bhutan-warwick.blogspot.com
Whatever the outcome, productio n will continue on planes that have yet to be deliverefd from aprevious F-22 ordetr that was closed in the government’s 2008 fiscao year. In general, the F-22 will be serviced by some type of Lockheedx engineering base for the next30 years, said Joe a spokesman for Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “We will fulluy support the U.S. government’s final decision, whatever the numberf turns outto be,” Lockheed Martin said The F-22, which is considered one of the nation’s top combay fighter jets, is under the umbrella of Fort Worth-based Lockheesd Martin Aeronautics, which has 1,800 locak employees working on the F-22 program.
Stoutg said Monday if the governmenyt decides not to purchase additionalk orders in the 2010 fiscal year employees working in the program will start to feel the effectw of that decisionnext year. Stout said the governmenr previously approved an order of more than100 F-22as in the 2008 fiscal budget, and the majorityg of those planes have been delivered — with otherse still pending. He added that it generally takes a few yearss for the matriculation process to complete when movingh a plane through the sale phase to the construction anddeliverty phase. Supporters of ending the F-22 orders includr President Barack Obamaand Sen. John R-Ariz.
A final decision has yet to be When a program is phased outat Lockheed, Stout said employees working in the programk may have the option of moving to other programs.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
5 Who Thrive: Aloha Salads grows by staying true to its mission - Portland Business Journal:
sunrise-invoices.blogspot.com
The signature salad dressings are amonhg the reasons forthe company’s success. Aloha Salads continues to despite theweak economy, and is expectes to gross more than $1 milliob this year. A third location is set to open in Juneat , followecd by another in the by There are plans to franchise Alohaa Salads nationally. And a California food group has agreed to bottle four of the six salad dressingds forretail distribution. The Lufranos’ success is due to a numbeer of factors. They open stores only in high-profile locations and form businesds partnerships withtrusted people. They also sticmk to their core mission, which is to served quick, healthy foods using local ingredients.
Now theirr goal is to expand strategicallyg in anticipation ofthe economy’s rebound in 2010. “Ws have to continue reinventing ourselvees to keep things fresh for customers and attract new as well,” Chris “We’re not going to rush in. We’re goingb to make sure we make the righty decisionsmoving forward.” Careful growth has been the company’sd philosophy from the In December 2004, aftetr seven years away from the Lufranos returned to Hawaii from Chicago, where she was a patenty lawyer and he worked in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locations on Oahu and experimented with recipezat Sara’s parents’ home in Kahala. The coupler opened their first Aloha Salad in May 2006 ina 440-square-foot space in the , usingf personal capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteerd by the U.S. Small Business The company’s creative salads — “Aloha “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” instantly drew loyal customers. One customer was local contractorFreddie Franco, owner of BEK whose building credits include Waikiki DFS Neiman Marcus and Tony Auto-plex.
He struck up a friendship with the Lufranos and two yearsz later helped design Aloha second locationin . The mall which opened in March 2008, briefly experiencerd a double-digit drop in sales after health-food chain Wholde Foods opened nearby late last Sales have climbed sincde then but are slightlybeloww target, Chris said. Franco, now an equal partnee in the company, provideds the capital to build the Kapolei location set to opennext “Kapolei should be really good because there’x nothing out there,” he said. “We’ve been getting lots of callds askingwhen we’re going to build in theire area.
” The 1,200-square-foot store is uniqued in that it will have wine pairings with saladxs and a mezzanine levek for dine-in customers, Franco said. As Aloha Salads continuews to expand, the ability to quicklu change menu items to fit tastes willbe important. For instance, roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailuwa store have been replaced withpastramui sandwiches. Periodically introducing creative menu itemse also is crucial to This month, the Kahalq Mall location began serving “design-your-own” organic coffees, fruit bowls and fresh-squeezes juices. The response has been overwhelming, and there are plans to servd breakfast inother locations.
“We really care about the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’rs eating and don’t realize there could be so manygood
The signature salad dressings are amonhg the reasons forthe company’s success. Aloha Salads continues to despite theweak economy, and is expectes to gross more than $1 milliob this year. A third location is set to open in Juneat , followecd by another in the by There are plans to franchise Alohaa Salads nationally. And a California food group has agreed to bottle four of the six salad dressingds forretail distribution. The Lufranos’ success is due to a numbeer of factors. They open stores only in high-profile locations and form businesds partnerships withtrusted people. They also sticmk to their core mission, which is to served quick, healthy foods using local ingredients.
Now theirr goal is to expand strategicallyg in anticipation ofthe economy’s rebound in 2010. “Ws have to continue reinventing ourselvees to keep things fresh for customers and attract new as well,” Chris “We’re not going to rush in. We’re goingb to make sure we make the righty decisionsmoving forward.” Careful growth has been the company’sd philosophy from the In December 2004, aftetr seven years away from the Lufranos returned to Hawaii from Chicago, where she was a patenty lawyer and he worked in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locations on Oahu and experimented with recipezat Sara’s parents’ home in Kahala. The coupler opened their first Aloha Salad in May 2006 ina 440-square-foot space in the , usingf personal capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteerd by the U.S. Small Business The company’s creative salads — “Aloha “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” instantly drew loyal customers. One customer was local contractorFreddie Franco, owner of BEK whose building credits include Waikiki DFS Neiman Marcus and Tony Auto-plex.
He struck up a friendship with the Lufranos and two yearsz later helped design Aloha second locationin . The mall which opened in March 2008, briefly experiencerd a double-digit drop in sales after health-food chain Wholde Foods opened nearby late last Sales have climbed sincde then but are slightlybeloww target, Chris said. Franco, now an equal partnee in the company, provideds the capital to build the Kapolei location set to opennext “Kapolei should be really good because there’x nothing out there,” he said. “We’ve been getting lots of callds askingwhen we’re going to build in theire area.
” The 1,200-square-foot store is uniqued in that it will have wine pairings with saladxs and a mezzanine levek for dine-in customers, Franco said. As Aloha Salads continuews to expand, the ability to quicklu change menu items to fit tastes willbe important. For instance, roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailuwa store have been replaced withpastramui sandwiches. Periodically introducing creative menu itemse also is crucial to This month, the Kahalq Mall location began serving “design-your-own” organic coffees, fruit bowls and fresh-squeezes juices. The response has been overwhelming, and there are plans to servd breakfast inother locations.
“We really care about the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’rs eating and don’t realize there could be so manygood
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Nonprofits brace for budget emergency aftershocks, IOUs - Triangle Business Journal:
ivanqukeafelovo.blogspot.com
While service providers don’t yet know whether they’ll receivew IOUs — or what the amounts will be — Sparky Harlan, CEO of the in Santa is prepared forthe “We receive about $400,000 in statee funding,” Harlan said. “We’rse already accustomed to getting money from the state late last year, for example, it took until December before we finally got paid.” For this year and last year the centee has relied on a $150,00p line of credit through to coverr the gap, along with $500,000 out of its reservwe funds. The center’s operating budget is $10 millioj for fiscal 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestates covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-in program, street and parenting classes. “The problem right now is that we don’ t know for certain how much they’re going to hold said Harlan, who has been with the center for26 “But this is by far the worsg I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’s budgey problems, 10 percent cuts have already been plannecd for foster-care payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infoste care.
Foster care rates are the same across the so familiesin high-cost areaw such as the Bay Area get the same amoungt of compensation as people in more affordabled places. “We’re fronting half a millio dollars already,” she It’s a layered problem for the center, sincew in addition 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 monthes for payments tobe received. “We’re hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just getting slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilson Centetr has closed down two programs already and cut aboug 15 percent ofits staff, leaving aboutr 110 employees. These are real she pointed out — not attritionn or open jobs — and to do. “We had to give one stafr person a layoff notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothedr nonprofit,” she said. in Campbelol gets about $500,000 a year from the stated for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is large enough and financially stable enough that he woulx just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the moneuy camethrough eventually.
The Health Trust’sx budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam Brandin, executive director of and Visualluy Impaired, which has offices in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz, said that even though her agency provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in Stat Controller John Chiang’s plan, the Vista Centert is relatively safe. “We receive money throughb Title 7 Chapter 2 Brandin explained. “Since much of our funding is federalmoney we’rde hoping that it has to be released and passer on; the state won’t be allowed to hold on to it.” The Vist a Center also has school contracts through specia education funding.
“Last year when the stat had similar budget issueswe didn’gt receive any IOUs,” she said, “but that situation was resolver sooner than this appears to be. The agencies that receivde IOUsprobably won’t even know they’re coming until they submigt their bills.” She’s also banking on Vistas Center’s status as a preferred vendo r with the state, “so we’ll be paid in advancr of other vendors — if in fact the states is even writing checks.” Lisa president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleinerr Senior Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiously optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the state are MediCal payments for services provided at our adulrtdaycare center,” she said. “Ouer understanding is that those services are protectexd by the state constitution as well asfederall law. We do receive funding indirectly throughbthe county, but we don’t expecrt that to be affected.” Tom Kinoshita, publif policy director of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’s goinfg to happen.
But even with the most optimisticcoutcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficit last year for Santa Clara County was more than $270 and many of the cuts were made in programx around health, mental health, drugs and alcohop and social services. And there’d no relief on the horizon: For 2011 the county is lookint at a deficit ofabout $250 he said.
While service providers don’t yet know whether they’ll receivew IOUs — or what the amounts will be — Sparky Harlan, CEO of the in Santa is prepared forthe “We receive about $400,000 in statee funding,” Harlan said. “We’rse already accustomed to getting money from the state late last year, for example, it took until December before we finally got paid.” For this year and last year the centee has relied on a $150,00p line of credit through to coverr the gap, along with $500,000 out of its reservwe funds. The center’s operating budget is $10 millioj for fiscal 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestates covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-in program, street and parenting classes. “The problem right now is that we don’ t know for certain how much they’re going to hold said Harlan, who has been with the center for26 “But this is by far the worsg I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’s budgey problems, 10 percent cuts have already been plannecd for foster-care payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infoste care.
Foster care rates are the same across the so familiesin high-cost areaw such as the Bay Area get the same amoungt of compensation as people in more affordabled places. “We’re fronting half a millio dollars already,” she It’s a layered problem for the center, sincew in addition 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 monthes for payments tobe received. “We’re hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just getting slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilson Centetr has closed down two programs already and cut aboug 15 percent ofits staff, leaving aboutr 110 employees. These are real she pointed out — not attritionn or open jobs — and to do. “We had to give one stafr person a layoff notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothedr nonprofit,” she said. in Campbelol gets about $500,000 a year from the stated for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is large enough and financially stable enough that he woulx just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the moneuy camethrough eventually.
The Health Trust’sx budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam Brandin, executive director of and Visualluy Impaired, which has offices in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz, said that even though her agency provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in Stat Controller John Chiang’s plan, the Vista Centert is relatively safe. “We receive money throughb Title 7 Chapter 2 Brandin explained. “Since much of our funding is federalmoney we’rde hoping that it has to be released and passer on; the state won’t be allowed to hold on to it.” The Vist a Center also has school contracts through specia education funding.
“Last year when the stat had similar budget issueswe didn’gt receive any IOUs,” she said, “but that situation was resolver sooner than this appears to be. The agencies that receivde IOUsprobably won’t even know they’re coming until they submigt their bills.” She’s also banking on Vistas Center’s status as a preferred vendo r with the state, “so we’ll be paid in advancr of other vendors — if in fact the states is even writing checks.” Lisa president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleinerr Senior Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiously optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the state are MediCal payments for services provided at our adulrtdaycare center,” she said. “Ouer understanding is that those services are protectexd by the state constitution as well asfederall law. We do receive funding indirectly throughbthe county, but we don’t expecrt that to be affected.” Tom Kinoshita, publif policy director of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’s goinfg to happen.
But even with the most optimisticcoutcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficit last year for Santa Clara County was more than $270 and many of the cuts were made in programx around health, mental health, drugs and alcohop and social services. And there’d no relief on the horizon: For 2011 the county is lookint at a deficit ofabout $250 he said.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
ZeaChem to spend $40M on new ethanol plant - Denver Business Journal:
http://salaunfranke.com/?p=79
That was left to million of years ofMother Nature’s work, creating bacteriaq that live and work in the bellies of termitexs around the world. The bacteria, called consume plant matter and churn out acetic which is similarto vinegar. Zeachem marries that biochemicalp reaction with heat for a thermochemical reactiohn that results in ethanol and other chemical product s forthe market. “That lowlg termite — Mother Nature spent a few millionb years making the termite pretty said Imbler, president and CEO of Lakewood-based ZeaChem. “There’s no new bugs, no new equipment. We’rse taking things that alread y exist.
” The first generation of ethanolo used corn asthe feedstock. The second generatiom focused on cellulosicmaterial — nonfoo plants — and used eithefr enzymes or gasification to produce ethanol. The third generation, where ZeaChem lies, uses a mixture of the two, Imbler said. Imbler said ZeaChem’s process produces very little carbon dioxide as a byproducty compared to otherbiofuel processes, and is more ZeaChem’s process produces about 135 gallons of ethanoll for every ton of dry biomass (plan material). Other methods get about 90 gallond of ethanolper ton, he Venture capitalists and refining companiee are taking notice.
ZeaChem announcedr in early January it hadattracted $34 million in a second rounsd of fundraising, giving the company a total of $40 million to builr and operate a demonstration plant in Oregon. The firstt $6 million was announced in summer 2007. The demonstration expected to produceabouft 1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year, is scheduledd to break ground this year and startr operations in 2010, Imblefr said. ZeaChem has 25 employees, half in Denvee and the rest working on research inMenlo Calif. (NYSE: VLO) contributed to the second San Antonio-based Valero is the largest refining company in theUnites States.
ZeaChem was the first investment contractValero signed, throughy its new alternative energy and project development group, Valero spokesmaj Bill Day said. Valero also has investede in , a algae-to-fuel startu p in Fort Collins, which Solix announcexd last November. “It’s a new thing for Valero,” Day said of investinb in alterative-fuel companies. “Wse make and sell motor fuel outof oil. This is an attempty by us to look toward the futur and see what kindof alternative-energy businesws lines there might be. “We concentratef on areas where we think the companies have a viabl e business plan and an ability tomove forward.
” ZeaChem also has funding from Firelake Capital Management LLC, based in Palo Alto, Calif., which investerd in both rounds. “We believe that the ZeaChenm technology offered the highest carbom yield of any of the biofuels that welookesd at,” said Martin Lagod, a co-founder and managing partnef of Firelake, and a ZeaChem board member. “We believd it’s a mistake to focus on biofuelx that require food asa feedstock, and we’vd focused exclusively on nonfood biomass,” Lagod said. Another Denver-area biofuel company to score fundingis Broomfield-based The U.S.
Department of Agriculture gave it a conditional commitment foran $80 million loan guarantee to help build Range Fuels’ first commerciak cellulosic plant in the company announced Jan. 19. Range Fuele will use Georgia’s wood and wood waster from its pine forests toproduce ethanol. ZeaChem uses a combination of biochemistryh and thermochemistry tomake ethanol; Ranger Fuels uses only thermochemistry.
That was left to million of years ofMother Nature’s work, creating bacteriaq that live and work in the bellies of termitexs around the world. The bacteria, called consume plant matter and churn out acetic which is similarto vinegar. Zeachem marries that biochemicalp reaction with heat for a thermochemical reactiohn that results in ethanol and other chemical product s forthe market. “That lowlg termite — Mother Nature spent a few millionb years making the termite pretty said Imbler, president and CEO of Lakewood-based ZeaChem. “There’s no new bugs, no new equipment. We’rse taking things that alread y exist.
” The first generation of ethanolo used corn asthe feedstock. The second generatiom focused on cellulosicmaterial — nonfoo plants — and used eithefr enzymes or gasification to produce ethanol. The third generation, where ZeaChem lies, uses a mixture of the two, Imbler said. Imbler said ZeaChem’s process produces very little carbon dioxide as a byproducty compared to otherbiofuel processes, and is more ZeaChem’s process produces about 135 gallons of ethanoll for every ton of dry biomass (plan material). Other methods get about 90 gallond of ethanolper ton, he Venture capitalists and refining companiee are taking notice.
ZeaChem announcedr in early January it hadattracted $34 million in a second rounsd of fundraising, giving the company a total of $40 million to builr and operate a demonstration plant in Oregon. The firstt $6 million was announced in summer 2007. The demonstration expected to produceabouft 1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year, is scheduledd to break ground this year and startr operations in 2010, Imblefr said. ZeaChem has 25 employees, half in Denvee and the rest working on research inMenlo Calif. (NYSE: VLO) contributed to the second San Antonio-based Valero is the largest refining company in theUnites States.
ZeaChem was the first investment contractValero signed, throughy its new alternative energy and project development group, Valero spokesmaj Bill Day said. Valero also has investede in , a algae-to-fuel startu p in Fort Collins, which Solix announcexd last November. “It’s a new thing for Valero,” Day said of investinb in alterative-fuel companies. “Wse make and sell motor fuel outof oil. This is an attempty by us to look toward the futur and see what kindof alternative-energy businesws lines there might be. “We concentratef on areas where we think the companies have a viabl e business plan and an ability tomove forward.
” ZeaChem also has funding from Firelake Capital Management LLC, based in Palo Alto, Calif., which investerd in both rounds. “We believe that the ZeaChenm technology offered the highest carbom yield of any of the biofuels that welookesd at,” said Martin Lagod, a co-founder and managing partnef of Firelake, and a ZeaChem board member. “We believd it’s a mistake to focus on biofuelx that require food asa feedstock, and we’vd focused exclusively on nonfood biomass,” Lagod said. Another Denver-area biofuel company to score fundingis Broomfield-based The U.S.
Department of Agriculture gave it a conditional commitment foran $80 million loan guarantee to help build Range Fuels’ first commerciak cellulosic plant in the company announced Jan. 19. Range Fuele will use Georgia’s wood and wood waster from its pine forests toproduce ethanol. ZeaChem uses a combination of biochemistryh and thermochemistry tomake ethanol; Ranger Fuels uses only thermochemistry.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Bennet cites Colorado examples in Senate plea for health-care reform - Wichita Business Journal:
budimirukaovyril.blogspot.com
Coloradans, he said, "speak for countleszs others acrossthe nation. All they ask for is a healthj care system that works for a health care systemthat doesn’t crush them with unreasonable cost and a health care syste m that doesn’t deny them coverage just becausd they have pre-existing conditions." Bennet, D- Colo., also touted his own proposalsz to make patient transitionn care more cost-effective and successful. "In Colorado, we haven’rt waited on Washington," he said. "We’ve made real progress in showinhg how to provide high quality health care at alowet cost.
" Bennet, formerly superintendent of the Denver Publi Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritter to fill the seat vacatede by Ken Salazar when Salazar was pickex by President Barack Obama as secretary of the Here is the full textof Bennet's Senate-floor speecuh as prepared for delivery Thursday, provide by his In the speech, he is addressing the president of the Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the urgent need for healthcare reform. The peoplwe of Colorado, and the American have waited for too long for Washingtonto act. We shoul d begin with a basicc principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it.
If you have your and you like himor her, you should be able to keep them as We will not take that choicew away from you. But even as we keep what we must confront the challengeds of soaring health care costs and the lack of acces sto affordable, quality health care. The status quo is unacceptable. Ever y day, families in Colorado and across America facerising premiums. Their plans offer fewer benefits. They are deniede coverage becauseof pre-existing And until we fix the healthb care system, we won’t be able to fix the fiscal mess in whicj we find ourselves. Since 1970, the shars of healthcare as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percen to17 percent.
The United States spende over $2 trillion in healty care costs, including over $400 billion on Medicarw alone. President Obama has said that the biggestt threat toour nation’s balancer sheet is the skyrocketing cost of healtn care. And he’s In Colorado, we haven’f waited on Washington. We’ve made real progresxs in showing how to provide high quality healtnh care at alowetr cost. Last week, the New Yorker magazine published an articleentitlef “The Cost Conundrum” that highlights the importan t work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado.
Over thirty yearsd ago this communityserving 120,000 people came together—doctors, and the non-profit health insurance They agreed upon a system that paid doctors and nursea for seeing patients and producing better quality They realized that problems and costzs go down when care is more patient-focused. In Mesa the city of Grand Junction implementedr an integrated health care system thatprovidesx follow-up care with patients. This follow-up care has helpede lower hospital readmissions rates in Grand Junction to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percenyrate nationwide, and it is cleatr that our community on the Western Slope of Coloradk is onto something groundbreaking.
High readmission rates are a huge problekm forour seniors. Nearly one in five Medicare patients who leavw a hospital are readmitted within thefollowing month, and more than three-quartersd of these readmissions are Rehospitalization costs Medicare over $17 billion a year. It’x painful for patients and families to be caught up in thesr cyclesof treatment. All too often, care is fragmente – you go from the to the hospital, to a nursing back to the hospital and then back to thedoctorr again. Patients are given medication instructions as they are leavinythe hospital, many times after coming off of stron g medications.
They don’t know whom to and they are not sure what to ask their primary care The solution, both our Denver and Mesa County healtg communities have found, is to provide patients leavinh the hospital with a “coach.” This coacu is a trained health professional connecting home and the This coach teaches patients how to manage theitr health on their own.
Coloradans, he said, "speak for countleszs others acrossthe nation. All they ask for is a healthj care system that works for a health care systemthat doesn’t crush them with unreasonable cost and a health care syste m that doesn’t deny them coverage just becausd they have pre-existing conditions." Bennet, D- Colo., also touted his own proposalsz to make patient transitionn care more cost-effective and successful. "In Colorado, we haven’rt waited on Washington," he said. "We’ve made real progress in showinhg how to provide high quality health care at alowet cost.
" Bennet, formerly superintendent of the Denver Publi Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritter to fill the seat vacatede by Ken Salazar when Salazar was pickex by President Barack Obama as secretary of the Here is the full textof Bennet's Senate-floor speecuh as prepared for delivery Thursday, provide by his In the speech, he is addressing the president of the Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the urgent need for healthcare reform. The peoplwe of Colorado, and the American have waited for too long for Washingtonto act. We shoul d begin with a basicc principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it.
If you have your and you like himor her, you should be able to keep them as We will not take that choicew away from you. But even as we keep what we must confront the challengeds of soaring health care costs and the lack of acces sto affordable, quality health care. The status quo is unacceptable. Ever y day, families in Colorado and across America facerising premiums. Their plans offer fewer benefits. They are deniede coverage becauseof pre-existing And until we fix the healthb care system, we won’t be able to fix the fiscal mess in whicj we find ourselves. Since 1970, the shars of healthcare as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percen to17 percent.
The United States spende over $2 trillion in healty care costs, including over $400 billion on Medicarw alone. President Obama has said that the biggestt threat toour nation’s balancer sheet is the skyrocketing cost of healtn care. And he’s In Colorado, we haven’f waited on Washington. We’ve made real progresxs in showing how to provide high quality healtnh care at alowetr cost. Last week, the New Yorker magazine published an articleentitlef “The Cost Conundrum” that highlights the importan t work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado.
Over thirty yearsd ago this communityserving 120,000 people came together—doctors, and the non-profit health insurance They agreed upon a system that paid doctors and nursea for seeing patients and producing better quality They realized that problems and costzs go down when care is more patient-focused. In Mesa the city of Grand Junction implementedr an integrated health care system thatprovidesx follow-up care with patients. This follow-up care has helpede lower hospital readmissions rates in Grand Junction to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percenyrate nationwide, and it is cleatr that our community on the Western Slope of Coloradk is onto something groundbreaking.
High readmission rates are a huge problekm forour seniors. Nearly one in five Medicare patients who leavw a hospital are readmitted within thefollowing month, and more than three-quartersd of these readmissions are Rehospitalization costs Medicare over $17 billion a year. It’x painful for patients and families to be caught up in thesr cyclesof treatment. All too often, care is fragmente – you go from the to the hospital, to a nursing back to the hospital and then back to thedoctorr again. Patients are given medication instructions as they are leavinythe hospital, many times after coming off of stron g medications.
They don’t know whom to and they are not sure what to ask their primary care The solution, both our Denver and Mesa County healtg communities have found, is to provide patients leavinh the hospital with a “coach.” This coacu is a trained health professional connecting home and the This coach teaches patients how to manage theitr health on their own.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Unions, Paterson reach agreement to avoid mass layoffs - San Antonio Business Journal:
http://britney-news.com/song.php?id=54
Under the terms of the agreement reached between Paterson andthe unions, New York will reducr the state’s payroll by encouragingb employees in specific positions to take a cash buyout to leavr state service. The unions said the buyout offerx will be available to all employeesw in thetargeted positions. Paterson had announcecd plans to cutnearly 9,00o state workers. “This agreement is a huge win forNew York’s taxpayers and will lead to the most significantg reform of our public pension system in decades,” Patersoj said. “This is real reform to the pension system which will substantially reduce costs to the taxpayerxs of NewYork State.
” According to the governor’s office, the deal will reduc e the state’s workforce by aboutf 7,000 positions and save taxpayerds about $440 million over the next two years. A voluntar reduction in work schedule will alsobe implemented. The estimatedx savings are roughly the amount that was projected to be save through the proposed layoffs that were announcedin “This agreement means a smaller state work savings for taxpayers, and a new pensionb tier that provides long-term fiscal stability for the state,” Paterson “As I have said from the beginnintg of this process, my overriding goal was to achievew needed savings and workforc cost reductions, while at the same time avoiding largwe scale layoffs during the worst economic downturn in a This agreement achieves those objectives in a compassionatwe and fiscally responsible way.
” A targeted, one-time $20,00p retirement incentive payment will be offered to approximately 4,50o employees. Incentives must be approved by each respectiv e agency and the Division of the Budget and will only be providef to individuals in positions that will bepermanentluy abolished. Additionally, approximately 2,500 funded positions that are currently vacant will bepermanentlyt abolished. The new Tier V pensionm tier would apply only tonew employees. Othere key components include: • Raising the minimunm age at which an individual can retire without penalty from 55to 62, and imposs a penalty of up to 38 percent for any employees who retire priof to age 52.
• Requiringb employees to continue contributing 3 percentf of their salaries towards pension costs for their entire careerss rather than ending their contributionsw after 10 yearsof service. • Increasing the minimum years of service required to draw a pensionm from 5 years to10 years. • Capping the amountr of discretionary overtime that can be considered in the calculatio n of pension benefitsat $10,000 per year. Uniohn officials said that the Patersonb administration also has pledged that it will not pursus layoffs during the nexttwo years.
CSEA and PEF said they will accepg Paterson’s proposed legislation seekinv to establishTier V, saying it “reflects the realituy of current economic conditions and the fact that it will only applyy to future hires,” the unions said in a joint “From the start, CSEA has remained focused on not just protectingh our members but also the essential services we provide to New Yorkers every day,” said CSEA President Dannyu Donohue. “CSEA recognizes these are extraordinary timese with unprecedented challenges and we have tried to find ways to help withouttreopening contracts.
We believe the agreement workedd out withthe governor’s office achievesa all of these aims.” PEF President Ken Brynien said Paterson “moved significantly from his original demandsw for major contract concessions from the state’s work [Click the video image on the right to see the union'x initial response to Gov. Paterson's plannesd layoffs].
Under the terms of the agreement reached between Paterson andthe unions, New York will reducr the state’s payroll by encouragingb employees in specific positions to take a cash buyout to leavr state service. The unions said the buyout offerx will be available to all employeesw in thetargeted positions. Paterson had announcecd plans to cutnearly 9,00o state workers. “This agreement is a huge win forNew York’s taxpayers and will lead to the most significantg reform of our public pension system in decades,” Patersoj said. “This is real reform to the pension system which will substantially reduce costs to the taxpayerxs of NewYork State.
” According to the governor’s office, the deal will reduc e the state’s workforce by aboutf 7,000 positions and save taxpayerds about $440 million over the next two years. A voluntar reduction in work schedule will alsobe implemented. The estimatedx savings are roughly the amount that was projected to be save through the proposed layoffs that were announcedin “This agreement means a smaller state work savings for taxpayers, and a new pensionb tier that provides long-term fiscal stability for the state,” Paterson “As I have said from the beginnintg of this process, my overriding goal was to achievew needed savings and workforc cost reductions, while at the same time avoiding largwe scale layoffs during the worst economic downturn in a This agreement achieves those objectives in a compassionatwe and fiscally responsible way.
” A targeted, one-time $20,00p retirement incentive payment will be offered to approximately 4,50o employees. Incentives must be approved by each respectiv e agency and the Division of the Budget and will only be providef to individuals in positions that will bepermanentluy abolished. Additionally, approximately 2,500 funded positions that are currently vacant will bepermanentlyt abolished. The new Tier V pensionm tier would apply only tonew employees. Othere key components include: • Raising the minimunm age at which an individual can retire without penalty from 55to 62, and imposs a penalty of up to 38 percent for any employees who retire priof to age 52.
• Requiringb employees to continue contributing 3 percentf of their salaries towards pension costs for their entire careerss rather than ending their contributionsw after 10 yearsof service. • Increasing the minimum years of service required to draw a pensionm from 5 years to10 years. • Capping the amountr of discretionary overtime that can be considered in the calculatio n of pension benefitsat $10,000 per year. Uniohn officials said that the Patersonb administration also has pledged that it will not pursus layoffs during the nexttwo years.
CSEA and PEF said they will accepg Paterson’s proposed legislation seekinv to establishTier V, saying it “reflects the realituy of current economic conditions and the fact that it will only applyy to future hires,” the unions said in a joint “From the start, CSEA has remained focused on not just protectingh our members but also the essential services we provide to New Yorkers every day,” said CSEA President Dannyu Donohue. “CSEA recognizes these are extraordinary timese with unprecedented challenges and we have tried to find ways to help withouttreopening contracts.
We believe the agreement workedd out withthe governor’s office achievesa all of these aims.” PEF President Ken Brynien said Paterson “moved significantly from his original demandsw for major contract concessions from the state’s work [Click the video image on the right to see the union'x initial response to Gov. Paterson's plannesd layoffs].
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Metallica and Lou Reed reveal secret collaboration on full-length album - Entertainment Weekly
http://www.migraene-kopfschmerzen-info.de/impressum-2
Metallica and Lou Reed reveal secret collaboration on full-length album Entertainment Weekly You read that right: Modern metal's founding fathers Metallica (left) have recorded an album with alt-rock godfather Lou Reed (not pictured due to shyness). Although it seems like a curious combination at firstâ€"Stephanie Says ... |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Developers of new convention center hotel unveil plans - Nashville Business Journal:
a-aveywe.blogspot.com
The development team, Colorado-based Phelp s Development and Atlanta-based , was chosemn Tuesday by the Metropolitan Developmenty andHousing Agency. Developers and architects say the curved desigh ofthe $300 millionh hotel would fit in with the wave design of the Countr Music Hall of Fame and the roundee design of the nearby Sommey Center. The winning team’s proposal was chosen from 10 proposalas submitted. MDHA will now pick an operator for the Thecombined team, called Phelps Portman Nashville, will now enter the complete design process for the project and oversere all financing and constructionj of the hotel.
Phelpsx Portman recently completed the desigj and development ofthe 1,190-roomk Hilton San Diego Bayfront which the development team’s senior vice president Roger Zampell says was launched just after Sept. 11. He uses that successfuo project as an example to say that all projects have theirt challengesand Nashville’s hotel will be no differen as the team begins this task durint a recession. Zampell says they did not bid on otheer convention center hotels inother cities, saying they picked Nashvillee because of its central location, its strength as a convention markert and the city’s entertainment component.
Phelps Portman has been involvec with the development of 10 hotelswith 1,000 or more Zampell says he expects to have the design processd completed by the first quarte r of 2010 and the start of construction will begin threde months later. Hotel constructiob will take 34 monthes and it must open by 2013 when conventions are scheduled for the new MusicxCity Center. The hote l entry will have glass ceilings and be a energized space, the architects say. It will offed 100,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants and retail.
Butch Spyridon, presidentt of the Nashville Convention andVisitorzs Bureau, says a 1,000-room hotel is necessaruy to allow conventions to take an 800-rooj block, an industry standard, and leave extra rooms available for smal groups or guests. Spyridon says Portmam has been interested in this project for threer years and was a good choice forthe job. MDHA directofr Phil Ryan says the next stepz are for the hotel developers to do the design work and MDHA to starrt buying up land for theconventiobn center. Other steps include the city working on financingy the convention center and the hotel developer to work onhotel financing. He says those steps will take several months.
The hotepl will be built on property soutn of the Country Music Hallof Fame. Several localk firms, including R.C. Mathews and Morgan & Morgan construction architects and the Nashville office of will be part of the Portman development andconstruction team, Ryan
The development team, Colorado-based Phelp s Development and Atlanta-based , was chosemn Tuesday by the Metropolitan Developmenty andHousing Agency. Developers and architects say the curved desigh ofthe $300 millionh hotel would fit in with the wave design of the Countr Music Hall of Fame and the roundee design of the nearby Sommey Center. The winning team’s proposal was chosen from 10 proposalas submitted. MDHA will now pick an operator for the Thecombined team, called Phelps Portman Nashville, will now enter the complete design process for the project and oversere all financing and constructionj of the hotel.
Phelpsx Portman recently completed the desigj and development ofthe 1,190-roomk Hilton San Diego Bayfront which the development team’s senior vice president Roger Zampell says was launched just after Sept. 11. He uses that successfuo project as an example to say that all projects have theirt challengesand Nashville’s hotel will be no differen as the team begins this task durint a recession. Zampell says they did not bid on otheer convention center hotels inother cities, saying they picked Nashvillee because of its central location, its strength as a convention markert and the city’s entertainment component.
Phelps Portman has been involvec with the development of 10 hotelswith 1,000 or more Zampell says he expects to have the design processd completed by the first quarte r of 2010 and the start of construction will begin threde months later. Hotel constructiob will take 34 monthes and it must open by 2013 when conventions are scheduled for the new MusicxCity Center. The hote l entry will have glass ceilings and be a energized space, the architects say. It will offed 100,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants and retail.
Butch Spyridon, presidentt of the Nashville Convention andVisitorzs Bureau, says a 1,000-room hotel is necessaruy to allow conventions to take an 800-rooj block, an industry standard, and leave extra rooms available for smal groups or guests. Spyridon says Portmam has been interested in this project for threer years and was a good choice forthe job. MDHA directofr Phil Ryan says the next stepz are for the hotel developers to do the design work and MDHA to starrt buying up land for theconventiobn center. Other steps include the city working on financingy the convention center and the hotel developer to work onhotel financing. He says those steps will take several months.
The hotepl will be built on property soutn of the Country Music Hallof Fame. Several localk firms, including R.C. Mathews and Morgan & Morgan construction architects and the Nashville office of will be part of the Portman development andconstruction team, Ryan
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Queen's pays $2.5M to settle Feds' claims - Houston Business Journal:
iqukikofor.wordpress.com
million to settle lawsuits thatallegedd Hawaii’s largest hospital overbillee government health care programs for prescription medications, federalk prosecutors said Wednesday. The settlement was the result of two whistleblower lawsuits broughr by formerpharmacy technicians, who allegecd that Queen’s overbilled the state’se Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as the federal health insurance programj for military dependents, according to a news releasre from U.S. Attorney Edward H. Kubo Jr.
The lawsuits were filed under the federal and state FalseClaimd Acts, which allow the government to claim up to triple the plus penalties, for submittinvg false claims to government The two former employees allege Queen’s submittede fake bills for anti-psychotic medications that were dispensexd by the hospital pharmacy from 1999 to 2002 and were authorizesd by a doctor, but not necessarilu by a psychiatrist, as required. The hospital was also accusee of billing from 1999 to 2006 for servicews provided by medical residents who were supposed to be supervised byothed doctors, but that the supervision did not Kubo’s office said.
Under the settlement, Queen’sz paid $2 million to the federal whichshared $400,000 of the proceeds with the two formet employees, and $500,000 to the attorneys for the two Queen’s will also maintain a compliance program to ensure its billings conformn to the rules for five yearsw under a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Healtj and Human Services. Queen's issuedr this statement: " denies any intentional but after five years of discussions and negotiations with the has agreed to settle this matter so that its resourcews may be spent on providing quality health care rathed than onlegal fees.
"
million to settle lawsuits thatallegedd Hawaii’s largest hospital overbillee government health care programs for prescription medications, federalk prosecutors said Wednesday. The settlement was the result of two whistleblower lawsuits broughr by formerpharmacy technicians, who allegecd that Queen’s overbilled the state’se Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as the federal health insurance programj for military dependents, according to a news releasre from U.S. Attorney Edward H. Kubo Jr.
The lawsuits were filed under the federal and state FalseClaimd Acts, which allow the government to claim up to triple the plus penalties, for submittinvg false claims to government The two former employees allege Queen’s submittede fake bills for anti-psychotic medications that were dispensexd by the hospital pharmacy from 1999 to 2002 and were authorizesd by a doctor, but not necessarilu by a psychiatrist, as required. The hospital was also accusee of billing from 1999 to 2006 for servicews provided by medical residents who were supposed to be supervised byothed doctors, but that the supervision did not Kubo’s office said.
Under the settlement, Queen’sz paid $2 million to the federal whichshared $400,000 of the proceeds with the two formet employees, and $500,000 to the attorneys for the two Queen’s will also maintain a compliance program to ensure its billings conformn to the rules for five yearsw under a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Healtj and Human Services. Queen's issuedr this statement: " denies any intentional but after five years of discussions and negotiations with the has agreed to settle this matter so that its resourcews may be spent on providing quality health care rathed than onlegal fees.
"
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Ten banks allowed to repay TARP funds - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
bojony.wordpress.com
The Treasury Department did not name the10 banks, but said they were bein g approved for early repayment of the federal bailouyt funds under the Troublecd Asset Relief Program (TARP) because the so-called stresss tests performed by the governmenyt revealed they were healthgy enough to pay back the The department said the institutionss have met the requirements for repaymenrt established by federal banking supervisors. It notecd that many banks recently have raisexd equity capital from private investors and haveissued long-terj debt that is not guaranteed by the government.
“Thesre repayments are an encouraging sign offinancial repair, but we stilp have work to do,” Treasury Secretary Tim Geithned said. More than 600 banka received a total ofnearly $200 billion through the department’s Capitao Purchase Program. About $2 billion of this money was paidback previously. Under the banks that repay their preferred stock can repurchase the warrants that the TreasurgyDepartment holds. Besides the proceede from the sales ofthe warrants, the department also has receiveds $4.5 billion in dividend payments from program participants. Proceedz from the repayments to go theTreasuryt Department’s general fund.
They can be used to reducr the national debt and can serve as a cushion in case the departmenf needs to respond to financial emergencies inthe future, the departmenft said. The list of 10 banks was not publicl disclosed, but many of the banks confirme d separately in press releases that they received approval to buy back preferred shares sold to thefederao government, including two banks with sizable Milwaukee-area (NYSE: USB) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). U.S. Bank was clearesd to repay $6.6 billion in TARP fundx and Chase was approvedr to repayall $25 billion in TARP funds it received.
Locally basedx banks that received TARP funds include and of of Menomonee Falls andin Brookfield. M&I, the Milwaukee-area's largest was not among the list of 10 banksa approved to repay itsTARP funds, according to media reports. M&I said in May that it began to sell stock in a sale that coulxd raise as muchas $350 million in proceeds, part of which the bank said it may use to repauy a portion of the $1.7 billion capital infusion it receivede in November 2008 under TARP if approved by regulators.
The Treasury Department did not name the10 banks, but said they were bein g approved for early repayment of the federal bailouyt funds under the Troublecd Asset Relief Program (TARP) because the so-called stresss tests performed by the governmenyt revealed they were healthgy enough to pay back the The department said the institutionss have met the requirements for repaymenrt established by federal banking supervisors. It notecd that many banks recently have raisexd equity capital from private investors and haveissued long-terj debt that is not guaranteed by the government.
“Thesre repayments are an encouraging sign offinancial repair, but we stilp have work to do,” Treasury Secretary Tim Geithned said. More than 600 banka received a total ofnearly $200 billion through the department’s Capitao Purchase Program. About $2 billion of this money was paidback previously. Under the banks that repay their preferred stock can repurchase the warrants that the TreasurgyDepartment holds. Besides the proceede from the sales ofthe warrants, the department also has receiveds $4.5 billion in dividend payments from program participants. Proceedz from the repayments to go theTreasuryt Department’s general fund.
They can be used to reducr the national debt and can serve as a cushion in case the departmenf needs to respond to financial emergencies inthe future, the departmenft said. The list of 10 banks was not publicl disclosed, but many of the banks confirme d separately in press releases that they received approval to buy back preferred shares sold to thefederao government, including two banks with sizable Milwaukee-area (NYSE: USB) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). U.S. Bank was clearesd to repay $6.6 billion in TARP fundx and Chase was approvedr to repayall $25 billion in TARP funds it received.
Locally basedx banks that received TARP funds include and of of Menomonee Falls andin Brookfield. M&I, the Milwaukee-area's largest was not among the list of 10 banksa approved to repay itsTARP funds, according to media reports. M&I said in May that it began to sell stock in a sale that coulxd raise as muchas $350 million in proceeds, part of which the bank said it may use to repauy a portion of the $1.7 billion capital infusion it receivede in November 2008 under TARP if approved by regulators.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Pawlenty proposes deep tax cuts, ending mail delivery, mortgage help - Minneapolis Star Tribune
ocybakenos.wordpress.com
Pawlenty proposes deep tax cuts, ending mail delivery, mortgage help Minneapolis Star Tribune In the first major economic speech of his presidential campaign Tuesday, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed dramatic cuts in corporate and individual tax rates, along with deep spending cuts that would end the federal government's role in ... |
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Colorado Hispanic business leaders to lobby Bennet, others on union bill - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
yfimuna.wordpress.com
The delegation includes members of the Hispanic Contractors ofColoradk (HCC) and the Denver Hispanic Chamber of The group will be in Washington on Tuesda and Wednesday, joining small-business leadere from other states. The Colorado business leaders want totell D-Colo., and other lawmakers “why this bill would reallg hurt them as they try to emerge from a tougnh economy,” said HCC spokesman Sean Duffy said the group arranged to meet with Bennet becauser he has not yet declarex how he will vote on the labor “In these very difficult economivc times, companies are struggling to retain the jobs they Helga Grunerud, HCC executive director, said in a “We want to send a message that we want to help jump starft economic recovery but [the labor bill] would make that challenge far, far The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the “card check” bill, would allow workers to organize a uniojn without a secret election, as now required.
Instead, a local couldx be launched at a workplace if at least half its worker sign anauthorization card. Unions say the bill is neededx to protect worker rights in the But ina statement, HCC said that enactmenr of the law “would unfairly tip the delicate business-labor climate in Colorado sharply away from employers, and wouldx result in further economidc damage and job loss.” As part of a large r nationwide contingent organized by the , the Coloradlo group will meet with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and othert legislators “to be determined,” Duffy said.
The business leaderx also want to discuss other including health care reform and the allocation of federalstimulus funds.
The delegation includes members of the Hispanic Contractors ofColoradk (HCC) and the Denver Hispanic Chamber of The group will be in Washington on Tuesda and Wednesday, joining small-business leadere from other states. The Colorado business leaders want totell D-Colo., and other lawmakers “why this bill would reallg hurt them as they try to emerge from a tougnh economy,” said HCC spokesman Sean Duffy said the group arranged to meet with Bennet becauser he has not yet declarex how he will vote on the labor “In these very difficult economivc times, companies are struggling to retain the jobs they Helga Grunerud, HCC executive director, said in a “We want to send a message that we want to help jump starft economic recovery but [the labor bill] would make that challenge far, far The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the “card check” bill, would allow workers to organize a uniojn without a secret election, as now required.
Instead, a local couldx be launched at a workplace if at least half its worker sign anauthorization card. Unions say the bill is neededx to protect worker rights in the But ina statement, HCC said that enactmenr of the law “would unfairly tip the delicate business-labor climate in Colorado sharply away from employers, and wouldx result in further economidc damage and job loss.” As part of a large r nationwide contingent organized by the , the Coloradlo group will meet with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and othert legislators “to be determined,” Duffy said.
The business leaderx also want to discuss other including health care reform and the allocation of federalstimulus funds.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Clear lanes to shut down at Hartsfield-Jackson - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):
bacijaxymu.wordpress.com
New York-based , the operator of registeredx travelservice CLEAR, said the paid security lane s at its member airports woule cease operations because the company “has been unablee to negotiate an agreement with its seniorr creditor to continue according to a statement posted on the company’s Web www.flyclear.com. Last March, the company said it had 20,000 registeredx travelers in metro Atlanta. As of last the company had morethan 200,000 CLEAR who paid up to $199 for an annual membership for accesz to designated security lanes at participating airportz nationwide.
Members provided biometric data, whicgh was encoded on a card, for the promise of a speedie and convenient trip throughairport security. The servic e targeted business travelers who routinely travelby air. The companyg was founded by founderSteve Brill. CLEARR lanes opened at the airporrt about the same time as an expansion of the main securituy lanesat Hartsfield-Jackson. The new additions includef lanes designed specifically forexperienced travelers. Airport officials have said the addede lanes have kept security wait time below 10 minuteson average, which might have made CLEAR lanes less advantageous to consumers.
New York-based , the operator of registeredx travelservice CLEAR, said the paid security lane s at its member airports woule cease operations because the company “has been unablee to negotiate an agreement with its seniorr creditor to continue according to a statement posted on the company’s Web www.flyclear.com. Last March, the company said it had 20,000 registeredx travelers in metro Atlanta. As of last the company had morethan 200,000 CLEAR who paid up to $199 for an annual membership for accesz to designated security lanes at participating airportz nationwide.
Members provided biometric data, whicgh was encoded on a card, for the promise of a speedie and convenient trip throughairport security. The servic e targeted business travelers who routinely travelby air. The companyg was founded by founderSteve Brill. CLEARR lanes opened at the airporrt about the same time as an expansion of the main securituy lanesat Hartsfield-Jackson. The new additions includef lanes designed specifically forexperienced travelers. Airport officials have said the addede lanes have kept security wait time below 10 minuteson average, which might have made CLEAR lanes less advantageous to consumers.
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