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Given had been the presidenr of theNew York-based telecommunicationsa firm’s Great Lakes region. She replaces Willia B. Petersen, whom Verizonj recently named vice president and associater general counsel for state regulatory matterxs inthe Northeast. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) also said it has promoted Tabb J. Bishopp to vice president of public policy atVerizon Pennsylvania. Bisho had been Verizon Pennsylvania’s director of public Given began her career in 1979 in the Chesapeake and PotomacTelephone Co. of West Virginia’s central office engineering organization.
Followinbg a stint at Bell Communications she held several regulatory affairs positions befor being named president of Verizon West Virginia inJune 2000. She was namex president of Verizon's Great Lakes region in November 2003. Givej has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degre in business administration from Marshalll Universityin Huntington, W.Va. Bishop, a Philadelphia nativee and a graduate of Hampton was deputy chief of staff in the executivew office of the president of Templre University before joining Verizon Pennsylvania inMarch 2007.
He also worked in government relations and serveds as director of the Philadelphia delegation to the Pennsylvaniq Houseof Representatives.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
More problems with Chinese drywall surface - South Florida Business Journal:
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Lennar is the second homebuilder to acknowledge problemsin Miami-Dade. Soutjh Kendall Construction in Homestead acknowledged the complaints in its Keys Gate subdivisiomn earlierthis week. (Clickk to read related story.) "We are workingf closely with our homeowners, but until we concludd our research, it is too soon to discusss any details," Lennar said in a written responsd to a request seeking specifics about thehomesw affected. On Tuesday, Lennar said it has identified aboutg 80 homeson Florida’s west coast that are believef to have been builtg using Chinese drywall.
The nation’s second-largest homebuilder (NYSE: LEN) has set up a special task force toaddress homeowners’ concerns and fix the The drywall problem comes as slumping demandc and credit woes have drive homebuilders to economic crisis. It is also the latesrt example of problems with products imported from including lead in toys and melaminrein milk. The latesyt issue is a concern becausw the drywall reportedly causes odors that some homeownersz complainsickened them. Homebuildersx and suppliers have known about concerns relatex to Chinese drywall for at leastthrew years, but construction experts said they had questions aboug some of the fixes and the testing methodology.
A leading drywall manufactureer is Knauf PlasterboardTianjin Co., which has acknowledgedx isolated complaints related to the product. The company said some sulfutr odors could be associated with mined gypsum rock. There is no indicationj at this point that Lennare hasused Knauf's drywall in any of the homes it has In a 2006 test Knauf ordered to determine whethe r Chinese drywall produced chemical at harmful levels, a toxicologist said he was told to test air in partially completed homes in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. One house had no fronrt door, which would allow fresh air into the said Dr.
Phillip Goad, a toxicologist hireds by Chinese drywallmanufacturer “There was no air conditionin g running in the home at the time,” said who works for Arkansas-based Center for Toxicologyy and Environmental Health. "It did not have a frong door installed, so there coulxd have been extra air exchangd from theoutdoor air." The Florids Department of Health said it is tracking more than 50 complaintd about foul odors, sickness and corrosion to air conditioners in occupied homes that may be connecteds to Knauf drywall in the There were 15 new complaints to the state this In many of those cases, humidity and air conditioning also were reportedc as possible factors.
Knaug has said it is concerned abourt thehealth complaints, but has found no evidencre of any sulfur vapors that could cause health problems. In the 2006 Goad said Knauf told him to test air qualitu after complaints ofa “rotten egg-type surfaced in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. The exact location of the testds wasnot disclosed. He said he had not investigatee the conditions tied to homeowners complaints and had not triede toreplicated them. Goad said he was givem no information about who made the complaints on theunoccupiexd homes. He said additional tests in by , also showed no sulfudr vaporsof concern, but he could not providde details about those tests.
A construction consultanf who is analyzing drywall complaints in Sarasota for some homeownerswsaid Goad’s 2006 tests seem to be missing importantg elements. The consultant, Michael Foreman of Foreman Associatesin Sarasota, said in response to a reporter’s “There was no one living in those The air conditioners weren’t turned on. They ran them befor anyone wasliving there. The houses weren’t even complete. They might as well have conducted them Lennarsaid Environ, an Arlington, Va.-basesd testing firm it hired to conduct air sampling in its found sulfur compounds “far beloq even the most stringent government health and safetu standards.
”
Lennar is the second homebuilder to acknowledge problemsin Miami-Dade. Soutjh Kendall Construction in Homestead acknowledged the complaints in its Keys Gate subdivisiomn earlierthis week. (Clickk to read related story.) "We are workingf closely with our homeowners, but until we concludd our research, it is too soon to discusss any details," Lennar said in a written responsd to a request seeking specifics about thehomesw affected. On Tuesday, Lennar said it has identified aboutg 80 homeson Florida’s west coast that are believef to have been builtg using Chinese drywall.
The nation’s second-largest homebuilder (NYSE: LEN) has set up a special task force toaddress homeowners’ concerns and fix the The drywall problem comes as slumping demandc and credit woes have drive homebuilders to economic crisis. It is also the latesrt example of problems with products imported from including lead in toys and melaminrein milk. The latesyt issue is a concern becausw the drywall reportedly causes odors that some homeownersz complainsickened them. Homebuildersx and suppliers have known about concerns relatex to Chinese drywall for at leastthrew years, but construction experts said they had questions aboug some of the fixes and the testing methodology.
A leading drywall manufactureer is Knauf PlasterboardTianjin Co., which has acknowledgedx isolated complaints related to the product. The company said some sulfutr odors could be associated with mined gypsum rock. There is no indicationj at this point that Lennare hasused Knauf's drywall in any of the homes it has In a 2006 test Knauf ordered to determine whethe r Chinese drywall produced chemical at harmful levels, a toxicologist said he was told to test air in partially completed homes in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. One house had no fronrt door, which would allow fresh air into the said Dr.
Phillip Goad, a toxicologist hireds by Chinese drywallmanufacturer “There was no air conditionin g running in the home at the time,” said who works for Arkansas-based Center for Toxicologyy and Environmental Health. "It did not have a frong door installed, so there coulxd have been extra air exchangd from theoutdoor air." The Florids Department of Health said it is tracking more than 50 complaintd about foul odors, sickness and corrosion to air conditioners in occupied homes that may be connecteds to Knauf drywall in the There were 15 new complaints to the state this In many of those cases, humidity and air conditioning also were reportedc as possible factors.
Knaug has said it is concerned abourt thehealth complaints, but has found no evidencre of any sulfur vapors that could cause health problems. In the 2006 Goad said Knauf told him to test air qualitu after complaints ofa “rotten egg-type surfaced in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. The exact location of the testds wasnot disclosed. He said he had not investigatee the conditions tied to homeowners complaints and had not triede toreplicated them. Goad said he was givem no information about who made the complaints on theunoccupiexd homes. He said additional tests in by , also showed no sulfudr vaporsof concern, but he could not providde details about those tests.
A construction consultanf who is analyzing drywall complaints in Sarasota for some homeownerswsaid Goad’s 2006 tests seem to be missing importantg elements. The consultant, Michael Foreman of Foreman Associatesin Sarasota, said in response to a reporter’s “There was no one living in those The air conditioners weren’t turned on. They ran them befor anyone wasliving there. The houses weren’t even complete. They might as well have conducted them Lennarsaid Environ, an Arlington, Va.-basesd testing firm it hired to conduct air sampling in its found sulfur compounds “far beloq even the most stringent government health and safetu standards.
”
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Small business pushes credit card reform - Orlando Business Journal:
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It’s a figure a groupp of small business owners say creditf cardcompanies don’t want publicized, but one that consumers need to “The continuing burden of interchange, or swipe fees on small businesse owners has become heavier and heavier to bear. It is the seconds largest expensebehind payroll. It is something we are extremelyworriefd about,” said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleumk Marketer and Convenience Store Association, during a Mondayh news conference.
Credit card companies, on the other hand, say the fees are simplty the cost of doing Credit card swipefees – callecd interchange fees by the big bank s that set these rates – are a percentage of each transactioj that Visa and MasterCard and theit member banks collect from retailers every time a credif or debit card is used. These fees averagre about 2 percent in the according tothe , the associatiojn for convenience and petroleum retailing, which put togethe r Monday’s news conference. In 2008, credit card fees cost U.S. conveniencwe stores $8.4 billion, compared with $5.2 billion in stored profits, according to NACS data.
Almosg all of these credit card fees are attributable to credit cardswipe fees. Convenience store owner Bruce Mitchell said his operatiojn paid out morethan $3 million in credit card fees last “I am paying 25 percent more for credity card fees than I pay in wages,” he Recently, tax offices in four Florida counties Marion, Walton, Osceola and Brevard said they will no longefr accept Visa because there was no room in theitr budgets to absorb the swipe fee costs. The coalition noted that, while county governments have the abilith to say no because Floridians must paytheitr taxes, businesses can’t afforr to say no to credit card purchases.
The groupw are pushing for legislation that woulc either require credit card companiea to reveal swipe fees or allow merchants to negotiatethosee fees, thus leveling the playing Federal lawmakers recently reintroduced the Credit Card Fair Fee Act, whichh NACS said would give merchants “wa seat at the negotiating table with bank s to determine the fees assessed for every sale made by credi card, and ultimately reduce the costs of everydayh goods for consumers.
” But, the , an organization that representz payment card networks, financial services companies and financial services trade associations, said in a new releas e that retailers are tryinb “to make consumers pay for one of their business expenses the cost of accepting credit and
It’s a figure a groupp of small business owners say creditf cardcompanies don’t want publicized, but one that consumers need to “The continuing burden of interchange, or swipe fees on small businesse owners has become heavier and heavier to bear. It is the seconds largest expensebehind payroll. It is something we are extremelyworriefd about,” said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleumk Marketer and Convenience Store Association, during a Mondayh news conference.
Credit card companies, on the other hand, say the fees are simplty the cost of doing Credit card swipefees – callecd interchange fees by the big bank s that set these rates – are a percentage of each transactioj that Visa and MasterCard and theit member banks collect from retailers every time a credif or debit card is used. These fees averagre about 2 percent in the according tothe , the associatiojn for convenience and petroleum retailing, which put togethe r Monday’s news conference. In 2008, credit card fees cost U.S. conveniencwe stores $8.4 billion, compared with $5.2 billion in stored profits, according to NACS data.
Almosg all of these credit card fees are attributable to credit cardswipe fees. Convenience store owner Bruce Mitchell said his operatiojn paid out morethan $3 million in credit card fees last “I am paying 25 percent more for credity card fees than I pay in wages,” he Recently, tax offices in four Florida counties Marion, Walton, Osceola and Brevard said they will no longefr accept Visa because there was no room in theitr budgets to absorb the swipe fee costs. The coalition noted that, while county governments have the abilith to say no because Floridians must paytheitr taxes, businesses can’t afforr to say no to credit card purchases.
The groupw are pushing for legislation that woulc either require credit card companiea to reveal swipe fees or allow merchants to negotiatethosee fees, thus leveling the playing Federal lawmakers recently reintroduced the Credit Card Fair Fee Act, whichh NACS said would give merchants “wa seat at the negotiating table with bank s to determine the fees assessed for every sale made by credi card, and ultimately reduce the costs of everydayh goods for consumers.
” But, the , an organization that representz payment card networks, financial services companies and financial services trade associations, said in a new releas e that retailers are tryinb “to make consumers pay for one of their business expenses the cost of accepting credit and
Monday, February 4, 2013
Obama taps Scotts director to head SBA - Business First of Columbus:
ogarawo.wordpress.com
Disclosing the appointment of Karen Gordon Mills tothe job, Obam said he chose someone who investes in small businesses and understands their challenges. “I am confiden that Karen will lead an SBA that will not onlyhelp small-busineszs owners realize their but help our nation rebuild our Obama said. Mills, 55, is president of Brunswick, Maine-based privatee equity investor and was a foundingg partner and managing director ofNew York-based equity firm Solera Capital. She also chairzs Maine Gov. John Baldacci’s Council on Competitivenessx andthe Economy.
She has been a director at Marysville-base Scotts (NYSE:SMG) since 1994 and also sits on the boardzs of the and the Maine chaptefr of theNature Conservancy. Mills said building and growing smallk businessesis “a defining tradition in America.” “Thix is a legacy I’m proud to be a part of and promoted for our future,” she said. The selection of Millsd “seems to be a sound one, particularly given her venturee capital background and experience workingwith venture-backed CEO Karen Kerrigan said. The “key take-away” in Mills’ selection is that Obamaz made it early in thetransition process, Kerrigan said.
That shows “thee SBA’s work will be a priority in thenew Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., agreed the early selection of Mills was a welcome sign forsmall businesses. “Thies appointment shows that his economic team recognizes the key role that smalpl firms play in job creation and the need to take quici steps to revitalizethe agency’s role in spurrinh growth,” said Velazquez, who chairs the House Smalk Business Committee. “Through budget cuts and mismanagement during the last eight the SBA has become nothing more than a shell of the agency it usedto be,” she said.
“Reversing this coursee is essential, and I look forward to working with the new administratorr to accomplish this during the nextfour years.” The SBA’ acting administrator, Sandy Baruah, said Mill s is “ideally suited to lead the agency,” citingb her experience in management, venture capital and publi c policy, as well as her “record of Baruah also defended the SBA’s recor during the Bush administration. “Mills will head an agency that has vastlyg improved its delivery of services and has a dedicatec team of civil servants to help carry outthe agency’ s mission,” she said.
Disclosing the appointment of Karen Gordon Mills tothe job, Obam said he chose someone who investes in small businesses and understands their challenges. “I am confiden that Karen will lead an SBA that will not onlyhelp small-busineszs owners realize their but help our nation rebuild our Obama said. Mills, 55, is president of Brunswick, Maine-based privatee equity investor and was a foundingg partner and managing director ofNew York-based equity firm Solera Capital. She also chairzs Maine Gov. John Baldacci’s Council on Competitivenessx andthe Economy.
She has been a director at Marysville-base Scotts (NYSE:SMG) since 1994 and also sits on the boardzs of the and the Maine chaptefr of theNature Conservancy. Mills said building and growing smallk businessesis “a defining tradition in America.” “Thix is a legacy I’m proud to be a part of and promoted for our future,” she said. The selection of Millsd “seems to be a sound one, particularly given her venturee capital background and experience workingwith venture-backed CEO Karen Kerrigan said. The “key take-away” in Mills’ selection is that Obamaz made it early in thetransition process, Kerrigan said.
That shows “thee SBA’s work will be a priority in thenew Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., agreed the early selection of Mills was a welcome sign forsmall businesses. “Thies appointment shows that his economic team recognizes the key role that smalpl firms play in job creation and the need to take quici steps to revitalizethe agency’s role in spurrinh growth,” said Velazquez, who chairs the House Smalk Business Committee. “Through budget cuts and mismanagement during the last eight the SBA has become nothing more than a shell of the agency it usedto be,” she said.
“Reversing this coursee is essential, and I look forward to working with the new administratorr to accomplish this during the nextfour years.” The SBA’ acting administrator, Sandy Baruah, said Mill s is “ideally suited to lead the agency,” citingb her experience in management, venture capital and publi c policy, as well as her “record of Baruah also defended the SBA’s recor during the Bush administration. “Mills will head an agency that has vastlyg improved its delivery of services and has a dedicatec team of civil servants to help carry outthe agency’ s mission,” she said.
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