heaters and fires.
· Use space heaters only when you’re present in your home or business, and only while you’re awake. Never use space heaters while you sleep.
How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which can be produced when a furnace or other appliances are not working properly. It can also be produced when wood-burning fireplaces are not vented properly.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas, and inhaling it can cause death. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include feeling out of breath, dizziness, nausea and headaches. If you or any of your family members experience these symptoms, leave the building immediately and call 9-1-1.
ü Make sure to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home or business. Check the batteries regularly to ensure that it’s working properly.
ü Don’t use a charcoal or wood grill indoors or in a garage.
ü Never operate kerosene or propane heaters indoors without proper venting.
ü Never use your oven to heat your home.
Emergency Contacts and Shelter Information
In case of emergency, contact 9-1-1. For other calls, the non-emergency dispatch number is 303-441-3333. To report outages, please contact Xcel directly at 1-800-895-2999.
The American Red Cross will be opening a warm shelter for people impacted by this emergency. The shelter will be available starting at 3 p.m. today and is located at Douglass Elementary School, 840 75th St. near 75th Street and Baseline Road.
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CU study: Covert product placements in TV shows works Well, du…
Sep 23rd
“Frankly, we were a bit surprised at the power of covert marketing across a variety of studies,” said Margaret C. Campbell, professor of marketing at CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business and lead author of the article appearing online this month in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. “Even though most U.S. consumers know that marketers pay to surreptitiously get their brands in front of consumers, consumers are still influenced by covert marketing efforts.”
However, the studies also found that the disclosure of paid product placements in a sitcom decreased the influential effects, especially when the disclosure occurred after the consumer was exposed to the marketing.
In one of the studies, people watched a sitcom including a few seconds of exposure to a breakfast cereal. Later, when asked to list the first cereals that came to mind, people who had seen a brand name cereal during the sitcom were more than three times as likely to include that cereal in their top three, as compared with those who had seen a fictitious cereal. They also reported a much higher preference for the brand.
However, if prior to watching the show people saw a disclosure that sponsored product placements were included, they were not more likely to list the brand in their top three, although they still reported a higher liking for the brand.
If people saw a disclosure after the show that sponsored product placements were included, they also were not more likely to list the brand in their top three. But they did not report more favorable attitudes toward the brand, compared with a time when they had not been exposed to the product placement.
“Disclosures after the placement appear to alert people to the impact that covert marketing efforts can have, in which case they are less likely to be influenced,” Campbell said.
There have been calls to require disclosure of covert marketing in the U.S. to be consistent with other requirements for disclosure of sponsorship. Other countries, such as the Netherlands, home country of study co-author Peeter Verlegh of the University of Amsterdam, already require some disclosure.
Gina Mohr of Colorado State University also is a co-author.
“In the U.S. there has been some reluctance to incorporate disclosures for fear that it may interfere with creative content,” said Mohr. “This research suggests that product placement disclosures need not occur at the time of product placement to be effective.”
According to the authors, the findings provide support for the idea that requiring disclosure after exposure to covert marketing would offer consumers information to help them choose how to navigate the marketplace.
“Consumers should get to know when they are being exposed to commercial persuasion so they can decide how they want to respond,” said Campbell.
To view the study visit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740812001337. For more information on CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business visit http://leeds.colorado.edu.
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Boulder expands grant assistance available for low- and middle-income home buyers
Aug 22nd
The City of Boulder has joined other jurisdictions in the Metro Mayor’s Caucus in making homeownership more affordable through a non-repaid grant available to low- and middle-income buyers.
The program provides a competitive 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a grant for down-payment assistance equal to 4 percent of the mortgage amount. Income requirements are less than $91,100 for households of two or fewer persons, and less than $103,000 for three or more.
“This is a great opportunity for qualified individuals,” said Jeff Yegian, acting manager of the Division of Housing. “City of Boulder participation in this program adds another resource to make homeownership in Boulder more accessible to low- as well as moderate- and middle-income households.”
Other conditions for participation include:
- Standard loan guidelines must be met.
- Buyers must have a minimum FICO score of 640 (660 for manufactured homes), and a maximum debt-to-income ratio of 45 percent.
- Buyers must complete a HUD-approved homebuyer education class. The class currently required of buyers for the City of Boulder Permanently Affordable Homes program satisfies this condition.
- Purchasers must occupy the home as their primary residence, but they do not have to be a first-time homebuyer.
There is no limit on the property purchase price, although it should not exceed the lender’s loan approval amount. This program is intended for purchase of a primary home, and excludes refinance or purchase of a second property. Approved structures include single-family detached homes, condominiums, townhomes, duplexes and manufactured homes.
This program does not require repayment and funding is expected to continue through approximately December 2014.
A complete list of approved lenders and additional information for lenders who wish to become approved for the program is available at the City of Denver’s website,http://www.denvergov.org/oed/DenverOfficeofEconomicDevelopment/HousingAssistance/MetroMortgageAssistancePlus/tabid/444354/Default.aspx, or email Stacy Houston at stacy.houston@raymondjames.com.
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