Free Republic

New film, ‘Rosenwald,’ tells story of philanthropist Julius Rosenwald who transformed black lives, including those of writer Langston Hughes and opera singer Marion Anderson.PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — Alex Bethea, the son of cotton and tobacco farm workers, was in sixth grade in 1965 when his family moved from Dillon, South Carolina, to the tiny town of Fairmont, North Carolina, where he attended a school called Rosenwald. But it wasn’t until this week, 50 years later, that Bethea learned that his school was named for Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish philanthropist who is the subject of a new documentary by Aviva Kempner. The...

Fairmont Hotels and a New York investment firm pulled out of a $46 million deal to buy the Peaks Resort, leaving Telluride’s largest hotel in long-term limbo as it prepares to reopen for the ski season. Two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations — one from each side of the table — said the hotel’s expensive infrastructure problems had torpedoed the deal. After examining the Peaks, buyers Fairmont and Manhattan-based Thor Equities concluded that the hotel needed $6-7 million in repairs, on top of a planned $60 million renovation... The impasse didn’t break, and on Friday, Fairmont and Thor...

Fairmont finds white knight By TAVIA GRANT Monday, January 30, 2006 Posted at 7:42 AM EST Globe and Mail Update Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. agreed to be acquired for $3.9-billion (U.S.) by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Hotels International and investment firm Colony Capital, thwarting a takeover attempt by U.S. investor Carl Icahn. The transaction values the Toronto-based company at $45 a share, 12.5 per cent more than Mr. Icahn's $40-a-share bid in December. Fairmont's board unanimously approved the Saudi offer and continues to recommend shareholders reject Mr. Icahn's offer. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Addulaziz Alsaud is...