Last Friday, an appellate court ruled against 12 stores who were fighting to keep parts of their leases – the parts that give them negotiating power over their access to mall entrances and nearby parking, for instance.

There's been no word yet on whether those stores plan another appeal, but CompUSA, which was one of the 12, was already planning to close its Carousel Center store. Federated Dept. Stores, which owns both the Lord & Taylor and Macy's (formerly Kaufmann's) in the mall, asked the court to just require the city to take its entire lease (which Federated values at $24 million); that might be a sign that they're not willing to stick around if and when they get to see the expansion plans.

According to plans distributed at a public information session (which are not necessarily the final plans, or what's on file with the city, if anything), Borders would lose its entrance and parking, as would JC Penney. Macy's and L&T would be in the same boat.

Meanwhile, Dick Case has some questions about just what the heck this thing might be, and he doesn't seem to understand the city's motivation on this. And when I say Dick Case has these questions, I mean a lot of people do, but Dick happens to have a column.

So, the first plan is to build out from the existing mall to Hiawatha Boulevard. That'll be a very large expansion, and about a 50 percent reduction in parking (or, at least, there's no plan drawn up for parking). Carousel's management has not said with which stores it's negotiating for spots in the expansion – never mind if anyone will be willing to come if the major tenants involved in the lawsuit decide to walk away from their leases.

And then there's the question of what, if anything, Destiny plans to do with the Inner Harbor, now that the Canal Corp. has really dropped the ball on its threat to seek another developer. Destiny still hasn't put down any money, and hasn't sent a letter of intent on the property.

At the very least, the city is starting to plan events for next summer – the weekly block parties at the harbor this past season drew an estimated 50,000 people. Doubters: Please stop telling me (a) nothing happens here and (b) no one goes out to anything. Step outside your front door occasionally, huh?

Meanwhile, downtown...

The city is negotiating a new tax and lease deal with AXA Financial Services.

AXA owns two towers downtown with 950 employees (200 of whom were added over the past two years). They have a PILOT program in place until 2018, but the company's lease expires in 2008. (Wow. Tenants and landlords negotiating – and before the lease is up!)

A new lease would keep the company in Syracuse until 2024, and the PILOT agreement would extend until 2028. Highlights of what AXA wants:

• A guaranteed maximum assessment of $27.5 million, with the ability to decrease payment if the value of the property goes down
• A guarantee of 600 parking spaces in city lots, for which AXA will pay market value
• The city to beautify the walkway between its buildings

AXA, for its part, plans to add 300 employees locally in the next year. With 500 new follks working downtown over a three-year span, that can only lead to more people coming before the end of its lease.

Let's review: Destiny wants tax breaks without saying how it's going to bring jobs or boost the local economy; AXA is promising actual jobs, the guaranteed purchase of parking spots, and wants a prettier space to live in. Destiny is using the city to bully its tenants, perhaps driving them away entirely; the city is negotiating with AXA for a mutually beneficial deal.

Someone please let me know which is the proper way to do business.