FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Details) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Fair value disclosure
Short-term investments	$ 28,573,000	$ 29,054,000
Restricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments	1,902,000	9,658,000
Concentrations of Credit Risk of Financial Instruments
Cash, cash equivalents, and certificates of deposit which are not FDIC-insured	53,600,000	53,800,000
Fair value disclosure
Fair value disclosure
Cash and cash equivalents	107,611,000	90,702,000
Restricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments	1,902,000	9,658,000
Fair value disclosure \| Cash deposits
Fair value disclosure
Cash and cash equivalents	64,557,000	48,293,000
Restricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments	1,902,000	5,901,000
Fair value disclosure \| Variable rate demand notes
Fair value disclosure
Cash and cash equivalents	29,953,000	29,807,000
Fair value disclosure \| Money market funds
Fair value disclosure
Cash and cash equivalents	13,101,000	12,602,000
Fair value disclosure \| Certificates of deposit
Fair value disclosure
Short-term investments	28,573,000	29,054,000
Restricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments	$ 0	$ 3,757,000

- Definition

This element represents the portion of the balance sheet assertion valued at fair value by the entity whether such amount is presented as a separate caption or as a parenthetical disclosure. Additionally, this element may be used in connection with the fair value disclosures required in the footnote disclosures to the financial statements. The element may be used in both the balance sheet and disclosure in the same submission. This item includes currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. It also includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits in that the Company may deposit additional funds at any time and also effectively may withdraw funds at any time without prior notice or penalty. Cash equivalents, excluding items classified as marketable securities, include short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash, and so near their maturity that they present minimal risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Generally, only investments with original maturities of three months or less qualify under that definition. Original maturity means original maturity to the entity holding the investment. For example, both a three-month US Treasury bill and a three-year Treasury note purchased three months from maturity qualify as cash equivalents. However, a Treasury note purchased three years ago does not become a cash equivalent when its remaining maturity is three months.

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