Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • A10

Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014 THE CLARION-LEDGER clarionledger.com PAGE 10A Capital Towers lands offices PORTFOLIO Utilities file plans to reduce waste Secretary of state moving some divisions to downtown Location about 80 employees who work in the business services, public lands, securities, charities and personnel divisions, Hosemann said. Hosemann will maintain his offices in the Ladner Building on Mississippi Street and at the Capitol. Hosemann said the lease at the North Street building will be up in April, so about a year ago his office and the Department of Finance and Ad ministration issued a request for proposals seeking new space. DFA identified Capital Towers as the preferred location a few months ago, and negotiations started then. "We particularly wanted to be visible and for our customers to find us easily," Hosemann said.

"We wanted to, of course, be very conscious of the tax dollars we'd spend." The offices should be ready by April. Before that, the lobby and elevators will undergo renovations and Capital Towers' parking garage will be updated, Hosemann said. Hosemann's office has reserved 100 parking spaces in the garage for employees and people with business there. Dedicated parking will also be available on the street. Downtown Jackson See TOWERS, Page 11A has an initial five-year term with five one-year options.

Hosemann did not disclose the financial terms but said the deal would be $10,000 per month cheaper than the North Street offices. Moving to Capital Towers at the intersection of Congress and Pearl streets will be By Clay Chandler cchandlerjackson.gannett.com Secretary of State Del-bert Hosemann is moving a handful of his divisions from offices on North Street to downtown Jackson's Capital Towers. Hosemann on Wednesday finalized a lease that WHOLE FOODS MARKET The new Whole Foods store in Highland Village in Jackson is set to open its doors Feb. 4. rick guythe clarion-ledger Healthy property values a big plus Electric and natural gas utility companies in Mississippi filed their required waste-reduction plans this week with the state Public Service Commission.

Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley said in a news release that the "Quick Start" plans are a response to a PSC rule aimed at slashing monthly utility bills through reduced waste. Examples of Quick Start programs being proposed include home and business energy audits, AC tune-ups, rebates for energy efficient lighting and appliances, demand response measures, the weatheriz-ing of homes and businesses, along with new home initiatives. If approved by the commission, utilities must implement these programs within four months. Customer participation is optional. The Commission's energy efficiency rules were passed in July 2013.

In total, the rules will produce an estimated $2 billion savings directly to customers over the next 20 years, according to Presley's news release. Delta Ag Expo set for next week Irrigation, grain storage and agricultural policies are among the topics that will be discussed at the 41st annual Delta Ag Expo next week in Cleveland. The 2014 event will be 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan.

23 and from 8:30 a.m. to noon Jan. 24 at the Bolivar County Expo Center. For more information or a complete agenda, go to agexpo. Former contractor faces sentencing Sentencing for James M.

Harris, a former contractor with the city of Southaven who pleaded guilty last year to a federal bank fraud charge, is scheduled for Jan. 29 in Aberdeen. Harris, 54, pleaded guilty on Sept. 12 to one count of loan and credit application fraud in federal court. He admitted that he submitted four fake invoices to Citizens National Bank, falsely claiming that his company, Construction, needed to draw money from the $5 million bank loan to construct a box culvert at or near Cherry Hill subdivision, when in reality Southaven had already paid his company more than $181,000 to install the culvert.

The bank fraud charge is punishable by 30 years in prison. Waste Pro lowers amount city owes Waste Pro USA has revised downward what it says the city of Natchez owes for underpayments since July. Waste Pro Division Manager Doug Atkins said Wednesday that the $126,000 figure includes $63,000 for underpayments, and the rest is this month's bill. The city awarded Waste Pro the contract for waste collection in 2012. Waste Management, which was also vying for the contract, sued the city.

Waste Pro began service for the city while the lawsuit was pending. A judge voided the contract and Waste Pro won a second round of bids. When the new contract began in July, the city did not adjust its payment schedule. The city says it didn't receive invoices. Staff, wire reports Upscale, organic chain raises those around it BY THE NUMBERS 370: Whole Foods stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom 1980: Year the first Whole Foods Market opened 100: Employees at the new Jackson location 77,000: Average median household income in the U.S.

neighborhoods where Whole Foods has a store 31,000: Square feet of the new Jackson store 102,000: Vehicles that drive by the Jackson location daily on I-55 around the country just in the last five years," said Kevin Hoogan, a Whole Foods marketing supervisor who recently moved from Los Angeles to Mississippi to help open the new location. Because more people have bought into the health-foods movement, "there are probably a lot of neighborhoods we hadn't considered five years ago that now we can." Couple that changing attitude with the 34-year-old company's aim to triple its U.S. store count along with the fact it already has saturated the most obvious markets and you arrive in Lefleur East. The family-friendly neighborhood will host Whole Foods' store and is poised to benefit from its presence. Lefleur East is home to some of the region's wealthiest and most highly-educated residents.

The ZIP code in which the store is located has a median household income of $58,728 more than 50 percent higher than the state average. At least 95 percent of its residents also have a high school degree or higher more than triple the state average, according to the U.S. Census Bu reau American Community Survey. And it's en route from Jackson to the even wealthier suburbs of Madison and Gluckstadt, whose median household incomes top $95,000 and whose residents are highly educated. Ninety-seven percent have a high school diploma; nearly 40 percent have at least a bachelor's degree.

Some 102,000 vehicles pass near the Northside Drive store daily on 1-55, Mississippi Department of Transportation traffic counts show. These are important features, it turns out. "A lot of it is certain metrics demographics, education and population density but the Jackson store in particular, it's been on the radar for a while," Hoogan said. "It's finding the right location and the right piece of real estate that is a huge piece of the puzzle." Whole Foods finally found that real estate in the popular Highland Village shopping center, an established retail outlet with an eclectic mix of unique merchants and a new owner. Chestnut Hill, WS Development recently acquired a controlling interest in Highland Village contingent on Whole Foods' decision to locate there.

"It was a fundamental element of our investment strategy that we would bring Whole Foods," said Lou Masiello, vice president of development for WS. The development group, which manages shopping centers nationwide, has a longstanding relationship with Whole Foods in the northeastern part of the United States and knows the impact one of its stores has on a neighborhood. "It certainly does have positive effect on the marketplace when it goes See WHOLE, Page 11A Emily Le Coz elecozjackson.gannett.com Whole Foods Market will break a cultural barrier when it opens its first upscale, organic grocery store next month in Mississippi. Known for its granola-crunching environmentalism and fan base of left-leaning shoppers, the Austin, Texas-based chain set stakes in the nation's reddest, most Christian conservative state with its northeast Jackson store set to open on Feb. 4.

It did so, not on a whim, but based on a strategic growth model that has made the publicly traded company among the most profitable in the industry. In its 2013 fiscal year alone, Whole Foods reached record sales of nearly $13 billion across its 362 stores, most of which are located in the wealthiest neighborhoods of the biggest cities. While other grocers struggle to stay afloat, Whole Foods just posted its fifth consecutive year of operating margin improvement, earning $1 billion in before-tax profits, according to its annual report. Shareholders took home a combined $633 million. So how does the relatively impoverished, mostly rural Mississippi suddenly fit into Whole Foods' corporate strategy? It was at the right place at the right time.

"The consciousness of people when it comes to healthy eating has grown Many scams target struggling homeowners alleged foreclosure relief scam to pay about $3.6 million and surrender their assets. According to the FTC, the scheme operated under various names, including Prime Legal Plans. "Using Reaching Network, a sham nonprofit front, and a maze of other companies, the scheme reeled in consumers with false promises that enrollment would save their homes While the national rate of home foreclosures appears to be on the decline, giving hope to a weary market, it's cold comfort for millions of homeowners who are still struggling to pay their mortgages in the face of stubborn unemployment and rising prices. An estimated 5.3 percent of mortgages end up in foreclosure in the Jackson metro area, according to a report Many Mississippi homeowners have found themselves on the receiving end of telemarketers, who promise to help prevent foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments. Although there are some legitimate sources of help, there are also many scammers on the prowl.

Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement requiring operators of an from foreclosure or result in lower mortgage payments," noted the FTC release. "The FTC charged that the defendants promised consumers that they would prevent foreclosure or significantly lower their mortgage payments by conducting audits of consumers' loans and providing access to full-service, expert legal See SCAMS, Page 11A BILL MOAK released in December. That puts Jackson in 72nd place among 366 metro areas..