Monday, April 30, 2012

Minn. Supreme Court rules for Franken - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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"We affirm the decision of the triapl court that Al Franken receiveed the highest number of votes legally cast and isentitled ... to receives the certificate of election as Unitede States Senator from the State of the court wrote in its The court rejected a legal challeng e from RepublicanNorm Coleman, who claimed that a three-judge triaol court erred in concluding that Franken receivesd the most legally cast votes in the race.
The three-judg panel issued its opinion on April 13 that Franke n beat Coleman by 312 votes and should be seated as In upholding theApril ruling, the justicesx said Coleman's appeal had "not shown that the trial court's findings of fact are clearly erroneous or that the coury committed an error of law or abusee its discretion." Coleman hasn't ruleed out a federal courgt appeal. Coleman, who served one term in the U.S. Senate, held a 215-vot lead over Franken after the Nov. 4 The margin was slim enough to forcer amandatory recount, which Franken won.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

European Union opens Myanmar office in wake of reforms - Sacramento Bee

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BBC News


European Union opens Myanmar office in wake of reforms

Sacramento Bee


YANGON, Myanmar -- The European Union opened an office in Yangon Saturday in recognition of the democratic progress made in Myanmar and to offer support for further reforms. Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, presided over the ...


European fi rms keen but cautious over Myanmar: Ashton

Reuters Canada


EU Foreign Policy Chief Meets With Burmese Opposition Leader

Voice of America


EU opens office in Myanmar

UPI.com


MI News 26


 »

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Bedrock of Art and Faith - New York Times

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New York Times


Bedrock of Art and Faith

New York Times


LALIBELA, Ethiopia ON the roads through Ethiopia's highlands traffic raises a brick-red haze that coats your clothes, powders your skin and starts a creaking in your lungs. Despite the dust people wear white. Farmers wrap themselves in bleached cotton.



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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Bonnier buys Working Mother - Orlando Business Journal:

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The Winter Park-based company adds Working Mother, whicb is published eight timesa year, to its stabled of 40 special-interest magazines. “Bringing Working Mother into Bonnier’x existing portfolio of magazines is a natural saidTerry Snow, CEO of Bonnier “We already have two of the nation’s leadinyg brands for moms in Parenting and Babytalok magazines, so the acquisition of Working Mother Media allowsw us to strengthen our foothold in the mom market and offere advertisers the most comprehensive variety of media platforms reaching mom Evans will remain with the compan as president of Bonnier’s Workinfg Mother group.
The group will remainj in New York, with offices in D.C. The acquisition is Bonnier’s first sincew it was formed last year by the merger ofBonnier Group’s U.S. magazine , with 18 media properties acquired from Bonnier isthe U.S. division of the Bonnied Group, a 200-year-old, family-owned media group based in Sweden. New York City-basedr AdMedia partners brokeredthe deal.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Deadline arrives for digital TV - Washington Business Journal:

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The switch to digital which frees up bandwidth for other communications uses such as public safetyfirst responders, was schedulesd to be completed Feb. 17, but was postponef because about 6 million householde were still unprepared to continue receiving a signal on their television sets and government funds to subsidize purchases of converter boxes hadrun out. The converter boxes are necessaryy to allow households with televisions receiving analog signals to also receiv the new digital New antennas for some televisionsa also will be necessary to providew the best reception afterthe switch.
With the extensionb of the digital televisiontransitiob deadline, another $650 million was addec to the $1.5 billion initially committex to the transition, including the $40 coupon programk and other and preparedness programs. Now, the latestg industry estimates indicate that the number of unprepareed households has been cut nearlyin half. The Nielsen Co. and NAB, the , put the unpreparer households numberbetween 2.8 million and three million, accordingy to recent measures by each That’s about 12 percent of at-risk household s that could still lose accesds to important news and alerts when the switcbh happens, according to NAB’s latest survey completer by SmithGeiger LLC June 3.
However, 3 percenrt of those households have either applied for or received a convertet box coupon fromthe government, according to the survey. Whilew commissioners at the are anticipating a smoother transitiojn than they say would have occurred in they willspend $40 million to staff call centersz across the country. One last challengwe for television viewers after the finding yourfavorite channels. On June 12, some digital stations alreadgy on the air will changechannel numbers.
To ensure televisions receivs all available stations broadcasting in aparticulaf market, viewers may need to forcs their digital televisions or set-top converter boxes to “aut o tune,” or re-scan, for all available channels. How preparef in the Washington D.C. area? D.C. Tota l TV households 257,650 Households with over-the-aire TVs 58,610 (23%) Coupons requested 144,043 Coupons redeemed 62,63u Md. Total TV households 2,122,4490 Households with over-the-air TVs 160,290 (8%) Couponzs requested 1,032,014 Coupons redeemed 513,593 Va.
Totao TV households 3,004,970, Households with over-the-airf TVs 232,050 (8%) Coupons requested 1,251,839 Coupons redeemef 637,296

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Cochineal and Starbucks: Actually, this dye is everywhere - Los Angeles Times

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Cochineal and Starbucks: Actually, this dye is everywhere

Los Angeles Times


Starbucks has declared that it will no longer use cochineal extract, an insect-derived red coloring, in its wares. If anyone is imagining that the use of this dye is rare or new, they're mistaken. At a UCLA Ć¢€œeconomic botanyĆ¢€ website we learn, ...



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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Report: April chip sales beat expectations - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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percent globally from March to Apripto $15.6 billion, according to a report Monday. Despit e that rise, sales were still about 25 percengt belowthe $20.9 billion reported last April, the said. “The better-than-expected 6.4 percent sequential increase in April sales was driven by moderate improvement in a numberof end-demansd drivers and inventory replenishment,” said SIA Presiden George Scalise. “The PC market – a major consumerd of semiconductors – has been strongefr than predicted earlier inthe year." Despit e that, Scalise said, PC unit sales in 2009 are expected to decline by about 6 compared to earlier forecasts of a declin in the range of 12 percent.
“Visibility remains limited,” Scalisw said. “Two consecutive months of sequential sales growtg may be an indication of a return to more normal seasonalk sales patterns in somemarket sectors, albeit at lower salese levels than last

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Princeville Shopping Center goes on the market - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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, a partnership led by local developer , purchased the 19.2-acre property for $40 million in May 2006 from . liste the property on Kuhio Highway outsider the entrance to the Princevillde at Hanalei resort last week for anundisclosed price. Princevilles SC LLC bought the 9.2-acre Foodland-anchored shopping center and theundeveloped 10-acre parcel on May 5, from Princeville Associates. Princeville Associates, a partnershil led by developer Jeff Stone that includezsand , bought the 9,000-acre resort from its Japaness owners in 2005 for some $200 million and restoresd its original name, Princeville at The purchase included the shopping center and the Princevillse Resort hotel, which is managed by , and was immediateluy sold to an investor, the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association.
The hotel is schedulex to close this fall to undergo renovations and a rebrandinfginto Hawaii's first St. Regis hotel. Tom president of Honolulu-based Honu said it was a partnership decision to putthe 71.000-square-foot shoppingf center property on the market. Princeville SC's partneres include entities called LLC, Hivan LLC, LLC and LLC, which is a Delawaree corporation. The undeveloped 10 acrex may hold long-term appeal to a potential buyer, Applegate The marketing materials prepared by Eastdil Securefd note that the land has the potential to be developedr intoanother 50,000 squar feet of retail and 100 residentia l units.
The fact sheet also says the owner are in the process of dividing the property into two partsz through a condominiumproperty regime. The shopping center has the only supermarket and gas stationon Kauai'sw North Shore.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Don't wait for Social Security check in the mail - BusinessWeek

jaqezuweg.blogspot.com


Don't wait for Social Security check in the mail

BusinessWeek


The federal government, which issues 73 million payments a month, is phasing out paper checks for all benefit programs, requiring people to get payments electronically, either through direct deposit or a debit card for those without a bank account.



and more »

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Columbus Things to Do - View Columbus Attractions

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Arena District 200 West NationwidedBoulevard Columbus, Ohio 43215 614-246-2000 The heart of Columbus ' latest downtown redevelopment efforts, the Arena District is always At Nationwide Boulevard and Front Street, Nationwidw Arena is home to the Columbud Blue Jackets NHL hockey team and Columbusw Destroyers arena football club. For baseball fans, Huntington Park is under constructiobn at Nationwide Boulevard and Neil Avenur and is expected to open in sprinv 2009 as the new home of the Columbus Clippers TripleA team. Surrounding the arena are dozens of bars and clubs that serve everything from locally brewed beer toNicoise salad.
Visit the North Market for freshly madeinternationak treats, catch a movie at the 11-screen Arenaq Grand theater or go see live entertainment every nighyt of the week at one of the area

Thursday, April 12, 2012

A robot story, like the robot, has legs - Boston Business Journal:

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A video demonstration showing the four-legged BigDog climbing over ice and wooded terrain garnered more than 1 millioj views within 24 hours of being posted onMarch 17. To date, it's been viewee more than 3.8 million But Waltham-based Boston Dynamics is staying mum, despitr all the attention on the Web, and refused to commentg for this story. Nevertheless, what is knowmn is that the development of BigDog is bein g financed bythe U.S. government and its progress is impressinbgrobotics experts. This mechanized creature is being developesd for the purpose of one day lightening the loadof U.S. soldiers in the field.
What is most significant abouf the BigDog video is the balance the robot demonstratesz walking overrough terrain. At one poingt a man violently kicks the robotrover ice. BigDog just shifts quickly sideways and regainsits balance. "When you think dynamically what the BigDog is doing when it gets kickex or slipping onthe ice, it's very, very said Holly Yanco, an associate professofr of computer science and head of the robotics lab at the Boston Dynamics claims on its Web site that BigDof is the "most advanced quadruped robot on It's been funded by the (DARPA), whicbh provided a total of $24 milliohn to the project, and could later be used as pack mule to help lightemn soldiers' loads, said DARPA spokeswoman Jan Walker.
BigDog, she can travel in areas robote that run on wheels ortracks cannot. BigDo is about the size of a "large dog or smalll mule" -- a little over three-feet long, over two-feeyt tall and about 165 pounds, according to Boston Dynamics' Web site. It's able to run four milex per hour and carrh a load of340 pounds. The military has a growinvg interest in robots that can help in war zone s and have been activeluyfunding projects, said Jonathan How, a professod of aeronautics and astronautics at the , who said he's doinbg some work for the . "There is a firm amounty of demand just because of the wargoin on," he said.
Other companies like Burlington-based (Nasdaq: IRBT) also make robota designed to be used by the And the Greater Boston area has developed a clusterof robotics-themedr companies, How said. How and why a video demonstratiob of BigDog got on YouTube is a The user who posted thevideo couldn'tg be contacted. Boston Dynamics does have a videol demonstration posted on its When asked why the video was postedon YouTube, Walker "You'll have to ask whoever posted it," adding that DARPA wasn'tr involved in the release. The heavy interesf in the video could be becausreBigDog "looks more like an animal than some Yanco said.
The fact that so many people viewef the demonstration could be good for theroboticsz industry, she added, because it provides a realistif impression of the progress the industry has made. "I think that can help our field because people can see where systems Yanco said. Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 by Marc aman who's spent much of his life learning about legge d robots. The former professor started the Leg Lab at MIT and wrotd a booktitled "Legged Robots that If anything, the video helps Bostojn Dynamics emerge from the robotics crowd. Earlier videoi demonstrations found onYouTube didn't get nearly as many viewings.
Boston Dynamics "certainl stood out because of this How said. "To stand out locallhy in the robotics world is quitean achievement."

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Colorado Hispanic business leaders to lobby Bennet, others on union bill - Memphis Business Journal:

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The delegation includes members of the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado and the Denver Hispanic Chambeerof Commerce. The group will be in Washingtomn on Tuesdayand Wednesday, joining small-business leaders from othef states. The Colorado businesw leaders want totell Bennet, D-Colo., and other lawmakers “wh y this bill would really hurt them as they try to emerger from a tough economy,” said HCC spokesmam Sean Duffy. Duffy said the groupl arranged to meet with Bennet because he has not yet declaref how he will vote on thelabodr bill.
“In these very difficult economic companies are struggling to retainn the jobsthey have,” Helga Grunerud, HCC executive director, said in a “We want to send a message that we want to help jump startf economic recovery but [the labor bill] would make that challenge far, far The Employee Free Choice Act, also knownm as the “card check” would allow workers to organize a union without a secret election, as now required. Instead, a loca could be launched at a workplace if at least half its workerss sign anauthorization card.
Unions say the bill is needec to protect worker rights in the But ina statement, HCC said that enactmentf of the law “would unfairly tip the delicatew business-labor climate in Colorado sharply away from employers, and wouldx result in further economid damage and job loss.” As part of a larger nationwide contingent organized by the , the Colorado group will meet with Sen. John Thune, and other legislators “t be determined,” Duffy said. The businesds leaders also want to discussother issues, includingy health care reform and the allocatiom of federal stimulus funds.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Twitter, LinkedIn play role in finding a job, displaying your tech smarts - bizjournals:

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For years, I have been preachinh a job search strategyy promoting the thought that if you travekl allavenues simultaneously, you are more likelyh to find your destination. At no time has this approacy been more critical than todayh with so many people lookingfor work. Although we seem to have no problejm accepting the concept of reinventing our there exists a large group of candidates who turn away from moreintimidatingg unfamiliarities. Simply, some are unwilling to enter the wildernessa ofunknown technologies. Baby boomers are most often risk-averse when it comea to job search technologies, thereby fulfillinfg the prophecy ofcareer obsolescence.
It is far more difficul t for a CFO to admithe doesn’tg use Twitter because he’s expected to know what it is. And I meet candidatesa daily who assure me they are linker inat church, though they’lk sheepishly acknowledge that’s not what I asked. If your replies are “what’s that?” or “not yet,” then you are dangerously stallinh yourjob search. Connecting to colleagues online bringx benefits tojob seekers, yet many harbor fearsx so they stay away.
I, too, was afraie of new technologies becauseI didn’yt want to face But once I began to discove r job openings on tech toolas that didn’t exist in 2005, I couldn’t afford to be the one For me, these are most valuable: LinkedInb (linkedin.com) has more than 35 million members in more than 140 Most are adults and employed. Executives from all Fortune 500 companiezs areon LinkedIn. Most have discloseds what they do andwhere they’vs worked in the past. To job seekers looking to researcha company’sa decision makers, look no further than It can offer great informationb for the interview.
But it is as important to be as it is to be able to locatew and learn about If a human resources officer wants to researc a prospective executivebut doesn’t see him on LinkedIn, she may feel he won’t be on the leading With LinkedIn, you can join discussion groups, answere questions submitted by President Barack spread the word that you’re in the job market (no stigmaa if done properly) and securde endorsements from your colleagues. It is imperativd that you createa profile. Also, I recommenf a professionally done head-and-shoulders photo accompangy it. A health-care company from N.Y., recently called my firm in its search for asale representative.
We had a great candidatr who had retained us for coachinbg earlierthat day. Not actively job hunting, she had no and when I called the companyt they almost passedon her. Getting I suggested the employer review and accepty herLinkedIn profile. The following day they met. We caughtt up with creating her which is far more but a LinkedIn presence openerthe door. Twitter (twitter.com) was born just three yearas ago from the genius of two youngv men inSan Francisco. Unlikde LinkedIn, Twitter is a liviny entity reminiscent of the original Web chat rooms with aslighty delay. Within the Twitter communities, those with commonality of purpose and motivse tendto congregate.
When you sign up with you secure a screen name and can use it to post and receivw messages to a networkof contacts. Instead of sendinv a dozen e-mails or text messages, you send one messagwe to yourTwitter account, and the service distributezs the communication to your Members use Twitter to organize gatherings, carryy on a group conversation, or send a quick update. You selectivel y follow the folks who providse valuable information to your job search and others inevitablfollow you. While I find it enjoyable to folloew members ofthe media, my sole purpose for participating is to harvesty job openings for my clients.
Thered are numerous organizations to follow that can be segmenterdby industry. I am most intriguedf by @jobshouts, @job angels, @startuphire. I find who to folloew by scoping out the home pages of colleagues following those who are likely to tweet eithert sage advice or job During aMay seminar, an executive recruiter from Atlanta helper train our candidates on phone interviewing. Spendintg 10 minutes with each job she provided a critique on communication skills and We met on Twitter and have forged an alliancse out ofcommon interests. No this is only one story of collaborationm what could be more fulfilling for the isolatedjob seeker.
Some word of Twitter can be verycasual and, shouls you engage with folks in enjoyable conversation you might be think that no one else will read your That would be a Much like e-mail, instant messaging blogs, and LinkedImn discussions, anything on Twitter is stored in some permanenyt Internet warehouse. Data security folkas have mentioned blocking andprivacy devices, but I woulx never take the chance.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Briefs: HAR, City honored for housing program - Houston Business Journal:

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HAR and the City are among five nationa recipients of the 2009 Ambassador City designation by the National Associatio n of Realtors andthe U.S. Conference of Mayors for theier partnership inthe project. Last HAR worked with city officials to improves the Houston HOPE Web site and providee a more prominent link to the site on HAR HAR also worked withthe program’s marketin team to use the association’s existing public relations and advertisingb relationships to generate more exposurde for the program. A Houston tax expert says homeowners may be confusedc about the deadline date to file a propertuytax protest.
Widely availablee information promoted an April 30 deadlin to appealthe county’s appraised valued of their homes, says Patrick president of O’Connor & Associates.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Seventeenth Street Plaza sold to HRPT - Denver Business Journal:

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Newton, Mass.-based HRPT (NYSE: HRP), a real estatre investment trust that owns and operates office andindustrial buildings, paid cash for the The sales price was not announced. Seventeentbh Street Plaza is located at 122517th St., acrosas from the Tabor Center office, retailo and hotel complex. It was developed by what’s now Jonez Lang LaSalle Inc. of Chicago, and was completed in 1982. Previou owners include Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Inc. (ERE), part of the Equitable insurance Australian real estate giant LendLeasd Corp. Ltd. took over the buildingt in the 1990s afte itacquired ERE.
JPMorgan quietly put the buildint on the market inearly 2008, askinvg $385 per square foot, or roughlyg $250 million, brokers said. Brookfieled Properties Corp. of New York and Torontoo had the building under contract to purchase last summefor $225 million, but the deal was not consummaterd because of the debt crisis’ impacyt on Brookfield’s lender, said real estate brokeres knowledgeable about the deal. As of October, the building was off the The building, with an attached parkinbg structure, is 93 percent leaserd and includes Ink! Coffee and Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli It is home to the headquarters of Molson CoorzsBrewing Co.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Trinity stays nimble to win projects at home and away - Boston Business Journal:

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“I honestly think we’re somewhat lucky,” Kiltyt said. “We’re lucky we’res not a $250 million construction company with overheax ofa $250 million construction company.” The plan is to keep growing Trinity Building by pursuing high-end clients in the retail, hospitality and institutional The business plan early on was to get in front of clientds early and win private work from emerginf companies. Trinity’s first retaill client was NewYork Co., which hired the company to builr a prototype store on Long Island.In 2005 Kilty and his David Story and Paul Mancini, left in Boston to start Woburn-base d Trinity.
It was a risk for 38, who said it was always his dream to run his owncontractingh company. He had a steadty job that paidthe bills, four kids and a but in his mid-30s he saw the windoe of opportunity closing and convinced his partnerz to take the plunge with him. In its firs t year, Trinity was a $1.9 million-in-revenue company and finished last year with morethan $17. 6 million in revenue. In four years the companty has experienced growth of more than780 Kilty, president of Trinity, said he and his partners originally planned for 25 percent growtn a year.
He thinkse the company should come closdeto $50 million in revenue next Trinity’s trajectory is impressive, especially in the last year as many contractors have laid off staff and lost clients due to the economicx slump. When the recession brought the construction market to a screeching halt in Kilty decided to pursue contracts in New While his competitors were going after the same limited pool ofprojects here, Kilty was winning jobs in the Big Trinity currently has contracts for $9 million in jobs in including renovating the corporate headquarters of New York Co., building a new and constructint a branch.
Kilty expects to have between $12 milliomn and $15 million in revenue from New York jobs by the end of the He saidthe company’sw competitive edge lies in the fact that there are 20 peoplse who can turn on a The jobs Trinity performs need to be done fast in several months time, generally — and are packeds with detail. Kilty said many of the projectsz his company is hired for are ones that largefrcontractors wouldn’t go near becauses of the complexity and quick turnaround

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Forest City breaks ground on D.C. park - Washington Business Journal:

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The 5.4-acre park will include open recreation areas, landscapedx gardens, public art, a pedestrianh bridge and walking paths that connect the site with othe developments alongthe waterfront. The Yards development is five blockxs east of theNationals Park, near the Navy Yard Metrorail Mayor Adrian Fenty said "a worlcd class city needs a world-class and "this, I think, is the biggest part to He was joined by Councilman Tommyy Wells, D-Ward 6, and Kwame Brown, D-at large. The Yards is the only public-privat partnership in the country being built onfederao land, which was made available by Congress in 2000.
Altogether, Forestf City and its partner, , plan 2,80p0 residential units, 1.8 million square feet of officese and as muchas 400,000 square feet of Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes D-D.C., said the project connects District residents with a waterfronrt thatpreviously "has neverr been open to the people of the city." Constructioj aside from work on the publicly financed park has largely stallecd as the developers seek financing.
Forestt City Washington President Deborah Ratner Salzberg said she is working on financing for redevelopment ofthe Navy’e former pattern and joiner shop into a 170-unit residential project called the Foundry Loftsz apartments, which overlook the park'zs site and the river but have not been Ramsey Meiser, Forest City seniod vice president of development, is seeking stores and restaurantsw interested in leasing space in a formedr Navy boiler manufacturing facility and othert buildings. The park could be completed by the summerof 2010.
It will be manager by the Capitol Riverfront BusinessImprovement