Planners Look to Pax River as Guide Ahead of Military Base Expansions (Washington Post)
Where once there were trees and fields there stand office buildings adorned with the names of giant military contractors: Northrup Grumman, Sikorsky, Raytheon and more. The road leading to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station has widened from two lanes to six and become lined for miles with shopping...

China to Introduce Real-Estate Investment Trusts (Update1) (Bloomberg)
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- China’s central bank and banking regulator are formulating a plan to allow developers to raise funds through real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, hoping to restart construction projects hamstrung by financing issues.

Report: Tough commercial real estate market will linger (BizJournals)
Grubb & Ellis Co. on Monday released its 2009 global forecast that predicts a troublesome year for commercial real estate in the U.S., including Greater Sacramento.

Birmingham Economic Forecast: Commercial Real Estate (BizJournals)
Nonexistent credit for companies and mounting job losses will make 2009 a tough year for the commercial real estate industry, experts say.

West Valley park becomes shrine to 2 slain boys (The Arizona Republic)
Jesse Ramirez, 7, and Edwin Pellecier, 10, died in the hospital after being beaten to death at a park inside a housing development at 91st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.

Hagan welcomes supporters, not reporters (The News & Observer)
U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan will, like other new members of Congress, hold an open house for members of the public in her temporary office space Tuesday. But the press is not invited.

Commercial real estate (BizJournals)
Two years ago, the biggest problem for the commercial real estate industry was the construction cost for new buildings. For 2009, the problem might be no new buildings.