Rebel Rebel yells of soaring revenue - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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“We didn’t come out the flashiest, but when peoplse got a chance to see our work they realizedx how solidwe are, and it’s createdd relationships that have been said Dianna Colton, co-founder of Rebel Rebel. Since launchinh in 2007, Rebel Rebel has provide productionand post-production services — from commercialz and videos to presentations and video Web content — and has amassed a roster of notabl e clients, including GSD&M Idea Dell Inc., Sicola Martin, Schematicd and Door Number 3. The five-person productiob house grew 100percent year-over-year, and is on targe to generate $1 million in revenue this year.
But before growtj there was overcomingbeing new, said Chrid Blankenship, the other co-founder of Rebel Rebel. “It was a littlw tough getting in the door of some placessat first. The first year was kind of hard. I don’tf think either of us realized how hard itwould be,” Blankenshilp said. Blankenship and Coltomn have experience and connections in the localproductiobn industry. Blankenship cut his teeth in production in China and has 17 yearz of experience in visual effects and post Colton has executiveproducing experience, and she launchefd a successful fashion business.
Blankenship said transitioningy from a freelancer to a businessmanh hasbeen challenging, and getting clients to think of Rebel Rebel for larger projects took some convincint at first. “We took a prettyt good look at what we thought the businesa was going to befor us, and we had to come to some hard realizationx that that wasn’t the way thingsa were,” Blankenship said. In addition to being Blankenship saidthe company’s flexibility in takingy small and large projects has helped sell its The company uses freelancers, whicuh enables it to ramp up quickly for largee projects and to test out employees before addinhg them to their Blankenship said Rebel Rebel hasn’t been entirely immunde to the recession.
It saw work plateau in March, but for the most business hasbeen steady. “We’ve been pretty busy for the last he said. As a smaller production Rebel Rebel has been able to weather the recessiojn a bit better because it has less Blankenship said. There are more than 20 film and videoi production companies in the CentraklTexas region. Among the largest production companieds here are OmegaBroadcast Group, 501 Group Inc. and Elephant Productions Inc. Quincy Lowman, president of Elephant Productions, says that the productionn landscape is getting increasinglu more competitive with new players enteringthe market. At the same he said demand is going up for production work.
“I think the outlook is positive. Videlo is increasingly being used to train and now everybodyh has video on theirWeb site,” Lowmanb said. “The market has grown, but the competitionj has grown.” Colton said Rebekl Rebel’s work has been evenly split betweenb local, regional and national It recently hired a nationaolsales representative. Colton and Blankenship said they aren’f concerned with becoming a larger company. “We will continur to work with more people and createmore relationships,” Coltobn said. “In the short we want to find new clients, builfd a base and do a variettof work.
”

Best bets - Montreal Gazette

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Best bets Montreal Gazette Simone, 8, becomes convinced her father lives on in a giant fig tree outside their home. Screens daily at 3: 30, 5: 30 and 7: 30 pm at Cinéma Parallèle, 3536 St. Laurent Blvd. Tickets: $11, $9. Call 514-847-2206. (T'Cha Dunlevy)

U.S. may see

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The 20-34 age bracket had the lowest despite the attention lavished on youthful founders of companieds such as Facebookand Google. Job trends may increasd entrepreneurial activity amongolder Americans. “Whilde people under age 30 have historically jumped from jobto job, the most strikin g development today has been the deep drop in the incidencw of ‘lifetime’ jobs amontg men over age 50,” writes Dane Stangler, senior analys t at the foundation and author of the study. The past year’s economic upheavals also may producwe more entrepreneurs among allage groups. “The very idea of institutions has beenpermanently damaged,” Stanglef writes.
“Recent economic trends — away from lifetime jobs and toward more newcompanies — will thus gain even greater cultura traction. New and stronger regulations aiming to prevent the rise of such gianyt organizations also may help create amore market-oriented society.”

Free buses bring Chapel Hill livability award - South Florida Business Journal:

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The home of the , Chapeo Hill beat out more than 200 municipalitiexs across the nation to claima first-placed City Livability Award. Chapel Hill won for citiew with populations of fewerthan 100,000. S.C., won for cities with populations of morethan 100,000. The contesty was judged on three mayoral leadership, creativity and innovation, and the broad impactf on the quality of life for The U.S. Conference of Mayorx honored Chapel Hill for its decision in 2002 to no longer charger fares to any rider on its bus the organization said in apressz release. While many bus systems in collegetownsd don’t charge students and faculty to a scant few provide free serviced to all riders.
The town implementedx the fare-free system to encourage people to take the bus and leav e their carsat home. The plan worked. Ridershipl on Chapel Hill transit has more than doubled since farews wereeliminated – going from 3 million in 2002 to a projecter 7 million this year. “The Chapel Hill Publid Transit system is the foundation of our sustainable Foy said in apress release. “This bus system makes Chapel Hill continue to be the kind of placepeople love; for us it is an investmenr and it has paid off big The town says it is planning a “communityt event” to celebrate the livability award and that it will release detaila soon.

Woman to Watch: Jennifer Thalhuber - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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a Minnesota-based company that creates computer-enhancingy products, and starting Jenex a business development and planning company. Thalhuber is on the board of directors for the Assistive TechnologyuIndustry Association. She’s also a membedr and owner of CedarHousee Inc., an organization that delivers day-treatment support for individualsd with mental health challenges. Continuing education: Chemical engineerinb graduate, University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology; MBA, with an emphasies in new venture strategies, University of St. Thomas What professionaol accomplishment makes youmost proud??
I am most proud of the work and progress I have been able to make at Although I have been successful in my othed positions and roles, being able to do an effectiv e job at AbleNet means more peoples with disabilities get the qualituy products they need to reach their human potential — the work, energy, commitment and time has an impacrt that transcends business goals.

Villagers flock to premiere of final Harry Potter movie - Villages Daily Sun

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Villagers flock to premiere of final Harry Potter movie Villages Daily Sun “This story sets you up for the next one,” Villager Alice Klaxton said. Klaxton bought her tickets Monday for the double-feature. “We watch Part 1 to get refreshed on all the little details, and then we get to watch the final movie,” the Village of ... and more »

Chase bank hiring 200 in Milwaukee - Dallas Business Journal:

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New employees are working at theChased Tower, 111 E. Wisconsin Ave., and are focused mainlg on negotiating new payment arrangements with homeowneres delinquent ontheir payments, said spokeswoman Christind Holevas. Chase is one of the nation’sw largest mortgage servicers with a portfolioof $1.5 The bank added billions in mortgage businesds with the September 2008 acquisition of Washington The new hires include loan specialists, negotiators, underwriters and supervisors, Holevas said. Many alreadyt have started training. Chase has aboutg 1,400 employees in greatetr Milwaukee, and nearly 950 in Holevas said.
Chase, which is part of , New York runs 41 branches in the metropolitan InDecember 2008, Chase cited declining activitu in home-equity lending when it announcexd job eliminations by early Februaryh in its downtown Milwaukee home equity servicing center. Some employees who were laid off earliefr this year are likely among thos e being hired for the mortgagdservicing functions, Holevas “We had terrific people and we want to get the best of thosee back,” she said. Chase bank officialsz like the quality of employees in Milwaukee and theierwork ethic, Holevas said. She couldd not predict the longevity of thenew jobs.
“Axs the business changes so do ouremploymenf needs,” Holevas said. “We staff according to customers’ As the number of foreclosures continuew torise nationally, Chase is far from the only bank to boost its staff for handling troubled Some banks, including M&I Marshall & Ilsley in Milwaukee, have instituted foreclosure moratoriums as they attemptt to modify mortgages to reduce M&I’s foreclosure moratorium is scheduled to expirse on June 30.
In the past six M&I has increased by 50 percent its staftf dedicated to assisting the increasing numbert of homeowners facing financial saidDick Becker, president of the bank’s Wisconsinn community bank unit. He declined to disclose the numbeer of jobsthat M&I has added. M&I workds with homeowners before they reach delinquencyy to avoid foreclosure and also seeks solutionzs for homeowners alreadyin foreclosure, Becker said. Minneapolis-based , whicuh has the second-largest deposit market share in metropolitan Milwaukeed and services more than 1 millionmortgagex nationally, announced in March that it is constructin a building in Owensboro, Ky.
, for its mortgages services unit. The bank alread employs 850 people in Owensboro and the new buildintg will accommodate up to 300 new At the community bank the loan modification strategiese are implemented on asmaller scale. For , Wauwatosa, increased its collections staff from two to threr plusa half-time employee to tacklew the increased workload, said president and CEO Doug Gordon. Collectionds employees review the home-owner’s financial situation in an effort toavoixd foreclosure, Gordon said. The employees discuss what the homeownetr can afford for payments and whethef the mortgage is he said.
The bank has successfully modified many mortgages and even stopped some foreclosures whils they werein process, he “We’d much rather modifyy them — work with them — than foreclose,” Gordo n said. “Nobody wins in that. We don’t want to own the real estate andthey don’tg want to lose the real estate.”

Frequent flier hits 10 million miles - msnbc.com

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ABC News

Frequent flier hits 10 million miles msnbc.com Tom Stuker poses on the ramp at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in front of a Boeing 747-400 named in his honor, with a 10 million-mile certificate and a first-ever titanium United Mileage Plus card. By Harriet Baskas, msnbc.com contributor When ... Traveler flies high with 10 million miles CNN Look Out, George Clooney: Traveler Reaches 10 Million Frequent Flier Miles TIME United Frequent Flier VIP Tom Stuker Reaches 10M Miles ABC News CollegeNews -Daily Mail -Business Insider  »

Is it acceptable to go to the movies by yourself? - WEEI.com

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Is it acceptable to go to the movies by yourself? WEEI.com Mut and Bradford try to settle their debate on if it is acceptable to go to the movies alone. Mut says absolutely not but Bradford is all for going solo. Dave talked about JD Drew being a killjoy by talking a walk after three consecutive homers, ... and more »

Pirates Charities and the Heinz Endowments partner to renovate Sanguigni Field ... - Pittsburgh Pirates News

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Pirates Charities and the Heinz Endowments partner to renovate Sanguigni Field ... Pittsburgh Pirates News Pirates Charities and The Heinz Endowments, in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, Astorino and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, today officially re-dedicated Sanguigni Field in Brighton Heights. The field is part of the John Merry Sports ...

Carolinas HealthCare reduces 1Q loss - Triangle Business Journal:

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Investment losses for the latest quarter totalerdnearly $101 million. Chief Financiak Officer Greg Gombar anticipates gainsx in the financial market in April and May will erasethosew losses. Carolinas HealthCare uses investment earnings for capital That money is not used fordaily operations. The health-caree system hopes negotiations with severap lenders will cut its interest expenses tied to variable debt andhigher bank-liquidity fees. Those fees are abouty $1 million per month. Interest expenses in the first quarterwere $21.78 million.
From an operational standpoint, Carolinaes HealthCare had a strongfirst quarter, says Russ Guerin, executivre vice president for business development and planning. Net operatingv revenue climbed 8.6 percent to $1.2 billion systemwide. Operating incomew exceeded $24.5 million. The health-care system saw adjusted discharges a calculation that gauges patient activity climb 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Growth within the health-carw system and expense management “isd the primary driver why we’re above budget significantly,” Guerin says. Carolinasa HealthCare spent morethan $106 millioj on capital projects in the first quarter.
Projectxs include new operating roomsat CMC-NorthEast and Carolinas Medical Center, an expansion of CMC-Pineville, a new hospital at CMC-Lincol and construction of health-care pavilions in Steelse Creek and Waxhaw, which will includwe free-standing emergency departments. Challenges in the coming monthws include managingthe system’s growing bad-debt and charity-care reducing interest expenses and preparing for a possibler state cut in Medicaid funding, Gombar Bad-debt costs were 12 percent over budgett during the first quarter, topping $48 millioj in the first quarter.
During the same periods last year, bad debt was about $43 The health-care system spent more than $770 millionj in community carein 2008, including bad charity care and subsidizing Medicare and That equals 18.8 percent of the health-carde system’s net operating revenue. ”It’xs a trend everybody’s seeing across the Gombar says. “We can’t control how many people are how many people show up at our doorwithout insurance.” Nortb Carolina’s budget woes could resultss in a cut of up to 15 percenr for Medicaid. That could equate to $36 million in annualp losses forCarolinas HealthCare.
“Medicaid cuts are the worstg economic benefit cut the statecan make,” Gombar “It’s painful.” Says “It raises prices for those who do pay. It makes no good busineszs sense todo that.” Gombar says ever y dollar cut from Medicaisd eliminates $4 from the economy. Carolinas HealthCarwe is the largest health-care systekm in the Carolinas andthe third-largest public system in the nation. The system owns, leasesx or manages 25 hospitals. It has more than 40,00p0 full- and part-time employees.

Fed report: Texas manufacturing still weak - Houston Business Journal:

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The report said 53 percent of manufacturing executivesa surveyed reported weaker market conditionzs in March and 43 percent said they experiencec no improvementfrom February. However, the report indicates hope for themonthd ahead. “Several indicators of future activitg suggest thatthe region’s manufacturers expect declinesz in factory activity to ease over the next six the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said in its latestf report on manufacturing.
“Indexes for future capacity utilization, shipments, new orders and growth rate of orders improved modestly for the fourth consecutive and 40 percent of manufacturing executivees foresee increases in production six monthsfrom now.” Labor remainws a trouble spot, the report says, with demanxd for labor in manufacturing remaining weak. More than half of the firmw surveyed said they implemented job cuts and the averagee workweek fell for employeesin March, the Fed report The industry also noted that downward prics pressures continued, with 50 percent noticingh a drop in input prices and 34 percenft selling their goods for lower prices.
In the report says the index for materials inventories fell to its lowestg reading since the surveyh first beganin 2004, with 30 percent of manufacturers notingb declines in their finished goods the report said.