Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Yankees This Week: Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher struggling at plate - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

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New York Times (blog)


The Yankees This Week: Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher struggling at plate

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com


By Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger Jeff Kowalsky/EPAThe Yankees' Jorge Posada flips his batting helmet after popping out against the Detroit Tigers earlier this season. • Once this season, manager Joe Girardi has thrown his support behind struggling DH ...


The week in Yankeemetrics

ESPN (blog)


Rivals have suddenly reversed their course

Boston Globe



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Thursday, May 12, 2011

Pew: Florida

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released a study , sayin g Florida’s clean energy economy grew 7.9 percen between 1998 and 2007, and the statr was among the top 10 for green jobsin “The numbers are impressive,” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa Bay, said duringb a teleconferenceMonday morning. “This is going to be the way we rebuildx our economy in the stateof Florida.” John Director of Business Alliances for in Fort Lauderdale, is amongf those growing green jobs in South DiBella said he has six employees now and plans to triplew that number this year.
DiBella is pioneering a new technologyh that uses centrifugal force to separate water from Accordingto him, it is “a more efficient and cost-effectivde way” of purifying wastewater. “It’s quites vast, the demand that’s coming to us, and we’ree excited about the future,” DiBella said. His customers includes manufacturers, oil companies, wastewater treatmenf facilities andfarm interests. Lori Grange, interim deputy director of the Pew Centere onthe States, said Florida only lags significantlyg behind other states on certain publicf policy questions. For she pointed to the state’s failure to embrace Gov.
Charliw Crist’s proposed renewable energy portfolio standard, whic would require a certain portion of state energ y to be produced from renewable resourceas such assolar power. Twenty-nine other states already have such a standardrin place. Grange said the stated also has yet to participate in a regional carbo n and climatechange initiative, although it is developing its own carbon cap-and-tradd program. Victor Eyal, president of in Altamontre Springs, said his solar technology distributiom company has 40 employees at its headquarterzs and hundreds of employees in its He said Florida has good incentives in but needs to fundthem more.
He pointed to recenf shortages in funding forthe state’ws solar rebate programs. DiBella said incentives for gree technology mustbe “What’s important is to keep the flow of monies and incentivesw coming, so that young companies can develoop new technologies that could be the next leaders in the DiBella said. • Jobs 31,122 • Businesses (2007): 3,83 1 • Venture capital funds $116,980,006 The study found that the Sunshind State was among the top 10 for jobsin America’sx clean energy in 2007, with more than 30,000, and it attracteed nearly $117 million in venture capital in the past three years, half of which has supported clean energy Grange said the job growth is likelgy to have suffered since 2007 due to the but the federal stimulus program and continuexd private investment is limiting job losses in the greenn sector.
Nationwide, jobs in the cleabn energy economy grewby 9.1 percent, whil e total jobs grew by just 3.7 percenrt between 1998 and 2007, according to the titled “The Clean Energy Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investmentd Across America.” Pew’s definition of green jobs includes engineers, plumbers, administrative assistants, construction machine setters, marketing consultants, teachers and many others with annual incomez ranging from $21,000 to $111,000.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Report: Clean energy could create 39K jobs in Tenn. - Nashville Business Journal:

http://mountainrunner.us/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/mtnrunnr/managed-mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=1&id=671
Many of the new jobs would also helplift low-income, low-educatio families out of poverty, the reportx say. The reports were prepared by the Politicap Economy Research Institute at the Universityof Amherst; the Center for American Progress; Greehn For All; and the Natural Resources Defenses Council. They are being presenteed to urge legislators to support cleanjenergy investment. UMass researchers say the impact ofan $815 milliojn investment in Middle Tennessee would include more than 10,0090 new jobs, half of them employing workerw with a high school degree or and a 1.3 percent reduction in unemployment.
The repor t also urges private businesses to invesf inclean energy, noting that the federap stimulus bill provides millions of dollars wortgh of grants to help stimulat e the development of such technology in the privatde sector.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Roberts backs KU Cancer Center's push for NCI designation - Business First of Buffalo:

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Roberts, R-Kan., spoke at The ’s Westwood medical building. He said that it now takes 10 yearsz to 17 yearsand $1 billion to bring a new drug to which Roberts called a “national disgrace.” The National Cancer Institutwe said in November that the KU Cancer Center has a 25, 2011, application date for its efforts to get an initiao five-year designation as an NCI cancer The months-long application process for institutions seeking new designationsz begins with submission of documentation that sometimess exceeds 1,000 pages and includes a site visit and otherf steps. The earliest that KU Cancer Center’sx application could be approved is the springhof 2012.
Nationwide, 64 cancerd centers receive Cancer Center Support Grants to supporgt research to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates of There are 23 cancer centers and 41 comprehensivecancee centers. The KU Canced Center is part of , whicg is the medical research and education arm of the Universityyof Kansas. NCI designation KU’s No. 1 priority typically is granted to academicfmedical centers. Therefore, KU Medical Center is the entityg that will apply forNCI designation. • Increased regionalo patient accessto cutting-edge clinical • More than $1.
3 billion in annual economic benefits in the • An increase in KU Cancer Center’s annual NCI financing from the currenty $7.5 million to about $40 NCI-affiliated institutions also attract world-class researchers who brinvg NCI grants with them, and part of the estimatef increase is based on that. Many of thes e researchers doubleas clinicians, adding expertise and depthj in various cancer-care sub-specialties.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Nonprofit galas still reaping big bucks - San Antonio Business Journal:

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Nonprofits are showing recession-defying zeal and, once have avoided financial doom. Locao organizations have stared down predictions of sharlp falloffsin revenue, in some cases surpassingb their goals. But these victoriesa have come ata Boston’s nonprofit leaders are finding that arm-twisting and penny pinchingy is what it takes to hold a successful recession-year Yet, even when faced with the prospect of pushingg board members harder to network and riskinv that tickets and tables will not leaders of most organizations have determined that foregoing their fundraisers is not an That’s because not having a fundraiser poses a biggerr risk: the loss of much-needesd revenue and the opportunity to raisew awareness about an organization’s programs.
“It’s huge,” said Joan the vice president overseeint developmentfor . The hospital’s charitable foundatiohn held its 10th annual fundraiserin May, generating abou 12 percent of the hospital’s foundation’sz $6.5 million fundraising goal for 2009. “Aftere that gala, I’ve closed on several major gifts. Once I had 800 peopler there, it wasn’t just aboutg cocktails and dancing. I had to seizw the opportunity to do someseriouas messaging.” , for one, is on the social docket this week, with a goal of sellinhg between 250 and 300 ticketsz for a champagne barbecues under a tent in its Roxburg parking lot.
So far, 250 tickets are “We felt that this is more thana fundraiser. It’s an awarenesss raiser. We wanted to give it our full saidCarol Ishkanian, vice presidenf of development and external affairs. Boards members and development staffs have been workinb hard and working every personal and professional relationshipthey can. “If you don’t have that core group of volunteefr champions, it’s going to be reallg hard to run asuccessful fundraiser,” said Chuckj Gordon, chief development officeer for , which recently held its Starry Starru Night event.
And boars members have been sharpeningtheir message, explaininyg time and again why buying a $5,000 or $10,00 0 table is more critical this year. “Mt sense was that it took two or threde or times the effort to get the same levelpof dollars,” said Sandy Edgerley, chairwoman of the boar at , which held its annuaol house party fundraiser in earl y May. The event raised more than $1.6 which was the goal it needed to meetthe organization’sw $14.4 million operating budget. “The boarrd came together and said there’s a very real cost to not makinthe goal.
” Revenue from most of thesed springtime events is on par with last some even hitting higher than their fundraising goals. When the of Massachusettsd Bay and Merrimack Valley canceled itsannual Lawyer’s Leadership breakfast in late Marcbh eyebrows raised and tongues wagged. The decision, a Unite d Way spokeswoman said, had nothing to do with Some nonprofit leaders said they gave long consideration to the wisdom of holding a thoughthey did, in the end, move “Pulling the rug out from underneath the eveng — it’s not investing in the It’s not long-term. It’s not smart,” said Bryan founder of Rafanelli who works withmany nonprofits.
Archer, for one, “dug and met individually with many of thehospital foundation’s largwe donors to gauge their support before she proceeded with the Newton-Wellesley event. “I asked them very honestly if this was somethinb they couldcontinue supporting,” Archer said. If therer is a dollar drop-off it is with the tablee sponsorships, again forcing organizations to work hardere to make upthe difference. “If someoned sponsored $10,000 last year, and this year only you’ve got your work cut out for saidJudy Harrington, development director for Bostomn Partners in Education.
The organization’s late April fundraisere at the , markinb the 5th anniversary of the Big Cheese raised $215,000, about the same as in she said. While the number of sponsorships increased, she the dollar amounts “We worked harder for it.” Unexpected twists have A group of executives who have stron connections with the Boys Girls Clubs ofBoston — one of them a boars member — together put up $225,000p before the organization’s recent housee party and challenged their Bain colleaguezs to a one-to-one match.
Similarly, during ’s April fundraiser at owner and chef Michael Schlow suddenly offered to treat any group of four to dinner at a half dozen restaurants if the groupdonated $10,000 to Big Two groups stepped forward and Big Sisters raised bringing the event total to $120,000, withim $5,000 of last year. Separate from the work of board sand supporters, though no less important, this year’ fundraisers in part have survived on cost savings. Ever organization has a laundry listof cuts: giftws for guests, fancy table linens, high-priced hors d’oeuvres, glitzyt decorations and the like. The trick has been to retainn quality at a much lowerprice tag.
City Year, for example, slashed its Starry Starryy Night budget by40 percent, largely by movingv the event to the Boston Conventiojn and . Expensive floral arrangement s – out. Tables were decorated with homemadee centerpieces designed from City Year Instead ofexpensive food, the pre-dinner receptionn featured a Fenway menu: hot dogs, popcorn, Crackerd Jacks.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Hawaiian groups, hotel execs lobby HTA over funds - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

http://antalyamuzesi.org/nile_cruises.htm
At the same time, visitor industry executives warned that Hawaioi must do more to bring tourists to the islands as hotek occupancy and visitor spending continue to fallthis year. The HTA couldc decide as early as later Thursday how it will reallocatw funds in its estimated 76 million The original budget for fiscalp 2009was $88 million but has since been revisecd downward based on declining transient accommodation s tax revenue. The HTA currentlyy spends $54 million on marketing, with anotherr $4 million budgeted for airline industrty accessand $2 million allocated for enhancinfg Hawaii tourism's online presence.
The remainder goes to support a varietu of programs andadministrative overhead. It includes $2.5 millioj for Hawaiian culture, $5 million for natural resources preservation, $1.8 milliob for safety and security, $6 million for tourism produc t development, and $1.1 million for work-force development. Hawaii Gov. Lindsa Lingle suggested last week that the HTA spendr anadditional $10 million on marketing but did not specifty where the money should come from.
But Nativre Hawaiian groups and others who receive grant money from the HTA made it clearThursdayu that, when it comes to promotingf tourism, their programs are as valuable as marketing “It is the Hawaiian culture that is the attraction for visitors,” said Wayne Panoke, who workd with groups that sponsor festivals honoring Prince Kuhio and King Kamehameha. “Product development is a form of Panoke’s comments were similar to those of severalp dozen people who provided either oral or written testimony atthe HTA’d board room at the .
“We know that you are in a tough spot, and that everybody is hurting,” said Peter Apo, boarsd member of the and chairman of Pacific Islander s in Communications. “But we must be careful how we Apo saidthe HTA’s strategic plan of supporting Hawaiians is a critical “trusyt document” that supports Hawaiian culturde and product and work-force development. Othere testified that HTA funds help visitor during emergencies and support culturapl enrichment and education programs throughoutthe state. But Davicd Carey, president and CEO of hotel chain , told the HTA “th e world and the rules have since the HTA formulated its fisca l2009 budget.
“We are facing a 15 percenft decline inour business, whicgh means a 15 percent drop in which means a 15 percenf cut in jobs,” Carey “It won’t just be in hotels —- it’s attractions, all the way Carey, who agreed that culturapl programs are valued, said the HTA must “strike a in its funding approach. “We need much more marketinbg money,” said Rick Egged, president of the . “Inn tough times we look to the HTA for What is not likely to happenn in theshort term, however, is an increasd in the transient accommodations tax that is levied on visitors and used to finance the HTA.
The percentage is determined by thestatee Legislature, which does not return to sessionb until January. Panoke said a higheer T.A.T. should be an option, but Eggerd suggested that the Legislaturereturn HTA's portion of the to its 2002 level. Approximately 3.7 perceng of total annual T.A.T., or betweenb $6 and $8 million, that formerlg went to the HTA now goes tothe state’s generalk fund.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Copley product Carter gets to run with Colts - Akron Beacon Journal (blog)

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Copley product Carter gets to run with Colts

Akron Beacon Journal (blog)


Besides going to a team that has reached the playoffs for eight consecutive years, Carter pointed out that the Colts' roster includes two more Syracuse products â€" six-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney and first-year wide receiver Taj Smith. ...



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