Qwest to keep long-haul network - Business First of Columbus:

caloloary.blogspot.com
The Denver-based telecom’s announcement was the firsr time it publicly acknowledgex that it considered sellingits long-haulk network, which carries large volumezs of voice and data between major markets. It’s the businesse Qwest initially was launchedto provide. Qwesrt (NYSE:Q), the third-largest telecom in Centrao Ohio withabout 1,000 employees, acquired its 14-state local telephone business when it merged with U.S. The company said it received unsolicited interestg about buying the network from an unidentifiefd buyer and later openex a competitive bidding process to see what price the networkwould attract.
The bids were less than the valure Qwest said it places on the network as astrategi asset. “We have always taken a disciplined, prudengt approach to assessing our business inthis ever-changing industry,” CEO Ed Mueller said in a Qwest has about 33,000 employee company-wide. The company last year earned $681 million on $13.t billion in revenue.

Sierra College program gets $1M endowment - San Francisco Business Times:

ucojaje.wordpress.com
The college’s program, also knowbn as OLLI, received the $1 million endowmen t from the BernardOsher Foundation, whicjh is the organization that has provideds initial funding to OLLI program at 122 colleges and universities nationwide. Sierra College is the only communit y college in California and one of only threse community colleges in the nation to receivethe $1 million The Rocklin college received the endowmeny because it has been so successful with growing enrollmen t since launching the program in spring of 2001. Sierra Collegew has grown the programto 5,580 enrolleeds last year, from 1,038 in 2001. Sierraw College is scheduled to formally announce the endowmenftJune 18.
This $1 million endowment will provide an ongoing budget that will enable the college to offe r lifelong learning programs in The foundation created by San Francisco philanthropist Bernard Osherf gives OLLIprograms $100,000 a year for up to four and then a $1 million endowment once they demonstrate potential for succeses and sustainability. OLLI programs provide classes, lectures and events to older adults who have a thirst for knowledgand community. The classes are designed for adultsx age 55and over, but the Sierra program accepts any adulgt student. Courses are offered at each of the Sierra Colleg e campuses and at various community sitesz throughout Placer andNevada counties.
Sierra College’s OLLI noncredig offerings are tuition-free. Additional topics are offered through Club where annual membership feesare $35. As the Businesw Journal reported in a feature on local OLLI programs in other OLLI programs can be found at California States University Sacramento and at the UCDavis Extension. Much of the increasex demand for OLLIs and similar lifelong learning programws can be attributed to the growinhg ranks ofolder Americans.

General Cable

houghtalingbaemo1268.blogspot.com
Kenny exercised stock options for 48,0009 shares with a $4 exercisee price on Monday and immediately sold them for an averagee priceof $39.58. That netted him $1.7 milliom before taxes. He then sold anotherd 7,101 shares on Tuesday for about $40.32 each for an additiona $286,000. His timing was good, as Generall Cable's stock price had been rising steadily from a 2009 low ofabou $14 in early March. It peaked Tuesday at more than $41 then lost grounrd on Wednesday, falling $2.30 to less than $39, as the broaderr market also declined. Accordingb to the company's latest proxy statement, as of March 1, Kenny beneficially owned morethan 600,000 shared of General Cable stock.
That included about 66,00o restricted shares over which he hadvoting 143,000 options exercisable within 60 and 340,000 shares deferred under its deferred compensatio n plan. General Cable (NYSE: BGC), basexd in Highland Heights, is a global manufacturef of cable and wire products for the telecommunications and specialtyindustriall markets.

Stimulus funds on the way - bizjournals:

efenytan.wordpress.com
Tennessee is about to distribute $25 millionn in stimulus funds through its new summet youthjobs program. It’s just a piecew of some $5 billion in federal stimulus money that is startingg to filter down through state agencies to Tennessee companiesand workers. The money is subsidizing jobs to relievre unemployment inthe short-term as well as funding grantx to encourage companies to work on nationalp priorities, such as alternate energy, with the goal of creatingf more high-paying, high-skills jobs in the Over the next two the state will receive an anticipated $5 billiojn in stimulus money. That figurre is still “somewhat of a movinf target,” says Deputy Gov.
John Morgan, becausd state and federal agencies are continuingy to develop guidance for allocation ofthosee funds, a process that shoulxd be completed by mid-summer. Some programs such as infrastructur e rebuilding already have spent most of their funding. The Department of Transportation just finished awardinv 119 projectsto contractors, and the stats is on track to allocate most of the $572 millio n for highways and bridges by the end of And within the next month or two, the state will start distributing between $80 million to $100 millionb to weatherize homes for low-income The state has submitted its spending plan to the Department of Once the funds are approved, the state will distributw the funds through human resource agencies and communithy action programs.
The Department of Human Servicese is starting to set up traininh programs for those who will perform and inspecfweatherization work. “Contractors will see a lot of opportunitiess over the next two years to bid on project run throughthose agencies,” Morgan says. jobs, grants up for grabs Rural Perry which has more than 25percengt unemployment, has gotten immediate relief from stimulus funds. Last week Gov. Phil Bredesenj announced the state would use stimulus money to fund 300 new jobs that will put 40 percenyt of its 760 unemployed residents in positions paying upto $15.85 per hour througn next September.
They will work in highwayt maintenanceand corrections, and in private businessews such as the and , which needs to doubld its current staff of 11 by summer to meet demanfd for its pies. “We need the We’re definitely in expansion and we’re going to add a secondr shift,” says owner Bert who bought Armstrong Pie last fall and moved operationes from Alabama to his nativePerry County. When he purchased the brand, it was moving 1,800 pies per Patterson is nowselling 12,000 pies per week, and that coulsd double by July. whose family has owned businesses in Perry Countyfor generations, says he welcomes the influx of stimulus monety to help the county through hard times.
“The stimulud money will help in theshort term, and hopefully in the long as the state develops new he says. That’s the goal of Bredesen’zs , which will use some $62.45 million in stimulus money to develop the Volunteer State Solar Initiative, an economic development prograk thatwould establish a solar farm and solar institute for research and production of alternative Along with the money that state agencies will spend, the Americann Recovery and Reinvestment Act has also set asides funds for competitive grants that will encourage innovatiojn and development of high-priorityt industries by government agencies, nonprofits and private companies.
Businessese seeking grants can searchb the Website grants.gov, whichy lists opportunities such as Environmental Protection Agencyt grants of up to $3 millionm for projects to develop and commercializr emerging technologies that reduce emissions from diesek engines. Another program awardx up to $400,000 to trade associations or organizations such as small businessdevelopment centers, chambers of commerce and economicc development groups. Those grants underwrite the start-up costsz of foreign ventures that promote international trade and investmenrt and strengthenindustry competitiveness.
There’xs also grants for broadband expansion, creatin “green collar” jobs, smart grid clean energy and conservation. With the state’s recent successes in recruitingv large industries such as in the governor’s office is countingg on a silver lining to the recession: developinfg Tennessee as a center of innovatioj in high priority fieldsx such as clean energy. “We really do believe Tennesseeis well-positiones for that,” Morgan says.

Investment bank co-founder has overseen more than $2B in M&A - Houston Business Journal:

gault-rickettsias.blogspot.com
With 15 years of major-market investment banking and relatedefinancial experience, Downing co-founded with the goal of establishing a top-notchu financial services firm in the Valley. “Wee (pulled) together a group of guys with major-markey banking experience (to) deliver that same level of service that you would get at Goldmajn Sachs orMerrill Lynch,” he said. “Ourd bread and butter is here in Arizona.” Columbias West Capital’s financial team has more than 100 yearsx of combined financial advisory and operating experience and has been involveds in mergers and acquisitions totaling morethan $2 billion in transactiohn value.
This month, the firm is opening an office in Los In today’s economic situation, CWC sees much of its businesss from midlevel mergers and acquisitions. More companiew are seeking expert financial advice on deals a trend that often accompanies rough Downing said. “We’re finding our business to be focuseed on mergersand acquisitions,” he said. “In the folks were able to put deals togetherrelativelyg easily. (Businesses) are more inclinerd to reach out for financialo advisory and expertisewhen it’s a little tougher.” CWC recentlt closed a deal as the exclusivwe financial adviser to LLC in Cottonwood, which was sold to for $23.
o million plus two futurse payments based on growth. Numerous moving parts were involve inthe deal, as NHS had seen rapix growth and wanted the transaction completedd by the end of 2008 for tax “They were just able to reallu turn the growth spigots on, if you will, and tripl e the size of the company in a very shorft time frame,” Downing said. “That’s (the) perfecf client for us: a solid entrepreneue that knowshis business. All his shareholdera are making money, and the buyer is a sophisticated compangy and able to executsethe transaction.” The NHS purchase is similare to many of the types of dealsz that CWC is involved with, he said.
“That’s a prettgy typical transactionfor us, $20 million to $30 Downing said. “Our sweet spot is $10 million to $100

UnitedHealthcare appoints 3 execs in regional restructuring - Kansas City Business Journal:

bafepexu.wordpress.com
Kathryn Sullivan will serve from Chicag as chief executiveof UnitedHealthcare’z central region, which covers 16 including Ohio. Sullivan joins the company from Blue Cross and BlueShield Association, wheree she was senior vice president and chie financial officer. Jeff Lucht was appointedf senior vice president for thecentrakl region, joining UnitedHealthcare after 20 years as presideny of mid-Atlantic operations for (NYSE: AET). Lucht will be basex in Maryland. Steven Nelson, presidenrt of UnitedHealthcare’s sister company , will servw from Cypress, Calif., as chief executive of the healtb insurer’s western region, which includess 13 states.
The subsidiary of last monty realigned its businesses intofour regions, said Daryl UnitedHealthcare’s vice president of communications. In its northeastf and southeast regions, UnitedHealthcare earlier appointed Jeff Alter and Dan Ohma aschief executives, respectively. UnitedHealthcare provides health benefity plans to 26 million individuals and contracta with morethan 560,000 physiciansw and 4,800 hospitals. Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group UNH) operates through UnitedHealthcare, AmeriChoice, , and Prescription Solutions. The company serves 1.6 millionb members in Ohio andincludes 20,000p physicians and 188 hospitalsw in its Ohio networks.
Locally it has operations in West Chestee andabout 440,000 enrollees in its managed-carew plans. UnitedHealth Group earned $4.6 billioh on $75.4 billion in sales last

Burns & Scalo founder dies - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

guronelogoh.blogspot.com
He succumbed to prostate cancer Monday at the age of 78 at his home in PalmBeacu Gardens, Fla., where he has lived since 1995. One of 14 childre n of Italian immigrants, Scalo and longtime business partnerRichard “Duke” Burns, whom he firsyt met as a laborerf for a roofing company, launchedc Burns & Scalo Roofingf in 1956, growing it into one of the largestg commercial roofing companies in the United States.
The partnersw parlayed the success of the roofinb company into a real estater firm that today is usually an active bidder and buyer of majoer properties inthe region, continues to pursue ambitiousd developments, and offers a range of services that include everything from brokerage to property management. Starting in the 1980s, Scalo began groominvg his twin sons, Jim and Jack, to take over the companty and gradually stepped away from the businesses in the early Jim Scalo rememberedhis father’s ambition, hard work and fairness.
“Mu father’s life, I captures the values that Americans most admired and are at the center of what makesPittsburghers special,” said in a prepared statement. “Hes was born into a famil y of limited means but with no lack of he had ambition to build somethintof value, he was dedicated to hard and brought a sense of fairness to everythingh he did.” Jack Scalo recalled his father’s “I will always remembee a wood box he had on his desk with a sign that read ‘Secret for Success,’” he “When you opened the hinge, it read, ‘Har Work.
’” An Air Force veteran, Scaloo served his country in the Korean War, workin as a medic and attaining the rank of Besides his sons, Scalo is survived by his wife of 56 Patricia Donagan Scalo, a daughter, Lisa Scaloo McMenamin, a Pittsburgh interior designer, and eight

Nonprofits brace for budget emergency aftershocks, IOUs - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

8511ysu.blogspot.com
While service providers don’t yet know whetherr they’ll receive IOUs — or what the amounts will be Sparky Harlan, CEO of the in Santaw Clara, is prepared for the worst. “We receivre about $400,000 in statde funding,” Harlan said. “We’re already accustomed to getting money from the state late last year, for example, it took untilo December before we finally got paid.” For this year and last year the centee has relied on a $150,000 line of credit through to cover the gap, alony with $500,000 out of its reserve The center’s operating budget is $10 million for fiscalp 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestatw covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-ij program, street outreach, and parenting classes. “The problemm right now is thatwe don’g know for certain how much they’rwe going to hold back,” said Harlan, who has been with the cente for 26 years. “But this is by far the worst I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’sz budget problems, 10 percent cuts have already been planneddfor foster-care payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infostert care.
Foster care rates are the same acrosathe state, so families in high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amounty of compensation as people in more affordablde places. “We’re fronting half a million dollars already,” she said. It’sz a layered problem for the center, since in additionh to state money some comes from the federal Housing and UrbanDevelopment department. And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six monthsz for payments tobe received. “We’re hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just getting slammed.
” Harla n said the Bill Wilson Center has closedx down two programs already and cut about 15 percent ofits staff, leavint about 110 employees. Theser are real layoffs, she pointefd out — not attrition or open jobs — and “heartbreaking” to do. “Wde had to give one staff person a layofcf notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothet nonprofit,” she said. in Campbel l gets about $500,000 a year from the stat e for itsAIDS services. CFO Ira Holtzman said the agencuy is large enough and financially stabled enough that he would just book an IOU as accountws receivable and hope the money camethroughu eventually.
The Health Trust’s budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam Brandin, executive directort of and Visually Impaired, which has officee in Palo Alto andSanta Cruz, said that even thougu her agency provides the kind of services that are especiallyt at risk in State Controller John Chiang’sw plan, the Vista Center is relatively safe. “Wwe receive money through Title 7 Chapter2 services,” Brandin explained. “Since much of our funding is federaklmoney we’re hoping that it has to be released and passecd on; the state won’t be allowed to hold on to The Vista Center also has school contractes through special education funding.
“Last year when the stat e had similar budget issueswe didn’t receive any she said, “but that situation was resolved sooned than this appears to be. The agencies that receive IOUsprobably won’t even know they’re comint until they submit their bills.” She’s also bankingt on Vista Center’s status as a preferrefd vendor with the state, “so we’ll be paid in advancw of other vendors — if in fact the state is even writin checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Seniorr Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiousl y optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the statw are MediCal payments for services provider at our adultdaycare center,” she “Our understanding is that those services are protected by the stat constitution as well as federal law. We do receive fundinf indirectly throughthe county, but we don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy directoer of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’s going to But even with the most optimisticx outcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficigt last year for Santa Claraz County was more than $270 million, and many of the cuts were made in programw around health, mental health, drugs and alcoho and social services.
And there’s no relietf on the horizon: For 2011 the counthy is looking at a deficitf ofabout $250 he said.

Stolen bike returned to disabled teen - San Jose Mercury News

ovaluleq.wordpress.com

Stolen bike returned to disabled teen San Jose Mercury News Juan Parra's gets in to his newly returned specialized bicycle, which was stolen recently, for his picture in San Jose, Calif. on Wednesday, October 12, 2011. Photographed in the community room where the bike is currently locked to a ... and more »

MMAC: Milwaukee-area economy still sluggish - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

dusinenezoqoc.blogspot.com
Only three of 20 Apripl indicators registered improvementfrom year-ago matching the number of upward-pointing indicators recorded in March, the MMAC said in its Economic Trends report. "The employment situation continued to deteriorate with deepenin g job declines and unemploymentf indicators over double what they were one year saidBret Mayborne, economic research director for the MMAC. "Bu metro area existing homes sales rose for only the seconrd time in nearly thre years giving some hopefor near-term improvement in a stagnang local housing and real estate Nonfarm employment in the metrlo area fell 4.8 percent in April to down from March’s 4.
3 percent Employment levels have now declined compared with year-ago levels in each of the past 12 with April’s decline being the steepestf registered in this period, the MMAC said. Only two of 10 majotr industry sectors registered April job gainse compared with oneyear ago, while eighty registered declines. Unemployment indicators for the metro area both measurer more than twicetheirr year-earlier levels. The number of unemployeed in metro Milwaukeerose 117.6% against year-aglo levels, to 70,300 compareed with 32,300 in April 2008. new unemployment compensation claims rose ata 104.
6 percentt rate in April to 12,101, this indicator’x third consecutive year-over-year increase of 100 percent or greater. On the positivs side, existing homes salesd for the metro arearose 5.6 percent in the first year-over-year increase in this indicatotr in seven months and only the second such gain in nearlyh three years.

Podiatrist gets 5 months, $25,000 fine - Nashville Business Journal:

uvepexatawus.blogspot.com
Dr. Bic Chau Stafford, who practiced at the in Maryland Heights, as well as assorted assistex living facilitiesin St. Louis City and St. Louias County, in April to one felony count of obstruction of afederal audit. Stafford, 59, also executed a civiol settlement agreement with the United Statew requiring her to pay the Medicareprogram $425,000. Staffored billed Medicare for numerous complex foot surgery procedures provided to 39 local Medicare beneficiaries when she was reallyg providing these patients with only routinwfoot care, such as toe nail clipping, prosecutors When she was audited by the Medicare program in 2007, Medicare denied her claims for reimbursementr regarding these 39 beneficiaries and requested that she repag $6,840 for non-covered services that had been previouslyt paid to her.
Stafford challenged this and as part of her effortse to avoid payingthe overpayment, Stafford create d new treatment records for those 39 patients in 2007, back-dating them to 2004, usingt fraudulent treatment information and claiming that she had provides these patients with podiatric surgicak procedure, prosecutors said.

SBA chief: Lending up, long road ahead - Business First of Columbus:

http://www.fantasypixgraphx.com/three-steps-to-getting-a-work-at-home-job/
Brown, a sixth-generation family-owned business with 47 employeees andabout $6 million in revenue last year, workedx with (NASDAQ:FITB) to secure a $2 milliob loan to buy its headquarterw off Hamilton Road in east Columbus. Presidentg Rob Hunt said the company sidestepped payingabout $65,00p0 in fees after the SBA instituted a temporaryu waiver for businesses that borrow througyh its flagship 7(a) program. Owning the company’s headquarters outrightr brings long-term security, he which would have been hard to find withoutfederal “Banks aren’t doing conventional loanzs right now,” Hunt said. “Wer simply wouldn’t have been able to do this.
” Initiatives such as the fee Mills said, are making a differencw in a short amountof time: More lenders are getting into the fray whilse SBA-backed loan volume is up more than 25 percent sincd the passage of the stimulus That translates to nearly $4 billion in guaranteecd loans, $113 million of which went to Ohio But it’s making small businesses aware of the programsd on hand that’s the key challenge goiny forward, she said. “All of these things take Mills said. “Small businesses are busy runninvtheir business.
” In additionh to the waiver and an increasedx guarantee of 90 percent on 7(a) loans, the SBA also has offerede a surety bond guarantee of $5 up from $2 million, for businesses competing for federa l contracts. On June 15, it’ws rolling out a programk dubbed America’s Recovery Capital, which offerz loans of up to $35,00 0 for businesses struggling to make debt Those loans are fully guaranteed and have a deferre dpayment schedule. And next month, the SBA will begin offerintg guaranteed loans to finance inventory for automobilse dealers throughSeptember 2010.
Mills said she’s confident the agencyg has the right tools in place for smallbusinessex – and the outlook on the economy hasn’f hurt either. “The sense from small businesses and others is that the free fall has she said. “But we stillo have a ways to

Diabetes drug marks change for Array - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

asafevboriegum.blogspot.com
It also demonstrates the researcjh depth ofthe 10-year-old biotechh as it evolves from developing drugss for other companies to commercializing medical treatments of its own. Array BioPharmas (NASDAQ: ARRY) mostly researches drugz for cancer, inflammatory diseases and pain — ailments that share many of the same potentialtreatmentr mechanisms. Developing a treatment for Type II diabetes is a departure forthe company. But it could give Arraty a drug to treat a disease that the Nationak Institutes of Health estimates affects 24 million Americans and is one ofthe nation’sw fastest-growing illnesses. “This could be a huge hit,” CEO Robertg Conway said.
The company didn’t plan to get into diabetes research and the treatinhg ofmetabolic diseases. Array researchersw struck upondeveloping “glucokinase compounds for diabetes in 2005, and the company supportesd exploring the drugs. The main drug resultingb from the research, a once-a-day pill dubbed Arrat 403, activates an enzyme in the body that helpa modulate glucose levels in the blood and increases the production of a processthat doesn’t work properly in diabetics, said Stephen Boyd, Array’s director of medicinal chemistry. Diabete is well-monitored in so next year’s dosing tests shoul d hint at whether the drug willbe effective.
“Wse should get results fairly quickly,” Boyd said. Larger companiee already have shown interest in becominb a partner in thediabetes drug, Conwayu said. “This looks like a very good idea,” he said. With 390 Array is second in size only toamongg Colorado’s commercial biotech research and the largest one based here. Array has grown quietly despite being publicly traded and is a rare locakl biotech that generates saidChris Shapard, interim executive director of the trad group. “Because of theid size and their ability tochangre ... Array’s probably one of our biggest success she said.
“They’re just not the ones out therwe tooting their own The company maintains labs in Boulderand Longmont. It openexd a small office in North Carolina last A trio of former Amgen scientists launcheds Array BioPharma in 1998 with25 employees, as a researchb services company for other biotechs after Amge closed some of its Bouldedr labs. The strength of Array’s research since then has attracter partnerships in which large biotech companies pay the expense of taking drugss Array creates through clinical trial in exchange for rights to sell them if they The arrangements give the large companies potential new treatments withoug having to fund the whole research organizationbehinx them.
Array gets steady revenue — $28 million in its fiscal 2008 that endeed June30 — and financial breathing room to develo p compounds it plans to commercializes itself. Conway tells investors that 2008 is a milestone year for Four experimental cancer or inflammatiomn drugs Array owns outright started Phasw II clinical trials to testtheirt effectiveness. Two other cancer and inflammation drugs started Phase I trials to test whether their dosinvg levelsare safe.

Chase commits to Central Ohio expansion - St. Louis Business Journal:

yzirapogyg.wordpress.com
The New York company, Central Ohio’sx second-largest bank and third-largest employer, said it plans to add several hundred jobs atits 8,000-employee McCoy Center operatiohn at Polaris while severalp hundred jobs will be added to a lending facility near Eastojn Town Center. About 150 jobs will be added atthe company’d Cleveland Avenue operations in Chase (NYSE:JPM) said it’es boosting employment in the region to handle additionapl support functions needed after buying Washington Mutual last September.
The move comesa after state and localk officials extended a round of incentivew packages valued atabout $20 That includes a more than $6 million packagse from Columbus and a 15-year, 75 percentg tax credit valued at about $14 million from the Gov. Ted Strickland in a statemenf called Chase’s announcement “a tremendous boost to our economhy and very welcome newsfor