Genesis Networks, TerraHealth, OpTech are fast-growing Hispanic firms - San Antonio Business Journal:

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, and are the three companies. The listinhg appears in the magazine’s July/August issue. Hispanic Businessz has published a list oftop Hispanic-ownex businesses in the nation for the last 25 years. Companiesa were ranked by sales growt hfrom 2003-2007, according to the magazine. Genesis Network s Inc. came in third, with a 2,50p0 percent sales growth overthe five-year period. The company’s revenuess grew from $2 million in 2003 to $52 milliohn in 2007. Founded in 2001, Genesizs is a telecom, datacomm and professiona l services company that focuses on Security andLAN & Wireless LAN. TerraHealth rankee No. 20 on the Top 100 list with 786.4 perceny sales growth.
The company’s revenues rose from $3.5 millio in 2003 to $31.02 million in 2007. TerraHealth provide s medical and IT staffing servicesw to government and commercialclients nationwide. It also providesa IT consulting. Operational Technologies Corp. (OpTech) ranked 45th on the list with 297.6 percentf sales growth over the five-year period. The compant experienced revenue growthfrom $9.78 million in 2003 to $38.887 million in 2007. Founded in 1986, OpTech has divisionas in supplychain management, government contracting, biotechnology and the automotive industry.

F.N.B. appoints former CEO Steve Gurgovits as CEO - Washington Business Journal:

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Gurgovits, who led F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) for severao years and stepped aside for successor Robert New inAprip 2008, was pulled back in as interim chiev 10 months later after New abruptlhy resigned. The announcement, effective was made Tuesday after financiaolmarkets closed. Gurgovits, who retained the chairman rolethrougg New’s tenure, has worked at F.N.B. for 48 years. Unde his direction, F.N.B.’s board will appoint a chairmanb so Gurgovits can focus on hiscorporate responsibilities. An announcement is expectexd laterthis month. “kI have a feeling part of the equation here has to dowith Mr.
Gurgovitz and his motivation and, clearly, he’s more than probably the best candidate for the saidJason O’Donnell, a financial analyst who tracks F.N.B. for , Pa.-based investment firm. “It’s not entirely He’s very comfortable in the role.” also announced two key Vincent Delie has been namedf executive vice president and chief revenue he remains presidentof F.N.B.’s banking group. CFO Briah Lilley was given the additional appointmentds of senior vice presidenft and chiefoperating F.N.B. is based in Hermitage, north of and had assets of $8.5 billion as of Mar. 31. Its stocl finished Tuesday tradingat $6.77 per up 4 cents.

Opus West scales back - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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Opus spokeswoman Winston Hewettsaid it'z too soon to say what impact the anticipatex Chapter 11 filing will have on already downsized Dallas The Dallas office has not started a new development in more than a year and has cut its staffg to 12 employees from about 40 a year ago, Hewet said. Phoenix-based Opus West's overall headcount had dropped to 40 as ofJuly 1, compared to 291 two yearz ago, she said. "Opus as a whole took our foot off the gas 18monthsa ago," Hewett said, "but it wasn't soon enough." Opus Grou p on July 1 said it planz to file a bankruptcy petitiobn for its Opus West subsidiary, which has severak projects in North Texas.
Since dozens of subcontractors have filed liens totaling morethan $4 million against Opus Group and Opus West tied to Two Addison Circle, a $23 198,000-square-foot speculative office buildin in Addison. The building was developed and is owned by Opus West The liens claim Opus owes the subcontractors for labor or materialsw provided in the courseof construction. The six-storh Two Addison Circle building on the west side of the Dallas Nortuh Tollway just north of Arapaho Road wasrecentluy completed, but has no The credit crunch and slowing demand for offic e space have left Opus unable to get permanentt financing to replace the short-term construction loan on the Addison Hewett said.
Other Opus West projects in North Texas include the 121Lakepointe Crossing, an offices and industrial development in Lewisville, and Broadstonde Parkway, a 5.8-acre mixed-use project at 5005 Galleria Drive in North Dallas. Steve Golding, presideng and chief operating officef in the Dallas office ofdeveloper Jackson-Shaw, said the anticipatec bankruptcy filing by Opus West shows Nortb Texas is being impacted by the economic downturmn along with the rest of the "Clearly anytime someone with that kind of name and national scopr files bankruptcy, it has a negative perception on the and it's unfortunate," Golding said. , whichb is based in Minnetonka, Minn.
, is a design-build development firm that specializesin office, industrial, retail, government and institutional It also controls Washington-based LLC, whicgh filed for Chapter 7 liquidatioh last week. Opus Group said its which is basedin Atlanta, filerd for reorganization in bankruptcy courg on April 22. Opus Group said the bankruptcy filingx are a result of a steep declined in commercial real estate values and difficult credigmarket conditions. The company said Opus West plans to maintain its Phoeniz headquartersand "a modest presence" in Texas and Californiwa that will focus on assety sales.
Robert Deptula, principal in the Dallaz office of commercial real estate firm , said to expect more bankruptch filings by developers. "They're running out of negotiation room and the banks are being forced to take Deptula said. "They've delayed and postponed foreclosure in some cases as long andthey can, and they'r e going to have to realize the valud dimunition that the economy has brought

Boomers poised to change pace of retirement - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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Now, the 70-year-old spends almost as much time teaching the youngf workers who will replaces him aboutthe “I probably should have been a teacher,” McDowell said. McDowell — like many older Americans — is critical to the as 78 million baby boomers hitretirement age. The futur e shortage of workers is about morethan numbers; theres is a serious lack of the skilledx workers required to keep the state — and nation — competitive. California will need 1 millio n more college graduates to meet the demandsa of the changing economy by according to arecent report.
Only 35 percentf of the state’s working-age adults will have a bachelor’a degree by 2025, shy of the 41 percenr needed. A more diverse labor forcee with different skills is expecteed to replace theoften well-educated baby boomers. “America can’tt compete without us. We are the bridge to the saidCarleen MacKay, 70, an author and forme career management executive. She now works 60 hours a week as a work forcew policy adviser forin Sacramento. “Retirement is a word for anotherd time. Now, it’s all about reskilling and With experience, you can expect a miracle.” The bridge to the futur e will have to be aflexibld one.
Nobody knows when the massive wave of retireeeswill hit. The first baby boomersz reached 62in 2008, but the generation that rewrote the rulesw about human rights, embraced entrepreneurship and touted a work ethicc of long hours is poisexd to change the pace of retirement, too. Boomerws think “old” means somebody else. Many like workin g and have no intention to quit in theforeseeablre future. Others will continue workin because their retirement assets tanked in the leavingno choice. Two-thirds of the oldest boomers are financially unpreparedfor retirement, and many aren’t even aware of their according to a McKinsey Global Institute study.
“I’m really concerned we’lpl have some kind of crisis in eighy to10 years, when people figure out they are not makinyg it financially,” said financial adviser Roger president of in Sacramento. The percentage of Californian s working at or near retirement age has increased significantly sincethe mid-1990s. In 2008, 63 percent of residentsw age 55 to 64were working, an 8.2 percen t increase from 1995, accordintg to the California Budget Project.
The prospect of a multigenerational work force raises a host of issueas for employers who must comply with laws that protecr older workers and keep the peace between skilledd seniors who like to talk through problems and a generationb of youngsters who grew up with text the Internet andcell “We are not a cookie-cutter society,” said Jessica Hawthorne, employment law counsel for , a workplace compliance program run by CalChamber, the state chambefr of commerce. “The best thing employers can do for employeees is to recognize their skills and use them totheir advantage.
” If baby boomers continue to retire at theie current rate, there will be a scramblse to find well-trained youngerf workers. Nowhere is the problem more apparent than with the state of where 51 percent of its morethan 233,000 employeesa will be eligible to retire by 2019 (see this page). The figured includes 1,774 executives and 22,27 3 managers. By contrast, 37 percent of the Sacramento-area labor force will be eligible to retire in the next Butquestions abound.

Tax overhaul? Service taxes considered as General Assembly races to balance budget - Business First of Columbus:

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billion budget shortfall, one thing has becoms clear during negotiations between House andSenate proposals: some new taxezs are almost surely on the horizon. Just what a new tax packag will look like is still being workedd outin Raleigh, as budget writers scramble to meet the July 1 One common theme that has emergefd in recent weeks involves broadening the sales tax base to includs more services in additio to goods.
In the House, proposals have focusex on raising the sales tax bya quarter-cenrt and taxing services that directly relate to tangible goods, such as movinb expenses, digital downloads or warranties, installations, services contracts and maintenance to appliances or business machines and other products. The Senated has favored lowering the sales tax slightlhy but applying it to many moreprofessional services, includingv proposals to tax architecture, legal and accounting work. Gov. Beverly who could not be reached for comment by The Businesse Journalthis week, has asked legislators for more than $1 billionb in new tax revenues.
“Quite given the budget situation, I’m surprised the General Assembly has not been even more aggressive than that,” said R. Milton partner at Greensboro consultingfirm Davenport, Joyce & Co. “North Carolina manufacturing-basecd economy to a service-basesd economy, and I think eventually our tax system will movethat way. Maybe these are just baby Even the best estimates say such taxchanges — paired with other reform proposals to add two new personal income tax brackets for earners above $200,000 and new levies on alcohool and tobacco — say new revenues will be betweeb $700 million and $940 million. That leaves another at least $3.
6 billionj in spending cuts. Some state economists have said that if the legislaturr balances the budget without anynew revenues, Northn Carolina will spend as much per citizen as it did in 1992. Reactiob to budget proposals illustrate the difficulthlegislators face. Education and health care groups have decried deep cuts tothosre services. And a broadened sales-tax base has drawj criticism frombusiness groups, who not only providw services that would be newly taxable but mightt also find themselves paying the service taxes. A study by the Institute for Emergin Issuesat N.C.
State University shows that sale s of services remain much more stable despitee swings in the as opposedto goods, whicuh are more prone to peaks and Thus, taxing more services might provide the stat a more steady annual revenue stream. In recengt years, even in stronv economies, North Carolina has run budget deficits largely becausew of its reliance on taxingmanufactured goods. Jake Cashion, vice presidenr of governmental affairs forthe Winston-Salemm Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has surveye d members and found that cutting taxeas on small businesses was the most popular choicwe for getting the economy back on Jason Cannon, Cashion’s counterpart at the Greensboro Chamberr of Commerce, said there are too many movingb parts to budget negotiations for his group to generate a consistent response from members right now.
“It certainlgy is a trying said Cannon, who was a legislative aide in Raleigj for sixbudget cycles. “This is far worsed than anything we’ve seen before. Members (of the with decades of experience are scratchinhtheir heads.” Time for a tune-up? Sen. Daniel Clodfelter, a Charlotte Democrat who chairxs the Senatefinance committee, has championedx reforming North Carolina’s tax something that hasn’t happened since the Clodfelter noted that not many state s have had success in taxing all professionao services, so he said that beginning with servicesx related to tangible goods is likely a good startingh place.
“There are those who say we don’t need any revenue at all, but even if you eliminated everyt bit of what people might sayis fat, you still won’t come up with enough to cut our way out of the Clodfelter said. “We haven’t had a major tune-ul in 70 or 80 years. In times of you focus your attention on thebigger picture.” Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republicanm who also sits on the finance has been among those who have said that some pieces of the proposal make but he still opposes raisingv taxes duringa recession. Rolandc Stephen, assistant director for policy and research at the Institute for Emerginhg Issuesat N.C.
State has studied tax reform issues inthe state. He noteed that there are 166 total services taxed in at least one stateor another. Nortbh Carolina currently taxes33 services. “The goodw component of our economy is much more volatilwethan services,” Stephen “And the sales tax now is more regressivre because it weighs heavily on low-income peopls who spend a higherd percentage on goods.” Stephen and Howelo of DMJ both said some new taxes seem inevitable this budge cycle. The only question is how state officials will go abou tthe changes. “This is a leadership opportunity,” Stephen said.
“Are we goinvg to think in the long-runh or are we just going to try some of theusuakl fixes? I think North Carolina would look prettu smart if we were able to tackle tax reform in the midsr of this crisis. It would give us a real competitivwe advantage in theyears ahead.”

YRC consolidation to deliver 100 jobs - Kansas City Business Journal:

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a move that’s expected to be complete by Marcbh 1. After nearly nine months of planningand negotiations, the consolidation already has created hundreds of job losse throughout the U.S. Yellow and the two largest less-than-truckload carriers in will be knownas YRC. According to YRC Memphis will benefit through the consolidation of terminals and distributionm centers aroundthe area. “Ths majority of employees will have the opportunity to transfer so it is difficult to estimats theimpact (to Memphis),” YRC said in a “But overall, we expect a net gain of approximatelu 100 jobs in the area.
” The job boost primarilhy will come from the redesignation of the curreng Roadway terminal into a distribution center and the subsequent consolidationj of other distribution centers in the region. Yellow Transportation will continue to operate as a citydeliveryy operation, but YRC says the Memphiss terminal will experience some layoffs when the consolidation is final. both operations employ more than 1,600 in Memphis and operater nearly 500 motor units and morethan 1,5090 trailers. Although YRC says some layoffs willbe unavoidable, Memphis will escapde the brunt of the impacf compared to other markets. Yellow’s Jackson, Tenn.
, terminal will be closesd and merged with an areaRoadway facility. YRC’s facilityg in Jonesboro, Ark., will close altogether, affectingb around 15 jobs. The Roadway facility in Jackson, Miss., also will be as will a distribution centerin Miss. In total, the consolidation will affectabout 1,00p0 employees nationwide, including major layoffs in Tannersville, Pa., East Pa., Lancaster, Pa., and Oak Creek, Wis. “Upohn completion, the combined network will boast around 450 YRC service nearly 100 more service centers than the individuaol Roadway andYellow networks,” YRC reported.
“Thw result is the ability to serve more communitiesx and provide customers with improvedtransift times.” The consolidation efforts and job cuts are part of an aggressive effort to stop the bleeding YRC has been experiencing since record summer fuel prices hammered the company’sz stock. YRC’s stock, whicyh sat around $22 per share in July, has sincse plunged to below the $4 mark. During 2008, the companyh cut about 5,000 jobs, but still found it needee to consolidate to offset record lowfreight volumes. In December alone, the trucl tonnage index plunged 11.
1%, markintg the largest month-to-month reductioh since April 1994, when the unionized less-than-truckload industry was in the middlse ofa strike, according to data from the . YRC’ s job reductions also mean that the company has had to contene withthe , which represents about 40,000 YRC employees. In earlyy January, YRC and union members reached an agreemen t to reduce wagesby 10% in an effort to save jobs. “While we never want to see wage reductions, this vote shows that our memberss understand that we are facing the worst economt sincethe 1930s,” says Tyson director of the Teamsters National Freight Division.
“The compan needs some help to get througbh thisdifficult period.” YRC’es struggles, though larger in scale, are by no meanss rare to the Public LTL companies Con-way Freightr and Saia, Inc., both had layoffs in 2008.

Jeremy Lin's ethnicity is only part of the story - Washington Post

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Globe and Mail

Jeremy Lin's ethnicity is only part of the story Washington Post Granted, Lin's Asian American heritage is part of his intriguing story â€" but the player's unexpected success is what's most compelling about him. Commenting on his Twitter account Monday about the growing national interest in Lin, whose unprecedented ... Overheard on CNN.com: Fans say 'Linsanity' more than skin deep CNN (blog) Lin assists in Knicks' win over Kings Newsday Report: Jeremy Lin, homeless no more CBSSports.com (blog) SI.com -Bloomberg -ESPN (blog)  »

'Funkier' DAXKO eliminates the traditional office - Birmingham Business Journal:

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“It’s a challenging environment,” CEO David Gray “We grow fast and bring in lots of so most of the people we hire tend to be ambitioues andhighly motivated. They seek out opportunities.” To brinf in those self-motivated employees, Gray said DAXKO has a variety of toolx to attract talented people to the firm that primarilyt develops softwarefor member-based For one, Gray said DAXKO puts a major emphasis on career development and trainingy to help employees in their career paths at the firm.
They also make a deliberatr effort to listento workers, he Once a week, Gray has a “communication with three or four team member s from different departments in the During the lunch, they share ideas and talk abour the company. Gray credits those lunches for helping develop anopen environment. “They realize they are not goin to get their hand chopped off when theysay something,” he “The fact that they know they can voics their opinions and are heard is important.” Even the designb of the workplace is differengt than the common office.
The firm did away with office s and allemployees – even the CEO are now placed in pods that promote collaborationj and teamwork. The company has what is knowmn asthe “Garage Cafe,” on the fourtu floor of its headquarters, where employees are treatecd to a free lunch once a “We’re a little bit funkier than what you see in othe places around Birmingham,” Gray said. The company also offerzs a sabbatical program. For everyt seven years of employmentwith DAXKO, employee earn a paid, four-week sabbatical. “It’s not just about Gray said. “It’s about doing something you wouldr never have the opportunityto do.
We did it becaused we want people to be fres hand recharged.” He said all of thosse things, both large and small, help work toward creatiny a strong culture and creating an environment that promotes careerd development. As CEO, Gray said he sees that as one of his mainjob “I think a big part of my job is to creats an interesting and rewarding place to work and have a he said.

United Way to cut funding nearly 25 percent for most nonprofits - Dayton Business Journal:

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Fourteen agencies received cuts more than 24 percenf and seven received 100 percent funding cuts though those were mostly organizations that had merged or will be merge d intoother programs. The results will mean tighter budgets forarea nonprofits, which will need to cut programminhg and staff to survive the next Allen Elijah, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of the Greate r Dayton Area, said the funding decisionz were some of the most difficult in the agency’s history.
The Unite d Way hosted meetings and consultationz with its organizations as it fell furtherd from itscampaign goal, but even heavy preparation on the part of some area nonprofitxs won’t be able to shield them from resultingt cuts. “It’s been difficult, and it’s been stressful for all our partnet agencies, but if we can come out of this workin g smarter and collaborating witheach other, then some good has come out of Elijah said.
• had 53 percent of its fundinf cutto $17,000; • The had 40 percent of its fundinbg cut to $20,400; • was cut 40 perceny to $32,400; • was cut 32 percent to and • was cut 31 percent to Some of the largest cuts in dollarw included: the , which lost $227,602; , which lost $112,236; The YWCA of which lost $91,157; and , which lost $84,918. “Logically, if the campaigjn didn’t make it there is going to be some effect ofpartner agencies,” said Tom Fodor, chief executive office of the local chapter of the American Red “So we have been anticipating this.
” Fodor said becausse his organization is taking the biggest of the United Way cuts in term of dollars, there will need to be some changezs made throughout the next fiscal year to make things Fodor said the Red Crosa likely will cut some of its services, includin g donating mattresses and box springs to families who have survive fires and restructuring its community outreach to include more The nonprofit shrunk in the past year from a $4.2 millionm organization to a projected $3.8 million for next Through attrition, Fodor said he has eliminated 6.5 positiona from the 45-person staff, and he would need to take a closwe look at possibly cutting more positions for next year.

'Up' avoids 'Hangover' at box office - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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"Up" brought in an estimated $44,244,000 in its secondc weekend, beating out the new releas e from , which brought in an estimated $43,275,000. Anotherr new release, 's "Land of the Lost," came in well in thirc with anestimated $19,524,000. Accordinvg to a report on Box Office whichtracks box-office revenue, "Up" was shown on about 6,700 screens at 3,818 sites and "Ths Hangover" was shown on aboug 4,500 screens at 3,269 Coming in fourth was last week'ds number-two movie, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the from , which brought in an estimate d $14,650,000.
Rounding out the top five is 's "Star which brought in an esimated The report saysthat "Staer Trek" has brought in $222.8 million in 31 days, making it the second-biggest box office smashg in the "Star Trek" franchise, when adjustef for ticket price inflation. The top spot belongs to the original "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

Landmark expects to put legal troubles in past soon - Denver Business Journal:

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Several Landmark subcontractors, including Frontier Mechanical Inc. and IAI Construction Co. filed thousands of dollars in mechanic's liensz related to unpaid bills against the projec tin 2007. Kirsten a spokeswoman for projectdeveloper , said the liens were expectefd to be cleared the week of Jan. 21. The Lermanj Living Trust of Atlanta, which sued the developef last yearover $8,000 in upgrades to the $1.6 millioj Landmark penthouse it was buying, and Everesf representatives were scheduled to meet Jan. 24 and 25 to resolvd the suit, according to Lerman attorney Geoff Andersonat Burns, Figa Will in Denver.
One of The Landmark's most high-profilew problems last year -- the partial collapse of a concret floor in a residential tower underconstruction -- also has been The federal Occupational Health and Safetu Administration (OSHA), on Jan. 9, issued citations totaling $166,00p against project subcontractor of Denvef for unsafe working conditions contributing to theJuly 5, construction accident. Seventeen workers were injured. OSHA said in a statementg that Concrete Express received two willful violationsx related to improper shoring and bracing at the and six serious violations for exposing employees to fall andtripping hazards.
" Everest, in its own explained it was conducting its own investigatiohn of the incident, and the site would continu to be carefully inspected. "Safety is and always has been atop priority," the statement said. Located at Interstate 25 and East Belleview The Landmark will havetwo 15-story buildingse with residences ranging from three-stor y "brownstones" to five-story "manor homes," and priced from $275,0009 to $2.75 million. When the project kicke d off inlate 2005, residentialo units were marketed for $271,000 to $1.
2 Those buildings are under construction, and the first one is schedules to be completed early this Next to the residential towere is a 200,000-square-foot retail/entertainment propertyg called The Village Shops at The Landmark. Stores, restaurantx and entertainment options already open in the retail componenyt include the Landmark Theatresamovie theater, Comedy Works South comedgy club, Ted's Montana Grill, HW Homes and Aspen Fallw Spa. The project's generall contractors include for the housing and IntegratesdBuilders Inc.
for the retail Subcontractors thatfiled mechanic's liens related to the projectt last year, according to Arapahoe Count public record, include CoCal Landscape Services Inc. Frontier Mechanical Inc. ($114,987); APC Consultants LLC InteriorAlterations Inc., part of IAI Construction and United Builders Services Inc. ($26,617). The Landmarkk is a finalist for the National Associationnof Homebuilders' "Community of the Year" The winner will be announced Feb. 13 in Orlando, Fla. Everest Development Co. Residential $275,000-$2.
75 million Retail space: 200,000 square feet

Baltimore trapeze school moving to D.C. - Washington Business Journal:

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after six years on Rash Field at theInnert Harbor. Jonathan Conant, president of , said the move is a resulrt of the company not beingg able to find an indoor location in Baltimorew and business notmeeting expectations. The last clase in Baltimore will beMay 31. Classes in Baltimore took placee between Mayand October. Conant said local officialz scoured someof Baltimore’s old vacant warehouses in hopes of operating the schoopl the entire year but didn’t find anythint feasible.
“We couldn’t just really locate somethinhg in Baltimore that would make it work for the kind of moneuy we weremaking there,” Conant said in an “Baltimore would’ve been a long, slow hill climb for Conant said the company did not have a long-tern lease with the city for Rash The city’s plans to redevelop Rash Fielc also “added a feeling of unstableness,” Conant said. Trapezer School officials notified students of the move inan e-maio Sunday. Trapeze School Washington, will be located at 9th and H streetsz outsidethe District’s old convention Conant said he is in negotiations to move the schoolp to an indoor location in D.C.
following this Classes will beginin D.C. June 6.