Obama picks venture capitalist to head SBA Advocacy Office - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Winslow Sargeant, a managing director in the technology practicof Madison, Wis.-based Venture Investors, is Obama’ss choice. The Advocacy Office is an independent entity inside the SBA that ensuresw federal agencies consider the impact of theirt regulations onsmall businesses. The office also conductas researchon small-business issues. Sargeant, who earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineerinf at the University of Wisconsinat Madison, worked as a seniof engineer at several large corporationsd before co-founding Aanetcom, a fablesx semiconductor company that later was acquired by PMC-Sierra.
From 2001 to he served as programj manager for the Small Business Innovatioh Research program at the NationaScience Foundation’s engineering directorate. He is the second ventures capitalist to be selected for a top SBA Karen Mills worked as a principal at privatw equity and venture capitakl firms for 26 years beforwe she became the SBA administratofrin April. Sargeant’s lack of legal training means he will have to rely heavilyu on the attorneys at the Officseof Advocacy. Much of the office’s work involvess analyzing whether government agencies follow federal laws that require them to analyze the potential economic impact of proposed rules onsmalkl businesses.
The office also makes sure regulatorx hearsmall businesses’ opinions aboug regulations. In fiscal this input saved small businessesabout $11 billion in possibler regulatory costs, according to the The office’s acting Shawne Carter McGibbon, joined the office in during the Bill Clinton administration. She previously worked for a Democratic member of Congreszs and has been an attorne for20 years. An unnamed Obama administration official characterized McGibbon to reporters asa “Bush holdover” duringg a controversy over an interagency revie w of the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that greenhouse gas emissionsd pose a public health hazard.
The Office of Advocacy concluded that regulating carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act likelyh wouldhave “serious economic consequences” on small businesses and othefr regulated entities. Several presa accounts quoted anonymous administration officials who said theAdvocacy Office’s criticism of the EPA finding came from an officew “still stocked with Bush appointees,” in the wordsa of the Los Angeles Times. This dismissak of the office’s opiniomn upset Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the ranking Republican on the Hous eOversight & Government Reform Committee.
“There are hundredsw of civil servants serving in a similar capacitg throughout the federal government who could also be characterizeedas ‘Bush holdovers,’” Issa wrotre in a May 14 letterf to Obama. “I sincerely hope that thei professional advice and decisions will not be discountexd merely because they also worked for the federal governmentg under PresidentGeorge W. Bush.” For more: . Microloansx up, big loans down for small businesses this year Lending data collecteed bythe SBA’s Office of Advocacy confirms the importance of busineses credit cards to small companies.
A new report founrd that the total valueof small-business loans outstanding increased by 4 percent in the 12 months that ended in June down from the previous year’s increas e of 8 percent. These numberxs are for all small-business loans, not just SBA The number of business loans of lessthan $100,0009 jumped by nearly 16 percent as large lenders concentrateds on credit cards, according to the study. In contrast, the numbef of business loans inthe $100,000 to $1 million ranged fell by more than 23 percent. The report used call reportss submitted by banks as well as Communitgy ReinvestmentAct data. Business loans of less than $1 milliom were considered to be small-business loans.
Based on call repory data, the top five small-busineszs lenders in June 2008 were American Express, Capital One, Regions Financial Corp., Synovus Financiall Corp. and First Citizen Bancshares Inc. The reporft also lists the mostactive small-business lenders in each state. “Imn the current financial climate, it’s especiallyh critical for small firmws to know which banks and financial institutions have been the most likel y to make small and microbusiness said economistVictoria Williams, a co-author of the For more: .

German Parliament Committee OKs A400M Continuation - Wall Street Journal

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German Parliament Committee OKs A400M Continuation Wall Street Journal ... on Wednesday approved the continuation of the Airbus A400M military transport program, said Juergen Koppelin, the Free Democratic Party's budget expert. ... and more »

PREP HOOPS: Sophomore saves Laconia - Fond du Lac Reporter

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PREP HOOPS: Sophomore saves Laconia Fond du Lac Reporter ... range of a Flyway championship after a 3-pointer as time was ticking down gave Laconia a 48-47 win against Kettle Moraine Lutheran on Tuesday night. ... and more »

Like a Motherless Child - Bali Discovery

http://chinesesouthernbelle.com/2010/05/20th-high-school-reunion/

Bali Discovery

Like a Motherless Child Bali Discovery Teneng said the provincial government continues to support the "adoptive father" (Bapak Asuh) program in which members of the community sponsor school-age ...

ARI 3Q profits fall - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

http://sootheze.com/migraine-mask.php
Milwaukee-based ARI (OTCBB: ARIS), a provider of electronic parts catalogs for the manufacturedequipmentt markets, said net income for the quarter ende d April 30 fell 47.1 perceng to $226,000, or 3 cents per compared with $427,000, or 6 centsa per share, for the same perioe a year ago. Before income taxes and other operating incomefell 34.9 percent to $278,000 from Revenue increased to $4.17 million from $4.15 million. The firm reported strontg sales of new marketing servicexs and high levels of renewals for marketing services andcatalog subscriptions, said president and CEO Roy A decline in professional services revenue partially offset those sales gains.
For the nine months endede April 30, net income fell 46.5 percent to or 8 cents per comparedwith $1.01 million, or 14 cent per share, the year before. Revenue decrease 2.5 percent to $12.29 million from $12.6 million.

Schnatter increases Camaro finder

http://www.dlmethod.com/forum/member/74991/
Schnatter, who this spring offered $25,000 for informatioj leading to the whereabouts ofthe car, has increased the amount to $250,000, according to a news release. The pizzs magnate has been driving a replicaq of the car acrossthe country, delivering pizza to customers in various cities. His travels have been chronicled in commercialsw and on theWeb site, . “We’ve talkec to so many car aficionadosthat we’rer convinced the car is out there somewhere,” Schnatter said in a news “It’s not a car that someone would easilg turn over to the scrap The real point is, whil e this car ma not be a true it’s near and dear to my heart.
It would mean so much if I had any part of thatcar

Miami completes sweep of Bowling Green - kypost.com (blog)

http://thenortherncold.com/2010/02/20/dark-forest-aurora-borealis-85/

kypost.com (blog)

Miami completes sweep of Bowling Green kypost.com (blog) 12 Miami beat Bowling Green, 3-1 at Cady Arena. Reichard has been the starting goalie on Fridays, Knapp on Saturdays without fail this season before ... RedHawks earn sweep over Bowling Green Oxford Press Early slate may help Miami Cincinnati.com Falcons Men's Basketb »

Market currents lead to lost jobs at Sarasota manufacturer - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The Sarasota ventilation and air movement company will lay off 30 employeews when it shifts its product manufacturinf and distribution operations to othef Fantech facilities asof Feb. 1. All product manufacturinf will be consolidated ina 130,000-square-foot Fantech plant in New Brunswick, Canada. Producg distribution in the United States will be movedto Fantech's warehouses in Reno, and Cincinnati. Fantech has hired a job placemen t service toassist employees, many of whom have been with the companyu for many years, said Ola president.
The company also is working with Sarasotsa County economic development executives and state work forcse agencies to find jobs for laid off The company's corporate headquartersd will remain in Sarasota. About 20 employees will work in technical support, sales and engineeringg jobs at the headquarters, Wettergren "Consolidation is a proactive busineszs decision for better efficiency," he said. "Ity is not an easy decision because many of these employeex have been with us for along time." Fantechj is a division of , a ventilatiomn company based in Sweden. Systemair has roughly 1,700 employees on threew continents.
Founded in 1987, Fantech evolved from a companu that was first establishedin 1981. At one nearly 70 employees worked at theSarasotaz plant. The 80,000-square-foot facility on Northgate Boulevard, which includex the corporate offices and has been one of two Fantech manufacturint plants inNorth America, is now on the The company's corporate headquarters eventually will move to anothee location in Sarasota, Wettergren Nearly 80 percent of Fantech's market is "We typically experience growth every but we have had a reduction in volum e instead," he said.
Cost-saving measures were dictated by the slum p in sales volume due to the market conditionsa and increases in the cost of componentes Fantech purchases abroad because of thedevalued U.S. he said. Motors used for the inlin bathroom ventilation fans manufactured at the Sarasotaa plant are made in and shippedfrom Fantech's cost for the motors has increasedf 60 percent because of the exchangd rate. "We can't pass on that increase to our Wettergren said. In addition to the reductionm in sales and the higher cost of European fan transportation costs related to the Sarasota plangt distribution are mounting along withfuel prices.
This playefd a role in movinh the plant's warehousing and distribution "Florida is not really centrally located in the he said. "It's not ideal for transportation." Fantech' layoff is just the latest announcesd by anarea manufacturer. Most recently, Minneapolis-based said it planas to close its boat-building plant in Sarasota over the next six citing "negative manufacturing economic conditions" in Florida. Abouy 225 employees will be affected. Late last year, Hi-Stagt Manufacturing unveiled plans to close its Manatese County plant and lay off nearly 300 employeesw from March through Decemberthis year.
The company, which manufacturexs electronic products forcommercial trucks, is moving operationxs overseas and elsewhere to take advantage of cheapere labor and other costs. , a manufactureer of storm doors and windows in laid off 180 employees late last citing the housingmarket losses. sometimes it doesn't make economi sense for manufacturers to remain in the saidPeter Straw, executive director of the . "Fantecy cannot make a good business case for keepingt its operationin Sarasota. It's a question of especially when transportation costs so much for shippingg products outof Florida." Straw said there is positive thinkinh for laid off Fantech employees.
He believess its employees probably will be absorbesd in the manufacturing sector that stil l has demand forskilled workers.

Studio helping clients see things clearer - bizjournals:

lyubomiradete.blogspot.com
Turney is the lighting designerat (LBD), a full-servicd lighting company he started with his wife, Vanessa, in Septembe r 2007. They operate out of a 5,700-square-foot lightinv studio with a showroom that atfirsgt glance, looks like an art “People mistake it for an art gallery, whicbh is what we were hopingh for,” Turney says. “We believwe the fixtures are a piece of artthat you’rew hanging in your It’s an investment that is like a piece of The Turneys travel to New York for the industry tradeshoew Lightfair, Vanessa adds, and scrub the markets in Dallas and elsewherew looking for the new trends and materials that usually find their way to San Antonio much “One of our customers said it’s jewelry for the she says.
“We saw a need for professional lightinvg in San Antonio that woulc meet the needsof high-ens clientele. From the latesft in lighting technology tonew high-end product, we are constantly in search of what is excitintg so we can truly offerd our clients a wider range of products and LBD specializes in lighting design as well as lighting control systemzs by Pennsylvania-based Lutron. LBD provides distinctive fixtures for residential andcommercialk projects. The staff works directly with builders, designers and their clients to accomplish theif goal of bringing conceptxs to lifethrough illumination.
Some of the buildersa or architects LBD has workef with include BurdickCustom Homes, Ray Stadled Custom Homes, A-Design by and Catherine Nored “When we tell people abouty the company, we want to illuminatwe them,” says Sonia Garcia, lighting consultant at LBD. “We’re all aboutg inspiring.” This all starts with the initiall consultation with theproject owner. During this time Turney and his staffr decide the lifestyle of the customer and what lightinb needs would best fit around theif wayof living.
They look for things from generaol and task lighting to specialty art and indirect Then they manipulate the plans to give the electricaol contractor the documentation that is required to completd the job tothe specifications. Once the job is started, LBD providexs onsite project management to help the contractoer overcome the hurdles that arise oneverg job, for example, from what product to use and wherde to place that product. Once the electricall portion is finished, LBD provides the customed witha plan, showing how the finished product will The customer then meets with LBD’e interior designers to select the perfect fixturese to complement the lighting design.
Once the product is deliverefdand installed, LBD will do a final walk-througg to make sure all of the components are in the correctg place and properly lamped. “We are always looking for ways to improvee our process to give the best possible experience toour customers,” Turney says. “We want to be the best at takinhg care ofthat high-end Bill Rowsey, owner of real estate development company CRCP LLC, believees they have lived up to beingg the best of taking care of theirr clients truly keeping a client’s interesgt in the project at “Corey is a real competent, creative and really trustworthy,” Rowsey says.
“He approaches things with a long-term not from just making thenext sale. I’ve foundc him to be fair and he’s got a great showroom with a lot ofquality brands. People will definitely be gettinf the bestfrom him.” With their Turney has found that there is a need for what they do becausee lighting is so detail-oriented and LBD wantzs to change people’s minds about how they look at lighting. “Whejn you walk in your room you want to feel so we want to help create a lifestyle they werelookingt for,” he says. “We want to show the very best of what lightingb hasto offer.
” Turney grew up in the lightin g business, as his parents own a lighting business here calleed Turney Lighting. He woul d work there in the summerws sweepingthe warehouse, moving boxes around and hanginbg fixtures on display. By the time he was in high school he was runningthe warehouse.

Brewer signs retail theft measure - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

Sparky
years in prison. Sponsored by state Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, the measures modifies existing lawsfor Previously, Arizona had no penalties for those stealinvg merchandise for the purpose of resellinf or trading the goods. Instead, penalties for shopliftingt varied from misdemeanorsto felonies, typically dependent on the valuwe of the merchandise taken. This measure creates a separat category of organized retail theft that includesd groups of people working together for the purposre of stealing merchandise and then tradin g orreselling it, regardlesss of how much the itemz cost. “This was a deeply bipartisan consensuse that was developedby Sen.
Gray and the governor sharesd a deep concern overthis issue,” said Paul spokesman for Gov. Brewer. Theft rings have become of increasingh concern to law enforcementand retailers, as criminalas can steal thousands of dollarx in merchandise at once. Stolen goods oftem are resold online or atflea markets, providinb cash to pay for other types of criminall activities, police say. Baby formula is commonly stolen and is often used as an ingredient to cut The measure passed by a 55 to 0 vote in the Housr and a 27 to 0 vote in the Senat and will take effect in90

It

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“It seems like a pretty simple business,” CEO Thomasa Wintz said. “They made it complicated by making interest-only alternative-A loans, and it didn’t work out.” That recipw helped Rosedale Federalgrow third-quarter earningsd by 10 percent from a year ago to $1.7 even as the national economuy sank deeper into recession. is on the other end of the The Crofton bank is operating undeera cease-and-desist order after federal officialsa found that the bank’s residential real estater lending was too risky. Suburbann has lost money sincelast year, goint $4.5 million into the red in the third quartefr alone.
Both troubles and bright spots abound forGreater Baltimore’s 55 locally based banks, whicuh are at the center of a financial-systekm crisis that many lifelong bankers say they have nevert seen the likes of. In the thirds quarter, 31 percent of local banks lost money, data shows. Some of the like Suburban, are seeing losses and past-due loans mountr to levels that are cuttinfg deeply intotheir capital. But even more local bankw — 35 percent — grew their earnings from a year ago. Many are thrift like Rosedale Federal that have strong capital levelsand didn’t relax their lending standards amid the mortgagew boom.
At 100-year-old Rosedale, which has eight branches and $600 millionn in assets, loans stay on the books rather than being bundled and soldto “A 30-year loan is our problem untill it’s paid off,” Wintaz said. Having to live with the consequencees keeps the bank conservative inits lending. Still, a simplde business model doesn’t mean life is Banks live on a narroqwmargin — the difference betweehn the cost they pay for depositas and other funding and the interest they earn on Competition for deposits is fierce, with some banks jacking up rateds to attract customers. And loan demand has slowed as finances or fear keep borrowersz onthe sidelines.
made a profit of $211,000 in the third quarter after taking a loss to close out a pensioj fund ayear ago. Despite the thrift’z niche in residential real estate lending, less than 0.1 percentg of its loans are noncurrent, meaning the loan is 90 days past due or the bank does not expecfull payment. “I won’t tell you things are wonderful, but we are holding our own,” said Hamilton Federal President Robert whose bankhas $223 million in With few homebuyers looking for Hamilton Federal has been buying loanws from banks that are unloadingv assets to raise money, he said.
Rosedale and Hamilton Federa l have capitalto spare, meaning they don’t need the shot of monety coming to banks under the U.S. Treasurg Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. Hamilton has a nearlh 25 percent ratio of capitaoto assets, adjusted for risk — more than double what it taked to rank as “well-capitalized.” For other raising capital is job one. Suburbaj Federal’s ratio of capital to risk-weighted assete has plummeted to 3.09 percent; a ratio beloq 8 percent leaves abank undercapitalized. More than 11 percenf of the bank’s loans are noncurrent.
Those factor s have Suburban “exploring all options” to raisr capital, including selling the bank, CEO Bob Morrison Jr. Dutch insurance giant has applied to regulatorz for a thrift charter so it could potentiall buythe bank. Several banks and other companies have expressed interest in buying Morrison said, declining commenty on specific offers. “Suburban Federal has been a real estate lender in this communitg for53 years, and for 52 years our modek worked beautifully,” said Morrison, whose grandfather foundec the bank.
“We’re seeing what Alan Greenspan calledthe 100-yeaer tsunami, and it’s hit Owings Mills-based K Bank, which broughty in record profits as real estate boomed, lost $2.9 millio in the third quarter. That was down from a $3.4 millio loss in the secone quarter. More than 6 percent of the bank’d loans are noncurrent, but that dropped from more than 7 percenr aquarter earlier. “We have taken stepsx to reduce our exposure to real estate and look for improvementgin 2009,” CEO Davidc Wells Jr. said in an e-mail. in Howardc County lost $98,000 in the thirrd quarter. The bank is and its parent, , has applied for $375 milliobn in funding from theTARP program.
Columbia Bank is focusede on building up cash to cover potential loan losses so it can handles whatever theeconomy brings, CEO John A. Scaldarza Jr. said. The bank’s reserve s total nearly 100 percent of itsnoncurrent loans. “I want to be an optimisticx person, and I want to make sure we remain Scaldara said, “but there is a possibility that things could deterioriatee and trickle down further into the economy.
”

The Flaming Lips Lead The Freakout On New Year's Eve - MTV.com

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The Flaming Lips Lead The Freakout On New Year's Eve MTV.com Rather, my hands are still sore from all the balloons I tied while prepping the Flaming Lips' annual New Year's Eve Freakout in Oklahoma City. ... and more »

Report: El Paso Woman Killed In I-25 Crash Argued With Bouncer Before Crash - KVIA El Paso

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Report: El Paso Woman Killed In I-25 Crash Argued With Bouncer Before Crash KVIA El Paso El Pasoan Kylene Holmes and Jennifer Michelle Belvin were belligerent when a bouncer was telling a 911 operator that the women were "thoroughly intoxicated" ... and more »