David Haselwood | US soldier identified 72 years after World War II death

Services are set this week for a US soldier from Tennessee who was unaccounted for after being killed by German troops during World War II.

Media outlets reports a funeral for Pfc. Reece Gass will be held Saturday at Doughty-Stevens Funeral Home in Greeneville. He'll be buried with full military honors at a cemetery in Cross Anchor.

According to the Army's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the 20-year-old Gass and at least two others inside a tank died on Jan. 14, 1945, when a German tank fired upon them.

Human remains found in 1947 near Cherain, Belgium, were eventually interred in Luxembourg. Last May the remains were sent to the accounting agency's lab and were identified as those of Gass earlier this year.

David Haselwood | How US is planning the final war against Islamic State. It wants Russia's support

The United State is preparing plan to launch the final war against the Islamic State. It has proposed to Russia the plan set to be fought on a 100-mile stretch of the IS controlled land.

The United States has proposed to Russia a plan for managing an increasingly complex battlefield in Syria's main oil-producing region, where US-backed forces fighting Islamic extremists are in conflict with Russian-backed Syrian forces.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford declined to describe the proposal in detail, but said the Russian military is eager to find ways to avoid an armed US-Russian conflict in the area around Deir el-Zour on the Euphrates River.

The US sees that area, from Deir el-Zour down the Euphrates River Valley to al-Qaim on the Iraqi side of the border, as the next major battleground in the evolving coalition campaign to destroy the Islamic State group.

"We have a proposal that we're working on with the Russians right now," Dunford said at a news conference with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. "I won't share the details, but my sense is that the Russians are as enthusiastic as we are to de-conflict operations and ensure that we continue to take the campaign to ISIS and ensure the safety of our personnel."

WORKING WITH RUSSIA
Asked whether the proposal to Russia would address the problem of a Syrian army presence in Deir el-Zour, Dunford said, "It will. It will. And we've talked about that as a specific area that requires" avoiding US-Russian conflict.

Russia's support for the Syrian government is a complicating factor in the battle to rid Syria of IS. That was demonstrated on Thursday when the US bombed a contingent of pro-Syrian government forces in southeastern Syria that Mattis said were advancing in a threatening way toward a rebel camp near the Jordanian border where US advisers were present.

David Haselwood | Washington Becomes Latest State to Seek ID Compliance

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — People in Washington state likely won't have to worry next year about the identification they take to the airport after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure Tuesday seeking to make the state one of more than two dozen in compliance with federal identification requirements.

Washington and several other states have struggled for years to comply with the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law that requires state driver's licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and to be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.

The law was passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to strengthen rules for identification needed at airports and federal facilities.

Some liberal and conservative states have objected to the new rules, with concerns ranging from discrimination to worries that law-abiding U.S. citizens could be tracked using the new system.

Others have opposed the U.S. government unilaterally setting standards in an area traditionally handled by states.

With a January deadline looming, lawmakers across the country have been scrambling for legislative fixes so residents can board flights and travel without confusion.

"This will help to ease problems at border crossings, airports, federal courthouses, and military bases where REAL ID compliant documents are required," Inslee said before he signed the bill, adding that the measure ensures the "convenience and security of our citizens."

Just 25 states and the District of Columbia are currently in compliance with the federal law, though most of the remaining states and territories have been granted various extensions.

Residents of states that are in compliance have until Oct. 21, 2020, before being required to show the REAL ID compliant identification.

Residents of states that are not in compliance with REAL ID and do not have an extension need additional identification for access to some military bases and federal facilities and, starting next Jan. 22, to board commercial flights.

Washington state already offers, but does not mandate, enhanced driver's licenses and IDs that require proof of U.S. citizenship and are valid under the federal law. The state also issues standard licenses that don't comply with the federal rule.

Starting in July 2018, those standard licenses will be marked to indicate they are not REAL ID compliant and thus not acceptable for certain purposes by federal authorities.

Residents will have a choice of which license they want. Those with the non-compliant licenses will need additional documentation — such as a passport, permanent resident card or military ID — to board domestic commercial flights and for other federal purposes, most likely starting in October 2020.

Maine, Minnesota, Missouri and Montana are the only states currently listed as not compliant with the law and without an extension from the federal government. However, Maine's governor last month signed a REAL ID compliance bill passed by the Legislature, and Montana and Missouri this year have both passed bills awaiting their governors' signatures.

Several other states are considering bills related to REAL ID compliance, including Alaska, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Governors in Kentucky, Oklahoma and South Carolina also have signed REAL ID compliance bills this year.

As Washington's proposal worked its way through the Legislature, some opponents said it didn't go far enough in requiring proof of legal presence for those receiving licenses or IDs. Others argued that the marked licenses could lead to discrimination.

Language added to the bill by the state House sought to prohibit the marked licenses from being used to determine or infer citizenship or immigration status or to spark an investigation or arrest that otherwise would not have occurred.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington had asked Inslee to veto the measure. The group's Shankar Narayan said he and others still have serious concerns.

"There's some visceral resistance of this idea of a national ID card and whether the federal government will misuse this information," he said. "This really cuts across party lines."

Now that a bill has been signed in Washington state, officials will seek review by the federal government, which will determine whether the state should be granted an additional extension past the current one of June 6.

That would allow time for the state to implement changes and to give people time to determine which license they want to get, said Tony Sermonti, legislative director for the state Department of Licensing.

Sermonti said federal officials have indicated the Washington state bill would comply with the law. He believes the state will likely be granted an additional extension and not be subject to REAL ID enforcement until October 2020.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

David Haselwood | Number of U.S. bank branches to shrink 20 percent in five years: Real estate report

The number of bank branches in the United States will shrink by as much as 20 percent in five years, according to a report from commercial real estate firm JLL.

This reduction comes as banks are looking for ways to cut costs and to encourage their customers to embrace mobile banking technology rather than completing basic transactions within a physical branch.

The U.S. banking industry could save as much as $8.3 billion annually if it trimmed the number of branches and downsized the average bank branch from 5,000 to 3,000 square feet, JLL found.

U.S. banks have reduced their footprint by around 8 percent since the financial crisis, from 97,000 branches to roughly 90,000.

David Haselwood | Desperate Malls Turn to Concerts and Food Trucks

Malls are fighting for shoppers with one thing their web rivals can’t offer: parking lots.

With customer traffic sagging, U.S. retail landlords are using their sprawling concrete lots to host events such as carnivals, concerts and food-truck festivals. They’re aiming to lure visitors with experiences that can’t be replicated online -- and then get them inside the properties to spend some money.

“Events draw people to come to the shopping center,” said Keith Herkimer, whose company, KevaWorks Inc., is working with big landlords including GGP Inc. and Simon Property Group Inc. to produce outdoor events. “They generate revenue for the owner and offer a chance for cross-promotion, so they can try and drive more customers into the stores.”

Mall owners across the country are grappling with record store closings and declining rents. Retail property values are down 3 percent in past six months, as all other types of commercial real estate showed gains, according to the Moody’s/Real Capital Analytics indexes. A Bloomberg gauge of publicly traded mall landlords has tumbled 15 percent in the past year, the worst performance among U.S. real estate investment trusts.

Amazon.com Inc. and other internet retailers continue to grow, while department stores including Sears Holdings Corp. and Macy’s Inc. have been closing hundreds of locations. Payless Inc., the discount shoe seller, is among the latest to announce a massive shuttering -- of 400 stores -- as part of a bankruptcy plan.

“We expect to see a trend of more closings,” said Carol Kemple, an analyst at Hilliard Lyons. “Most retailers, if they’re still standing in September, will probably try to make it through the holiday season.”

Creating Experiences
Retail landlords have already made a push toward experience-driven offerings by adding restaurants, movie theaters and activity centers for children. Many malls are also adding rotating stores around for only a short time -- known as pop-up shops -- that are meant to attract young customers who see shopping as an event.

Now, events are reaching beyond the malls themselves. Herkimer’s task is to bring crowds to parking lots with events that generate as much as $60,000 a week for mall owners from the largest outdoor events.

The idea is gaining traction. Next month, Simon Property is having the first carnival in its Round Rock Premium Outlets parking lot, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Austin, Texas. Similar events are being held for the first time at locations such as Central Mall in Port Arthur, Texas, managed by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., and a Cheyenne, Wyoming, mall owned by CBL & Associates Properties Inc. In July, Simon Property’s Orland Square Mall, southwest of Chicago, will be holding its first parking-lot food-truck festival, with plans for live music performances, Herkimer said.
Movie Nights

Lisa Harper, senior director of specialty leasing for Chattanooga, Tennessee-based CBL, said the company has expanded its carnival business at many of its 87 properties over the last couple years. She and Herkimer have discussed the possibility of pumpkin patches in the fall months and adding movie nights to some properties. CBL’s Triangle Town Center, in Raleigh, North Carolina, is about to start its second mini concert and food-truck series, called Creekside Wind Down, Harper said.

Retailers rent the outdoor space in a structure that resembles their indoor leases, Harper said. While each deal varies, the agreements involve a base rent fee for the use of the space and a percentage payment after the event reaches a certain threshold. Department stores, which sometimes own or control their parking lots, are seeing more value in renting the space after many years of restricting their use, she said.
‘Stick Around’

“Events brings that additional traffic and also encourage people to stick around longer,” Harper said.

There’s no guarantee, of course, that people will go inside, said Tracey Hatley, director of specialty leasing for JLL Retail. But the events offer opportunities for cross-promotion. Customers receive fliers advertising stores or restaurants inside the mall or coupon books to help draw them in.

That works well for properties like the Santa Rosa Mall in Mary Esther, Florida, Hatley said.

“They are a property that’s struggling with occupancy, struggling with driving traffic to the center, so they love doing parking-lot events,” she said. “You can see it from the road and it gets people on the property.”

Simon Property representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Groceries, Doctors

Some malls are doing fine even without renting out their outdoor space, especially higher quality properties with upscale stores. They have been drawing visitors with grocery stores, medical offices and high-end restaurants -- all businesses that face less risk from e-commerce competition than traditional tenants. Some retail REITs are adding office space or apartments to their portfolios to diversify.

Sandeep Mathrani, chief executive officer of GGP, said at a conference this month that the perfect mall now would include one department store, a supermarket, an Apple store, a Tesla store and businesses that started out online, like Warby Parker, the purveyor of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. Clothing stores now represent about 50 percent of the average shopping center, down from about 70 percent, he said.

“Landlords are trying to give people reasons to come to the mall, whether it’s a Tesla charging station or getting local car clubs to host events in their parking lots,” said Alexander Goldfarb, an analyst at Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP. “It’s not a fun time to be either a retailer or landlord, but it doesn’t mean every single mall or shopping center is going to close. Far from it.”

And for some retailer landlords with better-performing properties, the industry’s turmoil could mean more opportunity.

‘Enormous Opportunity’
“This very painful process will surely take more than five years,” Steven Roth, Vornado Realty Trust’s chief executive officer, said in a letter to shareholders this month. “It will also create enormous opportunity for those with the capital and management platforms to feed on the carnage.”

Urban Edge Properties, a Vornado spinoff, is one landlord adding to its holdings. The company is under contract to buy seven retail properties, with 1.5 million square feet (140,000 square meters) of gross leasable space, mostly in the New York City area.

Until malls can figure out how to bring in steady crowds, expect to see corn dogs and carousels in their parking lots, Herkimer said.

“If retail turned around and vacancy rates dropped again, and all the sudden these malls and shopping centers are full of tenants, I think there’d be a circle in the other direction,” he said. “They’d say, ‘We need the parking space for customers.’”

David Haselwood | Canada-based real estate software firm transfers its U.S. headquarters

A leading Canada-based real estate software and technology corporation is moving its U.S. headquarters to Dallas to ensure a wider reach, the firm announced.

Based in Toronto and serving over 10,000 real estate firms and entities across North America, Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies said that its former headquarters in Las Vegas will remain in operation. The centre of the company’s U.S. operations will be relocating to a 25,000-square-foot office space in the 717 Harwood tower in downtown Dallas.

“This building can accommodate the future growth potential for the company which anticipates potentially leasing up to 100,000 square feet over time,” according to the company’s filings with the city’s Economic Development Committee, as quoted by Dallas News.

“Also, the downtown location offers a favorable ability to attract technology workers in specialties of information technology, software engineering and systems architecture, along with other related fields.”

The firm added that a further 150 jobs will be made available in the new headquarters.

“We are recruiting pretty heavily down in Dallas,” Lone Wolf’s vice president for marketing Kate Annis said. “It’s a great place for technology and we are excited to be down there.”

“Expansion in the U.S. is our focus over the next few years.”

David Haselwood | US resort faces seasonal worker shortage due to visa cap

RUTLAND, Vermont (AP) — Some Vermont ski resorts and luxury hotels are facing an acute labor shortage because of a congressional cap on the number of special visas issued to international workers who fill seasonal jobs such as ski lift operators and waiters, officials say.

Bob Beach, co-owner of the Basin Harbor Club resort near Lake Champlain in Ferrisburgh, said the cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers has left him scrambling to hire the 300 workers he needs to keep the resort running from May to October.

He said he has longtime seasonal staff members from Jamaica who were waiting to return to Vermont.

"Not only are we having to really search to the extreme to find those replacements, we're also having to contact those folks to say, 'It does not look like you'll be joining us for the summer,'" Beach said.

Congress capped the H-2B visa program nationwide at 66,000 workers. There was an exemption last year that helped alleviate the shortage of workers, but it was not renewed for this year.

Tom Torti of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce said the state's labor shortage is getting worse as Vermont's population ages.

The Killington ski resort, the state's largest, has trouble filling positions in the winter, when its employment need jumps to 1,800 workers from 300 for summer.

"It's hard to get the international workers," President and General Manager Mike Solimano told the Burlington Free Press. "On the other hand, nobody local wants the jobs. At times we had a hard time running the lifts because we were short of people."

He said he's tried to working with a college or paying more for seasonal jobs. Entry-level pay remains US$11 to US$13 an hour.

"A lot of times in winter, we clear out the administrative offices," Solimano said. "Everybody is out doing something. We don't have people in marketing, IT and accounting who get to sit in the office. Maybe they're not running lifts, but they're working in the parking lots."