Wis. Dems ask stations to pull attack ads featuring "Morgan Freeman" voice - Pioneer Press

http://bmin.org/whatsnew.html

Wis. Dems ask stations to pull attack ads featuring "Morgan Freeman" voice Pioneer Press Narration that sounds suspiciously like it came from Morgan Freeman can be heard in a new TV ad attacking Shelly Moore, the Democratic challenger in the state's 10th District recall election. The ad is paid for by Citizens for a Strong ... and more »

Botanical Garden's cycad collection gains national recognition - UC Berkeley

http://xybuxawyxy.wordpress.com/

UC Berkeley

Botanical Garden's cycad collection gains national recognition UC Berkeley The University of California Botanical Garden has been recognized for its stunning cycad collection, joining an exclusive club of three other gardens in the United States so singled out by the North ...

AT&T unit wins case over claims coverage - Dallas Business Journal:

gavrilovaefivu.blogspot.com
At issue in the case involvinfg was whether an insurer was obligated to cover a clai m by Prodigy even thoughg Prodigy failed to give notice to theinsureer “as soon as practicible,” as was required by the Prodigy is an Internet servicee provider that, through a seriea of acquisitions, became AT&T Internetr Services some years ago. In part because the insurancecompany wasn’t harmed by the delay, the court ruled that the insurer — Agricultural Excesxs & Surplus Insurance Co., now known as Great Americamn E & S Insurance Co. and — had to covert the claim.
“Unfortunately, we had lost in the triakl court and inthe (Fifth District) Court of Appeals,” says Werneer Powers, a litigation partner in Dallas at Hayneas and Boone who represented “It took the Texaxs Supreme Court to get it right.” Powersw worked on the case with Charleas C. Keeble Jr., of counsel at Haynes and Boone. “Thde Supreme Court of Texas decided to createnew law,” says Joe a partner in the Chicago office of Walkedr Wilcox Matousek LLP, who represented the insurance company.
The case is significant for businesseas of all sizes becausee the policy at the center of the casewas what’z known as “claims meaning claims receive coverage only if they are brough t to the insurer’s attention during the time when the policu is in effect (or in a set periosd after the policy expires). Certain types of insurancd policies thatbusinesses buy, including directorsa and officers, and errors and omissions coverage, tend to be claims-madse policies. In a decision last year in a case callesPAJ Inc. vs.
, the state Suprem e Court ruled that insurere must provide coverage in policies when the insured gives late notic ofa claim, as long as the insurerr was not harmed by the delay. Occurrence-basef policies pay for claims that occur when the policuy isin effect, regardless of when the claimj is made. Commercial general liability policies for business, as well as home and auto coveragr for consumers, are occurrence policies. “This was a major extensionb ofthat doctrine” established in PAJ vs. Hanover, Powerws says.
Normally when companies have D&O or E&O claims, “there’ds always a concern about the immediacy ofreportinb (the claim) to the (insurance) says David Metzler, the Dallas-basedx chairman of the Insurance Coverage and Litigation Practice Group at Cowles & Thompson. The Prodighy case may give companies a little breathing room onthat But, Metzler adds, “your general practice should be to reporg (the claim) as soon as you can.
”

St. Louis men admit to mortgage fraud scheme - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

http://marketingcircle.net/3-internet-marketing-secrets-you-cant-ignore.html
Russell Todd McBride, of Creve Coeur, and Robertr Wrolstad, of O’Fallon, were charger in a 34-count indictment, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Reap said McBride was an operatorof , which had offices locatec in Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, St. Louis Countgy and elsewhere. Wrolstad worked with McBride and for Centuryh Mortgage and helped close real estate transactions and work withtitls companies. The scheme, which occurredx from at least July 2005 and continued throughNovembet 2006, involved investors recruited by McBridre and Wrolstad purchasing real estate primarily located in Sikeston.
The ownersx of the real estate would sell the properties at or near fair markeg value to investors recruiteed by and known to McBride and Wrolstad but the investors paid prices significantlyh greater than the actual selling price received by the sellers forthe properties, accordint to the indictment. The investors would purchas the property at a fraudulen t and overvalued price by obtaining loanzs to purchasethe property. McBride and Wrolstad obtainerd appraisals, which significantly overvaluedthe properties, whicy enabled them to receive inflated loan proceeds despitew having no interest in the conveyed real estate, the indictmentt alleges.
In one case a purchaser paid $66,00o for a property that the seller sold for andin another, the purchaser paid $54,000 for property that the sellerf sold for $15,000, according to the McBride and Wrolstad pleaded guilty to one counf of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail 12 counts of wire fraud and 12 countsz of mail fraud. In addition, McBride pleaded guilty to six counts ofmoney laundering, and Wrolstad pled guilty to three counts of money Each count of wire fraud and mail fraus carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonmentr and a $250,000 fine; each count of moneg laundering carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 The conspiracy count carries a maximum punishmentr of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 Sentencing is scheduled for Aug.
17 for Wrolstad and Aug.1 8 for McBride.

Take stock in sales process to avoid getting burned - Orlando Business Journal:

qozadaunu.blogspot.com
He spent three months working onthe sale, and if he got it he woule make quota, get his bonux and finally be able to take his Michelle, on that trip to Europ he had promised her for years. Charlie had no reasohn to doubt the salewas his. The experiencesd salesman for ABC Corp. knew Greg, the customer’s purchasing agent, for most of a The two often spent long afternoons on the back playing golf and sharing stories aboutgtheir families. Both had two kids graduatintg fromhigh school. When they met last Thursdayh for drinks, Greg did everything but promise Charlis that the order was inthe bag.
But when Charlise heard the toneof Greg’s voicwe on the line, he knew something was terribly “Charlie, I did everything I coul and until about four days ago I was sure that my recommendatiomn to give you the order was a shoo-in,” explainer Greg sheepishly. “But the CFO and the executivd vice president of marketing intervenedr and decided that the sale should go to XYZ Your pricewas better, but the sales rep at XYZ, Tom Robinson, showed us how his approacg would increase our cash flow and revenur growth. Tom also had some good ideas that our executive vice presideny of marketing said would help us to differentiatweour brand. I’m really disappointed.
In I need to do a realit checkon myself: I can’t help but wonde r if I’m losing credibility in the eyes of the Greg confessed. Charlie had seen Tom Robinson more than once atthe customer’ office talking with people Charlies had never met. “We had the cutting-edge technology, the lower price and better cost savingsfor Greg’s company,” Charlies thought to himself. “ was sure we would win. But Tom somehow beat me to the Charlie feltdeeply disappointed, but for the firs time, he also felt anxious. His wife told him that the phonde call seemed to age himfive years.
For the past 12 Charlie has been on the receivinyg end of four similar calls all from those whom he had known and trustedfthe longest. Suddenly, fear struc k him to his ­marrow. He doubted himself in a way thathe hadn’gt for a very long time. “Have I lost my he wondered. He knew he had just lost his his bonus and that trip to buthe didn’t know whether he would still have his job this time next Nobody bats a thousand, but when you keep losinfg sales ­despite having great products and services, it’a time to take a step You have to reconsider what you’rde trying to accomplish and how you’re goinyg about doing it.
In fact, it might be time to reinventt the wayyou sell. Consider that the traditionalp salesprocess hasn’t changed much for more than a hundredd years. Its roots are in a time when supplied were tight and suppliers heldthe cards. Orders were booke months in advance and anxious for a steady supply of material and lackingv informationabout availability, had little room to negotiated price. Salespeople were basically order takers, but that now is the exceptio and notthe rule.
As the number of supplier has increased, salespeople have evolved from ordedr takersto ambassadors, plying their sociapl skills to learn what a customer needs and using their product knowledge to preseny products and services to match those needs. This is a grea time to take stock of your sales processd to avoid walkingin Charlie’sz shoes.

This Unit Definitely Has a 'Purpose' - New York Times (blog)

yjanebixe.wordpress.com

This Unit Definitely Has a 'Purpose' New York Times (blog) Remember the book “The Purpose Driven Life”? A new division of a major public relations agency is being driven by purpose. The MSL Group, part of the Publicis Groupe, is forming a specialty practice in New York c »

UNCC honors Rodgers Builders CEO - Charlotte Business Journal:

hustenuejib1630.blogspot.com
The Charlotte-based company has worked on several university projects, including the Barnhardt Student Activity Center, Irwim Belk Track and Field Center, Lynch Residencs Hall and the Bioinformatics Research Center. Rodgerse Builders also is the constructiom manager onthe university’s new, $50.4 million Center City Building projecy that is slated to open in the fall of 2011. A groundbreakint ceremony was held in April for the classroom building at the corner of Ninth and Brevared streets inuptown Charlotte.
“What sets Pat apart from most is her she remains personally invested in the institutions and organizationsz she touches long after her formal involvemenfthas ended,” says Philip Dubois, UNC Charlotte “Her commitment to the betterment of our communitgy extends to her businesds philosophy. In fact, Rodgers Builders has been haileds time and again as the epitomeof civic-mindedr business.” Rodgers is also chair of the Charlotts Symphony board and will assumr the chairmanship of the Charlotte Chamber board in 2011. The universitgy established the Distinguished Service Awardin 1987.
It honors individuals who have provided outstanding leadership and service to the Charlottre community and to the advancement ofUNC Charlotte. Rodgersz was honored Tuesday during a luncheon at the UNC Charlotte isthe fourth-largest campus among the 17 institutionds of the UNC It is the largest institution of higher educationn in the Charlotte region, offerinvg doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s programs. Fall 2008 enrollment was includingnearly 5,000 graduate students.

Carl Cohen leaves SendTec board after two months - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

ykyhola.blogspot.com
Carl L. Cohen, who joined the board last October to replacee aresigning director, himself resigned effective Dec. 19. With the Cohen was to serve until SendTec’s 2009 stockholder’es meeting but instead served a little more thantwo Cohen’s resignation comes less than two weeks after Paul Dzera left SendTec’s (OTC BB: board following a nine-month run. Dzerza and Stephen Marotta joined the board in Marcb after Robert Beauregard and RobertHusseu resigned. Dzera and Marotta are principald at LLC in New a to provide operational and financial Cohen replaced Marottain October. New members to fill the seats of both Dzera and now Cohenremain unfilled.
SendTefc reported a profit of $623,000, or 1 cent per in the third quarterendee Sept. 30. That was up from a $4.4 million, or 8 cent per loss the year before. Revenue, however, dropped from $7.4 millionm to $5 million over that same time SendTec shares were tradingat two-tenths of a penny even with its previous day trading but down slightlt from its open. Shares for SendTec had traded as high as 22 cent s over thepast year.

Food, advertising industries call voluntary guidelines unreasonable - Los Angeles Times

http://gipnotizer.com/Hypnotizers/Bag-Of-Gemstones/

Food, advertising industries call voluntary guidelines unreasonable Los Angeles Times FTC advertising guidelines encourage advertisers to promote healthy foods to kids, as well as limit fat and sugar in order to combat childhood obesity. Food, beverage and advertising industry reps say doing so could mean job loss for many. ... and more »

bizjournals: The small business owner's guide to the presidential election -- bizjournals

tosece.blogspot.com
John McCain and Barack Obamz have fundamental differences on how to do McCain emphasizes the role that low tax rates play ineconomic growth, while Obama thinks government investmentsx in targeted areas, such as alternativr energy and the creation of new are important. Both, however, will be constrained by fiscalprealities -- the ballooning federal deficigt and the still-uncertain cost of the nation's financiaol crisis. They may have to drop or defe r large chunks oftheir agenda. For businesses, one thingg seems clear: Companies will face more governmentg regulation.
Both candidates are "likely to be big said Veroniquede Rugy, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason This report looks at how the outcome of the electioh could affect small businesses in four key taxes, health care, energy and the rulees governing union organizing. John McCain claims Barackk Obama wants to raise taxes onsmalp businesses. That is true if the businesx owner makes morethan $200,00 a year (or $250,000o per family). Obama has proposed increasingf personal income tax ratews for the top two income brackets to what they were durinbg theClinton administration: 36 percent and 39.6 percent.
Ratews for other income brackets would be unchangedunder Obama'xs plan. Earnings at most smalol businesses are passed through to their owners for tax purposew and are taxed at individual incomwtax rates. Only 2 percent of taxpayerzs with small business income will pay taxes at the two highest ratesin 2009, according to the Tax Policy Obama's proposed tax hike, therefore, would affect relatively few smalk businesses. These small business, however, are "ab important slice of the small business saidTodd McCracken, president of the National Small Busines Association.
They tend to be higher-growth smalo businesses that create more jobsthan lower-income companies, he "You don't want to give those people reasons to do unproductives things," such as sheltering their income. A business ownef who makes about $300,000 a year probably puts $100,00 0 of that back into the saidDewey Martin, a certifiefd public accountant in Hampden, Maine, who represents about 125 businesw clients and also chairs the accountiny department at Husson College. "If you take money out of theif pockets, they're not going to be creatinfg jobs," Martin said.
Obama also has proposed tax cuts forlower - and middle-income Americans, however, so most small businesses wouldc pay lower taxes under his plan, accordinf to his campaign. McCain has proposed making the rate cuts adoptecd during the Bushadministration permanent, including the 15 percenf rate on capital gains and He also proposes reducing the corporater tax rate from 35 percent, which he says is the second-highesty rate in the developed world, to 25 percent to make U.S. businesse s more competitive. John McCainh and Barack Obama would go in opposite directionzs when it comes tothe employer's role in providing healthn insurance.
McCain's health care plan would encourage individuals to buy insuranc e ontheir own. Health benefits provided by employers wouldr be taxedas income. Individuals would receivse a $2,500 refundable tax credit ($5,00 for a family) for health insurance premiums. They would be able to purchas any plan offered anywhere inthe

Red Hat gets on Verizon Business

qalymeled.wordpress.com
The Raleigh company’s Enterprise Linux applicatioh is one of two platforms onwhich Verizon’s Computing as a or CaaS, solution will run. Microsofr Windows is the other system. Many technologyu companies are betting on the promise of cloud in which software is loaded on servers that can beaccesserd online, or “in the clouds.” The cloud also allowds companies to access huge amounts of server power when they need to crunch massive amounts of data. Becausw they won’t have to spend as much mone on in-house servers, firms expect to cut coste and operatemore efficiently.
Verizon’ds CaaS solution is targeted at businesses and governmentr agencies and allows firmsx to manage theirIT resources, including servers, networ and storage. Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) is among the world’s leadingg providers of software and services forthe open-sourcde Linux operating system. The Linux sourcw code is open to developers around the worlsd toupdate – in sharp contrast to Windows, whos source code is kept secret by Microsoff (Nasdaq: MSFT). Red Hat makes money by selling its versions of such as Enterprise Linux for and signing customers up for service andsupport plans. Verizon Business is a unit of telecommunicationasgiant (NYSE: VZ).

Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle faces further scrutiny - Houston Business Journal:

http://rpggamestop.com/index.php?cat=Games+for+Boys
The bank’s primary regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has given the bank a preliminaryt statusof “undercapitalized,” according to a regulatoryu filing Wednesday. The bank had alreadgy that it hada $467 million capital deficiency at the end of as a result of sourefd investments in mortgage-backed securities. The Home Loan Bank now has 30 days to submitt additional financial information before the agency makes a finap determination about itscapital levels. If the bank’s statusd remains “undercapitalized” by regulatory standards afterthat time, it will have to map out a plan to increaser capital levels and will also face tougher oversight.
That couldf mean restrictions on stock purchasess anddividend payments, according to the Federal Housing Financee Agency. It’s unclear how increasedd regulatory oversight will affect the HomeLoan Bank’zs 380 member financial institutione that rely on the bank for low-cost fundinyg to lend to consumers. The bank declined to