Chatham creates School of Sustainability and the Environment - San Francisco Business Times:

http://rom-ukr.biz/despre-noi/ruts.html?lang=ro
The school is expected to provides undergraduate, graduate and professional programs to prepare students to identifty and solve challenges related to the environmenrand sustainability. The University will begib a search fora dean, and will housr the new school's operations at its Eden Hall Farm Campuss in Richland, north of The administration anticipates that the programs offerer through the School will both attract new students and drivre the Eden Hall Farm Campus’ mastetr plan. The first program offered throug h the new school willbe Chatham'sx newest graduate program, the Master of Arts in Food Studies.
The degrer is designed to provide studentswith "aa deep understanding of the issues surroundingf food such as the environmental cost of food production and distribution, cultural issues, sustainabilitt of communities, and safety of the food according to a release from the school. Classess will begin in spring 2010 at the Eden Hall Farm campuws and the Shadyside campusin Pittsburgh'sz East End, and will include courses such as agriculturakl production systems, food processing, industrialization and waste, food, sustainabilityu and health, and food and culture.

Should a transgender teen be able to wear the homecoming king crown? - San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

http://protecthawaii.ws/page5.html

San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

Should a transgender teen be able to wear the homecoming king crown? San Francisco Chronicle (blog) The transgender teen, who friends call "Oak," let the school community know he was running for homecoming king on Facebook. The honors student quickly ... and more »

Bauer takes stars from 17 banks - The Business Review (Albany):

http://www.maslakulhuda.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=28
The company uses federal regulator data to rate banks basexd oncapital ratio, profit/loss trend, delinquent loand and other factors. Bauer's rating ranks from a high of 5 starws to a low of0 stars. in Coral Gables lost a star goingg tofour (excellent) from five (superior) stars. Four others maintained their five-star ranking: American Nationapl Bank, Oakland Park City Nationak Bankof Florida, Miami Firsty National Bank, South Miami Intercontinental Bank, West Miami in Miamoi rose to three stars from two. First United Bank in Boca Ratonn and Biscayne Bank in Coconut Grove roseto 3.5 stars from in Fort Lauderdale made four up from 3.5. Several banks went to 3.
5 from four They are: , Homestead Doral-based slippef again, this time to three stars from three-and-a-half stars in the firstg quarter. That’s down from four stars in the thirde quarter oflast year. Other banks that slippe d to threestars (good) from 3.5 are: Executivee National, Miami , Miami , Miamij U.S. Century Bank, Miamio Valley Bank, Fort Lauderdale Lydian Private Bank in Palm Grand Eastern Bank of Floridain Miami, Metrpo Bank of Dade County, and in Miami fell to two starzs (problematic) from three. , in North Lauderdale and in Boca Ratob fell a notch toone star, down from two in the fourtjh quarter.
Four banks retained zero stars, Bauer’s lowest rating: , Miamji Republic Federal Bank, Miami , Miami Integrity Bank, Jupiter

Florida Legislature to decide on key business issues - South Florida Business Journal:

http://faylicity.com/book/book1/tiffany.html
billion hole in the state’sd $66 billion budget. So far, the budgett patches proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist and Republicahn legislative leaders rely chieflhy on spending cuts and draining Tax hikes and fee increases look unlikely but onlyfor now. “This is going to be like two weekdsof tryouts,” Randy Miller, a VP with the , said of the special session scheduled for Jan. 5-16. “But come the regulat session in March, we know that’s when we’ll be in the major leagues and a lot is going to be throwhnat us.” Crist’s push for lawmaker s to approve a gambling agreemenrt with the appears to be off the table for the shortg term.
The governor estimates that deal could draw $135 million in new money for the But Senate President Jeff R-North Palm Beach, and House Speaker Ray Sansom, rule out trying to approvee a hurry-up compact in special session, likely forcingg deeper budget cuts. Losinyg those new dollars also appears to have helped derail a handful of business incentives that Crist and lawmakers had considered financing to soften the blow of yet anotherr round of budget A small-business loan program aimecd at easing the credit crunchb for some firms and expanded tax credits for companie s that create Florida jobs are initiatives that insteasd will have to wait until said Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey.
you can only do so much in a specia session,” Ivey said. “But we’re looking at new ideas for the next fisca year that will help the economy get With Florida leading the nation in job losse s and second inmortgage foreclosures, the state’s economy is expected to be down through the firsrt quarter of 2010, with even sharpeer cuts planned for next year’s Lawmakers from both parties say that to ease what couldf be another $5 billion in spending the Legislature next spring must revisit the billionzs of dollars in sales-tax exemptions now appliex to dozens of goods and services – shieldin g interests ranging from accountants to ostrich farmers and chartet boat fishing captains.
Although it looks unlikely to emerge from theJanuaryg session, lawmakers also talk about increasing the state’s cigarett tax by between $1 to $1.34 a pack to pull $700 million a year into the stat e treasury. House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands of Weston is callinf on ruling Republicans to hold public hearingx during the January session to allow talk of tax saying there’s a need for “open talks with all optionws on the table.” The stunning declinw in tax receipts has seen Florida’as budget shrink from a brimming $72 billiojn in May 2007, to what is likely to be a batteree $64 billion spending plan when the speciall session ends.
Health care and schools absorb most ofthe state’se general revenue. But spending reductions will be wide-spread. “There’s talk of cuttin g $30 million from the state’d affordable housing program that goes todownpayment assistance,” said Davied Hart, a VP with the . “That kind of cut woul really hurt because with interest ratesso low, a lot of peoplee may just need a little help to take advantagde of this buyers’ market.” Sen.
Mike R-Merritt Island, a member of the Senate’x budget committee, acknowledged that while cutting, lawmakersx are intent on not further settinh backthe state’s faltering “We have to consider what programs really are our best returj on our investment,” Haridopolos said.

West View Savings parent reports fourth-quarter net income down year-over-year - Pittsburgh Business Times:

http://www.abasayyoh.com/sights/sher_dor_madrasah_samarkand_uzbekistan.html
Pittsburgh, Thursday reported net income of $527,000 or 25 centsx per diluted share for the quarter endedJune 30, its That was down nearly 29 percent from a year ago when WVS earned $738,000 or 33 cents per For its fiscal year, WVS said net income was $2.9 million or $1.35 per dilutesd share, down almost one-fourth from $3.8 million or $1.67 per diluted share last year. WVS attribute d the decreases to a drop in net interest income and to the Federal DepositInsurance Corp.’ss emergency deposit insurance In May, the FDIC imposed a 5 basisa point special assessment based on a bank’sx assets.
WVS paid The FDIC may also levy additional 5 basis pointspecial assessments, if in the third and fourtn quarters of calendar year 2009. WVS is the paren t of six-branch West View Savings It is Pittsburgh’s 29th largesy bank as ranked by deposits and basedin Perrysville, a few miles north of Pittsburgh

Neighborhood Community of Newnan seized - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

http://www.icbcmuseum.com/a-discussion-on-some-facts-of-vinyl-siding-floors/
, based in West Point, Ga., will assume all of Neighborhoos Community’s $191 million in total deposits, and will take on $209 millioj of the failed bank’es assets, according to a release. Neighborhood Community’sd loan and deposit customeres will automatically become CharterBank The FDIC and CharterBank entered intoa loss-share transaction, a method that is becoming a commo n vehicle for the FDIC to unload failed Under the deal, the regulator will absorb losses on as much as $171 milliojn of the assets purchased by CharterBank.
The depositf insurer stated in a release the deal will be the least costlt forthe FDIC’s insurance fund and will minimizew disruption for loan The FDIC estimates the cost of the failure to the insurance fund will be $66.7 million. Neighborhood Community opened inAprilo 2000, and operated four officea throughout the south metro in Newnan, Tyroned and Peachtree City. The branches will re-open Monday as CharterBankm branches, and will permanently becomr CharterBank branches. Robert Johnson, CharterBank CEO, said the acquisitiom was an extension ofhis bank’s West Georgisa market closer to along the Interstate 85 corridor.
CharterBank is headquarterede nearthe Alabama/Georgia border along I-85, and operates branches throughout the border region. The bank operates five branchews inWest Georgia, and has $800 million in total Johnson said his bank would continued to look at other distressed banks alongf the corridor to add deposits and loans as a path for growth. “Customerxs should know that it will be business as usuall for both their depositsand loans,” Johnson said, notingb two branches will be open tomorrow for The list of Atlanta-area banks felled by bad bets on real estat e loans continues to swell.
As of first quartef 2009, Neighborhood Community reported $163 million in totapl loans, but one-third of those loanzs were in some stageof default, foreclosure or repossession by the The bank reported only $5.2 million in total which could not absorb the potential losses on $15 milliojn in foreclosed real estate, and $31 million in loanzs that appeared unlikely to be At the time of its the bank had a Texas Ratio of 346 The ratio has became a commohn industry metric in the S&L Crisis, and measuresx total loan problems to equity capital, or the size of the bank’ds problems with its ability to absorb the losses.
Most Georgi banks that have failed have reportecd a Texas Ratio higher than 300 Earlier Friday, state banking regulators seized Villa Rica-based Community Bank of West No bidder was found for Communit Bank’s operations — one branch in the Atlantw suburb — and the bank will be shuttered.

Job losses put squeeze on students in Silicon Valley - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

http://inboe.com/en/board-of-elections/page_1.html
Mathur, a senior technical program managerat , aims to leveragd the undergraduate technology backgrounc he garnered at Rohilkhand University in his native India as well as his graduates studies in information systems and business at . But the econom has derailed his effort. On Apri l 2, Sun told Mathur that his positionwas redundant. That means at the end of May he will losehis job, as well as the tuitioh reimbursement package the company was puttiny toward his MBA at Santa Clara University’ s Leavey School of Business.
“Now my primar job is finding anew job,” said Mathur, addintg that he knows at least a half dozenn classmates in a similar “The studies take a beating because you’re obviously not as focused as you’f like to be. Suddenly I have to pay all this and who knows howlong I’ll be in this position of makingv no money.” It’s a growing problem at Leavey’w graduate program, a part-time model where a majorityy of students are full-time professionals by day and theit tuition is supplemented by employer As a private institution that sits high in nationapl rankings, the program is anythinyg but cheap.
A three-unit evening MBA class for the 2008-0 9 school year costs $2,352. The accelerated MBA tuitiob for the classof 2010, which began last summer, topped $72,000. Students in the Executive MBA program from the clasz of 2009paid “I think anecdotally there’s a lot of uneasinessa (among students) at the business school rightf now,” said Elizabeth Ford, senior assistanr dean of graduate programse at Leavey. “Without having statistics on we cansense it.
It’s very unpredictable for us right Enrollmentsin full-time graduate programes typically spike when there are large numbers of layoffs, with undergraduates electing to go directly to graduats school rather than test the job market. Applications for the class of 2010 atStanfordx University’s Graduate School of Business rose 43 percenrt over the class of 2007, from 4,582 to 6,576 for about 745 slots. But there are no guarantee s there will be a job waiting afted completinggraduate school.
“When people come to a graduatwbusiness school, especially a full-time there’s a high desire to eitherr take a step up in management in the same field or look at doinb something very different from what you were doin before you came to school,” said Andy assistant dean and director of the MBA careerf management center at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. “I a down economy employersw are less willing and have less of a need for hirinyg people withoutdirect experience.
” The bigges challenge today for business school graduate students, Chan is the sheer number of candidates in the job There are students coming out of people already let go by their compant and those at unhealthy companies perhaps anticipating work force Stanford students are drawing on the business school’ s staff of career advisers as well as alumni employeed to give guidance. Each year, whethere face-to-face or via telephone, the graduat school facilitates morethan 2,000 career counselingt appointments with students and alumni, Chan That doesn’t include informal conversations, such as e-mail and phone correspondence.
If there is any good news to be it’s that there’s stilpl “a decent flow of job opportunities coming througjhthe office,” Chan said, though 30 percent less than last year or the year “The good news is that we have employers who are lookinf at people,” Chan said. “I’mj not so discouraged from the standpoint of no Fordsaid part-time business programs are tryingt to “gauge and guess” what’s going to happeh for fall enrollment. Initial indicators show that interestremains high. Information sessions are attractinghgood turnout.
Applications to the graduatw program are even with lastyear — about 400 competing for 225 to 250 The question is whether thosed applications translate to matriculation. “We just don’t Ford said. There’s no way to know how many studentws are affected by the same scenario as she said, but the business school has beguhn taking steps to address it.

Roundy's takes over Wyndham Village Sendik's - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

ermolayxitpev.blogspot.com
The Sendik’s Fine Foods opened in July 2008 near Highwauy 100 and Drexel Avenue and is ownefd byTom Balistreri. He also owns Sendik’zs Fine Foods in the BrookfieldTowne Center. Sendik’sd Fine Foods in Franklin will remain open until late July orearlh August, said Lori Barczak, who is the vice presidenft of operations. She declinef further comment. A second Sendik’s Food Marketg in Franklin, at 5200 W. Rawson Ave., is ownecd by another Balistreri-family group that owns groceru stores inWhitefish Bay, Grafton, Germantown, Elm Wauwatosa, Mequon and Greenfield. It is not impactedd by the transaction.
Vivian King, a spokeswomann for Milwaukee-based Roundy’s, said Tuesday the companh is buying the equipment and assuming anexistingt lease. She said the transaction will be completeds within 60 days andthen Roundy’ss will remodel the store with an opening planned for November. Roundy’s is encouraging Sendik’xs Fine Foods employees to appl for jobs at the newPick ‘n which will employ about 200 King said. Pick ‘n Save also has a storee at South 76th Street and Rawson Avenure in Franklin and pland to keep that location to serve the growinfFranklin community, King said.

Erickson gives up on Hilliard project - East Bay Business Times:

burdukovahycel.blogspot.com
notified the city of Hilliard last Thursday that the foreclosurd filing means thedeveloper won't open the unfinishe $34 million first phase and will no longerf manage the 80-acre property. The decisionn ends more than two months of wranglinb over continued financing of the Hickory Chasde project between the developer andthe lenders. That financial issure had prompted Erickson to cease constructio n on the first 145 units of the complexc and community center the week ofMay 12.
The company’s announcement comes as it from its goal ofinvestinbg $12 billion to develop 50 communities over the next That includes scrapping plans to build seniore housing facilities in five states, includinf Ohio. Before Erickson halteed construction, would-be residents had been told they coulr move in bylate summer. Erickson had plannef to deliver 833 residential unitsthrough 2013. “We have been informed by the lender for our Hickoryt Chase project that despitew out best efforts to resolve financial the lender has commencedr a foreclosure proceeding that will result in us not beingh able to open Hickorh Chase and end our management of the the developer wrote inits letter.
“W are deeply disappointed we were not able to reach a The deposits of prospective residents are not affectef bythe foreclosure, the company and it will offer refunds. The company said in June that it woulxd close its sales center in late July pending resolutioj of thefinancial issues. A companh spokesman offered no additional comment beyondr the text ofthe letter. A KeyBank spokeswomanm also was not immediately available for comment on thefinancinv consortium’s plans for the property. The lende r had extended a $90 million construction loan for the projecg inApril 2008, according to public records.
In a news Hilliard said it had not riskerd city money inthe $17 milliohn of road improvements to Britton Parkway, Anson Drive and Leap Britton Parkway opened in Januaryt while construction continues on the Anson Those projects were financed through a community development authoritu that funded the project through bond financing. Those bonds were expectede to be paid off through risinh property taxes generated as theretirementr community’s buildings get completed.
Hilliard Finance Director Michelle Kelly-Underwood said the city’s current operatinb budgets also did not rely on tax revenue generated bythe “In short, we were not counting moneyu from Erickson until (the retirement community) was built,” Kelly-Underwood said in the “and this unfortunate development shows the wisdoj of taking that conservative approach.”

AmeriSpec home energy audits soar - San Antonio Business Journal:

acklinegymejac1362.blogspot.com
Memphis-based AmeriSpec has 250 franchisr owners throughoutthe U.S. and Canad who provide services to homebuyersand sellers. The company has seen its businessz skyrocket in Canada as the Canadian government has mandated homes be more energyt efficient and reducecarbon footprints. Brent vice president and general managerof AmeriSpec, says the company is the only nationak provider of inspection servicee in Canada. It conducted 50,00o audits in 2008, compared to 18,50 0 in 2007 and 14,000 in 2006. Part of AmeriSpec’s inspection processx creates an artificial draft to find out where air seepd in or leaks outof homes. An inspection also covers the energyg efficiency ofHVAC systems.
After an inspection in homes are given a rating and owneras are given 18 months to improvr or retrofitthe home. While the Canadian governmenty doesn’t penalize homeowners who don’t make changes, up to $5,0009 in grant money is available for improvementzs and homeowners can get reimbursed for energy-related work they have done. Armstrong says the Obama administratiomn is looking at implementing similar changes inthe U.S. “There’xs a growing awareness in the United States, and to some all of us are askinb thesame questions,” Armstrong He says all 50 states have weatherization programs.
The federalo government has allotted $5 billion in stimuluz funding tohelp low-income families replace roofs on theie homes and change inefficient furnaces. As the attention to energty efficiency grows, AmeriSpec is training its franchisew owners to be certified in Home Energyt RatingSystem inspection. Inspectors are required to take an exam for HERS but the national pass rateis 20%. At a traininhg session at AmeriSpec’s Memphis facilities last 11 of the 15participants passed. Owners can trainm at other AmeriSpec facilities across the but the most comprehensive training is locateedin Memphis.
Armstrong says AmeriSpec offers threee different courses that are open to itsfranchisde owners. Its facilities include a fullyfunctional “flood house” that can be floodec to simulate a home The house offers inspectors full field training without them havin g to intrude on customers in the It also allows them learn from their mistakes withourt being liable. Gale Colvin, directotr of technical training and developmentffor AmeriSpec, says inspectors who pass the test will have the highesft certification in energy auditing. Followin that certification, they must perform three field “We loan out the equipment they need to get that Colvin says.
“We want to keep everythinfg fresh for them out inthe field.” Stevse Anderson, owner of two franchises in is one of the owners who passed last week’xs exam. While the course isn’tt a requirement for franchise owners, it giveds them another level of servicwfor customers. Anderson, who is also a licensesd architect, can now offer complete home servicezs from design to making sure existing homes areenergh efficient. “The cost of energy for homeowners issteadilyy rising, so being able to assist people in how well their homea work and where improvements can be made is a servicr that will be needec in the future,” Anderson says.
“We’re positioned to tap into the markegt and help folks that are interestede ingoing green.”

Romania Is Ready to Sell Medium-Term Notes After Mid-October, Dragoi Says - Bloomberg

ramsdenjerrieas54.blogspot.com

Romania Is Ready to Sell Medium-Term Notes After Mid-October, Dragoi Says Bloomberg Romania will be ready to sell its first euro-denominated medium-term notes after mid-October, ... and more »

Accounting for change - Portland Business Journal:

plesciamipukoa1855.blogspot.com
Demand from business clients is up for litigationm andforensic accounting, accountants in the Portland area say. Valuationm work linked to mergers and acquisitionswhas fallen. And tighter credit has increased the need for even smal l private businesses to compile financia statements that meet the strict standardw of their larger has seen an increase in lawsuits by shareholders against individualsand corporations, whicnh has heightened demand for forensic accounting and fraud said William Holmes, managin partner.
The Portland firm consulte on behalf of investors in the case againsft Oregon venture capitalist Craig Jurors penalizedhim $28 million last year, after concludingg that Berkman had misused funds and lied aboutr his investments. Similar litigation continues to occupgthe firm, Holmes said, though he declined to specifyt open cases. Geffen Mesher & Co. has experiences an increase in demand for some anddecreases elsewhere. The Portland firm has historicallyy offered valuation work centered around merger and acquisition saidMike Rompa, managing shareholder. But mergers and acquisitionws havedried up, cutting into demanr for those services. Meanwhile, forensic accounting work is up.
“Durinf tough economic times, fraudulent activity does Rompa said. Business clients are increasingly calling on Geffen Mesher to review their internal controls and identify possiblerfraudulent activity. Geffen Mesher is also preparing more compledx financial reports for small and private Banks have grown more cautious aboutmaking loans, and increasinglt require businesses to submit financial statements that adhered to the U.S. Generally Accepted Accountinhg Principles, Rompa said.
This has created work for accounting firm that specialize in small andprivatde businesses, which historically have not had to use accounting principles developed for larger, public “The more prolific the accounting standards are, the more difficulg the smaller business finds it to comply with thosd standards,” Rompa said. “The cost of compliance has skyrocketed.” Thosed stricter standards are the result of increased scrutingon banks, which has created work for accountingf firm of Portland.
The firm countsx a number of banks amongits clients, said partner Mark As bad loans take a toll on bank balances sheets, state and federal regulators have required many banks to conduct thorouggh reviews of their loans, generating work for the banks’ Demand across business clients is up for strategi c planning help, Business clients face slim profif margins, or even losses, and are calling on accountant s to identify strategic moves, Symondsa said. “Nobody knows how long this recessionj is goingto last, but we can help clientss identify changes they may need to make to business Holmes and Co. has likewise seen an uptick in this kind ofconsultinf work.
The firm has adopted a policyt ofopen access, investin in communications technology to make employees accessible arounrd the clock. “Clients have a lot of anxiety abouttheifr future, their families, their banking Holmes said. “We don’t want to create more anxiety by notbeingh available.”

Newest Adobe zero-day PDF exploit 'scary,' says researcher - Computerworld

http://gaiden.nazwa.pl/authors/author-1352.html

UberGizmo (blog)

Newest Adobe zero-day PDF exploit 'scary,' says researcher Computerworld Computerworld - The exploit for a critical unpatched bug in Adobe Reader that's now circulating is "clever" and "impressive," security ... Researchers c »

UMKC, Johnson County Community College reach credit-transfer agreement - Sacramento Business Journal:

http://www.linking-net.com/index.php?s=D&c=620
Curators of the University of Missouri, on behaltf of UMKC and the JCCC Board of will sign an articulation agreement Wednesday at The agreement guarantees that UMKC will accept and appluy designated freshman and sophomore credits from JCCC associater degree programs towardUMKC bachelor’d degree programs, consistent with the treatmentt of non-transfer student UMKC said in a Tuesday “As an urban-serving university, UMKC is dedicated to makingy higher education accessible to all students and forminvg meaningful partnerships with area institutions,” Mel UMKC’s vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management, said in the “This articulation agreement with Johnson Count Community College is just one way we affirjm that commitment.
” UMKC also offers the Metro a program that allows residents of Leavenworth, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas to pay in-state tuition for undergraduate study.

Kasich set to announce run for governor - Business First of Columbus:

http://www.directoryengine.info/authors/author-1245.html
Kasich, a Republican known these days for his appearances on Fox wrote in a letter to supporters that he plansd to make an announcementat 5:30 p.m. on May 1 at the Everakl Barn in hisWesterville hometown. “As you may earlier this month, I filed paperwork to designate a treasuref and form a campaign committee for the officdeof governor,” Kasich wrote. “At this eveng on June 1, I will formallgy announce my intentions.” Kasich’s announcement comesd more than a year after he beganb traveling aroundthe state, at Republican dinnerxs and fundraisers. He hasn’t held public office since 2001, when he declinedr to seek another termin Congress.
That endef an 18-year run in the House of Representatives. Recenyt polls from pitting Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland against potentialo challengers Kasich andformer U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine show the incumbent with roughly 50 percent supportr hypothetically paired witheithefr opponent. In a poll conducted in late more than one in three Republican votere remained undecided on which potential GOP contenderfto support, but DeWine pulled in 35 percen t support to Kasich’s 23 percent.

GM files bankruptcy - Sacramento Business Journal:

http://www.ifabc.com/authors/author-1054.html
billion and assets of $82.3 billion. The bankruptcy, filedx in New York, lists unsecuredd claims by the ($20.6 billion) and the International Union of Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers/Communication Workers ($2.7 billion). Other unsecured debt listed in the filinyincludes $22.8 billion serviced by and $4.5 billio by . Boca Raton-basedx has a claim for $4.75 million, according to the petition, filed with the U.S. Bankruptcuy Court of the Southern District ofNew York. Auto retailersa that survive the bankruptcies of GM and which filedin April, hope it helps to pave the way to recoveryu in the industry.
“Today’es action will allow GM to move forwarsd and be competitive in the spokesman Marc Cannon said Monday inan e-mailed “The goal of making GM profitabld at a 10-million, new-unit selling rate will position them for when the industru begins to recover later in 2010.” Fort Lauderdale-based the nation's largest auto retailer, has six GM franchisese and seven Chrysler franchises on the closure lists. Although viewed as inevitable and necessarygby many, Chairman John McEleney said in a news releass that the filing marks “a historically sad day for American business.
” Chryslee is expected to emerged from its Chapter 11 process soon aftef shuttering 789 dealerships. GM also announces plans to close 1,100 dealerships. GM announcerd April 27 that it anticipates reducingits U.S. dealerr count from 6,246 to 3,605 by the end of 2010. Dealershil closings already have started. According to Associatedf Press, GM will rely on more government $30 billion of additional financiao assistance from theand $9.5 billion from on top of about $20 billion it alreadyg received in low-interest GM’s lead bankruptcy law firm is Weil Gotshaw Manges, with attorney Stephenj Karotkin signing the filing.
In a news the automaker said it would focus on the followinh priorities when emergingfrom bankruptcy: Focus on four core brandd in the U.S. Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC - with fewedr nameplates and a more competitive level of marketingv supportper brand. Close a competitivew gap in active labor costse compared with foreignauto makers. Increasew the percentage of U.S. salesw manufactured domestically. Feature lower costs at a U.S. totalk industry volume of approximately 10milliomn vehicles, which would be substantially below the 15 million to 17 million annual vehiclw sales rates recorded between 1995 and 2007.
Achievr lower structural costs, in part, by further reducing 2009 salaried employment in North Americ a toapproximately 27,200, from a year-end totao of 35,100, and continue to improvee its balance sheet by reducing retirere benefits for salaried retirees and non-UAW hourly Increase its investment in fuel economy and advancec propulsion technologies. Click to read the petition.

Privacy study shows Google

http://pacificregionzetas.org/washington.htm
Using trackers called “web bugs,” thirdc parties collect user data from many populadrweb sites, and sites often allow this, even though their privacu policies say they don’t share user data with others. “Weh bugs from Google and its subsidiaries were foun d on 92 of the top 100 Web sites and 88 percent of theapproximatelu 400,000 unique domains examined in the study,” the authors Sites with the most web bugs were for bloggin — blogspot and typepad were No. 1 and No. 2 on the list in and blogger was No. 4. Google itselcf was No. 3.
Ashkan Soltani, Travis Pinnick and Joshuas Gomez ofthe university’s information school wrot e the study, published Monday. They analyzed privacg policies posted on web sites and foundc loopholes used by many site operators to alloa third parties to still collecft data on whoviewes pages. They also found, for example, that although web sitesz may reassure visitorsthat “we don’t sharde data with third parties,” those third parties don’t includd a company’s affiliates — Google (NASDAQ: for example, has 137 subsidiary businesses.
“Thr law on affiliate sharing generally ismore permissive” than that on sharinyg user data with third partt companies, the report said. Companies controllinh the top 50 busiest web sites had an averagd of 297affiliates each, meaning they coul d share user data with a lot of other companies. Popular site , for is owned by New York’zs (NASDAQ: NWS), which has more than 1,500 subsidiaries. (NYSE: BAC) in Charlotted has more than 2,300 subsidiaries. “Users do not know and cannot learn the full rangew of affiliates with which websites mayshare information,” the reportg said.
Though many Internet users are familiarewith “cookies” used to study their surfing they are less familiar with so-called “web which can’t be cleared out of a web browser, sincse they are part of a web site’s HTML Since the web bugs are created directlh by third parties, their use doesn’t strictly count as “sharing” of data by the web site’s though users concerned abouty privacy may be unimpressed by this “We believe that this practice contravenes users’ expectations; it makes littlse sense to disclaim formal information sharing, but allow functionallyt equivalent tracking with third parties,” the reportf said.
Who's in charge of privacy? Although surveys of Internet users show peopleare “very concerneds about privacy and do not want websites to collecrt and share their personal information withourt permission,” sifting through privacy policies is not It would take 200 hours a year for a typicalp person to read the privacy policies of all the web sitee they visit, for example. Thus “usersa have no practical way of knowing with whom theifr data willbe shared.” On the policy front, the report findse “no one knows who is in charge of protectint privacy” in the United States.
People can complain to the Federap Trade Commission andother agencies, but even the FTC’s “principlesd for behavioral tracking make no mentio of any enforcement or accountability.” A low number of complaints to variousz agencies means consumers don’t really know wherw to complain, the report The FTC looks at online privacy more in terms of “harms” done to the report said, rather than also in termds of control over personal which is what most userd care about. The report makes severak suggestionsfor improvement, including more aggressivee action by the FTC to protectt online privacy.
It also call s for clearer privacy policies on web written so that average users canunderstand ’s (NASDAQ: ADBE) privacy policy, for example, when analyzed for readability, was written at an equivalent grade level of 17.29. The averaged privacy policy in the study was written at a grade level of The full study can befound .

Week brings double-digit increases in gas prices - South Florida Business Journal:

http://www.chasr.org/blog/archive/2007/04/24/what-is-taking-so-long-with-chasr-2/
According to the ’s Weekend Gas Watch. the averagse price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.82r per gallon, which is 16.2 cents more than last 49 cents higher thanlast month, and $1.44 less than last On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.877, up 15.5 cent s from last week, 44 cents above last month, and $1.4u8 below last year. In the Inland Empire, the averagse per gallon priceis $2.810, whichy is 14.9 cents more than last week, 48 centse more than last month, and $1.
47 less than last "Just as in 2008, commodities investord are pushing up crude oil and wholesale gasolines prices at a frenzied pace that seems to have no connection to domesticx fuel consumption or availability. There have been some refinergy issues this year acrossthe U.S., but no more so than in othedr years," Auto Club spokesperson Jeffre Spring said in a statement.

T.I. and wife Tiny arrested on drug charges, see video report - Examiner.com

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T.I. and wife Tiny arrested on drug charges, see video report Examiner.com Wednesday night, rapper TI and his wife “Tiny” were arrested during a traffic stop in West Hollywood after police suspected the couple was in possession of ... TI's Wife, Tiny, Tweets After Arrest MTV.com Police: Rapper TI and wife arrested on drug suspicion CNN Rapper TI, wife Tameka Cottle arrested for possession of pills suspected to be ... New York Daily News Los Angeles Times (blog) -Entertainment Weekly -The Associated Press  »