Bexar County children required to take new vaccinations - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Parents are required to add five new immunizationds for the upcoming school year as a result ofstats mandates. Metro Health anticipates these requirements will affect upto 50,000 students in the San Antoniop area. Starting Aug. 1, K-12 students will be requiredr to take two doses of theVaricella vaccine. Students entering the 1-6 and 8-12 grades must continue to meet thecurrenf requirement. Entering 7th grade students are required to take the one dose of the meningococcalk vaccine thisschool year.
Students entering the 7th grade must havethe diphtheria, acellular pertussis-containing vaccine if they’ve not had the booster within the last five Students entering grades 8 - 12 must have the boosterf shot if they have not had one in the last 10 Kindergarten students statewide are now requiredf to take two doses of hepatitixs A vaccine. Finally, K-12 studentd must take two doses of the measle vaccine and one dose each of the mumpx andrubella vaccine. In addition to the expanded vaccinations, studentes need to be currentt on previouslyrequired immunizations.
“These additions to the childhoodf immunization schedule will bring us closere in line with CDC recommendationw and make Texas an even safer environment for vaccinrepreventable diseases,” health director Fernand o Guerra says.

Health insurers offering new, different ways to rein in plan costs - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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According to the Washington, D.C.-based Henry J. Kaiser Family in 2008 premiumsfor employer-based healtjh insurance rose by 5 percent and firmsw with fewer than 24 employeexs saw an average increase of 6.8 percent. In responsd to a market simultaneously calling for lower costse with a high levelof Eagan-based introduced SureBlue, a health care plan that build a three-year rate guarantee into the product whil transitioning employees to a consumer-directed model featuring healtgh savings accounts (HSAs) or health reimbursement accounts (HRAs). The firstt plan of its kind offered by a Minnesotaq healthcare plan, SureBlue is designed for businesse s with 51 to 249 employees.
Clients sign on for three yearsx and receive an initiak rate set through the traditionapunderwriting process. In the second and thirds years, rate increases will be 6 percent per This allows businesses to plan aheads financially while protecting against any unexpected jumps in healthjcare costs. “In challenging economic we believe the cost guarantee SureBlu e offers is exactly what Minnesota employers are lookinvg for to help them manage their saidRichard Neuner, senior vice presidenrt and chief marketing officer at Blue Crosz and Blue Shield of Minnesota. The announced in September, took effect in January 2009 and is availablde to fullyinsured employers.
“We’re in the educationa l phase of theproduct rollout,” said Angie sales executive at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. Nationally, and offer similar but Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is the first local healtg insurer to offera three-year plan. Daryp Richard, vice president of public relationsdfor , a division of Minnetonka-based , said his organizatiomn has no plans to launch a similar product soon.
“We have severaol similar programs inthe small-businesss area that encourage HRA and HSA Our Edge program is for companies with two to 99 employees and ties the plan design to designates doctors and hospitals for lower co-payments and co-insurance,” he said. “We’vw taken other ways to address the same root to cap healthcare costs.” UnitedHealthcare started offering the Edge plan in Septemberf 2007. Another Minnesota insurer also is findinfg different ways of trying to rein in the cost of healtjhcare insurance.
“Medica offers a comprehensive and diverswe product portfolio that allowe employers to combine plan designs and networkl solutions to achievetheir cost-containmenft goals,” said Greg Bury, spokesman for Minnetonka-basec Medica, in an e-mailed statement. “We believe this flexibility allowsw our customers to purchase health coverage that fits their needs without lockinh theminto long-term commitments with significant penalties for making changes not prescribed by the healtjh plan.
” While employers may be eager to shift more of the cost of healt h care to their employees through HRA and HSA plans, theres are potential drawbacks for the Jack Militello, a professor of managemenyt and director of the healtb care MBA program at the , said efforts that direct consumerxs to high-deductible plans and cap costsd can save employers a great deal of but sometimes at the expensse of employee health. “Health care is an expensivde proposition for a lotof us. Younger people tend to like the idea of fixef cost and thinka tax-free HSA is a good deal becausr you can manage your own costs. But I’n 63 and I don’ want an HSA; I want full coverage.
” Militellko said employer cost controls are most likelh toaffect lower-income employees who may feel they don’t have the moneyt to spend on a procedure or prescribed This, he said, can lead to self-diagnosis and which can cost an employer in the form of ill workerw and lost productivity. “Small business has reallyh been beaten by this and health care costss are only going togo up,” Militellol said. “The work force is aginyg and catastrophic eventsraise premiums. It’s in an employer’ss best interest for employeed to be healthy and insurerzs have programs to keep upon people’a health.
” Militello believes longer-term programs that control costsx and promote consumer-directed health care plans (CDHP), like SureBlue, will be even more prevalen t in years to come. Bisho p agreed. “Predictability is central for employersand

Dow climbs but misses 7th 'up' week; ProLogis leads Colorado gainers - Denver Business Journal:

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average finishexd the trading dayat 8,076.29, up 119.23 points (1.5 The S&P 500 closed at 866.23, up 14.31 pointx (1.68 percent). The NASDAQ Composite finishedrat 1,694.29, up 42.08 points (2.55 percent). Among actively tradecd Colorado stocks, (PLD) led the day’s gainers, up 10.93 percenty (82 cents) to close at $8.32. • (AGT) Up 10.82 percent (4 cents) to 43 • (UDR) — Up 7.33 percent (73 cents) to $10.69. (DCT) — Up 7.05 percent (31 to $4.71. • — Up 6.61 percent to $41.29. Among actively tradec Colorado stocks that declined on the day was down 6.54 percent (3.9 to close at 57 cents. (CMG) — Down 3.
92 percengt ($3.34) to $81.97. • (CROX) Down 2.14 percent (5 to $2.29. • Corp. (BLL) — Down 2.09 perceny (86 cents) to $40.32. (Q) — Down 1.13 percent (4 cents) to

Human Capital: People on the move, June 30 - Memphis Business Journal:

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, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, added the followinb executives: Joy Burghardt , vice president of programs and MaryRahal , vice president of human resources and administration; and Josepy Isles , director of Bostobn Career Link , the one-stop caree r center operated by Goodwill. Mari Ryan , CEO of AdvancingWellnesd , a Watertown-based provider of work site wellness was appointed to the boarrd of directors of Health Promotion Advocates , a nonprofit advocacy organization.
, a Cambridge-base provider of mobile advertising added DavidKarnstedt , president and CEO of Calif-based and former senior vice president of 's Northn American sales, to its board of , a Marlborough-based direct response media appointed Keith Turner vice chairman of the boarxd of directors. Turner previously served as president ofSales & Marketing between 1998 and 2006 where he held executiver responsibility for NBC Universal’sx network, cable and digital sales

Genmar warranties still good - Triangle Business Journal:

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Tracy Carrell says the letter came after boat manufacturer on Mondau filed for Chapter 11bankruptcyh protection. Genmar owns 15 different brands of which means dealers everywhereare impacted. She says cash customers for boatzs at her dealership have remained But trouble financing in the current economy meanss others have been forcedf tohold off. “The boating business has been affecteed a lot likecars have,” she says. The petition to reorganizd its debts was filedin U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolias — where the company is headquartered along with more than 20relatede subsidiaries.
Genmar has between 100 and 199 It lists its assetsz in the rageof $10 million to $50 million and its liabilitiesw between $100 million and $500 million, accordinhg to court documents. The largest unsecured creditorsare Edelman, Borman, Brand, a Minneapolis-based law firm whicjh is owed $186,700. Merchant & Gould, a law firm in is owed $155,800. The only secured creditors are and FifthThirs Bank, according to a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Genmar said it has received commitment fora debtor-in-possession (DIP) financinv proposal from both banks.
In a Genmar Chairman, CEO and largesft shareholder Irwin Jacobs said sales ofthe company’s fishing boats, luxuryg yachts and other products started to decline in but worsened in recent The company’s sales in fiscal which ends in June, are likely to be abour $460 million, off by more than 50 percenty from fiscal 2008. “If someon e would have said to me as recently as even one monty ago that Genmar would someday be filingf forChapter 11, I would have said it was not even a remoted possibility,” Jacobs said. Genma had been making some strategyy changes inrecent months, announcing plans to launc a line of less-expensived aluminum boats. A spinoff company, Pa.
-based VEC Technology, and other Jacobs-relatedd companies aren’t included in the filing. VEC is now in the businesa of making giant bladesfor energy-generating windmills. Law firm Fredrikson Byron in Minneapolis, is representing Genmar in thebankruptcyy case.

Genmar warranties still good - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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Tracy Carrell says the letter came afterd boat manufacturer on Monday filed for Chaptef 11bankruptcy protection. Genmar owns 15 different brandsaof boats, which meansx dealers everywhere are impacted. She says cash customerxs for boats at her dealership haveremained strong. But troublwe financing in the current economy means other s have been forced tohold off. “The boatinfg business has been affected a lot like cars she says. The petition to reorganize its debts was filedin U.S. Bankruptcy Courf in Minneapolis — where the companyg is headquartered — along with more than 20 related Genmar has between 100 and199 creditors.
It lists its assets in the rageof $10 million to $50 millionn and its liabilities betweej $100 million and $500 according to court documents. The largest unsecurerd creditorsare Maslon, Edelman, Brand, a Minneapolis-based law firm which is owed Merchant & Gould, a law firm in is owed $155,800. The only securedc creditors are and FifthThird Bank, accordingt to a story in the Minneapolis Star Genmar said it has received commitment for a debtor-in-possessionh (DIP) financing proposal from both banks.
In a Genmar Chairman, CEO and largest shareholder Irwinb Jacobs said sales ofthe company’s fishing boats, luxurt yachts and other products started to decline in but worsened in recent months. The company’sx sales in fiscal 2009, which ends in are likely to beabout $460 million, off by more than 50 percentg from fiscal 2008. “If someone would have said to me as recently as even one monthn ago that Genmar would someday be filing forChapterd 11, I would have said it was not even a remote possibility,” Jacobs said. Genmar had been making some strategt changes inrecent months, announcing planw to launch a line of less-expensive aluminumj boats.
A spinoff company, Greenville, Pa.-based VEC and other Jacobs-related companies aren’t included in the VEC is now in the businesws of making giant bladesfor energy-generating windmills. Law firm Fredriksohn & Byron in Minneapolis, is representing Genmar in thebankruptcyy case.

Developer Verna files Chapter 7 - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Verna has 617 unsecured creditors, assets of betweehn $1 million and $10 million and liabilitiess of $10 million to $50 million, the filing states. “Debtor estimates that, after any exemptf property is excluded and administrativeexpenses paid, there will be no funda available for distribution to unsecured the filing says. Verna’s voluntary petitionj could be dismissed because itis incomplete, accordinvg to a separate court noticse filed by the clerk of court. Last year, Verna lost contro of The Park, his unfinished residential condoproject uptown, aftee defaulting on a construction loan.
The lender that foreclosec on theproperty — a subsidiary of Bankers’ Bank in Wisconsih — bought the building for $14.2 million in a foreclosurwe auction in December. Earlier this month, the Charlottw National BuildingCondominium Owners’ Association acquired Verna’as offices at 428 E. Fourth St. for $32,847.78. The association was the sole bidder on the offic e condo during aforeclosurd auction, and the upset period expired with no takers. The purchasd amount was commensurate with dues and assessmentzVerna owed, plus legal expenses.
The foreclosures were the latest in a stringb of dozens ofcourt filings, lawsuitsw and mechanic’s liens for unpaif bills filed against either Verna & Associates or companyy founder Verna. Verna was the creatot of the Charlotte National BuildingCondominium Owners’ Association in the late He built the uptownn office building by using the salvaged facad and glass rotunda of the now-demolished First Citizenw Bank Building.

Karen Beavor - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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As CEO of the Georgia Center for Beavor oversees an agency that supports andstrengthens Georgia's nonprofir community. Beavor has been with the organizatiob for a little more thansix Formerly, she ran a small nonprofit organizationn called the , which focuseds on helping homeless people, battered womehn and people on the verge of being Since taking over as executive director, Beavor has grow the center's revenues by 80 percent and expanded the organizatioj with two offices in Columbus and Augusta in addition to its headquarters in Atlanta.
She has also worked to acquireOpportunity Knocks, the larges t nonprofit career recruitment Web site in the "What I like aboutt the industry is that it is so diverse," she "There's a saying that 'where there's a need, there'xs a nonprofit.' I love what this organizatiomn does. If we can help one organization servd more homeless people or help one more organizatioj to be sustainable to serveits it's great." Beavor serves on a numberd of boards of organizations, usually as an advisor or ex officio member.
"I like getting involvedf in interesting organizations that serve alarge constituency," she Her passion, she said, is arts education. "j have a soft spot for preserving arts educatiom inour schools," she said. Beavor said she woulc like to see her organization play an even largetr part in the Southeastand

Obama picks venture capitalist to head SBA Advocacy Office - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Winslow Sargeant, a managing director in the technologt practiceof Madison, Wis.-based Venture is Obama’s choice. The Advocacg Office is an independent entity inside the SBA that ensures federal agencies consider the impact of their regulationds onsmall businesses. The office also conducts researchon small-business Sargeant, who earned a Ph.D. in electricapl engineering at the University of Wisconsin at worked as a senior engineer at severa l large corporationsbefore co-founding Aanetcom, a fablesas semiconductor company that later was acquire by PMC-Sierra.
From 2001 to 2005, he served as program manager for the Small Businesse Innovation Research program at the NationalScience Foundation’s engineerintg directorate. He is the second venture capitalisrt to be selected for a top SBA Karen Mills worked as a principal at private equit y and venture capital firms for 26 yearsa before she became the SBA administratorin Sargeant’s lack of legal training means he will have to rely heavilty on the attorneys at the Office of Much of the office’s work involvexs analyzing whether government agencies follow federal laws that required them to analyze the potential economix impact of proposed rules on smallp businesses.
The office also makes sure regulatora hearsmall businesses’ opinions about In fiscal 2008, this input saved small businessexs about $11 billion in possible regulatory costs, according to the office. The office’s actinhg counsel, Shawne Carter McGibbon, joined the office in 1994, during the Bill Clintob administration. She previously worked for a Democratic membere of Congress and has been an attorney for 20 An unnamed Obama administration official characterized McGibbon to reporterzs asa “Bush holdover” durinyg a controversy over an interagency review of the Environmentao Protection Agency’s finding that greenhouse gas emissiona pose a public health The Office of Advocacy concluded that regulatint carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act likely would have “seriou s economic consequences” on small businesses and otherr regulated entities.
Several press accounts quoted anonymous administration officials who said theAdvocacy Office’s criticism of the EPA findiny came from an office “still stocked with Bush in the words of the Los Angeles Times. This dismissal of the office’d opinion upset Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the rankingg Republican on the House Oversight GovernmentReform Committee. “There are hundred s of civil servants serving in a similar capacit throughout the federal government who could also be characterizedsas ‘Bush holdovers,’” Issa wrote in a May 14 lettere to Obama.
“I sincerely hope that theit professional advice and decisionsa will not be discounted merelgy because they also worker for the federal government under PresidentGeorge W. For more: . Microloanw up, big loans down for smallo businesses this year Lending data collected bythe SBA’sd Office of Advocacy confirms the importance of business credit cards to small companies. A new report found that the total valueof small-business loans outstanding increased by 4 percen in the 12 months that endesd in June 2008, down from the previousa year’s increase of 8 percent. These numbers are for all small-businessw loans, not just SBA loans.
The numbefr of business loans of lessthan $100,000 jumped by nearlhy 16 percent as large lenders concentrated on credit according to the study. In contrast, the number of business loans inthe $100,0000 to $1 million range fell by more than 23 The report used call reports submitted by banks as well as Communit y Reinvestment Act data. Business loans of less than $1 millionn were considered to be small-business Based on call report data, the top five small-business lendere in June 2008 wereAmerican Express, Capital One, Regions Financialk Corp., Synovus Financial Corp. and First Citizen Bancshareds Inc. The report also lists the mostactive small-business lenders in each state.
“In the current financiall climate, it’s especially critical for small firms to know whichb banks and financial institutions have been the most likelyu to make small and microbusiness said economistVictoria Williams, a co-author of the For more: .

Lewis: Feds pressured BofA on Merrill - Business First of Louisville:

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But some lawmakers questioned how much of the pressurre was actually made by Lewis in an attempgt to secure more taxpayer aid forhis bank. “Thwe Treasury Department provided $20 billion for a shotgun wedding. But the questiom is, who was holding the Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-New York) said duriny the hearing. The hearing, conductedc by the House Committee on Oversight and Government was focused onfederal officials’ role in BofA’ds purchase of Merrill Lynch. Charlotte-based BofA (NYSE:BAC) boughtr Merrill on Jan. 1 for $29. billion.
The deal resulted in BofA’z receiving an additional $20 billion in federalo funds under the Troubled Asset Relief BofA has received a totalof $45 billion in TARP Lewis has been under intense pressure from BofA shareholders for not disclosingf the depth of Merrill’s financial difficultie before the merger. Merrill lost $15.3 billiojn in the fourth quarter. Lawmakers questioned Lewis on reports that he felt pressure byfederal authorities, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankre and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to go ahead with the deal in Decembe r as Merrill’s losses mounted. Lewis testifiede that BofA contacted officials atthe U.S.
Treasurgy and Federal Reserve in mid-December to inform them that thebank “hadd serious concerns about closing the transaction.” he said, was considering declaring a “materiapl adverse change,” which can allow an acquirerf to back out of a proposed deal. Lewie testified that Paulson toldhim BofA’s managemenrt “would or could” be removed if the bank backeds out of the deal. When lawmakers pressed him Thursdayh on the alleged threats by regulators, Lewis said both parties were concerned about making the best decisions for the healtgh of the U.S.
economy and He explained that a decision that would harm the economg would also harm BofA because of its massivse sizeand breadth. Lewis testified that he wasn’t intimidated by the threat of losing his job but bythe “seriousnesse of the threat” and the ramifications on the overalol economy had an influencs on his decision. “Just six months later, it is easy to forgeft just how close to the brink oursystem came,” Lewis “I will never forget.
” some lawmakers suggested Lewis shoulds have known about Merrill’s losses before They pointed out an e-mail in which Bernanke suggested threat to back out of the Merrill deal was a “bargainin g chip.” Lawmakers also pointed to othef e-mails from regulators suggesting claims about surprising losses were “not credible.” Rep. Dennizs Kucinich (D-Ohio), among others, suggested the e-mails indicated Lewi threatened to call off the Merrill deal as a way to land moregovernmeny aid. “It’s quite possible it was Bank of Americwa that put a gun to the head of the Kucinich said.
BofA eventuallyh closed the deal withMerrill Lynch, and receivex a $20 billion loan from the TARP fund to cove the Merrill losses. Also on Thursday, Lewis indicates that federal officials never askefd him to withhold information from shareholdersz that BofA thought needed to be That caused lawmakers to remind him he wasundert oath. In February, Lewiss testified before New York Attornegy General Andrew Cuomo that Bernanke and Paulson pressures the bank not to discuss its increasingly troublecd plan tobuy Merrill.
The congressionakl committee expects to call Paulson and Bernanke for similar hearings as it continuesits

GE Healthcare and Varian, Inc. Announce Pre-Clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) System

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May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) and Varian, Inc. VARI) announce the availability of the MR901, a new pre-clinical 7T magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) system which provides new capabilities for a broad range of researcb objectives. The Discovery MR901 combinesw GE Healthcare's state-of-the-art diagnostic technologt with Varian's leading scientific platform to providea pre-clinical MRI system for the scientificd community. The pre-clinical technology aims to excel in soft tissue contrastand non-invasivr techniques, including those used in research for metabolism, and physiology in research models.
"Our offerinf provides a new level of deptg and versatility to thescientific community," said , Vice President and General Manager of Magnetic Resonance, GE Healthcare. "This introduction provide s the opportunity to strengthen our footprint within clinical researchn while complementing ourexisting portfolio." The rangse of preclinical MRI applications includes brain and organ tumor assessment, disease progression and functional Other potential research applications include investigation of new contrast mechanisms and agents, monitoring gene analysis of protein interactions, and determination of Varian and GE Healthcare announced the Discoveryu MR901 at the Internationak Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The first unit is read for shipment pending completiohn of thecustomer site. "I am very pleased with how the systenm integrationhas progressed. The first system is expectex to shipthis summer, adding to our installed-base of leading MRI and NMR instrumentation," said , Vice President of Research Products at Varian. For more technicapl information aboutVarian products, pleases visit About Varian, Inc.: Varian, Inc.
is a leading worldwide supplierf of scientific instruments and vacuu m technologies for life science and industrial The company providescomplete solutions, includinh instruments, vacuum products, laboratory consumable supplies, software, traininh and support through its global distributionh and support systems. Varian, Inc. employs approximately 3,700 peopler worldwide and operates manufacturing facilities in North Europe andAsia Pacific. Varian, Inc. commonh stock is traded on the NASDAQw Global Select Market underthe "VARI." Further information is availablr on the company's Web site: .
GE Healthcars provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age ofpatienty care. Our expertise in medicalp imaging andinformation technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceuticalo manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagind new ways to predict, diagnose, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live theidr lives to the fullest. GE Healthcare's broad rangd of products and services enable healthcare provideres to better diagnose and treat heart disease, neurological diseases and otherf conditions earlier.
Our vision for the futurde is to enable anew "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre- symptomaticx disease detection and disease Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billionn unit of General Electric Compangy (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to servinh healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 For more information about GE visit our websiteat . For More Contact: Public Relations Varian, Inc. 942-4703 pr@varianinc.com GE Healthcare, Wauwatosa Jennifer Francisw (847) 277-4427 Jennifer.N.Francis@ge.com SOURCE Varian, Inc.
; GE Healthcare

Jessica Simpson not joining Simon Cowell on American 'X Factor' - Examiner.com

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Jessica Simpson not joining Simon Cowell on American 'X Factor' Examiner.com The latest "X Factor" rumor has already been debunked, and this time it involves whether or not Jessica Simpson could be appearing on the show. ... Jessica Simpson denies X Factor judge rumor Gather.com Jessica Simpson Denies X Factor Judge Rumor - Perfect Butt Reveal National Ledger  »