Friday, March 31, 2017

SuperShuttle Is Offering Discounted Rates For Advanced Summer 2017 Travel Reservations




Start planning your summer vacation now


SuperShuttle, the nation's largest airport ride service, is offering customers the opportunity to get rewarded
 for booking early in anticipation of summer travel. Non-Stop van service and Premium (black car and SUV)
 service will be discounted by 11% for airport rides booked between April 1-30 for travel between May 25 – 
July 31.
HOW IT WORKS:
  • Customers who are planning summer travel between May 25-July 31 can book their ground
  •  transportation to and from the airport in advance at SuperShuttle.com or on the SuperShuttle
  •  mobile app. 
  • Customers must use the discount code APR17 to receive discounted rates.
  • Customers will also get 11 % off ExecuCar rides, SuperShuttle's sister black car service.

In response to the growing demand for non-stop service, SuperShuttle has expanded its service lines
 beyond shared-ride, opening the door to book exclusive van service without the stops. Whether traveling
 solo this summer or taking a family vacation, non-stop service is a convenient way to start and finish a vacation.
Along with the summer planning discounted rates, SuperShuttle will honor all airport ride reservations by
 continuing to receive airline rewards with participating airlines including American Airlines AAdvantage®,
 Delta Air Lines SkyMiles®, Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns®, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, and United
 Airlines MileagePlus®. This offer is valid for trips booked and traveled during the promotional dates only.
 To learn more about the "book early" offer, visit www.supershuttle.com/april17 .

The advanced summer travel offer is valid only for reservations made online or on the SuperShuttle 
mobile app for iPhone and Android devices. Discount offer is only available in select cities and some
 discount restrictions may apply based on service in select cities and airports.

SuperShuttle International, based in Phoenix, Ariz., is a division of Transdev On Demand, Inc. 
SuperShuttle serves over 40 airports, carrying more than nine million passengers a year. SuperShuttle
 also provides ExecuCar sedan service at all airports served by SuperShuttle, including some of the largest
 in the country: Los Angeles, New York, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. SuperShuttle
 is also available in Toronto and Vancouver Canada, Paris, France, Cancun and Los Cabos, Mexico, and
 Amsterdam, Holland.

Transdev On DemandInc., a division of Transdev based in Phoenix, includes SuperShuttle International
 and ExecuCar nationwide. Transdev On Demand, Inc. serves over 80 airports with its multiple service
 offerings in the on demand service space. It boasts some of the most fuel-efficient fleets utilizing
 propane and compressed natural gas, as well as partnerships with many leading airlines and travel 
wholesalers

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Breaking Ground On The Extensive Frank Gehry Designed Expansion And Renovations At The Philadelphia Museum Of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art
Pay-What-You-Wish Open House
Breaking New Ground

The groundbreaking celebration marks the official start of our Frank Gehry–designed renovations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

Watch the above video to learn more about our vision for this historic renovation.

*Tours are for ages 14 and up, are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Flat, closed-toe shoes are required. The Museum will provide a hard hat that must be worn. Not wheelchair accessible.
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19101
philamuseum.org

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Qatar Airways Wins 'Airline Of The Year' At The Prestigious 2017 Air Transport Awards


Image result for QSuite

Recognized for its innovative and leading in-flight experience, Qatar Airways collected the highest award at an elite ceremony held in Greece and hosted by Air Transport News
DOHA, QatarMarch 29th-- Qatar Airways proudly accepted the 'Airline of the Year' award on Saturday March 25, at the 2017 Air Transport Awards, as the airline was recognized for its innovation, service, hospitality and leading product design. The awards ceremony, held at an exclusive and prestigious ceremony at the Latrou Residence in Ekali, Greece, recognized Qatar Airways as the world's leading airline, bestowing it with the highest honor of the evening, at an event attended by the world's leading airline executives.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: "We are deeply honored to have been recognized by the readers of Air Transport News as the 2017 Airline of the Year. We take immense pride in driving our airline to be the best in the industry and to deliver our passengers an unprecedented on-board experience. To receive acknowledgement from the loyal passengers who choose to fly with Qatar Airways is the highest honor for us to achieve and pushes us to work even harder to provide them with the level of commitment, service and attention to detail that they deserve every time they travel."
The Airline of the Year award was bestowed upon Qatar Airways for its continued ambition to ensure the airline's passenger experience is the absolute best in the industry with regards both product and service, an ambition witnessed just earlier this month at an exclusive reveal ceremony at the ITB exhibition in Berlin, at which the airline launched its new Qsuite for Business Class.
QSuite features the industry's first-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room. Adjustable panels and movable TV monitors on the center four seats allow colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite, allowing them to work, dine and socialize together.
These new features provide the ultimate customizable travel experience that enables passengers to create an environment that suits their own unique needs and ensures that Qatar Airways continues to lead the airline industry in terms of passenger experience in the skies. Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travelers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world's fastest growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017, including Chiang MaiDublin, Nice, Skopje and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of 195 aircraft.

What's New In France 2017, The Things You Need To Know About.

© Shiregu Ban Architects Europe - Jean de Gastines Architectes


2017 is a year for celebration in Paris and the rest of France, offering a delectable assortment of cultural initiatives, major openings and anniversaries for all to come and experience and fall in love with France.
These countrywide developments and major events will allow visitors to explore along the way France’s diverse landscapes and heritage – from renewed cities to medieval villages, enticing vineyards, towering alpine settings, pristine countryside, and the expanses of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
• December 15, 2016
Opening of the Lascaux IV, the complete facsimile of the most famous prehistoric cave in the world. Click here for details.
• February 23 to May 22,2017
Major Vermeer retrospective at the Louvre: "Tout contre Vermeer", Masters of genre painting in the Golden Age at Musée du Louvre. Click here for details.
• April 2017
Opening of the Cité Musicaleon the Seguin Island to the west of Paris, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and French architect Jean de Gastines. A plastic and visual arts portal "R4" designed by French architect Jean NouvelClick here for details (French language only).
• April 1 to May 1, 2017
1st Côte d’Azur Garden Festival.The Alpes-Maritimes department has decided to celebrate this priceless heritage with a brand new event: The Côte d’Azur Garden Festival, which will take place between 1 April and 1 Mai 2017 with the theme “Awaken your senses”. The gardens in the Côte d'Azur region have significantly contributed to the area's reputation as a top tourist destination and today harbour an exceptional wealth of botanical heritage. The Côte d’Azur was the playground of the 19th century aristocracy, and botanical enthusiasts wintering in the area had plenty of time on their hands to acclimate many of the species they brought back from their travels to the Mediterranean environment, thus creating extraordinary gardens. These include botanical gardens, acclimatisation gardens, conservatories of fragrant plants for perfumes and flower gardens. These sites can be found both on the coast and in the mountains, and several have earned the label “Remarkable Gardens” of France. Click here for details
• May 27 to October 8,2017
The 500th Anniversary of the founding of Le Havre by Francois 1er– The great Impressionist artist Claude Monet painted the famous “Impression, Sunrise” in Le Havre, in 1872. To this day, Le Havre offers a captivating mix of industrial and natural grandeur. Reaching the centre of town, though, where estuary and Channel meet, there’s a remarkable feeling of space and light in this port city almost completely rebuilt after the terrible destruction wrought through World War II. Just a handful of historic buildings made of fine stone survived the appalling devastation. A modern architect with a big vision was put in charge of the post-war reconstruction. Auguste Perret was one of the world’s pioneers in employing concrete. Not only was concrete readily available, Perret reckoned he could achieve many new effects with it, and Le Havre is a result of it. The whole design, though altered many times, turned out to be bold and grand. Perret’s modern transformation of Le Havre helped the place become the first modern town in France recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
During the entire summer season, the whole of the city and its port will come alive with art installations, street parades, concerts and exhibitions. The festivities will begin on 27 May with an impressive opening ceremony orchestrated by the Art Point M Collective, the team behind the popular N.A.M.E electronic music festival that takes place every year in Lille. The event will be a spectacular celebration of all things cultural, with festivities extending all the way from the upper town in the hills to the beach. The highlight of the summer will be the return from 7 to 9 July of the Royal De Luxe Company’s impressive giant mechanical marionettes for a unique show which will take place throughout the entire city.
From 9 September to 8 October 2017, Monet's masterpiece returns to Le Havre from its home at the Marmottan Museum in Paris. Claude Monet's “Impression, Sunrise”, which gave its name to the Impressionist movement, returns to the city where it was originally painted in 1872. During a one-month exhibition at the MuMa (Modern Art Museum), visitors will be able to view the painting alongside a selection of works by Eugène Boudin, William Turner or Raoul Dufy. On 8 October, the closing ceremony will be a huge public get-together and visual spectacle, starting with an impressive firework display at sunrise. An interactive digital installation will also be unveiled as a new landmark for the city and will act as a permanent legacy of the anniversary celebrations. Click here for details.
Summer 2017
• June 24th, 2017 2017 marks the ongoing centennial anniversary of WWI and is the anniversary year of the entry of the United States into the conflict. The Franco-American Museum at the Chateau de Blerancourt in Picardy, France will reopen June 24, 2017 after a significant expansion and re-organization of its large collection. Franco-American Museum - Click here for details. 
Fall 2017
• Opening of a Yves Saint Laurent museum at 5 Avenue Marceau in the 16th arrondissement, in the historical headquarters of the couture house. Click here for details.
• Opening of Lafayette Anticipation, contemporary art foundation designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas at 9 Rue du Plâtre in the Marais. 2,500 m² of exhibition space in a historic building dated 1891 with an impressive glass tower. Click here for details.
RECENTLY OPENED
• June 2016
Opening of La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. Situated in Bordeaux, La Cité du Vin is a unique cultural facility where wine comes to life through an immersive, sensorial approach, all set within an evocative architectural design. La Cité du Vin gives a different view of wine, across the world, across the ages, across all cultures and all civilisations. Click here for details.
• July 2016
The opening of the Cité internationale de la Tapisserie in Aubusson – a cultural center created in response to UNESCO incorporating the craftsmanship of tapestry into its list of intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. The task of the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie is to preserve, increase and highlight the great craftsmanship of tapestry in Aubusson. Click here for details.
2017 marks only the beginning of developments and news from France. On the 2018 horizon lies the opening of the much anticipated Cité de la Gastronomie in Lyon. Further ahead the iconic Ryder Cup will take place in France in 2018 at Le Golf National near Versailles, marking the second time that the tournament will be held in continental Europe since its inception in 1927.
Whether you find yourself in the French West Indies or mainland France, there is a place for all to enjoy the Art de Vivre of French culture.
Come join us and visit France in 2017 for an enriching journey into the past, present and future.

Exhibition Schedule 2018- Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music - At The National Museum Of American Jewish History

NMAJH logo


NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY
 2018


Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music
March 16 – September 2, 2018

Bernstein_2.JPGLeonard Bernstein: The Power of Music, organized by NMAJH, will celebrate the centennial birthday of one of the 20th century’s most influential cultural figures, who personified classical music and produced a rich repertoire of original compositions for orchestra and the theater. Audiences may be familiar with many of Bernstein’s works, notably West Side Story, but not necessarily how he grappled with his own religious, political, and sexual identity, or how he responded to the political and social crises of his day. Visitors will find an individual who expressed the restlessness, anxiety, fear, and hope of an American Jew living through World War II and the Holocaust, Vietnam, and turbulent social change – what Bernstein referred to as his “search for a solution to the 20th‐century crisis of faith.” The exhibition will focus on his Jewish identity and social activism in the context of his position as an American conductor and his works as a composer. It will feature one‐of‐a‐kind historic artifacts, from Bernstein’s personal effects to rich photography and original writings and scores in Bernstein’s hand, all brought to life through immersive film, sound
installations, and interactive media.


Image: Young Leonard Bernstein at the piano. Courtesy of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc.

Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

About the National Museum of American Jewish History
The National Museum of American Jewish History, located on historic Independence Mall in Philadelphia, brings to life the more than 360-year history of Jews in America.  Tracing the stories of how Jewish immigrants became Jewish Americans, the Museum invites visitors of all backgrounds to share their own stories and reflect on how their histories and identities shape and are shaped by the American experience. An open door for all, NMAJH honors the past and contributes to a better future by sharing the power of imagination and ideas, culture and community, leadership and service, in ways that turn inspiration into action.
The National Museum of American Jewish History is located at 101 South Independence Mall East at the corner of Fifth and Market Streets in Philadelphia. Museum hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am - 5:30 pm. NMAJH is closed most Mondays, including federal holidays and some Jewish holidays. Museum admission is $12.00 for adults, $11.00 for senior citizens and youth, free for children 12 and under, Museum Members, and active military with ID. Connect with the Museum on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. For more information, visit NMAJH.org or call 215.923.3811.

New Travel Trends Report Shows How Fliers Search, Book Flights

A new travel trends report reveals how travelers search for, and book, their plane tickets. Image: scanrail/Istock.com via AFP Relaxnews
According to a new travel trends report, the most popular way for finding airfare deals is to head straight to an airline’s website versus a meta travel search engine like Kayak, Skyscanner and Expedia.

Image result for New Travel Trends Report Shows How Fliers Search, Book Flights


In a survey of 2,500 travelers across North America by air travel intelligence company OAG (Official Aviation Guide of the Airways), 41 percent said they begin their homework by heading straight to their favorite airline website or app in search of seat sales and airfare deals.
Airline websites hold a healthy lead over online travel agencies or meta search engines which are starting points for 28 percent of travelers.
Only 10 percent said they turn to Google Flights, a relative newcomer in the online booking landscape, and that figure dips even lower for traditional travel agents at four percent.
“The data indicates that despite the prevalence of OTAs (online travel agents) and third-party search options, the majority of travelers still believe their best bet for top fares and offers is direct from the airline,” reads the report.
“There’s also a likely correlation to airlines with strong airport hub strategies,” the report adds. “Travelers know the airlines that regularly offer the most options and best pricing from their home airport, and start their searches accordingly.”
While Google Flights may only hold 10 percent of the travel market share today, analysts predict that Google’s share is poised to grow quickly, given the level of interest in a key demographic: millennials, who are more than twice as likely as the general population to start their search process with Google Flights, an indicator that Google’s popularity will continue to grow as millennials age, the report notes.
When travelers were asked how airlines and travel providers could improve the search process, the most popular answers were increased transparency on price fluctuations over time, and more accurate information on flight connection times.
When presented with airfares equal in price and schedule, 43 percent of travelers said the deciding factor when booking a flight would be on-time performance.
“This is likely due to the proliferation of tech-savvy travelers, who are no longer relying on airlines as much for entertainment and amenities,” the report reads. JB

Monday, March 27, 2017

AP Top News AP Exclusive: 'Bathroom Bill' To Cost North Carolina $3.76B





RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Despite Republican assurances that North Carolina's "bathroom bill" isn't hurting the economy, the law limiting LGBT protections will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Over the past year, North Carolina has suffered financial hits ranging from scuttled plans for a PayPal facility that would have added an estimated $2.66 billion to the state's economy to a canceled Ringo Starr concert that deprived a town's amphitheater of about $33,000 in revenue. The blows have landed in the state's biggest cities as well as towns surrounding its flagship university, and from the mountains to the coast.
North Carolina could lose hundreds of millions more because the NCAA is avoiding the state, usually a favored host. The group is set to announce sites for various championships through 2022, and North

Your browser does not support the video tag. The Associated Press used dozens of interviews and multiple public records requests to compile an analysis that shows North Carolina’s “bathroom bill”
Carolina won't be among them as long as the law is on the books. The NAACP also has initiated a national economic boycott.


The AP analysis (http://apne.ws/2n9GSjE ) — compiled through interviews and public records requests — represents the largest reckoning yet of how much the law, passed one year ago, could cost the state. The law excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide anti discrimination protections, and requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings.

Still, AP's tally ( http://bit.ly/2o9Dzdd ) is likely an underestimation of the law's true costs. The count includes only data obtained from businesses and state or local officials regarding projects that canceled or relocated because of HB2. A business project was counted only if AP determined through public records or interviews that HB2 was why it pulled out.
Some projects that left, such as a Lionsgate television production that backed out of plans in Charlotte, weren't included because of a lack of data on their economic impact.

The AP also tallied the losses of dozens of conventions, sporting events and concerts through figures from local officials. The AP didn't attempt to quantify anecdotal reports that lacked hard numbers, or to forecast the loss of future conventions.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan — who leads the largest company based in North Carolina — said he's spoken privately to business leaders who went elsewhere with projects or events because of the controversy, and he fears more decisions like that are being made quietly.

"Companies are moving to other places because they don't face an issue that they face here," he told a World Affairs Council of Charlotte luncheon last month. "What's going on that you don't know about? What convention decided to take you off the list? What location for a distribution facility took you off the list? What corporate headquarters consideration for a foreign company — there's a lot of them out there ̵

Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
2; just took you off the list because they just didn't want to be bothered with the controversy? That's what eats you up."


Other measures show the country's ninth most populous state has a healthy economy. By quarterly gross domestic product, the federal government said, North Carolina had the nation's 10th fastest-growing economy six months after the law passed. The vast majority of large companies with existing operations in the state — such as American Airlines, with its second-largest hub in Charlotte — made no public moves to financially penalize North Carolina.

Shortly after he signed the law, Republican then-Gov. Pat McCrory issued a statement assuring residents it wouldn't affect North Carolina's status as "one of the top states to do business in the country."

HB2 supporters say its costs have been tiny compared with an economy estimated at more than $500 billion a year, roughly the size of Sweden's. They say they're willing to absorb those costs if the law prevents sexual predators posing as transgender people from entering private spaces to molest women and girls — acts the law's detractors say are imagined.
Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, one of the strongest supporters, accused news organizations of creating a false picture of economic upheaval. A global equestrian competition that's coming to North Carolina in 2018 despite HB2 is projected to have an economic impact bigger than the sporting events that have canceled, Forest said. The Swiss-based group behind the event estimated its spending poured about $250 million into the French region of Normandy the last time it was held — 2014. The organization said the figure came from a study by consulting and accounting firm Deloitte, but the Federation Equestre Internationale declined to release the report.
Forest declined a request for an interview based on AP's analysis.
"The effect is minimal to the state," Forest told Texas legislators considering a similar law. "Our economy is doing well. Don't be fooled by the media. T

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, left, center, talks about his state's "bathroom bill," at the Capitol in Austin, Texas. (Deborah Cannon, Austin American-Statesman, File)
his issue is not about the economy. This issue is about privacy, safety and security in the most vulnerable places we go."
But AP's analysis shows the economy could be growing faster if not for projects that have already canceled.

Those include PayPal canceling a 400-job project in Charlotte, CoStar backing out of negotiations to bring 700-plus jobs to the same area, and Deutsche Bank scuttling a plan for 250 jobs in the Raleigh area. Other companies that backed out include Adidas, which is building its first U.S. sports shoe factory employing 160 near Atlanta rather than a High Point site, and Voxpro, which opted to hire hundreds of customer support workers in Athens, Georgia, rather than the Raleigh area.
"We couldn't set up operations in a state that was discriminating against LGBT" people, Dan Kiely, Voxpro founder and CEO, said in an interview.
All told, the state has missed out on more than 2,900 direct jobs that went elsewhere.
Supporters are hard-pressed to point to economic benefits from the law, said James Kleckley, of East Carolina University's business college.
"I don't know of any examples where somebody located here because of HB2," he said. "If you look at a law, whether or not you agree with it or don't agree with it, there are going to be positive effects and negative effects. Virtually everything we know about (HB2) are the negative effects. Even anecdotally I don't know any positive effects."

An analysis by the state Commerce Department shortly before HB2 was enacted shows state officials expected the PayPal expansion to contribute more than $200 million annually to North Carolina's gross domestic product — an overall measure of the economy. By the end of 2028, the state expected PayPal to have added $2.66 billion to the state economy.
The same analysis of the Deutsche Bank project estimated a total impact of about $543 million by the end of 2027. The economic model has been used for more than a decade — with some updates along the way — when the state offers major discretionary tax breaks to attract jobs.

State officials said they didn't run the same financial analysis for CoStar, Voxpro and Adidas, so losses attributed to them were calculated using payroll numbers and other figures from the companies or state documents.

Meanwhile, canceled conventions, concerts and sporting events ranging from the NBA All-Star Game to a Bruce Springsteen show have deprived the state of more than $196 million. The number was compiled through email exchanges and interviews with local tourism officials.
All told, the state will have missed out on more than $3.76 billion by the end of 2028. The losses are based on projects that already went elsewhere — so the money won't be recouped even if the law is struck down in court or repealed.

By the end of 2017 alone, the lost business will total more than $525 million.
Tourism officials in several cities say the numbers they report represent only a fraction of the damage the law has done. They typically track large conventions but don't have firm numbers for when groups or tourists cancel smaller deals — or rule out North Carolina before booking.

"The biggest impact is how many times our phones are not ringing now," said Shelly Green, CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

When Green's bureau sought to tally cancellations, it was able to count several large sporting events and conventions that backed out, depriving the city of more than $11 million, she said. But officials found hotels and meeting planners were tight-lipped about other events.
"There are a lot more meetings that have canceled, but we don't have data on them," she said.

Elsewhere, tourism setbacks range from an estimated $100 million lost when the 2017 NBA All-Star Game moved out of Charlotte to $36,000 in spending taken elsewhere when the Lutheran Financial Managers Convention backed out of Fayetteville. Seven hundred part-time workers at Raleigh's PNC Arena lost at least $130,000 in wages because of cancellations by Pearl Jam, Cirque Du Soleil and others.

Other financial signals of disapproval have been more symbolic than clearly harmful.
More than two dozen cities and states, from Honolulu to Vermont, have banned taxpayer-funded visits to North Carolina because of HB2. Most said they couldn't estimate the money not spent on business travel. But in Providence, Rhode Island, officials refused to spend even the remaining $495 to send three city employees to a Charlotte conference after sponsors picked up most of the costs, city spokesman Victor Morente said via email.
Dozens of investment firms have urged North Carolina to repeal HB2, but most of those contacted in recent weeks, such as John Hancock and Morgan Stanley, wouldn't discuss any financial measures they took to penalize the state. Trillium Asset Management, which manages more than $2 billion for wealthy families and foundations, had dozens of clients request that their holdings exclude bonds issued by North Carolina state or municipal governments, Chief Executive Officer Matt Patsky said in an interview.
What impact did selling off several million dollars of municipal bonds have? Impossible to measure, Patsky said.

In September, despite the law, Asheville's Chamber of Commerce announced that biotech company Avadim was adding 550 jobs. Local officials call it the biggest single job creator in area history.

But HB2 jeopardized another project of similar size for the left-leaning mountain city. Chamber CEO Kit Cramer said last year that another company considering bringing 500 technology jobs was balking because of HB2, adding: "That's a loss that would be incredibly hard to swallow." Cramer said in an email in March that the company hasn't made a decision. She didn't give further details; that potential loss wasn't included in AP's count.
Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, has lost projects totaling 2,000 jobs because of HB2, Chamber of Commerce research director Chuck McShane said in an email. According to separate documents obtained through public records requests, the majority were in the PayPal and CoStar projects.

CoStar, a real-estate research firm, was entering final negotiations to bring 732 jobs to Charlotte in September when its board backed out because of negative publicity over HB2, according to an email between a chamber executive and a city official. When the company picked Virginia, the reversal cost North Carolina at least $250 million in economic impact over the next six years, according to figures from both states.
"I fear this will be an epidemic outcome for many projects we are still in the running for at this time," Jeffrey Edge of the Charlotte Chamber wrote in the September email exchange first reported by The Charlotte Observer.

Economic losses also hit smaller towns, such as those surrounding the University of North Carolina. When the San Francisco Symphony pulled out of two concerts scheduled for April 2017, the move had a ripple effect totaling about $325,000, according to Patty Griffin, of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.
"Memorial Hall will be empty those two nights and see no revenue for tickets or concessions, and no employees will work," she said via email. "The attendees for most of them who have dinner, drinks and desserts either before or after the performance will not come out, which impacts local restaurants."

Green, the Durham tourism official, said, "When you think about it, this whole thing is just such a Dumpster fire, and nobody wants to go near it."

By EMERY P. DALESIO and JONATHAN DREW