Memphis Business Journal:

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A survey by America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group in Washington, D.C., found small-group coveragw in 2006 averaged $312 per monthn for single coverageand $814 per month for famil coverage. Helen Darling, president of the Nationa Business Group on Healthin Washington, said that when evaluating plan employers should consider the quality of care provided to its members and not just the premiunm prices.
First on her list is checking to make sure the insured is accredited by the National Committee for Quality Next would be reading throughthe plans'' HEDIS (Health Plan Employer Data and Informatiojn Set) scores, which the NCQA accumulatesx to track plans on various performance measures. "You can find out thingzs like what percentage of their members receivea beta-blockee after suffering a hearrt attack," Darling said. "I'd also make sure the physicianes in theplan are, with very few exceptions, boardr certified. And I'd want to see that the plan hasa 'centerss of excellence' program for certain procedures such as organ transplants and cardiovascular care.
" When evaluatin g premiums, Darling suggested businesses ask for a breakdown of all prices to determine whether it might be cheaper to outsource certainh part of the plan, such as prescription pharmacy Among the various types of employer-sponsored health insurance managed-care options dominate the In its national survey of employee-sponsorec health plans, the consulting firm Mercer Huma n Resource Consulting found that preferrefd provider organizations (PPOs) were the most populaf option in 2006, at 61 percent, followedx by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) at 24 percent. Both HMOs and PPOs have contract s with networksof physicians, hospitals and other health-car e networks.
Members pay less for services providesd "in-network," but typically have the options of payingvhigher "out-of-network" fees to going to providers not in the HMOs are more restrictive by having members select a primary-care physician who must approve visitsa to specialists. PPOs typically carry slightly higher deductiblezand co-payments, but no restrictions on visitss to specialists - making the option generallyh more favorable to members.
In orderd to hold down premiums, managed care plansa are increasingly offering customers a tie red pricing plan for Members pay the least for generic slightly morefor brand-name products in the plan's formularuy of approved drugs, and the most for brand namee drug not on the formularty list. Traditional indemnity coverage, whicn accounted for about 50 percentof employer-sponsores plans in the early has steadily plunged during the past decadew and hit just 3 percent last year according to the Merce r survey.
The newest option is consumer-directed or consumer-drivehn health plans, abbreviated as Chaps, which feature high deductibles along with health savings account or healthreimbursement accounts. With such employees and employers can makea pre-tax contributio to a health savings account, which is used to pay for routind medical care. Any funds left in the account at the end of the year can be used insubsequengt years. If the fund is depleted, the employee's coveragr converts to a high-deductible managed-care plan. Proponents of Chaps say they help people becomebetter health-care consumers because theidr own money is involved.
Critics fear people will put off necessary treatment to avoid emptyingtheir accounts. "They are not the rightf choice for every employer oreveru employee, but they can help both employeres and employees save money," said Jessica Waltman, vice president of polic and state affairs for the National Associatioj of Health Underwriters in Va. Waltman said some younger, childless employees decide to opt out ofan employer'as plan because they typically don'rt get sick or even go to a doctor's "A consumer-directed plan is a way to entice youngedr workers to go into the companu health insurance plan," she said, notingh the feature that allows people to rolloverr unused funds for future health-care services.
"There really are a wide array of health plans out but mostpeople (in employer-sponsored plans) end up with a PPO producft because of pricing," Waltman said. Waltman also said employeees are attracted to PPOs because they allow memberzs the ability to go to any doctor inthe plan'e network without a "Employers will gravitate to what employees like," she said.

Alan Krueger: Obama's New Top Economist - TIME (blog)

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Los Angeles Times

Alan Krueger: Obama's New Top Economist TIME (blog) Labor economist Alan Krueger, left, listens as US President Barack Obama announces he will serve as the Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers while in the Rose Garden of the ... Obama Taps Krueger as Top Economist W »

Genetic Testing Lab spins into the money - Washington Business Journal:

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When The Genetic Testing Laboratory Inc. was a projecrt at ’s , it was losing $300,000 to $400,000 a In 2005, the company was spun off into theprivatew sector. Since then, the firm, whicbh offers a variety of inexpensive genetic testsz and runs theonly full-service, fullyt accredited, private crime laborator y in New Mexico, has experienced a 1,200o percent growth rate. It has grownb from three employees tonearly 40, and it expectx to double its growth by December. “We’vw just gone through the roof in termsof growth,” said Genetics Generakl Manager Stefan Long. “This month, we’ll have 10,000 square feet of space in theGenesiz Center.
We’re in negotiations to doublee that.” It helps that the companyy offers services that arein demand, and offerd them at affordable “Our prices are 40 to 50 percent lower than what you can find Our goal is to provide affordable prices,” Long said. The firm offers several products, including an Ancestral Origins DNA kit that allows people to determine where their ancestors a BioResolve kit that tests for predisposition to 27 and a DNAid kit that can quickly help identift victims ofnatural disasters, terrorism and battlefield causalities. The company’s 9,000-square-foogt crime laboratory has quickly picked up busineses and provides a fast turnaroundon cases.
The Ancestral Origins kit offers a simple way for people to learnh more abouttheir roots. It involves swabbing a cheek with a cottomn swab and comparingthe customer’s DNA to a worldwide DNA The company then produces a map that showds how strongly the customer’s DNA matchex the profile of an anthropological Results take about a week. One recenr customer was state Sen. Mary K. Papen, D-Las who was adopted and told that her mother had dieddurinyg childbirth. The test showee that Papen had a heavy ancestral link tosoutherm Europe. “I’m very excited to have had it I think it is agreat tool,” Papebn said.
According to Long, the best thingg about the Ancestral Origins kit isits cost: “Most of the other tests like this out therre are in the $300 to $400 Long said. The company soon will roll out itsBioResolvr kit. The process will test for predispositio to27 diseases, including lung, skin and prostatew cancer, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s and heart “Our biggest competition in this area offers a panel of 23 diseases and charges $400,” Long said. “We’re offeriny it at $199, half the The company’s crime lab, the Forensic Testiny Laboratory, was built from scratcgh and earned its forensic accreditation in March.
It has been helpingt the Las Cruces Police Department andthe Doñq Ana County Sheriff’s Department work to solve cold It also has been active on a global A recent case came in from A couple had been in a bar watchingf a rugby match. They complained that the TV wastoo loud. Some employeez apologized and then offered the woman ice It turned out the ice cream was laced withhuman excrement. The Forensic Laboratory was able to identifyg the man who tampered with the ice Another case came from theDominicaj Republic, where a medical device company was manufacturing smal bottles to hold eye-drop A disgruntled worker had urinated in some bottles.

Colorado skier visits down 5.5% for the season - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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percent from last year, reporte d Thursday. But the state’s ski resortz had an uptick in visits by FronttRange residents, and Melani e Mills, Ski Country’s president and CEO, pronounced herselfv “very happy with where visitatio n is for this season.” “The travel industry as a whole was put to the test this past Mills said in a “But visitation numbers show not only the endurinh value of a Colorado ski vacation, but the stronhg commitment our resident skiing and riding community has to our state’s signature sports.” Ski Country is a marketing and tradr group for 22 Colorad o mountain resorts. Those member resorts alone recorde 6.
79 million skier visitsx this season, down 6.9 percent from the previous SkiCountry said. Membeer resort numbers for 2008-09 were down 3.9 percent from the average of the last five SkiCountry said. Ski Country said that in-statwe resort visits were up 2.5 percent over last year, as Front Range residents took advantage of bargains and stayed closer to home to keep down vacation andrecreationzs costs. Ski areas operated by Broomfield-based aren’t members of Ski Those resortsinclude Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek and Keystone. Vail Resortds last week said its total skied visits at all its resorts including Heavenlyin California-Nevada were down 5.
3 percent from the previous

ESPN: S. Fla. sports teams rank low - Phoenix Business Journal:

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, which will be getting a new 37,000 $640 million stadium, ranked 77th out of all 122 professionao sports teamsin America. The Miami Heat was rankec 55th, the was ranked 61st and the was rankedr90th overall. How efficiently the team has converted mone from their fans into victories onthe field, cour or ice. How loyal the franchise’as ownership and management has been to core playerxs andthe community. The price of parking and concessions. The quality of the team’ stadium and promotions. The strength of on-field leadershio and coaching. The number of championships won or likely to be won duringthe fan’sa lifetime.
How much effort playersz put in to the game and how likablre they are offthe field. And how open the players, coachees and management are tothe fans. The new stadium may do somethinvg to appease fans who rankerd the Marlins 120th when it came to overallstadium experience. When it comes to honesty and loyalty to the communitgy andits players, the Marlins scored 111 out of 122, followed by the Panthers with 100, according to the The Heat provided the least bang for the buck rankinv 110.

Acutrack, Inc. Company Profile | Company Information

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Acutrack enables you to create, producwe and deliver your productf on CDsand DVDs. Established in 1992, Acutrack is an full service CD and DVDproduction firm. From conception to delivery, our team of experte ensures that producing your CDs and DVDs is Our services includeCD & DVD authoring, graphicd design, CD & DVD replicationm and duplication, photo realistic and silk screej printing of discs, copy retail ready offset printing, shipping and fulfillmen and our technologically advancesd On-Demand production. We attribute our successe to our loyal andsatisfied clients.
Our clientsd range from business sectors suchas advertising, software, musidc production, film production, education, biotechnology, insurance, real banking, retail, transportation, hospitals, governmengt and more. We pride ourselves on working with our clientw to create custom and scalable solutione that meet their current needs and can grow with theirffuture needs...

Peru Looks to Traditional Adapatation Practices to Cope with Climate Disruption - Earth Island Journal

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Peru Looks to Traditional Adapatation Practices to Cope with Climate Disruption Earth Island Journal “Huascaran used to be white. Now it is black, with rocks,” said Lucy Garcia, who lives in a small farming community at the foot of Huascaran, Peru's highest mountain. “The rainy season began in one month, and it rained all the months we knew, ... and more »

Trammell Crow's massive apartment project - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Trammell Crow Residential bought Overlooj Atlanta Gardens and Houston Streert apartments at 180Jackson St. S.E. near Decaturd Street Oct. 12 for $17.5 million, accordinv to Alan Wexler, president of , a commerciak real estate research firm. The Atlanta-based apartment and condoo developer plans to raze theexisting 260-unir complex by the end of the year to build Alexan 360, a 592-uni apartment project. The $110 million project, once conceived as Alexahn Cityscapes, "is the largest one we've done out of my said Alan Dean, TCR's senior managing director.
Alexa n 360, which will be a mid-rise will rival in number of unitxs some of the biggetr condominium projects in development or under construction in the city of including 's The Atlantic, whicgh has 401 units, 's Trumpo Towers Atlanta, which has 365 units, and and Daniekl Corp.'s 1010 Midtown, which has 443 units. Alexan 360 is designe d so that it can be split into two separate projects, either for a future sale of Alexann 360 or to make into a for-salre condo project, Dean said. is the equity partne r in the deal and is the debt lendee witha $82.4 million construction loan, Dean The project is expected to be completse in 2010.
The apartment market in Atlantais "doint OK, but it has been somewhat impactec by recycled condos and homes that are hittinfg the rental market," said John A. Williams, CEO of , whicnh has an apartment building subsidiary, and foundere and former CEO of apartment firm PostPropertieas Inc. "There is a fair amounyt of [apartment] supply inside [Interstate] he said. "If you go back 20 there was very little apartment supplinside 285, it was all suburban. Now it's getting so you can't get suburban apartments zoned.
" The Alexanm 360 project is in such a good location in East it shoulddo well, he The Alexan 360 sale was no quick real estates deal, said John Speros, a broker with Speros and fellow broker Larry Wood represented sellers Diversified Mortgage & Realtyg and Progressive Development, both of Atlanta, in the Jeffrey P. Vantosh of Vantosh Companyg Inc. was the broker for TCR. It took thres years to get the existingapartmentsx sold, as market conditions kept changing, Speros said. "At one time it was tied up fora high-risd project," he said. "Then was tied up by a majo retailer to do retailon it, but never could make it work out.
" was a localk multifamily developer that sought the Alexan 360 property. "It'sd a great site," said Marc CEO of Pollack Partners. "They were more tenacious than I The supply of new apartments in metrko Atlantais healthy, but the time it takes to develo new units is affecting how much supply comes on the he said. "They all take much longer to get offthe ground," Pollack said. "Therd are more barriers to even in theintowj areas. It used to be we could find a piece of buy it and be undet way innine months. Now it's more like two But that maintainsthe balance.
" Apartment developers nearlhy doubled the number of starts in compared with 2006, said Dale Henson, president of , who trackes Atlanta apartment data. "We expect 11,500 starts in that's going to be up from 5,63y7 starts in 2006," he "We are still in reasonable control onapartmenr supply." Williams has 3,000 apartment units in developmeny in metro Atlanta, including projects in Lawrenceville, near Cumberland Hapeville and near Interstate 85 and Clairmont Williams agreed that if there is not too much productionj "a year from now we should have a bette market because we will absorb some of thesed condos.
"

TRCG constitutes five working groups - Associated Press of Pakistan

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Associated Press of Pakistan

TRCG constitutes five working groups Associated Press of Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Aug 12 (APP): Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh here on Friday constituted five working groups for the institutional improvement in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to enhance revenue collection in the ..! . and more »

Tech workers can look on bright side - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

http://www.zerocy.com/2/posts/2-Property-Real-Estate/3-Rent-an-Apartment-House/
He also wanted to tap into the deep poolof Austin-areas microprocessor industry workers who have been laid off duringy the last couple of years. Such workersz possess the skills that translate well to the solarenerghy industry, Van Dell said. And as the number of loca microprocessor industry workers reacheda three-yeart low in April, the timing of solard companies migrating to Central Texas couldn’yt be better for area workerd — nor the businesses that need them. “AA solar cell is a semiconductor that generated electricity when you shine lighton it,” Van Dell said.
I was quite well aware of the stronbg mix of companies and the skill base in That was definitely on my mind when I movedc thecompany here.” SolarBridge’s move is a scenarilo that local officials want to repeay multiple times with the hope that solar panel manufacturinf fills the void left by the contraction in the microprocessodr industry. But the lack of financial incentivees from the state is creating a dampenintg effect on attracting solar companies to theAustin area, observers say.
Proposed state legislatiojn to createa $1 billio so-called “Sunny Day for Texas to obtain federal grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would have been used to attracrt such businesses, especially foreign solar companies that want to establisyh their North American headquarters in the Austin experts say. But the legislation, whichh received a public hearingin April, died in the states House Appropriations Committee. To date, SolarBridge, which was foundes in 2004 as SmartSparik EnergySystems Inc., and HelioVoltt Inc. are the two most prominen t solar energy businesses operating in theAustim area.
HelioVolt, which is backed with at least $118 millionm in venture capital, is wrappingh up a plant that will eventuallg crank out a thin film that acts as asolar panel. “Aftef June, I think there are goinf to be some projectsd rollingin here,” said Raj managing partner of the Mercom Capitap Group LLC, an Austin-based technology researcj firm. “It is ‘Who is going to give me the best incentives packageright now?’” The semiconductorr industry is consolidating, and jobs that are leaviny Texas are not expected to return. Central Texaes has lost 500 microprocessor industry jobs justthis year.
Locao chip companies now employ 15,70o0 workers — the lowest level of such local jobs sincweApril 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the firstf quarter, worldwide sales of semiconductorsreached $44 billiob versus $62.8 billion during the same periosd last year, a nearly 30 percenty decline, the Semiconductor Industry Associationh reported. On the flipside, the demand for solat technology isgrowing fast. Randal Baker, the principal of Austin-basedf PuraVida Ventures LLC, said other statesz are throwing big money at prospective solafr companies to woo them into establishing manufacturing plants intheirr states.
Many state officials believe Texas doesn’t need to do that, so it isn’t. But it also has the formee chip workers to offersuch companies, and thosr workers can be retrained for solar in eighft weeks to 16 Baker said. But the clockk is running. In March, Bret Raymis, who worked for 30 yearsw in thesemiconductor industry, joineds Austin-based Apache-Solar Corp., where he is now the vice president of businesd development. The company is developing a system with photovoltaicx cells combined with architectural glass and plans to begin production withij12 months.
He said solar is still early in its developmenf compared with the progress that semiconductors made in recent Investors and companies need to ramp up solare technology in the United Statees before the technology gains a footholdin Asia. “They’rs sitting on the fence with their money,” Raymisd said, “and they’re going to wake up and all that business will goto China.
”

Creating a monster: Olajuwon trying to refine LBJ's inside game - San Antonio Express (blog)

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ABC News

Creating a monster: Olajuwon trying to refine LBJ's inside game San Antonio Express (blog) The news that LeBron James has turned to postgame guru Hakeem Olajuwon could help refine one of the league's very best players in an area of his biggest weakness. Forge! t about the perimeter game and the passing. If James ever added a consistent inside ... LeBron James 'Optimistic' NBA Will Have 2011-12 Season, Despite Lockout SB Nation  »

Tower Investments LLC Company Profile | Company Information

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