Polaroid sold for $85.9M, losing bidder appeals - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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million. However, the turbulent auction process, whichn has been reopened three may notbe over. Patriarch Parnters, a New York-basesd private-equity firm that won an earlier has already appealed the mostrecenft decision. and on Thursday won a court-supervises auction of Polaroid’s assets, including its intellectual properth andbrand name. Polaroid Corp. was ownec by Minnetonka-based . Petters’ formerf CEO, Tom Petters, has been charged with orchestrating aPonzi scheme. The receiver now controllingf the company moved toauction Polaroid’zs assets several months ago.
Hilco Consumer based in Toronto, and Boston-based Gordonj Brothers Brands have formed joint ventures to buyotherd well-known faltering brands in the past. Brandas acquired by the firms includeLinens ’N Sharper Image and Bombay Brands. Patriarch Partneres again offered to pay the highest price for Polaroidon However, a judge approved the bid by Hilco and Gordon Brothersa at the urging of creditors, sayinf it would offer them more protection.

Human Capital: People on the move, May 28 - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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Achbar named executive director of The and Cultur e The New Center for Arts and Culture in Boston appointedd Francine Achbarexecutive director. Prior to this Achbar served asthe organization’s acting directot from June 2005 through January 2007, followingb the resignation of founding director Shoshana Pakciarsz , and has been servinb as the institution’s deputy directot since June 2008. Charles appointed sr. VP of PUMA Norty America , based in appointed Curtis Charles seniof vice president of NorthAmerican sales, overseeintg all sales and sales operations activitiesz for both the PUMA and Tretorn brands.
Prior to his appointmenft to PUMA, Charles was CEO/CMO of Keimistre & LLC , where he oversaa the apparel businessof P.R.P.S and Akademiks. Cannohn Design promotes Spelman toVP ; McDonald returne as associate principal Cannon Design , an architectural, engineerinbg and planning firm with local officesd in Boston, promoted Elizabeth Spelmanj to vice president. Spelman is a project architect and designet with 14 years of experience managing projectsd anddirecting teams. In other news, architect Debi McDonald rejoinedc the firm as an associate principal inthe firm’zs Boston office.
RF Walsh Project Management adds Hicke as project executive RF Walsh Project Management in Bostobn added Paul Hickey as aprojecty executive. Hickey, who is a registereed structural engineer and LEED accredited will initially be supporting the development and advancemenf ofthe UMass-Boston Master Plan .

Lucy Kincaid is back in compelling 'Silenced' - Jackson Sun

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Lucy Kincaid is back in compelling 'Silenced' Jackson Sun "Silenced" (St. Martin's Press), by Allison Brennan: An FBI trainee ends up over her head when she helps investigate a congressional sex scandal in "Silenced," the latest in the Lucy Kincaid series by Allison Brennan. Lucy is rising up the ranks of the ... and more »

Australia Inflation Unexpectedly Slows; Currency Weakens - BusinessWeek

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AFP

Australia Inflation Unexpectedly Slows; Currency Weakens BusinessWeek By Michael Heath on April 24, 2012 Australian core consumer prices rose last quarter at the slowest pace since 1998, driving the currency and bond yields lower as investors increased bets the central bank will resume cutting interest rates next week. Australia Shares F lat As Low Inflation Offsets Europe Worry W »

Mariner Holdings, managers buy control of Tortoise Capital Advisors - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The parties will buy the ownershipl stake of and for anundisclosefd amount. Leawood-based Mariner Holdinges will have a 65 percenf stakein Tortoise, and Tortoise managing directors Kevinj Birzer, Zachary Hamel, Ken Malvey, Terrg Matlack and David Schulte will own a 35 percent Terms and financing of the deal weren’y immediately disclosed but will be files at a later date. The acquisition is expecter to close by the end of the third quarter and is subject toregulatory approval. Mariner Chairman and CEO Marty Bicknell said Wednesday thathe doesn’y anticipate significant hurdles in the approval process.
Tortoise Capital Advisorsw is the adviserof (NYSE: TYG), (NYSE: (NYSE: TYN) and (NYSE: As of May 31, Tortoise Capital Advisors had $2 billiob in assets under The agreement leaves the operationj of Tortoise largely unchangede but in Mariner Holdings adds a fast-growing company as an owner. Bicknellp founded the company in 2006 and sinc e has added a variety of wealth service and assetmanagement services, primarily through The Tortoise purchase will give Mariner $3 billioj in assets under management.
Information on the Tortoise Web site states that Fountain Capital Management and Kansad City Equity Partners assisted in the initial funding of Tortoise but have not been activelhy involved inthe business. Fountain recently transferres its ownership stake in Tortoise to a holdinfg companycalled . Kansas City Equitt Partners was a private equity firm that has since wound upits operations.

Crist signs bill to battle securities fraud - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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During a ceremonial bill signing Monday atthe Miami-Dade County Courthouse, with Attorney General Bill McCollum and some of the bill’z sponsors at his side, signed the Investor Protection Act (HB It gives McCollum’s office, with approvall from the , the authority to investigatee and prosecute large-scale securities scams under the state’as securities law. Previously, white-collar criminaol prosecutions fell under theracketeerinh statute, which is harder to Prosecutions also were limited to the office of the state’s McCollum pointed out.
Crist noted that this kind of authorityh was lacking during his tenure as attorney general and that this law wouldput “teeth” into the state’se prosecutorial powers. The law enhancez the Office ofFinancial Regulation’s enforcement powers by increasint penalties for violators and strengthening the licensew registration requirements for securities dealers. Penalties double from $5,000 to $10,009 as a result of the law, whicj goes into effect Wednesday. State authoritieas will also be able to pursue civil lawsuits to recoverlost money, McCollum McCollum worked with Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naple and Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples on the Both attended the signing. Sen.
Dan Gelber, D-Miamu Beach, a bill sponsor, also attended Monday’s ceremony. Gradyy is a securities attorney and experty in securities regulation who drafted the bill and sponsored it inthe “Now the attorney general will have the toolxs to do the job,” said Grady, prior to the “Our economy will grow stronger if investorse have confidence in our financial he said in a statement. “By increasintg the tools available to the state to prosecute violators of our securities we protect investors and foster neededs trust inthe system.

Nortel Networks to sell stake in joint venture with LG Electronics - Dallas Business Journal:

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Brampton, Ontario-based Nortel said (Pink NRTLQ) LG-Nortel is a standalone business that has not filed forcreditor However, according the company's latestt financial results, the joint venture's revenue in the first quarter fell by two-thirds, to $188 million, from last year as a majorf contract came to an end. LG-Nortel recordesd $341 million in revenue minus expensexs in2008 – a margin of 27 percent, Nortel said. The margin so far in 2009 is 26 Nortel said. Nortel, which has abou 2,000 employees in the Raleigh-Durham area, owns 50 percent, plus one of LG-Nortel. The company did not say how much it hopedx to be paid for its stake in LG-Nortel.
"LG-Nortel is a successful business with an accomplishedleadership team, a culture of a dedicated employee base and a drive to said Mike Zafirovski, Nortel’s president and CEO. "As we work to evaluatew the ultimate path forwarxd for all ofour businesses, this decision will alloq LG-Nortel to embark on the next phase of its journehy and realize its full potential." Nortel says it will file a motionm asking the Ontario Superior Court of Justics to approve a sale process that has been agree d to with LG Electronics and that appointw to help find a buyer. LG Electronic and the Ontario court also must give their OK for any saleof Nortel’sw stake in LG-Nortel.
Nortel in Canada and the United Stateson Jan. 14, a day before the compan y was to makea $107 milliob interest payment on part of Nortel’s more than $1 billionj in debt. he Canadian court has sincde granted Nortel to come up with a satisfactory reorganization Speculation has focused on Nortel selling offone – of its two biggest business unita to improve its balance sheet, but no deal has yet been A one-time cornerstone of Research Triangle Park with 9,000 Raleigh-Durham employees at its peak, Nortel saw its fortunes go downhill when the technology bubblse burst in 2000 and demand steadilyy dried up from phone companies for Nortel’x products.
The company also ran into troublse with an accounting scandal that led to and the resignationz ofthe company’s top including then-CEO Frank Dunn.

Intersections on road to improvement - Clarksville Leaf Chronicle

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Intersections on road to improvement Clarksville Leaf Chronicle Construction continues on improvements to three intersections on Madison Street and Riverside Drive. The Clarksville Street Department, in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, is reworking Riverside and Cumberland Drive, ...

San Antonio nets another Big 12 soccer championship - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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This will be the 14th consecutivd yearthat , a nonprofi organization, has co-hosted the conferencew championship in San Antonio with the . The 2009 Big 12 Women’s Soccer Championship will be heldon Nov. 4, 6 and 8 at Blossokm Soccer Stadium onthe city’ss Northeast Side. “The Big 12 Conferencr is pleased to extendits long-standinbg relationship with San Antonio Sports in hosting the 2010 Big 12 Soccerr Championship,” says Big 12 Conference Senio r Associate Commissioner Dru Hancock. “San Antonio Sports and the entire city of San Antoniop have been invaluable in helping us grow this premier event over the past13 years.
San Antonio serves as a greaty destination city for our teams and The top eight teams basesd on conference results determined by a poin system qualify for the Big 12 The winner of the tournament receivesthe conference’e automatic bid to the tournament. For more information, visit SanAntonioSports.orbg or call 820-2100.

David Chang Trumps Questlove In Battle For Fried Chicken Glory On 'Fallon' - Huffington Post

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The Daily meal

David Chang Trumps Questlove In Battle For Fried Chicken Glory On 'F »

A master of his emotions, Cleveland Indians' Justin Masterson wins even in ... - Plain Dealer

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Plain Dealer

A master of his emotions, Cleveland Indians' Justin Masterson wins even in ... Plain Dealer By Bill Livingston, The Plain Dealer View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer"I do not like losing," says Justin Masterson after Wednesday loss to the White Sox. "But there are aspects of life, just as there are aspects of baseball, that you can't ... and more »

A conversation with | Alexia Poe, Peritus Public Relations - Kansas City Business Journal:

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What is the most outside-of-the-box idea you have ever had in yourprofessionapl career? I entered the work force as a TV reporterd and thought that would be my career but because I’ve been open to new and interesting opportunities and have take risks, I’ve enjoyed experiences of a What was the result? I’vre worked for a governor, U.S. senator and in the Whitr House for the first lady of theUnites States. It has been one heck of a What single thing makes your organizationstanrd out? Peritus exudes an entrepreneurial spiri that fosters tenacity and creativity. What does your organizatiob have in the worksfor 2009?
To establis h Peritus as a key playe in the public affairs aren in Tennessee. How did you wind up in your currenyt position? By learning as much as I possibly coulr in each jobthat I’ve had whethetr the focus was government relations, community relations or public service. Why do you have the careet you have? I enjoy problem-solving and workintg with people. My communication skillse and instinctsabout people, issues and situations also come in What word best describes your leadership style? Goal yet to be achieved? I’vwe experienced a lot already, so theree isn’t one goal I’m aiming toward.
I always strive to learn more and to be better at what I do whether as a publicfaffairs professional, wife, mother, etc. Professional pet peeve Arrogance and peoplewho don’t listen to What keeps you up at night? Not much. What do you do to relievee stress? Spend time with my husband, Charley, and baby daughter, Ella clean and take long walks. What is the simples thing you never learnedto do? Whistle. Favoritew hobbies? Spending time with my familtyand exercise. What skill would you most like toimprove Patience. Pets? Braddock, 3-year-old Harlequin Great Dane (blaci and white spotted). She weighs 120 pounds and is the sweetesanimal you’ll ever meet.
What trait do you value most in friends? Person outside of your family you would most like to spenxd time with onan island? I’km an only child of divorced parents, so I like alonde time. You’ve just been give $100,000 to donate to charity. Where would you give it, and why? Ther e are so many worthwhiler organizations in Nashvillethat I’d have to do a lot of thinkin g about how to divvy it up, but Fifty Forwards and West End Community Church would certainly be on the What would you like to crosws off your “bucket list” next?
Take a trip to

Restaurant smoking ban is extinguished - Houston Business Journal:

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Senate Bill 544 made it through the Health and Humaj Services Committee but fell one vote short of getting a full hearing in theTexasx Senate, said Jeremy communications director for Ellis, the bill’s sponsor. With only 12 days left in the legislativs session, Warren says the bill is done for this Totry again, lawmakers will have to revive it at the next session in two years, he Citing the journalists’ shield law that passecd the on its third try, Warren said smoking-ban supporterzs are likely to try “Sometimes a third time is a charm, but for this sessiobn it is no more,” Warren said.
supported the ban, considering it the only meansz to equalize competition among local where some municipalities have enacterd bans and others have left the decisiohn up to restaurant The association in a statementWednesdat said, "The Texas Restaurantt Association is disappointed by the failure of the proposesd statewide smoking ban to pass the . While this issuwe has long been acontentious one, TRA believes that applyinvg a smoking ban across all workplaces and all jurisdictionsd is the only equitabler solution to a growing social concern.
"

Colorado is more than mountains - bizjournals:

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But during the two recessions that havehit since, tourisnm leaders have watched people get more fruga l with travel dollars, and learned a little about their habits. One of theirr key notations is that those who come even in the badtimes — or those who wander across their own state to save money rather than leave it are looking for more than just scenery to make theidr vacations memorable. And so, new phrasesa have permeated both the thinking of thosde leaders and the promotional material thatextols Colorado’s virtuez to travelers. They are terms such as cultural heritage, culinary tourism, and beer and wine tourism.
They’re making a big mark and startiny to diversifythe state’s tourisj landscape. “In the early if it didn’t involve snow or whitewater, it wasn’t really tourism,” said Doug Caskey, executivr director of the . “Now the Tourism Office is involving all kinds ofotherd tourism, such as heritage tourism and agritourisj ... Most people just think about comingv to Coloradoto ski. They don’gt usually think about coming to Colorado to visity a winery or have aculinary vacation.
But that is According to the 2007 Longwoodsd Visitor Profile Study commissionesd bythe , more people still come to the Centenniall State searching for the outdoors than anythinbg else. Mountains are the prime according to 44 percent ofthose surveyed. Wilderness, lakes and the natural environment all ranked in thetop 10. But smal towns, historic towns and histori areas — all hallmarks of cultura heritagetourism — ranked in the top eight as well. Nearly three times as many people visit breweries in Colorado as elsewhere in the United and archaeological-site and historic-culture activitiezs also outpace the national norm, the study noted.
As such, statee officials who flew recentlyto Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles to talk to traveol writers led the discussionsd with mountains, then shiftedd to other highlights, said Kim director, Colorado Tourism Office (CTO). Pitchin g the state now involves mentioning its 73 wineries and 99crafy breweries, its myriad festivals and its three-yea push to establish cultural heritage tours in differentf areas of Colorado, she said. The CTO and also push the nonrecreationa l side of Colorado tourism as it reaches out both to residentsa and nonresidents to tourthe state. Both groupas have set up websites advertising dealz at places ranging from historic homea tolocal cafes.
“I think it’sz easier to promote the state,” McNult said of the diversittyof attractions. “Colorado has so many thingx to do, from a lower-budget-consciou s type of vacation to a more luxurious typeof vacation.” Travelers’ new interests have led to side For example, two wine tour companies have begun operating in Denver. Groupd also have begun that organizee “voluntourism” trips that bring people eitherf into or out of Coloradio to spend vacations helpingg environmental and socialwelfare causes. The growth of choicezs also has meant that tourism officials are advertisingg Colorado in new places to try to hookspecifid travelers.
Jayne Buck, vice president of tourismj forVisit Denver, said the local convention and visitorxs bureau is reaching out more to Hispanidc travelers, and to gay and lesbian travelers, both viewed as growingg tourist segments. Its pitch isn’t any different to these groups than to the populatiobat large, but cities that make an effortg to speak to those groups in publications aimed at them have had rewards, she said. A boomingf cultural heritage or wine industry doesn’t just benefit the proprietors of establishments that fit into thosew categories, noted Bob Witham, co-ownef of in Grand Junction.
Those who come to the state to see one type of site also have to eat in sleep in hotels and probably visit otherd destinations while they areout here, he and otherse said. “A business like ours makeas quite an impact on an individual Witham said. At a time when many businesses and governments are cuttinv back drasticallyon spending, tourism promotion in Colorado has been nicked only After a lengthy debate over whether to cut tax dollare going to a program that will bring in more tax revenues, the Legislatured this year cut only 25 percent of the CTO marketingy budget, leaving it at $15.6 million, McNulty noted.
With that budget, the offic can continue giving grants to develop culturapheritage tours, she said. And it can continue to employ new marketinyg techniques to reach people who just as much like to sip a locallyy made syrah while sauntering through the Snow Goose Festiva as those who come here to schuss downthe slopes. “Wed are blessed to live in a stater that literally has something for McNulty said.

Making apps pay - bizjournals:

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Application development is a $7.7 billion market according to a study from informatioj technology research company And the market is only expecteeto grow, with Gartner peggingg an average 7 percent growtg rate for the next five years. Some of the companiess that develop apps aregetting rich, and others are trying to figure out how they can do the “There are a couple of game companies makinhg a hundred million dollars, and many more making tens of milliond of dollars, and there’s no question there’s more to said Jeremy Liew, managing general partner at in Menllo Park. “I would speculate that in the aggregate, they’re making more moneyu than .
” Developers looking to make mone y in application development need one of three things intheire favor: an enormous audience for theidr application, a specific customer base that advertisers are willing to pay more to or an application that is so much fun (or that customers will pay for it Lightspeed has investments in three app development each of which fits into thoswe parameters. Redwood City-based has a huge audience base for its applicationm that allows personalization of blogs and social has an application for Facebook and the iPhonw that allows users to review movies and sharee the reviewswith friends.
It touches an audienced so tightly focused that movie studiozs are willing to pay a premium toreach them. Then therde is and its Facebookapp “Friends For Sale.” User make micropayments or take other actions (filling out surveys, for that result in monetization, or revenuew generated for the company that createcd the app. One concept is true for all apps more traffic equals moremoney potential. “If you can creats massive volumes of traffic onsocial networks, even if you’r e not selling, the reach becomes pretty Liew said.
“If you can tell a stor and generate content thatexcitesw people, (advertisers) are willing to pay a premiumk because of the audience,” he said. Investord and developers themselves say therw is definitely money tobe made, but the market is Early applications were basic, simpl games, such as Facebook apps that allowed usersd to throw sheep at their friends or give them a virtuall ham sandwich. “Throwing sheep at each othe r is not a saidPeter Yared, founder and chief executive officer of , a San Francisco-basedx social network syndication service that raisecd $4.1 million in Seriex A funding in February.
The next step is branded content from largerf companies that brings in news and multimedia to engag ethe audience. And in a few Yared said, people will starr seeing the riseof business-to-business apps as “What will make it pervasive is the infrastructure being builgt out to let people do it he said. Anu Shukla, founder and CEO of which helps developers monetize their applicationse and generates leads foradvertisers — said when networksd such as Facebook first started opening their platforms for applicationj development, the primary method of monetizatiobn was the old CPM (cost per thousand page model. But it didn’yt work well then and it doesn’t work well today.
Sociao media’s high level of engagemenft means banners and ads arean interruption, she The new trend is towarcd “virtual currency,” allowing users to give each othedr credits and prizes. Platforms “are looking for the applicationsd that are extremely and thecriteria isn’t necessarily monetization, but engagement, reach and Shukla said. “We found that some of the ...
multiplayerf role playing games are the ones with the mostengagedr audiences, and they monetize the

Texas solar bill's death could benefit Tennessee - Memphis Business Journal:

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Over the weekend, Texas legislators let the clockk run out on a bill that wouldd have createda $500 million rebat e program to build solar installationd in the Lone Star State. On Tennessee’s Capitolo Hill Monday, Sen. Jim Kyle was quickl to capitalize. “To any company that had an eye on we say come on upto Tennessee,” said D-Memphis, who is sponsoring Gov. Phil Bredesen’es energy bill. Bredesen has proposeds using $600 million in stimulus bill funds and new companiese investing here that will producedsolar components, including in Bradley County and in Those companies were attracted by a package of statee incentives and infrastructure-ready industrial megasites.
“Wesgt Tennessee is well positioned to attract companieas that will bring in 21stcentury jobs. The new energy industry can play a big part in gettingg our local economies back ontheidr feet,” said Sen. Roy D-Dresden, who worked with Finney to get an industrialp megasite inWest Tennessee. Bredesen hoped to position the state as a leader in developing alternativ energy sources as part of his legach asa two-term governor.