http://createyourscreenplay.com/articles2.htm
The report from New York Smalll Business United for Health Care indicates surprising levels of supporgtfor options, along with a stronger role for governmentr in making the health-care system work and a willingness amontg small business owners to contribute their fair share for good healtyh care. Key findings of the reportr say small business owners are strugglinbg to keep up with the rising costs of healtjh care and are deeply concernedd about not only affordability but also the qualityt of healthcoverage options. • 63 percent of respondents say they’re williny to contribute financially toachievre quality, affordable health care for their while 9 percent said they were not.
64 percent indicated a willingness to contribute 4 percentr to 7 percent of total payroll costs in place ofcurrenrt health-care costs to guarantee quality coverage. Among self-employed 76 percent expressed interest in buying into a statewidee ornational health-care pool. In a prepared release, Buffalko business owner Althea Little, owner of Hair to Go said she’s willing to contribute for healtb care that puts service and valur ahead of insuranceindustry profits. “I believe we need a quality public option sowe can’t be held hostagw by the industry any more,” she said. The report was bases on a survey of 202 small businesses acrossthe state.
It includes profiles of smallkbusiness owners’ experiences with healthy insurance and perspectives on proposals for The State Senate’s finance committee is workinb on health-care reform legislation. New York Small Business Unitef for Health Care is made up of a coalition of smallk businesses working to improve health care for smalp businesses in New It is a project of Make the Road New alocal community-based organization affiliated with the national .
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Jordan Lake compromise expected to hold in Senate - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:
http://www.disabilityhistory.net/newsfall06.html
The bill would force cities including Greensborio and Durham to step up efforts to reduce pollution in the reservoirf near Durham and in the Haw Riverf and other watersheds thatfeed it. But the compromise approved by members of the statse House last month extended the timeline for certaih requirements ofthe clean-up process. The goal of the Jordah Lake rules is to addressnutrient build-ups that cause algae bloomds in the lake, as well as taste and odor problemz in drinking water that comes from the lake and various othere environmental concerns. The Haw, which winds through Guilford andAlamance counties, is one of the main water sourcesd for the lake.
The strategies intended to reducde pollution levels range from the establishmen t of buffer zones along the riverd and tributaries to fertilizerapplication standards. But real estater developers andcity governments, including Greensboro’s, objecterd that the costs of applying the new standards would be too high. The compromiss involves putting certain planning and public education initiativexs in motion within a few monthe but holding off on stricter controls on the Haw until and then only if the waterstill doesn’t meet pollution standards.
The state’s also couldn’t force local governmentsd to make extensive and costly alteration s to existing hard surfaces like parking lots tocatch run-ofv until those areas are redeveloped. “We like it a lot with such changes inthe bill, said Kenney deputy director of water sources for the city of “It’s a more adaptive approach that will let us do some thinges first to see if that’s effective rather than doing everything rightf up front. It givea us more time to plan.
” McDowell said Greensborpo won’t be seeking any specific amendmentsz to the compromise bill that is now before theSenatew Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources committee, though he said he wouldn’t be surprisecd if private development interests do look for more But Marlene Sanford, executive director of the , also won’ty be pursuing specific changes to the saying her organization is “abouf as satisfied as we’re going to get.” There will likelg be further debate at some point on how to apply rulea to new construction, an issue she said the compromisee doesn’t address, but that may come in the form of a different bill.
But the additional time allowesd in the current proposal should allow for needed pollution reductionsd before the stricter controlskick in, she “A lot can happen between now and 2017 and there’sx no guarantee, but from the modeling we’vs done it looks like we shouldd be OK in the she said. Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for EnvironmenyNorth Carolina, has been lobbying from the othedr side of the table throughout the lengthy negotiations with She said she preferred the original version of the bill but does not inten to try to walk the compromise back at this point.
“We think the compromise is a step forward for water qualitg for Jordan Lake and the rivers and streams that feed into she said. “It preserves the pollutionj reduction goals that areso However, she said environmental groups will be watchiny to see if developers try to weaken rulesx covering new developments in the Senatee version, and would oppose any such efforts.
The bill would force cities including Greensborio and Durham to step up efforts to reduce pollution in the reservoirf near Durham and in the Haw Riverf and other watersheds thatfeed it. But the compromise approved by members of the statse House last month extended the timeline for certaih requirements ofthe clean-up process. The goal of the Jordah Lake rules is to addressnutrient build-ups that cause algae bloomds in the lake, as well as taste and odor problemz in drinking water that comes from the lake and various othere environmental concerns. The Haw, which winds through Guilford andAlamance counties, is one of the main water sourcesd for the lake.
The strategies intended to reducde pollution levels range from the establishmen t of buffer zones along the riverd and tributaries to fertilizerapplication standards. But real estater developers andcity governments, including Greensboro’s, objecterd that the costs of applying the new standards would be too high. The compromiss involves putting certain planning and public education initiativexs in motion within a few monthe but holding off on stricter controls on the Haw until and then only if the waterstill doesn’t meet pollution standards.
The state’s also couldn’t force local governmentsd to make extensive and costly alteration s to existing hard surfaces like parking lots tocatch run-ofv until those areas are redeveloped. “We like it a lot with such changes inthe bill, said Kenney deputy director of water sources for the city of “It’s a more adaptive approach that will let us do some thinges first to see if that’s effective rather than doing everything rightf up front. It givea us more time to plan.
” McDowell said Greensborpo won’t be seeking any specific amendmentsz to the compromise bill that is now before theSenatew Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources committee, though he said he wouldn’t be surprisecd if private development interests do look for more But Marlene Sanford, executive director of the , also won’ty be pursuing specific changes to the saying her organization is “abouf as satisfied as we’re going to get.” There will likelg be further debate at some point on how to apply rulea to new construction, an issue she said the compromisee doesn’t address, but that may come in the form of a different bill.
But the additional time allowesd in the current proposal should allow for needed pollution reductionsd before the stricter controlskick in, she “A lot can happen between now and 2017 and there’sx no guarantee, but from the modeling we’vs done it looks like we shouldd be OK in the she said. Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for EnvironmenyNorth Carolina, has been lobbying from the othedr side of the table throughout the lengthy negotiations with She said she preferred the original version of the bill but does not inten to try to walk the compromise back at this point.
“We think the compromise is a step forward for water qualitg for Jordan Lake and the rivers and streams that feed into she said. “It preserves the pollutionj reduction goals that areso However, she said environmental groups will be watchiny to see if developers try to weaken rulesx covering new developments in the Senatee version, and would oppose any such efforts.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Rosen Kia to expand Milwaukee dealership - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
http://miamifilmschool.net/news/2006/2006-001.php
Owner Saul Rosen received approval last week from the Milwaukee Boars of Zoning Appeals to proceed withthe $1 million-plus projecty at 5575 S. 27th St. The board needed to review Rosen’a plan because it was an intensificatio of a special use previously approved by the Rosen said he will raze the existiny Kia showroom and beginh construction on the new structure bylate fall. He said the project will take about nine months to complete andadd 5,0009 square feet of floor space as part of a new showroom-designj program from the Korea-baseed automaker. While car sales were down 4.
8 percent in the Milwaukee metropolitan area the first half ofthis year, saleds increased for brands noted for fuel including Kia, according to , which tracks vehicle registrations. “Our Kia business is up closse to 10 percent this year in Rosen said. Rosen also owns an adjacent Nissa dealership and six dealerships in the Chicago He said he opened the first Kia dealership in Wisconsim about adecade ago.
Owner Saul Rosen received approval last week from the Milwaukee Boars of Zoning Appeals to proceed withthe $1 million-plus projecty at 5575 S. 27th St. The board needed to review Rosen’a plan because it was an intensificatio of a special use previously approved by the Rosen said he will raze the existiny Kia showroom and beginh construction on the new structure bylate fall. He said the project will take about nine months to complete andadd 5,0009 square feet of floor space as part of a new showroom-designj program from the Korea-baseed automaker. While car sales were down 4.
8 percent in the Milwaukee metropolitan area the first half ofthis year, saleds increased for brands noted for fuel including Kia, according to , which tracks vehicle registrations. “Our Kia business is up closse to 10 percent this year in Rosen said. Rosen also owns an adjacent Nissa dealership and six dealerships in the Chicago He said he opened the first Kia dealership in Wisconsim about adecade ago.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Budget deal includes impact fee freeze, may include property tax cuts - Denver Business Journal:
http://moondancefilmfestival.com/01_welcome.mission.html
The state could have a budget by earlu next week that closesa $4 billioh budget deficit. The budget deal includesa a $250 million repeal of a state property tax item that was temporariluy repealed in 2005 but would come back next yearwithouty action. There were some murmurs at the stater Capitol thatthe “equalization rate” property tax item mighyt not be in the budget But advocates of the tax repeal -- includingt Tim Lawless, state president of the -- say it is stilkl in there.
Some criticzs of the budget and opponents of repealing the equalizatiom rate questioned Friday whether it will be in the finap budget document which could be voted on early next week but has not beenfullhy disclosed. The budget pact also looks to cut secondaryg commercial property tax rates from 20 percent incrementally to15 percent. Secondary property taxes are assessments on commerciap owners that special hospital andother no-bonds cities and other government entities take out for variouse uses. Lawless said that secondary cut and the equalizatiom rate repeal will helpthe state’s The budget deal also callsd for a two-year freeze on development impact fee increases.
City governments throughourt the state and Valley assess the fees on home buildersz and developers to help offseyt the costs oftheir projects. The and NAIOP had pusheds for a three-year moratorium which would have temporaril zeroed out local impact but the budget compromise includezs a freeze which allows existing ratesz to stay in place but bars increasese fortwo years. City governments have opposed the The propertytax changes, along with a proposed flat-rate personal income tax, are aimed at bringingg more Republicans into a Brewer-backe budget deal that also includes a referendum askint voters to approve a three-year, one percentag e point increase to the state’s 5.
6 percent sale tax.
The state could have a budget by earlu next week that closesa $4 billioh budget deficit. The budget deal includesa a $250 million repeal of a state property tax item that was temporariluy repealed in 2005 but would come back next yearwithouty action. There were some murmurs at the stater Capitol thatthe “equalization rate” property tax item mighyt not be in the budget But advocates of the tax repeal -- includingt Tim Lawless, state president of the -- say it is stilkl in there.
Some criticzs of the budget and opponents of repealing the equalizatiom rate questioned Friday whether it will be in the finap budget document which could be voted on early next week but has not beenfullhy disclosed. The budget pact also looks to cut secondaryg commercial property tax rates from 20 percent incrementally to15 percent. Secondary property taxes are assessments on commerciap owners that special hospital andother no-bonds cities and other government entities take out for variouse uses. Lawless said that secondary cut and the equalizatiom rate repeal will helpthe state’s The budget deal also callsd for a two-year freeze on development impact fee increases.
City governments throughourt the state and Valley assess the fees on home buildersz and developers to help offseyt the costs oftheir projects. The and NAIOP had pusheds for a three-year moratorium which would have temporaril zeroed out local impact but the budget compromise includezs a freeze which allows existing ratesz to stay in place but bars increasese fortwo years. City governments have opposed the The propertytax changes, along with a proposed flat-rate personal income tax, are aimed at bringingg more Republicans into a Brewer-backe budget deal that also includes a referendum askint voters to approve a three-year, one percentag e point increase to the state’s 5.
6 percent sale tax.
Friday, September 24, 2010
St. Louis Business Journal:
http://www.tradeleadscenter.com/buy/Minerals_Metals_&_Materials__minerals
But just because businesses ownere know they shoulddo it, that doesn'y mean they are doing it. Jeff Porter runs the data management forum for the Storage NetworkingIndustry Association, an international standards organizatio for electronic storage companies. He said therd hasn't been a noticeable increase in the number of businessews backing up their filessince "I don't think it takes a lot to convince people now of the need to back theid files up," Porter said. "But it's stillo very difficult to convince them totake action." He said that's because it is such a tedioud task.
Even though there are plentu of firms that specialize in storingyother companies' information, the nature of the processs demands hundreds of "executive" hours, accordin to Porter. "It's not so much the cost that keepse companies fromdoing it," Porter "It's the fact that the company'sz decision-makers have to spend their own time figuring out what needw to happen. It's something that can't be delegated. " But Porter, along with other nationapl organizations, say there are several steps companies can take to make the proceses less ofa hassle. Before a companyh even starts looking for a third partystorage vendor, it needs to figure out what information is vita enough to be stored.
"There has to be a formalizee collaborationbetween management, operations and any business partneres involved," he said. "Don't expect it to be a quick It's going to take a lot of meetings between a lotof divisions." Once a company figurex out what information needs to be kept safe, Porter said it must decid how the information shoulde be stored. He explained that there are differing degreezs of access to the information for a For example, an insurance company would want recent claim to be more accessible than those made 10 yearws ago. Porter said that once this is a company can start looking for astorage vendor.
He said the best plac to start searching is throughhis organization's which he said is unbiased and neutral. Other tradee organizations, such as Enterprise Content Managementr Association, also represent hundreds of storage vendors and make those listsavailablee online. Porter also recommends getting customer reviews and making sure a vendo r hasgood press. He said if possible, a company shoulf test a vendor out by doing small trial installations. Porter explained that companies oftemn use more thanone vendor. "Some vendorxs are better for storing long-ter m information," he said. "Others are better at giving youimmediater access.
You have to find the righgt fit for each portion ofdata you're storing. " To get the lowest cost, Porter said many companieds try to get several vendors into abidding war. "But cost isn'f the most important thinhg here," he said. "If something happened and you had to depens onthe vendor's services to stay in business, the last thint you'd want is to have compromiserd quality just so you saved some costs.
" When it comes to how far away a company should electronically store its backup 15 miles used to be the rule of But after the widespread destruction of Katrina, expertes say information should be storec in geographic 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 improvements, according to is how often a company should test itsbacku plan. He explained that many Katrina-affected companies had backul plans, but discovered they were out-of-date when the disastefr actually hit.
"A business is constantly evolving," he "And, consequently, so are your backup needs."" Porter said a company should, with the assistance of its refresh its backup plan atleast annually. He said many companieds actuallytest quarterly, dividing the process up into separat divisions. But Porter said the biggest mistakedcompanies make, and one that Katrinza highlighted, is that they focud too much on storage and not enough on recovery. "Wheh you initially sit down you need to figure out how fast you need to recovet whensomething happens," he "You may back everythingb up properly, but then it takes you 30 days to accessx it and be up and runningv again.
Many companies can't survive that kind of delay. Computers, Technology and Telecommunications
But just because businesses ownere know they shoulddo it, that doesn'y mean they are doing it. Jeff Porter runs the data management forum for the Storage NetworkingIndustry Association, an international standards organizatio for electronic storage companies. He said therd hasn't been a noticeable increase in the number of businessews backing up their filessince "I don't think it takes a lot to convince people now of the need to back theid files up," Porter said. "But it's stillo very difficult to convince them totake action." He said that's because it is such a tedioud task.
Even though there are plentu of firms that specialize in storingyother companies' information, the nature of the processs demands hundreds of "executive" hours, accordin to Porter. "It's not so much the cost that keepse companies fromdoing it," Porter "It's the fact that the company'sz decision-makers have to spend their own time figuring out what needw to happen. It's something that can't be delegated. " But Porter, along with other nationapl organizations, say there are several steps companies can take to make the proceses less ofa hassle. Before a companyh even starts looking for a third partystorage vendor, it needs to figure out what information is vita enough to be stored.
"There has to be a formalizee collaborationbetween management, operations and any business partneres involved," he said. "Don't expect it to be a quick It's going to take a lot of meetings between a lotof divisions." Once a company figurex out what information needs to be kept safe, Porter said it must decid how the information shoulde be stored. He explained that there are differing degreezs of access to the information for a For example, an insurance company would want recent claim to be more accessible than those made 10 yearws ago. Porter said that once this is a company can start looking for astorage vendor.
He said the best plac to start searching is throughhis organization's which he said is unbiased and neutral. Other tradee organizations, such as Enterprise Content Managementr Association, also represent hundreds of storage vendors and make those listsavailablee online. Porter also recommends getting customer reviews and making sure a vendo r hasgood press. He said if possible, a company shoulf test a vendor out by doing small trial installations. Porter explained that companies oftemn use more thanone vendor. "Some vendorxs are better for storing long-ter m information," he said. "Others are better at giving youimmediater access.
You have to find the righgt fit for each portion ofdata you're storing. " To get the lowest cost, Porter said many companieds try to get several vendors into abidding war. "But cost isn'f the most important thinhg here," he said. "If something happened and you had to depens onthe vendor's services to stay in business, the last thint you'd want is to have compromiserd quality just so you saved some costs.
" When it comes to how far away a company should electronically store its backup 15 miles used to be the rule of But after the widespread destruction of Katrina, expertes say information should be storec in geographic 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 improvements, according to is how often a company should test itsbacku plan. He explained that many Katrina-affected companies had backul plans, but discovered they were out-of-date when the disastefr actually hit.
"A business is constantly evolving," he "And, consequently, so are your backup needs."" Porter said a company should, with the assistance of its refresh its backup plan atleast annually. He said many companieds actuallytest quarterly, dividing the process up into separat divisions. But Porter said the biggest mistakedcompanies make, and one that Katrinza highlighted, is that they focud too much on storage and not enough on recovery. "Wheh you initially sit down you need to figure out how fast you need to recovet whensomething happens," he "You may back everythingb up properly, but then it takes you 30 days to accessx it and be up and runningv again.
Many companies can't survive that kind of delay. Computers, Technology and Telecommunications
Thursday, September 23, 2010
BB&T to repay TARP - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:
nazariomuibepu1687.blogspot.com
BB&T CEO Kelly King said his bank will move quickl y to exit the portion ofthe government’s Troubled Asset Relie f Program or TARP that had providec $3.1 billion in capitakl in return for preferred shares of BB& stock last November. “This is an important achievementfor BB&T,” King “Repaying the government’s investment will give us greater flexibilitu to benefit significantly from future opportunities that will be availablr as we emerge from this Winston-Salem-based BB&T will record a charge of $48 milliob in the second quarter of this year, whicuh reflects the difference between the amortizede cost of the preferred stocl and the repurchase price.
The repurchase should not have a materiakl impact onquarterly results, the bank said. BB&T is among many institution s that accepted the money made available by the government to banks durinyg the height oflast year’s financiakl collapse, when other sources of capital that could fund loan to support the economy dried up. The Treasur Department did not identify the bankd it had given permission to repay their but others that have announced their approval themselves include Morgan Stanley, U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial and American Express.
BB&T CEO Kelly King said his bank will move quickl y to exit the portion ofthe government’s Troubled Asset Relie f Program or TARP that had providec $3.1 billion in capitakl in return for preferred shares of BB& stock last November. “This is an important achievementfor BB&T,” King “Repaying the government’s investment will give us greater flexibilitu to benefit significantly from future opportunities that will be availablr as we emerge from this Winston-Salem-based BB&T will record a charge of $48 milliob in the second quarter of this year, whicuh reflects the difference between the amortizede cost of the preferred stocl and the repurchase price.
The repurchase should not have a materiakl impact onquarterly results, the bank said. BB&T is among many institution s that accepted the money made available by the government to banks durinyg the height oflast year’s financiakl collapse, when other sources of capital that could fund loan to support the economy dried up. The Treasur Department did not identify the bankd it had given permission to repay their but others that have announced their approval themselves include Morgan Stanley, U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial and American Express.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Google Transparency Tool Shows Where Content is Blocked, Down - PC Magazine
http://www.donalfagan.com/?p=778
AFP | Google Transparency Tool Shows Where Content is Blocked, Down PC Magazine ... about the number of government inquiries Google has received for information about users or requests for Google to take down or censor content. ... Google report shows where its content is blocked Google Says Brazil, Libya Make Most Demands to Pull Content From Internet Site Shows Government Intervention on Google Services |
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