lebexab.wordpress.com
The annual program was started by the California Task Forc on Youth and Workplace Wellnes s in 2003 to recognize companies statewide that are taking innovative approaches to create a healthie r work environment and to promote a connectionb between employee health and the bottom This year’s awards are supportec by a grant from , a Silicon Valley nonprofigt that promotes healthy living, healthy aging and healthy Physical inactivity, obesity and other health-related problemsx cost California businesses billions of dollarse annually. Because people spend much of their time at the employers are uniquely positioned to promoteemployee health.
Interestee employers may visit the task forc Web siteat wellnesstaskforce.org for more information and to download an application. All entries must be postmarked beforeJune 17.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friends With Kids: Toronto Film Review - Hollywood Reporter
zvonkovaleoqim.blogspot.com
Hollywood Reporter | Friends With Kids: Toronto Film Review Hollywood Reporter There are lots of clues in Friends With Kids that Jennifer Westfeldt has a robust support network around her --- from her film's keen observation of the ways in which close-knit circles banter and bicker together to the fact that its well-oiled ... Friends With Kids FRIENDS WITH KIDS Review Is 'Mad Men's' Jon Hamm ready to direct his first movie? |
Friday, September 9, 2011
9/11 and Pearl Harbor are similar, but impacts are different - Ventura County Star
http://satuchip.com/Bestsellers/Coby/
9/11 and Pearl Harbor are similar, but impacts are different Ventura County Star The two national tragedies are similar in a number of ways. A horrific, surprise attack on American soil. Thousands killed or wounded. A sudden outpouring of patriotism and national unity. An ensuing march into war. Yet the comparisons are valid only ... |
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Employers struggle with health insurance costs - Jacksonville Business Journal:
bafepexu.wordpress.com
billion doctor’s bill, and industry leaders say it’es causing health insurance plans to increase deductiblesw and chip away at benefitsto That’s because when Medicaid and Medicare reimburse health care provideres at a lower rate than private insurers, some hospitals and doctor s shift the cost to commercial payers rather than absornb it. This type of cost-shifting, sometimezs called a “hidden tax,” is estimated to have increased hospital and physicia costs for privately insured patients by 15 accordingto , a Seattle-based consulting firm. Milliman has just releasedf a study commissioned bythe , the and two additionak health care companies.
It found that cost-shifting annually adds an estimatex $1,512, or 10.6 percent, to the average premiukm for a family of Scott Serota, president and CEO of Chicago-baser Blue Cross and Blue Shield, said cost-shiftint should be an area of focu in the upcoming comprehensive health care reform expectef in the new administration under President-elecf Barack Obama. Employers absorb the brunt of skyrocketingf costs, paying nearly three-quarters of the shift, accordinv to Milliman. But if they haven’ already, more employers plan to pass costes on totheir workers.
The Millima study comes on the heels of a nationalo survey to evaluate the health care plands ofnearly 2,900 released in late November by Spokane, Wash.-based . It founc that employers held net health benefit cost increaseds at about 6 percent in the current year for a fourthstraighg year, but that has meant shiftingh more cost to employees. Employers are evaluating all One-third of Florida employers plan toincrease co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses to mitigate risinh costs, according to the Mercer survey of 105 Florida-based employers.
Thirty-one percen t will increase employees’ share of the premiunm contribution and 20 percent will increasewemployee cost-sharing in some other way. That’zs on top of health plan deductibles that doubled last year tomake $1,009 deductibles the norm among U.S. In 2000, about half of employers imposed a deductiblat all, and when they did, the median amount was just $250, according to Mercer. “Employeed are in no better position to paythosew increases,” said Janice Donaldson, executive director of the Smalk Business Development Center at the Universit of North Florida.
“That’s a hard sell as an employerf to say, ‘Hey, I know you haven’tf had a raise this year, but insurance rates are goinbg up.’ ” Jackie Perry, executive director of , said some Jacksonvillew businesses have discontinued coverage tostay afloat, and a few have adder a retirement savings account or increased sick and vacation pay to compensatwe for little or no health insurance The study did not account for businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
More than half of all employerw in Duval County have fewer than five Mercer respondents estimated that if they did not make changes totheir plan, cost would rise by about 9 Changes to plan design and/or plan vendors were expectedd to lower their cost increasre to 6.4 percent.
billion doctor’s bill, and industry leaders say it’es causing health insurance plans to increase deductiblesw and chip away at benefitsto That’s because when Medicaid and Medicare reimburse health care provideres at a lower rate than private insurers, some hospitals and doctor s shift the cost to commercial payers rather than absornb it. This type of cost-shifting, sometimezs called a “hidden tax,” is estimated to have increased hospital and physicia costs for privately insured patients by 15 accordingto , a Seattle-based consulting firm. Milliman has just releasedf a study commissioned bythe , the and two additionak health care companies.
It found that cost-shifting annually adds an estimatex $1,512, or 10.6 percent, to the average premiukm for a family of Scott Serota, president and CEO of Chicago-baser Blue Cross and Blue Shield, said cost-shiftint should be an area of focu in the upcoming comprehensive health care reform expectef in the new administration under President-elecf Barack Obama. Employers absorb the brunt of skyrocketingf costs, paying nearly three-quarters of the shift, accordinv to Milliman. But if they haven’ already, more employers plan to pass costes on totheir workers.
The Millima study comes on the heels of a nationalo survey to evaluate the health care plands ofnearly 2,900 released in late November by Spokane, Wash.-based . It founc that employers held net health benefit cost increaseds at about 6 percent in the current year for a fourthstraighg year, but that has meant shiftingh more cost to employees. Employers are evaluating all One-third of Florida employers plan toincrease co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses to mitigate risinh costs, according to the Mercer survey of 105 Florida-based employers.
Thirty-one percen t will increase employees’ share of the premiunm contribution and 20 percent will increasewemployee cost-sharing in some other way. That’zs on top of health plan deductibles that doubled last year tomake $1,009 deductibles the norm among U.S. In 2000, about half of employers imposed a deductiblat all, and when they did, the median amount was just $250, according to Mercer. “Employeed are in no better position to paythosew increases,” said Janice Donaldson, executive director of the Smalk Business Development Center at the Universit of North Florida.
“That’s a hard sell as an employerf to say, ‘Hey, I know you haven’tf had a raise this year, but insurance rates are goinbg up.’ ” Jackie Perry, executive director of , said some Jacksonvillew businesses have discontinued coverage tostay afloat, and a few have adder a retirement savings account or increased sick and vacation pay to compensatwe for little or no health insurance The study did not account for businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
More than half of all employerw in Duval County have fewer than five Mercer respondents estimated that if they did not make changes totheir plan, cost would rise by about 9 Changes to plan design and/or plan vendors were expectedd to lower their cost increasre to 6.4 percent.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Some business owners willing to expand despite economic unrest - Kansas City Business Journal:
http://www.narvabiathlon.net/request-an-instant-car-coverage-rate-quote-on-the-internet-and-really-save/
“It’s not a good time to be expandingexisting businesses, let alonee starting a new one,” says Joe Monaco, public informatioj officer for the . The study by the showed 74 percent of respondents said they woul d not consider starting a business in the next five The foundation surveyed a national sample of816 registered, likel voters with a margin of error of 3.4 percent. But at leastr two local small busineses owners appear to be in the Bill Ramsey andBeth Tully, whos businesses are different, share similar perspectives about the local businessd environment. They say business is good because Wichita’as economy is stronger than itis nationally.
But they understandr why people would be reluctant to starty a business because of the economic uncertainty and tightening oflendinv standards. “Its a scary time right now and people are wonderin whatto do,” Ramsety says. Ramsey started The Bill Guy Technology Solutione a week before the terrorist attacksof Sept. 11, 2001. Tullg took a leap of faith in Novembefr 2005, leaving the corporate world to run Cocoa DolceArtisajn Chocolates. Despite the economic uncertaintu and tightercredit regulations, Ramsey and Tully agreer their businesses wouldn’t be where they are toda without some risk.
“I thinlk small business is not for the weak of you have to be a littlee bit of arisk taker,” Tully says. She took a risk in Augusr when Cocoa Dolce moved into its newproductiom building, an 1,875-square-foot site at 3540 N. Comotarqa St. The move allowed the retail operations to expand at the 37th Streef North and RockRoad location. But if she had to make that call now, Tullh says she would have gotsomethingv smaller. She says adding space was the righf decision because it allows her busineseto grow. “We expanded because we were at critical mass withour space,” she says. “Wde wouldn’t be able to get throughu another holiday seasonwithout expanding.
” Ramsey, meanwhile, says he won’t let economid uncertainty effect his business. “Thd smart person is going to be lookinh for opportunities in timeslike this,” he says. Ramsey says he continues to invest money in growing his He also is looking at additional busineszs ventures in the nextfive years, but declined to give anythingf specific. How the credit crunch will affect his plansis unclear, Ramsey says.
“It’s not a good time to be expandingexisting businesses, let alonee starting a new one,” says Joe Monaco, public informatioj officer for the . The study by the showed 74 percent of respondents said they woul d not consider starting a business in the next five The foundation surveyed a national sample of816 registered, likel voters with a margin of error of 3.4 percent. But at leastr two local small busineses owners appear to be in the Bill Ramsey andBeth Tully, whos businesses are different, share similar perspectives about the local businessd environment. They say business is good because Wichita’as economy is stronger than itis nationally.
But they understandr why people would be reluctant to starty a business because of the economic uncertainty and tightening oflendinv standards. “Its a scary time right now and people are wonderin whatto do,” Ramsety says. Ramsey started The Bill Guy Technology Solutione a week before the terrorist attacksof Sept. 11, 2001. Tullg took a leap of faith in Novembefr 2005, leaving the corporate world to run Cocoa DolceArtisajn Chocolates. Despite the economic uncertaintu and tightercredit regulations, Ramsey and Tully agreer their businesses wouldn’t be where they are toda without some risk.
“I thinlk small business is not for the weak of you have to be a littlee bit of arisk taker,” Tully says. She took a risk in Augusr when Cocoa Dolce moved into its newproductiom building, an 1,875-square-foot site at 3540 N. Comotarqa St. The move allowed the retail operations to expand at the 37th Streef North and RockRoad location. But if she had to make that call now, Tullh says she would have gotsomethingv smaller. She says adding space was the righf decision because it allows her busineseto grow. “We expanded because we were at critical mass withour space,” she says. “Wde wouldn’t be able to get throughu another holiday seasonwithout expanding.
” Ramsey, meanwhile, says he won’t let economid uncertainty effect his business. “Thd smart person is going to be lookinh for opportunities in timeslike this,” he says. Ramsey says he continues to invest money in growing his He also is looking at additional busineszs ventures in the nextfive years, but declined to give anythingf specific. How the credit crunch will affect his plansis unclear, Ramsey says.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
5 Things: Coffee Talk, Long Weekend - Patch.com
hundleyobajoji1908.blogspot.com
5 Things: Coffee Talk, Long Weekend Patch.com Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945. Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, US Army, watches from the opposite side of ... |
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Grads look to mundane sectors as finance withers - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
iqukikofor.wordpress.com
But Gosalia’s first job after graduating earlier thismonth won’t be at UBS or Fidelity Instead, he’s spending $385,000 in savingss and a loan from his parents to open a frozen-yogurft store near Symphony Hall in “The reason I wanted to go into this is because it’ss a really poor economy and there’s not a lot of job securityu right now,” said Gosalia, who hopes to open the state’s first Red Mango franchise this summer. Gosalia, 22, is not the only recent graduate pursuing an unexpected caree r path as the job market for studentxs specializing in areas of business hasrapidly contracted.
Officialws and students at Wellesley-basede Babson and Waltham-based , both schools specializingy in business, said many students are struggling to find and those who have found jobs are oftej finding them outsidethe once-dominant field of financial “It’s definitely a more difficult year for students,” said Len executive director of corporate relations at Bentley. When accounting for students with jobs or pursuingraduate degrees, Bentley’s placement ratex were 69 percent at graduation and 93 percent six months after graduation last This year, both rates will be below thoswe figures, Morrison said.
“I’d be delighted if it’s 85 six months out, he Babson expects its placement rate to be right around92 percent, which is what it reached in 2002. That’zs still below the 97 percent to 98percent it’z averaged in the years said Megan Houlker, director at the centere for career development at A former intern with New York-based Steeol Point Capital Partners LP, Gosalia said he’s attracted to the Red Mangok concept as a rare chance to work for But he also conceded the move is the result of a profounxd decline in financial sector jobs. Othed students are butting up against thesame wall, Morrisonh and Houlker said.
Houlker said one-thired of Babson graduates entered the sectof inprevious years. This year it will represeng about a quarter will entertthe sector. Many students are looking into less sexy areas of the suchas retail, defense and insurance, Morriso n said. Others are “leapfrogging” by acceptinh internships to better their Still more are heading back to graduate At Bentley the number of students entering graduatw school straight after finishing their undergraduate degreew has risen by20 percent, Morrison said.
That’s a move Aaron Hartman, a 21-year old recenyt graduate of Bentley, is trying to He had planned to go into the hospitalityt industry butwas “disheartened” by the lack of Now, Hartman is tryingb to find a job in the admissionsw office of a college. He’s also looking at part-timew jobs, like being a waiter, to pay his If he doesn’t find a job within a year, he’ll likely head to graduatse school. “I’m just trying to hold out as long as I he said.
But Gosalia’s first job after graduating earlier thismonth won’t be at UBS or Fidelity Instead, he’s spending $385,000 in savingss and a loan from his parents to open a frozen-yogurft store near Symphony Hall in “The reason I wanted to go into this is because it’ss a really poor economy and there’s not a lot of job securityu right now,” said Gosalia, who hopes to open the state’s first Red Mango franchise this summer. Gosalia, 22, is not the only recent graduate pursuing an unexpected caree r path as the job market for studentxs specializing in areas of business hasrapidly contracted.
Officialws and students at Wellesley-basede Babson and Waltham-based , both schools specializingy in business, said many students are struggling to find and those who have found jobs are oftej finding them outsidethe once-dominant field of financial “It’s definitely a more difficult year for students,” said Len executive director of corporate relations at Bentley. When accounting for students with jobs or pursuingraduate degrees, Bentley’s placement ratex were 69 percent at graduation and 93 percent six months after graduation last This year, both rates will be below thoswe figures, Morrison said.
“I’d be delighted if it’s 85 six months out, he Babson expects its placement rate to be right around92 percent, which is what it reached in 2002. That’zs still below the 97 percent to 98percent it’z averaged in the years said Megan Houlker, director at the centere for career development at A former intern with New York-based Steeol Point Capital Partners LP, Gosalia said he’s attracted to the Red Mangok concept as a rare chance to work for But he also conceded the move is the result of a profounxd decline in financial sector jobs. Othed students are butting up against thesame wall, Morrisonh and Houlker said.
Houlker said one-thired of Babson graduates entered the sectof inprevious years. This year it will represeng about a quarter will entertthe sector. Many students are looking into less sexy areas of the suchas retail, defense and insurance, Morriso n said. Others are “leapfrogging” by acceptinh internships to better their Still more are heading back to graduate At Bentley the number of students entering graduatw school straight after finishing their undergraduate degreew has risen by20 percent, Morrison said.
That’s a move Aaron Hartman, a 21-year old recenyt graduate of Bentley, is trying to He had planned to go into the hospitalityt industry butwas “disheartened” by the lack of Now, Hartman is tryingb to find a job in the admissionsw office of a college. He’s also looking at part-timew jobs, like being a waiter, to pay his If he doesn’t find a job within a year, he’ll likely head to graduatse school. “I’m just trying to hold out as long as I he said.
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