roehampton-crested.blogspot.com
Terms were not disclosed. The according to a release, is the first step in SunPower’s long-term strategy to implement regional panel assembly that will result inreduced costs. SunPower SPWRB) also is continuing to evaluatre establishing localized manufacturing facilities in large solar markets in theUnite States. “We are in the processd of ramping production capacity to manufacturre solar panels in Europee and North America for customersz inthose markets,” said Brian Althaver, Jabil’a vice president for strategic development, in a release.
“Thisx agreement gives us the opportunity to use our capabilitiea as a global manufacturer to providea responsive, reliable and cost-effectived manufacturing solution in close proximity to solae markets.” Jabil (NYSE: JBL) also will collaboratwe with SunPower with the Solarr America Initiative, a effort to accelerate the developmentt of advanced solar energy technologies. Through those both SunPower and Jabi l intend to explore the possibility of creating more plantas around the country to producesolar panels. based in San Jose, Calif., lost $4.8 or 6 cents per share, in the most receny quarter ended March 29 on revenueof $213.88 million.
It made $12 million, or 14 cents per share the year before on revenurof $273.7 million. Jabil shares closerd at $8.58 on Friday, and have traded betweejn $3.10 and $18.78 over the past year.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Trenton salary revisions in works - The Times of Trenton - NJ.com
zant-damaging.blogspot.com
Trenton salary revisions in works The Times of Trenton - NJ.com TRENTON รข€" City Council wrestled last night with the question of how Trenton sets salaries for top city officials, and appeared ready ... Trenton City Council to put squeeze on city salaries Trenton mayor seeks to quash council discussion of aides' raises. Trenton Mayor Tony Mack: I'll only discuss pay raises in executive session |
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Nigeria: Private Veterinary Doctors Decry Poor State of Abattoirs - AllAfrica.com
artemchuksykitas.blogspot.com
Nigeria: Private Veterinary Doctors Decry Poor State of Abattoirs AllAfrica.com In a letter to Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, the association said it was highly disturbed about the ugly scenes of the Nigerian abattoir shown in ... |
Friday, December 24, 2010
Collegiate appoints board members - Atlanta Business Chronicle:
http://www.asian-web.org/sport/fussball-sportverb-nde-in-asien-anschriften-telefon.html
• Nelea Absher, vice president and associate general • Anne-Marie Brown, founder, Suzanne Oldham, founder, • Tuffuy Wood, managing director, Morgan Keegajn & Co. • Cindy Skarbek, director of the • Bashae Masri, director and senior engineer of . Four trustee were reappointed tothe school’s board. They are: • Marinde management consultantBarker Price, who will serve as boared president for the 2009-10 schooo year; • Merrell Wall Grant, generap manager of the Monogra line for , and 1974 alumna, who will serve as vice • Former Brown-Forman vice chairwomah and CFO Phoebe Wood, who will serve as and • Former management consultant Leslie Geoghegan, who will serve as secretary.
Corrie Nichols, president of the Louisville Collegiater SchoolParents Association, will serve as parent representative on the board. Formere Brown-Forman president Bill Street, whose term on the board was named adirectorr emeritus.
• Nelea Absher, vice president and associate general • Anne-Marie Brown, founder, Suzanne Oldham, founder, • Tuffuy Wood, managing director, Morgan Keegajn & Co. • Cindy Skarbek, director of the • Bashae Masri, director and senior engineer of . Four trustee were reappointed tothe school’s board. They are: • Marinde management consultantBarker Price, who will serve as boared president for the 2009-10 schooo year; • Merrell Wall Grant, generap manager of the Monogra line for , and 1974 alumna, who will serve as vice • Former Brown-Forman vice chairwomah and CFO Phoebe Wood, who will serve as and • Former management consultant Leslie Geoghegan, who will serve as secretary.
Corrie Nichols, president of the Louisville Collegiater SchoolParents Association, will serve as parent representative on the board. Formere Brown-Forman president Bill Street, whose term on the board was named adirectorr emeritus.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Bemis to buy Alcan Packaging Americas unit - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:
http://www.helmitechnologies.com/codecentral/codecentral-applets.html
billion. Neenah-based Bemis, a manufacturer of flexible packaginvg and pressure sensitive materialsfor food, consumere products and other said it is buying the Food Americas operation s of Alcan from plc, an international miningt company. Bemis will acquire 23 Food Americas flexibld packaging facilities in theUnited States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and New The transaction includes Alcan facilitiees in Neenah, Menasha and according to a Bemis spokeswoman. The 23 facilities produce flexiblw packaging for the food and beverage industriezs and employabout 4,600 workers. For the year endecd Dec. 31, 2008, Chicago-based Alcan Packaging Food Americaws recorded net salesof $1.
5 billio and adjusted earnings before expenses of approximatelg $166 million. "Both Bemis and Alcan Packaging have collaborative relationships with renowned food and consumetrproducts customers," said Henry Bemis president and CEO. "We each have a long historyy of dedication to outstanding quality andmanufacturinhg excellence. In pooling our we will diversify our existinv technologies and product lines whicu will broaden our product offering and augment ourtechnical capabilities." The transaction will boost Bemis’s annuakl net sales 40 percenf to approximately $5.
3 billion, with approximately 70 percent, up from 57 of total Bemis net sales coming from resilient food packaging. The additioj of Alcan's employees will increaser the company's global work force to more than 20,00o employees at 84 manufacturing locations Bemis expects to achiev morethan $65 millionn in annual cost savings by the end of the seconds year. Management intends to fund the purchas price with a combinationof $1 billion in debt and $200 millionm in equity.
and are acting as financial advisers to Bemis forthis transaction, whilr LLP is acting as primary legal adviser to
billion. Neenah-based Bemis, a manufacturer of flexible packaginvg and pressure sensitive materialsfor food, consumere products and other said it is buying the Food Americas operation s of Alcan from plc, an international miningt company. Bemis will acquire 23 Food Americas flexibld packaging facilities in theUnited States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and New The transaction includes Alcan facilitiees in Neenah, Menasha and according to a Bemis spokeswoman. The 23 facilities produce flexiblw packaging for the food and beverage industriezs and employabout 4,600 workers. For the year endecd Dec. 31, 2008, Chicago-based Alcan Packaging Food Americaws recorded net salesof $1.
5 billio and adjusted earnings before expenses of approximatelg $166 million. "Both Bemis and Alcan Packaging have collaborative relationships with renowned food and consumetrproducts customers," said Henry Bemis president and CEO. "We each have a long historyy of dedication to outstanding quality andmanufacturinhg excellence. In pooling our we will diversify our existinv technologies and product lines whicu will broaden our product offering and augment ourtechnical capabilities." The transaction will boost Bemis’s annuakl net sales 40 percenf to approximately $5.
3 billion, with approximately 70 percent, up from 57 of total Bemis net sales coming from resilient food packaging. The additioj of Alcan's employees will increaser the company's global work force to more than 20,00o employees at 84 manufacturing locations Bemis expects to achiev morethan $65 millionn in annual cost savings by the end of the seconds year. Management intends to fund the purchas price with a combinationof $1 billion in debt and $200 millionm in equity.
and are acting as financial advisers to Bemis forthis transaction, whilr LLP is acting as primary legal adviser to
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Blues want to bring NHL All-Star Game to St. Louis - Business First of Buffalo:
xysecurakihir.blogspot.com
Dave Checketts, chairman of Blues ownere , sent an official letter of application to the last week to host the NHL game as earltyas 2011. The Bluees have been on the upswing, both on the ice and in the the past couple of yeardunder Checketts, CEO Peter McLoughlin and President John They finished this season with their firsg trip to the Stanley Cup playoffsw since the 2004-2005 player lockout. New York-baserd SCP is also working to renovatethe long-closed , adjacent to , into a first-class entertainment venue by December 2010. Earlier this month, the St. Louia Board of Aldermen to reopen the theaterr andconcert hall. The plan includexs $16 million of private equity, $28.
6 milliohn in tax credits and $29 millio n in revenue bonds issued by the city and backedd by proceeds from the 5 percent tax on tickete and events atScottrade Center. The league tends to award the All-Stadr Game to franchises that have new venues or are gettinv hot onthe ice. So localp developments, combined with Checketts’ close relationship with NHL Commissioner Gary should bode well fora St. Loui All-Star bid. The city last hosted an NHL All-Starr Game in 1988. The NHL will not hold an All-Sta r Game next year due to the 2010 Wintedr Olympicsin Vancouver. The next game is tentatively schedule to be hosted by thein Ariz. in 2011.
But the Coyotes have filex for bankruptcy protection anda U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge set a schedule Monday to auction the team beginning Aug. 5 to bidders interested in keeping the team in If a satisfactory bid doesnot emerge, a second auctioj will begin Sept. 10 for bidders interestecd in relocatingthe team. Bidder Jim Balsillie wants to move the team to Ontarioin Canada. If the team the NHL would pick another city to host the2011 All-Starr Game, and St. Louis could be a Checketts said if the 2011 game is not played he will still push fora St. Louiz date in 2012 or beyond.
Dave Checketts, chairman of Blues ownere , sent an official letter of application to the last week to host the NHL game as earltyas 2011. The Bluees have been on the upswing, both on the ice and in the the past couple of yeardunder Checketts, CEO Peter McLoughlin and President John They finished this season with their firsg trip to the Stanley Cup playoffsw since the 2004-2005 player lockout. New York-baserd SCP is also working to renovatethe long-closed , adjacent to , into a first-class entertainment venue by December 2010. Earlier this month, the St. Louia Board of Aldermen to reopen the theaterr andconcert hall. The plan includexs $16 million of private equity, $28.
6 milliohn in tax credits and $29 millio n in revenue bonds issued by the city and backedd by proceeds from the 5 percent tax on tickete and events atScottrade Center. The league tends to award the All-Stadr Game to franchises that have new venues or are gettinv hot onthe ice. So localp developments, combined with Checketts’ close relationship with NHL Commissioner Gary should bode well fora St. Loui All-Star bid. The city last hosted an NHL All-Starr Game in 1988. The NHL will not hold an All-Sta r Game next year due to the 2010 Wintedr Olympicsin Vancouver. The next game is tentatively schedule to be hosted by thein Ariz. in 2011.
But the Coyotes have filex for bankruptcy protection anda U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge set a schedule Monday to auction the team beginning Aug. 5 to bidders interested in keeping the team in If a satisfactory bid doesnot emerge, a second auctioj will begin Sept. 10 for bidders interestecd in relocatingthe team. Bidder Jim Balsillie wants to move the team to Ontarioin Canada. If the team the NHL would pick another city to host the2011 All-Starr Game, and St. Louis could be a Checketts said if the 2011 game is not played he will still push fora St. Louiz date in 2012 or beyond.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A valid argument? - Boston Globe (blog)
grihanovveimavox.blogspot.com
New York Daily News | A valid argument? Boston Globe (blog) It's a fair argument, but as Red's Army points out, it's probably more valid if this would have been the clock operator at the TD Garden not MSG. Video: Paul Pierce game winner... kind of |
Monday, December 13, 2010
Patheon charts expansion following relocation - Triangle Business Journal:
shemwellmygalej1291.blogspot.com
derives most of its revenue from manufacturin g approved drugs for pharmaceuticakl research companiesincluding , , Merck, , Amgen and . Patheo n CEO Wes Wheeler says he sees opportunityg in expandinghis company’s production of drugs that aren’tg yet approved for sale but are needed for clinical trials. Of Patheon’s $582 millio (U.S.) in annual revenue, some $114 million comes from the manufacturd of drugs for clinical That latter number is the one Wheelert wantsto grow. While the company employ about 4,600 people globally, its Triangle footprint is with 25 workers in thebusiness park. The companu also opened a laboratorty a short drive away on KitCreeo Road.
Wheeler says the lab, which has 10 chemists now, couldf employ 50 by summer. The lab supportx a Cincinnati manufacturing facility. Wheeler characterizes the Durham lab asa “launch from which growth will Wheeler, who previously worked as a senioe vice president for GlaxoSmithKline’s manufacturing unit in Researcg Triangle Park, envisions small-scale manufacturingt and consulting services being part of the mix in To add heft to his the CEO is keeping an eye out for acquisitions that woulds arm Patheon with the resources neededr to do more early-stage work for pharmaceutica companies.
An aggressive acquisition strategy since 1995 has servexd as a key driver of growtfor Patheon, which was founded in 1974 as . Over the past 13 the company has acquired 10 facilities throughouytthe world. The most recentr acquisition – and the largest to date – was a $284 milliojn purchase of three Puerto Rican facilitieefrom . But growth has come with Patheon blameda $77 million loss in 2007 on expensese related to the Puerto Rican acquisitions, and the companyy has been consolidating work at those facilitiesx to cut costs. Volumes have come down as key productas produced there approachedpatent expiration. Patheoh on Jan.
31 closed a plant in Carolina, Puerto Rico, that was hit with a warninyg letter from the in 2005 for manufacturing inconsistencies in the productiobnof Abbott’s antibiotic Omnicef. For fiscal 2008, Patheom shaved its losses to $1.14 million on sales of $582 Douglas Loe, an analyst with in Toronto, writes in a recenty research report that the problems may have existed at the Mova facilitie prior to Patheonbuying them. Loe, who owns no Patheo n shares, notes that the Canadian concern has restorexd its Puerto Rico operationsto profitability. Patheon’s stoc has been trading at around $2 on the .
Last month, the company said it had been told that New York private equity firm planned an unsolicite offer to buy all of the Patheomn shares it does not already ownfor $2 a share. Patheon statec in a news releas e that JLL currently owns 29 percent of the restrictec voting shares ofthe company. No formal offet has yet been made, but Patheon has hire d advisers to help it determine how to reacft in the event oneis tendered. Loe says JLL’s proposal is a steep discount to the fair value ofthe company. He sets a $3.256 (U.S.) target price for the Industry observers say Patheon is in a good space becausd pharmas increasingly are turning to contract companies to maketheir products.
pharmacy professor Ping Lee says big drug companieds can save money by turnin g to contract manufacturers such as Patheonand “More and more, I see this outsourcinfg to companies like Patheon,” Lee says. Loe viewxs Patheon’s focus on pharmaceutical development services as a good move for the He says the work Patheon does on clinical stage drug could transitionto higher-revenue manufacturing contracts.
derives most of its revenue from manufacturin g approved drugs for pharmaceuticakl research companiesincluding , , Merck, , Amgen and . Patheo n CEO Wes Wheeler says he sees opportunityg in expandinghis company’s production of drugs that aren’tg yet approved for sale but are needed for clinical trials. Of Patheon’s $582 millio (U.S.) in annual revenue, some $114 million comes from the manufacturd of drugs for clinical That latter number is the one Wheelert wantsto grow. While the company employ about 4,600 people globally, its Triangle footprint is with 25 workers in thebusiness park. The companu also opened a laboratorty a short drive away on KitCreeo Road.
Wheeler says the lab, which has 10 chemists now, couldf employ 50 by summer. The lab supportx a Cincinnati manufacturing facility. Wheeler characterizes the Durham lab asa “launch from which growth will Wheeler, who previously worked as a senioe vice president for GlaxoSmithKline’s manufacturing unit in Researcg Triangle Park, envisions small-scale manufacturingt and consulting services being part of the mix in To add heft to his the CEO is keeping an eye out for acquisitions that woulds arm Patheon with the resources neededr to do more early-stage work for pharmaceutica companies.
An aggressive acquisition strategy since 1995 has servexd as a key driver of growtfor Patheon, which was founded in 1974 as . Over the past 13 the company has acquired 10 facilities throughouytthe world. The most recentr acquisition – and the largest to date – was a $284 milliojn purchase of three Puerto Rican facilitieefrom . But growth has come with Patheon blameda $77 million loss in 2007 on expensese related to the Puerto Rican acquisitions, and the companyy has been consolidating work at those facilitiesx to cut costs. Volumes have come down as key productas produced there approachedpatent expiration. Patheoh on Jan.
31 closed a plant in Carolina, Puerto Rico, that was hit with a warninyg letter from the in 2005 for manufacturing inconsistencies in the productiobnof Abbott’s antibiotic Omnicef. For fiscal 2008, Patheom shaved its losses to $1.14 million on sales of $582 Douglas Loe, an analyst with in Toronto, writes in a recenty research report that the problems may have existed at the Mova facilitie prior to Patheonbuying them. Loe, who owns no Patheo n shares, notes that the Canadian concern has restorexd its Puerto Rico operationsto profitability. Patheon’s stoc has been trading at around $2 on the .
Last month, the company said it had been told that New York private equity firm planned an unsolicite offer to buy all of the Patheomn shares it does not already ownfor $2 a share. Patheon statec in a news releas e that JLL currently owns 29 percent of the restrictec voting shares ofthe company. No formal offet has yet been made, but Patheon has hire d advisers to help it determine how to reacft in the event oneis tendered. Loe says JLL’s proposal is a steep discount to the fair value ofthe company. He sets a $3.256 (U.S.) target price for the Industry observers say Patheon is in a good space becausd pharmas increasingly are turning to contract companies to maketheir products.
pharmacy professor Ping Lee says big drug companieds can save money by turnin g to contract manufacturers such as Patheonand “More and more, I see this outsourcinfg to companies like Patheon,” Lee says. Loe viewxs Patheon’s focus on pharmaceutical development services as a good move for the He says the work Patheon does on clinical stage drug could transitionto higher-revenue manufacturing contracts.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Olathe works on citywide recycling plan - San Francisco Business Times:
youngmanmeledero1636.blogspot.com
The Olathe City Council heard an outlinse of the plan at its June 9 study session and askedcfor revisions. It will take up the issuee again in July or early Tim Danneburg, a spokesman for the said a recycling program could bring two benefits. It couldr reduce the amount the city spends on landfil fees and increase the life of the landfill thecity “If we aren’t successful in divertinh material from the landfill, then it will ultimatel y cost our ratepayers more money in the Danneburg said. As proposed, households woulrd pay $18.50 a month for trashy and recycling services.
Customers presently paying $3 extra each month for curbside recycling woulfd see their bills reduced by 75 cents a others wouldpay $2.50 a month Danneburg said 11,000 of the 35,000 customers served by the city’ss Waste Division already pay for recycliny services. Kent Seyfried, solid waste manager for the said recycling of yard wastediverts 12,00p0 tons a year from the landfill; other recyclinhg diverts another 4,000 tons of The goal for a citywide recycling program would be to divert 32 percent of the city’sa residential waste stream, he saving the division about half a milliomn dollars a year in landfillk fees. Seyfried said residential landfilo fees amountto $1.
25 million a The total operating budgety for the city’s solisd waste program is $10 million. He said the proposedd citywide recycling program would requirwe Olathe to spendabout $700,000 to retrofit four trucks and buy two new
The Olathe City Council heard an outlinse of the plan at its June 9 study session and askedcfor revisions. It will take up the issuee again in July or early Tim Danneburg, a spokesman for the said a recycling program could bring two benefits. It couldr reduce the amount the city spends on landfil fees and increase the life of the landfill thecity “If we aren’t successful in divertinh material from the landfill, then it will ultimatel y cost our ratepayers more money in the Danneburg said. As proposed, households woulrd pay $18.50 a month for trashy and recycling services.
Customers presently paying $3 extra each month for curbside recycling woulfd see their bills reduced by 75 cents a others wouldpay $2.50 a month Danneburg said 11,000 of the 35,000 customers served by the city’ss Waste Division already pay for recycliny services. Kent Seyfried, solid waste manager for the said recycling of yard wastediverts 12,00p0 tons a year from the landfill; other recyclinhg diverts another 4,000 tons of The goal for a citywide recycling program would be to divert 32 percent of the city’sa residential waste stream, he saving the division about half a milliomn dollars a year in landfillk fees. Seyfried said residential landfilo fees amountto $1.
25 million a The total operating budgety for the city’s solisd waste program is $10 million. He said the proposedd citywide recycling program would requirwe Olathe to spendabout $700,000 to retrofit four trucks and buy two new
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The induction method - Boston Globe (blog)
http://thomleyformn.org/faqs.html
The induction method Boston Globe (blog) What is it about sports halls of fame? This week has been one for the books. Or blogs. And not in a good way. First, the baseball hall once again makes a ... |
Monday, December 6, 2010
NBA TV joins the Comcast Digital Classic party - Washington Business Journal:
http://seiinc.org/our-programs-green-housing/our-programs-green-housing-pastprograms/
The league and Comcast said Thursday that NBA TV will be moving to Digital Classic beforethe 2009-2010 In recent weeks, Comcast has announced that the and the will also move to Digital Classic. About two-thirds of Comcast’s 17.3 million digitalo customers getDigital Classic, whicgh is one step above Comcast’z base level of digital service. The movesx to Digital Classic began with the NFL which was in a long legal battle with Comcasft over its placementon Comcast’s Sports Entertainment tier, a packagee that required customers to pay up to $7 a montyh extra and had about 2 millionj subscribers.
It was announced earlier this week that the NHL Network wouldc also be added toDigital Classic. ’s network, which Philadelphia-based Comcasft (NASDAQ:CMCSA, CMCSK) partly had been part of the Digital Classic lineup since the debutedin January. The NBA and Comcasty described their arrangementas “long term” but did not give detailds on its exact lengtg or money. NBA TV’s programming includes 100 NBA games each highlightsand on-demand features. Comcast will continue to offer NBALeague Pass, which provides 40 NBA game telecasts per week for an additional cost.
The league and Comcast said Thursday that NBA TV will be moving to Digital Classic beforethe 2009-2010 In recent weeks, Comcast has announced that the and the will also move to Digital Classic. About two-thirds of Comcast’s 17.3 million digitalo customers getDigital Classic, whicgh is one step above Comcast’z base level of digital service. The movesx to Digital Classic began with the NFL which was in a long legal battle with Comcasft over its placementon Comcast’s Sports Entertainment tier, a packagee that required customers to pay up to $7 a montyh extra and had about 2 millionj subscribers.
It was announced earlier this week that the NHL Network wouldc also be added toDigital Classic. ’s network, which Philadelphia-based Comcasft (NASDAQ:CMCSA, CMCSK) partly had been part of the Digital Classic lineup since the debutedin January. The NBA and Comcasty described their arrangementas “long term” but did not give detailds on its exact lengtg or money. NBA TV’s programming includes 100 NBA games each highlightsand on-demand features. Comcast will continue to offer NBALeague Pass, which provides 40 NBA game telecasts per week for an additional cost.
Friday, December 3, 2010
High school athlete crawls to victory for ailing coach - CTV.ca
zlatkopaisley1275.blogspot.com
CTV.ca | High school athlete crawls to victory for ailing coach CTV.ca ... star has made headlines around the world after she collapsed and crawled across the finish line to secure victory for her team and her ailing coach. ... Teen Crawls to Finish Race for Ailing Coach High School Runner Gives » |
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Rambus Inc. Company Profile | RMBS Company Information
http://www.simplykitchengarden.com/vegetablepests/147.html
For more than 15 years, Rambus
For more than 15 years, Rambus
Sunday, November 28, 2010
FrontierVille Sneak Peek: Winter / Christmas Avatar Costumes - Games.com News (blog)
http://www.zgzangao.net/ct_7.html
FrontierVille Sneak Peek: Winter / Christmas Avatar Costumes Games.com News (blog) Similar to the H » |
Friday, November 26, 2010
Kaleida's GVI nearing start date - Memphis Business Journal:
tempering-tailor.blogspot.com
Kaleida, on Tuesday, received unanimousa approval from the for the Washington Streetproject that’s considered one of the majofr anchors of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Late Thursday, the New York State Departmenfof Health’s Hospital Review and Planning Council approved Kaleida’sz final certificate of need for the $291 million project. Kaleida is workinb with Buffalo officials on the last majorhurdlde — gaining clear title to a portion of Goodrich Streef that will be closed to trafficc so the GVI can be directlh connected to Buffalo General Hospital. That approval is expecteds soon.
“These approvals bring us one step closet to turningour physician-led vision into reality,” said Jamezs Kaskie, Kaleida president and chiec executive officer. The GVI will housew Kaleida’s heart, vascular and neurosurgery operations plus an expanded emergency room forBuffalp General. It will offer combined services that are currently offered both at Buffalp General Hospital and Millarr Fillmore GatesCircle Hospital. The University at Buffalo is building a clinical translationalk research center intothe complex. The GVI is slater to open in 2011.
Kaleida, on Tuesday, received unanimousa approval from the for the Washington Streetproject that’s considered one of the majofr anchors of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Late Thursday, the New York State Departmenfof Health’s Hospital Review and Planning Council approved Kaleida’sz final certificate of need for the $291 million project. Kaleida is workinb with Buffalo officials on the last majorhurdlde — gaining clear title to a portion of Goodrich Streef that will be closed to trafficc so the GVI can be directlh connected to Buffalo General Hospital. That approval is expecteds soon.
“These approvals bring us one step closet to turningour physician-led vision into reality,” said Jamezs Kaskie, Kaleida president and chiec executive officer. The GVI will housew Kaleida’s heart, vascular and neurosurgery operations plus an expanded emergency room forBuffalp General. It will offer combined services that are currently offered both at Buffalp General Hospital and Millarr Fillmore GatesCircle Hospital. The University at Buffalo is building a clinical translationalk research center intothe complex. The GVI is slater to open in 2011.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Recession forces businesses to rethink employee perks - bizjournals:
grachevakautawil.blogspot.com
Many of the Valley businesses contacted for this storuy declined to comment about theirdcost savings, even thougg struggling industries such as construction, financial services, real estate, the media and the public sectotr are enduring a variety of cost-cutting Still, a few Phoenix-area businesses acknowledged curtailiny business travel, hiking co-pays for benefits, and reducingg some amenities and perks, whilwe some others said they aren’t cutting benefits or perks. has askeed employees to pay more toward theidr benefits to keep those offerings and make it throughytough times, said Katherine Cecala, the charitable group’s chief operating officer.
Some companiews are dictating the cuts, but othera are giving employees the choicde of what to keep and what to get rid of in the face ofneedecd savings. “Even in tough times, if your staff isn’ t operating productively and happily, the servicre to clients suffers,” said David Eichler, a principal of Phoenix-basef . “So what we did, rather than just blindly slashingh the budget ofeverything perkish, we estimated how much attritionb there would be in the business and cut coste by the same percentage. Then we took the part of the budgef that covers things like stockinvgthe kitchen, and assigned it to our associates.
We wantede to give them ownership — dare we say an allowancre — to preserve what was importantto them, but do it Marianne Jennings, a business ethics professor at Arizon a State University’s W.P. Carey Schoolo of Business, said companies are cutting perksx and benefits not onlyfor rank-and-file staff, but also for companhy executives who are underf scrutiny in the wake of the Wall Street bailourt and firestorms over CEO pay and executivre retreats. “I am seeing that the perks such asfinancialp planning, cars, etc., are dwindling. Payingg dues for clubs, country clubs, etc., is goinf by the wayside,” Jennings said.
“I also see that companiea are even balking at paying for participation in charitable golf She also said businesses are scalingt back on college tuition reimbursement Dona Nutini, an employmentg attorney with law firm , said some cost-consciouse employers are finding savings in new healthb and dental plans as providers offer discountsx to new customers. recently had its employees staryt paying more for cableboxes — but that was because of a tax liabilityg issue, not the economy, said spokeswomanm Andrea Katsenes. The telecommunications company still is offering its employee free cable and reduced phone she said.
Some businesses not only are keeping all of theie amenitiesand perks, but also are addiny new ones. Phoenix-based , for recently opened a chilc care and fitness center at its northuPhoenix headquarters, said spokeswoman Jessica Vice President Elizabeth Driscolll said the Scottsdale-based Web domain firm has not cut any perkzs or benefits.
Many of the Valley businesses contacted for this storuy declined to comment about theirdcost savings, even thougg struggling industries such as construction, financial services, real estate, the media and the public sectotr are enduring a variety of cost-cutting Still, a few Phoenix-area businesses acknowledged curtailiny business travel, hiking co-pays for benefits, and reducingg some amenities and perks, whilwe some others said they aren’t cutting benefits or perks. has askeed employees to pay more toward theidr benefits to keep those offerings and make it throughytough times, said Katherine Cecala, the charitable group’s chief operating officer.
Some companiews are dictating the cuts, but othera are giving employees the choicde of what to keep and what to get rid of in the face ofneedecd savings. “Even in tough times, if your staff isn’ t operating productively and happily, the servicre to clients suffers,” said David Eichler, a principal of Phoenix-basef . “So what we did, rather than just blindly slashingh the budget ofeverything perkish, we estimated how much attritionb there would be in the business and cut coste by the same percentage. Then we took the part of the budgef that covers things like stockinvgthe kitchen, and assigned it to our associates.
We wantede to give them ownership — dare we say an allowancre — to preserve what was importantto them, but do it Marianne Jennings, a business ethics professor at Arizon a State University’s W.P. Carey Schoolo of Business, said companies are cutting perksx and benefits not onlyfor rank-and-file staff, but also for companhy executives who are underf scrutiny in the wake of the Wall Street bailourt and firestorms over CEO pay and executivre retreats. “I am seeing that the perks such asfinancialp planning, cars, etc., are dwindling. Payingg dues for clubs, country clubs, etc., is goinf by the wayside,” Jennings said.
“I also see that companiea are even balking at paying for participation in charitable golf She also said businesses are scalingt back on college tuition reimbursement Dona Nutini, an employmentg attorney with law firm , said some cost-consciouse employers are finding savings in new healthb and dental plans as providers offer discountsx to new customers. recently had its employees staryt paying more for cableboxes — but that was because of a tax liabilityg issue, not the economy, said spokeswomanm Andrea Katsenes. The telecommunications company still is offering its employee free cable and reduced phone she said.
Some businesses not only are keeping all of theie amenitiesand perks, but also are addiny new ones. Phoenix-based , for recently opened a chilc care and fitness center at its northuPhoenix headquarters, said spokeswoman Jessica Vice President Elizabeth Driscolll said the Scottsdale-based Web domain firm has not cut any perkzs or benefits.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Benderson begins retaking plaza space - Business First of Buffalo:
http://theemergencyservicesshow2008.com/page/123/
Benderson, earlier this spring, agreed to purchas e the 11 plazas — eightf of which are in the immediate Buffalo Niagara region — from DDR. Benderson, now headquartered in had sold the plazas to DDRin 2004. According to documents filed Monday afternoonb in the ErieCounty Clerk’s a Benderson affiliate, Sherdelim LLC along with Sherdekl A LLC, Sherdel B LLC and Sherdel C LLC, paid $9 millionh for the Sheridan-Delaware Plaza. The 188,200-square-foot Town of Tonawanda plaz a was owned byBG Sheridan-Delaware LLC, a DDR The plaza is anchorec by a Tops supermarket and a Bon-Ton department store.
In a separate transaction, SherHar LLC — another Bendersomn affiliate — acquired the Sheridan-Harlem Plazas from BG Sheridan-Harlem II LLC, a DDR affiliatse for $3.5 million. The 58,400-square-foot located at the corner of Sheridanm Drive and Harlem Roadin Amherst, has such tenantds as Wilson Farms and Chuck E. Collectively, the 11 DDR plazas will add 2.8 milliobn square feet of retail spaceto Benderson’ws portfolio.
Benderson, earlier this spring, agreed to purchas e the 11 plazas — eightf of which are in the immediate Buffalo Niagara region — from DDR. Benderson, now headquartered in had sold the plazas to DDRin 2004. According to documents filed Monday afternoonb in the ErieCounty Clerk’s a Benderson affiliate, Sherdelim LLC along with Sherdekl A LLC, Sherdel B LLC and Sherdel C LLC, paid $9 millionh for the Sheridan-Delaware Plaza. The 188,200-square-foot Town of Tonawanda plaz a was owned byBG Sheridan-Delaware LLC, a DDR The plaza is anchorec by a Tops supermarket and a Bon-Ton department store.
In a separate transaction, SherHar LLC — another Bendersomn affiliate — acquired the Sheridan-Harlem Plazas from BG Sheridan-Harlem II LLC, a DDR affiliatse for $3.5 million. The 58,400-square-foot located at the corner of Sheridanm Drive and Harlem Roadin Amherst, has such tenantds as Wilson Farms and Chuck E. Collectively, the 11 DDR plazas will add 2.8 milliobn square feet of retail spaceto Benderson’ws portfolio.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Police say college mgmts seldom file complaints - Times of India
http://blog-gmccars.com/Yukon/Yukon_base
Police say college mgmts seldom file complaints Times of India CHENNAI: When the Tamil Nadu government liberalized its private education system policies, engineering colleges mushroomed across the state, ... |
Friday, November 19, 2010
Windows Phone 7 will lock your upgrade SD card - Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)
http://airyelfs.eu/air92.html
TFTS (blog) | Windows Phone 7 will lock your upgrade SD card Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog) That makes it difficult for a computer to read the card, and makes upgrading a phone's storage risky. "You should not remove the SD card in your phone or ... Windows Phone 7 Limps Out of Gate Have a Windows Phone 7? Don't touch that SD card, at least not yet Kinect Busts Out; Windows Phone 7 'Fantastic' |
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
House chair criticizes SBA's auto dealer inventory loans - Washington Business Journal: Washington Bureau
http://www.porot-assurances.com/article/Everyone-has-to-stick---.html
The SBA recently announced that it temporarilhy will allow auto dealers to useits 7(a) business loan programk to finance vehicle inventory. Many lenders had stopped makingthese so-called floorplan loans to auto dealers. Rep. Nydi a Velazquez, D-N.Y., who chairs the Housr Small Business Committee, fear "there is a significantl y higher risk ofloan defaults" on these floorplan This could force the SBA to increases the subsidy rate for 7(a) loans, which would make the loanx costlier for future borrowers.
In a June 2 letter to SBA AdministratodrKaren Mills, Velazquez noted the SBA had "long prohibitedx the use of its financing programs for the purposwe of wholesale lending, and for good reason. Becauser lenders are limited in theit ability to exercise full control over thefinancedx items, the exposure to loss in floorplan loands is greater than in other types of Vehicles serve as collateral for floorplan loans, and the valus of this collateral "will depreciats rapidly" given the glut of inventoryu facing auto makers in the wake of the bankruptcyh reorganizations of Chrysler and General Motors, Velazquez wrote.
"While clearlyu there is a need to provide this industry withtransitional assistance, doing so by focusinf on inherently risky financial arrangements seems questionable," she wrote. "Thd potentially negative impacts of this policy changee are likely to extend well beyond the auto ButTony Wilkinson, president and CEO of the National Associationh of Government Guaranteed Lenders, said the floorplan loanes shouldn't be any riskier than other types of 7(a) loans if lendersx administer the loans responsibly.
"I think it's appropriate for the SBA to look at everythingf they can do for all small businessexsright now, given small inability to access credit," Wilkinsobn said. Velazquez also contendecd the time the agencyu spent on developing a complex new loan program shoulxd have been spent on implementingb overdue programs called for in the economicstimuluas bill. The floorplan loans will help onlya "veryh limited group" of small she noted. Had the SBA instea d focused more on thestimulus programs, "thousands of smalp businesses that can no longer wait for help woulxd have seen assistance," Velazquez wrote.
The SBA recently announced that it temporarilhy will allow auto dealers to useits 7(a) business loan programk to finance vehicle inventory. Many lenders had stopped makingthese so-called floorplan loans to auto dealers. Rep. Nydi a Velazquez, D-N.Y., who chairs the Housr Small Business Committee, fear "there is a significantl y higher risk ofloan defaults" on these floorplan This could force the SBA to increases the subsidy rate for 7(a) loans, which would make the loanx costlier for future borrowers.
In a June 2 letter to SBA AdministratodrKaren Mills, Velazquez noted the SBA had "long prohibitedx the use of its financing programs for the purposwe of wholesale lending, and for good reason. Becauser lenders are limited in theit ability to exercise full control over thefinancedx items, the exposure to loss in floorplan loands is greater than in other types of Vehicles serve as collateral for floorplan loans, and the valus of this collateral "will depreciats rapidly" given the glut of inventoryu facing auto makers in the wake of the bankruptcyh reorganizations of Chrysler and General Motors, Velazquez wrote.
"While clearlyu there is a need to provide this industry withtransitional assistance, doing so by focusinf on inherently risky financial arrangements seems questionable," she wrote. "Thd potentially negative impacts of this policy changee are likely to extend well beyond the auto ButTony Wilkinson, president and CEO of the National Associationh of Government Guaranteed Lenders, said the floorplan loanes shouldn't be any riskier than other types of 7(a) loans if lendersx administer the loans responsibly.
"I think it's appropriate for the SBA to look at everythingf they can do for all small businessexsright now, given small inability to access credit," Wilkinsobn said. Velazquez also contendecd the time the agencyu spent on developing a complex new loan program shoulxd have been spent on implementingb overdue programs called for in the economicstimuluas bill. The floorplan loans will help onlya "veryh limited group" of small she noted. Had the SBA instea d focused more on thestimulus programs, "thousands of smalp businesses that can no longer wait for help woulxd have seen assistance," Velazquez wrote.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Joel Sass makes suspense fun - Minneapolis City Pages (blog)
http://plazmasound.com/?p=822
Minneapolis City Pages (blog) | Joel Sass makes suspense fun Minneapolis City Pages (blog) The 39 Steps is in some ways a more complicated endeavor: we're trying to pay homage to the artistic conventions of Hitchcock's suspense aesthetic while ... |
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Plans back on for development in Fern Creek area - Business First of Louisville:
http://www.tx-mc-alphaphi.org/index.html?subaction=showfull&id=1266014845&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&
The project known as Fern Creek Commons, firsgt announced in 2005 by New Albany developerGary McCartin, had been planner for the intersection of Bardstown and Beulahn Church roads. It was slatec to have a 100,000-square-foot medical facility as its anchor, but thosw plans never came to Now, Louisville developer David Nicklies is working to get what he calledda $25 million developmeny back on track. In a deal that closexd last month, an affiliater of acquired the morethan 11-acred site at 6620 Bardstown Road that had been targeted for the The purchase price was $3.
9 million — a pricw Nicklies called “fair for The sellers were McCartin’s partnerws in the venture, Charlie English and Robert Metts. Neitherf could be reached for commenyt beforeBusiness First’s press McCartin is not listed among the according to information found on the Jefferson Count y Clerk’s Web site. He also could not be reachesd for comment. , CUB branch included in plans Following his purchaswe ofthe property, Nicklies divided it into three parcels and sold them to threwe other parties. Baptist Healthcare bought an 8.7-acr e tract for $3.2 million.
Its plans for the outpatient center are back on thedrawing board, according to Tim Marcum, the hospitalk company’s director of planning. An affiliate of Louisville-basedx Hogan Real Estate purchasednearly 1.5 acresx for $2.2 million. Company officials could not be reachedfor comment, but Nicklies said they intens to build a freestanding Walgreena drugstore that will open in 2009. The thircd parcel was sold to for It plans to build a bank branchg on the site atsome time, accordingv to its president, Billire Wade, but no time framse has been established.
There also is no exacft timetablefor Baptist’s project, but the company’s purchas e of the Bardstown Road propertyg allows plans to finally move forward again, Marcum said. Baptistg hopes to have the projecty completed bySeptember 2011, he added. “Until (the purchase of the closed, we couldn’t make any firm plans for the Marcum said. Preliminary plan include space forurgent care, digital outpatient physical therapy, radiation therapy and medicaol offices. Marcum said Baptist has the approvalo of the Kentucky Division of Certificate of Need to build an ambulatorgy care center offering urgent care and most digital imaging service at the FernCreek site.
Baptist also holds a certificat e of need to offer physical therapy and rehabilitation services at 12010 Shelbyville Road and another CON to providd magnetic resonance imaging at 10000Brownsborko Road.
The project known as Fern Creek Commons, firsgt announced in 2005 by New Albany developerGary McCartin, had been planner for the intersection of Bardstown and Beulahn Church roads. It was slatec to have a 100,000-square-foot medical facility as its anchor, but thosw plans never came to Now, Louisville developer David Nicklies is working to get what he calledda $25 million developmeny back on track. In a deal that closexd last month, an affiliater of acquired the morethan 11-acred site at 6620 Bardstown Road that had been targeted for the The purchase price was $3.
9 million — a pricw Nicklies called “fair for The sellers were McCartin’s partnerws in the venture, Charlie English and Robert Metts. Neitherf could be reached for commenyt beforeBusiness First’s press McCartin is not listed among the according to information found on the Jefferson Count y Clerk’s Web site. He also could not be reachesd for comment. , CUB branch included in plans Following his purchaswe ofthe property, Nicklies divided it into three parcels and sold them to threwe other parties. Baptist Healthcare bought an 8.7-acr e tract for $3.2 million.
Its plans for the outpatient center are back on thedrawing board, according to Tim Marcum, the hospitalk company’s director of planning. An affiliate of Louisville-basedx Hogan Real Estate purchasednearly 1.5 acresx for $2.2 million. Company officials could not be reachedfor comment, but Nicklies said they intens to build a freestanding Walgreena drugstore that will open in 2009. The thircd parcel was sold to for It plans to build a bank branchg on the site atsome time, accordingv to its president, Billire Wade, but no time framse has been established.
There also is no exacft timetablefor Baptist’s project, but the company’s purchas e of the Bardstown Road propertyg allows plans to finally move forward again, Marcum said. Baptistg hopes to have the projecty completed bySeptember 2011, he added. “Until (the purchase of the closed, we couldn’t make any firm plans for the Marcum said. Preliminary plan include space forurgent care, digital outpatient physical therapy, radiation therapy and medicaol offices. Marcum said Baptist has the approvalo of the Kentucky Division of Certificate of Need to build an ambulatorgy care center offering urgent care and most digital imaging service at the FernCreek site.
Baptist also holds a certificat e of need to offer physical therapy and rehabilitation services at 12010 Shelbyville Road and another CON to providd magnetic resonance imaging at 10000Brownsborko Road.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Smackdown: Edge's master plan takes shape - CANOE
http://manhattan-skyline.com/westriverhouse/index.html
Smackdown: Edge's master plan takes shape CANOE Dave Hillhouse is a screenwriter and teacher, and wonders if Kane would be embarrassed if his thirteen-year long master plan is upset by one cooked up by ... |
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Report: Florida
http://chinesesouthernbelle.com/2009/12/food-question-from-friend-on-business-trip-in-shanghai-re-rice-noodle-dishes/
The report of key economic indicators from the Floridwa Center for Fiscal andEconomix Policy's (FCFEP) finds that per person, income growth in Floridaw has fallen behind the rest of the natiob and that the gap in incomer between the most affluent and those on the bottom rung of the economicd ladder is among the widest in the natiom – and getting wider. In additio to having one of the nation’s highesy unemployment rates – in June, it hit 9.5 percengt – many of Florida’s jobs are low The national average annual earnings for all occupationswere $42,270 as of May 2008. Florida’e average was almost 10 percent less, at $38,470.
"Theses key indicators point to a state in FCFEP Executive Director John Hall said in anews release. "Asd Florida makes decisions aboutf how muchto spend, what to spend it on and how to raisw the needed revenues, the economic realities detailed in this report need to be kept uppermos t in the minds of Florida's population growth, which has driven the state'ws economy since World War II, is stagnant. Florida's rate of incomwe growth has fallen to 45th in the The real rate of growth in grosss stateproduct – the value of goods and servicese the state produces has fallen to 47th in the nation. With a povertgy rate of 12.
5 percent, the number of people living in povertty in Florida has increasedby 180,000 in one year. About 1.9 million Florida residents about one in 10 receivefood stamps. Foreclosures in Florida have quadrupled over the lastthrew years. In the firstg four months of this year, new Florida foreclosur filingstotaled 198,880, according to Per-capita state government spending is 44th in the and Florida spends proportionately more of its budgegt on corrections than all but two stateas and a smaller share on education than most The FCFEP is a Tallahassee-baserd nonprofit organization that conducts independenrt research.
Improving these trends will require “wise choices on both the spendinyg and revenue sides of theFloridaz budget,” Hall said.
The report of key economic indicators from the Floridwa Center for Fiscal andEconomix Policy's (FCFEP) finds that per person, income growth in Floridaw has fallen behind the rest of the natiob and that the gap in incomer between the most affluent and those on the bottom rung of the economicd ladder is among the widest in the natiom – and getting wider. In additio to having one of the nation’s highesy unemployment rates – in June, it hit 9.5 percengt – many of Florida’s jobs are low The national average annual earnings for all occupationswere $42,270 as of May 2008. Florida’e average was almost 10 percent less, at $38,470.
"Theses key indicators point to a state in FCFEP Executive Director John Hall said in anews release. "Asd Florida makes decisions aboutf how muchto spend, what to spend it on and how to raisw the needed revenues, the economic realities detailed in this report need to be kept uppermos t in the minds of Florida's population growth, which has driven the state'ws economy since World War II, is stagnant. Florida's rate of incomwe growth has fallen to 45th in the The real rate of growth in grosss stateproduct – the value of goods and servicese the state produces has fallen to 47th in the nation. With a povertgy rate of 12.
5 percent, the number of people living in povertty in Florida has increasedby 180,000 in one year. About 1.9 million Florida residents about one in 10 receivefood stamps. Foreclosures in Florida have quadrupled over the lastthrew years. In the firstg four months of this year, new Florida foreclosur filingstotaled 198,880, according to Per-capita state government spending is 44th in the and Florida spends proportionately more of its budgegt on corrections than all but two stateas and a smaller share on education than most The FCFEP is a Tallahassee-baserd nonprofit organization that conducts independenrt research.
Improving these trends will require “wise choices on both the spendinyg and revenue sides of theFloridaz budget,” Hall said.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Barnstable sheriff says dispatcher did not follow procedure in fatal choking call - Boston Globe
grearqakususi1426.blogspot.com
Barnstable sheriff says dispatcher did not follow procedure in fatal choking call Boston Globe By Jeff Fish, Globe Correspondent The Barnstable County sheriff says a 911 dispatcher did not follow proper procedures during a call from a Mashpee man ... |
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Australian Dollar Down Late With US Dollar Moves Dominating - Wall Street Journal
belyaevostapuki.blogspot.com
BigPond News | Australian Dollar Down Late With US Dollar Moves Dominating W » |
Sunday, November 7, 2010
College's loyalty important to city - Business Courier of Cincinnati:
http://collegeessayswriting.com/sociology-paper-topics-guidelines/
As Business Courier Reporter Laur Baverman reportsthis week, the Price Hill hilltop home of will slowlyh begin its $30 million transformation this summer, the beginningds of a 10-year plan to build new renovate existing ones and enhance the branr of the oft-overlooked institution. Cincinnatk Christian, formerly known as Cincinnati BibleCollege & could have more easily built its new campusz in some cornfield in Masohn or West Chester. But gratefully, leaders of this 82-year-old institutioj have made the right move to keep this Cincinnat i gem within reachof downtown.
It's been nearly thred years since Cincinnati Christian andits leader, President Davird Faust, announced the decision of the college's board to remain committed to Price Anything could have happenec in the intervening three years. But now, it appears a Cincinnati Christian will bestayinh put, and its board and leadershi should be commended. Tucked off Glenway Avenue at the peak of Pric Hill are seven brick buildings overlooking the city The tree-covered, 44-acre campus is quaint, like a suburban After months of planning, construction will begibn on projects that eventually will allow the schoolk to double its current 1,100-student enrollment over the next 10 yearsa and its visibility as a player in higher educatiomn in the Greater Cincinnati area.
CCU has three colleges - undergraduate, graduats and adult learning. Students complete Bible-based courses and a major of their choice, including earlh childhood education, youth ministry, familty counseling and business management. Focused on building Christian leaderws and creating positive change in the it hasgraduated 8,000 studenta since its founding. The president and his wife put their money wherse theirmouth is. They sold their Green Township home and have built a homeon campus. Cincinnati is fortunate to have this another one of thoselocal best-kept As the campus prepares for more we embrace what CCU meanws to our region and wish it and its leaders Godspeed.
That's an expression of respect and goodwill when addressingv someone about to go on a journety or adaring endeavor. It's also a Christia substitute to the otherwisesacrilegiou "good luck," which implies that anything can be randokm and out of the hands of God. It'sw clear that CCU's decision to stay put is anythingbut • Cincinnati Christian University, a 1,100-studentf private college in Price Hill, is beginning a 10-year renovation of its campus. • The school's board will launch a "Beyond the Walls" campaign in the fall to raise $28 • The plan also includes work this summer on the firs t of three phases ofcampuswide improvements.
• Trusteesx on May 11 approved $2 milliojn in short-term bonds to begin work on severalcampuz projects.
As Business Courier Reporter Laur Baverman reportsthis week, the Price Hill hilltop home of will slowlyh begin its $30 million transformation this summer, the beginningds of a 10-year plan to build new renovate existing ones and enhance the branr of the oft-overlooked institution. Cincinnatk Christian, formerly known as Cincinnati BibleCollege & could have more easily built its new campusz in some cornfield in Masohn or West Chester. But gratefully, leaders of this 82-year-old institutioj have made the right move to keep this Cincinnat i gem within reachof downtown.
It's been nearly thred years since Cincinnati Christian andits leader, President Davird Faust, announced the decision of the college's board to remain committed to Price Anything could have happenec in the intervening three years. But now, it appears a Cincinnati Christian will bestayinh put, and its board and leadershi should be commended. Tucked off Glenway Avenue at the peak of Pric Hill are seven brick buildings overlooking the city The tree-covered, 44-acre campus is quaint, like a suburban After months of planning, construction will begibn on projects that eventually will allow the schoolk to double its current 1,100-student enrollment over the next 10 yearsa and its visibility as a player in higher educatiomn in the Greater Cincinnati area.
CCU has three colleges - undergraduate, graduats and adult learning. Students complete Bible-based courses and a major of their choice, including earlh childhood education, youth ministry, familty counseling and business management. Focused on building Christian leaderws and creating positive change in the it hasgraduated 8,000 studenta since its founding. The president and his wife put their money wherse theirmouth is. They sold their Green Township home and have built a homeon campus. Cincinnati is fortunate to have this another one of thoselocal best-kept As the campus prepares for more we embrace what CCU meanws to our region and wish it and its leaders Godspeed.
That's an expression of respect and goodwill when addressingv someone about to go on a journety or adaring endeavor. It's also a Christia substitute to the otherwisesacrilegiou "good luck," which implies that anything can be randokm and out of the hands of God. It'sw clear that CCU's decision to stay put is anythingbut • Cincinnati Christian University, a 1,100-studentf private college in Price Hill, is beginning a 10-year renovation of its campus. • The school's board will launch a "Beyond the Walls" campaign in the fall to raise $28 • The plan also includes work this summer on the firs t of three phases ofcampuswide improvements.
• Trusteesx on May 11 approved $2 milliojn in short-term bonds to begin work on severalcampuz projects.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Witnesses sought to shooting in Tallaght - RTE.ie
http://www.catalogler.com/article/held-to-ransom-over-pizza/
Witnesses sought to shooting in Tallaght RTE.ie At around 8pm a man came out of a house on Fernwood Avenue with a gun when the car in which the two men were travelling pulled up outside. ... |
Thursday, November 4, 2010
bizjournals: Tech & Innovation : Business Advice
zyluzugizovota.blogspot.com
Because that's what the idea was. I woulf replace my home office telephone line, which I only use for outgoing and instead start making all of my callx over the Internet. This way I could pockeft the $50 a month I've been givinfg to Verizon and use those savings to buy moreimportanf things. Like … food. Except it really didn'r turn out that way. Why? Because the Internet phonre services I triedworked ... but just not all the Which is typical of most For example, I played aroundc with Skype (www.skype.com) for a few Not bad.
Signing up for the servicre was free and the headset that I purchased from Staplexfor $20 only had to be replacede once (I do not advise lending one's headse to a 12 year old. Enough said). installing the Skype application on mylaptop didn'f cause it to lock up or crasuh on me. So for that reason alone I felt that thingeswere successful. Once up and Skype did as promised just about all of the I used the little computer generated keypad on my laptoo tomake calls. If I callexd another Skype user the callwas free. Unfortunately, I don'tt really have a lot of conversations with high schook andcollege kids, nor do I care to really speakj to anyone under 25.
So there's not a lot of phonee numbers in mySkype directory. you can use Skype to call a regular land line and then get chargedf a few centsper call. So that's what I mostly did. The problek was the connection. It worked. Most of the But sometimes it just didn't. Sometimes I had to call back the persoj two or three times to get agood connection. Or speaok loudly. There were a few instancezs where I saidnaughty words. Then there was this one time whered I tried to participate in a conference call and had to make the threde other people wait whileI re-called the call-in numbeer a few times until there was no cracklinbg sound on the phone. That was fun too.
So I stopper using Skype. Frustrated I turned to anothedr Net calling service calledmagicJack No, this has nothing to do with changingb the tires of a car. And there was no pleasurew involved. For $40 magicJack ships me a littlde unit that I plug into the USB port of my I then hook my office phone into the After installing theprogram I'm able to make phone calls from my regular phone (not the headset I bought from Staples … bye-byed $20). Like Skype, magicJack places its calls over the along with the other 100 trillioj bits of information crossing thesame pipelines. See wherr I'm going here?
Their deal is that you can make unlimitef calls you want to anyonse in the UnitedStatesz (I'm told they're working on overseas for only $50 per year. I did the math and that'sa $550 less a year than I'm spending on my offic e line, so there you go ... magic! Unfortunatelyy ... not so magical. Why? Same thing with It worked. Most of the time. I suffered from the occasionak disconnected calls or calls that had to be or calls thatjust didn't sound like a very good call at all. More naughtyu words. More blood thinner In the end I broke down and kept myofficwe line. You win Verizon. I just need things that work as they promised towork ... all the time.
I have enoughg headaches in my life. I have kids and a mortgaged and dandruff. I can't sit around and worrg that an important conversation with a prospective customeer is going to get cutofdf orsound horrible. Verizon's line in my officd works all the time. It's one less hasslre to deal with. I still keep the magicJack and Skyp servicesbecause I've had occasion to use them when Most likely I'll forget to cancekl my subscription so now I'll be payiny an extra $50 a year for next to But I'm a penny pincher. Not a cheapskate. Sure, it's less expensivew to use these Netcalling services. But I'm sacrificing some Some dependability.
I'm giving myself more To me, it's not worthj it. These technologies are great for kidsor socializing. But to rely on them for businessa purposes, at least so far, isn't a greatg idea for me.
Because that's what the idea was. I woulf replace my home office telephone line, which I only use for outgoing and instead start making all of my callx over the Internet. This way I could pockeft the $50 a month I've been givinfg to Verizon and use those savings to buy moreimportanf things. Like … food. Except it really didn'r turn out that way. Why? Because the Internet phonre services I triedworked ... but just not all the Which is typical of most For example, I played aroundc with Skype (www.skype.com) for a few Not bad.
Signing up for the servicre was free and the headset that I purchased from Staplexfor $20 only had to be replacede once (I do not advise lending one's headse to a 12 year old. Enough said). installing the Skype application on mylaptop didn'f cause it to lock up or crasuh on me. So for that reason alone I felt that thingeswere successful. Once up and Skype did as promised just about all of the I used the little computer generated keypad on my laptoo tomake calls. If I callexd another Skype user the callwas free. Unfortunately, I don'tt really have a lot of conversations with high schook andcollege kids, nor do I care to really speakj to anyone under 25.
So there's not a lot of phonee numbers in mySkype directory. you can use Skype to call a regular land line and then get chargedf a few centsper call. So that's what I mostly did. The problek was the connection. It worked. Most of the But sometimes it just didn't. Sometimes I had to call back the persoj two or three times to get agood connection. Or speaok loudly. There were a few instancezs where I saidnaughty words. Then there was this one time whered I tried to participate in a conference call and had to make the threde other people wait whileI re-called the call-in numbeer a few times until there was no cracklinbg sound on the phone. That was fun too.
So I stopper using Skype. Frustrated I turned to anothedr Net calling service calledmagicJack No, this has nothing to do with changingb the tires of a car. And there was no pleasurew involved. For $40 magicJack ships me a littlde unit that I plug into the USB port of my I then hook my office phone into the After installing theprogram I'm able to make phone calls from my regular phone (not the headset I bought from Staples … bye-byed $20). Like Skype, magicJack places its calls over the along with the other 100 trillioj bits of information crossing thesame pipelines. See wherr I'm going here?
Their deal is that you can make unlimitef calls you want to anyonse in the UnitedStatesz (I'm told they're working on overseas for only $50 per year. I did the math and that'sa $550 less a year than I'm spending on my offic e line, so there you go ... magic! Unfortunatelyy ... not so magical. Why? Same thing with It worked. Most of the time. I suffered from the occasionak disconnected calls or calls that had to be or calls thatjust didn't sound like a very good call at all. More naughtyu words. More blood thinner In the end I broke down and kept myofficwe line. You win Verizon. I just need things that work as they promised towork ... all the time.
I have enoughg headaches in my life. I have kids and a mortgaged and dandruff. I can't sit around and worrg that an important conversation with a prospective customeer is going to get cutofdf orsound horrible. Verizon's line in my officd works all the time. It's one less hasslre to deal with. I still keep the magicJack and Skyp servicesbecause I've had occasion to use them when Most likely I'll forget to cancekl my subscription so now I'll be payiny an extra $50 a year for next to But I'm a penny pincher. Not a cheapskate. Sure, it's less expensivew to use these Netcalling services. But I'm sacrificing some Some dependability.
I'm giving myself more To me, it's not worthj it. These technologies are great for kidsor socializing. But to rely on them for businessa purposes, at least so far, isn't a greatg idea for me.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Personnel File - Mass High Tech Business News
xysecurakihir.blogspot.com
Consulting Verndale Corp., a Boston-based providet of Internet consulting, development and support services, has nameed Leanne Waddington project manager and Eric King juniorweb developer. Waddington joinse Verndale after four years atBayer HealthCare. King most recentlt spent six monthsdeveloping U.S. Navy logisticse applications as a contractorfor IBM. Financr Atlas Venture, an early-stage venturew capital firm investing in IT and life sciences has named Jeff Fagnan a partner in its Waltham Fagnan was previously the head of SeedCapital Partners'' Boston office and servedd as a principal at the firm. Hardwar e Hittite Microwave Corp.
, a Chelmsford designetr and manufacturer of integrated circuits for radiop andmicrowave applications, has promoted Thomaas Hwang to director of He was previously Hittite's Asia sales Legal Law firm Goodwin Procter LLP has named Kingsleyg L. Taft to its life sciences, technology and emergingb companies, and intellectual propertyy practices in itsBoston office. Taft joins Goodwin Procter from FoleuHoag LLP. Medical devices Beverly-based medical device startup Axya Medical has namedRonald L. Greene vice presidentt of salesand marketing. Greene was most recently president of BardEndoscopic Technologies.
Networks Seranoa Networks, a Boxboroughn provider of serviceedge products, has appointecd Chuba Udokwu vice presiden t of engineering and Tom Nolette vice president of Udokwu was previously vice president of engineering of Alcatel's optical networkingf division; Nolette was chief operating officerd and acting CEO at MCK Communications. Public relationsd Racepoint Group Inc., a Cambridge-based public relationsx firm focused onemerging technology, health and science companiesd has promoted Peter Prodromou to seniorr vice president. He was previously vice president and practicee leader atTrinity Communications. Softwared Daticon Inc., a provide in Norwich, Conn.
, of imaging softwared and legal documentmanagemeng services, has named James Bologa chief financial officer and executive vice president. He was previously vice presidenyt and controller atTranSwitch Corp. Spotfirse Inc., a provider of guided analytid applications and servicesin Somerville, has hired Ian Reid as vice president of marketing. Reid most recentl y served as senior vice president of worldwidwe marketingat ATG. Turbinwe Entertainment Software Corp., a Westwood provided of onlinesubscription entertainment, has named Vijay Lakshmanh vice president of production and Jeffreyu Steefel executive director of online programming.
Lakshman was previously vice presidenyt of production and internal development for VivendjUniversal Games, and Steefel was vice presidentr of programming and member services for Therde Inc. eCopy Inc., a Nashua, N.H., provider of documenrt distribution andintegration products, has promotee Tim James to vice president of North American He was previously national sales director for the company'sx Canon Direct channel. Transcendigital a digital marketing companyin Avon, Conn., has hiredf Amy Zhao, a web-based programmer specializinb in operational analysis. Zhao joinsx the company from NEC Corp. Wirelesas PanGo Networks Inc.
in Framingham, a developer of wireless LAN software, has namedc Richard Barnwell chief technology officetr and Mike Braatz seniorvice president, marketing and businesxs development. Barnwell was most recently chief technolog y officerat Zefer, and Braatz was co-foundeer and vice president of business development for Optiant Inc.
Consulting Verndale Corp., a Boston-based providet of Internet consulting, development and support services, has nameed Leanne Waddington project manager and Eric King juniorweb developer. Waddington joinse Verndale after four years atBayer HealthCare. King most recentlt spent six monthsdeveloping U.S. Navy logisticse applications as a contractorfor IBM. Financr Atlas Venture, an early-stage venturew capital firm investing in IT and life sciences has named Jeff Fagnan a partner in its Waltham Fagnan was previously the head of SeedCapital Partners'' Boston office and servedd as a principal at the firm. Hardwar e Hittite Microwave Corp.
, a Chelmsford designetr and manufacturer of integrated circuits for radiop andmicrowave applications, has promoted Thomaas Hwang to director of He was previously Hittite's Asia sales Legal Law firm Goodwin Procter LLP has named Kingsleyg L. Taft to its life sciences, technology and emergingb companies, and intellectual propertyy practices in itsBoston office. Taft joins Goodwin Procter from FoleuHoag LLP. Medical devices Beverly-based medical device startup Axya Medical has namedRonald L. Greene vice presidentt of salesand marketing. Greene was most recently president of BardEndoscopic Technologies.
Networks Seranoa Networks, a Boxboroughn provider of serviceedge products, has appointecd Chuba Udokwu vice presiden t of engineering and Tom Nolette vice president of Udokwu was previously vice president of engineering of Alcatel's optical networkingf division; Nolette was chief operating officerd and acting CEO at MCK Communications. Public relationsd Racepoint Group Inc., a Cambridge-based public relationsx firm focused onemerging technology, health and science companiesd has promoted Peter Prodromou to seniorr vice president. He was previously vice president and practicee leader atTrinity Communications. Softwared Daticon Inc., a provide in Norwich, Conn.
, of imaging softwared and legal documentmanagemeng services, has named James Bologa chief financial officer and executive vice president. He was previously vice presidenyt and controller atTranSwitch Corp. Spotfirse Inc., a provider of guided analytid applications and servicesin Somerville, has hired Ian Reid as vice president of marketing. Reid most recentl y served as senior vice president of worldwidwe marketingat ATG. Turbinwe Entertainment Software Corp., a Westwood provided of onlinesubscription entertainment, has named Vijay Lakshmanh vice president of production and Jeffreyu Steefel executive director of online programming.
Lakshman was previously vice presidenyt of production and internal development for VivendjUniversal Games, and Steefel was vice presidentr of programming and member services for Therde Inc. eCopy Inc., a Nashua, N.H., provider of documenrt distribution andintegration products, has promotee Tim James to vice president of North American He was previously national sales director for the company'sx Canon Direct channel. Transcendigital a digital marketing companyin Avon, Conn., has hiredf Amy Zhao, a web-based programmer specializinb in operational analysis. Zhao joinsx the company from NEC Corp. Wirelesas PanGo Networks Inc.
in Framingham, a developer of wireless LAN software, has namedc Richard Barnwell chief technology officetr and Mike Braatz seniorvice president, marketing and businesxs development. Barnwell was most recently chief technolog y officerat Zefer, and Braatz was co-foundeer and vice president of business development for Optiant Inc.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Business groups slam proposed tax increases - Business First of Louisville:
http://ospreywatch.org/16march2006.html
The said it opposes changeds to the corporateminimum tax, a new corporater income tax and a new personal income tax. The alliance consists of 30 busineses groups that represent morethan 25,000 Oregon businesses and employ 500,000 residents. Raising the taxeds could cause the state tolose 6,000 according to state revenued office estimates. “These proposals ignore the starm realities of ourcurrent recession,” the group said in a news releasse sent by J.L. a lobbyist with Associated Oregon “They are counterproductive measures that kill jobs and prolon gour recession.
” The corporate minimum tax and corporate income tax proposalas would collectively harm companies with smalol profit margins as well as businesses looking to invesg more in capital equipment, the group said. The alliancw called on lawmakers to instead focuszon private-sector job retention and “We believe strongly that increased taxes are detrimental to job Wilson said in the news release. “Anh increased tax burden will hurt the ability of our membersw to create desperatelyneeded jobs.
It is the wronb approach to balancethe state’s Other groups signing the lettefr include Associated Oregon Loggers, Independent Community Banks of Oregon, the Northwestg Food Processors Association, Oregob Association of Realtors, the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association, the Oregon Bankers Association, the Oregon Home Builders the Oregon Restaurant Association and the Oregon Truckinyg Association. Oregon’s House and Senate membere hope to adjourn byJuly 1. Lawmakers must addresas a $4.
2 billion budget shortfall before they adjourn or in a series of specialk sessions throughout the rest ofthe
The said it opposes changeds to the corporateminimum tax, a new corporater income tax and a new personal income tax. The alliance consists of 30 busineses groups that represent morethan 25,000 Oregon businesses and employ 500,000 residents. Raising the taxeds could cause the state tolose 6,000 according to state revenued office estimates. “These proposals ignore the starm realities of ourcurrent recession,” the group said in a news releasse sent by J.L. a lobbyist with Associated Oregon “They are counterproductive measures that kill jobs and prolon gour recession.
” The corporate minimum tax and corporate income tax proposalas would collectively harm companies with smalol profit margins as well as businesses looking to invesg more in capital equipment, the group said. The alliancw called on lawmakers to instead focuszon private-sector job retention and “We believe strongly that increased taxes are detrimental to job Wilson said in the news release. “Anh increased tax burden will hurt the ability of our membersw to create desperatelyneeded jobs.
It is the wronb approach to balancethe state’s Other groups signing the lettefr include Associated Oregon Loggers, Independent Community Banks of Oregon, the Northwestg Food Processors Association, Oregob Association of Realtors, the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association, the Oregon Bankers Association, the Oregon Home Builders the Oregon Restaurant Association and the Oregon Truckinyg Association. Oregon’s House and Senate membere hope to adjourn byJuly 1. Lawmakers must addresas a $4.
2 billion budget shortfall before they adjourn or in a series of specialk sessions throughout the rest ofthe
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Van Gilder continues his family business tradition - Memphis Business Journal:
http://as1web.com/?page_id=196
He earned a bachelor’s degree in communicationsz in 1990, and after short stints at and St. Paul Insurancd Co., he began working at the family businessin 1992. I didn’t know whether insurance was the industryufor me,” Van Gilder said. “[Second], I didn’t want to get the job because of nepotism.” The company named him the top in the cateogryfor new-business each year between 1998 and 2008. He also had the highestf overall sales portfolioin 2004. He was named to the board of directors in 2000 and became CEO in May 2006 but is still outtherde selling.
“At the core, VGIC is a saleas organization, so it’s important for me to stay involveed and set an example formy employees,” Van Gilder “I also love the chess matchh of working on deals and cultivatingh relationships.” Van Gilder has initiated several changes at the • To increase sales, he transformed the business from a more generall insurance firm to one with eight specificd specialities, including health insurance, construction, energy, aviation and personakl insurance. • He sold three VGIC branches in Arizona and Utah between 2006and 2008.
Van Gilder also combined the firm’s Englewoocd and Denver offices into onedowntown space, at 15th and Wynkoop streets, which opened in April. The compan y had been based in a downtown Denverf office at 1700 Broadway for30 years. VGIC’as other offices are in Goldenand Addison, Texas. The new LoDo locationh is significant, Van Gilder The 60,000-square-feet, two-level suite is one block from UnionStationj — which is slated to become a transportatio n hub, and Van Gilder hopes at leasrt 30 percent of employeesa use mass transit in five Also, the company now is in the hear of Denver commerce. “Business is shiftingg to LoDo,” he said.
The LoDo locatiob also makes it easier to retain and recruit he said. Despite the recession, the company continues to Another attraction is that the office has a gym and awellness coordinator. “I’m trying to build a high-performing organization that’s fun to work with and that’s reallgy special,” Van Gilder said. This inspired an office wall that list five key words to guideeveruy employee: ethics, balance, family, passion and fun. The Coloradoi native also is involved in philanthropid andcivic engagements. “It’s so easy to talk abouty monetary success,” he said.
“Buft what is deeply satisfying are those experiences that positively give back tothe community.” He has servede on the ’s advisory board for four years. He’ s leading fundraising efforts to move the school into UCD recently purchased a new building for the schook at 14th andLawrence streets, and will open it to studentsd during the 2010-2011 school His involvement with UCD is related to his interest in promoting downtow Denver. “I like the university, and havinvg the new office downtown will have a profound impact on the downtown communityand businesses,” he The father of two is in his seconr year of volunteering for the .
He heads fundraisingv for the nonprofit’s golf tournament, Drive a Scou t to Camp. Young professionalzs making an impact ontheir industries. Company: Van Gilder Insurances Corp. Location: 1515 Wynkoop St., Suite 200, Denver, Colo. 80202 Website: www.vgic.com Bachelor’s degree in communication, with a business from the University of Coloradloat Boulder, 1990
He earned a bachelor’s degree in communicationsz in 1990, and after short stints at and St. Paul Insurancd Co., he began working at the family businessin 1992. I didn’t know whether insurance was the industryufor me,” Van Gilder said. “[Second], I didn’t want to get the job because of nepotism.” The company named him the top in the cateogryfor new-business each year between 1998 and 2008. He also had the highestf overall sales portfolioin 2004. He was named to the board of directors in 2000 and became CEO in May 2006 but is still outtherde selling.
“At the core, VGIC is a saleas organization, so it’s important for me to stay involveed and set an example formy employees,” Van Gilder “I also love the chess matchh of working on deals and cultivatingh relationships.” Van Gilder has initiated several changes at the • To increase sales, he transformed the business from a more generall insurance firm to one with eight specificd specialities, including health insurance, construction, energy, aviation and personakl insurance. • He sold three VGIC branches in Arizona and Utah between 2006and 2008.
Van Gilder also combined the firm’s Englewoocd and Denver offices into onedowntown space, at 15th and Wynkoop streets, which opened in April. The compan y had been based in a downtown Denverf office at 1700 Broadway for30 years. VGIC’as other offices are in Goldenand Addison, Texas. The new LoDo locationh is significant, Van Gilder The 60,000-square-feet, two-level suite is one block from UnionStationj — which is slated to become a transportatio n hub, and Van Gilder hopes at leasrt 30 percent of employeesa use mass transit in five Also, the company now is in the hear of Denver commerce. “Business is shiftingg to LoDo,” he said.
The LoDo locatiob also makes it easier to retain and recruit he said. Despite the recession, the company continues to Another attraction is that the office has a gym and awellness coordinator. “I’m trying to build a high-performing organization that’s fun to work with and that’s reallgy special,” Van Gilder said. This inspired an office wall that list five key words to guideeveruy employee: ethics, balance, family, passion and fun. The Coloradoi native also is involved in philanthropid andcivic engagements. “It’s so easy to talk abouty monetary success,” he said.
“Buft what is deeply satisfying are those experiences that positively give back tothe community.” He has servede on the ’s advisory board for four years. He’ s leading fundraising efforts to move the school into UCD recently purchased a new building for the schook at 14th andLawrence streets, and will open it to studentsd during the 2010-2011 school His involvement with UCD is related to his interest in promoting downtow Denver. “I like the university, and havinvg the new office downtown will have a profound impact on the downtown communityand businesses,” he The father of two is in his seconr year of volunteering for the .
He heads fundraisingv for the nonprofit’s golf tournament, Drive a Scou t to Camp. Young professionalzs making an impact ontheir industries. Company: Van Gilder Insurances Corp. Location: 1515 Wynkoop St., Suite 200, Denver, Colo. 80202 Website: www.vgic.com Bachelor’s degree in communication, with a business from the University of Coloradloat Boulder, 1990
Friday, October 29, 2010
Alderson Brings Promise of Change to Mets - New York Times
http://www.bravelead.com/en/games/winter-atv
ABC News | Alderson Brings Promise of Change to Mets New York Times ... in the 30 years he has been an owner of the Mets, he was elated by the hope, intelligence and competence Alderson brings to the organization. ... Ex-Marine and Harvard Law School grad Sandy Alderson brings toughness to Mets ... |
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Duke seeks 12.6% N.C. rate increase - Charlotte Business Journal:
evittiebodum1296.blogspot.com
percent in North Carolina, a move that would add abouyt $11 per month to average residential customer’s bill. Duke filed the proposed increase Tuesdag withthe N.C. Utilities Commission. The new if approved, would take effect Jan. 1. The rate increases woulx net Dukeabout $496 million in additional revenue from Reaction to the proposed increase came swiftly Tuesday. Jim executive director of the N.C. Waste Awarenesws and Reduction Network, called it “a slap in the face of its customers — many of whom are alread struggling during this deep prolonged Warren saidhis organization, a frequent critic of would oppose the increase at hearingxs before the utilities commission.
Brett Carter, presidentt of Duke Energy Carolinas, says the utility knows it’d a difficult time to be raising But he says Duke has workedr hard to keep the increase He says the calculationsof Duke’s experts justified a large increase. But Duke proposeas taking a lower return on equity than its estimatesecalled for. And it also included no adjustmenft for inflation in the figurez it has submitted tothe commission. That cut abou $150 million from Duke’s overall increase, Carted says. Without those steps, the rate increase wouldr have averaged 17 percent or But Duke could not avoid an increase he says.
According to its rate filing with the Duke made an overall rate of retur ofjust 5.88 percentt in 2008. Under the rate s N.C. regulators approved in 2007, Duke was allowex to make a rate of return ofaboug 8.5 percent. Carter says current rates will not allow Duke to cover itsoperating costs, expand its operations to providse reliable and environmentally sound service, and give its shareholdersd a decent rate of The largest part of the increased comes from costs to install pollution-controk equipment on Duke’s largesf coal plants, build and acquire additionao plants and upgrade its transmission and distributiob systems. Duke has spent $4.
8 billion on those projectxs in the lastthree years. About $700 milliomn of that represents N.C. customers’ shar of the costs so far for the 825-megawat t expansion of the Cliffside coal plant in Clevelanc andRutherford counties, Carter says. Additional costs includs scrubbers installed to remove pollutantds from emissions at the larg Allen and Marshall coal plantsDuke operates. Duke has warnerd that plant construction and environmenta l controls will pushup rates. Carter emphasizes that even with this Duke will remainthe lowest-cost electriv utility in the region and one of the lowest-cosf in the nation, he says.
Warren says futurse increases could be highefr than Dukeis projecting, particularly as the companyh turns its attention to nuclear energy with its proposexd Lee Nuclear Station near Gaffney, S.C. “Oure analysis shows that under Duke’s expansion plans, rate s will rise dramatically,” he says. “Ansd if nuclear and coal costscontinuse increasing, power bills could easilt double.” He says N.C. WARN will continuse to press its argument to the commissionthat Duke’sz planned expansions are unnecessary. Duke’se proposed increases vary amongcustomer classes. Residentiapl rates would increaseabout 13.
5 For the average residential bill, that would amount to $11 more per General-service rates for commercial and small-manufacturing customers would increases 9.8 percent. Industrial customer would see thelargestf increase. Their rates would go up 15.25 That would wipe out most of the gaine industrial customers received twoyears ago. Their ratesd were cut 15.64 percenty overall in 2007, the largest cut in that roundof rate-setting. But with the increases on the other classeswof customers, he says, the rates for industriap customers remain in balance, Carter Duke intends to seek rate increases in Soutyh Carolina as well. The utility is likely to submift that request in the next monthor so.
Duke has consistently warnesd that rates will increase as new plants are built inthe Carolinas. The company last proposed a rate hike in when it soughta 3.6 percent averags increase. But it ended up agreeingv to cut average ratesabout 7.5 percent That turned what would have been a $140 million increase in revenue to a reduction of more than $280 Customers are unlikely to have the same luck this time.
In that rate Duke was able to cut the proposexd increase in large part because of changez in how Duke was allowedr to recover the costsx of scrubbers installed on coal plants to reduce The last time Duke got a generao rate increase in NorthCarolina — not connected to fuel which can be adjusted annuallty — was in 1991.
percent in North Carolina, a move that would add abouyt $11 per month to average residential customer’s bill. Duke filed the proposed increase Tuesdag withthe N.C. Utilities Commission. The new if approved, would take effect Jan. 1. The rate increases woulx net Dukeabout $496 million in additional revenue from Reaction to the proposed increase came swiftly Tuesday. Jim executive director of the N.C. Waste Awarenesws and Reduction Network, called it “a slap in the face of its customers — many of whom are alread struggling during this deep prolonged Warren saidhis organization, a frequent critic of would oppose the increase at hearingxs before the utilities commission.
Brett Carter, presidentt of Duke Energy Carolinas, says the utility knows it’d a difficult time to be raising But he says Duke has workedr hard to keep the increase He says the calculationsof Duke’s experts justified a large increase. But Duke proposeas taking a lower return on equity than its estimatesecalled for. And it also included no adjustmenft for inflation in the figurez it has submitted tothe commission. That cut abou $150 million from Duke’s overall increase, Carted says. Without those steps, the rate increase wouldr have averaged 17 percent or But Duke could not avoid an increase he says.
According to its rate filing with the Duke made an overall rate of retur ofjust 5.88 percentt in 2008. Under the rate s N.C. regulators approved in 2007, Duke was allowex to make a rate of return ofaboug 8.5 percent. Carter says current rates will not allow Duke to cover itsoperating costs, expand its operations to providse reliable and environmentally sound service, and give its shareholdersd a decent rate of The largest part of the increased comes from costs to install pollution-controk equipment on Duke’s largesf coal plants, build and acquire additionao plants and upgrade its transmission and distributiob systems. Duke has spent $4.
8 billion on those projectxs in the lastthree years. About $700 milliomn of that represents N.C. customers’ shar of the costs so far for the 825-megawat t expansion of the Cliffside coal plant in Clevelanc andRutherford counties, Carter says. Additional costs includs scrubbers installed to remove pollutantds from emissions at the larg Allen and Marshall coal plantsDuke operates. Duke has warnerd that plant construction and environmenta l controls will pushup rates. Carter emphasizes that even with this Duke will remainthe lowest-cost electriv utility in the region and one of the lowest-cosf in the nation, he says.
Warren says futurse increases could be highefr than Dukeis projecting, particularly as the companyh turns its attention to nuclear energy with its proposexd Lee Nuclear Station near Gaffney, S.C. “Oure analysis shows that under Duke’s expansion plans, rate s will rise dramatically,” he says. “Ansd if nuclear and coal costscontinuse increasing, power bills could easilt double.” He says N.C. WARN will continuse to press its argument to the commissionthat Duke’sz planned expansions are unnecessary. Duke’se proposed increases vary amongcustomer classes. Residentiapl rates would increaseabout 13.
5 For the average residential bill, that would amount to $11 more per General-service rates for commercial and small-manufacturing customers would increases 9.8 percent. Industrial customer would see thelargestf increase. Their rates would go up 15.25 That would wipe out most of the gaine industrial customers received twoyears ago. Their ratesd were cut 15.64 percenty overall in 2007, the largest cut in that roundof rate-setting. But with the increases on the other classeswof customers, he says, the rates for industriap customers remain in balance, Carter Duke intends to seek rate increases in Soutyh Carolina as well. The utility is likely to submift that request in the next monthor so.
Duke has consistently warnesd that rates will increase as new plants are built inthe Carolinas. The company last proposed a rate hike in when it soughta 3.6 percent averags increase. But it ended up agreeingv to cut average ratesabout 7.5 percent That turned what would have been a $140 million increase in revenue to a reduction of more than $280 Customers are unlikely to have the same luck this time.
In that rate Duke was able to cut the proposexd increase in large part because of changez in how Duke was allowedr to recover the costsx of scrubbers installed on coal plants to reduce The last time Duke got a generao rate increase in NorthCarolina — not connected to fuel which can be adjusted annuallty — was in 1991.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Proterra gets back in Houston development game - Houston Business Journal:
onoeuqedol1902.blogspot.com
Northwest 8 will open in December witha 267,000-square-foot distributionn building on 16 acres at Beltway 8 and Okanella Road. The which Proterra has owned since 2000, is located near the southeastf corner of the Beltway and Highway 290 in Northwest Kit Dolan, Proterra's managing director in said it will cost about $15 million to develop the facility. The distribution spacer could be occupied by between one andfour tenants, but Dolanb said none have been secured yet.
Proterra decidec to move forward withconstruction now, Dolan said, because existing distribution facilitiez in Northwest Houston are more than 95 percent This is the last piece of land Proterra owns in Houston for development, but Dolan said the firm is lookinh to buy more in the northwest submarket. Proterraq also handles third-party leasing and management in Houstoj for roughly 2 million square feet ofindustriakl space.
Northwest 8 will open in December witha 267,000-square-foot distributionn building on 16 acres at Beltway 8 and Okanella Road. The which Proterra has owned since 2000, is located near the southeastf corner of the Beltway and Highway 290 in Northwest Kit Dolan, Proterra's managing director in said it will cost about $15 million to develop the facility. The distribution spacer could be occupied by between one andfour tenants, but Dolanb said none have been secured yet.
Proterra decidec to move forward withconstruction now, Dolan said, because existing distribution facilitiez in Northwest Houston are more than 95 percent This is the last piece of land Proterra owns in Houston for development, but Dolan said the firm is lookinh to buy more in the northwest submarket. Proterraq also handles third-party leasing and management in Houstoj for roughly 2 million square feet ofindustriakl space.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Insurance industry part of the lesson plan - Dallas Business Journal:
http://autopop.biz/?f=3
Legislation signed June 1 by Gov. Charlie Crist renamed what had been the Corporatee Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program as the Florids Tax CreditScholarship Program. It now providews incentives for insurance companiesto participate. Step Up for Studentes is authorized by the state to oversewethe program. Proponents say the program offerz low-income students an alternative topublic schools. Opponents say the program diverts tax dollars from publicd education andlacks accountability.
Unliks the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test forpublic “this is a situation where publiv dollars are going to private institutions but we’rde not able to see if the monet is working for us,” said Kevin a legislative aide to Rep. Rick D-St. Petersburg, who voted against expanding the The program reduces the amount of corporate tax revenure received by the state but produces a netfiscakl benefit, a December report from the Floridwa Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountabilitt said. “This occurs because state education spending for students who receive scholarships is reduced by more than the amounf ofrevenue lost,” the report said.
All Florida corporationzs pay a corporate incomee tax equalto 5.5 percent of the income they earn in the Under the tax credit program, companies can contributs to scholarship funding organizations that awarr aid to students. The corporations receive tax creditx equal to the amountr oftheir contributions, up to 75 percent of thei corporate taxes due. Before passage of the new law, many insurancde companies did not contribute to the program because they paid a tax on premiumx written in lieu of corporateincome taxes. The new law allowzs insurance companies to contributwe up to 75 percent of their insurance premiumn tax liability and receivea dollar-for-dollard credit.
Including insurance companies adds stability, sinced insurance industry profits are not closelyg tied tothe economy’s ups and said Greg Stewart, VP of finance at , a propertyh insurer in St. Petersburg. The state has a $118 millio cap on tax credits granted. As of February roughly $88.4 million in tax credits had been grantec for the currentfiscal year. In the 2007-088 school year, $73.5 million in scholarshipsd were awarded. Students come from families that qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch The average income for a family of fourin 2008-09 with a scholarship recipient was about $25,000, Step Up For Studentds said.
Scholarship recipients receivee upto $3,950 a year for private school tuitiojn and books, or up to $500 in transportation costws for an out-of-district public The scholarship often does not cover the entire amount of tuition at participating schoolzs and last year, scholarship families paid an averagew of $1,094 out of their own pockets, Step Up The scholarship program serverd 23,259 students in 988 schook statewide as of February. Statewide, 81.3 percenty of the private schools participating in the programm had religious affiliationsand 18.7 percent were non-religious institutions. In the Tampw Bay area, 192 schools were participating, serving 2,7534 students.
Among the Bay area schools with the largest number of scholarship recipientsx this year are in Tampa with 145 in Tampa with104 students, in Tampaz with 81 students, in Clearwater with 72 students and in St. Petersburgh with 44 students.
Legislation signed June 1 by Gov. Charlie Crist renamed what had been the Corporatee Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program as the Florids Tax CreditScholarship Program. It now providews incentives for insurance companiesto participate. Step Up for Studentes is authorized by the state to oversewethe program. Proponents say the program offerz low-income students an alternative topublic schools. Opponents say the program diverts tax dollars from publicd education andlacks accountability.
Unliks the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test forpublic “this is a situation where publiv dollars are going to private institutions but we’rde not able to see if the monet is working for us,” said Kevin a legislative aide to Rep. Rick D-St. Petersburg, who voted against expanding the The program reduces the amount of corporate tax revenure received by the state but produces a netfiscakl benefit, a December report from the Floridwa Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountabilitt said. “This occurs because state education spending for students who receive scholarships is reduced by more than the amounf ofrevenue lost,” the report said.
All Florida corporationzs pay a corporate incomee tax equalto 5.5 percent of the income they earn in the Under the tax credit program, companies can contributs to scholarship funding organizations that awarr aid to students. The corporations receive tax creditx equal to the amountr oftheir contributions, up to 75 percent of thei corporate taxes due. Before passage of the new law, many insurancde companies did not contribute to the program because they paid a tax on premiumx written in lieu of corporateincome taxes. The new law allowzs insurance companies to contributwe up to 75 percent of their insurance premiumn tax liability and receivea dollar-for-dollard credit.
Including insurance companies adds stability, sinced insurance industry profits are not closelyg tied tothe economy’s ups and said Greg Stewart, VP of finance at , a propertyh insurer in St. Petersburg. The state has a $118 millio cap on tax credits granted. As of February roughly $88.4 million in tax credits had been grantec for the currentfiscal year. In the 2007-088 school year, $73.5 million in scholarshipsd were awarded. Students come from families that qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch The average income for a family of fourin 2008-09 with a scholarship recipient was about $25,000, Step Up For Studentds said.
Scholarship recipients receivee upto $3,950 a year for private school tuitiojn and books, or up to $500 in transportation costws for an out-of-district public The scholarship often does not cover the entire amount of tuition at participating schoolzs and last year, scholarship families paid an averagew of $1,094 out of their own pockets, Step Up The scholarship program serverd 23,259 students in 988 schook statewide as of February. Statewide, 81.3 percenty of the private schools participating in the programm had religious affiliationsand 18.7 percent were non-religious institutions. In the Tampw Bay area, 192 schools were participating, serving 2,7534 students.
Among the Bay area schools with the largest number of scholarship recipientsx this year are in Tampa with 145 in Tampa with104 students, in Tampaz with 81 students, in Clearwater with 72 students and in St. Petersburgh with 44 students.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Duke Energy shuffles executives' roles - Triangle Business Journal:
http://inetbrush.com/apple_accessories
Keith Trent, currently group executive andchied strategy, policy and regulatory has been named group executive and presidentf of Duke’s commercial businesses. The commercial businessese includes , which houses the company’s wind-generatiohn business; Midwest nonregulated generation; DukeNet, a telecommunications and DukeEnergy International, with operations in Latin America. Jim Turner, who is grou p executive, president and chief operating officerdfor U.S. franchised electric and gas, is assuming expanded responsibilitied withthat unit. Turner also will managew regulatory strategy and execution at the state andfederal levels.
And Dhiaw Jamil, currently group executive and chief nuclear has been named group executive and chiefdgeneration officer. Jamil, who will retainh the title of chiefnuclearf officer, will have accountability for nuclear, fossil and hydrok regulated generation. “These changes in leadership responsibilities are designeds toclarify accountabilities, streamline our decisiom making and strengthen relationships with our customers, regulatore and shareholders,” says Jim Rogers, chierf executive. “We’re able to make significant changes like thesed with confidence because of the strength and depth of ourleadershiop team.
” Duke (NYSE:DUK) is based in
Keith Trent, currently group executive andchied strategy, policy and regulatory has been named group executive and presidentf of Duke’s commercial businesses. The commercial businessese includes , which houses the company’s wind-generatiohn business; Midwest nonregulated generation; DukeNet, a telecommunications and DukeEnergy International, with operations in Latin America. Jim Turner, who is grou p executive, president and chief operating officerdfor U.S. franchised electric and gas, is assuming expanded responsibilitied withthat unit. Turner also will managew regulatory strategy and execution at the state andfederal levels.
And Dhiaw Jamil, currently group executive and chief nuclear has been named group executive and chiefdgeneration officer. Jamil, who will retainh the title of chiefnuclearf officer, will have accountability for nuclear, fossil and hydrok regulated generation. “These changes in leadership responsibilities are designeds toclarify accountabilities, streamline our decisiom making and strengthen relationships with our customers, regulatore and shareholders,” says Jim Rogers, chierf executive. “We’re able to make significant changes like thesed with confidence because of the strength and depth of ourleadershiop team.
” Duke (NYSE:DUK) is based in
Friday, October 22, 2010
All Circuit City stores to shutter permanently Sunday - St. Louis Business Journal:
http://www.shearwatercharters.com/free-online-dating-services-are-steps-to-start-relationships/
Circuit City has seven stores inthe St. Louis area in Hazelwood, South County, Fenton, Chesterfield and Saintf Peters, and in Fairview Heights, Ill. Going-out-of-business sales at all of the gian telectronics retailer’s 567 stores nationwide began in and were initially expected to last up to eightr weeks. The sales have continued daily since then in orderd to liquidateCircuit City’s $1.7 billiom in retail inventory. , SB LLC, Tiger Capitalp and Hudson are handlingthe liquidation.
When the finap Circuit City store closes at the end of businesswon Sunday, it will mark the demis of a company whose name was universally knowh and which grew to become the second-largest consume electronics retail chain in the U.S. Otherd major retailers that have closed in recent monthsinclude ’s, , and .
Circuit City has seven stores inthe St. Louis area in Hazelwood, South County, Fenton, Chesterfield and Saintf Peters, and in Fairview Heights, Ill. Going-out-of-business sales at all of the gian telectronics retailer’s 567 stores nationwide began in and were initially expected to last up to eightr weeks. The sales have continued daily since then in orderd to liquidateCircuit City’s $1.7 billiom in retail inventory. , SB LLC, Tiger Capitalp and Hudson are handlingthe liquidation.
When the finap Circuit City store closes at the end of businesswon Sunday, it will mark the demis of a company whose name was universally knowh and which grew to become the second-largest consume electronics retail chain in the U.S. Otherd major retailers that have closed in recent monthsinclude ’s, , and .
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Nonprofits brace for budget emergency aftershocks, IOUs - Boston Business Journal:
http://archos-plugin.com/guestbook.php?p=7
While service providers don’ty yet know whether they’ll receive IOUs — or what the amounta will be — Sparky CEO of the in Sant Clara, is prepared for the worst. “We receivwe about $400,000 in state Harlan said. “We’re already accustomed to gettintg money from the state late last year, for it took until December before we finally got For this year and last year the center has reliec on a $150,000 line of credigt through to cover the gap, alongg with $500,000 out of its reserve The center’s operating budget is $10 million for fiscaol 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestatde covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-in street outreach, and parenting classes. “Thr problem right now is that we don’t know for certaij how much they’re going to hold back,” said Harlan, who has been with the centere for26 years. “But this is by far the worsyt I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’s budget problems, 10 percen cuts have already been plannedfor foster-carr payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infosteer care.
Foster care rated are the same acrossthe state, so familiese in high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amount of compensation as people in more affordabls places. “We’re fronting half a million dollars she said. It’s a layered problem for the since in addition to state monety some comes from the federal Housinyg and UrbanDevelopment department. And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six month for payments tobe received. “We’rs hoping to get paid by July,” she said. “Nonprofits are just gettintg slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilson Center has closed down two programz already and cut about 15 percent ofits staff, leavingv about 110 employees. These are real layoffs, she pointerd out — not attritiobn or open jobs — and “heartbreaking” to do. “Wde had to give one staff person a layoff noticre and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothetr nonprofit,” she said. in Campbell gets about $500,000 a year from the state for itsAIDS services. CFO Ira Holtzman said the agencty is large enough and financially stable enoughj that he would just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the money camethrough eventually.
The Health Trust’s budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam Brandin, executive director of and Visuall Impaired, which has officews in Palo Alto andSanta Cruz, said that even though her agencyt provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in Stated Controller John Chiang’s plan, the Vista Cente is relatively safe. “We receive moneg through Title 7 Chapter2 services,” Brandi explained. “Since much of our funding is federalmoney we’red hoping that it has to be released and passed on; the statw won’t be allowed to hold on to The Vista Center also has school contractes through special education funding.
“Last year when the state had similar budget issueswe didn’t receives any IOUs,” she “but that situation was resolved soonefr than this appears to be. The agenciesx that receive IOUsprobably won’t even know they’r coming until they submit their bills.” She’z also banking on Vista Center’s statuss as a preferred vendor with the “so we’ll be paid in advancre of other vendors — if in fact the stated is even writing checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, presidenr & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Senior Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiouslyh optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the stater are MediCal payments for servicew provided at our adultdaycare center,” she said. “Ourt understanding is that those servicews are protected by the statre constitution as well asfederal law. We do receive funding indirectlgy throughthe county, but we don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy director of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’as going to happen.
But even with the most optimistidoutcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficit last year for Santaq Clara County was more than $270 million, and many of the cuts were made in programsd around health, mental health, drugs and alcohol and social And there’s no relief on the For 2011 the county is looking at a deficitr of about $250 million, he said.
While service providers don’ty yet know whether they’ll receive IOUs — or what the amounta will be — Sparky CEO of the in Sant Clara, is prepared for the worst. “We receivwe about $400,000 in state Harlan said. “We’re already accustomed to gettintg money from the state late last year, for it took until December before we finally got For this year and last year the center has reliec on a $150,000 line of credigt through to cover the gap, alongg with $500,000 out of its reserve The center’s operating budget is $10 million for fiscaol 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestatde covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-in street outreach, and parenting classes. “Thr problem right now is that we don’t know for certaij how much they’re going to hold back,” said Harlan, who has been with the centere for26 years. “But this is by far the worsyt I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’s budget problems, 10 percen cuts have already been plannedfor foster-carr payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infosteer care.
Foster care rated are the same acrossthe state, so familiese in high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amount of compensation as people in more affordabls places. “We’re fronting half a million dollars she said. It’s a layered problem for the since in addition to state monety some comes from the federal Housinyg and UrbanDevelopment department. And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six month for payments tobe received. “We’rs hoping to get paid by July,” she said. “Nonprofits are just gettintg slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilson Center has closed down two programz already and cut about 15 percent ofits staff, leavingv about 110 employees. These are real layoffs, she pointerd out — not attritiobn or open jobs — and “heartbreaking” to do. “Wde had to give one staff person a layoff noticre and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothetr nonprofit,” she said. in Campbell gets about $500,000 a year from the state for itsAIDS services. CFO Ira Holtzman said the agencty is large enough and financially stable enoughj that he would just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the money camethrough eventually.
The Health Trust’s budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam Brandin, executive director of and Visuall Impaired, which has officews in Palo Alto andSanta Cruz, said that even though her agencyt provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in Stated Controller John Chiang’s plan, the Vista Cente is relatively safe. “We receive moneg through Title 7 Chapter2 services,” Brandi explained. “Since much of our funding is federalmoney we’red hoping that it has to be released and passed on; the statw won’t be allowed to hold on to The Vista Center also has school contractes through special education funding.
“Last year when the state had similar budget issueswe didn’t receives any IOUs,” she “but that situation was resolved soonefr than this appears to be. The agenciesx that receive IOUsprobably won’t even know they’r coming until they submit their bills.” She’z also banking on Vista Center’s statuss as a preferred vendor with the “so we’ll be paid in advancre of other vendors — if in fact the stated is even writing checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, presidenr & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Senior Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiouslyh optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the stater are MediCal payments for servicew provided at our adultdaycare center,” she said. “Ourt understanding is that those servicews are protected by the statre constitution as well asfederal law. We do receive funding indirectlgy throughthe county, but we don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy director of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’as going to happen.
But even with the most optimistidoutcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficit last year for Santaq Clara County was more than $270 million, and many of the cuts were made in programsd around health, mental health, drugs and alcohol and social And there’s no relief on the For 2011 the county is looking at a deficitr of about $250 million, he said.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Revenue rises for 2nd quarter in US states: report - Reuters
http://my-tuts.com/page/How-To-Get-A-Job-In-Housekeeping-.html
Revenue rises for 2nd quarter in US states: report Reuters "After record revenue declines in calendar 2009, and with spending trendlines still pointing upward, the fiscal conditions of the states remain quite ... US States Show Second Straight Quarter Of Tax Gains -Institute |
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Loan pushes energy projects in Boulder - Phoenix Business Journal:
adamovaichive.blogspot.com
There are 394 residentiao projects, totaling about $6.6 millioh in 15-year loans, now under way, said Ann Boulder County’s sustainability coordinator. Projects include installing such item s asnew furnaces, windows, insulation and rooftopp solar panels. Solar-power projects account for about $2.3 millio of that. About $12 milliob of the $40 million has been reservedf forcommercial projects, with applications expected to be accepted late this Local solar-installation companies say the loan program is one of the few brigh spots in the local economy.
“The best stimulus work that we’ve had is in said JoElyn Newcomb, head of business development for the Coloradoo armof , a solarf power installation company based in Bozeman, The company installed the solar system that powerws the scoreboard at Coorss Field. “Right now we have an eight-weekk wait to put a solar system up. Withoug [the loan program], it woulr have been four weeks. We are hiring peoplse for the summer. We’re definitely more but we’re hiring. Without [it] we woulr not be hiring.
” In November, Boulder Count y voters approved the new ClimateSmartLoan Program, by a margihn of 64 percent to 36 It’s modeled on a $1 milliojn loan program sponsored by the city of Berkeley, that’s restricted to rooftop solar powerf projects. Boulder County’s program has more money available and can be spent on a wider scopeof projects. Property owners take out a loan from the program tocompletwe projects; the payback is rolled into the property taxes, sticking with the building regardless of who owns it. It’es gained notice around the Livingstonsaid she’s given presentations to local governments in states such as California, Colorado and Texas.
She’d also presented it to the and the Clinton Interest rates on the initial loans rangefrom 5.2 percentt to 6.68 percent. Katie a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, had consideredr putting solar panels on her Erie home for but thought it was too expensivdeto pursue. Then the ClimateSmart Loan Program “It seemed a good opportunity to take advantag ofthe [Solar*Rewards] rebate, the 30 percent federalo tax credit and the financing program,” Lapinws said. “It just pushed you to do Lapins’ 4.2-kilowatt solar power installation is scheduled to be installedin mid-July by Louisville-based Bella Energy Inc.
Lapins figures with all the rebatez andtax credits, the $30,000 system will end up costing her abou $10,000 to $12,000 — with the paymentas made through her property taxes. “Dependinvg on what energy costs do, my payback will be sevenj to 10 years tobreak even,” Lapin said. “I plan on staying in the hous that long, but even if I do sell it, it makesz the property more attractive [according to] the real estated agents I’ve talked One program drawback is thereare higher-than-expecte d upfront loan fees, meant to reassurs the credit market that the programm was a good investment, Livingston Program participants paid into a reserve fund and also pay the firstt year of interest, she said.
“Onw of the things we’ve certainly learneds is that when you’ree doing a bond offerinh of atype that’s never been offered anywhere in the country before, it results in extensive conversations with the Standard Poor’s rating agency,” Livingston said. “We needed some credit Some applicants balked at the highere fees and found cheaper credit such as through homeequity loans, Livingston said. “We’red excited about the $6.
6 million in direc projects, and we also know there’sw been additional money infused into the economy by peoplr who ended up using a home equity line of creditf or some other methodof financing,” Livingsto n said. “But the loan program started them downthe
There are 394 residentiao projects, totaling about $6.6 millioh in 15-year loans, now under way, said Ann Boulder County’s sustainability coordinator. Projects include installing such item s asnew furnaces, windows, insulation and rooftopp solar panels. Solar-power projects account for about $2.3 millio of that. About $12 milliob of the $40 million has been reservedf forcommercial projects, with applications expected to be accepted late this Local solar-installation companies say the loan program is one of the few brigh spots in the local economy.
“The best stimulus work that we’ve had is in said JoElyn Newcomb, head of business development for the Coloradoo armof , a solarf power installation company based in Bozeman, The company installed the solar system that powerws the scoreboard at Coorss Field. “Right now we have an eight-weekk wait to put a solar system up. Withoug [the loan program], it woulr have been four weeks. We are hiring peoplse for the summer. We’re definitely more but we’re hiring. Without [it] we woulr not be hiring.
” In November, Boulder Count y voters approved the new ClimateSmartLoan Program, by a margihn of 64 percent to 36 It’s modeled on a $1 milliojn loan program sponsored by the city of Berkeley, that’s restricted to rooftop solar powerf projects. Boulder County’s program has more money available and can be spent on a wider scopeof projects. Property owners take out a loan from the program tocompletwe projects; the payback is rolled into the property taxes, sticking with the building regardless of who owns it. It’es gained notice around the Livingstonsaid she’s given presentations to local governments in states such as California, Colorado and Texas.
She’d also presented it to the and the Clinton Interest rates on the initial loans rangefrom 5.2 percentt to 6.68 percent. Katie a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, had consideredr putting solar panels on her Erie home for but thought it was too expensivdeto pursue. Then the ClimateSmart Loan Program “It seemed a good opportunity to take advantag ofthe [Solar*Rewards] rebate, the 30 percent federalo tax credit and the financing program,” Lapinws said. “It just pushed you to do Lapins’ 4.2-kilowatt solar power installation is scheduled to be installedin mid-July by Louisville-based Bella Energy Inc.
Lapins figures with all the rebatez andtax credits, the $30,000 system will end up costing her abou $10,000 to $12,000 — with the paymentas made through her property taxes. “Dependinvg on what energy costs do, my payback will be sevenj to 10 years tobreak even,” Lapin said. “I plan on staying in the hous that long, but even if I do sell it, it makesz the property more attractive [according to] the real estated agents I’ve talked One program drawback is thereare higher-than-expecte d upfront loan fees, meant to reassurs the credit market that the programm was a good investment, Livingston Program participants paid into a reserve fund and also pay the firstt year of interest, she said.
“Onw of the things we’ve certainly learneds is that when you’ree doing a bond offerinh of atype that’s never been offered anywhere in the country before, it results in extensive conversations with the Standard Poor’s rating agency,” Livingston said. “We needed some credit Some applicants balked at the highere fees and found cheaper credit such as through homeequity loans, Livingston said. “We’red excited about the $6.
6 million in direc projects, and we also know there’sw been additional money infused into the economy by peoplr who ended up using a home equity line of creditf or some other methodof financing,” Livingsto n said. “But the loan program started them downthe
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pier 1 posts quarterly profit despite drop in sales - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
proklofuxaanygez.blogspot.com
The profit for Fort Worth-basedr Pier 1 (NYSE: PIR) compares to a net loss of $33 or 37 cents per share, during the same perios last year. During the first Pier 1's sales fell to $281 down from $310 milliob a year ago. Pier 1 attributes this drop in salew to a reduction in the number of stores operating anda 7.5 percentt drop in same-store sales—or sales at stores open for 12 monthsz or more. Compared to last year, inventoriea are down by $91 million. The company also reduced its consolidated long-term debt by $79 millionj and posted a $48 million gain on the repurchase of Going forward, Pier 1 said it is negotiating rental reductions with landlordws across North America.
Pier 1 has now reachec agreements in principal to end leases for 22 storee and will be shuttinbg down an additionalfive locations. “Tk date, the company has achievexd approximately $9 million in rental savings for fiscal 2010 and expectds to close approximately 50 the company said ina statement.
The profit for Fort Worth-basedr Pier 1 (NYSE: PIR) compares to a net loss of $33 or 37 cents per share, during the same perios last year. During the first Pier 1's sales fell to $281 down from $310 milliob a year ago. Pier 1 attributes this drop in salew to a reduction in the number of stores operating anda 7.5 percentt drop in same-store sales—or sales at stores open for 12 monthsz or more. Compared to last year, inventoriea are down by $91 million. The company also reduced its consolidated long-term debt by $79 millionj and posted a $48 million gain on the repurchase of Going forward, Pier 1 said it is negotiating rental reductions with landlordws across North America.
Pier 1 has now reachec agreements in principal to end leases for 22 storee and will be shuttinbg down an additionalfive locations. “Tk date, the company has achievexd approximately $9 million in rental savings for fiscal 2010 and expectds to close approximately 50 the company said ina statement.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Scottsdale Airport runway work to close operations in summer 2010 - Phoenix Business Journal:
aplecheevlgupy.blogspot.com
The $2 million project is being funded 95 percen by the FederalAviation 2.5 percent by the state of Arizona aviation unit with the remainderr coming from Scottsdale’s capital improvement money, said Annie DeChance, airport spokeswoman. The project will dig up the existingv runway and replace all the asphalt inthe airport’sw single 8,250 foot-long runway. Details, including a specificv timeline are stillbeing developed.
“We understand that this is going to be challenginv and that is why we are trying to give as much advancee notice as possible aboutthe closure, so people can reallyy prepare for this and get this on theit radar screen,” DeChance The project will take place withijn either July or August of with crews working around the clock. “This is takingv out the existing concrete basically down tothe dirt. The summerd time is when there is the least amount of traffic at the DeChance said.
The $2 million project is being funded 95 percen by the FederalAviation 2.5 percent by the state of Arizona aviation unit with the remainderr coming from Scottsdale’s capital improvement money, said Annie DeChance, airport spokeswoman. The project will dig up the existingv runway and replace all the asphalt inthe airport’sw single 8,250 foot-long runway. Details, including a specificv timeline are stillbeing developed.
“We understand that this is going to be challenginv and that is why we are trying to give as much advancee notice as possible aboutthe closure, so people can reallyy prepare for this and get this on theit radar screen,” DeChance The project will take place withijn either July or August of with crews working around the clock. “This is takingv out the existing concrete basically down tothe dirt. The summerd time is when there is the least amount of traffic at the DeChance said.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Gorillaz troops through Camden - Philadelphia Inquirer
ekaterinaiuvo.blogspot.com
Gorillaz troops through Camden Philadelphia Inquirer To this crowd, Albarn was not the erstwhile lead singer of Blur, the Britpop chart-toppers who never quite caught on Stateside, but the ringmaster of ... |
Monday, October 11, 2010
Verizon sponsoring event on sexting - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:
http://www.guitarrepairers.com/?p=298
The practice of “sexting” will be among the issueds talked about at the June 1 event to be held at the Greaterr New BedfordTechnical School. Hosted by Bristolk County SheriffThomas Hodgson, the seminat will be one of many events the New York-base telecommunications company (NYSE: VZ) will sponsor with Interne t safety nonprofit i-SAFE Inc. as a part of Cyber Safett Week. “We’re exploring what it meane to have a civil society in an online saidDonna Cupelo, Verizon New Englanr region president.
“That’s why we believr the first priority for providera is the personal safetyof Therefore, Verizon provides the best network toole available to ensure security and to inform people especially parents — how to make safer choices to protect their families’ privacy, guard against cybercrim and fight abuse.”
The practice of “sexting” will be among the issueds talked about at the June 1 event to be held at the Greaterr New BedfordTechnical School. Hosted by Bristolk County SheriffThomas Hodgson, the seminat will be one of many events the New York-base telecommunications company (NYSE: VZ) will sponsor with Interne t safety nonprofit i-SAFE Inc. as a part of Cyber Safett Week. “We’re exploring what it meane to have a civil society in an online saidDonna Cupelo, Verizon New Englanr region president.
“That’s why we believr the first priority for providera is the personal safetyof Therefore, Verizon provides the best network toole available to ensure security and to inform people especially parents — how to make safer choices to protect their families’ privacy, guard against cybercrim and fight abuse.”
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
CBS Tries to Minimize Dem Problems By Cherry-Picking GOP Setbacks - NewsBusters (blog)
wilhelminadora4287.blogspot.com
CBS Tries to Minimize Dem Problems By Cherry-Picking GOP Setbacks NewsBusters (blog) In a report on Friday's CBS Early Show, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante noted that President Obama hitting the ... |
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Recovery report: Most small businesses don
http://korusconsulting.com/about/ceo/
The survey found that 90 percengt plan to cut business expenses and 23 percentg expect they will lay off employees durinbg the nextsix months. Only 26 percent expect sales to increase, half the percentage who expected saleds gains ayear ago. Nearly half expect profits will decreasee in thenear term. “These findings supporgt PNC’s forecast that the U.S. economy will continues to suffer into the second half ofthe year,” said PNC Chie Economist Stuart Hoffman. It will be 2010 beforee the economygets “reall traction from the various federa l policy stimulus initiatives,” Hoffmanm said. If the recession continuesw over the nextsix months, 43 perceng of U.S.
companies probably will make across-the-board budget That’s according to a new poll by the . The next most likelyh step would be to reduce stafffthrough attrition, while 40 percent of human resource executivesa said hiring freezes would be put into place. Freezint employee wages was next, followed by cuts in employee bonuses. Only 24 percenr expect layoffs. Layoffs “are becoming more of a last optioj that many business leaderswould take,” said SHRM President and CEO Laurencse O’Neil. “This finding underscores the seriousness of the recession as many companies find they cannot survive without some degreeof layoffs.
” More than 70 percengt of the CEO of America’s largesrt companies expect to reducde employment at their businesses over the next six months, according to a surveyt by the Business Roundtable. Two-thirde expect a decline in sales and capital The wants help fromthe public, includingv small businesses, on developing a plan to ensurwe that all Americans have access to The economic stimulus legislation directed the FCC to presen the plan to Congress by Feb. 17, 2010, a year afterf the bill was signedinto law.
The FCC is solicitiny comments on the best ways to ensure universaolbroadband access, strategies for making it affordable, evaluatinvg the progress of broadband grant programsz and how to use broadband to advance public policy Comments may be filed electronically at www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs or at The stimulus bill included $7.2 billion for grantzs and loans to increase broadband access in unservede and underserved areas. The programxs will be administered by the andthe ’s ruralk development program. The plans to spend $285 milliobn for 17,600 fuel-efficient vehicles, includintg 2,500 hybrid sedans, by June 1.
Money for these purchases, as well as $15 millionn for advanced technology vehicles suchas all-electric will come from funds appropriated in the economic stimulusx package. GSA will use existing contractswith , and for thesw orders. President Obama said these purchasesare “party of our commitment to the American auto industry” and he was “pleased” GSA “moved swiftlt to accelerate this purchase.” The distributed $197 million in economic stimulus funds to states and Indiam reservations for use in cleaning up underground storagw tank petroleum leaks.
These leaks couldd seep into soil and contaminatseground water, which is a major source of drinking water. EPA estimates aboutr 1,600 sites will be cleaned up as a resulr ofthe funding. “EPA is puttinhg people to work by serving our core mission of protectinh human health andthe environment,” said Administrator Lisa Jackson.
The survey found that 90 percengt plan to cut business expenses and 23 percentg expect they will lay off employees durinbg the nextsix months. Only 26 percent expect sales to increase, half the percentage who expected saleds gains ayear ago. Nearly half expect profits will decreasee in thenear term. “These findings supporgt PNC’s forecast that the U.S. economy will continues to suffer into the second half ofthe year,” said PNC Chie Economist Stuart Hoffman. It will be 2010 beforee the economygets “reall traction from the various federa l policy stimulus initiatives,” Hoffmanm said. If the recession continuesw over the nextsix months, 43 perceng of U.S.
companies probably will make across-the-board budget That’s according to a new poll by the . The next most likelyh step would be to reduce stafffthrough attrition, while 40 percent of human resource executivesa said hiring freezes would be put into place. Freezint employee wages was next, followed by cuts in employee bonuses. Only 24 percenr expect layoffs. Layoffs “are becoming more of a last optioj that many business leaderswould take,” said SHRM President and CEO Laurencse O’Neil. “This finding underscores the seriousness of the recession as many companies find they cannot survive without some degreeof layoffs.
” More than 70 percengt of the CEO of America’s largesrt companies expect to reducde employment at their businesses over the next six months, according to a surveyt by the Business Roundtable. Two-thirde expect a decline in sales and capital The wants help fromthe public, includingv small businesses, on developing a plan to ensurwe that all Americans have access to The economic stimulus legislation directed the FCC to presen the plan to Congress by Feb. 17, 2010, a year afterf the bill was signedinto law.
The FCC is solicitiny comments on the best ways to ensure universaolbroadband access, strategies for making it affordable, evaluatinvg the progress of broadband grant programsz and how to use broadband to advance public policy Comments may be filed electronically at www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs or at The stimulus bill included $7.2 billion for grantzs and loans to increase broadband access in unservede and underserved areas. The programxs will be administered by the andthe ’s ruralk development program. The plans to spend $285 milliobn for 17,600 fuel-efficient vehicles, includintg 2,500 hybrid sedans, by June 1.
Money for these purchases, as well as $15 millionn for advanced technology vehicles suchas all-electric will come from funds appropriated in the economic stimulusx package. GSA will use existing contractswith , and for thesw orders. President Obama said these purchasesare “party of our commitment to the American auto industry” and he was “pleased” GSA “moved swiftlt to accelerate this purchase.” The distributed $197 million in economic stimulus funds to states and Indiam reservations for use in cleaning up underground storagw tank petroleum leaks.
These leaks couldd seep into soil and contaminatseground water, which is a major source of drinking water. EPA estimates aboutr 1,600 sites will be cleaned up as a resulr ofthe funding. “EPA is puttinhg people to work by serving our core mission of protectinh human health andthe environment,” said Administrator Lisa Jackson.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Hundreds of jobs being cut as Aramark, YRC and others announce layoffs - Philadelphia Business Journal:
http://jiushuipacking.com/nurse-qualification/
Word of the job losses comes as a says the economu is weaker than it was in and that unemployment willhit 9.8 percent next up from an earlier projection of 9.1 percent. Earlier this week, it was learned that new weekly claims for unemploymentywere higher, and retaik spending for April turned out to be lower, than Companies notify the state of plant closings or significant job cuts unde r the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Philadelphia-basedr Aramark said its cuts at thePhiladelphia university, effective July 12, will be permanenf and come at the end of a management-services contracrt at Penn.
• , a trucking will cut 113 jobs at itsPhiladelphias terminal, effect June 26; • Idearc Media LLC in Norristown will close its publishin g unit, cutting as many as 98 jobs, effective Oct. 31; • of the Americas, Cente r Valley, Lehigh County, will cut up to 119 employeezs in the diagnostics systems effective July 1 toJuly 14; Management consulting firm , whichb has filed for bankruptcy reorganization, will permanently close its offic e in Radnor, Pa., and end 13 jobs, effective June 5; Concord Steel, with a site in Essington, has cut production, resulting in the layoffg of 50 employees. The layoffs occurred between Februarg andMay 15.
Employees could be called back withinn a period of 60 days tosix • Philadelphia-based , a wholly owned subsidiary of is expected to sustain a limited impactf from a “mass layoff” slater for July 8. According to the state, as few as thre employees could be affected at thePhiladelphia site. Dow acquiredr Rohm and Haas in April.
Word of the job losses comes as a says the economu is weaker than it was in and that unemployment willhit 9.8 percent next up from an earlier projection of 9.1 percent. Earlier this week, it was learned that new weekly claims for unemploymentywere higher, and retaik spending for April turned out to be lower, than Companies notify the state of plant closings or significant job cuts unde r the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Philadelphia-basedr Aramark said its cuts at thePhiladelphia university, effective July 12, will be permanenf and come at the end of a management-services contracrt at Penn.
• , a trucking will cut 113 jobs at itsPhiladelphias terminal, effect June 26; • Idearc Media LLC in Norristown will close its publishin g unit, cutting as many as 98 jobs, effective Oct. 31; • of the Americas, Cente r Valley, Lehigh County, will cut up to 119 employeezs in the diagnostics systems effective July 1 toJuly 14; Management consulting firm , whichb has filed for bankruptcy reorganization, will permanently close its offic e in Radnor, Pa., and end 13 jobs, effective June 5; Concord Steel, with a site in Essington, has cut production, resulting in the layoffg of 50 employees. The layoffs occurred between Februarg andMay 15.
Employees could be called back withinn a period of 60 days tosix • Philadelphia-based , a wholly owned subsidiary of is expected to sustain a limited impactf from a “mass layoff” slater for July 8. According to the state, as few as thre employees could be affected at thePhiladelphia site. Dow acquiredr Rohm and Haas in April.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Goldman Sachs downgrades J.C. Penney and Macy's - BusinessWeek
bentlyoupapa1810.blogspot.com
Goldman Sachs downgrades J.C. Penney and Macy's BusinessWeek THE STOCK: Shapira downgraded Macy's and JC Penney shares to "Neutral" from "Buy" and maintained Kohl's on the "Buy" list. Shares of Macy's fell 94 cents, ... Macy's, JC Penney Downgraded at Goldman Sachs (M, JCP) JC Penney (JCP) Downgrade Alert, Watch for 16.2% Technical Uptrend Reversal Cooper, Microsoft, Macy's, J.C. Penney: U.S. Equity Movers |
Sunday, October 3, 2010
More ties between al Qaeda plotter and 9/11 Hamburg cell revealed - Long War Journal
zvonkovaleoqim.blogspot.com
Long War Journal | More ties between al Qaeda plotter and 9/11 Hamburg cell revealed Long War Journal Some members of the Hamburg cell fled Germany shortly before the 9/11 attacks in order to avoid arrest after the fact. Today, Bahaji is both a senior ... |
Friday, October 1, 2010
Cutting dealers won
uzirukynurylew.blogspot.com
Both Chrysler and Generall Motors, which plans to close 1,100o dealerships by October 2010, contend they need to reducre the size of their dealer networks to becomes more competitive with Toyotaand Honda, which sell more cars in the U.S. with a lot fewert dealers. In a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing, Chryslert argued that trimming the ranks of its dealers will boosty the profitability of the dealers that enabling them to invest in improvementds that will driveup sales. “Aftef a period of time, and substantiall improved marketingand investments, overall sales in the reducef network are anticipated to grow beyond currenyt sales levels within the existing Chrysler contended in the filing.
That’s highly unlikely, according to the Nationa l Association ofAutomobile Dealers. “There’s not an auto executivs I know ofthat doesn’t acknowledge that when a dealership closes, they lose market share,” said David Hyatt, NADA’e vice president of public affairs. Cuttingh costs was not a major factorin Chrysler’s decision. The automaker will save some administrative expensesw by having a smaller dealer networkkto oversee, but that’s about it. Dealers buy their cars befor the vehicles leavethe factory, pay for shipping, fron the costs of any rebates or warrantyt work, and purchase repair equipment.
Dealers provide “a robusr distribution network at virtuallygno cost” to automakers, Hyatt said. “We’re an asset, not a said Wade Walker, an auto dealef in Montpelier, Vt., who is scheduled to lose his Jeep franchisewJune 9. Walker and abouty 300 other Chrysler dealers are challengingthe automaker’s requesrt for a bankruptcy judge to terminate theifr dealership agreements and pre-empt state laws that would requir e the company to give dealers more time to wind down theirt businesses. Chrysler has been working to reduce its dealedr network forseveral years, and it contends that process needs to be acceleratedc because of its proposed alliance with Fiat.
Bankruptcy courtz routinely terminate contracts if doing so benefitzsthe debtor’s estate and is an exercise of soun business judgment, Chrysler said in its filing. But the Chrysle dealers contend that abruptly closingbdealerships doesn’t meet this threshold. “There is no evidence that by rejectingtdealership agreements, New Chrysler will save money to any materia degree or enhance its competitive positionb in the automobile industry,” the Chrysler National Dealef Council said in a court “To the contrary, closing dealersz narrows distribution and reducesw Chrysler’s sales and income as fewer dealers buy fewef cars and retail saled are lost to other brands.
” Chrysler’s bankruptcy judges is scheduled to hold a hearing on this issu June 3. That same day, the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Chrysler and GMdealership closings. “These companies cannot be allowed to take taxpaye funds fora bailout, and then leavwe local dealers and theirt customers to fend for themselves with no real noticee and no real help,” said committe e Chairman John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va.
“We must ensuree that the auto dealers are treated equitablyu and have the opportunit to unwind their operations in a manner that will minimizde hardships to employees who lose their jobs and communities that areadverselyy impacted,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. Hutchisonj was encouraged by a promise from Chrysler PresidentrJames Press, who told her the company would help the terminater dealers sell their vehicle and parts inventory. If this assistance fallzs short, Hutchison is prepared to push legislatio n to give the dealerships an extrwa 60 daysbefore closing.
auto dealers and members of Congress are lobbying Presidengt Barack Obama and his automotive task forc to reconsider the wisdom of closing so many dealershipszso quickly. The Obama administrationm rejectedthe automakers’ initiao restructuring plans and urged them to be more aggressive. “If should not be the role of government to forcethese small-business owners out of said Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., one of several House membera who sent a letter to task force chief Steven founder of theQuadrangle Group, a New York private equity “This decision will not fix the problemds of the auto manufacturing industry, yet it will cost our communities good jobs.
” Walker doesn’t think the auto task force “gets it.” “I think it’s becausde they’re all Wall Street peoplew -- they’re not Main Streeft people,” he said.
Both Chrysler and Generall Motors, which plans to close 1,100o dealerships by October 2010, contend they need to reducre the size of their dealer networks to becomes more competitive with Toyotaand Honda, which sell more cars in the U.S. with a lot fewert dealers. In a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing, Chryslert argued that trimming the ranks of its dealers will boosty the profitability of the dealers that enabling them to invest in improvementds that will driveup sales. “Aftef a period of time, and substantiall improved marketingand investments, overall sales in the reducef network are anticipated to grow beyond currenyt sales levels within the existing Chrysler contended in the filing.
That’s highly unlikely, according to the Nationa l Association ofAutomobile Dealers. “There’s not an auto executivs I know ofthat doesn’t acknowledge that when a dealership closes, they lose market share,” said David Hyatt, NADA’e vice president of public affairs. Cuttingh costs was not a major factorin Chrysler’s decision. The automaker will save some administrative expensesw by having a smaller dealer networkkto oversee, but that’s about it. Dealers buy their cars befor the vehicles leavethe factory, pay for shipping, fron the costs of any rebates or warrantyt work, and purchase repair equipment.
Dealers provide “a robusr distribution network at virtuallygno cost” to automakers, Hyatt said. “We’re an asset, not a said Wade Walker, an auto dealef in Montpelier, Vt., who is scheduled to lose his Jeep franchisewJune 9. Walker and abouty 300 other Chrysler dealers are challengingthe automaker’s requesrt for a bankruptcy judge to terminate theifr dealership agreements and pre-empt state laws that would requir e the company to give dealers more time to wind down theirt businesses. Chrysler has been working to reduce its dealedr network forseveral years, and it contends that process needs to be acceleratedc because of its proposed alliance with Fiat.
Bankruptcy courtz routinely terminate contracts if doing so benefitzsthe debtor’s estate and is an exercise of soun business judgment, Chrysler said in its filing. But the Chrysle dealers contend that abruptly closingbdealerships doesn’t meet this threshold. “There is no evidence that by rejectingtdealership agreements, New Chrysler will save money to any materia degree or enhance its competitive positionb in the automobile industry,” the Chrysler National Dealef Council said in a court “To the contrary, closing dealersz narrows distribution and reducesw Chrysler’s sales and income as fewer dealers buy fewef cars and retail saled are lost to other brands.
” Chrysler’s bankruptcy judges is scheduled to hold a hearing on this issu June 3. That same day, the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Chrysler and GMdealership closings. “These companies cannot be allowed to take taxpaye funds fora bailout, and then leavwe local dealers and theirt customers to fend for themselves with no real noticee and no real help,” said committe e Chairman John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va.
“We must ensuree that the auto dealers are treated equitablyu and have the opportunit to unwind their operations in a manner that will minimizde hardships to employees who lose their jobs and communities that areadverselyy impacted,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. Hutchisonj was encouraged by a promise from Chrysler PresidentrJames Press, who told her the company would help the terminater dealers sell their vehicle and parts inventory. If this assistance fallzs short, Hutchison is prepared to push legislatio n to give the dealerships an extrwa 60 daysbefore closing.
auto dealers and members of Congress are lobbying Presidengt Barack Obama and his automotive task forc to reconsider the wisdom of closing so many dealershipszso quickly. The Obama administrationm rejectedthe automakers’ initiao restructuring plans and urged them to be more aggressive. “If should not be the role of government to forcethese small-business owners out of said Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., one of several House membera who sent a letter to task force chief Steven founder of theQuadrangle Group, a New York private equity “This decision will not fix the problemds of the auto manufacturing industry, yet it will cost our communities good jobs.
” Walker doesn’t think the auto task force “gets it.” “I think it’s becausde they’re all Wall Street peoplew -- they’re not Main Streeft people,” he said.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Tampa Bay Business Journal:
http://www.daigram.com/FX-CHF-CROSSES/CHFHUF/
But just because businesses owners know they shoulsddo it, that doesn't mean they are doint it. Jeff Porter runs the data management forum for the Storagw NetworkingIndustry Association, an internationall standards organization for electronic storage companies. He said there hasn'g been a noticeable increase in the numbe r of businesses backing up their filessince Katrina. "I don't thini it takes a lot to convinc e people now of the need to back their files up," Porter said. "But it's still very difficult to convince them totake action." He said that'x because it is such a tedious task.
Even though therse are plenty of firms that specialize in storinother companies' information, the nature of the process demands hundreds of "executive " hours, according to Porter. "It's not so much the cost that keepsa companies fromdoing it," Porteer said. "It's the fact that the company'sd decision-makers have to spendf their own time figurintg out what needsto happen. It's somethingy that can't be delegated." But Porter, along with other nationalo organizations, say there are severall steps companies can take to make the procesw less ofa hassle. Befores a company even starts looking for a thirdc partystorage vendor, it needss to figure out what informatiomn is vital enough to be stored.
"Theree has to be a formalizefd collaborationbetween management, operations and any business partnerw involved," he said. "Don't expect it to be a quick process. It's going to take a lot of meetingzs between a lotof divisions." Once a compan figures out what information needss to be kept safe, Porter said it must decids how the information should be He explained that there are differing degreee of access to the information for a business. For an insurance company would want recenft claims to be more accessibls than those made 10years ago. Porte r said that once this is decided, a company can star looking for astoragw vendor.
He said the best place to start searchingf is throughhis organization's directory, whicbh he said is unbiased and neutral. Other trader organizations, such as Enterprise Content Management also represent hundreds of storage vendors and make those listsavailable online. Porter also recommends getting customer reviewsx and making sure a vendor has good He saidif possible, a companu should test a vendor out by doing small trial installations. Porter explained that companies often use more thanone "Some vendors are better for storing long-term information," he said. "Others are better at giving youimmediate access. You have to find the rightr fit for each portion ofdata you'rse storing.
" To get the lowest cost, Portef said many companies try to get several vendorsd into a bidding war. "But cost isn't the most important thing here," he said. "If something happenee and you had to depend onthe vendor's servicez to stay in business, the last thing you'd want is to have compromised quality just so you saved some costs. " When it comes to how far away a company shoulde electronically store its backup 15 miles used to be the rule of But after the widespreaed destructionof Katrina, expertws say information should be stored in geographixc regions that won't be affected by the same "Katrina not only increased awareness," Porter "It also rewrote a lot of the rules we used to It showed our industry what needed to be improved.
"" One of those according to Porter, is how oftenn a company should test its backup plan. He explained that many Katrina-affectedr companies had backup plans, but discoverec they were out-of-date when the disastef actually hit. "A business is constantly evolving," he "And, consequently, so are your backup needs." Porterr said a company should, with the assistance of its refresh its backup plan atleast annually. He said many companiexs actuallytest quarterly, dividing the process up into separatd divisions.
But Porter said the biggest mistake companies and one that Katrina is that they focus too much on storages and not enoughon "When you initially sit down you need to figuree out how fast you need to recover when somethinvg happens," he said. "You may back everything up properly, but then it take you 30 days to accesa it and be up andrunning again. Many companiews can't survive that kind of delay.
" Technology and Telecommunications
But just because businesses owners know they shoulsddo it, that doesn't mean they are doint it. Jeff Porter runs the data management forum for the Storagw NetworkingIndustry Association, an internationall standards organization for electronic storage companies. He said there hasn'g been a noticeable increase in the numbe r of businesses backing up their filessince Katrina. "I don't thini it takes a lot to convinc e people now of the need to back their files up," Porter said. "But it's still very difficult to convince them totake action." He said that'x because it is such a tedious task.
Even though therse are plenty of firms that specialize in storinother companies' information, the nature of the process demands hundreds of "executive " hours, according to Porter. "It's not so much the cost that keepsa companies fromdoing it," Porteer said. "It's the fact that the company'sd decision-makers have to spendf their own time figurintg out what needsto happen. It's somethingy that can't be delegated." But Porter, along with other nationalo organizations, say there are severall steps companies can take to make the procesw less ofa hassle. Befores a company even starts looking for a thirdc partystorage vendor, it needss to figure out what informatiomn is vital enough to be stored.
"Theree has to be a formalizefd collaborationbetween management, operations and any business partnerw involved," he said. "Don't expect it to be a quick process. It's going to take a lot of meetingzs between a lotof divisions." Once a compan figures out what information needss to be kept safe, Porter said it must decids how the information should be He explained that there are differing degreee of access to the information for a business. For an insurance company would want recenft claims to be more accessibls than those made 10years ago. Porte r said that once this is decided, a company can star looking for astoragw vendor.
He said the best place to start searchingf is throughhis organization's directory, whicbh he said is unbiased and neutral. Other trader organizations, such as Enterprise Content Management also represent hundreds of storage vendors and make those listsavailable online. Porter also recommends getting customer reviewsx and making sure a vendor has good He saidif possible, a companu should test a vendor out by doing small trial installations. Porter explained that companies often use more thanone "Some vendors are better for storing long-term information," he said. "Others are better at giving youimmediate access. You have to find the rightr fit for each portion ofdata you'rse storing.
" To get the lowest cost, Portef said many companies try to get several vendorsd into a bidding war. "But cost isn't the most important thing here," he said. "If something happenee and you had to depend onthe vendor's servicez to stay in business, the last thing you'd want is to have compromised quality just so you saved some costs. " When it comes to how far away a company shoulde electronically store its backup 15 miles used to be the rule of But after the widespreaed destructionof Katrina, expertws say information should be stored in geographixc regions that won't be affected by the same "Katrina not only increased awareness," Porter "It also rewrote a lot of the rules we used to It showed our industry what needed to be improved.
"" One of those according to Porter, is how oftenn a company should test its backup plan. He explained that many Katrina-affectedr companies had backup plans, but discoverec they were out-of-date when the disastef actually hit. "A business is constantly evolving," he "And, consequently, so are your backup needs." Porterr said a company should, with the assistance of its refresh its backup plan atleast annually. He said many companiexs actuallytest quarterly, dividing the process up into separatd divisions.
But Porter said the biggest mistake companies and one that Katrina is that they focus too much on storages and not enoughon "When you initially sit down you need to figuree out how fast you need to recover when somethinvg happens," he said. "You may back everything up properly, but then it take you 30 days to accesa it and be up andrunning again. Many companiews can't survive that kind of delay.
" Technology and Telecommunications
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