Attorneys general in 17 states are demanding that craigslist remove its adult services section to make sure prostitution and child trafficking ads don't appear.
A joint letter from AGs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. said that even though the San Francisco-based company would lose revenue, no amount of money "can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist."
In November craigslist added protections that include making posters provide a legitimate phone number and pay a fee to post in the erotic services portion of the site high risk personal loans.
Craigslist has already been subpoenaed by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who wants proof that it is taking action to stop prostitution ads.
In a posting on its site, craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster wrote that the company is "working intensively … with experts and thought leaders at leading nonprofits and among law enforcement on further substantive measures we can take."
The post says that craigslist "is committed to being socially responsible, and when it comes to adult services ads, that includes aggressively combating violent crime and human rights violations, including human trafficking and the exploitation of minors."
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Two is the magic number for NASCAR in Phoenix.
Phoenix International Raceway in the Avondale will continue to host two Sprint Cup Series races next year.
NASCAR tweaked its 2011 schedule some, moving venue dates that added some races in some markets but took away races in others.
Phoenix hosts two races now and will host two next season.
PIR will continue to host the second to last race in the fall Sprint Cup. The Kobalt Tools 500 will occur Nov. 13, 2011. The Phoenix track also will host the second race of the 2011 season the Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Feb. 27. PIR now hosts a Saturday night race in April. That date is being switched to a Sunday afternoon time the week after the first race of the season the Daytona 500 guaranteed payday loan.
PIR officials are happy they are keeping two races.
February is a buys month sports wise in the Phoenix and nationally. The Waste Management Open golf tournament runs Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. Cactus League Spring Training starts the beginning of March and the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Coyotes are in the midst of their seasons.
The Super Bowl is being held at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on February 6.
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Despite a very vocal group of detractors, the vast majority of iPhone users love AT&T.
That’s the key finding in a survey released this week by Yankee Group, which reports that 73% of iPhone users are very satisfied with AT&T’s service. That rating compares favorably to how non-iPhone smartphone users feel about AT&T, and even to how non-iPhone users feel about other wireless providers.
The satisfaction rate of AT&T subscribers as a whole is 68%, and only 69% of smartphone users say they are satisfied with their mobile provider, Yankee Group found.
The results are surprising, given the pounding AT&T has taken in the media and on the blogosphere about its service-related issues with the iPhone. On CNNMoney’s recent stories "AT&T and Apple’s marriage made in hell," and "AT&T: The most hated company in iPhone land," reader comments were overwhelmingly negative toward the wireless network.
AT&T’s recent iPad-related security glitch and mishandling of the iPhone 4 launch likely didn’t do much to help its reputation. Plus, iPhone owners pay AT&T nearly $12 a month more for service than the average smartphone user.
Tech analysts like to point out the ways in which AT&T is a drag on the iPhone. Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi said last month that AT&T’s network has "limited the iPhone experience." And Drake Johnstone, an analyst with Davenport & Co., forecasted that poor experiences with AT&T would drive as many as 40% of iPhone customers to Verizon once that network gets the iPhone.
So what explains Yankee Group’s conclusion that iPhone users’ love AT&T?
"Consumers transfer the high gloss of their Apple iPhone experience to AT&T," says Carl Howe, Yankee Group analyst and author of the study. "The iPhone creates a halo effect that rubs off."
In other words, iPhone customers’ praise for their network may be a result of the famous "reality distortion field" that surrounds Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) CEO Steve Jobs and his company’s products.
But AT&T says its network really isn’t as bad as many people think Online payday loans. It’s a perception problem, not a service problem, in the company’s eyes.
"There’s a gap between what people hear about us and what their experience is with us. We think that gap is beginning to close," says Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman. "It doesn’t mean we’re perfect; we still have work to do. But that’s no surprise to us, because we have a great network."
AT&T’s ‘problem’ that everyone wants
Meanwhile, AT&T (T, Fortune 500) continues to reap the rewards of being the country’s exclusive iPhone provider.
Despite heavy data demands that drive up AT&T’s cost of servicing each customer, users still make the wireless company $50 more per customer each year than other providers get from their smartphone subscribers, according to Yankee Group. That’s because a higher percentage of iPhone customers buy pricey, top-tier service plans to satisfy their mobile download demands.
The iPhone will be worth $1.8 billion in sales to AT&T this year, and will generate $9 billion in revenue for the provider over the next five years, the study estimates. Yankee Group says that’s $750 million more each year than AT&T would be taking in if it had a different flagship smartphone.
The iPhone is also the gift that keeps on giving: 77% of iPhone owners say they’ll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of smartphone customers who say they’ll buy an Android phone. (See correction below)
"Our analysis explains why AT&T has bent over backward to keep its exclusive distribution deal with Apple as long as possible," Howe says. "Verizon has been regretting turning away Apple for the last three years."
James H. Batmasian, one of Boca Raton’s largest landowners, is filing multiple foreclosures against another of the city’s largest property owners.
In May, Batmasian bought four problem loans that Boca Raton-based Paradise Bank made to developer Gregory Talbott. He also secured a $4.5 million mortgage from the bank to support that purchase.
It didn’t take Batmasian long to decide what to do with those loans.
On July 15, Batmasian filed three foreclosure suits against Talbott – bringing the troubled developer’s foreclosure tally up to 14 properties.
The largest case was against Talbott personally, and his wife, over a $3.2 million mortgage. Batmasian wants to take over their 3,000-square-foot, waterfront home at 541 Kay Terrace.
Another case was against Talbott and his 400 East Palmetto Park Road LLC over a $3 million mortgage granted in 2007 no faxing payday loan. If Batmasian succeeds, he would seize the 7,425-square-foot retail building at the same address. The tenant is clothing store Maus & Hoffman.
In the third lawsuit, Batmasian is suing Talbott and his 400 East Royal Palm Road LLC concerning a $975,000 mortgage covering the 1,455-square-foot house at the same address.
The fourth mortgage sold by Paradise Bank, which Batmasian has not foreclosed on so far, is a $202,500 loan to Talbott Aviation over a hanger condo unit at Boca Raton Airport.
Something tells me that Talbott has been grounded.
Brown & Brown Inc. bought the Meridian Group of New York Inc. and Eberhart & Co. Insurors Inc. late Friday for undisclosed terms.
Meridian Group, with annual revenue of $1.3 million, provides life, health and other employee benefits products and services to individuals, businesses, public entities, nonprofit organizations, unions and associations throughout New York state.
Meridian Group’s staff will combine its operations into Brown & Brown of New York’s Rome, N.Y., office.
Eberhart & Co. Insurors — doing business as Eberhart Co. of Roswell, Ga payday loans., with revenue of $1 million — will join Brown & Brown Insurance of Georgia’s existing office in Duluth. Eberhart Co. has served business and individual insurance needs in the Atlanta metropolitan area since 1969.
Daytona Beach-based Brown & Brown Inc. (NYSE: BRO) and its subsidiaries offer insurance and re-insurance products and services, as well as risk management, third party administration, managed health care, and Medicare set-aside services and programs.
The Temple University Health System said Friday that its president and CEO, Edmond F. Notebaert, will step down.
In a press release, the North Philadelphia-based health system said Notebaert will continue at Temple during a transition period and help select future leaders for the system. The release did not say exactly when Notebaert will leave Temple, where he arrived in 2008 after working as president and CEO at the University of Maryland Medical System. Before that he was president and CEO at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"When I accepted this position in September 2008, I came with clear objectives and priorities to stabilize the health system and position it for success moving forward,” Notebaert said cash advance today. “We have made tremendous progress and the time is right to now look towards long-term executive leadership.”
During his tenure, Temple addressed operating deficits and declining reimbursements, and converted struggling Northeastern Hospital from an inpatient facility to an ambulatory care center, among other efforts.
Dr. Ann Weaver Hart, president of Temple University, said, “Ed has many accomplishments during his tenure and raised the expectations of Temple’s health enterprise. I appreciate his commitment to Temple Health, our employees and patients.”
Spirit Airlines and its striking pilots agreed to meet with mediators today, the union said, signaling a potential thaw that would be welcomed by the thousands of customers holding tickets on the grounded airline.
Sean Creed, head of the pilots union at Spirit, said the National Mediation Board has asked both sides to meet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. However, union officials said the strike would continue until they approve any deal.
Spirit said it wouldn’t fly until Thursday at the earliest, forcing its roughly 16,000 daily passengers to get where they were going by rental car or an expensive walk-up fare on another airline. Spirit carries just 1 percent of the nation’s air traffic, but those travelers have been 100 percent grounded by the pilots’ walkout.
Spirit aircraft have not flown since pilots walked out Saturday in a pay dispute. Just a few days before the strike, the airline was saying it would fly through it. That didn’t happen. It has said it would try to get passengers onto flights on other airlines payday loans for bad credit. Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson declined to say Monday how many passengers had gotten seats on other carriers with Spirit’s help.
Spirit has said its last offer would have raised pilots’ pay by 29 percent over five years, although pilots would have to work more to get that money. Pilots have been negotiating for more than three years, and they have said the proposed raise works out to less than 4 percent per year.
Pilots have said their pay should be similar to that of pilots at other discount airlines such as JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways, a unit of AirTran Holdings Inc. The company has said those airlines are much bigger than Spirit.
Privately held Spirit is based in Miramar, Fla., and ended 2009 with $139.5 million in cash and short-term investments, according to filings with the government.
Spectrum Brands Inc., the Madison-based manufacturer of Rayovac batteries and Remington shavers, said Friday that shareholders have approved the company's proposal to buy Russell Hobbs Inc., marketer of the George Foreman and Toastmaster small appliance brands, for $661 million.
Spectrum (NYSE: SPB) said 96.38 percent of the company's outstanding shares have been voted to adopt the previously announced merger agreement. That includes shares held by its largest holder, Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I Ltd. and its affiliates.
The company now expects to close on the transaction June 16.
The merger of Miramar, Fla.-based Russell Hobbs and Spectrum Brands will create a new global consumer products company based in Madison with an estimated $3 billion in annual revenue.
As part of the transaction, when the deal closes the company expects to close on its refinancing of the Company's existing senior debt and a portion of Russell Hobbs' existing senior debt through a combination of a new $750 million term loan, new $750 million senior secured notes and a new $300 million asset-based lending revolving facility no teletrek payday advance. The refinancing is expected to provide an enhanced long term capital structure to support the combined company's strategic business objectives.
Russell Hobbs’ consumer brands include Black & Decker, George Foreman, LitterMaid and Toastmaster. Spectrum’s brands include Rayovac batteries and Remington shaving and grooming products, which have major production operations in Wisconsin.
Austin Community College President and CEO Stephen Kinslow is reportedly retiring after 34 years serving the school.
The Austin-American Statesman reported Tuesday the community college’s top executive stepping down after his contract expires June 2011. Kinslow’s filled the role for six years, previously working as interim chief, assistant dean and in other positions.
Kinslow was originally appointed to the position in 2005 for a two-year term after former president Robert Aguero abruptly left, having served only nine months with the school. ACC’s leaders appointed Kinslow to help the college stabilize before searching for a new president, but instead renewed his contract at the end of the two years.
The college is now beginning a nationwide search for his replacement, possibly hiring a search firm to lead the hiring.
Prior to working in Austin, Kinslow, 60, taught public school in Big Spring, Texas and for the Dallas County Community College District. He earned his doctorate from the University of Texas, his master’s from Southern Methodist University and his bachelor’s from the University of Texas at Arlington.
He currently serves on the board of directors for the Austin and Round Rock Chambers of Commerce, the Leadership Round Rock board, the Texas Association of Community Colleges board of directors, the ACC Center for Public Policy and Political Studies, the E3 Alliance board and as vice chair of the Texas Campus Compact.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $5 million to the Public Health Foundation of India for tobacco control efforts.
According to the Seattle foundation, smoking kills 1 million people in India every year and is the leading cause of death among Indians between the ages of 30 and 69. The grant will focus on two states in India — Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — over the next three years.
Departments of Health, Gujarat & Andhra Pradesh announce the launch of project STEPS with Public Health Foundation of India
(Strengthening of Tobacco control Efforts through innovative Partnerships and Strategies)
Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has been awarded five million dollars by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen the National Tobacco Control Program in two states of India, namely Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, over a three year period (2009-2012). Project STEPS will provide the much needed district specific strategic response to the rapidly escalating global tobacco epidemic in India.
The Government of India, in compliance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, launched the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), under the 11th Five Year plan, to build state capacity to effectively implement tobacco control laws, and also to bring about greater awareness of the ill effects of tobacco use. Under the program, Tobacco Control Cells have been set up at each state for implementing State and District Tobacco Control Programs.
PHFI is a public-private partnership linking the government, academia, civil society and the private sector, and engages key stakeholder groups in strategic partnerships. PHFI and its educational institutions – the Indian Institutes of Public Health − are in a unique position to promote and sustain the tobacco control movement in India in partnership with the state governments. PHFI and IIPHs adopt a broad, integrated approach to tobacco control, targeting 11 districts in 2 states with long term vision of extending the successful models and interventions tested through this project, all over India.
The goal of project STEPS is to reduce the health burden of tobacco and associated risks; promote health equity through reduction in health and economic burdens resulting from tobacco consumption by engaging, enabling and empowering two key states and their stakeholders. STEPS seeks to facilitate state level action for implementation of centrally designed tobacco control programs. PHFI will be actively assisting the State Governments and NGOs in developing innovative models of community mobilization, community based self help cessation groups, replicating and adapting effective school based tobacco prevention interventions in India, alongside working with Indian Language Print Media to enhance tobacco control coverage in regional newspapers.
Project STEPS will also be conducting economic research to generate data to fill the research gap in India and examine various intervention models to identify opportunities and barriers for adopting alternate employment opportunities for the workforce involved in tobacco production, manufacture and distribution sector along with multiple government and NGO stakeholders. Along with Government of India and State Governments, this project will test models to mainstream tobacco control into existing health programs to improve quit rate among Indian tobacco users payday advance lender.
PROJECT STEPS will work in the following districts to strengthen implementation of COTPA in Andhra Pradesh/ Gujarat:
Distance Learning programs to strengthen capacity of state and district level health workforce, NGO professionals and other public health professionals are being launched as part of STEPS activities by PHFI. Short term courses on tobacco control serving Lawyers, Journalists, Health Professionals and Administrators, too will be launched by December this year.
To mark this event, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, eminent cardiologist, tobacco control activist, and President, PHFI said:
“We hope to see Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh emerging as the champion states for tobacco control, demonstrating how various proven measures for tobacco control can be effectively implemented to reduce tobacco consumption. We expect to see a greater number of tobacco consumers quitting their deadly habit and others, especially women and young persons, being provided greater protection from becoming the victims of the tobacco trap and passive smoking. These two states will then become role models for other states, to adopt their best practices and gear up their own tobacco control programs”.
Project STEPS will have a strong presence in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. In the next three years, multi-dimensional interventions, research and capacity-building initiatives under Project STEPS will strengthen implementation of tobacco control programs at the district level with active involvement from the Indian Institutes of Public Health at Gandhinagar and Hyderabad.
Commenting on Project STEPS initiatives in Gujarat, Prof. Jay Satia, Director, Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, observed that:
“Gujarat faces enormous and complex public health challenges related to tobacco use mainly due to high and varied use of tobacco. Even among school going adolescents it is as high as 18%. PHFI through its Indian Institute of Public Health-Gandhinagar (IIPHG), is partnering with the Department of Health, Government of Gujarat to implement the STEPS project. It will demonstrate innovative strategies for wider adoption at state level leading to significant reduction in health and economic burden of tobacco use.”
Prof. Mala Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, observed that:
“Tobacco consumption is a reflection not only of individual choice but also of the socio-economic conditions which determine how people behave as well as their chances of a healthy life. We welcome the STEPS initiative which, for the first time, offers us the opportunity to marshal the evidence on how to establish a truly coherent approach to tobacco control with a better chance of success in rooting out this killer habit.”
Project STEPS looks forward to a fruitful collaboration with the State Government, district administration, Indian Language Print Media, Non Government organizations, community based groups stakeholders and activists to create an enabling environment for tobacco control activities.
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